Lessons from the Tabernacle of the Wilderness Pt. 10 by Chris White

“If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Jn.13:8

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 Jn. 1:9

The bronze laver stood between the altar and the tent of meeting in the Tabernacle complex.  It was a special wash-basin because it was made of polished metal that acted as a mirror.  This would allow the priests to inspect themselves and make certain that they were fully cleansed from all stains of blood from the altar before entering into the holy place.  As the tabernacle depicts Christ, the laver is a reminder that Jesus was a perfect man without spot or blemish and therefore a perfect sacrifice before the Father on the cross.  As it depicts the Christian life, the laver reminds us of baptism.  After responding to the Cross (which is represented by the bronze altar of sacrifice), the believer is to be washed in the waters of baptism.  Like the priests who became stained through their work, we too become stained with sin as we walk in the world.  We don’t need to return to the altar, but rather the laver.  After baptism we are cleansed through confession of sin and the “washing of water with the word..(Eph. 5:26).”  One of the oldest questions of humanity is “Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? (Job 4: 17).  In the cross of Christ and the continuing process of the Spirit sanctifying the believer, the answer to this is yes and amen.

In closing this series on the Tabernacle of the Wilderness I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and Omega who was and is and is to come.”  The tabernacle was pitched in the very center of Israel’s encampment in the wilderness.  If you could look at it’s furnishings from the altar to the ark of the covenant from above, you would see they are arranged in the form of a cross.  Furthermore, the gate always faced east which is the direction from which our day and hence our lives begin.  There is no back exit for the sun to set on, because in Christ, life is without end.  Death is merely a transition from earth’s pilgrimage in the wilderness to the wonderful communion we will share in the City of God.  May Christ be at the heart and center of your great pilgrimage until then!