Our Spiritual Journey Inside the Tabernacle – Part 4: The Bronze Basin

Inside the Tabernacle

In Parts 2 and 3, we’ve looked at God’s gift of faith that enables us to enter through the fence enclosing the tabernacle, representing His kingdom.  We’ve been forgiven because He offered His own Son at the Bronze Altar.

Saved and forgiven – this is a great place to be.  Some people stay at this place for years, maybe forever.  But God has so many other gifts He wants to provide us to bring us into deeper intimacy with Himself.  Being saved and forgiven and still pursuing our own desires and lifestyle doesn’t get us any closer to Him and can actually block us from His full intention for us.  God longs to bring us closer.

When we come to the point where we desire to know Him more, and we ask for his guidance, He brings us to the Bronze Basin.  This is the second piece of furniture we encounter once we enter into the tabernacle.

However, the bronze basin is not all bronze, the base of the basin is made of mirrors.  The mirrors reflect us as we approach.  This is the point at which we need to look at ourselves and acknowledge the difference between our lifestyle and God’s righteous standard.  It also provides us a chance to commit to a new life, the life God has for us.

Just as with the other gifts, once again at the bronze basin, God provides the gift we need to be cleansed and to live a new life in His presence.  He says, “Remember my Son who I provided as your sin offering on the altar?  Now I’m going to cleanse you with His righteous blood, so that you can walk in the newness of life.”  Romans 6:4 confirms this:

“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Messiah was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”  

The priests were commanded to wash their hands and feet every time they drew near to God.  In fact, coming near to our holy God requires we are cleansed with Yeshua’s righteousness – confessing sin and accepting His forgiveness – regularly, so that the actions of our hands and feet may be acceptable.

Being forgiven and cleansed of our sin, we have what we need to be in relationship with God every day, a completely new perspective of our life.  This is a wonderful gift God freely gives us when we pursue Him.

We could be happy with this arrangement the rest of our life, but God has even more to give us; He’s calling us even closer to His side.  When our heart opens to His invitation, we’re ready for the next step in our progression of intimacy:  The Menorah.