Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 30:17
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
17 21. The bronze Laver (cf. Exo 38:8, Exo 40:30). This was for the priests to wash their hands and feet in, before entering into the Tent of Meeting, or offering sacrifice: it was to stand in the court, in front of the Tent of Meeting, between it and the (bronze) altar. The shape and dimensions of this laver are not prescribed. In Solomon’s Temple there were ten lavers, each of large size, for the same purpose (1Ki 7:38 f.).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Exo 38:8. The bronze for the Laver of brass and its foot was supplied from the bronze mirrors of the women who voluntarily gave up these articles of luxury. Bronze mirrors were much used by the ancient Egyptians. No hint is given as to the form of the laver. The brazen sea and the ten lavers that served the same purpose in the temple of Solomon, were elaborately worked in artistic designs and are minutely described 1Ki 7:23-29.
Exo 30:19
Wash their hands and their feet – On certain solemn occasions he was required to bathe his whole person Exo 29:4; Lev 16:4. The laver must also have furnished the water for washing those parts of the victims that needed cleansing Lev 1:9.
Exo 30:20
That they die not – See Exo 28:35 note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Exo 30:17-21
A laver of brass.
The true washing
I. Divine (Joh 13:8).
II. Spiritual (Jer 4:14). Rest not in a mere social or ecclesiastical purity.
III. Essential. That they die not (Rev 7:13-15). (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The laver
1. This laver teaches us, among other things, that those who would come to God must approach Him with clean hands (see Psa 26:6; Psa 24:2-4; Psa 119:9). I think these texts show that those who profess to serve God must cultivate holiness of heart and life, and that whilst the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin, we are to cleanse ourselves by coming constantly under the power of the Word.
2. None but priests were permitted to wash in this laver, and none were consecrated to the office of priests besides those who were born into the priestly family. All the Lords people are priests, and as such they are called to offer spiritual sacrifices to God (Rom 12:1; Heb 13:15-16; 1Pe 2:5; 1Pe 2:9). They enter the priestly family when born again, and none but those who are twice born can offer any sacrifice to God which He will accept. At their ordination the priests were washed all over: this they did not do for themselves; it was done for them by Moses, and answered to the washing of regeneration, which God does for us when He brings us into His house and makes us His servants. Afterwards there was the daily washing of the hands and feet: this Moses did not do for them; they did it themselves, did it every day, and the neglect of it was punished with death (Lev 8:6; Exo 30:18-21). God has made all His people clean. As He sees them, there is no sin on them; but as to their daily walk, they need to be constantly judging themselves by the Word. And as the action of water will remove any defilement of the hands or feet, so the action of the Word, when we come properly under its power, will correct our wrong habits, will purify our thoughts, and make us clean. (G. Rodgers.)
The laver
There are three principal points with which the lessons taught us by the laver may be connected.
I. In the first place, let us consider what we are taught by the laver with its supply of cleansing water. The laver, with its abundant supply of pure cleansing water, points to the Spirit of God, and the truth through which that Spirit acts, as the great appointed instruments for carrying on the work of sanctification in the souls of believers.
II. But, secondly, let us inquire what lessons we are taught by the persons who used the laver. It was only the priests who had access to the laver. We see here the true character of Gods people; the high privilege accorded them; and the nature of the service required of them.
