LEVITICUS 57


     We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 24:1 "And the LORD spake
unto Moses, saying," Leviticus 24:2 "Command the children of Israel,
that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to
cause the lamps to burn continually."

     Olive oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit of God. This olive oil,
could not be contaminated in any way, and thus was beaten instead of
being pressed in the olive press. I have mentioned it before, but the
olive press was called a gethsemaene. This, olive oil, in the lamp was
very important. Jesus is the Light of the world, and it would be very
important for this to be pure oil. John the Baptist, baptized with
water, but the baptism of Jesus was with the Holy Ghost and fire. This
oil {Holy Spirit} was never to run low, because it was to fuel the
light continuously.  This light, which was symbolic of Jesus' Light,
was never to go out.  The candlestick in the temple was fueled by this
pure olive oil and was to never go out.  We know that the candlestick,
and the light it produces, symbolize the Light of Jesus. When a person
receives this Light of Jesus, it is very important to keep fueled with
the Holy Spirit of God {pure olive oil}. One of the most vivid
descriptions in the Bible about letting the oil go out of your lamp,
is the parable of the ten virgins. These ten virgins all represent
believers. All are virgins, which symbolize what the condition of the
believers must be when the LORD comes back. II Corinthians 11:2 "For I
am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to
one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ."
In the parable of the ten virgins, who I believe represent people
professing Christianity, five of the virgins run out of oil and are
left behind.  While they are gone searching for more oil for their
lamp, the groom comes. To me this is one of the most vivid
descriptions in the Bible about keeping the Light of Jesus burning
brightly in our lives. If we let our light go out, He might return for
His bride before we are ready.  The Light of Jesus remains in us
through the Holy Spirit within us. We are told to be filled with the
Spirit of God.  Ephesians 5:18 "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is
excess; but be filled with the Spirit;"

     Leviticus 24:3 "Without the veil 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."

     This candlestick, which was just outside the veil leading to the
holy of holies, was made of pure Gold and had seven flutes on it. The
candlestick, and the light were both symbolic of the Light of Jesus.
The olive oil, which fueled the light was symbolic of the Holy Spirit.
To keep the Light of God burning in our churches, the Holy Spirit must
reveal the Truth to the church. The Holy Spirit is Teacher and Guide.
Without the Spirit of God in the church, it would be a dead church. It
could not even be a church that knew the truth without the Holy
Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is our Teacher. Knowing the Truth
comes through the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit makes the Word more
understandable. Psalms 119:105 "Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and
a light unto my path."  John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth:
thy word is truth."   We can easily see that it is almost impossible
to separate the Word, the Truth, and the Spirit.  They are all three
involved in the life of a real believer in Jesus Christ. The Word
brings Life. The Truth brings Life. The Spirit brings Life. You can
easily see the connection.

     Leviticus 24:4 "He shall order the lamps upon the pure
candlestick before the LORD continually."

     The word {order} in the Scripture above means to arrange. There
were seven flutes on this candlestick, remember. It was the high
priest's job to see that all of this was done properly, and was not
forgotten. The fueling with pure olive oil must be done once in the
morning and once in the evening. The Light was never to go out. Notice
the word {pure} in the verse above. It was pure gold, which showed the
Godhood of Jesus.

     Leviticus 24:5  "And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve
cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake."

     Each of these loaves of bread had at least 6 pounds of flour in
them. This would make the twelve loaves weigh over 70 pounds. This
must be fine flour, because these loaves of bread symbolized the Bread
of Life, Jesus Christ. Jesus is not only the eternal Light, but is the
eternal Bread, as well. We must feed upon the Word, which is our
Bread. John 6:35 "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he
that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me
shall never thirst."  There were twelve loaves, indicating there was
Bread for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

     Leviticus 24:6 "And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a
row, upon the pure table before the LORD."

     Notice, that with God, not only is it important to bake twelve
cakes, but the order that they were set on the Table was important, as
well. Notice the word {pure}, again here. This Table symbolizes Jesus,
as well as the Bread did. It is a golden table, which indicates God,
in this case, God the Word.  This Table and the Bread on it both
symbolize Jesus. He is before God in heaven always representing you
and me.

     Leviticus 24:7 "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."

