THE MENORAH

One of the dramatic sights encountered in Jerusalem turns up in front of you as you walk the winding streets of the Old City.  First the famous Hurva Synagogue comes into view.  Then, once you’ve taken this view in, you turn and discover a golden menorah over 2 metres high, covered in 43kg of 24 carat gold!! There it stands - carefully crafted to the precise requirements of the law in the book of Exodus - in pure gold glory.

It is particularly spectacular  when seen radiating in full sunlight.

This golden menorah is an intentional public statement - a spectacle as a witness to the world.  It is a proclamation.  “We are not hiding it - we are ready to return to our temple worship.  See its radiance - in plain view of all!”       Oh - did I mention it is secured by bullet proof glass and constant surveillance??  Well that is important too!!   It is spectacular, and it is secure!

The Temple Institute constructed a golden menorah that is a replica for the future Third Temple and is currently on display in Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter. This 100-pound (45 kg) menorah, made of pure gold, is an accurate recreation based on archaeological evidence and Jewish law, and is ready to be used in the Holy Temple once it is rebuilt. 

When the modern state of Israel was founded, the Menorah was chosen as its emblem.  It speaks of the continuity and eternity of the Jewish people.  But it goes deeper than this, as if that wasn’t enough!   It calls us to the ancient witness of the Word of God... and the worship of God… in an amazing, sacred lampstand. 

Spiritual Light

The menorah speaks of spiritual light - produced according to obedience to the Word of God.  God revealed to Moses the requirements to build the entire tabernacle (which later became the temple…), including the precision and fine artistry He required to make the menorah.   It was the place that God chose to meet with people, and dwell with people.  Only by following these precise requirements would you produce the uniqueness of the menorah and the unique experience of seeing it and the light it produces.

So note that we are not talking about the western idea of separation of “spiritual” and “secular”.  The menorah was physical and produced a physical light.  But it was also spiritual because it was fashioned according to God’s revealed will, and so revealed exactly what God intended.  Wow.  Reread that last sentence and see the application to our lives…. 

The menorah speaks of eternity.  Light is a symbol of eternity.  Light is  not extinguished. As far as we know it travels into eternity for eternity!  This is what obedience to the Word of God gave to the world. God revealed himself and His eternal nature to the world, and called people seek and find Him in His holy temple.

The menorah speaks of revelation.  We learn to align our perspective according to what God has shown.

While its light illuminates, it takes time and consideration  to understand more fully what we see.  The menorah was not a simple object. It had precise dimensions, and material, and craftsmanship including “fruit” and “cups” and “branches”.   It is one thing to see what is revealed, but it takes time to see further, more clearly.  And some aspects will remain beyond us - that there is more to God’s revelation than we can grasp!  There is mystery to God’s revelation, just as mystery remains for us of God Himself.

There is another important aspect of the menorah and its light that must not be overlooked: it is only experienced by sacrificial atonement.  No one can see the menorah or its light unless they have first made the required sacrifice in the outer court of the temple.  Unless this sacrifice is made by faith as God requires for sin, you go no further. You cannot enter the holy place.  You will not see the menorah or its light.  There was a required sacrifice that makes atonement for the individual, making them acceptable before God to enter the holy place and see the menorah and its light.  Without God’s required provision of a sacrifice for sin, no one can see the menorah or the light it produces.

Consider 1 Corinthians 2:14-15, “a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. But the one who is spiritual discerns all things…”

Spiritual Source

 It should be clear by now that the menorah reveals God to us - so we can know Him and understand His holy and spectacular nature.  Like the light of the menorah, God is eternal.  He is intriguing and inviting (is there anyone who doesn’t love gazing into a fire or candlelight?!?).  He is pure, dispelling darkness    And by Him we see life in its true reality.  Yet He remains mysterious.

Consider Psalm 27:1  “God is my light and my salvation.”  And Hebrews 1:3 says of Jesus, “He is the radiance of [God’s] glory, the exact representation of His nature.”

More is revealed to us in the menorah itself….  It had to be formed from a single piece of pure gold (Ex 25:36), reflecting the unity of God.  The Talmud records the base of the menorah had 3 legs that rose 3 handbreadths high before extending into the 7 branches.  Consider the Scriptures that reveal the triune nature of God (cf. Isa 48:16), and the “sevenfold spirit of God” (cf. Isa 11:2)   And of course the significance of seven conveys completion and perfection and holiness.  The menorah and its light reveal the mysterious nature of God!

Spiritual Enlightenment

 From “light” comes “enlightenment”!!      The menorah leads to encounters with God that reveals more and more.  

