Tabernacle in the Wilderness Series
#8 Sanctified for Service at the Brazen Laver
By Pastor Jim May
Exodus 30:17-21, "And the LORD spake 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 to his seed throughout their generations."
Last week we studied the Brazen Altar and saw that it was not a pretty sight to behold. Upon that altar, untold numbers of animals were sacrificed and burned so that Israel would be given forgiveness for sin. We noted that everything about that altar stood for judgment against sin and its sole purpose was to fulfill the requirements of our Holy God for man to have a way to enter into His presence.
Jesus was pictured throughout every aspect of the Brazen Altar and we know that without His sacrifice upon the cross, we would never enter into the presence of God. Jesus is our Brazen Altar and there, at His cross, through His shed blood, we find the “doorway to Heaven and eternal life”. There was only one Brazen Altar, and there is only one “door”, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Once we have entered that door, and passed by the Brazen Altar, we now continue into a deeper relationship with God as we draw ever nearer to the Mercy Seat and the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies.
The next stop we come to after we have passed by, and gazed upon the Brazen Altar, is the Brazen Laver that stood just before the entrance into the Holy Place where the glory, beauty and wealth of the tabernacle could really be seen.
The Brazen Laver had two parts: the circular brass bowl made from the polished brash mirrors the women brought with them from Egypt and the brass foot or pedestal. Fresh spring water, probably taken from a smitten rock, was poured continually into the laver for daily purification.
As you can see from the many versions of what the Brazen Laver really looked like, no one really knows because no exact dimensions or detailed instructions are given as to its construction and appearance. One reason for this is that it is a symbol to us that whoever comes to the Laver for cleansing will find that it has an unending supply. No matter how much water was taken out, it was constantly being replenished. It was a constant source of cleansing that never ran dry.
The Brazen Laver had one purpose. It was placed exactly in front of the entrance to the Holy Place so that every priest whose duty it was to enter there, must stop first and be cleansed by the pure water held in the Laver. Remember that the priests have just come from the Brazen Altar where blood was constantly being sprinkled, ashes from the burnt sacrifices were in the air, their hands were likely covered in blood and their feet were covered with the dust of the earth and the ashes that had fallen from the sky.
From the beginning of time God had said, and is still saying, that no unclean thing should enter into His presence. Before we can enter into His presence we must be cleansed and made pure in his sight.
Deuteronomy 23:14, "For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee."
2 Corinthians 6:17, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you…”
You should take notice that the Brazen Laver was not used by the common people of Israel but was reserved only for the cleansing of the priests who served in the tabernacle.
What does that mean to you and I?
You and I, and everyone who is washed in the Blood of the Lamb, are called to be priests unto the Lord. We are to serve as the priests in our families, as we take their needs constantly before the Lord. We are to keep pointing everyone toward the Brazen Altar that they may see the sacrifice for their sin and know that there is a Savior who died for them.
Revelation 1:5-6, "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
1 Peter 2:5, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."
1 Peter 2:9, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:"
The Brazen Alter represents our propitiation for sin. When we see that we are sinners in need of a Savior, then the Brazen Altar has opened our eyes to see Jesus and to know that he died for us. Then we approach the Altar, laying our sin and shame upon the Lord.
We sing that old chorus: Leave it there. Leave it there. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. If you trust and never doubt, he will surely bring you out. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
That’s just what happens at the Brazen Altar. Then, as we turn away, we are reminded of the filth of the world that still clings to us. Although His blood has cleansed us, we still need more cleansing as we continue to walk with Him.
This process of daily cleansing is called “Sanctification”. We are cleansed from sin by the Blood of Christ, but our Sanctification is an on-going and never-ending process that must be cleansed by the water at the Laver.
Thus we can see that the Brazen Laver becomes a symbol, type and shadow of what the Scriptures, the Living Word of God, do for us right now.
As the water was poured upon their hands and feet, it was “living” or running water, not from a stagnant pond, but from a continuously renewing source.
In John 4:10, when Jesus was talking to the woman at the well, "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water."
As we approached the Brazen Laver and looked into the water, the highly polished Brass mirrors would let us see just what we really were. The crystal clear water, not only allowed us to see the perfect reflection of ourselves on the Brass mirrors, but the water also magnified the imperfections, revealing every point where we needed to be cleansed. There was no hiding the truth here for the water and the mirrors were pure and absolutely revealing, forcing us to face up to what we say in them.
