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The outer court of the Tabernacle consisted of two objects: a bronze altar, and a bronze laver. The altar depicts the atoning work of Jesus Christ at the cross, and the laver the daily work of the Word to bring us to confession of sin and repentance.
Jesus – Our Tabernacle (The Altar and Laver)
Exodus 27:1-8; 30:17-21
Last Sunday I gave you a general overview of the Tabernacle. The purpose of the Tabernacle, was so that God could dwell with His people. The position of the Tabernacle was at the very center of all the tribes of Israel. Looking down from a bird’s eye view the tribes camped around the Tabernacle looked like a cross. Not only that, but there were 4 banners. One had the face of a man, another the image of a calf, another the image of an eagle, and another the image of a lion. Interestingly, the four living creatures mentioned in Revelation 4 appear exactly the same way! We also saw that the Tabernacle was a copy of the true one in heaven. It was a replica of the original, and so God gave very specific instructions as to how it was to be constructed, so that it was a perfect copy of the true. The portal to the Tabernacle was the gate in the fence. There was only one gate or entrance, signifying the truth that there is only one way to God, through the Son of God who was sacrificed for sin. We ended our study by looking at the presentation of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle had a completely different presentation to outsiders than to insiders. The only thing an outsider would see of the Tabernacle was its drab, dull, grayish-blue covering. There was nothing attractive about the external appearance of the Tabernacle. However, if you were privileged to be a priest, you could enter into the Tabernacle and behold its glory! Inside everything was made of pure gold, and there were blue, purple, and scarlet embroidered into the fine twisted linen curtain that formed its roof. The unbeliever sees nothing glorious in Christ, but the person born of the Spirit has his spiritual eyes opened to see the beauty and glory of Christ.
Well, this morning we are going to make our way through that single gate to the east of the Tabernacle, and take a look at the outer court. Oleg, would you put up that picture of the Tabernacle again? Between the fence and the Tabernacle there was an open space called the outer court. In this courtyard there were two objects – a bronze altar, and a bronze laver. This morning we are going to consider these two objects.
1. The Bronze Altar (27:1-8)
Read Ex.27:1-8.
The Materials for the Altar. The altar was to be made of acacia wood overlayed with bronze. Throughout Scripture, bronze is associated with judgment. It was here at the altar that sin was judged. The altar is a picture of the cross of Christ.
The Position of the Altar. The bronze altar was the first object to meet the eye after passing through the gate into the courtyard. The whole Tabernacle system shows how a person can approach God. Well, the very first thing the person must do is to come to the altar. The priest could not proceed any further toward God until he had first stopped at the altar and offered sacrifice. My friends, there is absolutely no approach to God unless you first come to the cross. The starting point of salvation is when we trust in Christ, the perfect sacrifice for sin. We can have no fellowship with God, no witness for God, and no prayer to God until we have come to the cross of Jesus Christ. The altar stands as a picture of Christ crucified. It is not enough to admire the holy life of Jesus, or delight in the Sermon the Mount, or decide you are going to imitate the example of Jesus. None of that will save you. You must entrust your soul to the crucified Savior. You must put your personal trust in Christ who died for sin. You must come to the altar, and lay the sacrifice at the feet of the priest to be slaughtered and consumed in the flames. Have you done that, my friend? Are you trusting in His blood? William Cowper wrote these words in a hymn, “There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains.”
The Size of the Altar. Ex.27:1. The altar was 7.5′ long by 7.5′ wide by 4.5′ high. It was a very large and imposing structure. This object towered above all the rest. All the other sacred furniture could fit in this one. The word “altar” means “to lift up.” Some of the images I saw on the internet of the altar have a sort of ramp that goes up with the altar sitting on top of it, so that it is lifted up very high. All of this points to the fact that God would have us see the immense importance of the cross of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 6:14, “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” He said in 1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” My friends, it is impossible to exaggerate the importance of the cross of Christ. The cross is the event that split history into two. Nothing compares with it in terms of eternal significance. It deserves to be lifted up and exalted and gloried in!
The Horns of the Altar. Ex.27:2. In the Bible, horns stand for power. The place of power in the ox or ram is its horns. Interestingly, this altar was to be constructed with horns attached to the four corners. Doesn’t that illustrate the truth that the gospel is the very power of God?! Doesn’t it reveal the mighty saving power in the cross of Jesus Christ? Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Further, Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God, for salvation to everyone who believes.” Have you experienced the mighty power of the cross to save and transform your life? We are not the power of God. Our testimony, stories and opinions are not the power of God. But the gospel IS the power of God! It is the power of God for salvation. Praise God! When you share the gospel with a lost sinner, never despair. There is enough power in the gospel you share to save anyone God chooses to save. “There is Power, Power, wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb!”
