The Vision of the Tabernacle

Chapter 7

Service to God

Verses 18-21 of 2 Corinthians 5 shows us that God wants us to be reconciled to Him. Because we were His enemies, we should have been the ones seeking to be reconciled to Him. However, God was the One who took the initiative to reconcile us to Himself in Christ. We were in the world, dead in offenses and sins, on our way to the lake of fire, when God bought us with the precious blood of His Son in order to make us His priests to serve Him.

Today, as priests we can enter into the Holy Place to serve God. This service is mainly related to the table of the bread of the Presence and the lampstand. The lampstand had seven lamps that were like the old kerosene lamps. Oil was placed in a lamp, and a wick, which was a piece of twisted cloth, absorbed the oil. The wick was then lit and, depending on how much oil was used, the wick was used up leaving a charred part on the end. This charred part had to constantly be cut off so there would not be smoke and to cause the light to shine again.

This was the very service being carried out with the lampstand two times a day. In the morning, the priest would cut the burned wick and at night he would add more oil. What is the spiritual significance of this? We see that the lampstand signifies a biblical truth, from which we receive light. However, in order for this light to shine brighter and brighter, we need to spend time studying the Bible in God’s presence. If we seek God daily, reading His word with prayer, we will receive more light concerning ourselves and concerning Him. This study, however, is not aimed merely at increasing our doctrinal knowledge, but rather to help us to receive the word of God as spirit and life that we might contact God Himself in His word.

Although this service can cause us to be joyful and full of enjoyment, it still does not fully satisfy God. As we seek to know the truths, they will prepare and equip us for God’s work, but even so, it is still possible that we would not be involved with God Himself or know the deepest desire of His heart. For this reason Paul beseeched the Corinthians to be reconciled to God (1 Cor. 5:20). Paul’s word surely was not directed to unbelievers (some understand reconciliation to be necessary only for unbelievers), but was for believers, the servants of God in Corinth. The Lord does not only want us to serve Him but to be reconciled to Him. We can invest most of our time in studying the Bible or feeding the saints in small family meetings, but if we are not fully reconciled to God, living in the Holy of Holies, our service will be incomplete and will not fully satisfy Him. God Himself is beseeching us through Paul to be reconciled to Him. More than all that we can do for Him, God wants us to live in the Holy of Holies in intimate fellowship, face-to-face with Him all the time. This is the deep, burning desire of His heart.

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