THE LAVER
(Ex. 30:17-21; 38:8)
We have studied DECISION at the gate, (God’s provision for sinful man) and ACCEPTANCE at the alter of sacrifice. We now come to the third step in the approach of man to God, namely, CLEANSING at the laver.
Exodus 30:1 7-21
• The laver was a basin of brass set on a stand or pedestal, called the foot."
• And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
“Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD: So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and his seed throughout their generations."
1. For the priests.
• For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet thereat" (Ex. 30:19).
• God had purposed that Israel should be "a kingdom of priests" (Ex. 19:6).
"And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.
• Israel broke God's law so the priestly office was shut up to Aaron and his sons
Ex. 28:1
And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he
may minister unto me in the priest's office..”
• A priest is a person who has access to God
• Through the rent veil of Christ's body (Heb.10:20) all believers have access to God. “By a new and living way,
which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the
house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an
evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
All believers are now priests (I Pet. 2:9).
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
2. The materials
• The materials in the wall, the gate, and the altar of sacrifice have been very significant…The same is true of the
laver.
" And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the looking-glasses of the women assembling,
which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." (Exodus 38:8.)
3. The purpose.
• In their priestly service the hands and the feet of the priests became soiled.
• The laver provided a place of cleansing.
Water was placed into this receptacle of brass.
• The looking glasses were used to show defilement. Brass always speaks of judgment.
• The looking-glass in Scripture is a symbol of the written Word of God; as it is written:
..”if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For
he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner he was." (James 1:23,24.)
• Looking into the Word of God is compared to looking into a glass
• The Laver made of the looking-glasses is a symbol of the written Word of God.
2 Cor 3:1 8
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same
image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
• As we look into the mirror of God's word we should be changing from "GLORY to GLORY.....or 'from character
to character’. God's word should be cleansing us....that is changing us to be more like Jesus. We should read
God’s word and see ourselves just as if we looked into a mirror. God’s word reveals to us the need we have to
clean the dirt from our face and so we wash it off. Getting mad at the mirror and smashing it for revealing the
mess on our face would be insanity. Yet that is what many in fact do when they refuse to allow God’s word to
bring about repentance.
• When the doctor tells you bad news.....typically you don’t hit the doctor…you listen to him if you want to get
better. When the word of God informs you that you are living the wrong way, then you change your ways
rather than getting mad at the preacher and God.
• The laver was filled with water and the priests were commanded to wash in it when performing the service of
the Tabernacle.
• As priests unto the Lord we must wash in, and apply the Word of God to our life daily.
3. Scripture tells us there is a washing in and by the written Word.
Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." (Ephesians 5:25, 26.)
• Just as there is a washing by water that cleanses and purifies,
• So there is a washing in the Word of God that cleanses morally and spiritually
• Ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." (John 1 5:3.)
• There is a washing of water also by the word that is called the washing of regeneration:
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Titus 3:5.
• The word " washing " should be rendered " laver.
• " The literal reading would be: 'According to his mercy he saved us by the laver of regeneration.
• As it was impossible to enter into the Tabernacle except by washing in the laver, so is it impossible to enter into
and become a living member of the Church of Jesus Christ except by and through the new birth.
" Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5.) (Some
mistaken use this scripture to mean baptism but baptism can’t save you)
• Literally: " Except a man be begotten out of the water and out of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
God."
• Water when spoken of in connection with the Spirit signifies the Word in and under the operation of the Spirit;
The washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."
• Renewing and regeneration are here in the same category.
• Regeneration is not only in and by the laver-the Word of God-it is by the operation of the Holy Ghost in applying
the Word.
4. The Position
• The laver stood in direct line with the gate, the altar of sacrifice, the altar of incense, the ark of the covenant,
mercy seat, and the glory cloud in which God dwelt.
• It is apparent, that cleansing from the defilement of sin is necessary in the approach to God.
Psa. 66:18 - "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me"
5. The hands and feet to be washed.
• A Methodist once said that the laver represented consecration, but Aaron and his sons were consecrated when
inducted into office..
• A Presbyterian said it represented the sprinkling of infants, but these were grown men.
• An Episcopalian and Methodist said it stood for confirmation, but they did this for themselves and not others.
