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Exodus Chapter
Twenty-seven
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
EXODUS 27
This chapter treats of the
altar of burnt offering
and of all things relative to it
Exodus 27:1
of the
court of the tabernacle
its hangings on each side
with pillars
sockets
and
hooks for them
Exodus 27:9 and it
is concluded with an order to the Israelites to bring oil olive for the lamp of
the sanctuary
Exodus 27:20.
Exodus 27:1 “You
shall make an altar of acacia wood
five cubits long and five cubits wide—the
altar shall be square—and its height shall be three cubits.
YLT 1`And thou hast made the altar of shittim
wood
five cubits the length
and five cubits the breadth -- the altar is
square -- and three cubits its height.
And thou shall
make an altar of shittim wood
.... This is a different altar from that
made of earth before the tabernacle was built
Exodus 20:24 and
from the altar of incense
Exodus 30:1 this
was to offer burnt offerings on
and was placed at the door of the tabernacle
in the court of the people
where they brought their sacrifices to the priests
to offer for them: it stood in the open air
as it was proper it should
that
the smoke or the sacrifices might ascend up and scatter. This altar was not
typical of the altar of the heart; though indeed all the saints are priests
and every sacrifice of theirs should come from the heart
and particularly
love
which is more than all burnt offerings; but the heart is not this altar
of brass to bear the fire of divine wrath
which none can endure; nor does it
sanctify the gift
it being itself impure: nor of the Lord's table
or the
table on which the Lord's supper is set; that is a table
and not an altar
a
feast
and not a sacrifice; is not greater than the gift
nor does it sanctify:
nor of the cross or Christ
on which he died
bore the sins or his people
and
sanctified them by his blood; but of Christ himself
who by his office as a
priest
his human nature is the sacrifice
and his divine nature the altar; and
he is that altar believers in him have a right to eat of
Hebrews 13:10 his
divine nature is greater than the human
is the support of it
which sanctifies
and gives it virtue as a sacrifice
and which makes the sacrifices of all his
people acceptable to God. This altar of burnt offering is said to be made of
"shittim wood"
a wood incorruptible and durable; Christ
as God
is
from everlasting to everlasting; as man
though he once died
he now lives for
evermore
and never did or will see corruption; his priesthood is an
unchangeable priesthood
and passes not from one to another
and particularly
his sacrifice is of a continual virtue and efficacy:
five cubits
long
and five cubits broad: the altar shall be square: as to the length
and breadth of it
which were alike
two yards and a half each
according to
the common notion of a cubit. The altars of the Heathens were made in imitation
of this
they were square as this was. Pausanias makes mention of an altar of
Diana
that was τετραγωνος
"square"
sensibly rising up on high. And this figure may denote the
perfection of Christ's sacrifice
and the permanency of it; though the altars
in Solomon's temple
and in the visions of Ezekiel
are much larger
and which
also were square
2 Chronicles 4:1.
Christ's sacrifice is large and extensive
making satisfaction for all his
people
and for all their sins; and he is an altar large enough for all their
sacrifices to be offered up to God with acceptance:
and the height
thereof shall be three cubits; a proper height for a man to minister at;
for as Aben Ezra observes
the height of a man is but four cubits ordinarily;
so that a man serving at the altar would be a cubit
or half a yard more above
it
and would have command of doing on it what he had to do.
Exodus 27:2 2 You
shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with
it. And you shall overlay it with bronze.
YLT 2And thou hast made its horns on its four
corners
its horns are of the same
and thou hast overlaid it [with] brass.
