Holy
Laver
We read in Ex. 30:17 where God spake to Moses: "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." The laver was for
washing for Aaron
and his sons, the priests. As we will notice there
were occasions when
they would be washed and occasions when they would
wash themselves.
The following verses teach us that Aaron and his
sons were to be washed
before the holy garments were placed upon them:
1. Ex. 29:4, "And
Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door
of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt
wash them with water."
2. Ex. 40:11, 12, "And
thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot and
sanctify it. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons
unto the door of
the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them
with water."
3. Lev. 8:6, "and
Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them
with water."
In the occasions above
we see that Aaron and his sons did not wash
themselves, but rather were washed prior to having
the holy garments
placed upon them.
In comparison there
were times when Aaron and his sons were to wash
themselves prior to going into the tabernacle: Ex.
30:18 21, "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 shall they
wash their hands and
their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a
statue forever to them,
even to him and his seed throughout their
generations." Thus there were
two types of washings. Washings that were done to
the priests and
washings the priests did to themselves.
In the new testament
there are at least seven washings that apply to
the child of God. In two of these washings the
scriptures teach that
God is the one who does the washing. These washings
are as follows:
1. Rev. 1:5, "Unto him
that loved us and washed us from our sins in
his own blood..." This is a judicial washing and
teaches us that
through the shed blood of Jesus we are cleansed from
our sins before the
just and holy God.
2. Tit. 3:4, 5, "But
after that the kindness and love of God our
Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have
done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost..."
This is an internal
washing that the Holy Ghost does to us when we are
born again of the
Spirit. This is the same washing that is taught in
John 3:5, "Except a
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom
of God." Likewise, we read in Eph. 5:26, "That he
might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word."
Thus Jesus
sanctified and cleansed us when he spoke the word of
life into us in the
new birth. Therefore, this washing God applies to us
in the new birth.
3. Rev. 7:13, 14, "And
one of the elders answered, saying unto me,
What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And
whence came they?
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said
to me, These are
they which came out of great tribulation, and have
washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." This
is an experiential
washing. When God's redeemed see themselves as poor
ruined,
hell deserving sinners and then afterwards they see
that Jesus died for
them, then in the experience of their heart they by
faith see themselves
righteous before God.
4. Acts 22:16, "And
now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized,
and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the
Lord." Water baptism
is a ceremonial washing. According to 1 Pet. 3:21
water baptism does
not put away the filth of the flesh (sins) but is
the answer of a good
conscience toward God. Water baptism shows forth the
death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus. Thru Jesus' death and
resurrection our sins are
atoned for, forgiven, and put away. Thus when a
child of God is
baptized he is signifying that Jesus died and arose
to put away his
sins. Thus, in the ordinance of baptism, he is
ceremoniously washing
away his sins. This is akin to the old testament
Passover when the
children of Israel thru applying the blood of the
slain lamb to the
upper door post and two side posts, ceremoniously
cleansed their house
from the avenger of sin.
5. 1 John 1:7 9, "But
if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ his
son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we
have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness." This washing is the daily
washing of our
conscience from the pollution of sin guiltiness.
When we sin against
God our heart condemns us. When we confess our sin
to God he forgives
us and causes us to realize our sins have been
washed in his atoning
blood at the cross.
6. II Cor. 7:1,
"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved,
let
us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Also James
4:8, "Cleanse your
hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double
minded." The child
of God applies this cleansing when he strives to
walk uprightly
according to God's word. This cleansing doesn't make
him upright, but
brings his lifestyle into conformity to the redeemed
upright stature
that God has made him.
7. In John chapter 13
Jesus washed the disciples feet and then
commanded them to wash one another's feet. Washing
of the saints feet
requires humility. Pride is perhaps the biggest
enemy that a child of
God must overcome in his Christian walk. God resists
the proud, but
giveth grace to the humble. While washing the saints
feet is a
ceremonial washing of humility, it points us to the
need to walk humbly
before God and man.
Holy Garments Part I
In Ex. 28:1 4 we read where God commanded the
children of Israel to
make holy garments for Aaron for glory and beauty
and to consecrate him
to serve and minister in the priest's office. They
were commanded to
make a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a broidered
coat, a mitre, and a
girdle. We will look at several aspects of the
"holy" garments.
