"The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly. Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the LORD regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. He shall arrange the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold before the LORD regularly.'" -Leviticus 24:1–4
In the days of the tabernacle, Moses was instructed to pass along the message to the Levite priests that their job was to keep a light burning before the Lord continually (or regularly, depending on the translation). However, this job was incredibly specific to the high priest, who at this time was Aaron. Centuries later, these same Scriptures were alluded to by Jesus, when He said people do not "...light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house" (Matt. 5:14-16).
This lamp shed light throughout the entire tabernacle, shining continually in the dark, and it was the job of the high priest to keep it going. As long as the light was still going, the Lord was still working and moving among the Israelite people; because this lamp was more than a light, it was symbolic of Israel's current state of commitment to the God of their ancestors. And so, Aaron, and later his sons after him, attended to this lamp, pouring oil generation after generation. Striving laboriously to earn the blessing of God, and working tirelessly to preserve the relationship between Him and His stiff-necked people.
However, much later in the old testament, the intention God had for this lampstand slowly becomes clearer through a vision of the prophet Zechariah:
"And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, 'What do you see?' I said, 'I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.' And I said to the angel who talked with me, 'What are these, my lord?' Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, 'Do you not know what these are?' I said, 'No, my lord.' Then he said to me, 'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.'" -Zechariah 4:1–6
It was, in fact, not by the might of the priest's striving, nor by their own power, but by the Spirit of God that the lampstands were kept burning all those years. The same is true for us today. When we come to the Lord in prayer, we are never laboring alone, but the flame of our hearts is attended by our High Priest, Jesus Christ. It is worth noting that when John sees Jesus glorified, He is standing among lamps.
"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest." -Revelation 1:12–13
The tabernacle is, in fact, a mere shadow compared to the New Covenant that we receive through Jesus, and I think we see what that looks like today through the Pentecost when the Church is gathered "and divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them" (Acts 2:3). Note how the Spirit of God, the minister of the lampstands all those years ago, comes in the form of a flame.
"Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, 'See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.' But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises." -Hebrews 8:1–6
So, what must all of this mean for us today? Specifically, what must this mean for our own prayerful lives, especially in the seasons where it feels dry, unfruitful, and more of a chore than anything else?
One must recognize that we are not the ones ministering the flame, but it is Jesus Himself who attends to our holy places. It is not by our might, or our power, that we can sustain a life devoted to the One worthy of it, but "by my Spirit", says the Lord of Hosts. This grants us much freedom because gone are the days when a man would have to attend to a little lamp in the tabernacle. After all, we are the temple (2 Cor 6:16).
We can boldly approach the Throne of God, then, because we have a High Priest attending to us, ministering to the flame when we are unable or even unwilling.
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." -Hebrews 4:15
Allow me to say this- if we have a High Priest who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin, I am positive that at some point He was tempted to go to bed instead of pray to His Father all night on a mountain. I am positive He was tempted to abandon prayer in Gethsemane because He was convinced God wasn't listening, and that He was truly alone. So what's the point anyways?
I'd argue that prayer is the biggest thing in this life we could ever do. Prayer is knowing God, communing with God, and actively seeking God. However, it is also one of the hardest things to do, and sometimes it feels like it is just so completely dark. Sometimes it feels like the lampstand went out a long time ago. Sometimes it feels pointless and it takes every ounce of energy to just keep praying because it seems like God is not hearing you.
Jesus is able to sympathize with this.
And He is the same one who keeps your lamp burning.
We can trust that our High Priest is still attending to the lamp inside of us, His Spirit is still moving and having His being through us, even when He feels distant. And every single time you pray without desiring to pray, Jesus can sympathize with this weakness more than anyone else, and He is more than willing to teach you a way through.
As in the days of old, it is not the building made by human hands that made the temple, the temple. Rather, it was the Spirit of God filling the place that made it so. I'm convinced that in the tabernacle, we are given a picture of what our hearts look like once our High Priest is invited in, to our temple.
And inside there is a little Holy of Holies, with the Spirit of God continually pouring a little bit of oil into the lamp of our hearts. Rest assured, it will never go out when He is attending to it.
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