III. But there is a third and last point of view from which to contemplate this laver, and gather instruction from it, and that is the position it occupied. This is very significant. The direction given to Moses, on this point, was most explicit: Thou shalt put it between the tent of the congregation and the altar. The tent of the congregation means the Tabernacle. Thus the laver stood, by Divine direction, midway between the brazen altar and the Tabernacle. The Jew was required to come first to the brazen altar, with its propitiatory sacrifice, and then to the laver, with its cleansing water. Not the washing first, and then forgiveness, but forgiveness first, and then the washing. (R. Newton, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
The frequent repetition of this phrase, and the shortness of these discourses, in comparison of the length of the forty days, show that God did not deliver all these laws and prescriptions at one time, but successively at several times, possibly upon the sabbath days.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the Lord spake unto Moses,…. Again, at another time, and upon another subject:
saying, as follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(cf. Exo 38:8). The Brazen Laver, and its use. – The making of this vessel is not only mentioned in a supplementary manner, but no description is given of it because of the subordinate position which it occupied, and from the fact that it was not directly connected with the sanctuary, but was only used by the priests to cleanse themselves for the performance of their duties. : a basin, a round, caldron-shaped vessel. (its support): by this we are not to understand the pedestal of the caldron, but something separate from the basin, which was no doubt used for drawing off as much water as was required for washing the officiating priests. For although belongs to , the fact that it is always specially mentioned in connection with the basin necessarily leads to the conclusion, that it had a certain kind of independence (cf. Exo 31:9; Exo 35:16; Exo 39:39; Exo 40:11; Lev 8:11). These two vessels were to be made of brass or copper, like the other things in the court; and, according to Exo 38:8, they were made of the brass of the mirrors of the women who served before the door of the tabernacle. does not mean either “provided with mirrors of the women” (Bhr, i. pp. 485-6), or ornamented “with forms, figures of women, as they were accustomed to appear at the sanctuary” ( Knobel). But these views are overthrown by the fact, that never signifies with in the sense of an outward addition, but always denotes the means, “not an independent object, but something accompanying and contributing to the action referred to” ( Ewald, 217, f. 3). In this case can only apply to the material used, whether we connect it with as in Exo 31:4, or, what seems decidedly more correct, with as a more precise definition; so that would denote that particular quality which distinguished the brass of which the basin was made ( Ewald, 217 f.), – apart altogether from the fact, that neither the mirrors of women, nor the figures of women, would form a fitting ornament for the basin, as the priests did not require to look at themselves when they washed their hands and feet; and there is still less ground for Knobel’s fiction, that Levitical women went to the sanctuary at particular times, forming a certain procession, and taking things with them for the purpose of washing, cleaning, and polishing. The true meaning is given by the Septuagint, . According to 1Sa 2:22, the were women, though not washer-women, but women who dedicated their lives to the service of Jehovah, and spent them in religious exercises, in fasting and in prayer, like Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, mentioned in Luk 2:37.
(Note: Knobel’s objection to this explanation, viz., that “at a time when the sanctuary was not yet erected, the author could not speak of women as coming to the door of the sanctuary, or performing religious service there,” would contain its own refutation, if there were any ground for it at all. For before the sanctuary was erected, the author could not speak of Levitical women as coming at particular times to the sanctuary, and bringing things with them for the purpose of washing and cleaning. But the participle does not imply that they had served there before the erection of the sanctuary, but only that from that time forward, they did perform service there.)
denotes spiritual warfare, and is accordingly rendered by the lxx , by Onkelos, orare , with which the Rabbins agree. The mirrors of the women had been used for the purpose of earthly adorning. But now the pious Israelites renounced this earthly adorning, and offered it to the Lord as a heave-offering to make the purifying laver in front of the sanctuary, in order that “what had hitherto served as a means of procuring applause in the world might henceforth be the means of procuring the approbation of God” (Hengstenberg, Dissert. vol. ii.). – The laver was to be placed between the tabernacle, i.e., the dwelling, and the altar in the court (Exo 30:18), probably not in a straight line with the door of the dwelling and the altar of burnt-offering, but more sideways, so as to be convenient for the use of the priests, whether they were going into the tabernacle, or going up to the altar for service, to kindle a firing for Jehovah, i.e., to offer sacrifice upon the altar. They were to wash their hands, with which they touched the holy things, and their feet, with which they trod the holy ground (see Exo 3:5), “that they might not die,” as is again emphatically stated in Exo 30:20 and Exo 30:21. For touching holy things with unclean hands, and treading upon the floor of the sanctuary with dirty feet, would have been a sin against Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, deserving of death. These directions do not imply “that, notwithstanding all their consecration, they were regarded as still defiled by natural uncleanness” ( Baumgarten), but rather that consecration did not stamp them with a character indelebilis , or protect them from the impurities of the sinful nation in the midst of which they lived, or of their own nature, which was still affected with mortal corruption and sin.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 18 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. 19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: 20 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: 21 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.
