Exodus 30:17–21

The laver is the last of the sacred vessels listed. With it, the tabernacle and its arrangements are complete. It was placed outside, in the court of the tabernacle, between the tent of meeting and the altar. That is, it stood between the bronze altar just inside the entrance to the court, and the entrance into the holy place. So the priests passed the altar of burnt offering on their way into the tabernacle, and they met the laver on the road.

It was made entirely of bronze — both the laver and its base. … It is divine righteousness testing man in responsibility. … But in testing man, it must condemn him, because he is a sinner. … The laver came from a special bronze: the mirrors used by the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation (Ex. 38:8). These were the very articles that revealed, in figure, their natural condition, and so showed their need of cleansing. The bronze revealed and judged the condition of those it tested. The water was there to cleanse and purify. For the water is a symbol of the Word.

In this we see a striking picture of what is often overlooked. The Christian, brought into priestly nearness, needs the water as well as the blood. It seems clear that the Lord Jesus referred to this when He spoke the words recorded in John 13:10. The priest who had been bathed all over needed this often-repeated washing to draw near.

Notice that the laver holds water, and not blood. Some have tried to argue from this rule for the priests that the believer needs the blood of Christ applied again and again. Such a thought is foreign to the whole teaching of Scripture, and it undermines the power of the one sacrifice of Christ. The blood has to do with guilt, and the moment the sinner comes under its value before God, he is cleansed for ever.

…the priests never wash their bodies again after their consecration. They wash only their hands and feet at the laver, and they do that again and again. The reason is obvious. Washing the whole body is a figure of being born again, and that cannot happen twice.

The hands are named for the priests, as well as the feet, because with them work was in question: they were under law. But with the disciples only the feet are washed. The Lord did this before He left them, yet the action pictures the present position of believers. For them it is not a question of work, but of walk.

God insisted on purity in the priests of Israel — "that they die not" (Ex. 30:21). Are we exempt from this because we live not under law but under grace? By no means. If someone neglects personal holiness, God's holy hand in government comes down on him. Why? Because He does not love us? No — because He does love us, and will have us in a practical way share His holiness (Heb. 12:10).

In the specifications for the laver, no measurements are given. This is remarkable, because Scripture gives exact sizes for the other parts of the tabernacle. Surely the omission in the case of the laver is as full of meaning as the omission of Melchizedek's ancestry in Genesis 14. It is undoubtedly God's happy way of teaching us one thing. The grace that forgives and cleanses us day by day is without limit or measure.

Our constant failure in priestly ministry may be explained by our neglect of the proper use of the laver. Suppose we do not submit our ways to the cleansing action of the Word. Suppose we keep pursuing or practicing what our own consciences tell us the Word plainly condemns. Then the energy of our priestly character will certainly be lacking. Deliberately going on in evil and true priestly worship cannot go together.

The place of the basin was between the tent of meeting and the altar. Its position shows on the one side an urgent necessity ("that they die not"), and on the other a gracious provision for those who approached. The washing of water judged and removed everything contrary to holiness. It also made them fit for communion with the mind of God, as expressed and revealed in the sanctuary.

It was made entirely of bronze — both the basin and its stand. It is divine righteousness testing man in his responsibility, and so testing man in the place where he is. For this reason bronze is always found outside the tabernacle. Inside, in the holy place and the holy of holies, the metal is gold: divine righteousness as suited to the nature of God.

The basin was made of bronze, and Exodus 38:8 tells us it came from the mirrors of serving women. So the bronze would reflect the condition of the priests' feet as they came near. In the same way the holiness of God, which bronze speaks of, faithfully reveals our true condition. And the water of the Word washes away the defilement that holiness has exposed.

The basin did not signify cleansing by blood: that was seen in the altar of burnt offering. Cleansing by blood takes place once and for all, as the one offering of the Lord Jesus emphasises (Heb. 10:12-18). The basin was the place of many washings by water, washings of the hands and feet of the priests.

The Lord uses two different words in John 13:10, according to their clearly defined use in the Greek version of the Old Testament. "The one who has bathed," applying to the whole person, is the word louo, used of the washing of the priests on the day of their consecration (Ex. 29:4). "Does not need to wash, except for his feet" uses nipto. That is the word for the washing of their hands and their feet in the basin at the tabernacle door, every time they went into the sanctuary (Ex. 30:18, 21). And the words are never interchanged.

The hands are named for the priests, as well as the feet, because with them work was in question: they were under law. But with the disciples only the feet are washed. Though it was done before the Lord had left them, that action pictured the present position of believers, for whom it is not a question of work but of walk.

This is very remarkable, because for the various parts of the tabernacle details of size and measurement are given with great exactness. It is undoubtedly God's happy way of teaching us that the grace which forgives and cleanses us day by day is without limit or measure.

