Exodus 39:37, commentary and pictures

The verse lists among the finished furnishings of the wilderness tabernacle the pure lampstand with its seven lamps arranged for lighting, together with all its utensils and the oil for light, which stood in the holy place on the left opposite the table of shewbread. The tabernacle and its vessels were made exactly according to the pattern shown to Moses in the mount, so the earthly house with its two holy places was a correct model of the great heavenly sanctuary, where the lampstand with seven lamps is also found. The sanctuary and its service were given as God's way, a great object-lesson by forms and rites setting forth the plan of salvation and Christ's priestly work in the heavenly sanctuary. Like the rest of its rites, the lampstand and its service were typical and shadowy, its steady ordered light pointing to Christ the true Light who enlightens every person and takes away sin, and that earthly typical service passed away forever with the death of Christ and the rending of the veil.

Tabernacle Setting and Furnishing

Exodus 39:37 stands in the very minute description of the sanctuary built in the days of Moses in Exodus 25 to 40, which Moses was instructed to make exactly according to the pattern shown him in the mount. It belongs to the last six chapters of Exodus, which relate the preparation and fitting of the tabernacle. Those chapters in Exodus 35 to 40 record the carrying out of the instructions for the sanctuary given in Exodus 25 to 31, showing that the work was made with all its furniture and equipment just as God directed. In the larger order, Exodus 33 to 40 records the building and setting up of the sanctuary in chronological order after the events of Exodus 19 to 32 and immediately after the instruction concerning the sanctuary that God gave to Moses in the mount in Exodus 25 to 31.

After redeeming Israel from Egyptian bondage with a mighty hand, God commanded Israel to build the wilderness tabernacle, and let them make Him a sanctuary that He might dwell among them. He gave it because hundreds of years of slavery had unfitted them to comprehend His great salvation and the character He required. He instructed Moses to ask free-will offerings of the children of Israel of all that would be used in building. The workmen who built it were specially endowed by God, and the pattern was divine, given by God to Moses in the mount. The result was a marvelously beautiful sanctuary, made as God's dwelling place among the people of Israel, and it was the center of earthly worship.

The sanctuary was composed of two apartments separated by a veil, the first called the holy place twenty cubits long, ten cubits wide, and ten cubits high, and the second called the most holy place ten cubits in each of its dimensions and hence just half as large as the holy place. The sides of both apartments and the rear or west end were composed of boards made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, secured at the bottom by tenons made on the lower ends of the boards fitting into sockets or bases of silver each weighing a talent, while at the top bars placed through rings attached to the boards held them securely in position. Earthly worship revolved around the holy of holies, where the law of God rested beneath the mercy seat.

The verse records that the completed furnishings included the pure candlestick, its lamps arranged to be set in order for use, all its utensils or vessels, and the oil for lighting. The candlestick with seven lamps stood in the holy place on the left side opposite the table of shewbread. Its lamps were later arranged and lit in the holy place. It is one of the articles specified in the New Testament description of that sanctuary. Its making reflects the skill and craftsmanship possible in ancient times, supporting the account of the tabernacle's construction.

The tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year from the Exodus. Exodus 39:32-43 shows the tabernacle finished and erected and anointed with oil in preparation for the appointed priestly service. When the work was completed just as God directed, blessing and glory came down upon the congregation and the building. God's manifested glory in the account of the sanctuary's building and inauguration showed His acceptance of the people's repentance.

Heavenly Pattern and Gospel Meaning

The tabernacle and all its furnishings were made exactly according to the pattern shown to Moses in the mount, which he inspected for forty days, and Exodus 39:32-43 declares the erected tabernacle to be a correct pattern or model of that heavenly building. The pattern was divine, given by God to Moses, and the completed account of the tabernacle and its furnishings, including the pure candlestick with its lamps and vessels and oil, was made according to that pattern and God's commands. Its structure and sacred vessels represented the heavenly sanctuary, and the candlestick with seven lamps is also represented among the vessels of the heavenly sanctuary.

Because the earthly tabernacle consisted of two holy places, the great heavenly original from which it was copied must also consist of two holy places, for if the original had only one there would be perfect dissimilarity instead of likeness. The sanctuary and its service teach God's way and serve as an earthly pattern of the heavenly sanctuary and Christ's priestly work there. The sanctuary was a great, multiple object-lesson which by various forms and rites comprehended the great plan of salvation. It belongs to the laws concerning ceremonial worship and the offerings and types that made the substance of the new dispensation traceable through the shadows of the old, with the pure candlestick, its lamps and vessels, and the oil for lighting forming part of the instructions and provisions given through Moses.

Like the rest of the tabernacle and its rites and ceremonies, the candlestick and its service was typical and shadowy, foreshadowing the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. It pointed to the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world and His power to forgive sin, transform the character, and deliver from burdens. With the death of Christ and the rending of the veil of the temple, that earthly sanctuary pitched in the wilderness after Israel was brought out of Egypt and its typical service passed away entirely and forever. The appointed priestly service for which the finished and erected tabernacle was anointed with oil was carried forward from day to day by the priests throughout the year, one year being allotted to this ministration, and it always closed on the tenth day of the seventh month with a special service, the ministration up to that time being performed in the court and in the first apartment of the sanctuary. The lamps were to be kept in order, and their steady light pointed to Christ, the true Light who enlightens every person.