Introduction
The Tabernacle was a beautiful place...
many of the furnishings adorned with gold...some with bronze...
The beautiful colorful fabrics...
I’m sure it must have been a sight to behold...
however, the beauty of the tabernacle is not found in the precious metals or the colorful fabrics...
The beauty of the tabernacle is because it was the place where the presence of God dwelt...
The Children of Israel KNEW that God was with them...
that He was in their midst...
And that is what the tabernacle signified...
For us...
we no longer have the tabernacle...
although we have our church buildings which might bear some rudimentary resemblance to the tabernacle...and later the temple...
But we have something even better...
we can enjoy the presence of God dwelling within US!!
We are God’s tabernacle...
Like the song says, “Lord, prepare ME to be a sanctuary...
I’ll be a living sanctuary for You”1
The tabernacle stands as a model...
a portrait...
or a picture...
we look at the tabernacle...
and in it, we see the deep meaning for us even today.
Last, week, we entered the outer court of the tabernacle...
and stopped at the altar of sacrifice...
the altar of sacrifice was where the people would bring an animal to sacrifice...
the people realized that sin had a very steep price...
the shedding of blood and the death of the animal...
And that animal that they brought became the substitute for their sin...
Jesus Christ stepped in and became the ultimate sacrifice...
He was the substitute once and for all for OUR sin...
He was pure and holy, “without spot or blemish” to use the terminology of the Old Testament reserved for the lamb or goat that would be sacrificed...
And now, the next item of furniture that we come to is the bronze laver...
or wash basin.
Read Text: Exodus 30:17-21
The Use of the Bronze Laver2
The Bronze Laver was used for Purification before and during and after the use of the altar.
Of all the furniture that God told Moses they should make...
there were no specifications for the wash basin.
It would likely have been a good size since it would have been used quite a lot...
Some commentators indicate that it might have been fed by some water source...
allowing it to be filled and emptied...
If not, the water would have to be changed frequently throughout the day...
Before the priest would sacrifice the animal that a family had brought...
he would cleanse himself in the wash basin...
After the sacrifice...which, as you might imagine, would have been dirty work...
He would clean again...
He would definitely clean himself before entering the Holy Place or The Most Holy Place.
Also, the brass basin would be used to clean the inner parts of the sacrificial animal...
The symbolism here shows us that we need to be more than just clean on the outside...
we need to be cleansed and holy on the inside as well.
The bronze basin was used as part of the Ordination into Priesthood
When a man would have been ordained into the priesthood...
he would be cleaned in the laver as a means of ordination...(Exodus 29:4)
symbolic of their need to be sanctified for service...
And then, Once a Year on the Day of Atonement
The Priest would cleanse his entire body before getting dressed in his priestly garments...
before he would enter The Most Holy Place...(Leviticus 16:24)
and then, Every day, the wash basin would be used to clean before entering the tabernacle
Great importance was placed upon being clean before entering into the presence of God.
This frequent use of water to clean themselves would have been a constant reminder of the holiness of God...
and the importance of being clean and pure in the sight of God.
As a result of all this cleansing, the brass wash basin would have been the busiest furnishing in the tabernacle.
The Position of the Bronze Wash Basin is noteworthy as well.
It was to be placed between the Altar of Sacrifice and the Tabernacle proper
The sin problem has been dealt with at the altar of sacrifice...
but, as the priest went about inside the courtyard, he would pick up the dust and dirt from the ground upon his feet...
he would pick up whatever dirt from what his hands had touched...
So, before he would step into the tabernacle proper...
he would stop at the bronze wash basin, and wash off the dust and dirt that he had picked up along the way...
it was important for them to be clean in the spiritual sense...
having their sins forgiven at the altar of sacrifice...
and it was important for them to be clean physically...
so, they would wash off whatever dirt they had collected upon themselves before they stepped into the Holy Place...
Metaphorically...It is important for us to deal with the “dust and dirt” of life that we pick up as we go along life’s journey...
We can ask for forgiveness for our sins...
but, once we have had our sins forgiven, that doesn’t mead that we are done...
As we go through life...
as we face temptations and trials...
as we come into contact with a sinful world...
we must be very careful that we haven’t allowed the sin of the world to enter in to our lives...
we want to come into God’s presence clean and holy and pure...
if we have succumbed to temptation...
if we have spoken harshly or judgmentally against someone...
if we have gossiped...
if we have lied to someone...
any sin that has entered our hearts...
we need to address it...
we need to seek the cleansing of the Holy Spirit...
we must be so overcome by the holiness of God...
that we don’t allow anything come between our soul and the Savior.
The Mirrors
Commentators differ on the meaning of using mirrors in the construction of the wash basin...
to me, the symbolism means that we need to often look upon our spiritual reflection...
we must often, every day, evaluate our spiritual appearance so that we are constantly aware of our spiritual condition...
if we ever get to the point that we are afraid to the look at ourselves in the spiritual mirror...
and evaluate where we are with God...
then that just increases the danger of allowing sin to come in and separate us from God...
It’s not always pleasant to look at ourselves...
and find fault with our spiritual lives...
but if we are going to live a holy life...
we better get use to these frequent evaluations!
Symbolically...
The altar of sacrifice represents salvation from our sins.
The Brass Washbasin represents sanctification for service...
when we come into the presence of God...
we desire to be clean and holy and pure...
like the chorus says, “pure and holy, tried and true”...
In Moses’ day, only the priests would use the washbasin...
but we who call ourselves Christians...
Followers of Jesus Christ...
1 Peter 2:5 “you ... are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”
No longer do we rely on the priest to bring sacrifices on our behalf...
we offer our own sacrifices before God...
we have Direct access into the presence of God
Heb 10:19-22 says,
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Conclusion
We can approach God on our own...
we don’t need a priest to offer a sin offering for us...
and we don’t need him to use the bronze wash basin...
before he goes into the presence of God on our behalf...
We can come into God’s presence ourselves...
However, it is still important that we stop at the altar of sacrifice...
and make atonement for our sins...
and, it is still important that we don’t allow the dirt of the world to accumulate upon us...
may we cleanse ourselves as often as needed...
whenever we get “dirty”...
may we approach the bronze laver again and become clean and holy and pure...
I would hope that we would have a such a strong opinion of the holiness of God...
that we wouldn’t take our sin so lightly and nonchalantly...
may we deal with our sin at the bronze wash basin before we enter into the Holy of Holies.
1 John Thompson and Randy Scruggs
2 Levy, David M. “The Tabernacle: Shadows of the Messiah” was instrumental in preparing this sermon.
