The True Tabernacle: (The Laver)
TEXT:
Exodus 30:17-21 (NKJV)
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.”
Exodus 38:8 (NKJV)
He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
Humanity's first encounter with mirrors was probably as they saw their reflection in the water. In an attempt to recreate the experience of Narcissus, some six thousand years ago it was polished obsidian (black volcanic ash) that formed the earliest man-made mirrors that have been found.
The ancient Egyptians made mirrors of polished copper or bronze that they embellished with decorations. Both ancient Mesopotamia and the people groups of Central and South America had polished metal mirrors in 2000 B.C.
Metal-backed mirrors were first produced in Lebanon around the first century and the Romans made mirrors of blown glass backed with lead.
The Bible mentions a bronze mirror in Job 37:8 poetically of the sky which God spread out. Isaiah mentions mirrors as part of women's fashion in his day (Isa 3:22).
While there may have been a time in human history and there may still be places today with less, in our 21st-century Western world mirrors are a part of our everyday lives. The reverse button on the camera apps on our smartphones turns them into mirrors. There are mirrors in our bathrooms, and at least three in our vehicles. Mirrors are everywhere. They are on the walls at the local gym so we can see our progress toward our goals and how far we have to go. They line the walls of our living rooms and restaurants to give a sense of greater depth. Mirrors are for examination, reflection, and transformation.
Mirrors are the stuff of fairytales and magic, both good and bad.
The wicked queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves asks her magical "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all," and did not like the reply. The mirror knew that there was someone far fairer than she would ever be no matter what she did. How often have we looked into the mirror and done the same?
When the LORD gave the commandment for the piece of furniture that occupied the space between the altar and the tent where they worshipped, he placed it in the part of the book of Exodus where Moses describes the clothing of the priests who served in the worship of the tabernacle. God had a specific order for them to follow. When they began to serve initially in the OT priesthood they were ritually cleansed for the job. It was a way of setting them apart. The word that the book of Exodus uses for this setting apart is "holy." It means that they were separated from the rest of the world for a special purpose, and that purpose was their relationship with God.
Remember that the Tabernacle was God's dwelling place among the tribes of Israel. Those of the tribe of Levi, both the sons of Aaron and their relatives had a special ministry. Aaron and his sons were clothed in garments that represented this holy purpose.
On the priest's shoulders were onyx stones that had the names of the tribes engraved on them. On the vest of the high priest were twelve rows of precious stones that represented the tribes. They were carrying their relatives, their entire nation, on their shoulders and their hearts. The priesthood that the Lord has set each of us apart for is similar, it finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. As He carried His Cross on His Shoulder it was as if our names, your name, and my name, were weighing there upon Him. And who can deny that He carried us close to His Heart? Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins! He laid down His Life for us!
The New Testament teaches us that we are to pray for others. Those around us, those who are in our government, whether good or bad, and those in our cities. In this way, we serve as priests unto the LORD. Jesus prayed for His apostles in John 17 and He also prayed for us who would believe in Him through their words.
The priests were washed with water once initially by Moses (Exod 29:4) This is a type of baptism in Jesus's Name. When we are baptized, we are washed and sanctified, or set apart for God's special purpose as a part of His royal priesthood and Holy Nation. It was after this washing with water that they were clothed and anointing oil was poured on their heads. Our Lord modeled this for us when He was baptized by John the Baptist in water and then the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a Dove. If you have never been baptized in Jesus's Name, the water is ready this morning!
Moses did three things with the blood of the sacrifice of the ram that he offered when they acted out the ritual of setting the priests apart for God's service. He put blood on their right earlobes, right big toes, and right thumbs. He set apart their hearing unto God, where they went, and what they did. How we live our lives matters to God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV) says "Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." In verses 18-20 of the same chapter, Paul writes, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."
We belong to the LORD.
After Aaron and his sons were consecrated to the LORD they could afterward serve in the Tabernacle worship, but right in the center of their service to the LORD and others, the LORD placed the laver. It was made of bronze which often represents judgment upon sin. They were to continually wash at this basin as they went about their work of offering sacrifices and lighting candles and cooking and eating bread and praying for the people... The LORD told Moses, "They must wash their hands and their feet, or they will die" (Exod 30).
The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. Death is languishing. It is entropy. It is decay. When plants do not have the right soil, or sunlight, of water they shrivel and die. This is what sin does to us. But the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Life is flourishing. The Life that Jesus gives us is a Life that causes us to grow and be fruitful. It is a life that bears the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, faithfulness, meekness, and temperance... All the good things of life are in the Eternal Life that Jesus gives!
The priests were to wash their hands and their feet so that they did not find themselves languishing and eventually dying. Our hands are what we do and our feet are where we go. They have to do with direction. We build things with our hands and we tear things down. The LORD was reminding those priests and us that it matters what we do! So he made it a point that they were continually looking at those hands at the wash basin. Their feet were what took them to and fro as they served the LORD and so the LORD had them looking at those feet, continually. Is the direction I am going ministering unto others and the LORD?
