Morning Light – Leviticus 24

[Leviticus 24] Greater Anointing, Signs, and Wonders. In this chapter, God instructs Moses with details about setting the lampstand and table of showbread in order. This speaks of the ministry of the word as connected with healing and miracles. There are also instructions regarding the procurement of the oil for the light and flour loaves of shewbread. These all speak to us today and point the way toward greater anointing, greater signs and wonders, and a greater understanding of New Covenant perspectives contrasted with the Old Testament paradigm of judgment and sin.

[Lev 24:1-23 KJV] 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. 3 Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: [it shall be] a statute for ever in your generations. 4 He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually. 5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. 6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. 7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon [each] row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, [even] an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, [being taken] from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. 9 And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it [is] most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute. 10 And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father [was] an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish [woman] and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; 11 And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name [of the LORD], and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name [was] Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) 12 And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them. 13 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard [him] lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. 16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, [and] all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name [of the LORD], shall be put to death. 17 And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. 18 And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast. 19 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; 20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him [again]. 21 And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death. 22 Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I [am] the LORD your God. 23 And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.

The Lord instructs Moses that the people are to bring olive oil to provide for the continual light of the lampstand in the Holy place. The light of the lampstand was a perpetual light that never went out from Moses’ time until the building of Solomon’s temple. Historians indicate 500 years passed between the exodus out of Egypt and the time of Solomon. All of this time, the lampstand was burning, and all of this time, the people provided the oil for fuel. The Levites did not have a contract with an olive oil producer. This was provided for by the giving of the people. The olive oil provided was highly refined and quite expensive to produce and to purchase. This was not an economy brand white label olive oil. It was the best that could be provided.

David said in Psalm 119:105 that the word of God is a lamp to our feet. So, the picture of the people providing fuel for the light speaks to us of the people’s giving that makes the ministry of the word possible. There was a direct connection between the giving of the people and the light of lampstand in the Holy Place that represents the light of God’s word. Notice again that the light was fueled by oil. This is more than an academic or intellectual analysis of the scripture. The scripture only becomes life to you when it is illuminated not only through the natural mind but also through anointed revelation by the Holy Spirit’s assistance. Let’s review one writer’s description of the lampstand:
“The golden lampstand in the wilderness tabernacle provided light for the holy place, but it was also steeped in [spiritual] symbolism. While all the elements inside the tabernacle’s tent of meeting were made of gold, the lampstand alone— also known as the menorah, golden candlestick, and candelabrum—was constructed of solid gold. The gold for this sacred furniture was given to the Israelites by the Egyptians when the Jews fled Egypt (Exodus 12:35).
God told Moses to make the lampstand from one piece, hammering in its details. No dimensions are given for this object, but its total weight was one talent or about 75 pounds of solid gold. The lampstand had a center column with six branches extending from it on each side, leaving a total of seven branches. These arms resembled the branches on an almond tree, with ornamental knobs, ending in a stylized flower at the top. Although this object is sometimes referred to as a candlestick, it was actually an oil lamp and did not use candles. Each of the flower-shaped cups held a measure of olive oil and a cloth wick. Like ancient pottery oil lamps, its wick became saturated with oil, was lit, and gave off a small flame. Aaron and his sons, who were designated priests, were to keep the lamps burning continually.
The golden lampstand was placed on the south side in the holy place, opposite the table of showbread. Because this chamber had no windows, the lampstand was the only source of light. In the courtyard outside the tabernacle tent, all items were made of common bronze, but inside the tent, close to God, they were precious gold, symbolizing deity and holiness. God chose to ornament the lampstand with the likeness of almond branches for a reason. The almond tree blooms very early in the Middle East, in late January or February. Its Hebrew root word, shaked, means “to hasten,” telling the Israelites that God is quick to fulfill his promises.
Like all the other tabernacle furniture, the golden lampstand foreshadowed Jesus Christ, the future Messiah. It gave forth light. Jesus told the people:

[Jhn 8:12 KJV] 12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Jesus compared his followers to light as well:

[Mat 5:14-16 KJV] 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

The question might be asked why does this lampstand have seven branches? These lamps represented the seven spirits of God. These are listed in Isa. 11:2:

[Isa 11:2 KJV] 2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

These seven spirits are distinct in their character, and each represents a progressive and personal revelation of God to us. Many cry out, “where are the miracles”? Miracles come when the spirit of Might is present, but two other spirits precede it – the spirit of Fear of the Lord and the spirit of Knowledge.

[Act 2:42-43 KJV] 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

You cannot have a caviler, casual attitude toward the things of God, and expect miracles. This pattern is repeated throughout the book of Acts. The apostles teach with anointing; the fear of the Lord is manifested as a result, and miracles start taking place. Many apostles insist on apostolic authority without apostolic power. An apostle without anointing and miracles has not come into the fulness of his or her calling; he (or she) is a lampstand without any oil.

The table of showbread was put in order in this chapter as well. The loaves were to be laid out in two rows of six each. Six is the number of man and shows what the bread is for. Jesus understood this when He looked upon the showbread and referred to these sacred loaves as children’s bread:

[Mar 7:26-27 KJV] 26
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast [it] unto the dogs.

Healing and deliverance is the children’s bread. It is your first entitlement as a Christian. Why are more people not healed? Notice that before the loaves were laid in order, the lampstand was first laid in order, and the provision from the people for the oil was established. God confirms His word (the lampstand) with signs following (the table of shewbread). Notice also that the loaves were sprinkled with frankincense. Frankincense is also an ingredient of the incense burned on the altar of incense. It represents prayer. Also, notice the theme of purity repeated several times in this chapter. The purity of the word preached, the purity of our prayers directly connects to the power of revelation and healing the demonstration of the Spirit and of Power made available to us. Weak preaching, anemic prayers, insufficient oil provided by the people all contribute to confusion, and lack of appropriating God’s promises.

In v. 10, these instructions are interrupted by an altercation in the camp. The son of a half-Egyptian woman curses God’s name in the midst of an argument with another man. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. The woman’s son blasphemes, and the sentence is death. Notice that mention is made of the tribe of Dan that this woman came from on her mother’s side. Dan’s name means “God has judged me” (Gen. 30:6). In Gen. 49:16, Jacob prophesied over this tribe, saying, “Dan shall judge his people.” This boy blasphemes God, and his judgment is swift. The Lord uses this sad occasion to emphasize “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.” What is our perspective on this today? This references one of the many instances in the life of Jesus, where he takes the Old Covenant paradigm and reconfigures it to a New Covenant standard. In Matthew 5, Jesus makes several radical statements directly referencing the book of Leviticus and several of the chapters we have already studied:

[Mat 5:38-48 KJV] 38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have [thy] cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Yes, the wages of sin is death, but the remainder of that verse in Rom. 6:23 is that the gift of God is eternal life. We are not to live our Christian lives making a running assessment of the worthiness of those around us. A.A. Allen made the statement that some Christians are more critical than God Himself. A.A. Allen is probably the most prolific and powerful healing and miracle ministry of our time, even more than Oral Roberts. His ministry of miracles was rooted in unconditional love. When Matt. 10:8 says, “freely you have received freely give,” it isn’t referencing money. The word freely there means “undeservedly” in the original language. We are not God’s sheriffs. We are not to judge and assess and criticize one another. Jesus didn’t say, “they will know you are Christians by your judgments toward one another – instead by your love one for another. So let’s move from an Old Covenant paradigm to a New Covenant perspective and position ourselves for greater anointing and greater signs, miracles, and wonders.