Gatherings of one Accord ~ Menorah ~ Part One

"These I will bring to My holy mountain

and give them joy in My house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will

be accepted on my altar; for My house will

be called a house of prayer for all nations."  

The Sovereign LORD declares--

he who gathers the exiles of Israel:

"I will gather still others to them

besides those already gathered."
Isaiah 56:7-8

When the Lord gathers His people, profound and universal things happen. That is provided; His people are of one accord. The Lord's chosen people were first identified through Abram and are spoken of throughout the holy books as the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Gentiles are grafted in through Jesus Christ's precious sacrifice at Calvary. Whether the gathering is of Jews, non-Jews, or a combination, the Lord performs significant events when He gathers His flock. Here I examine specific gatherings in the scriptures which are followed by a movement of the Lord. Three are original events represented by the menorah lamps on the left of center and are from the Old Testament, or Tenack. The three on the right represent feasts which the Lord ordained in the early days of Moses. The middle lamp, the menorah center, represents the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, our salvation.

The Israelites "multiplied and spread" while serving as slaves in the land of Egypt. The Lord heard their groans to be taken out of bondage and rescued them from oppression. As a traveling troop numbering in the millions of men, women, children, and hand servants, they fled the iron hand of pharaoh. 

The final plague delivered on the house of Pharaoh brought the death of Egypt's firstborn. Their Jehovah redeemer instructed in Exodus 12:12-13 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn--both men and animals--and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.  The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." 

With one accord, the Hebrew nation was obedient. The divisions of tribes made an exodus after 430 years of being beaten with brick and straw quotas. The Pharaoh gave them leave, saying, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go." (Exodus 12:31-32 ) The Lord said, "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD--a lasting ordinance." (Exodus 12:14)

The "Shekinah" glory of the Lord traveled with the Israelites throughout the wilderness journey. The people were never without the visible presence of their maker and deliverer. "By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." (Exodus 13:21-22)

It was God's command that this event never be forgotten. "Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.  Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. "No one is to appear before me empty-handed. This, along with two other Holy Feasts were to never be abandoned. "Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the first fruits of the crops you sow in your field. "Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.  "Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD." (Exodus 23:14-17) As the story of the Hebrew nation unfolds, the Lord continues to use occasions of great gatherings to manifest His Holy and perfect plans.

When Moses appeared before the Lord on the mountain to receive the covenant, the commandments, the instructions, the people waited, gathered below. This second and very significant gathering is purposed for the receiving of The Law. Equipped with inscribed tablets, Moses descended the mountain only to find the people in rebellion, corrupting themselves before the golden image of a calf. Only after some disastrous consequences, and serious repentance, do the Israelites get a second chance at receiving the commandments. The people had to come into one accord and accept the grace of the Father, Jehovah, before they could receive the great gifting delivered to them in the wilderness at Mt. Sinai.

"So Moses proceeded to do all as the Lord had commanded him. 20 Inside the Ark he placed the stones with the Ten Commandments engraved on them, and attached the carrying poles to the Ark and installed the gold lid, the place of mercy. 34 Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filled it. 36 Whenever the cloud lifted and moved, the people of Israel journeyed onward, following it. 37 But if the cloud stayed, they stayed until it moved. 38 The cloud rested upon the Tabernacle during the daytime, and at night there was fire in the cloud so that all the people of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys." (Exodus 40:16, 20, 36-40)

 

A third great gathering occurred when the twelve tribes prepared to enter the promised land. Moses sent a small coalition of spies to access the feasibility of conquering the land. Although the multitude is prepared to take possession of this land of milk and honey, they are unprepared to have faith in the Lord. They whine and rebel and as documented in Numbers 14: 20-25, they are of disaccord, some willing to believe the report of Joshua and Caleb, others fearful and disobedient. "The LORD said, “I forgive them, as you have asked. But as I live and as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, I solemnly swear that  none of the people who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I did in Egypt and in the desert will see the land which I promised their ancestors. They have tested me now ten times and refused to obey me.  None of those who treat me with contempt will see it!  But because my servant Caleb has a different attitude and has wholeheartedly followed me, I'll bring him to the land he already explored. His descendants will possess it. Tomorrow you must turn around, go back into the desert, and follow the road that goes to the Red Sea.”

It was forty years before the gathering would be allowed to return to this point at the Jordan River. Forty long, remorse filled years before they prove themselves of one accord, ready to enter the land God promised their forefathers. Here they received the blessings from their dutiful leader, Moses. The powerful hand of Jehovah, Lord, positioned them in this land, but not until the assembly of peoples were of one accord.

Before the next gathering, over one thousand years are recorded in the Tenack, the Hebrew Bible, a history of the Jewish people, their kings, their prophets, and land. This next coming together, the one which forms the center light for this symbolic menorah, affects all nations although not all choose to believe its divinity.

Here the emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census be taken throughout the Roman Empire. All must return to their ancestral town to be registered. The prophecy describing this event is recorded as early as the first book of the Torah. Over the next thirty years, prophecy by prophecy, the messiah born in the Bethlehem, Immanuel, "God with us" will fulfill the prophetic word of God. How did the nation of promise miss this opportunity to be of one accord? How did they not recognize the messiah, savior, salvation bearer? His people were gathered, they just did not see the light which came by way of the manger.

I believe the second half of this menorah reveals a beautiful blessed message of God's redemptive plan for His people. The ordained feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of the Tabernacles are commandments to assemble before the Lord. When His people come to His altar in one accord and receive His redemption, when they accept His covenant, He will dwell with amongst them as Jehovah-Shammah, "The Lord is There".