Their knobs and their branches shall be of itself -- all of one beaten work of pure gold.
The buds, the branches and the central stem of the lampstand were not separate pieces joined together, but one mass of pure gold hammered into shape. Why does God insist on a single piece, and why hammered rather than cast?
The branches were made of the stem's own gold. One writer finds Christ and His people in that shared metal, and in the shared oil that fed each lamp:
Turn to the pattern of heavenly things, and we find the beautiful golden lampstand with its centre shaft, six branches and seven lamps. It "was one beaten work of pure gold" — made from one talent of pure gold. Was this not a very fine figure of Christ and the Church, all of one; both He who sanctifies and they who are sanctified? … Each branch was of the same piece of pure gold. The same pure oil fed each lamp. So the Church is one with Christ, and the one Spirit dwells in each member of His body.
The lamps and the shaft belong together. One writer shows why the Spirit's light can never be separated from Christ's finished work:
"The seven lamps," which "gave light over against the lampstand," express the perfection of the light and energy of the Spirit. They rest on the perfect efficacy of the work of Christ, and are bound to it. The work of the Holy Spirit can never be separated from the work of Christ. This beautiful figure of the golden lampstand shows it in two ways. "The seven lamps" are joined to "the shaft" of "beaten gold." That points us to Christ's finished work as the only basis on which the Spirit is shown in the Church. The Holy Spirit was not given until Jesus was glorified. It was as "exalted to the right hand of God" that the Lord Jesus "shed forth" the Holy Spirit on His church, so that she might shine according to the power and perfection of her position.
The material matters as much as the shape. One writer reads the missing wood as deliberate:
As in the mercy seat, so in the lampstand, there was nothing but pure gold. Its structure holds no acacia wood, so it pictures nothing human. All is divine. … Put the three together in what each pictures — the number seven, the gold and the oil. The lampstand then means this: divine light in its perfection in the power of the Spirit.
The verse names the method as well as the metal. A mould shapes metal without resistance; a hammer shapes it by blows. Older translations call this hammered work "beaten work," and one writer sees meaning in the repetition:
Again and again the record says the lampstand was of "beaten work." It was not cast, but hammered out. … If the True Vine is to have fruit-bearing branches, if the True Lampstand is to have light-bearing branches, if the True Grain of Wheat is not to stay alone but bear much fruit, then there must be "the sufferings of Christ." That "beaten work" surely points to them. Because He died, we live. Because He went through the darkness of Calvary, we are now "children of light."
A Bible dictionary adds that beaten work also set the lampstand apart from idols. Much of the tabernacle was beaten work, "in contrast to 'molten,' as idols were often made" (Morrish Bible Dictionary).
The branches matched the stem in what they carried:
Look at the lampstand as a picture of Christ and His people. There was a lamp on the central stem, and there was a lamp on each branch too. The central stem bore flowers and fruit, and so did every branch — not in the same quantity as the central stem, but of the same kind. Could the lesson be pictured more plainly? He who is the Light would have His followers "shine as lights."
God shapes His light-bearers the same way, and that has a cost:
Gold goes into the crucible so that what is not pure gold may be taken out of it. The crucible is sharp, short, and separates; the hammer is slow, sure, and forms. … The Lord did not command Moses to make a mould of a seven-branched lampstand and to run the gold into it. No, it was to be hammered out of a solid block of pure gold. … We are not fit to be light-bearers for God if we shrink from the crucible and the hammer! If we really want to be light-bearers for Him, we shall welcome the crucible because it separates, and the hammer because it forms. If we saw that, we should see how wonderfully God sends all the trials and difficulties that come on us.
- Gold — no wood, no alloy, no human element; the lampstand stands for what is wholly divine.
- Hammer — beaten, not poured into a mould. The shaping speaks of the sufferings of Christ, and sets it apart from cast idols.
- One piece — stem and branches share a single mass of gold: Christ and His people are all of one.