The Availability of the Altar. Notice also that there were four horns on the altar, one at each corner, pointing North, South, East, and West. The four horns pointed to the four directions of the compass. Does not this point to the truth that God has made the cross available to all peoples of the world? When we get to heaven, we will find representatives there from every tribe, people, tongue and nation. It is not just the Jew that the cross saves, but Gentiles from every part of the world, the four corners of the earth. Even in the Old Testament, God permitted people from other nations who were sojourning among the children of Israel to bring an animal to the priests at the Tabernacle for a sacrifice (Num. 15:14). This was the only part of the Tabernacle that was accessible to all. The finished work of Jesus Christ is offered to and available to all men. Christianity is not just an American religion! It is not just White or Black man’s religion. The gospel is a universal message that can transform anyone from any culture on the planet! The gospel has taken deep root not only in America, but also in China, South Korea, and Africa. It is transforming lives in South America, Canada, Russia, Australia, and every place on the globe! Romans 10:12-13 says, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
The Purpose of the Altar. Why did God have an altar placed where it was. What was its purpose? Leviticus 1:2-4 gives us some insight, “ “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, `When any man of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock. If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.” What was the purpose of sacrificing an animal to the Lord? Verse 3 says “that he may be accepted before the Lord.” Verse 4 says “to make atonement on his behalf.” The altar presents a picture of how a sinner can be reconciled with God. Israel broke God’s law, sinned against Him, and defiled themselves. Thus they were in a spiritual state that God could not accept. However, God desires fellowship with His people. Thus, He established the sacrificial system to take place at the bronze altar at the tent of meeting, so that He could accept them and that atonement might be made for them.
The altar revealed the utter sinfulness of sin. Try to picture that man bringing a docile bleating lamb to the doorway of the tent of meeting. As he takes the knife in his hand, the lamb begins to kick and strain to get away, bleating in fear. But the man persists and slits the animal’s throat, the blood draining all over his hands and clothes and ground. Folks, that’s not pretty, but sin isn’t pretty. Sin is hideous. Jesus, dying naked and deserted on a Roman cross, with his back like hamburger, and his hands and feet pierced with spikes, was not a pretty sight. Sin is ugly!
The altar also revealed the way of atonement. There was only one way to be free from the guilt of sin. That was for a man’s guilt to be paid for by an innocent substitute. As the man lays his hand on the innocent animal’s head, he was symbolically transferring his guilt to the animal, and the innocence of the victim was transferred to him. When the animal was slain and burned on the altar, God accepted the death of the animal instead of the death of the guilty. All of this points to the fact that the sinner can only be reconciled to God by a substitutionary sacrifice. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
The Provision of the Altar. What did the bronze altar provide? Well, a couple of things.
First, it provided the covering of sins, and secondly, it provided access to the presence of God in the Tabernacle. If an Israelite rejected the provision of the altar, he was shut out from God’s mercy. Many Israelites may have thought that Moses was crazy, that God hadn’t spoken, that God would never condone the slaughter of innocent animals. They might have concluded that all of this was just disgusting! And it is the same with those that reject the message of the cross today. They say, “your message is so bloody and repulsive!” But in rejecting the message of the blood of Christ, they seal their doom! Oh, make sure that you receive the provision of the cross – reconciliation with God and access into His presence!
2. The Bronze Laver (Ex.30:17-21)
Read Ex. 30:17-21.
Differences Between the Altar and the Laver. There are some similarities between these 2 objects. Both were included in the outer court, and both were made of bronze. However, there are many differences between the two.
Altar Laver
Connected with blood Connected with water
Propitiation Purification
Available to all Available only to priests who went to altar
Justification Sanctification
“Without shedding of blood…” “Without holiness, no man shall…”
Jesus – Our Sacrifice The Holy Spirit – Our Sanctifier
The Material of the Laver. The laver was built of pure bronze, because the laver pictures the self-judgment of the believer. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:31, “But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.”
The Position of the Laver. The altar came first, and then the laver, as the priest made his way into the presence of God. This is the divine order. Justification precedes sanctification. The Feast of Passover precedes the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in which there was to be no leaven in the households.
The Purpose of the Laver. God instructed Moses to construct the laver, so that the priests could wash their hands and feet before they entered into the Holy Place to minister unto Him. Remember, that there was no floor in the Tabernacle, just dirt or sand. The priest came into daily contact with dirt that defiled him. His hands were stained with blood that made him unclean. He had to be cleansed before he could enter the tent to serve, worship and fellowship with God. It just would not do for a priest of God to enter the Holy Place with dirty feet and blood-stained hands.
My friends, you and I are believer-priests. We too come into contact with the things in the world daily that defile us. We need to be cleansed from those things that defile us from our contact with the world. We need a laver. We deal with spiritually dead people in the world, natural men, devoid of the Spirit. All they can transmit is death. We work on jobs where cursing, filth, and smutty jokes are the order of the day. We turn on our television and see trash. We open a magazine or look at a billboard and are defiled. We need daily cleansing from daily sins of contact with the world.