Orders are here given, 1. For the making of a laver, or font, of brass, a large vessel, that would contain a good quantity of water, which was to be set near the door of the tabernacle, v. 18. The foot of brass, it is supposed, was so contrived as to receive the water, which was let into it out of the laver by spouts or cocks. They then had a laver for the priests only to wash in, but to us now there is a fountain open for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in (Zech. xiii. 1), an inexhaustible fountain of living water, so that it is our own fault if we remain in our pollution. 2. For the using of this laver. Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and feet at this laver every time they went in to minister, every morning, at least, v. 19-21. For this purpose clean water was put into the laver fresh every day. Though they washed themselves ever so clean at their own houses, that would not serve; they must wash at the laver, because that was appointed for washing, 2 Kings v. 12-14. This was designed, (1.) To teach them purity in all their ministrations, and to possess them with a reverence of God’s holiness and a dread of the pollutions of sin. They must not only wash and be made clean when they were first consecrated, but they must wash and be kept clean whenever they went in to minister. He only shall stand in God’s holy place that has clean hands and a pure heart,Psa 24:3; Psa 24:4. And, (2.) It was to teach us, who are daily to attend upon God, daily to renew our repentance for sin and our believing application of the blood of Christ to our souls for remission; for in many things we daily offend and contract pollution, Joh 13:8; Joh 13:10; Jas 3:2. This is the preparation we are to make for solemn ordinances. Cleanse your hands and purify your hearts, and then draw nigh to God, Jam. iv. 8. To this law David alludes in Ps. xxvi. 6, I will wash my hands in innocency, so will I compass thine altar, O Lord.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 17-21:
The requirements of the various sacrifices demanded that an ample supply of water be available at all times. God made provision to meet this demand.
“Laver,” kiyyor, a pan or basin. This was to be made of copper (brass), and fashioned from the “looking glasses” or mirrors of the women attendants at the tabernacle (Ex 38:8). Neither the size nor the shape of this vessel is given in the text. A “foot,” ken, “base, station,” was provided upon which the basin rested.
The water in the laver was for the purpose of washing the hands and feet of the priests as they ministered in the tabernacle service and at the brazen altar.
The laver stood between the brazen altar and the tabernacle. This is a type of the position of the baptism as it relates to Divine service: one is first saved; then follows baptism before entering the “temple,” the church.
The laver also shows the need of daily purification before entering the service of the Lord, Ps 24:3; Joh 13:2-20; 1Jo 1:7.
The laver was to be a permanent part of the tabernacle service, and the priests were strictly to observe the regulations regarding it, in perpetuity.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 30:17-21
THE TRUE WASHING
This priestly washing in the Temple symbolised certain great truths to which we shall do well if we take heed.
I. The true washing is Divine. Aaron and his sons were to wash themselves in this brazen laver in the Tabernacle. They were not to wash themselves in their own homes, the washing was to be in the sanctuary of God. Self-purification will not do. We cannot cleanse ourselves from the defilements of sin. Sin is not skin deep, as many seem to suppose, and to be washed away by the touch of our palm; the stains of evil are deep and dark in our nature, and only the Divine Cleanser can purge them away. For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord God (Jer. 2:22). If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me (Joh. 13:8). The Gospel of Christ is the power of God to purify a sinful world, and there is no real and abiding efficacy in any other method (Psa. 51:2-7).
II. The true washing is spiritual. It is true that Aaron washed only his hands and feet, but we should forget the whole genius of the Mosaic dispensation if we were to overlook the spiritual significance of this rite. The true purification is not material. Many social reformers think to purify society by instituting certain political and physical improvements. They think
That washing seven times in the Peoples Baths
Is sovereign for a peoples leprosy,
Still leaving out the essential prophets word
That comes in power.
The true purification is not ceremonial. Baptismal regeneration is more mistaken than a merely superficial political regeneration is. The water in the Churchs font possesses no magic efficacy to wash away sin. The true purification is that of the soul. O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved (Jer. 4:14). This is the true purification. The cleansing of the heart through the truth and grace of Christ (Joh. 15:3; Joh. 17:17; Eph. 5:26; 1Pe. 1:22). Let us not rest in a mere social purity (Tit. 3:5). Let us not rest in a mere ecclesiastical purity (Joh. 3:5; 1Pe. 3:21). Let Christ cleanse our spirit and life.