Which were either for
ornament
or for keeping what was laid upon the altar from falling off
or for
the fastening of the sacrifice to them
and were what criminals fled to for
refuge
and laid hold on; and may denote the power of Christ
who is the horn
of salvation to preserve his people from a final falling away
and from ruin
and destruction
and his protection of those that fly to him for refuge; and
these horns being at the corners of the altar may respect the four parts of the
world
from whence souls come to Christ for everlasting salvation:
his horns shall
be of the same; that is
made of the same wood as the altar itself and so may
lead to observe the like things: or "upwards out of it"F2ממנו "sursum exeo"
Noldius
p. 615.
the altar;
prominent from it
as the Arabic version
and so the sacrifices could be bound
to them
Psalm 118:27
and thou shalt
overlay it with brass; with plates of brass
that it may endure the fire
and preserve the
wood from being burnt with it; this may denote not only the brightness
lustre
and glory of Christ
like the shining brass
but his great strength in bearing
the sins of his people
and all the punishment due unto them
even the fire of
divine wrath
without being consumed by it. Jarchi observes
that it was
overlaid with brass
because it was to make atonement for the impudence of the
forehead
which is as brass
Isaiah 48:4.
Exodus 27:3 3 Also
you shall make its pans to receive its ashes
and its shovels and its basins
and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze.
YLT 3And thou hast made its pots to remove its
ashes
and its shovels
and its bowls
and its forks
and its fire-pans
even
all its vessels thou dost make of brass.
And thou shall
make his pans to receive his ashes
.... Not to receive them
in as they fell
but to gather them up in
and carry them away; and this was
done every morning about cockcrowing
not much sooner nor laterF3Misn.
Yoma
c. 1. sect. 8. & Maimon
in ib. :
and his shovels; to throw up
the ashes together to be put into the pans; Jarchi describes this vessel to be
like the cover of a brass pot
with a handle to it; the same we call a fire
shovel:
and his basins: to receive
the blood of the sacrifice
and out of which it was sprinkled
as the word
signifies
and may be rendered sprinkling basins:
and his flesh
hooks; not such as were used to take flesh out of the pot
1 Samuel 2:13 for
there could be no use for such at the altar of burnt offering; but were
as
Jarchi says
like hooks recurved
with which they struck into the flesh
and
turned it upon the coals to hasten the burning of it; and with which very
probably they kept the fire and the parts of the sacrifices in good order
until they were consumed:
and his fire
pans; which were a kind of censers in which coals of fire were taken off
from the altar of burnt offering
and carried to the altar of incense
as
Jarchi and Ben Gersom observe
see Leviticus 16:12 but
as censers did not belong to the altar of burnt offering
but to the altar of
incense
Fortunatus ScacchusF4Sacr. Elaeochrism. Myrothec. l. 2. c.
73. p. 676
677. is of opinion
that these were a larger sort of vessels
wherein the fire which came down from heaven was kept burning while the altar
and grate were cleansed from the coals and ashes
and when the altar was had
from place to place:
all the vessels
thereof thou shalt make of brass; as being fittest for the
use of this altar.
Exodus 27:4 4 You
shall make a grate for it
a network of bronze; and on the network you shall
make four bronze rings at its four corners.
YLT 4`And thou hast made for it a grate of
net-work of brass
and hast made on the net four rings of brass on its four
extremities
And thou shalt
make for it a grate of network of brass
.... Or
"sieve"
as in Amos 9:9
it was a
plate of brass with holes in it
to let through either the blood that drained
from the parts of the sacrifice
or the ashes of it; for this was the focus or
hearth
on which the sacrifice and the wood were laid and burnt: this
according to the Targum of Jonathan on Exodus 38:4 was to
receive the coals and bones which fell from the altar: and so may denote the
purity of Christ's sacrifice
which was offered up without spot to God
and the
use of him as the altar to sanctify our gifts
and take away the sins of our
holy things:
and upon the
net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof; by which
with chains put into them
the grate was fastened to the four horns of the
altar
and the use of them was to let it down and hang in the middle of the
altar
and to take it up when there was occasion for it; though some think
these rings were not "in" the grate
but "by" it
as the
particle may be rendered
a little lower than that
on the sides of the altar;
into which the staves after mentioned were put
and with which the altar was
carried when removed from place to place.