We find this beautifully illustrated by our Lord in John 13. After Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, He came to Peter, but Peter protested. He said, “Never shall You wash my feet!” What was Jesus’ reply? “If I do not wash you, you have no part (fellowship) with Me.” Typical old Peter then cried, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Lord, if I must be washed to have part with You, then wash me all over! Jesus has to correct Him. Jesus replied, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean.” The disciples had been saved from sin. They had “bathed.” They were completely clean. However, they still needed their feet washed. They needed that part that was defiled by contact with the world cleansed by the Master. That is a picture of us. We have washed in the blood of the Lamb. We are completely clean. We are justified. However, we still need our feet washed by the Lord. We are defiled by our daily contact with the world. We need to take our dirty feet to the nail-scarred hands of Jesus Christ, and humbly ask Him to wash them. What are we talking about? Confession of sin and repentance toward God.
The Symbolism of the Laver.
- Ex.38:8 says, “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.” Interesting! The serving women took their mirrors and donated it to the craftsmen who melted it and turned it into the laver. The women did not have mirrors made of glass like we have. They had mirrors made of very finely polished bronze. James 1:23-25 says that hearing the Word of God is like looking into a mirror. Some people hear the Word but don’t do the Word. They are like me when I look at myself in the mirror in the morning, and see my hair shooting straight up. But then they get distracted and forget about the fact that they need to comb their hair. The Word of God acts like a mirror.
- Exodus 30:18-19 says, “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. Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it.” So, what is the New Testament equivalent of the water in the laver? Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” How does Christ sanctify His bride? By the washing of water with the word. How does Christ beautify His church so that she will be holy and blameless? He sanctifies her by the washing of water with the word. Jesus said in John 15:3, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” Jesus said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
Folks, the Word of God is like a mirror to show us our blemishes. The word of God is like water to wash away our defilements. Friends, you are a priest to God. How often are you washing at the laver? How frequently do you come to the Word of God, so that God can show you the dirt on your feet and the blood on your hands? How often do you allow the Word to bring you to the point of confessing your sin, and repenting from it? I have really found our going through the New Testament, one chapter a day, to do just that! It has been wonderful to see the power of the Word to sanctify us!
The Privileges of the Laver. Washing at the laver allowed the priest to enter into the tent of meeting to serve, and worship, and fellowship with God. If the priest entered the Tabernacle without washing at the laver, he would die. Exodus 30:20 says, “when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die.” My friends, you can’t get any further in your Christian life until you learn to wash away your daily defilement through time in the Word, confessing sin and repenting from it. The Bible says, “without holiness no man shall see the Lord” (Heb.12:14). Sin unfits us for serving the Lord. A priest that refused to wash in the laver, was unfit to enter the tent and serve God. Friends, our secret sins may not affect our life before others, but they will instantly affect our relationship with God!
Conclusion
There are two mistakes people commonly make.
- People try to come to God without going to the cross first. They try to walk into the holy of holies without going to the altar first. Many are trying to have a relationship with God, but they have never been to the cross. They have never been convicted of their sin. They have never grieved over how they have slighted God and His Son. They have never been broken. They have never seen Christ as their sin-bearer. They have never trusted Him as their Substitute. They have never put their faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to wash away their sin. Friends, you can’t go to God unless you come to the cross first. We need to come like David did in Psalm 51:1-9, “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.” Have you gone to the altar for forgiveness of sin?
- People try to serve the Lord without pursuing holiness. The priest could not enter the Tabernacle without washing at the laver on the pain of death. So too, you and I can not serve the Lord acceptably while we allow known sin to continue unconfessed and unrepented of. Inside the Tabernacle was the table of showbread, signifying our fellowship with God. There was also the Gold Lampstand, signifying Christ as the revealer of truth. Also, there was the Golden Altar of Incense, signifying our prayers offered to God. We can’t fellowship with God, bear to others the truth of God, or have a true prayer life with God, unless we are continually dealing with our sin. An unholy man is unfit for service. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:17-18, “”Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.” Did you hear that? Come out from the midst of the wicked and the profane and be separate. Don’t participate in their evil ways. Live a holy life. Stop living in sexual sin. Stop lying and stealing and cheating. Stop taking the name of the Lord in vain. Stop dishonoring your father and mother. Separate yourself from these evil ways. And what is the result? God will welcome you! God will be a father to you! You shall be a son or daughter unto Him! What is better than that?! Brothers and sisters, let go of all of the evil things from your past. God is calling you to be different, to be separate, to be holy. Paul goes on in 2 Corinthians 7:1 to say, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Let’s pray.
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