 It is a complex artwork that gives the impression of “growing.”  like a living tree.  As mentioned earlier, it has branches and fruit and flowers (Ex 25:31-38) - a “living lampstand” that is ‘nourished’ by the purest oil (a clear reference to the Holy Spirit).    The menora is a “tree of life”.

The Jewish sages correlate the revelation of God in the menorah with the law of God.  If you look at the number of words in the first verses of the books of the law there is an intriguing parallel.

On the menorah there are:

-        11 fruits - Exodus verse 1 starts with 11 words (in Hebrew)

-        9 flowers - Leviticus verse 1 starts with 9 words.

-        22 cups - Deuteronomy verse 1 starts with 22 words

-        17 handbreadths - Numbers starts with 17 words

God’s Word is a “tree of life”.  Proverbs says of God’s wisdom, “She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are those who hold on to her”  (Prov 3:19, sung weekly in the synagogue!).    Both are a tree of life - the revelation in the menorah and Word of God.  Both reveal God and His character and will.  By them we see life, in all its rich spirituality.

Perpetual Light

God’s light is eternal - and so is God’s intention to dwell in the temple of His design in His chosen place  “ I have chosen and consecrated this house so that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there always. ” (2 Chron 7:16)

In harmony with this every synagogue has a ‘Ner Tamid’ - an “eternal light” that hangs as a witness and burns continually, day and night (usually powered by electricity or solar). 

This is why Israel’s national symbol is the menorah - an eternal people sovereignly chosen by God for His forever dwelling.  A people like that will never disappear - which is why they haven’t!!

There is another witness to this in our world: the 9-branch menorah (‘menorah’ in Hebrew literally means ‘lampstand’).  This bears witness to the historic story of Hanukkah where the temple was defiled and the Jewish people were under threat of being swallowed up by Greek culture.  But God - in mercy and jealousy for His covenant promises - cast off the enemy and rededicated the temple according to His law (just as prophesied in Daniel 11:31-32).

So the “Hanukkiah” was created (the 9-branch menorah of Hanukkah) - as a direct reference to God’s preservation of the light in the temple (the “menorah”).  One bears witness to the other!

The light of the “Hanukkiah” shines across the world - wherever there are Jewish people - as a witness from the “eternal people” that God keeps his promises.  Particularly, the promise of His eternal light in the temple. You can either trust your eyes and conclude, “the temple is no more”, or you can see with spiritual eyes and conclude, “the temple (like the nation of Israel) will be seen again.”   By rabbinic law, the Hanukkiah is to be placed in a window or doorstep so the world will see it.  It is a witness to the world of God’s perpetual light through the temple menorah.

Gospel Light

When I first started with The Friends of Israel I went to the U.S. to experience this unique organisation firsthand.  At one of their conferences I heard Peter Colon, a gifted teacher and representative for FOI.  He showed how the structure of the Gospel of John is based on the structure of the temple: showing Jesus’ ministry from the outer court (chapters 1-5), to the holy place (chapters 6-12) and to the most holy place (Chapters 13-21).

I don’t have time to go through all of that here. .. but I want to highlight that in the middle chapters Jesus presents Himself in connection with the features of the holy place in the temple. One of them of course is the Menorah.  This is the context in which Jesus declares “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12).  All I have written previously in this article (and more!) is what Jesus was declaring in this one statement. Wow!

It has a profound context!  He is not saying He is the physical light of the world, but the spiritual light by which we understand God and His revealed will.    It reflects Hebrews 1:3 that we quoted earlier, “He [Jesus] is the radiance of [God’s] glory, the exact representation of His nature.”

Here is a good time to remember that first you must apply God’s required sacrifice for sin if you want to see God’s light.   Before Jesus revealed Himself to be the Light of the world (Jn 8:12), He was revealed as the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn 1:29).  And He did this as recorded in John chapters 13-21 by entering the Most Holy Place and offering  Himself as a sacrifice for sin.  Only by applying this sacrifice to your life - a once for all surrender of your life to God through Jesus’ sacrifice - will you see the light of God.  This is a temple requirement. 

When you apply Jesus’ sacrifice for your life, you join those of faith who see God as “the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor 4:6).   It becomes a tree of revelation and wisdom that grows and flourishes.

The end of the year is the season where both Hanukkah and Christmas are commemorated across the world.  Both point to God’s gracious revelation of Himself and His eternal plan to be eternal light in the place He has chosen.

If you want to get the most out of this article, I highly recommend you take a candle and light it…. and spend some time in reflection while watching the flame flicker and flourish.

What profound depth and significance is revealed in a simple Hebrew word, that simply means “lampstand”!!!