Exodus 27:5 5 You
shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath
that the network may be midway
up the altar.
YLT 5and hast put it under the compass of the
altar beneath
and the net hath been unto the middle of the altar.
And thou shalt
put it under the compass of the altar beneath
.... That is
the grate
was to be put within the square compass of the altar
in the hollow part of it
for the wood and sacrifice to be laid upon it:
that the net
may be even to the midst of the altar; and as the altar was
three cubits high
this net or grate was let down by chains to its rings a
cubit and a half
and being of such a depth was capable of containing a great
deal.
Exodus 27:6 6 And
you shall make poles for the altar
poles of acacia wood
and overlay them with
bronze.
YLT 6`And thou hast made staves for the altar
staves of shittim wood
and hast overlaid them [with] brass.
And thou shalt
make staves for the altar
staves of shittim wood
.... Like
those that were made for the ark
and for the same purpose:
and overlay them
with brass; with plates of brass
whereas those for the ark were overlaid
with gold.
Exodus 27:7 7 The
poles shall be put in the rings
and the poles shall be on the two sides of the
altar to bear it.
YLT 7And the staves have been brought into the
rings
and the staves have been on the two sides of the altar in bearing it.
And the staves
shall be put into the rings
.... Not into the rings of the grate
as Jarchi
and others: though Dr. LightfootF6Works
vol. 1. p. 722. thinks
these came out of each corner through the altar frame
and hung out of the
frame
and in these the staves being put
made the frame and the grate sure
together
and so they were also carried together; but it seems rather
that as
the grate had rings peculiar to that
to let it down and take it up
and with
which it was carried
with a purple cloth covered over it
Numbers 4:13 so the
altar had rings peculiar to that on the sides of it
into which these staves
were put:
and the staves
shall be upon the two sides of the altar
to bear it; and which
shows that the rings into which these were put were not the rings of the grate
for they were at the four corners of it
which hung upon the four horns of it;
whereas the staves were on the two sides of it
in order to bear it from place
to place
which was done by the Levites; and was typical of the ministers of
the Gospel bearing the name of Christ
and spreading the doctrine of his
sacrifice and satisfaction
in the world
which is the main and fundamental
doctrine of the Gospel.
Exodus 27:8 8 You
shall make it hollow with boards; as it was shown you on the mountain
so shall
they make it.
YLT 8Hollow with boards thou dost make it
as it
hath been shewed thee in the mount
so do they make [it].
Hollow with boards
shalt thou make it
.... The frame of it being made of boards of shittim wood
there
was nothing within side but the grate
which was put within the square
down
into the middle of it
and so was light of carriage; though the Targum of
Jonathan
and other Jewish writers
represent this hollow as filled up with
dust and earth
to answer to the altar of earth Moses was before bid to make;
but this seems quite contrary to the present direction: the hollowness of the
altar may denote the emptiness of Christ when he became a sacrifice: he emptied
himself
as it were
when he became incarnate
of all his greatness
glory
and
riches
and became mean and poor for the sake of his people
that they through
his poverty might be made rich
Philemon 2:7.
as it was
showed thee in the mount
so shall they make it; or
"as he showed
thee"F7הראה "fecit videre"
Pagninus
Montanus; "ostendit Dominus"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Drusius; so Ainsworth.
that is
God. Moses had a model of this
altar showed him
and he was to be careful to instruct the workmen
and see to
it
that they built it exactly according to the model.
Exodus 27:9 9 “You
shall also make the court of the tabernacle. For the south side there shall
be hangings for the court made of fine woven linen
one hundred
cubits long for one side.
