THE LAVER

(The Word of God)

Exodus 30:17 (NASB) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

18 "You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.

19 "And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it;

20 when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, that they may not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the LORD.

21 "So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they may not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations."

The second piece of furniture from our point of view was the Laver. The courtyard was accessible to all, even non Jews, so all who entered the court yard saw the Laver. Only priest (born-again people) could wash in the Laver or were allowed in the Holy Place.

Leviticus 17:8 (NASB) "Then you shall say to them, 'Any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice,

9 and does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to offer it to the LORD, that man also shall be cut off from his people.

Both articles of furniture in the courtyard were made of brass which speaks of judgment. Judgment is taken care of in the courtyard, before you enter the Tabernacle Proper. Men would probably have put the Laver outside of the gate for men to clean up before entering the court yard. God says, you cannot clean yourself up. You need a sacrifice.

Hebrews 10:10 (NASB) By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;

12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,

13 waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.

14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

Romans 3:23 (NASB) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

The Laver speaks of sanctification - separated unto the Lord. The clean life. The Laver was not for sacrifices, but for use of the Priests. It was made of solid brass - wood speaks of humanity, but, there was no humanity here.

Ephesians 5:25 (NASB) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her;

26 that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless.

John 15:3 (NASB) "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

John 3:5 (NASB) Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:26 (NASB) that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

Titus 3:5 (NASB) He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

1 Peter 1:15 (NASB) but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;

We don't know where the water came from. Tradition says eastern people do not consider themselves clean unless they wash in running water. The Laver could had an upper and lower sections. It has also been suggested that there was a large reservoir and a smaller basin in which the actual washing was done. A smaller vessel is not mentioned. Any explanation is little more than conjecture. A smaller basin would have kept dirty water from ever touching a priest. It might be compared to drinking directly out of a water jug after someone.

The Laver speaks of cleansing from the defilement of the world - keeping our life clean. The floor of the Courtyard, Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies was sand. The priests got dirty while ministering (killing animals).

John 13:8 (NASB) Peter said^ to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."

You need only one trip to the Brazen Altar, but you continually needed cleansing from ministering. We must continually come back for the washing with the word of God. The Laver is a picture of the word of God.

John 17:17 (NASB) "Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.

Psalms 119:9 (NASB) How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word.

Psalms 24:3 (NASB) Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, And has not sworn deceitfully.

The Laver was between the Brazen Altar and the presence of God. Before you can get to the Golden Altar (praise & worship), you had to pass by the Laver. Going from the Holy Place to minister to the people (Brazen Altar), you again go the Laver.

The priest were required to wash before approaching the presence of the Lord. If they didn't wash, they were still Israelites, but they were unqualified to act as priests. If you aren't in the Word of God, it doesn't mean that you aren't saved, but you cannot do a very good job as a priest to represent God to the people. A priest stands before God on behalf of the people and before the people on behalf of God. The go between. The high priest represented the nation before God on the Day of Atonement. One man represented the nation. A nation of priests represent God. Since we are still in the body, we still get dirty and need cleansing. Do you know that we are a nation of priests?

1 Peter 2:5 (NASB) you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:9 (NASB) But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Revelation 1:6 (NASB) and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 5:10 (NASB) "And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."

Revelation 20:6 (NASB) Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

Exodus 29:4 (NASB) "Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water.

This was the first washing. This speaks of the new birth. Just as no man can worship God until he is born-again, the priest could not perform his duties in the Holy Place until he had been washed. Man cannot enter into the presence of God until he has a new nature.

Moses washed Aaron first. They then washed themselves. We were washed by the blood by the Holy Spirit, after that we come to the Word for cleansing.

Hebrews 10:22 (NASB) let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

1 Peter 1:22 (NASB) Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,

John 13:10 (NASB) Jesus said^ to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."

The word washed means literally, "bathe" as the priest was washed all over at the Laver on the day of his consecration which answers to the new birth.

The Laver speaks to Christ, the cleanser of His people. Without faith, the book is only ink and paper. The bible reveals Christ.

We say that we go back to the cross. Be careful that you don't make the finished work of Jesus of no effect. You don't need to saved again, you need only to be washed in the regenerative water of God's word. Most people mean that they come back to a fresh awareness of Christ when they come back to the cross.

Midway between the two Altars (salvation) and praise, you need your hands and feet washed by water (Word and Spirit).

Exodus 40:11 (NASB) "And you shall anoint the laver and its stand, and consecrate it.

Leviticus 8:10 (NASB) Moses then took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.

11 And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them.

The Laver was sprinkled with blood, anointed with oil and contained water. Water of word is for cleansing. It comes from the blood of Jesus, by the Spirit of God.

1 John 5:7 (NASB) And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.

8 For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

1 John 2:1 (NASB) My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

The Laver speaks of the everyday walk. We are not to sin, but if we do, we have someone - Jesus, making intercession for us.

Colossians 3:16 (NASB) Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

You need the Word and water - a balance. The Law alone is dead.

2 Corinthians 3:6 (NASB) who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The Church is like a fertile desert. Nothing will grow without water. The ground is fertile and if you water, plants grow. The Church is fertile ground, but it will not grow without water (the Holy Spirit). Knowledge without the Spirit is no good

1 Corinthians 8:1 (NASB) Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.

Let the Spirit of God through the Word of God turn the search light of His presence on you and reveal the short comings of your life. Don't do like the Pharisee's and say, "I thank Thee that I am not as other men are. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all I posses, etc." The Laver reflects what is there. It shows beauty or deformities, but cannot change either.