- Same lamp — each branch carries flowers, fruit and light, like the stem. The measure is smaller; the kind is the same.
- Shine — those who want to bear light accept the crucible that separates and the hammer that forms.
And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof, and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may shine out before it;
God finishes the lampstand of pure gold with seven lamps, then says where their light must fall. Commentators treat that one detail — light aimed back at the lampstand — as the heart of the verse.
Three details of the lampstand carry its meaning: the number of the lamps, the metal, and the oil that fed them.
As in the mercy seat, so in the lampstand, there was nothing but pure gold. There is no acacia wood in its structure, so it pictures nothing human. All is divine. From Exodus 27 we learn what fed the light: "pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn." In Scripture, oil is always a symbol of the Holy Spirit... Put these three things together as symbols — the number seven, the gold, and the oil. The lampstand then means this: divine light in its perfection in the power of the Spirit. It is God giving the light of the Holy Spirit, displayed in its sevenfold perfection.
The ESV has the lamps giving light "on the space in front of it." Older translations read "over against it." Commentators take this to mean the lamps shone back onto the lampstand itself.
The term translated "over against" is unusual. It carries the thought of lighting up the lampstand itself, illuminating it. This is quite distinct from shining on the showbread, and it is an extra idea. It is the light showing believers the beauty of the vessel itself — God fully revealed in Christ.
Why should the light fall back on the stand it came from? One writer answers from what the Spirit does.
The lampstand was all of gold. Remember that the Spirit's work is always to glorify Christ (John 16:14). As the light was to shine on the lampstand, so the Spirit displays the glories and perfections of the Lord Jesus... The Spirit is divine, one with the Father and the Son. Yet His ministry is not to occupy us with Himself, but with the Lord Jesus Christ.
These seven lamps were not decoration added to daylight.
There was no window in the Tabernacle. No light of nature entered the Holy Place. The light of the Golden Lampstand, and that alone, made up the light of the Holy Place. It reminds us of the Scripture, "And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb" (Revelation 21:23).
Older translations read the clause as "they shall light the lamps." Commentators look closely at that verb.
The word "light" means to cause to ascend. It is a word used regularly for the burnt offering. In that precious aspect of the death of Christ, everything ascended to God as a sacrifice of supreme excellence. It was to Him a sweet aroma of rest, yet it was necessary for our acceptance.
The picture does not stay inside the tent. One writer traces it forward, then asks who keeps such a light burning.
Christ when here answered to it perfectly. He was the light of men, the light of the world... Never for one moment was the light of the Spirit dimmed in Him; it shone purely and steadily. He was a perfect vessel. After He left this scene and ascended, the church became the light-bearer. That is her character, however grievous her failure. The individual believer answers to it also in the measure in which he presents Christ in his walk and ways. Aaron was to set the lamps in order. This teaches that the light of the Spirit, in its display, can only be maintained by the priestly care and intercession of Christ.
Lamps need wicks, and the chapter later lists tools for trimming them.
The seven lamps also imply believers identified with Christ. There were "wick trimmers," which shows there were also wicks. The oil for the light is the Holy Spirit. The wicks picture believers, who by the power of the Spirit may shine in witness to the Lord Jesus. But they need to be "trimmed" often, to clear away the remains of past witness and let a fresh witness burn. Remember too that the lights were meant to light up the lampstand itself (Exodus 25:37), just as believers are meant to illuminate Christ.
- Source: Gold with no wood, oil, seven lamps. Together they mean one thing: divine light, in perfection, by the power of the Spirit.
- Direction: The light fell back on the lampstand. Commentators read this as the Spirit throwing light on Christ, not on Himself.
- Scope: The holy place had no window. This was the only light there was, and nothing from nature added to it.
- Cost: The verb for lighting the lamps means "to cause to ascend." It is the word used for the burnt offering. This light rests on sacrifice.
- Carriers: Christ shone perfectly. Then the church became the light-bearer. Each believer shines as far as he shows Christ — a wick that needs trimming to keep burning.