YLT 9`And thou hast made the court of the
tabernacle: for the south side southward
hangings for the court of twined
linen
a hundred by the cubit [is] the length for the one side
And thou shall
make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward
.... This was
a large court yard to the house of God
or tabernacle
which stood in it at the
upper end of it; it was enclosed
but open to the air; and in it
between the
entrance into it and the holy place
stood the altar of burnt offering before
described
and on one side of that the laver for the priests to wash in; into
this the people of Israel were admitted
and where they brought their
sacrifices and worshipped: it was typical of the visible church of God on
earth
which
though an enclosure
and is separated from the world
yet
consists of professors
good and bad
of real saints and hypocrites; as into
this court Israelites of every character
sex
and state entered. In David's time
it was divided into various courts
and what answered to it when the temple was
built were the several apartments called the courts of the priests
where they
sacrificed
and the court of Israel
where the men Israelites worshipped
and
the court of the women
where they were by themselves; and in later times there
was another court separate from these
called the court of the Gentiles
into
which they might enter; and the description of this court begins with that side
of it which lay full south: there shall be
hangings for
the court of fine twined linen of one hundred cubits long for one side; for the south
side; and these hangings
with the rest all around
made the court
and were
the walls of it; and from hence we learn
that it was one hundred cubits or
fifty yards long
according to the common computation of a cubit; though it was
three hundred inches more
this cubit being three inches more than is commonly
supposed. These hangings
vails
or curtains
for so in the versions they are
differently called
were the enclosure of the court; they were made of fine
linen
six times twisted
but not of various colours
and curiously wrought
with cunning work
as the curtains of the tabernacle were; and according to the
signification of the word
they were wrought full of holes
like eyelet holes
or in the manner of network; so that though they kept persons from entering in
they might be seen through
and through them might be seen what was doing in
the court: and all this may signify that the visible church of God on earth is
separated from the world
and should consist of men called out of it
and of
such who are clothed with that fine linen
clean and white
the righteousness
of the saints
and which is the righteousness of Christ
and who have both inward
and outward holiness; and though none but those who are admitted members of it
may partake of its ordinances
yet others may be spectators of what is done in
it.
Exodus 27:10 10 And
its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets shall be bronze. The hooks
of the pillars and their bands shall be silver.
YLT 10and its twenty pillars and their twenty
sockets [are] of brass
the pegs of the pillars and their fillets [are] of
silver;
And the twenty
pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass
.... On these
pillars the hangings
rails
or curtains were set
and they were for one side
the south side
in number twenty; and so must stand five cubits
or two yards
and a half or more
distant from each other
since the length of the hangings
were one hundred cubits: these
according to Philo the JewF8De Vita
Mosis
l. 3. p. 667.
were made of cedar
but if of wood
most probably of
"shittim wood"
as they are by most thought to be; though one would
think
according to the plain and express words of the text
they as well as
their sockets were of brass: and JosephusF9Antiqu. l. 3. c. 6. sect.
2. expressly says they were of brass
and which seems fittest for the purpose:
now though the church of God itself is a pillar
and so is every true member of
it
1 Timothy 3:15 yet
ministers of the Gospel may be more especially designed
Proverbs 9:1 who
are the principal support of the churches of God
and of the interest of
religion; and are set for the defence of the Gospel
and are steadfast in the
ministration of it:
the hooks of
the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver; the hooks on the pillars
might be somewhat like our tenter hooks
and so Jarchi describes them
as
having one end crooked upwards
and the other end fixed in the pillar; and as
for the fillets
he says
they were silver threads round about the pillars; but
whether they were upon the face or of them all
or on the top
or in the middle
of them
he confesses his ignorance; only this he knew
that the word has the
signification of girding or binding; and these fillets might not only be for
ornament
but for the binding of the hangings to the pillars: and so Ben Gersom
says
that they were silver threads
with which the curtains were bound to the
pillars
that the wind might not separate them from them; and both the silver
hooks and fillets may signify the word and ordinances as administered by the
preachers of the Gospel
in which there is an union
conjunction
and communion
between them and the churches.
Exodus 27:11 11 Likewise along the length
of the north side there shall be hangings one hundred cubits
long
with its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of bronze
and the hooks
of the pillars and their bands of silver.