Wash me, and make me thus Thine own,
Wash me, and mine Thou art;
Wash me, but not my feet alone,
My hands, my head, my heart.
III. This true washing is essential. That they die not. This interior and divine purity is indispensable. Without it we cannot enter into fellowship and communion with God; without it we cannot enter heaven (Rev. 7:13-15). In the blood of the Lamb we must make our raiment white, and by constant washing there, keep it white. Naaman had to wash in Jordan seven times, and so must we come again and again to the great fountain of purification in Jesus Christ.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Sacrificial Speech! Exo. 30:1-38.
(1.) No student of the Bible needs to be reminded that by the complicated and long protracted series of events which preceded, accompanied, and followed the Exodus from Egypt, the essential doctrine of Gospel truth and grace are distinctly made known. By a stupendous array of symbolic acts and facts they are most emphatically confirmed and illustrated.
(2.) Thomson remarks that what is more pertinent, if possible, is that the record of them is so guided as to suggest and evolve the very best words, figures, and phrases by which these fundamental doctrines can be set forth. This is equally true of the words and ideas in this chapter of Exodus, as of the paschal lamb in Egypt, or the smiting of the rock in Horeb.
(3.) The symbolic acts and facts, it has been wisely asserted, in connection with the typical institutions, rites, and ceremonies of the Mosaic economy, were designed to permeate, and did permeate, the entire religious consciousness of the Hebrews. They thus gave birth to spiritual ideas and emotions wholly peculiar, and to corresponding formulas by which to give expression to them.
I saw a Moslem work upon his shroud alone,
With earnest care, even as the silkworms weave their own,
When with that sacred Script it was filled from side to side,
He wrapt it round his body, and in calmness died.
Oriental.
Laver-Lessons! Exo. 30:18-21.
(1.) Water! Exo. 30:18. In emblem of the Holy Spirit. Law says that it is a figure of the precious blood of Christ here. No doubt the laver itself is a vivid type of Christ; but the water seems rather to symbolise the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, i.e., the Holy Spirit in Him.
(2.) Washing! Exo. 30:19. The cleansing power of Divine Grace prepares the way for the Christian priesthood of all who are kings and priests unto God. See Eze. 36:25; John 3; Tit. 3:15; also in Revelation 20; the pure river of the Water of Life. Jordan and Naaman; Jesus at Bethabara; Ethiopian Eunuch near Gaza.
(3.) Worship! Exo. 30:20. A strict command was issued that no priest should touch the brazen altar, or pass the tabernacle door, until his hands and feet had been washed. The Rabbis and Pharisees were most punctilious in their temple arrangements on this point.
(4.) Witness! Exo. 30:21. Believers are to minister a lifelong service to the Lord; and to engage in this worship acceptably, they must be sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Their hands and feet, i.e., their working and walking with God, must be cleansed from earths impurities. God has provided the cleansing medium: Wash you, make you clean.
Let all who hold this faith and hope
In holy deeds abound;
Thus faith approves itself sincere;
By active virtue crowned.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE LAVER, 17-21.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Bronze Laver ( Exo 30:17-21 ).
As with the golden Altar of Incense the bronze Laver had no place in God’s revelation of Himself to them or in the making of atonement. Rather it was a means for the priest to remove any earthiness when entering the Sanctuary. Thus it is mentioned here along with the golden altar and the census requirements.
a A laver and associated other receptacle were to be made of brazen copper. It was to be placed between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, with water put in it (Exo 30:17-18).
b Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet in it (Exo 30:19).
c They were to wash their hands and feet in it when they went into the Tent of Meeting so that they did not die (Exo 30:20 a).
c Or when they came near to the brazen altar to burn an offering made by fire to Yahweh (Exo 30:20 b).
b So were they to wash their hands and their feet that they die not (Exo 30:21 a).
a It was to be a statute for ever to them, even to Aaron and his seed throughout their generations (Exo 30:21 b)
In ‘a’ we have a description of the making of the laver which was to placed in the Sanctuary court, and in its parallel its permanence is established through all generations. In ‘b Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet in it, and in the parallel it was so that they might not die. In’ c’ it was to be done both when they went into the Holy Place and when they approached the brazen altar in order to offer an offering made by fire.
