The bronze used to overlay the altar came from the censers of the two hundred fifty rebellious ones who were judged by God. After these rebellious ones were judged, the Lord said to Moses, “Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed. The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel” (Num. 16:37-38). This indicates that the bronze on the altar should remind God’s people of His judgment upon the rebels. Therefore, the bronze used to overlay the altar became a reminder of God’s judgment on rebellion.
The bronze on the laver came from the looking glasses of the women who assembled at the door of the tent of meeting (Exo. 38:8). The Hebrew word for “assembling” in 38:8 means to assemble by troops. This is another indication that all the camps of the children of Israel were troops. The women who assembled at the door of the tent of meeting assembled to serve as troops. In other words, their service also was part of the military service. The looking glasses of these women were used to make the laver of bronze. This implies that the laver of bronze was a looking glass, a mirror, that could reflect and expose. Whereas the bronze on the altar was a reminder of God’s judgment, the bronze on the laver was a mirror to expose God’s people. It indicates that the judgment suffered by Christ on the cross has the power to expose us.
Those who came to the laver had their uncleanness exposed. In this way they would realize their need to wash. I remember a time years ago when my children refused to admit that they were dirty and needed to wash. I picked up a mirror and held it in front of them. When they saw themselves in the mirror, they were convinced that they were dirty and they were willing to wash themselves. Likewise, the bronze of the laver is a mirror reflecting our condition and exposing our dirt. Therefore, the bronze at the altar reminds us of God’s judgment, and the bronze at the laver reminds us that we are dirty and need to wash.
At the laver we have the bronze, the mirror, and the water. When we are at the laver, the bronze should remind us that whatever is sinful, earthly, and fleshly has been judged by God on the cross. But although we may confess our sins, we may not realize how much we are still worldly and fleshly. In the sight of God we have been redeemed, but we still need to be washed. Having been redeemed by the blood at the altar, we need to be washed by the water in the laver.
Among Christians today not many messages have been given telling the believers that, even though it is wonderful to be redeemed through the blood of Christ, we still need to be washed by the life-giving Spirit. Although we have confessed our sins, we still need to deal with defilement, with the dirt that comes from the earthly touch. We also need to deal with the defilement that comes from the flesh and the natural life. Therefore, we need to be washed by the life-giving Spirit.
Every day we first need to offer Christ as the sin offering and the trespass offering. On the one hand, this will lead us to experience Christ as our life supply and as the food that is offered to God. On the other hand, it will lead us to the realization that we need the washing of the life-giving Spirit.
The more we walk in the Spirit and live in the mingled spirit, the more we shall be washed. Each washing will be a reminder not to go to certain places, contact certain persons, or be involved in situations that will defile us. Even though we may not do anything sinful, we may touch something worldly and natural and thereby be defiled. If we remain in a condition of defilement, we shall not be able to pray, serve the Lord, or function in the meetings. If we try to function without washing away the defilement in the laver, we shall experience death.
I can testify that this understanding and interpretation of the significance of the laver corresponds to our experience. What we have said regarding the laver in this message can be confirmed by our experience.
Exodus 30:18 says, “And you shall make a laver of bronze, and 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.” The base of the laver signifies steadfastness. The laver was put between the tent of meeting and the altar to continue the work of the altar for the entrance into the tabernacle. The water put into the laver signifies the washing of the life-giving Spirit (see Eph. 5:26).
Verse 19 continues, “And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it.” As we have pointed out, this washing signifies the washing away of the defilement that comes from the earthly touch (John 13:10).
Verses 20 and 21 say, “When they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, that they may not die; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering by fire to Jehovah, then they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they may not die. And it shall be an eternal statute to them, to him and to his seed throughout their generations.” The priests were to wash in the laver in order to be kept away from death. Today we need the washing of the life-giving Spirit to avoid spiritual death.
The priests needed to wash in the laver when going into the tent of meeting or coming to the altar to minister. As the last part of verse 21 points out, this was to be an eternal statute, an eternal principle for all generations.
According to Exodus 30, immediately after the incense altar, we have the silver for God’s building and God’s move, and then the laver of bronze for the operation of God’s dwelling place. Without the propitiation silver, there would not be a way to have God’s dwelling place built up or a way for God’s dwelling place to move. Furthermore, if there were no laver of bronze, there would not be a way to have the operation of God’s building. Without the laver, God’s building would come to a standstill, and everything related to it would be quiet.
Now we can understand why the propitiation silver and the laver of bronze immediately follow the golden incense altar. We need the silver for the building up of God’s dwelling place and for its move. We need the bronze for the operation of God’s dwelling place. This means that the actual operation in the church life depends on the laver of bronze.
As we shall see, in Exodus 30 we also have the ingredients of the ointment and of the incense. The ointment and the incense belong with the propitiation silver and the laver of bronze. Therefore, after the incense altar we have four items: silver, bronze, ointment, and incense. After we have the silver and the bronze of the laver, we need the ointment to anoint us, and we also need the incense to burn on the incense altar for intercession.
I would encourage you to pray about the propitiation silver and the laver of bronze and to have fellowship concerning them. The proper understanding of these matters requires much prayer and fellowship.