YLT 11and so for the north side in length
hangings
of a hundred [cubits] in length
and its twenty pillars and their twenty
sockets [are] of brass
the pegs of the pillars and their fillets [are] of
silver.
And likewise
for the north side in length there shall be hangings of one hundred cubits long
.... The north
and south sides of this court being equal
the same length of hangings were for
the one as the other:
and his twenty
pillars
and their twenty sockets of brass; there went on this side
the same number of pillars and sockets
and of the same metal:
the hooks of
the pillars and their fillets of silver; just as they were on the
south side.
Exodus 27:12 12 “And
along the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty
cubits
with their ten pillars and their ten sockets.
YLT 12`And [for] the breadth of the court at the
west side [are] hangings of fifty cubits
their pillars ten
and their sockets
ten.
And for the
breadth of the court
on the west side
.... On the west end
the
upper end of the court
near to which reached the holy of holies:
shall be
hangings of fifty cubits: or twenty five yards and more
so that the court was but half as
broad as it was long:
their pillars
ten
and their sockets ten; which was a number proportionate to the
hangings
and stood at an equal distance from each other
as the pillars for
the sides
at five cubits
or two yards and a half
as commonly computed.
Exodus 27:13 13 The
width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits.
YLT 13And [for] the breadth of the court at the
east side
eastward
[are] fifty cubits.
And the breadth
of the court on the east side eastward
.... Which was the
entrance into it:
shall be fifty
cubits; the east end and west end were of the same measure.
Exodus 27:14 14 The
hangings on one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits
with
their three pillars and their three sockets.
YLT 14And the hangings at the side [are] fifteen
cubits
their pillars three
and their sockets three.
The hangings of
one side of the gate
.... Or entrance into the court:
shall be
fifteen cubits; or seven yards and a half:
their pillars
three
and their sockets three; and so stood at the same distance from one
another as the rest of the pillars did
the distance of five cubits.
Exodus 27:15 15 And
on the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits
with their
three pillars and their three sockets.
YLT 15And at the second side [are] hangings fifteen
[cubits]
their pillars three
and their sockets three.
And on the
other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits
.... On the
other side of the gate
or entrance into the court
on the northeast side
as
the other may be supposed to be the southeast side
there was the same length
of hangings:
their pillars
three
and their sockets three; the same as on the other side of the gate.
Exodus 27:16 16 “For
the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long
woven
of blue
purple
and scarlet thread
and fine woven linen
made by a
weaver. It shall have four pillars and four sockets.
YLT 16`And for the gate of the court a covering of
twenty cubits
blue
and purple
and scarlet
and twined linen
work of an
embroiderer; their pillars four
their sockets four.
And for the
gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits
.... Which
with the fifteen on each side
make the fifty cubits
the breadth of the court
eastward
Exodus 27:13
this
hanging was better than the rest
much finer and richer:
for it was of
blue
and purple
and scarlet
and fine twined linen
wrought with needle work: and was of
the same as the hangings for the door of the holy place
Exodus 26:36 this
was a figure of Christ
and of the graces of the Spirit in him
and of his
bloodshed
sufferings
and death; who is the door into the church
and to the
ordinances of it
and leads on to the holy place
and even to the holy of
holies
see John 10:9.
their pillars
shall be four
and their sockets four: so that the pillars of
this court at both sides and each end were sixty
twenty on each side
south
and north
and ten at each end
west and east.
Exodus 27:17 17 All
the pillars around the court shall have bands of silver; their hooks shall
be of silver and their sockets of bronze.
YLT 17All the pillars of the court round about
[are] filleted [with] silver
their pegs [are] silver
and their sockets brass.
All the pillars
round about the court shall be filleted with silver
.... This is
observed
because only mention is made before of the pillars that were on the
south and north sides of the court
as filleted with silver; but inasmuch as
those at both ends
east and west
were to be so likewise
this is added:
their hooks shall
be of silver
and their sockets of brass; no notice having been taken of the
hooks to the pillars at both ends
though they were as necessary there as
elsewhere
and must be supposed
and though the sockets are mentioned
yet not
their metal
and therefore are in general included here.