Exo 30:17-21 a
And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “You shall also make a bronze laver, and its base (ken) of bronze, with which to wash, and you shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet at it. When they go into the Tent of Meeting they shall wash with water that they die not. Or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to Yahweh. So shall they wash their hands and their feet that they die not.”’
Not only sin but earthiness had to be removed in approaching Yahweh. Man was not only sinful but creaturely and unworthy. The washing of water was a standard part of Israel’s religion, removing earthiness but not cleansing the soul. It was preparatory only. We should note that water, unless treated with the ashes of sacrifice, never ‘cleansed’. Note the constant refrain – ‘wash — and shall be unclean until –’ in Leviticus 15). It was preparatory for whatever followed next which would result in the cleansing. Here it was required as priests moved from one holy thing to another. The contamination of earthiness had to be constantly removed. Thus the hands that touched holy things and the feet that touched holy ground had to be constantly washed prior to doing so lest they contaminate holy things with the taint of earth. Full bathing was only required at certain times (Exo 29:4; Lev 16:4). It also removed the blood that would get on their hands as they dealt with the sacrifices. To fail to wash was to incur the death penalty. It was to defile holy things and show contempt for Yahweh.
It is possible that Jesus had these regulations in mind when He said, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet’ (Joh 13:10). But if so He had extended its significance to include cleansing from sin.
“ A bronze laver.” Made of copper alloyed with tin it was a basin, or similar, set on a base. Such was their love for God at this time that it would be made from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting (Exo 38:8). The serving women gave their most prized possessions to God. No indication is given of size or shape but it must have been fair sized. It was to be kept constantly filled, presumably by those same women. The ‘base’ or ‘ken’ is regularly mentioned separately from the basin which may signify it was a separate item for removing the water from the laver for use. Compare Exo 31:9; Exo 35:16; Exo 39:39; Exo 40:11; Lev 8:11.
Exo 30:21 b
“And it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.”
This confirms the importance of the requirement. It was a permanent one, a statute lasting for ever through generation after generation, for Aaron and his seed.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Bronze Laver Exo 30:17-21 describes the building of the bronze laver.
The purpose of this bronze laver was for the priests to wash their hands and feet only on a daily basis prior to ministering at the bronze altar or within the Tabernacle. The Lord had commanded the priests to wash their entire bodies before the door of the Tabernacle as part of a larger one-time ceremony to sanctify an individual for the priesthood (Exo 29:1-4). Now, these same priests who have gone through a full washing and consecrated themselves for this office are required to daily cleanse themselves by only washing their hands and feet (Exo 30:19).
Exo 29:1, “And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,”
Exo 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.”
During the Last Supper, after the meal Jesus girds Himself with a towel and begins to wash the feet of His disciples, to which Peter objected. Jesus replied that they need not wash their entire bodies, but their hands and feet only (Joh 13:1-10). Thus, we can interpret the full-body washing of the priests as a type and figure of an individual’s initial salvation experience in which all of his sins are cleansed by the blood of Jesus. The washing of hands and feet only are a type and figure of a believer’s need for daily cleansing after his salvation experience, a distinction that is clearly made in Heb 10:22, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” Our bodies are “washed with pure water” at the time of our salvation, and our hearts are sprinkled from an evil conscience by the blood of Jesus, reflecting man’s daily cleansing through the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ. Peter makes this same distinction, saying, “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.” (1Pe 1:2) Our obedience to Christ through faith in Him reflects man’s initial salvation, and the sprinkling of His blood reflects our daily cleansing. Thus, the priests who served in the Tabernacle had their entire bodies ceremonially washed to consecrate them for divine service’ but they were required to daily cleanse their hands and feet at the brazen laver before entering the Tabernacle. Thus, the bronze laver symbolizes a believer’s relationship to Christ as his Great High Priest, who offers daily cleansing so that he can perform the divine service to which every believer has been called.
The bronze laver was made from the mirrors that the women brought out of Egypt. Therefore, the priests would have been able to see their reflection when washing themselves in the laver.
Exo 38:8, “And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.”