• Lastly, the Baptist said it was for immersion, but there was not enough water for that purpose…….
• All were wrong.
• The explanation is simple. The hands represented service; the feet represented walk.
• Our service and our walk must be clean.
• We are working and walking in a world of sin; we become defiled and need daily cleansing.
4. This is beautifully pictured in John 13:1-10.
• Christ said to Peter, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me."
• What did Peter say!…Then Peter went to the extreme and said, "Not my feet only, but also my hands and my
head. "
• The Lord’s reply brings out the teaching of the laver
"He that is bathed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit." Peter had been bathed in the waters of regeneration once for all; he needed the cleansing from the defilement of sin. Peter found out this very truth that very night.
6. The Contrast.
• Mark the contrast between the altar of sacrifice and the laver of cleansing.
• T e altar spoke of what Christ did for us on Calvary
• The laver spoke of our daily needs of His intercession at the Throne and our cleansing by the washing of the
water by the Word.
• And the Spirit's enabling power, whose sword is the word of God
• By the work of Christ on the cross we are saved from the penalty of sin once and for all
• By the Holy Spirit and the Word of God we should be daily cleansed from the power of sin.
• Suppose the priest had said, "I washed this morning, I have no further need for I am clean." He would have
been deceiving himself.
John 3:8
"if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in
• No one is so blind as the one who does not see the defiling effects of sin.
7. Warning.
• It was not a matter of opinion for Aaron and his sons to wash at the laver. The command was, "When they go,
into the tabernacle of the congregation they shall wash with water, that they die not" (Ex. 30:20).
• The equivalent truth for New Testament priests is found in the words, "For if we would judge ourselves we
should not be judged" (I Cor. 11:31).
• That some of the Corinthians saints had not done this is shown by the fact that many were weak and sickly
among them, and many slept (died) (I Cor. 11:30).
• The Word is the instrument, the Holy Spirit is the Agent.
• The Apostle says
" Our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost." Thessalonians 1: 5.
• Not in the water of baptism….Not in any baptismal pool…Or Ritual …
• But through the written Word and by the Spirit only can a human being be begotten again and become a
child of God.
It is the foolishness of preaching that tells about how a savior came from Glory
• In the likeness of sinful flesh….yet without sin
• How he dwelt “tabernacled” among sinful man (pitched his tent)
• How he died on Calvary's tree was buried and rose again according to the scriptures
• The word of God quickened by the holy spirit tells sinful man of God’s plan for mankind
• Let it be remembered then, this Brazen Laver at the door of the Tabernacle, though voiceless, proclaimed to all
who would enter the Church of Jesus Christ: " Ye must be born again."
• The priest who would serve in the Tabernacle must daily wash his hands and feet in the laver.
" So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not." Exodus 30:21
• Hands are for service and feet are for our walk
• The Christian who would serve the Lord effectively must walk before the Lord acceptably.
SET APART AND SANCTIFIED FOR THE SERVICE OF THE LORD
• Both his walk as well as his service must be clean.
• However much by grace through faith we become the children of God, the Lord will not fellowship us in any
uncleanness, whether by deed or word or thought.
• The Christian can be kept clean in walk and service only as he applies the Word of God to his daily life, and as he
or she is filled to over-flowing with the spirit of God. There is one thing the Christian must do if he would keep
in spiritual health and purity: He must take a bath every day in the Word of God; Every day we must wash in
this laver of regeneration and we will be changed from GLORY to GLORY
• The Christian who fails to do this will sooner or later find the flesh manifesting itself. Sin will creep in slowly….You will think you are ok for a while. Like Samson of old you will wake up one day and not even realize the spirit of God has departed from you. (Judges 16:20)
• Keep the hands and the feet clean, the walk will be honoring and the service effectual.
" Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
He that bath clean hands and a pure heart; who bath not lifted up his soul unto
vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." (Psalm 24:4.)
• There is a very solemn warning in connection with the laver. The priests are exhorted to wash hands and feet therein, " lest they die." The spiritual application is clear. The Christian who is not walking according to the Word of God, and who is not willing to apply the truth of God to his own life, will sooner or later lose the consciousness of the Spirit in his own soul and spiritually die
