In The Light

I wanna be in the light, as you are in the light.

I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens.

Oh Lord, be my light and be my salvation.

Cause, all I want is to be in the light.

All I want is to be in the light.

In The Light ~DC Talk

[1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water. [3] Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. [4] God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:1-4

Light. It was the first thing God spoke into being. Yochanan, or John as most know him, started his gospel like an echo to the book of Genesis.

[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing made had being. [4] In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. [5] The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not suppressed it. [6] There was a man sent from God whose name was Yochanan. [7] He came to be a testimony, to bear witness concerning the light; so that through him, everyone might put his trust in God and be faithful to him. [8] He himself was not that light; no he came to bear witness concerning that light. [9] This was the true light, which gives light to everyone entering the world. John 1:1-9

I sat down today and read and studied about the menorah, the candlestick that was in the tabernacle. Before doing that however, I sat and looked up numerous scriptures containing the word “light”. I am sitting looking a note page full of references that I was excited to sift through and see which would be utilized for this post. Scriptures ranging from Job 29:2-3, I wish I were as in the old days, back in the times when God watched over me; when his lamp shone over my head. To Psalm 27:1, Adonai is my light and salvation; whom do I need to fear? Adonai is the stronghold of my life; of whom should I be afraid? Along with one of the most popular scriptures on light, Psalm 119:105, Your word is a lamp unto my foot and light on my path. Words from Isaiah 2:5, Descendants of Ya’akov, come! Let’s live in the light of Adonai! And even Yeshua Himself, in Matthew 5:15-16, Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don’t cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.

There are so many wonderful scriptures concerning the light, and rightfully so, as John pointed out that Yeshua IS the light. But what about the menorah? The candlestick, the lampstand? As I began to read the verses in Exodus 25, and reading commentary about it, a few things stood out to me. This wasn’t a little candlestick that would sit on a table or dresser. It was huge and stood, about six feet tall. That is taller than I am. And the detail to which it was to be made is remarkable!

[31] “You are to make a menorah of pure gold. It is to be made of hammered work; its base, shaft, cups, ring of outer leaves and petals are to be of one piece with it. [32] It is to have six branches extending from its sides, three branches of the menorah on one side of it and three on the other. [33] On one branch are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a ring of outer leaves and petals; likewise, on the opposite branch three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a ring of outer leaves and petals; and similarly for all six branches extending from the menorah. [34] On the central shaft of the menorah are to be four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its ring of outer leaves and petals. [35] Where each pair of branches joins the central shaft is to be a ring of outer leaves of one piece where the pair of branches – thus for all six branches. [36] The ring of the outer leaves and their branches are to be of one piece with the shaft. Thus the whole menorah is to be a single piece of hammered work made of pure gold. [37] Make seven lamps for the menorah and mount them so as to give light to the space in front of it. [38] Its tongs and trays are to be of pure gold. [39] The menorah and its utensils are to be made of sixty-six pounds of pure gold. Exodus 25:31-39

This would have been a beautiful construction. So much thought and precision went into its design, not unlike us. Psalm 139:14 reads, I thank you because I am awesomely made, wonderfully; your works are wonders – I know this very well. As I started to read commentary about the menorah in the Perry Stone Hebraic Prophetic Study Bible, I noticed something. The Menorah had to be cleaned each day, refilled with new oil, its old wicks removed by tweezers, and new wicks lit. This made me think about myself. Each day, I have to pray for Yeshua to cleanse me of any sins. I have to be refilled with new oil, through daily reading His Word and spending time with Him in prayer. Old wicks have to be removed, I can’t live in yesterday’s blessings, praise, and encounters. Sometimes removing those old wicks can be painful. New wicks have to be lit each day by Him. This is how HIS light shines before everyone I meet. HE is the light; I am the menorah. Yeshua spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light which gives life.” John 8:12

The oil for the menorah was made from olives. The crushing process to extract the oil was threefold. Yeshua was crushed for us, for our salvation. The book of Matthew tells us that He prayed three times “If possible, let this cup pass from me”. Rabbi Jason Sobel explains that in praying this three times, Yeshua went through the threefold crushing process, just as the olives for the oil. Each day, as we fill our lamps with His oil, we can do as it reads in Acts 13:47. For this is what Adonai has ordered us to do: “I have set you as a light for the nations, to be for the deliverance to the ends of the earth.” He has menorahs all across this earth, and when we let His light shine through us, He fulfills prophecy from Isaiah 49:6, that was echoed in the above scripture from Acts. He has said, “It is not enough that you are merely my servant to raise up the tribes of Ya’akov and restore the offspring of Isra’el. I will also make you a light to the nations, so my salvation can spread to the ends of the earth.”

Paul admonished in his letter to the Ephesians, For you used to be darkness; but now, united with the Lord, you are light. Live like children of light, for the fruit of the light is in every kind of goodness, rightness, and truth. Ephesians 5:8-9 A tree cannot bear good fruit in darkness. When we live in the light, we will bear the fruit of the Spirit, and the world will see it and be able to taste and see that the Lord is indeed good.

Chapter 21 of Revelation shows how we are going to tabernacle with Him in the future. It makes me tear up reading it, because THIS is what my future holds. This is what YOUR future holds if you are in Him and He is in you. [3] I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “See! God’s Sh’khinah is with mankind, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and He Himself, God-with-them, will be their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will no longer be any death; and there will no longer be any mourning, crying or pain; because the old order has passed away.” [22] I saw no Temple in the city, for Adonai, God of heaven’s armies, is its Temple, as is the Lamb. [23] The city has no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s Sh’kinah gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. [24] The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. Revelation 21:3-4; 22-24

I want to shine! I want to shine with the light of Yeshua for all to see. I want others to be drawn to the light and to see that it is good, just as it was in the beginning. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!