The Lord told some unbelieving Jews, "Search the
scriptures, for in
them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are
they which testify of
me." The Lord said the scriptures are a testimony of
him. The
scriptures under consideration at that time were the
old testament
scriptures for the new testament hadn't been written
at that time. Thus
the old testament is a testimony of Jesus Christ!
This is an essential
element of studying the old testament, that we seek
to see Jesus in the
types and shadows therein and in the prophecies and
declarations.
The holy garments of the high priest are designed to
declare unto us
certain aspects of the person and work of our High
Priest Jesus Christ.
In the description of the holy garments given in
Exodus chapter 28
certain aspects of these garments are highlighted.
The first aspect of
the garments we will consider is the colors of the
garments. The colors
included in the garments are gold, blue, purple,
scarlet, and
fine twined linen (white). The ephod, breastplate,
and curious girdle
are made of all 5 colors. The robe was all blue with
a hem containing
pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet and golden
bells. The mitre
was made of fine linen with a plate of gold with a
blue ribbon. The
coat was made of fine linen.
The use of colors in
the scriptures are associated with specific bible
subjects. We will consider each of the five colors
and their associated
subjects. First, however, we note that there are
three basic colors:
yellow, blue, and red. From these three basic colors
all other colors
are derived by mixture of the basic colors. For
instance, the color
purple is derived from an approximately equal
mixture of red and blue.
Also we should note that according to Webster's
dictionary gold is
defined as yellow and yellow is defined as gold in
color. The color
scarlet is a deep dark (blood) red color.
The color, gold, is
associated in the scriptures with deity and
kingship. For instance, idols were frequently made
of gold, Aaron and
the children of Israel fashioned a golden calf as a
symbol or image of
God. While, what they did was obviously wrong, yet
we see the
association. Also we see in the furniture of the
tabernacle, the ark of
the covenant (a figure of Christ) was of gold. The
mercy seat was made
of gold. We read of golden crowns, golden thrones,
and a golden sceptre
all of which are associated with kingship. The gold
of the holy
garments thus points to the deity and kingship of
Jesus Christ. He is
our high priest after the power of an endless life.
Possessed with
deity, he has the authority, purity and power of
deity to accomplish his
eternal purpose.
The color, blue, is
associated with law or commandment. We read in
Num. 15:37 40, "And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Speak unto the
children of Israel, and bid them that they made them
fringes in the
borders of their garments throughout their
generations, and that they
put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of
blue: and it shall be
unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and
remember all the
commandments of the Lord, and do them, and that ye
seek not after your
own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to
go whoring: that ye
may remember, and do all my commandments, and be
holy unto your God."
Thus when the children of Israel looked upon the
ribbon of blue they
were to remember and do the commandments and law of
God. Jesus is not
only the law giver, but he is also the keeper and
fulfiller of the law.
Jesus said in Matt. 5:17, 18, "Think not that I am
come to destroy the
law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but
to fulfill. For
verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot and one
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all
be fulfilled."
Thus, Jesus, as an high priest is the great keeper
of the law and
through his keeping of the law he fulfilled it
perfectly, thus making
himself the only one who could stand before God in
judgment to represent
his people as their perfect representative and
sacrifice.
The color, scarlet, is
the color of blood. We read in Heb. 9:19 22,
"For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the
people according to
the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats,
with water, and
scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the
book, and all the
people, saying, This is the blood of the testament
which God hath
enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood
both the
tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And
almost all things
are by the law purged with blood; and without the
shedding of blood is
no remission." Remission of sins came through the
shedding of blood of
the perfect sacrifice. Jesus as our high priest
appeared in the
presence of God to put away our sin by the sacrifice
of himself. For by
one offering he perfected for ever them that are
sanctified. Thus, the
color, scarlet points to the sacrifice of Jesus to
purge us from our
sins.
The color, purple, is
frequently found in the robes of priests and
kings. Purple is a mixture of blue and scarlet
(red). Thus Jesus in
keeping the law (blue) perfectly and then in
shedding his blood
(scarlet) for the remission of sins confirmed
himself and his work as
our High Priest and King. Furthermore, as we read in
Rev. 1:5, 6 "Unto
him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
his own blood, and
hath made us kings and priests unto God and his
Father..." Not only did
Jesus confirm himself as King and High Priest, but
he also made us to be
kings and priests unto God.
