What was the significance of the bronze laver?

The laver was to stand between the brazen altar and the door of the tabernacle, and it too was to be made of brass — typical of the demands that flow from the holiness and righteousness of God. Those demands were met firstly by the blood on the altar; and secondly, 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 that was outside into the presence of God.

But the copper laver stood between the altar of burn offering and the entrance to the tabernacle. It did not signify cleansing by blood: this was seen in the altar of burnt offering. Cleansing by blood takes place once and for all, as is emphasized in the one offering of the Lord Jesus (Heb. 10:12-18). The laver was the place of many washings by water, washings of the hands and feet of the priests.

From ver. 17-21 we are presented with "the brazen laver and its foot" — the vessel of washing and the basis thereof. These two are always presented together. (See Ex. 30:28; Ex. 38:8; Ex. 40:11) In this laver the priests washed their hands and feet, and thus maintained that purity which was essential to the proper discharge of their priestly functions. It was not, by any means, a question of a fresh presentation of blood; but simply that action by which they were preserved in fitness for priestly service and worship. "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 to the Lord: so they shall wash their hands and their feet that they die not."

There can be no true communion with God, save as personal holiness is diligently maintained. "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." (1 John 1:6) This personal holiness can only flow from the action of the word of God on our works and ways. "By the words of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." Our constant failure in priestly ministry may be accounted for by our neglecting the due use of the laver. If our ways are not submitted to the purgative action of the word — if we continue in the pursuit or practice of that which, according to the testimony of our own consciences, the word distinctly condemns, the energy of our priestly character will, assuredly, be lacking. Deliberate continuance in evil and true priestly worship are wholly incompatible. "Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth." If we have any uncleanness upon us, we cannot enjoy the presence of God. The effect of His presence would then be to convict us by its holy light. But when we are enabled, through grace, to cleanse our way, by taking heed thereto according to God's word, we are then morally capacitated for the enjoyment of His presence.

But this will be seen more fully as we consider the use of the laver. It was for Aaron and his sons to 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," etc. It was an imperative, as well as a perpetual, obligation upon the priests to wash their hands and their feet on the occasions specified. Now, before explaining the character of this washing, it will clear the way, and aid the reader, to make a few preliminary remarks. Remark then, first, that the washing of the bodies of the priests, as at their consecration, is never repeated. It is the hands and feet only that are repeatedly to be washed in the laver. The reason of this is obvious. Washing the whole body is a figure of being born again, and this cannot be repeated. Our Lord taught this truth in John 13. In reply to Peter He said, "He that is washed" (literally, bathed; i.e. washed all over) "needeth not save to wash" (another word) "his feet, but is clean every whit." The feet, or, as in the case of the priests, the hands and the feet might be defiled and need to be cleansed again and again, but the body never, for that was cleansed once and for all in water at the new birth. Observe, secondly, that it is water and not blood in the laver. It has often been attempted to deduce from this ordinance for the priests, that the believer needs the repeated application of the blood of Christ. Such a thought is not only alien from the whole teaching of Scripture, but it also tends to undermine the efficacy of the one sacrifice of Christ. Yea, it impugns the completion of atonement, and consequently the title of Christ to an abiding seat at the right hand of God. The blood of Christ has to do with guilt, and the moment the sinner comes under its value before God he is cleansed for ever; for by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. The one object of the Spirit of God in Heb. 9 and 10 is to enforce this precious and momentous truth. That it has been lost sight of in the whole of Christendom is only too true; but the guide of the believer is not to be found in the current teachings of men, but in the immutable word of God. Whoever therefore will read the two chapters indicated — and read them with a sincere desire to understand their teaching — will at once perceive that there is never a question of the imputation of guilt to the believer, but that he is entitled to rejoice in having no more conscience of sins, if he has been once cleansed by the precious blood of Christ.