Exodus 27:18 18 The
length of the court shall be one hundred cubits
the width fifty
throughout
and the height five cubits
made of fine woven linen
and
its sockets of bronze.
YLT 18`The length of the court [is] a hundred by
the cubit
and the breadth fifty by fifty
and the height five cubits
of
twined linen
and their sockets [are] brass
The length of
the court shall be one hundred cubits
.... And as may be
concluded from the length of the hangings on each side:
and the breadth
fifty everywhere; at both ends
and was the breadth of the hangings there
and
which all around made the court:
and the height
five cubits; or two yards and a half
and somewhat more; it was but half the
height of the tabernacle
and hence that might be seen above it every way; so
that
according to Bishop Cumberland
it contained one rood
twenty one
perches
and twenty seven square feet
and was half an Egyptian aroura
which
is the square of one hundred Jewish or Egyptian cubits: "of fine twined
linen"; of which the hangings were made
and here called the court
as
they properly were
for they made it:
and their
sockets of brass; the bases on which all the pillars stood
upon which the
hangings of fine twined linen were
were of brass; which seems to be repeated
that the foundation of this court might be observed to be different from that
of the tabernacle; the foundation of that
or the sockets
into which the
boards of it were put
being of silver.
Exodus 27:19 19 All
the utensils of the tabernacle for all its service
all its pegs
and all the
pegs of the court
shall be of bronze.
YLT 19even all the vessels of the tabernacle
in
all its service
and all its pins
and all the pins of the court
[are] brass.
All the vessels
of the tabernacle in all the service thereof
.... Which either refers
to the vessels belonging to the altar of burnt offering
and so is a repetition
of what is said
Exodus 27:3 or
rather to instruments that were used at the setting up and taking down of the
tabernacle; such as hammers and the like
to drive the staves into the rings
and knock out the pillars from their sockets
&c.
as Jarchi and Ben Gersom
observe; for otherwise the vessels used in the sanctuary were of gold or
silver
or covered therewith
and not of brass
as these are afterwards said to
be:
and all the
pins thereof; what these were is not easy to say; for there was nothing made
of brass in the holy or most holy place
but the taches or clasps
with which
the curtains of goats' hair were coupled together
and the sockets on which the
five pillars were set at the entrance of the door of the tabernacle
Exodus 26:11 and it
is possible that those pillars might be fastened in their sockets with brass
pins; for the clasps or taches can hardly be called pins:
and all the
pins of the court shall be of brass; these were brass pins
or stakes fastened in the ground all round the court
to which cords were tied
and these fastened to the hangings; whereby they were kept tight and close
that the wind could not move them to and fro
as Jarchi and Ben Melech observe
and so JosephusF11Antiqu. l. 3. c. 6. sect. 2. ; see Isaiah 33:20.
Exodus 27:20 20 “And
you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of
pressed olives for the light
to cause the lamp to burn continually.