Fine linen (white) is associated with righteousness:
Rev. 19:8, "And to
her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine
linen, clean and
white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of
saints." Naturally,
we have no righteousness of our own as we read in
Is. 64;6, "But we are
all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses
are as filthy
rags..." Jesus Christ is the righteous one (1 John
2:1; Rev. 16:5; 2
Tim. 4:8) and it is he as our High Priest who hath
made us righteous: II
Cor. 5:21, "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."
Holy Garments Part
II
The ephod of the High Priest had two shoulder
pieces. On the two
shoulder pieces were two onyx stones set in ouches
of gold. The names
of the twelve children of Israel were engraved in
the two onyx stones
six in each stone. The stones were stones of
memorial unto the children
of Israel and the high priest was to bear their
names before the Lord
upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
It is obvious from the
description in Exodus chapter 28 that the twelve
names of the children of Israel were representative
of all the nation of
Israel. Twelve is used in the scripture as a
representative number.
For instance, the twelve princes of Israel
represented the twelve tribes
of Israel. In comparison our High Priest, Jesus
Christ, represented the
entire elect family of God and carried them upon his
shoulders.
The onyx stone is green in color. Green in the
scripture is associated
with life. Just as the names of the children of
Israel were written in
the two onyx stones which were green, so the names
of the elect children
of God are written in the Lamb's book of life
(green) before the
foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8; 17:8; 20:15) and
it is Jesus who
gives them life as stated in John 10:28, "And I give
unto them eternal
life..." Also Eph. 1:4 reads, "According as he hath
chosen us in him
before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without
blame before him in love."
Just as the stones
were stones of memorial for the children of Israel,
so are all the elect remembered of our God and High
Priest. It is great
assurance to the child of God that he is never and
never will be
forgotten of his God. Regardless of how long we may
lay in a grave or
our ashes scattered to the four winds, our God and
High Priest will
never forget us and will claim his jewels (children)
in the morning of
the resurrection.
Just as there were two
onyx stones on the shoulders of the high priest
so there are two folds that our High Priest carries
upon his shoulder:
John 10:16, "And other sheep I have, which are not
of this fold: them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and
their shall be one
fold, and one shepherd." Our High Priest has two
folds: a Jewish fold
and a Gentile fold. In Eph. 2:13 16 we read, "But
now in Christ Jesus
ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. For
he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath
broken down the middle
wall of partition between us; having abolished in
his flesh the enmity,
even the law of commandments contained in
ordinances; for to make in
himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and
that he might
reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the
enmity thereby..." Thus the two folds are made one
in the person and
work of Jesus Christ.
Now the two stones
were carried on the shoulders of the high priest
indicating the carrying of a burden. Thankfully, we
have a High Priest
who carries our burdens. Unlike those in Is. 46:7
who carried their
idols upon their shoulder, our God and High Priest
carries us upon his
shoulders. According to Is. 53:6, "All we like sheep
have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the
Lord hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all." Thus our High Priest Jesus
Christ carried the
burden of our sins and subsequent redemption from
sin upon his
shoulders.
As the Lord declared
in John 6:37 39, "All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven,
not to do mine own will, but the will of him that
sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath
sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the
last day." Thus Jesus came to save his people from
their sins (Matt 1:21). Furthermore, Jesus bears the
burden of the government of the Lord's people: Is.
9:6, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is
given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder..."
The government of the
kingdom of God and the government of our personal
lives rest upon the shoulders of our High Priest.
While we may choose to walk contrary to that
government, we will suffer the chastisement of God
because of it. According to the scripture every
transgression and disobedience receives a just
recompense of reward.
Christ's government is
perfect. In addition, our High Priest carries
the life's burden of his people upon his shoulders:
Ps. 55:22, "Cast thy
burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he
shall never suffer
the righteous to be moved." According to Rom. 8:34,
"It is Christ that
died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of
God, who also maketh intercession for us." Cares,
burdens, concerns,
problems, trials, tribulations, temptations, and
afflictions are the lot
of God's people while they travel their earthly
pilgrimage.
It is comforting to
know that we can carry such to God in prayer and
know that Christ intercedes on our behalf and that
he is our help and strength and
deliverer.
Holy Garments Part
III
Among the holy garments of the High Priest was the
breastplate of
judgment. The breastplate of judgment was four
square with 12 stones
bearing the 12 names of the children of Israel
arranged in four rows.
