Leviticus 24:1

In the chapter just discussed, there were seven feasts mentioned. And it is one of the features of Leviticus that there are many recurrences of "seven's." Arthur E. Smith compiled this list of "Sevens in Leviticus":

Seven days from sabbath to sabbath.

Seven years between sabbatical years.

Seven sabbatical years led to the Jubilee.

Seven days of life before a lamb could be taken from its mother.

Seven times the blood was sprinkled on the great Day of Atonement.

Seven places where the blood was sprinkled:

(a) the mercy-seat;

(b) before the mercy-seat;

(c) before the veil;

(d) upon the horns of the altar of incense;

(e) "round about upon the altar";

(f) on the horns of the bronze altar; and

(g) at the base of the bronze altar.

Seven feasts in Leviticus 23.

Seven mentioned forty times in Leviticus.

Seven days in the feast of Passover.

Seven days in the feast of Pentecost.

Seven days in the feast of Tabernacles.

Seven examples of forgiveness of sins and appropriate trespass-offerings.

Seven is mentioned fourteen times in both chapters on leprosy.

Seven days were required for purification.

Seven days were required for consecration.[1]

Some scholars, failing to understand the author's purpose in this chapter, have considered it "an interpolation," but Keil pointed out that when "rightly understood," Leviticus 24 loses "all appearance of an interpolation."[2] It is the people themselves in this chapter who were to be involved continually in the worship of God. They were to bring the fine oil for the candlestick and the fine flour for the showbread every week. Not merely upon the great national feast just elaborated in Leviticus 23, but at all times, continually, all Israel was to be employed in God's worship. Even in those particulars where the duties of the priests are given, their typical nature applicable to the entire totality of Christian believers in the New Covenant makes even those priestly instructions for the benefit of the whole congregation of God's people; and, therefore it is incorrect to view this chapter as a "misplaced" or "interpolated" addition to the priestly duties already mentioned. We may outline this chapter thus:

<MONO>

I. Introduction (Leviticus 24:1).

II. Certain Duties of the People

A. In service of the candlestick (lampstand) (Leviticus 24:2-4)

B. In service of the showbread (Leviticus 24:5-9)

III. A Case of Blasphemy

A. The offense (Leviticus 24:10-12)

B. The Judgment of God (Leviticus 24:13-22)

C. Blasphemer Executed by the People (Leviticus 24:23)MONO>

"Leviticus is essentially a narrative work."[3] The reason for the injection at this point of the story of the blasphemer probably came about from the fact that the occasion for this law arose while Moses was giving instructions about the oil and the fine flour. "The laws were given at specific times and places to meet particular situations."[4] It appears likely that Moses was in the process of writing the Pentateuch throughout nearly all of the forty years of his leadership of Israel. If that is the way it was done, then, of course, it would account for the strange arrangement of much of what he wrote.

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. Without the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, shall Aaron keep it in order from evening to morning before Jehovah continually: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. He shall keep in order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before Jehovah continually."

"Jehovah spake unto Moses ..." The constant repetition of words such as these must be accounted the most important thing in the Pentateuch. It is God Himself who authored the instructions and commandments of the Bible.

"Pure olive oil ..." Coleman tells how they made this:

"To obtain this oil, they first pounded the olives or pressed them to squeeze out the juice. Then they strained the juice to remove the pulp. Then, when the oil rose to the surface of the juice, they skimmed it off."[5]

"A lamp to burn continually ..." Based upon such passages as 1 Samuel 3:3, Allis and other dependable scholars limited this to mean "burn continually every night."[6] Orlinsky supported this view rendering "regularly" instead of "continually," declaring that "continually" is misleading.[7] William Tyndale, however, rendered the word which appears repeatedly in Leviticus 24:2; Leviticus 24:3; and Leviticus 24:4, as "allwaye ... allwayes ... perpetually."[8] Certainly our ASV can hardly mean anything else except perpetually, day and night. Josephus flatly declared that the lights burned all of the time, day and night. "They were also to keep oil already purified for the lamps; three of which were to give light all day long upon the sacred candlestick from God, and the rest were to be lighted at evening."[9] Simeon cited Exodus 30:7; 2 Chronicles 13:11; and 1 Samuel 3:3 as the basis for the doubts of some that the lights burned continually, but we agree with him that, "The word continually is plain and that Josephus could not but know the practice of his day."[10] To us it appears absolutely necessary that the lights should have burned both day and night because: (1) there was no other source of light in the Holy Place; and (2) the thing typified by the candlestick (lampstand), whether Christ, or the Church, or the Word of God, or all three would have absolutely required their burning CONTINUALLY, without any intermission whatever.

As to the ultimate reality typified by the candlestick (lampstand) and its perpetual light, Unger identified it as "Israel."[11] Seiss called it, "A beautiful picture of the Church of Jesus."[12] McGee called it, "The most accurate and beautiful picture of Christ in the whole tabernacle."[13] And in my commentary on Hebrews it was presented as the perfect type of the Word of God (See my commentary on Hebrews 9:2). These views are not contradictory, for the candlestick (lampstand) typified all of these. Christ is the true Israel, so is the Church, and the Church is the spiritual body of Christ, and Christ himself is the Word!