Exodus 40:4, commentary and pictures

God directed Moses to carry the table into the tabernacle and arrange its appointed bread upon it, and to carry in the golden candlestick and kindle its lamps, in fitting and ordering the sanctuary for its service. The table of presence bread and the seven-branched candlestick stood in the first apartment, the holy place, while the ark stood within the veil in the most holy place, and because those rooms had no window the lamps supplied their light. Moses first laid the testimony of the ten commandments in the ark beneath the mercy-seat behind the veil, then set the table and candlestick in place and lit the lamps before the Lord, then set the incense altar before the veil and offered the burnt and meat offerings at the door, whereupon the cloud covered the tent and the glory of the Lord filled the dwelling in token of His acceptance. The tabernacle with its furnishings and services was an object lesson of God's dwelling and of Christ's ministry in the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man, the worldly sanctuary pitched in the wilderness foreshadowing heavenly things until it passed away at the death of Christ when the veil was rent. The candlestick represented the light of God's truth, whose lamps were to burn continually as the priests trimmed and replenished them morning and evening, calling Christians to keep step in practical duty with Christ's work as high priest in heaven.

Setting Up the Tabernacle

The command directs bringing the table into the tabernacle and arranging in order what belongs upon it, then bringing in the candlestick and lighting its lamps, as part of preparing, fitting and arranging the sanctuary for its appointed service. The table of showbread or presence bread and the seven-branched golden candlestick with its seven lamps belonged in the first apartment, the holy place, while the ark was within the veil in the most holy place. The holy place and most holy place had no window and no other source of light, so the lamps supplied its light.

The setting up took place on the first day of the first month of the second year after Israel left Egypt. It belongs to the account of the building and inauguration of the tabernacle in Exodus 33-40 and to the third division of Exodus on worship in chapters 25-40, which shows how Israel after deliverance from bitter bondage became a nation with thorough organization, efficient leadership, a complete code of laws and an established form of worship. The construction and furnishings were made exactly according to the pattern shown to Moses on the mountain.

In order Moses put the testimony of the ten commandments into the ark with the mercy-seat upon it and brought it behind the veil, then placed the table and candlestick in the holy place and lit the lamps before the Lord. Then he put the golden altar of incense before the veil and burned sweet incense thereon, then offered the burnt offering and meat offering on the altar before the door. After this a cloud covered the tent and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle as He took possession of His dwelling among His people and showed acceptance of their repentance. The ark was to stand in the most holy place in the middle as regards the sides but near the second veil, directly opposite the altar of incense, so that most of the apartment was in front of the ministering priest, in keeping with the symmetry and order of God's work. How this fits with what is said about the staves in 1 Kings 8:8 and 2 Chronicles 5:9 is not known.

The fact that Moses set up the tabernacle and placed the table and showbread on the first day of the first month does not prove that day was a weekly Sabbath, because the ceremonial rule requiring the showbread to be set out every Sabbath was given later.

What the Furnishings Foreshadow

When the table with its arranged furnishings and the candlestick with its lamps were brought into place, those furnishings and their services were object lessons teaching spiritual truths, for the tabernacle and its service represented God's dwelling and Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. The wilderness sanctuary built after Israel was brought out of Egypt so He might dwell among them, with its dimensions, material and furnishings made exactly as commanded to Moses in the mount, belonged to the worldly sanctuary first pitched in the wilderness. That worldly sanctuary was always typical of and foreshadowed the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man, serving unto the shadow of heavenly things as an object lesson pointing to the coming Messiah and His power to forgive sin, transform character and deliver from burdens, until the earthly sanctuary passed away entirely and forever at the death of Christ when the veil was rent.

The table and candlestick being arranged in the earthly sanctuary, with the candlestick's lamps lit, shows the candlestick belonged to the first apartment, which helps identify the seven lamps seen before God's throne as part of the heavenly sanctuary's first apartment. Since the sanctuary had no other source of light, the lamps supplied its light and were to burn continually, being trimmed and replenished with oil by the priests each morning and evening. The candlestick represented the light of God's truth. The table and lampstand set in place with lighted lamps in arranging the sanctuary taught practical truths for Christians, whose duties are to keep step with Christ's work as high priest in heaven.

The direction to bring in the table and arrange the objects on it, then bring in the candlestick and light its lamps, belongs to the laws God gave through Moses, which included ceremonial laws and laws concerning offerings, sacrifices, and types as well as moral laws. It belongs to the body of Mosaic law that God's people are called to remember, including laws whose ceremonies and types show how the substance of the new dispensation is traced from the shadows of the old. It stands in the book of Exodus, meaning the going out in the departure of Israel from Egypt, in its third division on worship, chapters 25 to 40, which shows how Israel after deliverance from bitter bondage and oppression became a nation with thorough organization, efficient leadership, a complete code of laws, and an established form of worship. Those instructions for Israel's worship are distinct from the laws governing civil government.

The sanctuary being set up was set apart as holy, so it was not to be used like an ordinary dwelling, its sacred purpose distinguishing it from common places and things. The tabernacle with the table brought in and its furnishings arranged and the lampstand brought in and its lamps lit is the place where the Levitical service before the ark was carried on. In that typical sanctuary Moses placed the ark containing the two tables of the law in the Most Holy Place. The two tables spoken and written by God at Mount Sinai were put in an ark made on purpose to receive them, and that ark beneath the mercy-seat was set in the innermost room or second apartment of the earthly sanctuary, where the breaker of the enclosed law could find pardon by the sprinkling of atoning blood, the whole ceremonial system being ordained to bring man back to the broken law.