The High Priest was to bear the names of the
children of Israel in the
breastplate of judgment upon his heart when he went
into the holy place,
for a memorial before the Lord continually. "And
thou shalt put in the
breastplate of judgment the Urim and Thummin; and
they shall be upon
Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and
Aaron shall bear
the judgment of the children of Israel upon his
heart before the Lord
continually."
There are several
things in the scripture that are said to be
four square in addition to the breastplate of
judgment: the brazen altar
(Ex. 27:1); the incense altar (Ex. 30:2); the inner
court of the Lord's
house (Ezek. 40:47); holy oblation of the first
fruits (Ezek. 48:20);
and the holy city (Rev. 21:16). Each one of these
things is laid out in
such a way as to have four measured borders of equal
length. Within the
four borders of equal length is either the people
(inner court, holy
oblation, holy city), or a representation of the
people (breastplate of
judgment) or a representation of someone
representing the people (brazen
altar, incense altar).
Thus we have a figure
of the people or their representative being
positioned within a four square border. This is a
figure of the covenant of redemption. The people who
God chose in Christ before the foundation of the
world (Ep. 1:4) are, of course, the same ones who
God foreknew in Rom. 8:29. The people whom God
foreknew are surrounded by four borders of exactly
the same length.
The first border is
God's predestination. He predestinated all that he
foreknew to be conformed to the image of Christ
(Rom. 8:29).
The second border is
God's calling. He called to spiritual life all that
he foreknew (Rom. 8:30).
The third border is
God's justification. God justified all that he
foreknew by His redemptive work (Rom. 8:30).
The fourth border is
God's glorification. God glorifies all that he
foreknew in body, soul, and spirit, which work will
be completed at the resurrection. Thus all the elect are predestinated,
called, justified,
and glorified by our High Priest, Jesus Christ.
The twelve stones with
the engraved twelve names of the children of
Israel within the breastplate of judgment
represented the twelve tribes
of Israel. This was the entirety of national Israel
being represented
by the high priest after the order of Aaron. Jesus
Christ, our High
Priest after the order of Melchisidec, represented
the entire elect
family of God in judgment. He came to save His
people from their sins
and he suffered the wrath of God and died on the
cross in their room and
stead. (This is typified by the brazen altar). As he
bore them on his
heart as he lived and died for them thus
accomplishing the judgment of
God, so also does He now ever live to make
intercession for them. (This
is typified by the incense altar). Thus He is the
first fruits of the
elect. (This is typified by the holy oblation).
There were twelve
different stones on the breastplate of judgment.
Each stone being different yet precious tells us
that each of the elect
of God are unique in character yet are precious in
the sight of God.
According to 1 Cor, 15 one star differs from another
star in glory. We
are told that no two fingerprints are alike and that
no two snow flakes
are identical. God has made us unique yet we by his
grace and mercy and
love are precious in his sight.
Furthermore, the four
square breastplate of judgment with the twelve
stones was carried upon the heart of the High Priest
when he went into
the most holy place to offer the sacrifice of
atonement. It certainly
is a comforting thought to me to know that I am upon
the heart of my
High Priest, Jesus Christ, continually, not only
when he lived and died
and arose and made his offering unto God, but that I
am upon his heart
daily as I struggle with the problems and affairs of
this life.
Furthermore, I will be
upon his heart when I lay this body down in
death, knowing that he will never forget me and that
I will be upon his
heart in the morning of the resurrection when he
returns to take his
children home to glory. What a precious comforting
thought this is to
me. The breastplate of judgment is said to contain
Urim and Thummin or as
these words are interpreted, "lights and
perfections." The elect
children of God are neither light nor perfection in
and of themselves.
They come to possess spiritual life because Christ,
the Word of God,
"lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John
1:9). As a result
they become the "light of the world" and in
obedience they become a part
of the "city that is set upon a hill that cannot be
hid." They have
also become perfect before God in judgment "for by
one offering he hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Heb.
10:14). Thus by the
one offering of Jesus Christ we are perfected for
ever before God in
judgment.
Finally, the
breastplate was doubled. A double portion has been
given
us of the Lord. He not only died to redeem us from
our sins and thus
restore us to the position of our father Adam which
he had before he
transgressed, but he gave us spiritual eternal life
and an inheritance
with him in glory.
Thus as the prophet
proclaimed in Is. 40:1, 2,"Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to
Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is
accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she
hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her
sins." Thanks be to God for this double portion that
has been given us by his grace.