     Frankincense always accompanied the meat offering. This is why
one of the gifts that was brought to Jesus at His birth was
frankincense. The frankincense recognized Jesus as the meat offering.
This Bread, as we have said so many times, represents the flesh of
Jesus.  John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven:
if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread
that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the
world." The memorial spoken of here, is the remembrance of Jesus'
great sacrifice for all of us. The communion we take in church is the
remembrance.  Jesus explains it clearly in 1 Corinthians 11:24 And
when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is
my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.  Some
of the bread covered in frankincense was burned unto the LORD, the
other part of the bread was eaten in the temple by the priest and his
sons. The fact that this bread was offered each week, shows us clearly
that we should be consistent in our giving, as well. We should not
give just now and then, but regularly. May I also state, that it is no
good at all to give, unless it is given freely from the heart.
God would be very pleased with this offering made by fire. This type
offering was for Him alone. Since it was burned up, no one except God
would benefit by it. The other bread, eaten by the priests, shows that
ministers' needs must be taken from the offerings.

     Leviticus 24:8 "Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the
LORD continually, [being taken] from the children of Israel by an
everlasting covenant."

     We can see, that the giving of their share of the offering, was
not an option with them. They must bring their share of the offering
to God, to remain in covenant relationship with God. If they broke
their side of the covenant, God was no longer in covenant with them.

     Leviticus 24:9 "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."

     We went into great detail about exactly how this meat offering
was to be handled in another earlier lesson. We will not go into that
in detail here, but will just remind ourselves of a few important
aspects.  Aaron's and his sons'; just means that whoever is high
priest at the time of the offering and his sons are to eat their part
of the bread. This bread being presented before the LORD made it holy.
It was not to be taken out of the holy place. This bread is for the
minister {high priest} and all believers in Christ {the sons of the
high priest}. The world has rejected their opportunity to eat of this
bread, when they rejected Jesus as Saviour. Not only is the bread
holy, but those who eat of it are made righteous in the sight of God.

Have you eaten this Bread {accepted Jesus as your Saviour}? If not, I
recommend that you not delay.











                             Questions 57

1.  What type of oil were the children of Israel to bring for the
    light?
2.  When was the light to burn?
3.  Who is olive oil symbolic of?
4.  Why were these olives beaten instead of being pressed out to make
    the oil?
5.  What is the name for an olive press in Israel?
6.  Who is the Light of the world?
7.  What was the difference in the way John the Baptist baptized and
    the way Jesus baptized?
8.  What is one of the most vivid illustrations in the Bible of
    someone letting their oil run out?
9.  Who does the author believe the ten virgins represent?
10. How does the Light of Jesus remain in a Christian?
11. Where do we find the Scripture that tells us to be filled with the
    Spirit?
12. Where was this candlestick located?
13. How long was this statute to last?
14. How many flutes were on the candlestick?
15. What metal was it made of?
16. What must be done to keep the Light of Jesus in our churches?
17. What are two of the things the Holy Spirit does for the believer?
18. What kind of a church would you have without the Spirit?
19. Knowing the truth comes through what?
20. Where do we find the Scripture that says "Thy word is a lamp unto
    my feet"?
21. In John chapter 17 verse 17, we see the Word is ______.
22. What three things are almost impossible to separate, because they
    all bring Life?
23. What does the word {order} mean in verse 4?
24. Who was in charge of seeing that the candlestick was properly
    cared for?
25. How often was the candlestick filled with olive oil?
26. What does the word pure mean in verse 4?
27. How many cakes were baked for the table?
28. Approximately how much did each of these cakes weigh?
29. Why did this have to be made with fine flour?
30. Quote John chapter 6 verse 35.
31. How was the bread to be placed on the table?
32. What did the fact that this was a golden table show us?
33. What, besides the bread, was to be put on the table?
34. What type of an offering was this offering?
35. Why did the wise men bring frankincense to Jesus at His birth?
36. Who is the Living Bread?
37. What is the communion that we take in church?
38. What shows us that we should be consistent in our giving?
39. What must they do to stay in covenant with God?
40. Where was Aaron and his sons to eat the offering?
41. Who is the Bread for in our day?
42. Have you eaten of the Bread of Life?