What then, it may be distinctly asked, was the nature of the cleansing at the laver? It was confined, as pointed out, to the hands and the feet. Comparing this with John 13, a difference will be observed. In the case of the disciples, the feet only were washed; in the case of Aaron and his sons, it was their hands and their feet. The difference springs from the character of the dispensations. The hands are indicated for the priests, as well as the feet, because with them work was in question: they were under law. But with the disciples the feet only are washed — because, though done before the Lord had left them, it was an action typical of the present position of believers — with whom it is no question of work, but one of walk. Let it then be repeated that the priests were never rewashed, or re-sprinkled with blood. They are looked upon as born again in figure, and as abidingly under the value of the blood. But thereafter comes the question of defilements in their service and walk. Now if there had been no provision for these, they would have been debarred from their priestly functions in the sanctuary; for how could they have gone in before God with defiled hands and feet — into the presence of Him of whom it is said, "Holiness becometh Thine house"? Hence this gracious provision of the water — symbol of the Word — that, ere they entered into the holy place, they might cleanse their hands and feet from the defilements which they had contracted.

Only a brief mention is made of the making of the laver, which we are told in Exodus 30:19-21 was for Aaron and his sons to wash their hands and feet when going into the tabernacle or when offering sacrifices. It was totally made of copper, obtained from the mirrors of serving women. Thus it would be highly polished copper in which the feet of the priests would be reflected. If purification by blood is seen at the copper altar, purification by water is emphasized in the laver. For the blood of Christ cleanses believers judicially before God, while the water of the word of God (Eph. 5:26; John 13:8) is the means of moral cleansing, which is also essential in our drawing near to God.

It was made entirely of brass — both the laver and its foot. The significance of this material has been frequently explained, but may again be recalled. It is divine righteousness testing man in responsibility, and consequently testing man in the place where he is. Brass on this account is always found outside of the Tabernacle, while gold, which is divine righteousness as suited to the nature of God, is found within — in the holy place, as well as in the holy of holies. But testing man, it of necessity condemns him because he is a sinner; and hence it will be found to have associated with it a certain judicial aspect. There is another element to be specified. The laver was made out of a special character of brass, out of the brazen mirrors (see margin) used by the women who assembled at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation (Ex. 38:8) — out of the very articles that revealed, in figure, their natural condition, and thereby showed their need of cleansing.* If the brass therefore 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. It is so used in John 3:5, compared with James 1:18 and 1 Peter 1:23-25. It is also found in Eph. 5:26 — in the special sense of the water of the laver.

However, the laver speaks of moral cleansing by the water of the Word of God ((Eph. 5:26). Each time a priest entered the tabernacle he was required first to wash his hands and feet. Previously, when the priests were consecrated, their bodies were washed with water (Ex. 29:4). This speaks of the washing of new birth, done only once (Heb. 10:22), a general washing that makes a moral difference in the individual. Yet a believer, though in principle thoroughly cleansed, is in circumstances where his feet become defiled through contact with the evil around him, and therefore often needs his feet washed (John 13:5-10). Hands are not mentioned in the New Testament, but if believers wash one another's feet (symbolically) their hands will be cleansed by the water (John 13:14).

The laver was made of copper, but no dimensions are given. Exodus 38:8 informs us that it was made from the mirrors of serving women. Thus the condition of the priests' feet would be reflected as they came near. So the holiness of God (of which copper speaks) faithfully reveals our true condition, and the water of the Word cleanses away the defilement that holiness has exposed.

This washing was imperative, whether a priest was going in to do service in the tabernacle or whether he was offering a sacrifice on the copper altar (v. 20). Attempting to do 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.

It was made entirely of brass — both the laver and its foot. The significance of this material has been frequently explained, but may again be recalled. It is divine righteousness testing man in responsibility, and consequently testing man in the place where he is. Brass on this account is always found outside of the Tabernacle, while gold, which is divine righteousness as suited to the nature of God, is found within — in the holy place, as well as in the holy of holies. But testing man, it of necessity condemns him because he is a sinner; and hence it will be found to have associated with it a certain judicial aspect. There is another element to be specified. The laver was made out of a special character of brass, out of the brazen mirrors (see margin) used by the women who assembled at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation (Ex. 38:8) — out of the very articles that revealed, in figure, their natural condition, and thereby showed their need of cleansing.* If the brass therefore 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. It is so used in John 3:5, compared with James 1:18 and 1 Peter 1:23-25. It is also found in Eph. 5:26 — in the special sense of the water of the laver.