Exo 30:17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Exo 30:18 Exo 30:18
Exo 30:18 Comments – Unlike the other articles and dimensions of the Tabernacle and its courtyard, the Lord gave Moses no measurements on the building of the brass laver. As with various aspects of particular details during the construction of the Temple, the Lord anointed the craftsmen and allowed them to participate in its design.
Exo 30:19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
Exo 30:20 Exo 30:21 Exo 30:21
Exo 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.”
Joh 13:6-10, “Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Laver
v. 17. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, v. 18. Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, v. 19. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat; v. 20. when they go into the Tabernacle of the Congregation, v. 21. so they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not; and it shall be a statute forever to them, even to him
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
THE BRAZEN LAVER. That the tabernacle was to have an ample supply of water had been implied in the directions given for the washing of Aaron and his sons at its outer door (Exo 29:4). That it would contain some provision of the kind is further indicated by the command to “wash the inwards” of victims (Exo 29:17). We have now, in this place, the special directions given to Moses on the subject. He was to provide a brazen, or rather a bronze laver, which was to stand on a separate “foot,” or base, of bronze, in the court of the tabernacle, between the entrance to the tabernacle and the “brazen altar.” This was to be kept constantly supplied with water, and was to furnish whatever might be needed for the various ceremonies. Among its other uses, it was to supply liquid for the constant ablution of the priests, who were to wash both their hands and their feet on every occasion of their entering the sacred tent, and even on every occasion of their ministering at the brazen altar (Exo 30:20). This law was to be “a statute for ever” (Exo 30:21), and its violation was to be punished by death.
Exo 30:18
A laver. It is remarkable that nothing is said respecting either the shape or the size of the laver. In 1 Kings we have an elaborate description of the “molten sea,” which replaced it in Solomon’s temple, as well as an almost equally elaborate one of ten other layers made by Hiram, Solomon’s artist, at the same time. We may perhaps assume from these examples that the brazen laver of the tabernacle was a large bronze vase or basin, standing upon a stem, which was fixed into a base. It was probably fitted up with an apparatus of taps and cocks. Between the tabernacle . and the altar. The Rabbinical commentators say that it was not exactly in the middle, but a little towards the south side.
Exo 30:19
Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. Ablution by clear fresh water is so plain and simple a type of purity as to have been used in almost all religions. The hands and the feet would designate symbolically all a man’s active doings, and even his whole walk in lifehis “goings out” and his “comings in,” in the phraseology of the Hebrews. There would also be a special practical need for such ablutions in the case of persons who were employed about bloody sacrifices, who slew the victims, sprinkled, the blood, and even dashed it against the base of the altar. On some rare occasions the priests were required to bathe their whole persons, and not their hands and feet only (see above, Exo 29:4; and below, Le Exo 16:4).
Exo 30:20
That they die not. Compare Exo 28:35 and Exo 28:43. Contempt of the simple and easy regulation to wash at the laver would imply contempt of purity itself; and so an entire hypocrisy of life and character, than which nothing could be a greater offence to God.
Exo 30:21
It shall be a statute for ever. Compare Exo 27:21; Exo 28:43; Exo 29:9 : etc. Even to himi.e; to Aaron.
HOMILETICS
Exo 30:18-21
The Brazen Laver.
Primarily, the brazen altar has its antitype in THE CHRISTIAN FONT. “Baptism saves us,” says St. Peter (1Pe 3:21). “Arise and be baptised, and wash away thy sins,” said Ananias (Act 22:16). “There is one baptism for the remission of sins,” said the Nicene Fathers. As the priests had to wash at the laver ere they might enter the sanctuary, so entrance into the Church, by the institution of Christ, is by baptism. To wash, of course, is by itself not enougheach of us must “lead the rest of his life according to this beginning.” So the priests, besides washing, had to observe all God’s other ordinances.
Ultimately, both the laver and the font, both the priestly ablutions and the Christian sacrament of baptism, are types of the true washing, which is WASHING IN THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. This washing is
I. ABSOLUTELY, AND IN ALL CASES, NEEDFUL. Only “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin” (1Jn 1:7). “If Christ wash us not, we have no part in him” (Joh 13:8). The saved in heaven are those who have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14). Baptism is “generally necessary” since Christ came and instituted it; yet no one doubts that many unbaptized persons have entered heaven. But not one has entered, or will ever enter, whom the blood of Christ has not cleansed. “Wash me, Saviour, or I die,” is the constantly repeated cry of every Christian heart.
