Bible Study on Exodus 27, verses 9 to 21, an eternal flame

 

Exodus 27:9 ¶  And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side: 10  And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11  And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 12  And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. 13  And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. 14  The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15  And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 16  And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. 17  All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. 18  The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. 19  All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.

 Exodus 27:20 ¶  And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. 21  In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

Of the many things that can be discussed about this passage I want to focus on the olive oil for the flame that is never to go out. This is the origin of the eternal flame in everything from ancient Persian religion down to the flame at a tomb or memorial in modern times. For the Christian the oil represents the Holy Spirit, in type, and the light it gives. We have the ability to quench the light the Holy Spirit gives us although not our salvation.

1Thessalonians 5:19  Quench not the Spirit.

We do this by sin, by our love of the world and our embracing of its standards, and by not focusing on God. There are several verses in the Old and New Testaments that are important to this idea. These are some but certainly not all.

We must keep our minds focused on God.

Isaiah 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

 

Philippians 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 

We must not adopt the world’s standards.

 

Luke 16:15  And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

 

1John 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

 

Much of our sorrow comes from misplaced loyalties, idolatry, and covetousness.

 

1Timothy 6:6 ¶  But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

 

We, too, have a flame that must be kept burning in the tabernacle of our hearts. We can let it be quenched by not focusing on God and by loving things other than Him. We are still saved because it was He who did the saving and not we who saved ourselves. But, we can walk around blindly in darkness without the light of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Of course, typology always breaks down at some point and while it is good to use types as a way of learning a principle in the Bible it is not good to ride that horse to death. We do not provide the fuel for the fire. God provides it. We choose by our actions to allow the flame to lead us or we by our actions choose to quench it. It is still there but we are of all people most miserable when it is not our guide.