“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall 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; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD: So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations” (Exo. 30:17-21).
“Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for timely help” (Heb. 4:16).
“Having therefore, brothers, boldness for entering the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which He dedicated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh” (Heb. 10:19-20).
In the foregoing chapters we have seen that all the Lord’s work depends upon the priestly ministry. And we must keep in mind that when we use the word “priesthood,” it does not only mean the office of the priests, but also the body of priests. All the ministries throughout all generations depend on the priesthood. The army of God in the Old Testament was a priestly army, and even the Apostle Paul preached the gospel as a priestly evangelist (Rom. 15:16). He served the Lord as a priest in the gospel of God. These cases show us that all the ministries and works of God depend upon the priesthood.
Now we must see the practical way to be a living priest. I believe that Hebrews 4:16 and 10:19-20 are very familiar to all Christians who read the Bible. We all know that we must come unto the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to meet our timely need. And we know that we must have boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies to contact the Lord by the blood through a new and living way. We know these verses, but have we ever considered that they describe a priest? According to the Old Testament, only the priests could enter the Holy of Holies and touch the throne of grace.
The throne of grace is the mercy seat, which is composed of three things: the testimony (the law), the two cherubim of glory, and the blood sprinkled on the cover of the ark under the two watching cherubim. The composition of these three things is the mercy seat. Thus, the mercy seat is the law, the glory, and the blood. The law is the testimony and definition of God. The glory of God convicts us, but the blood of Jesus speaks for us. It is through the blood that the judgment seat of the Lord becomes the mercy seat. And this mercy seat is the very throne of grace.
Only the priests could enter the Holy of Holies and touch the throne of grace. If we are familiar with Hebrews 4:16 and 10:19, we realize that these two verses speak of the priests.
However, any priest who would enter the Holy of Holies must pass through many things. In the outer court there is first of all the altar. Then, between the tabernacle and the altar there is the laver. When a priest is going to enter into the Holy of Holies, he not only has to pass through the altar and the laver, but also through the veil. He must pass through these three main things. Do we adequately realize what all these things mean to us?
At the altar, it is mainly sin and sins that are dealt with. Many kinds of offerings, such as the trespass offering and the sin offering, must be offered to the Lord there. These offerings are for the purpose of dealing with sin and sins.
Have you fully dealt with the matter of sin? Christians, more or less, are careless with the problem of sin. If the Lord Jesus were to stand before us, we would sense that we are sinful in many respects. In certain things we are wrong with others, and in other things we are wrong with the Lord. We are so careless about our sins. But when we go into the Holy of Holies as a priest, we cannot be careless about sin. Anything sinful must be dealt with at the altar. We must go to the Lord again and again to deal with this matter.
First John chapter one tells us that when we stay in the fellowship, we are in the light. Then we see our sinfulness. Our shortcomings and weaknesses are exposed by the light, and we need the cleansing of the blood. We do need the altar to deal with our sins.
Most Christians today do not have a deep and full sense of sin and sins. When they pray to the Lord, they do not have the conviction that they are so sinful. Therefore, they do not apply the blood. But one who is really with the Lord is so conscious of sin. He will stay at the altar to deal with his sins by applying the blood of the Lord.