YLT 20`And thou -- thou dost command the sons of
Israel
and they bring unto thee pure beaten olive oil for the light
to cause
the lamp to go up continually;
And thou shall
command the children of Israel
.... Here begins a new section of the law;
an account being given of the tabernacle
and its parts
and the furniture
thereof
next the several parts of service done in it are observed; and the account
begins with that of the candlestick in the holy place
in order to which Moses
is directed to command the people of Israel
whose business it was to provide
for it:
that they bring
thee pure oil olive beaten for the light; for the light of the
candlestick
to light up the several lamps in the several branches of it; and
the oil to be brought and used there was not any sort of oil
as what is got
out of fishes
as train oil
or out of nuts
as oil of almonds
but what comes
from the olive tree; and this must be pure and free from lees and dregs
and
must be beaten with a pestle in a mortar
and not ground in a mill
that so it
might be quite clear; for being bruised and beaten
only the pulp or flesh of
the olive was broken
but being ground in a mill
the stones were broken and
ground
and so the oil not so pure.Jarchi and Ben Melech
from their Rabbins
observe
that after the first drop was pressed out
they put them into mills
and grind them; but then
though the oil was fit for offerings
it was not fit
for the light of the candlestick. Ben Gersom says
they put the olives bruised
into a basket
and the oil dropped from them without pressing at all; and this
was the choicest and most excellent for the light. The quantity to be brought
is not fixed; but the measure fixed by the wise men of Israel
as Jarchi says
was half a log
that is
for every lamp; and this was the measure for the
longest nights
the nights of the month Tebet
and so the same for all other
nights:
to cause the
lamp to burn always night and day
continually
as it was proper it should
that the
house of God might not be at any time in darkness; as it would otherwise be
since there were no windows in it; and his servants minister in it in the dark
even in the daytime
at the altar of incense
and at the shewbread table
which
is not reasonable to suppose; and though there are some passages of Scripture
which seem to intimate as though the lamps only burnt till the morning
and
then went out
and were lighted every evening; this difficulty may be solved
and the matter reconciled by what JosephusF12Antiqu. l. 3. c. 8.
sect. 3. relates
who must be an eyewitness of it
that three of the lamps
burned before the Lord in the daytime
and the rest were lighted at the
evening; and HecataeusF13Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 4.
p. 408.
an Heathen writer
speaking of the golden candlestick
says
its
light was unextinguished day and night
particularly the lamp which was in the
middle; also the candlestick is by the ancient Jews
and by Nachmanides
said
to have been never extinct.
Exodus 27:21 21 In the tabernacle of
meeting
outside the veil which is before the Testimony
Aaron and his sons
shall tend it from evening until morning before the Lord. It shall
be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of
Israel.
YLT 21in the tent of meeting
at the outside of the
vail
which [is] over the testimony
doth Aaron -- his sons also -- arrange it
from evening till morning before Jehovah -- a statute age-during to their
generations
from the sons of Israel.
In the
tabernacle of the congregation
.... The reasons usually given for this name
of the tabernacle are
either because the children of Israel gathered and met
together here at certain times
or because here the Lord met with Moses
and
his successors
as he had promised
Exodus 25:22
but
neither of them will hold good; not the first
because the place where the
candlestick was
and which Aaron and his sons are here said to order
was in
the holy place
into which only the priests entered
and therefore could not be
called the tabernacle of the congregation
from the people of Israel being
gathered and assembling there; not the latter
because it was in the most holy
place
where the Lord promised to meet with Moses
and commune with him
even
from between the cherubim over the mercy seat there: indeed
at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation the children of Israel assembled
and there the
Lord met them
and so the whole might be called from thence
and there seems to
be no other reason for it
Exodus 29:42 and
this place was
without the
vail
which is before the testimony; that is
without the
vail which divided between the holy and the most holy place
and which vail was
before the ark
where the law or the testimony was put; for the candlestick was
in that part of the tabernacle which was without the vail
or in the holy
place: and here
Aaron and his
sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord; that is
they
were to take care that the lamps which went out might be lighted; and that they
be kept clear and burning
they were to trim and snuff them
for which they had
proper instruments provided for them
Exodus 25:37. This
points at the word of God
which shines as a light in a dark place
and is a
lamp to the feet
and a light to the path
and to the constant application of
Gospel ministers in preaching it
in order to enlighten men in all ages unto
the end of the world:
it shall be a
statute for ever unto their generations
on the behalf of the children of
Israel; on whom it was incumbent to provide oil for the lamps
as long
as the tabernacle and temple service lasted; and figured out either the
maintenance of Gospel ministers by the churches
or the grace and gifts of the
Spirit
with which they are furnished by the head of the church
often
signified by oil in Scripture.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》