The Laver for Washing

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Can't you show me tall and slim?
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Must I look so bloody grim?

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, You're distorting my poor waist!
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, And why must I be defaced?

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Why have I a double chin?
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, And why that stupid, goofy grin?

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, No point in asking ‘who’s the fairest -
More bloody likely, who’s the queerest! ’ Now look, I paid big bucks for thee, so why can’t you be nice to me? (Mark Slaughter - internet)

A mirror’s job is not to be nice; it’s simply to tell it like it is. The second furnishing in the Tabernacle is the laver which is made from mirrors. The word laver brings to mind our English word, "lavatory." The lavatory or bathroom is a place for cleaning our bodies.

There are times we wish we had a mirror from an amusement park, rather than a regular mirror. When I was growing up in Rockaway Beach I used to go to Rockaway’s Playland (an Amusement Park) all the time. When I was there I spent most of my day at two attractions; the Bumper Cars and the Fun House. Inside the Fun House were 2 or 3 mirrors. But these mirrors were not like the ones hanging over my bathroom sink. These mirrors distorted my body and made me look very different from what I really was. The laver is made of mirrors like the ones in our bathrooms. These mirrors allowed the priests to see the real mc coy, or should we say, the real mc cohen. When they looked in the mirrors they saw themselves for what they really were. They saw all the dirt that was on their body and clothes. When you see where the dirt is you can clean it up.

When we eat we sometimes get a little, or a lot, of the food on our faces and clothes. Sometimes boys and men don’t seem to mind if their faces or clothes are dirty, but usually women are quite concerned. Once they notice a mess they are quick to inform the person that they are dirty. They then act as a mirror and direct the person to the exact location of the dirt so that they clean themselves up. This is the purpose of the laver in the Tabernacle. God put it there so the priests could see the dirt on their bodies, and then successfully cleanse themselves. Let’s look at the Bible and study the laver.

(Exo 30:17-21 NIV) Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the LORD by fire, they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come."

Aaron and his sons had to wash their hands and feet at the laver every time they entered the Tabernacle and went to the altar.

(Exo 38:8 NIV) They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors

We already mentioned that the laver made from mirrors was part of the Tabernacle and Temple worship so that the priests could see the dirt on themselves and wash themselves thoroughly.

(John 13:1-10 NIV) It was just before the Passover Feast. Yeshua knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Yeshua. Yeshua knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Yeshua replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Yeshua answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well! Yeshua answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."

Ryrie: A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet. Just as in the natural life a man who has bathed needs only to wash the dust off his sandaled feet when he returns home, so in the spiritual life a man who has been cleansed from sin need not think that all is lost when he sins in his walk through life. He need only confess these sins to be entirely clean again (1 John 1:9).

(1 John 1:9 NIV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Washed (bath) (SEC # 3068) to bathe (the whole person; whereas 3538 means to wet a part only). This speaks of us being declared justified when we first trust in Yeshua as Lord.

Wash (his feet) (SEC # 3538) to cleanse (espec. the hands or the feet or the face). This symbolizes the process of our sanctification.

Mirrors in the laver reflect our dirt like the Word points out our sin to us

(Heb 4:12 NIV) For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

(CEV) What God has said isn't only alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts.

Ryrie says the Word of God is living and active. It has the power to reach to the innermost parts of one's personality and to judge the innermost thoughts. The Word pierces to the depths of soul and spirit. The Word of God shows us what is down inside us.

(John 15:3 NIV) You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

(John 17:17 NIV) Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.

(Eph 5:25-26 NIV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word

(Rom 3:20 Living Bible) For the more we know of God’s laws (the more we look at the Bible, a mirror), the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying them; His laws serve only to make us see that we are sinners (or the Bible serves as a mirror to show us our sin).

After we go to the altar our sins are atoned for so we become God’s children. This is the beginning of our walk. The emphasis is on the word "beginning." We’ve only just begun our journey. The priests went to the laver all day long. They needed to be cleansed over and over again. They walked around the Tabernacle all day long and their feet became filthy. There were no chairs to sit down on. There were no tiles on the floor; simply dirt. The priests were continually in contact with the defilement of the earth. Therefore, they needed to be cleaned over and over again.

We are constantly in contact with people who are defiled. We are exposed to corrupt behavior and language all day long. We may already be saved, but we regularly need to go to the laver to be cleaned. We always need to get the dust and dirt of the world off our feet and clothes.

Snow White

Once a time there was very beautiful queen, but she was so proud and haughty that she could not bear to be surpassed in beauty by anyone. She possessed a wonderful mirror which could answer her when she stood before it and said - "Mirror, mirror upon the wall, Who is the fairest of all?"

The mirror answered - "Thou, O Queen, art the fairest of all,"

And the Queen was contented, because she knew the mirror could speak nothing but the truth. But as time passed on, Little Snow White grew more and more beautiful, until when she was seven years old, she was as lovely as the bright day, and now more lovely than the Queen herself, so that when the lady one day asked her mirror - "Mirror, mirror upon the wall, Who is the fairest fair of all?" it answered -

"O Lady Queen, though fair ye be, Snow White is fairer far to see."

The Queen was horrified, and from that moment envy and pride grew in her heart like rank weeds, until one day she called a huntsman and said "Take the child away into the woods and kill her, for I can no longer bear the sight of her. And when you return bring with you her heart, that I may know you have obeyed my will."

Mirrors tell the truth, like it or not. When we don’t like what we see in the mirror we may be moved to action. Some people respond like the Queen. Pride and envy are at the heart of their responses and it will cause them to do things that are not pleasing to God. These things will not help them in their sanctification or to become more like Yeshua.

Many women look in the mirror every morning and see things they don’t like. What do they do? They make Mary Kay and Avon wealthy. They cover it all up. They change the color or reflection of their faces. I guess it’s okay for women to do this. There is make up to cover up and hide the things they don’t like.

People try to do this with God too. Adam and Eve disobeyed God or sinned, and they tried to cover up their sins. Sometimes they successfully deceive people and get away with it. But there is no make up for sin that fools God. He is all knowing. So, whether He sees it or not, He knows the truth. We may not be able to cover up our sin, but there is something we can, and should do. ...

We can respond like the priests who cleaned up their hands, feet or face at the laver. We can confess our sin and come clean before God. When we do this, God cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Yeshua makes us right with God our Father.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, there is sin that could make me fall.

But help me now to do what it right.

To confess my sins and walk in the light.

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