CHAPTER 24

(1490 B.C.)

THE LAMPS

¹And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

²Command the Children of Israel, that they bring unto you pure oil olive beaten for the light (the pure oil represents the Grace of the Holy Spirit, founded upon the Work of Christ, as exhibited by the Lampstand of beaten gold), to cause the Lamps to burn continually (the olive was pressed to yield oil, and the gold was beaten to form the Lampstand; in other words, the Grace and Light of the Spirit are founded upon the Death of Christ and maintained in clearness and power by the Priesthood of Christ; the lamp burning continually refers to the fact that Christ was led perfectly by the Holy Spirit at all times).

³Without the Veil of the Testimony, in the Tabernacle of the congregation (in the Holy Place, the first room of the Tabernacle), shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually (the Lamps were to be attended by the Priests every morning at 9 a.m., the time of the morning Sacrifice, and every evening at 3 p.m., the time of the evening Sacrifice; at that time, the wicks were to be trimmed, or replaced, and the oil replenished): it shall be a Statute forever in your generations (its fulfillment under the New Covenant pertains to the Holy Spirit abiding in the heart and life of the Believer forever [Jn. 14:16-17]).

⁴He shall order the Lamps upon the pure Candlestick (Lampstand) before the LORD continually (this was a continuous process that demanded attention every morning and every evening, and must not be neglected; it was before the Lord).

SHEWBREAD

⁵And you shall take fine flour (Type of the Perfect Life of Christ), and bake twelve cakes thereof (twelve is Gods number for Government; however, we must always remember that its the Government of God, as outlined in Gods Word, and not the government of man; this has always been the greatest hindrance to the Work of God; men attempt to change the Government of God by instituting man-devised government, and claiming it to be of God): two tenth deals shall be in one cake (the cake represents Christ, and refers to the fact that Government is strictly of Him [Rev. 1:12-16]).

⁶And you shall set them in two rows, six on a row (all of this bread representing Christ), upon the pure table before the LORD (this pure table was covered with pure gold that stood before the Lord; pure frankincense was to be burned upon the pure table; this signifies that all things connected with Jehovah and His worship were to be pure, thus typifying the purity of life and conduct of the worshippers who come before Him).

⁷And you shall put pure frankincense (a bitter substance) upon each row (there were two stacks of cakes, six to the stack, with a container of frankincense on top of each stack, continually burning), that it may be on the bread for a memorial (the memory of Christ must be kept alive constantly, which, by and large, pertains to what He did for us at the Cross), even an Offering made by fire unto the LORD (the burning of the frankincense at the top of the stacks made the Shewbread an Offering made by fire unto Jehovah; actually, the loaves were not burned in the fire, for they were to be eaten by the Priests in the Holy Place as the most holy of the Offerings; the fire represented judgment, whether the burning out of dross in the lives of Believers [Mat. 3:11], or judgment for sin [Lev. 10:1-2]).

⁸Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually (every Sabbath, all twelve loaves of the bread were to be eaten by the Priests, with new loaves taking their place; it was a Type of our partaking of Christ as the Bread of Life [Jn. 6:58]), being taken from the Children of Israel by an Everlasting Covenant (pertains to the fact that every Israelite had to give a half shekel of silver each year, which contributed annually toward the maintenance of the service in the Sanctuary, the securing of ingredients, etc.; silver represented Redemption, which is what Christ would bring about as a result of His death on the Cross).

⁹And it shall be Aarons and his sons (refers to the entirety of the Priesthood, which were to be in the lineage of Aaron); and they shall eat it (each Sabbath) in the Holy Place (the first room of the Tabernacle): for it is most holy (because it typified Christ in His Perfection, with that perfection given to Believers, typified by the bread being eaten by the Priests) unto him of the Offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual Statute (all of this was fulfilled in Christ, but it continues to be perpetual in that Believers are to partake of Christ constantly; He is our rest, typified by the Sabbath).

BLASPHEMY

¹⁰And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the Children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp (this is a picture, in type, of the nation of Israel itself, represented by the son of the Israelitish woman, who would seek to kill the true man of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ);

¹¹And the Israelitish womans son blasphemed the Name of the Lord and cursed (the idea is, he cursed God and Gods Law). And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mothers name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan [the fact that both her personal and tribal names are so distinctly specified here indicates that the record of this incident is designed to point out the ungodly issue of so unholy an alliance, and to guard the Hebrew women against intermarriage with heathen]:)

¹²And they put him in ward (a jail cell), that the mind of the LORD might be shown them (the subjection of mind that appears in this Verse, and the anxiety to do what God wished, and not to act in the heat of their own judgment, is very gracious Williams).

THE VERDICT

¹³And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

¹⁴Bring forth him who has cursed without the camp; and let all who heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him (physical death under the New Covenant is not now demanded, because Jesus fulfilled the Law in every respect, in effect dying for all; but still, to be sure, spiritual death follows for anyone who takes the Word of God lightly).

¹⁵And you shall speak unto the Children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curses his God shall bear his sin (shall suffer the consequences).

¹⁶And he who blasphemes the Name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger (Gentile), as he who is born in the land, when he blasphemes the Name of the Lord, shall be put to death.

¹⁷And he who kills (murders) any man shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸And he who kills a beast shall make it good; beast for beast (these Laws had already been given and recorded in Exodus, Chapter 21; at least one of the reasons they are repeated is that it must be known that they are applicable alike to the proselyte, the Gentile, and the Israelite).

¹⁹And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he has done, so shall it be done to him;

²⁰Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he has caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again (actually, these Laws were seldom carried out; most of the time, a value in money was placed upon the infraction, with it being paid to the victim, that is, if wrong had actually been done).

²¹And he who kills a beast, he shall restore it: and he who kills a man, he shall be put to death.

²²You shall have one manner of Law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God (as previously stated, there must be one manner of Law, applicable in the same manner for all).

²³And Moses spoke to the Children of Israel, that they should bring forth him who had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the Children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.