II. A SOVEREIGN REMEDY THAT NEVER, FAILS TO SAVE. Thus “washed,” we are at once both “justified and sanctified” (1Co 6:11); both pardoned and made pure. Thus washed, we have access to the Father; we are made fit to enter his courts; our robes are made white, and not only our robes, but our souls. God will never reject one who comes to him in the wedding garment of a robe that Christ has cleansed. Only we must be sure to keep our robes cleanwe must not “defile our garments” (Rev 3:4)we must wash them again and again in the purifying blood; we must look nowhere else for salvation, but only to the Cross, and we must look to that perpetually.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR
Exo 30:17-34
The laver and the anointing oil.
I. THE LAVER (Exo 30:17-22). This was to be made of brass (bronze), and was to be placed near the door of the tabernacle between it and the altar. It was to be used by Aaron and his sons for purposes of ablution. A new symbol of the purity required in those who serve before Jehovah. The Christian contracts daily defilements in his walk, for which also daily cleansing is required (cf. Joh 13:10; 1Jn 1:7).
II. THE ANOINTING OIL (Exo 30:22-34). Precious, fragrant, holy. To be applied not only to Aaron and his sons, but to the tabernacle and all its vessels. See Homily on Consecration (Exo 24:6, Exo 24:7). The oil is the symbol of the Spirit. The holiness imparted to Aaron and his sons by this anointing, and by the rites of consecration generally, was indeed no more than a ceremonial or official holiness. It pertained to the office rather than to the man. Yet the holders of the office were, in virtue of their consecration, laid under obligations to personal holiness as well. The private character of the priest might not avail to nullify his official acts; but the absence in the public representative of the spiritual qualifications for his office would not be allowed to go unpunished. Iniquity in the priest would be visited both on priest and people.J.O.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Reciprocal: 1Ki 7:38 – ten lavers
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The brazen laver 30:17-21
The laver was a large reservoir for the water that the priests used to wash with as they performed their duties. It stood between the brazen altar and the sanctuary. Its presence there symbolized the fact that cleansing is necessary after the making of atonement and before the enjoyment of fellowship with God.
"The necessity of daily cleansing on the part of those who are engaged even in the most holy service, and of all who would approach God, is so obvious as hardly to require comment. The body washed with pure water has for its counterpart the daily cleansing of the soul, without which no man may minister in the Divine presence [cf. Joh 13:10]." [Note: Ibid., p. 351.]
The "base" (Exo 30:18) was probably not a pedestal but a smaller vessel used to draw as much water out of the laver as the priest might need to wash. The priests washed their feet as well as their hands (Exo 30:21).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
THE LAVER.
Exo 30:17-21.
For the cleansing of various sacrifices, but especially for the ceremonial washing of the priests, a laver of brass was to be made, and placed upon a separate base, the more easily to be emptied and replenished.
We have seen already that although its actual use preceded that of the altar, yet the other stood in front of it, as if to assert, to the very eyes of all men, that sacrifice precedes purification. But the use of the laver was not by the man as man, but by the priest as mediator. In his office he represented the absolute purity of Christ. And therefore it was a capital offence to enter the tabernacle or to burn a sacrifice without first having washed the hands and feet. At his inauguration, the whole person of the priest was bathed, and thenceforth he needed not save to remove the stains of contact with the world.
When the laver was actually made, an interesting fact was recorded about its materials: “He made the laver of brass, and the base of it of brass, of the mirrors of the serving-women which served at the door of the tent of meeting” (Exo 38:8). Thus their instruments of personal adornment were applied to further a personal preparation of a more solemn kind, like the ointment with which a penitent woman anointed the feet of Jesus. There is a fitness which ought to be considered in the direction of our gifts, not as a matter of duty, but of good taste and charm. And thus also they continually saw the monument of their self-sacrifice. There is an innocent satisfaction, far indeed from vanity, when one looks at his own work for God.