Aaron and his sons stand for Christ and Christians, for all who believe have been made a priestly family — "a holy priesthood," as Peter tells us. It was not enough for God's priests that they had undergone a total washing at their consecration (Ex. 29:4); they had to wash their hands and feet day by day. The total washing pictures the new birth, which every believer in Jesus has experienced through grace. This has made us fit in nature to draw near to God, but the basin teaches us that we must be fit also in practice to really enjoy His presence.

The basin was to stand between the bronze altar and the door of the tabernacle. It too was to be made of bronze — a picture of the demands that flow from the holiness and righteousness of God. The blood on the altar met those demands first. The water that filled the basin met them second, for the priests who would enter the sanctuary. There they had to wash both hands and feet every time they entered. They were never to carry anything of the dust or defilement that was outside into the presence of God.

Washing the whole body is a picture of being born again, and this cannot be repeated. Our Lord taught this truth in John 13. In reply to Peter He said, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean." The feet — or with the priests, the hands and the feet — might be defiled and need cleansing again and again. But the body never did, for it was cleansed once and for all in water at the new birth. Notice, too, that it is water and not blood in the basin. People have often tried to deduce from this rule for the priests that the believer needs the repeated application of the blood of Christ. Such a thought is foreign to the whole teaching of Scripture, and it tends to undermine the power of the one sacrifice of Christ.

Between the altar and the door of the tabernacle stood the basin, which held water for the washings of the priests. Bronze mirrors went into making it and its base (Ex. 30:17-21; 38:8). The mirror and the water together are clearly meant to point us to something that can both reveal defilement and remove it.

The hands and the feet stand for our works and our ways. If we want to go on happily with God, His word must test all of these. "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word." … The word of God acts on the heart and conscience through the light and power of the Holy Spirit. That answers to the use of the basin in the picture. It is "the washing of water with the word." But if we allow in our works or ways what the word of God condemns, the freshness and power of our Christian character are gone.

The hands suggest working, since works are what the law demands. But our place as Christians is "not because of works done by us in righteousness." It is the feet, our ways, that constantly need cleansing by the word of God… The entire life, even to thoughts and desires, is to come under the cleansing of the Word.

There can be no true communion with God unless we carefully keep up personal holiness… Our constant failure in priestly ministry can be explained by our neglect of the proper use of the basin. If we do not let the word cleanse our ways, the energy of our priestly character will certainly be missing. The same is true when we keep doing what our own consciences tell us the word plainly condemns. Deliberately continuing in evil and true priestly worship cannot go together.

Now, Christians are part of a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5), and so they resemble the priests of Aaron's line… But as the washing of the feet after the bath might be needed, so the saint who picks up defilement in his walk on earth needs that service done for him. To keep him clean for heaven, the Lord washes his feet.

The laver was to stand between the bronze altar and the door of the tabernacle. It too was to be made of bronze — a picture of the demands that flow from the holiness and righteousness of God. Those demands were met first by the blood on the altar, and second, for the priests who would enter the sanctuary, by the water that filled the laver. There they had to wash both hands and feet every time they entered. They were never to carry anything of the dust or defilement from outside into the presence of God.

A priest had to wash before serving in the tabernacle and before offering a sacrifice on the copper altar (v. 20). Attempting such service without washing would be punishable by death (v. 21). How careful we should be to give due respect to the holiness of God in all matters of worship and service.

The washing of the priests' bodies at their consecration is never repeated. The priests wash only their hands and feet again and again in the laver. The reason is obvious. Washing the whole body is a figure of being born again, and that cannot be repeated. Our Lord taught this in John 13. He answered Peter, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean." The feet — or, for the priests, the hands and the feet — might be defiled and need cleansing again and again. But the body never needs that. It was cleansed once and for all in water at the new birth. Notice, secondly, that it is water and not blood in the laver. People have often tried to argue from this rule for the priests that the believer needs the blood of Christ applied again. That idea is foreign to the whole teaching of Scripture, and it undermines the one sacrifice of Christ. The blood of Christ deals with guilt, and the moment a sinner comes under its value before God he is cleansed forever.

The hands and the feet stand for our works and our ways, and if we would go on happily with God, all of these must be tested by His word. "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word." (Ps. 119:9) The word of God, acting on the heart and conscience through the light and power of the Holy Spirit, answers to the use of the laver. It is "the washing of water with the word."

The priests were to wash their hands as well as their feet at the laver, but our Lord washed only the disciples' feet. The hands suggest working, since works are what the law demands. But our place as Christians is "not because of works done by us in righteousness." It is the feet, our ways, that need constant cleansing by the word of God. This comes through the advocacy of Christ our Lord and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. But the walk includes the believer's entire earthly life. We must make no distinction between our service and our path.

There can be no true fellowship with God unless we keep up personal holiness with care. "If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." (1 John 1:6) Our constant failure in priestly ministry may be explained by our neglect of the proper use of the laver. Suppose we keep doing what our own consciences tell us the word plainly condemns. Then our priestly character will surely lose its energy.