Remember playing hide and seek at night. When your parents called you in for your bath, you wondered - why bathe? You didn't think you were dirty. When you came into the light, you could see just how dirty you were. The Word of God exposed your sin. It also shows the right way to walk.

The water is also refreshing. Washing your feet is refreshing. One might be a priest and yet, because of uncleanness, be unfit to exercise priestly functions. So can a child of God who is living in habitual neglect of God's Word or unconfessed sin, have no communion with Him or the ability to serve or worship Him.

Numbers 5:12 (NASB) "Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, 'If any man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him,

13 and a man has intercourse with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is undetected, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act,

14 if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has defiled herself, or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself,

15 the man shall then bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of memorial, a reminder of iniquity.

16 'Then the priest shall bring her near and have her stand before the LORD,

17 and the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel; and he shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.

18 'The priest shall then have the woman stand before the LORD and let the hair of the woman's head go loose, and place the grain offering of memorial in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy, and in the hand of the priest is to be the water of bitterness that brings a curse.

19 'And the priest shall have her take an oath and shall say to the woman, "If no man has lain with you and if you have not gone astray into uncleanness, being under the authority of your husband, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse;

20 if you, however, have gone astray, being under the authority of your husband, and if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has had intercourse with you "

21 (then the priest shall have the woman swear with the oath of the curse, and the priest shall say to the woman), "the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people by the LORD'S making your thigh waste away and your abdomen swell;

22 and this water that brings a curse shall go into your stomach, and make your abdomen swell and your thigh waste away." And the woman shall say, "Amen. Amen."

This is the only time the floor of the tabernacle is mentioned it the bible.

New testament Israel has committed adultery, but in this case, the husband (Jesus) partook of the cup and took the curse. The earth was cursed when Adam fell. Jesus was crowned with thorns - the picture of the curse of the dust of the earth. The products of the cursed earth were thorns and thessels. He suffered the penalty of our adultery.

Exodus 38:8 (NASB) Moreover, he made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze, from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

The women gave their mirrors. They sacrificed what might have gratified their vanity. There are many who profess to love the Lord and yet adorn themselves in the grandeur of the earth. They look at themselves in their own mirror's and think as the world. The thoughts of man are not the thoughts of God. They seem to be well thought of in the world that cast out Jesus. The only record we have of people ministering personally to Jesus is by women

Proverbs 27:19 (NASB) As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man.

James 1:23 (NASB) 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;

24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

25 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 shall be blessed in what he does.

The mirror revealed man to himself.

Romans 3:20 (NASB) because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

The mirror always tells the truth, but you must stay in front of it or you will forget. The Laver revealed dirtiness, but they had to wash. So it is with us. The Word will show us were we are dirty, but we must wash(confess our sins). We must choose to walk in what He says. When you see Jesus revealed through the Word of God, it causes you to fall on your face and worship. If you're not scared, you haven't seen much. When you see God, you become like a worm. In His presence we see our need for cleansing.

Blood and water are used to purify. Blood for atonement and water for cleansing. The first Adam was put to sleep and from his side God took a rib and made his bride. The two were one and became two. Through marriage they became one again. The second Adam was put to sleep on the cross and when a spear was thrust into His side, out came blood and water. The two things which are used in the creation of His bride. God, the Father sent God, the Holy Spirit to purify the church, the bride of Christ. They are now two. When the marriage takes place, they will again become one.

We need to wash because although we are saved, justified and in Christ, we are still in this world of defilement and sin. In our business life, social life, and even in our religious life, we are exposed to the defilement's of the world and flesh. The very air we breathe is polluted.

1 John 1:8 (NASB) If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The Word of God is the power of God unto salvation.

Romans 1:16 (NASB) For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

People turn to many other places for salvation, but the cleansing can only come through the blood of Jesus - not education or changes of environment.

The Bible doesn't give any dimensions for the Laver. we don't know how big it was or how much water it held. This tells us that we have unlimited provisions for cleansing and refreshing. The Laver is never referred to again until we get to the building of Solomon's temple. It was the only piece of furniture which was not covered during transit.

1 Kings 7:38 (NASB) And he made ten basins of bronze, one basin held forty baths; each basin was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin.

Zechariah 13:1 (NASB) "In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.

2 "And it will come about in that day," declares the LORD of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

That day began when Jesus rose. That fountain is Jesus. He is forgiveness for all of our sins.

Psalms 24:3 (NASB) Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, And has not sworn deceitfully.

1 Peter 3:3 (NASB) And let not your adornment be merely external-- braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;

4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

Psalms 139:23 (NASB) Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB) 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.

We want to look into a mirror and see that we have been changed into the image of God. As we see God we are changed into His image.

1 Peter 1:15 (NASB) but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;

16 because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."

Those who minister before the Lord must be clean. One needs to be well aquatinted with both the Author and the Book to accomplish a God glorified work. Many of the Lord's people lack knowledge and relationship, which results in dead works.

The Tabernacle is a picture of heavens reality. Amen