The laver of brass (or perhaps copper) which stood in the court of Israel's Tabernacle, and the molten sea which Solomon placed in the court of the Temple, have each their own word of instruction for our souls. In contemplating the laver, it is important to observe the place given to it in the Divine specifications for the Tabernacle. These may be divided into two parts, as follows: — Exodus 25 — Exodus 27:19; Exodus 27:20 — Exodus 30, the first part being occupied with God's manifestation of Himself, the second with the means whereby His worshippers might have to do with Him. The first part, accordingly, begins with the ark, the well-known symbol of Jehovah's presence, and the highest manifestation of Himself in that age, and from thence the mind travels outward until the court is reached. The second part begins with the oil for the light (Ex. 27:20-21), for the first lesson God would impress on those who desire to draw near to Himself is that He is light, and dwells in light. Next follows the priesthood (Ex. 28, Ex. 29) for how can faulty and feeble man have to do with a holy God save by such means? The golden altar, the place of priestly worship, follows appropriately (Ex. 30:1-10); then, after the notice of the atonement half-shekel, we have the laver, on which we would dwell a little.

The laver was provided for the use of the priests, for the removal of the defilements that were contracted daily in the handling of the external things of the Tabernacle. Aaron and his sons typify Christ and Christians, for all who believe have been constituted a priestly family — "a holy priesthood," as Peter tells us (1 Peter 2:3). It was not enough for God's priests that they had undergone a total washing at their consecration (Ex. 29:4); they must wash their hands and feet day by day. The total washing (referred to, doubtless, by the Apostle in Heb. 10:22) typifies the new birth, which every believer in Jesus has experienced through grace. This has made us in nature meet to draw near to God, but the laver teaches us that we must be meet also in practice in order to really enjoy His presence. As the psalmist said, when confessing his affection for Jehovah's house, the place where His honour dwelt, "I will wash my hands in innocency, so will I compass Thine altar, O Lord " (Ps. 26:6). God demands purity of thought and life in those who approach Him. We are reminded, too, of the Apostle's words, "I will, therefore, that men … lift up holy hands " (1 Tim. 2:8).

The laver was made of the mirrors of the women who served in connection with the Tabernacle (Ex. 38:8). This is suggestive of self-renunciation on their part, for the mirror is an important item amongst a woman's possessions. Another lesson is, therefore, stamped upon the page of Scripture for us — the abasement or setting aside of self is looked for in those who would have to do with God. Before Him, flesh finds itself unable to glory: where fleshly boasting is found, it is evident that the soul knows but little experimentally of the presence of a holy God. The mirror is used by James as a symbol of the Word of God (James 1:22-25), which faithfully shows the man who looks into it what he is. What a merciful provision for us in our wilderness circumstances! When we come to the Word, and lay ourselves open before it, every secret of the heart is exposed, every impure motive is detected, every bit of defilement in the practical life is shown up, and that in its true character as God sees it. The Word is both the detector and the cleanser of evil. What the water of the laver was to Israel's priests, the Word of God is to us to-day. Hence the words in Ps. 119:9: "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy word." Hence, too, the instruction of the Lord in John 13:10, when washing the feet of His disciples before He suffered.

The people of Israel could see all that took place in the court of the tabernacle, but not that which transpired within the pavilion. Nevertheless in the laver there was one important object which associated together the services of the priests in the court and in the pavilion. It was an inflexible law, the transgression of which was death, (Ex. 30:19-21) that the ministering priests should wash their hands and their feet in the water of the laver, both on entering and on leaving the pavilion. The object lesson was therefore before all Israel, teaching that Jehovah required of His servants clean hands and feet, i.e., purity in action and in walk. "Holiness becometh Thine house, O Lord, forever," (Ps. 93:5) was stamped upon the whole service of the tabernacle, whether upon the high priest's diadem, or upon the steps of the ordinary priest. Though the priest was once for all consecrated, his purification was needed daily, both for entrance into God's presence and for service. There was one immersion (Ex. 29:4) on entering the priestly service, but there was constant cleansing to enable the priest to serve. Christ Himself washes His disciples' feet, He renders them fit for His presence as He teaches us; "He that is washed (immersed) needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit." (John 13:10.)