Of course, this Brazen Laver with its Brass mirrors and pure water are representative of the Living Word of God that we look into every day, as do our best to serve the Lord.
While teaching the church how husbands and wives should act toward one another, Paul told us what the Word of God does for each of us who are called to be priests unto the Lord.
Ephesians 5:26-27, "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."
James 1:21-25 tells us what the purpose of the Word of God is. "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For 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 of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."
No sizes, no dimensions, no exact description are given of the Brazen Laver simply because it represents to each of us a different thing and different times.
The Word of God is a Living Word, continually changing its impact upon our hearts depending upon where we are in God at any given moment. Each time you look into the Word, perceiving yourself in its perfect reflection, you see something new, something different, and something that perhaps has been there all along but that you weren’t ready to see yet. The Word of God has a different impact upon each man, woman and child that looks into it. You can put no limits, no restrictions, nor any set pattern upon its workings because every eye that beholds that reflection in the mirror sees something different.
It’s hard work sometimes to look into the Laver. It wasn’t always a pleasant task to be washed and cleansed. It would have been easier just to enter into the Holy Place, do your job and then leave. But that’s not the way that God wanted it done.
If the priests tried to skip by the cleansing ritual and enter into the presence of God unwashed, it meant certain death. Sin cannot dwell where God is, and so it must be dealt with at the Brazen Altar and the Laver before entering in. It was hard work, tiring and tedious to fulfill every requirement given by God before entering in, but it was necessary.
Hebrews 4:11-13, "Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."
The fact that the water rests in a polished Brass bowl symbolizes that the Word of God causes us to judge ourselves as we read it. Judgment must come for every fault, every failure and every sin, but if we judge ourselves and seek the cleansing power of the Word of God, then we won’t have to face the judgment and wrath of God. Thus we are cleansed and sanctified by the washing of the water through the Word of God.
Each year the high priest washed thoroughly in the Brazen Laver on the Day of Atonement. Then he would put on the holy linen garments and enter into the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the sins of Israel.
Leviticus 16:24, "And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people."
But there was a different ritual of washing for the everyday business of caring for the tabernacle.
Every day those priests who needed to enter, would come to the Laver and dip water from the Laver, first with the right hand to wash both the hand and the right foot, then with the left hand and foot. In doing so, they were ridding themselves of the stains of blood and filth of the world in preparation for serving God on a daily basis.
A few days ago I preached on the subject of studying the Word of God and knowing how to rightly divide the Word of God. That’s something we must do on a daily basis. Every day we must pass by the Laver.
Yes we were justified and born again as a result of looking into and hearing the Word of the Lord.
Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
This is represented in the fact that the High Priest would be thoroughly washed on the Day of Atonement after the blood of the sacrifice has been applied to his flesh.
But then comes the daily cleansing, taking this body that has been cleansed from sin, and now all of the filth of the world must be washed away as well.
This whole process is part of Sanctification. Sanctification comes in three different aspects.
1)We are “Positionally Sanctified” by the Blood of Jesus and the Word of God that brings us to the point of salvation and forgiveness of sin. We are justified by the Blood of the perfect sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son, then we are made righteous through His righteousness as his blood is applied to the heart.
2)We are “Progressively Sanctified” by the daily cleansing, repenting and revelation brought to us and shown to us by the Word of God.
3)We are “Perfectly Sanctified” by the Father in Heaven when we appear before Him in white robes of righteousness because of the Blood of the Lamb.
Once we have passed by the Brazen Altar and then spent time being cleansed by the water of the Brazen Laver, all of our sins are washed away and we have passed judgment upon ourselves as each hidden sin and secret desire has been revealed by the magnification of God’s Holy Word, then, and only then are we ready to offer ourselves in worship and service to the Lord.
What a privilege we have – to be allowed to enter into the presence of Almighty God and offer him the works of our hands as sacrifices and praises unto his Holy name. Let us never take that privilege for granted. Don’t forget to look into that Brazen Laver everyday and make sure that you are clean and ready for service.
Hebrews 10:19-22, "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 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."
The Brazen Laver stood directly in the path to the Holy Place where we can have a closer walk with the Lord. The beauty inside waits, but sin must be dealt with first. To attempt to enter in by another way would mean certain death. There’s only one way and that’s God’s Way.
John 10:1, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber."
If we are going to serve the Lord in His house and in His kingdom, we must be washed and sanctified by the Word of God and the Blood of the Lamb. There are no shortcuts.
