Scripture: “You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.”
Exodus 27:20-21 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Yesterday’s Daily Focus, the courtyard will be an open space surrounding the enclosed Holy Place and its adjoining Most Holy Place. Its dimensions will be 150 feet (north and south sides) by 75 feet (east and west sides). Comprised of hanging curtain walls woven with fine twine linen, its panels will hang from bronze pillars set on bronze bases using silver hooks and fillets (rods that join the pillars). Twenty pillars will support the north and south sides each, ten will accommodate the east side, and three will stabilize each curtain wall adjoining the east side’s entrance gate. The gate will extend 7.5 feet high by 30 feet wide, dividing the two curtain walls (22.5 feet each). Seamsters will fashion the gate’s curtain with fine twisted linen, yarn (blue, purple, and scarlet), and embroidered needlework (similar to the elegance of the veil of the Most Holy Place).
Today’s reading addresses the oil for the lamp. Yahweh directs Moses to command the people to bring their share of pure beaten olive oil to burn for the light on the golden lampstand. Yahweh further directs Moses to instruct Aaron and his sons to maintain the lamp’s light from evening until morning before the presence of the Lord and ensure the succession of these priestly duties into perpetuity.
Takeaway: In these ancient times, to obtain a quality of clear oil that would produce minimal smoke and clearer light, one must harvest unripened olives and pound them in a mortar (rather than in a mill). Once mashed, the pulp is removed and placed in a basket for food, and the liquid dripped through another basket. While it is unclear where the Israelites would have obtained olives in this wilderness region, theologian Hahum Sarna contends they would have brought the processed oil from Egypt (The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus, p.175).
Regarding referring to the tabernacle as the “tent of meeting” (v.20), this eponym will be repeated thirty-two more times in the book of Exodus. But why the “tent of meeting”? Sarna adds that it stresses the tabernacle’s oracular function (p.176): God speaks to his representatives in this tent. As such, Aaron and his sons must maintain the lamp from dusk to dawn to ensure no darkness infringes on God’s dwelling place (see 30:8; 1 Samuel 3:3). And they must instruct the next generation to uphold this practice.
Our takeaway? Aaron and his sons were the only authorized mediators to stand before God. Regretfully, Nadab and Abihu would later offer unauthorized fire, compromising their priestly duties before the Lord. Paying the price of their lives (Leviticus 10:1-2), their loss highlighted the solemn gravity of entering into the Lord’s presence at the tent of meeting to offer one’s gifts and sacrifices. The same applies today when we enter into the Lord’s presence (our “tent of meeting), whether in worship, prayer, reading and reflecting on Scripture, or service to him. We must not treat these moments casually as if God is our equal but reverently in anticipation that he will reveal his will to us.
Our part? Keep in step with Christ’s light as we press on in this world’s darkness. Easier said than done? Yep. Some overzealously rush ahead of the light while others fearfully lag behind it. But as David reminds us, the Lord keeps our lamp burning, turning our darkness into light (Psalm 18:28), and his word is a lamp for our feet (Psalm 119:105). Indeed, we must remember that God sustains us (keeps our lamp burning) and shows us the way forward—lighting our way for the next step. So, while the Lord welcomes our earnest petitions, we will fare better if we first ask him to speak his oracles to our minds and hearts (seek his direction). Then, as he enlightens our minds, we pace ourselves in sync with the light of the Lord’s oracles.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for your Son, the Light of our world who overcame the darkness (John 1:5) and set us free from its power (John 12:46) so that we might walk in his light of life (John 8:12). Still, we are prone to misstep, racing ahead or lagging behind your Son’s directions. So, please help us pause and listen to you, your Son, and your Holy Spirit’s oracles, trusting in your sustenance while synchronizing with your Son’s light as it reveals the next step toward growing your and his kingdom and glorifying your names. Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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