The Brazen Laver

The second furniture of the Tabernacle followed by the brazen altar is the Brazen Laver. The Brazen Laver is a picture of the "Word of God pointing to who we are in Christ Jesus". The designs for the Brazen Laver is described in Exodus 30:17-21. It is made up of bronze, hence the name brazen laver. "Bronze" in Biblical symbology represents "judgement".

The priests working in the tabernacle would wash their hands and feet using the water from the brazen laver right after offering the sacrificial lamb and before entering into the "Holy Place" inside the tent of the tabernacle. The bronze metal used for the making of the brazen laver were actually bronze mirrors which the women of Israel used. The bronze mirrors were all collected and melted in order to construct the brazen laver. The Bible says:

“And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation” - Exodus 38:8

The significance of the brazen laver is, once we have been born again by putting our faith in the Gospel of Grace, we judge and see ourselves based on what the Word of God says. Just like how we look at ourselves in a mirror, likewise we look at ourselves in Christ through God's Word. The Word of God calls us blameless and righteous in Christ Jesus, not because of what we did, but because of His finished work on the cross. The Bible says:

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” - 2 Corinthians 5:21

When our Lord Jesus knew that his hour had come, He took a towel, girded Himself, poured water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of His disciples. Our Lord Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:14), who was washing the feet of His disciples, just like the brazen laver. When apostle Peter asked Jesus to wash his entire body and not just his feet, our Lord answered in John 13:10 saying, he that is already washed need only to wash his feet. What our Lord meant is, once you have been "born again in the Spirit" you need not have to be born again over and over, but rather, you need to keep washing yourself by the water of His Word. For this reason apostle Paul said, referring to the Church, which is the many membered body of Christ, saying:

“That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” - Ephesians 5:26

There are various situations which we come across in our day to day life which tends to shift our focus from Christ to ourselves, which makes us to question and doubt whether the Lord is with us. Ultimately, we end up walking by sight rather than walking by faith. It is God's Word which re-aligns our focus from self to Christ and makes us to continue walking by faith rather than by sight. The water of God's precious Words washes away any sort of doubts and questions and gives us a clear picture of who we are in Christ. Jesus said:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” - John 15:1-2

The word "purgeth" in this context, in the Greek, is the word "kathairo", which means "to cleanse of filth or impurity". The pruning process is not cutting away the branch, but rather its the washing and cleansing of the branch with water, in order to remove dust, bacteria, pests, filth, impurities, etc. from the branch. God's Word keeps our conscious clear by assuring that God no longer sees our sins, but instead He sees us washed in the Blood of Jesus. The Bible says that "God is righteous in making us righteous":

"To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" - Romans 3:26

Notice that in the above verse the Bible does not say that He is merciful in making us righteous, but rather it says that He is righteous (just) in making us righteous. To be merciful is to not give us the punishment which we deserve. To be righteous is to punish us, or to punish someone else in our place. The reason as to why God the Father sees us righteous today is because "Jesus paid the price". All our sins were judged in our Lord Jesus's body when He hung on the cross. When our conscious is clear, we can remain at rest knowing that God is for us and not against us because of Jesus's finished redemptive work on the cross. It is for this reason, all the promises of God mentioned in the Bible are "YES". God doesn't say yes or bless us because we say repetitive prayers, but rather He says yes and blesses us because we have put our faith in His Son. The Bible says:

"For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" - 2 Corinthians 1:20

King David said:

"Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile" - Psalm 32:2

Apostle Paul says the same in Romans 4:8 and chimes with what King David said, as it is because of Jesus's finished redemptive work on the cross, God sees the Blood of Christ upon us and does not impute sin to us.

This is why it is very important to spend time everyday reading God's Word, as it cleanses us, it removes any kind of doubts which we may have, and at the same time gives us answers to the questions which we may have. Jesus's way of cleansing His people (the Church) is with the washing of water by the Word.