The brazen laver was much shinier than my crude example here this morning. It was made of the bronze mirrors of the women who served at the Tabernacle. No doubt these were Egyptian mirrors. They were the mirrors in which these Israelite women beautified themselves. Like we do today, they looked to see whether their hair was set, or if there was anything in their teeth. Hey, we ought to do the best we can to represent the Lord. We are made in the image and likeness of God. We will never be perfect, but we can be the best us we can be! These women gave their mirrors up when Moses asked for freewill offerings for the Tabernacle. And Bezalel took these shiny polished brass mirrors and formed them into the place where the priests continually washed. It was a place where the priest could look to see if everything was as it was supposed to be and they could wash. Wash their doings and their goings!
The Lord has given each of us some mirrors through which we can do the same.
James 1:23-25 talks about God's Word: "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does." As we read this book our own hearts have a way of answering us to let us know that we are still not the fairest in the land. Proverbs 27:19 "As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man." There is One Who the writer of Song of Solomon said is the Fairest of ten thousand! He is Altogether Lovely! When we read the Gospels we are looking into a mirror to see how our priesthood is measuring up. Mirrors are for examination. Do I look like Jesus? Am I patient as He Is? Am I kind as He Is? Am I as inclusive as He Is? Are my doings like His Doings? Are my Goings like His Goings?
We examine ourselves in the Light of His Supreme example! And it is there that we wash. 1 John says that if we walk in the Light as He is in the Light then the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin! Hey, we have a greater Altar and we have a Greater Place to wash! As long as I walk in the Light that water and Blood are continually washing me in my going and doing!!! If we confess our sins, He is Faithful and Just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all sin! Not just a part, but ALL! When you read the book, make a determination to wash what you see that is found in the reflection...
God has given another mirror. We are told in the NT that if someone offends us that we are to go to them and tell them. Jesus said this. He was not teaching that we should continually be offended by others. When someone is consistently offended, it is not because they are so emotionally rattled, as much as it is that they want to control. If we are constantly upset with what others are doing, perhaps we need to find a place alone with God and ask Him to wash whatever spirit of offense has gripped our soul! But, Jesus said we should go to our fellow and explain to them why we are hurt and then when they apologize we are to forgive them. Every one of Jesus's words about human relationships has as their goal reconciliation and restoration.
Proverbs 27:5-6 (ESV): "Better is open rebuke than hidden love, faithful are the wounds of a friend: profuse are teh kisses of an enemy."
Matthew 18:15: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother."
Luke 17:3 "Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."
Galatians 6:1: "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."
The priesthood was not the job of one man alone and they did not wash their hands and feet alone. They washed together. Why is regular fellowship with the people of God and church attendance so important? Because the hardest thing for us to know is what we don't know that we don't know. Sometimes we need someone else to hold up the mirror for us. Not in a judgmental condemning way, but for the purpose of loving us. We are to love one another! That is what Jesus's said was the evidence that others would see from the outside and say that we were his disciples.
When Jesus was about to be offered up, he took a towel and got a basin of water (John 13), and he got down to wash the disciples' feet. He makes this statement to Peter when Peter asked him to wash his entire person, "Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean" (John 13:10 NIV).
You've already been baptized in Jesus's Name. Now you've just got to cleanse your doings and goings. And Jesus will help us and He has given us others to help us. Jesus said, just as I have washed your feet, you are to wash one another's feet (John 13:14). Feet can be stinky. It is an act of love.
In the church I grew up in, once a year we literally practiced Jesus's commandments. You can't stay mad at someone and wash their feet. The brazen laver had a place to wash both hands and feet. Part of your ministry is ministering to those you have a hard time with. Peter was a fisherman. Simon was a Zealot and Matthew was a Publican. There is a mirror here this AM!
in Paul's epic description of love in 1 Corinthians 13, he ends his description of the answer to all the carnality in Corinth, love, by saying, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known" (1 Cor 13:12). Mirrors reflect light that is bouncing off of us back into our eyes. Every one of us standing in the same mirror sees the reflection a little bit differently because there are different particles of light bouncing off of us and we have slightly different perspectives. A mirror image is a flipped image of us. It is always imperfect. But we are headed towards perfection, every time we stand before God and confess our sins and wash.
2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."
Mirrors are not just for examination, but also for transformation. As we stand at the wash basin of Calvary, at the Cross we are all on level ground, and we are all on a journey towards Christlikeness.
As we look into the Mirror of the Spirit daily we notice that we are not what we used to be. We may not be what we know we should be, but we have changed. We are not languishing, because we are not walking in sin. We are flourishing because Christ is shining through us and transforming us one day at a time. Our hands and feet may get soiled every once in a while, but when we ask the "mirror mirror on the wall who the fairest of them all is..." It replies, "you are more like Him today!"
Oh, the Spirit of the LORD can change everything we are!
Conclusion and exhortation
So here we are, standing at the bronze laver. We are examining ourselves. If you have never been washed the first time. Today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time! Peter said to those who inquired on day of Pentecost what they should do, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit! The water is ready.
Or maybe, you have already taken that step and you are looking at our hands and feet.
Jesus said that if you find yourself standing at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, first go to them and be reconciled, and then come and offer your gift! If you're standing at this mirrored watching pool this morning and you know there are some relationships that you need to fix, go to them, call them, text them, set up a meeting, and get things right. That is what the Lord wants.
If you realize that something that you are doing, between you and the Lord, needs to change, confess it to Him and ask for the grace to change it.
We are here at the place of washing! Mirror, mirror on the laver... Mirror, mirror on the cross...
