The Lord gave Moses and the people careful instructions as to how the 7-pronged menorah should be crafted.  (Exodus 25:31-40)  This is the lampstand that gave light to the otherwise dark, interior of the Holy Place in the Tabernacle.  It is the centerpiece of the miracle of Hanukkah, where, by tradition, oil never ran out during the rededication of the Temple in the Maccabean revolt in 166 B.C., despite an impossible scarcity.  It is also thought that this lampstand might have represented God’s intended purpose that Israel should be a light to the gentiles (Isa. 60:1-3  “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.  For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the people, but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you.  And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”  God would make them to be this light to the gentiles through His sending of the Messiah to them.

Isaiah 9:1-2  “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish . . . The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”

Jesus Messiah is life and the light of men.  “And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness did not comprehend it. . . There was the True Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.”   John 1:4, 5, 9

Does God give us the same charge that He issued to Paul?   “. . . to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”        Acts 26:17

Lord, enlighten us, bring healing light to the darkest corners of our lives, so that we can shine into the darkness around us, bringing healing, light, peace, and joy to the distressed, distracted world around us.