“He [Solomon] made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about; ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. And the thickness of it was an handbreadth and the brim of it like the work of a brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths. ... The sea was for the priests to wash in” (2 Chron. 4:2-62Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. 3And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast. 4It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. 5And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths. 6He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. (2 Chronicles 4:2‑6)).
In order to have a clear understanding of the doctrine taught us in this beautiful and significant figure, three things demand our attention, namely, the material, the contents, and the object. May God the Spirit guide our thoughts and speak to our hearts as we dwell upon these things!
The Material—Brass
Solomon’s molten sea was made of brass, which is the apt symbol of divine righteousness demanding judgment upon sin, as in the brazen altar, or demanding judgment upon uncleanness, as in the brazen sea. This will explain why the altar where sin was expiated and the sea where defilement was washed away were both made of brass. Everything in Scripture has its meaning!
It is most comforting to be assured that the sin which God freely pardons and the uncleanness which He freely removes have been both fully judged and condemned in the cross. Not a single trace of uncleanness has been passed over; all has been divinely judged. “Mercy rejoiceth against judgment,” and, “Grace reigns through righteousness” (James 2:1313For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. (James 2:13); Rom. 5:2121That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:21)). The believer is pardoned and cleansed, but his guilt and uncleanness were judged on the cross. The knowledge of this most precious truth works in a double way: It sets the heart and conscience perfectly free, while, at the same time, it causes us to abhor sin and uncleanness. The altar of brass told forth, in mute yet impressive eloquence, its double story: guilt had been divinely condemned, and therefore could be divinely pardoned. The molten sea gave silent but clear testimony to the fact that uncleanness had been divinely judged and, on that ground, could be divinely washed away.
What deep and holy consolation for the heart, in all this! I cannot gaze upon the antitype of the altar and lightly commit sin. I cannot look upon the antitype of the molten sea and indifferently contract defilement. God has been perfectly glorified; sin and uncleanness have been perfectly condemned. I am set eternally free, but the death of Christ is the basis of all. Such is the consolatory yet holy lesson taught us in the material of the brazen altar and the molten sea. Nothing is passed over by God, and yet nothing is imputed to me, because Christ was judged for all.
The Contents—Water
Let us now consider, in the second place, the contents of Solomon’s molten sea. “It received and held three thousand baths” of water. If at the altar I see brass in connection with blood, at the sea I find brass in connection with water. Both point to Christ. “This is He that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood” (1 John 5:66This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. (1 John 5:6)). “One of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:3434But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. (John 19:34)). The blood that expiates and the water that cleanses both flow from a crucified Savior. Precious and solemn truth!
But the brazen sea contained water, not blood. Those who approached thereto had already proved the power of the blood, and therefore only needed the washing of water. A priest under the law, whose hands and feet had become defiled, did not need to go back to the brazen altar, but forward to the brazen sea. He did not need again to apply the blood, but only to wash with water, to enable him to discharge his priestly functions. So now, if a believer fails, if he commits sin, if he contracts defilement, he does not need to be again washed in the blood, but simply the cleansing action of the Word, whereby the Holy Spirit applies to the soul the remembrance of what Christ has done, so that the defilement is removed and the communion restored. “He that is washed needeth not, save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit” (John 13:1010Jesus 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. (John 13:10)). Does this make little of defilement? The very opposite. Did the provision of a molten sea, with its 3,000 baths of water, make little of priestly defilement? Did it not rather prove what a serious matter it was in the judgment of God?
Daily Sins and Defilement
Many earnest Christians get into spiritual darkness and trouble as to the question of daily sins and defilement. Because they do not see their divine completeness through the blood of Christ, they feel that they must, on every fresh occasion, go back to the brazen altar, as if they had never been washed at all. This is a mistake, for when once a man is purged by the blood of Jesus, he is clean forever. I may lose the sense of it, the power of it, the enjoyment of it. Peter speaks of some forgetting that they were purged from their old sins. If sin is trifled with and self is not judged, it is hard to say what a Christian may come to. The Lord give us to walk softly and tenderly before Him, so that we may not come under the blinding influence of sin!
But, be it remembered, that the most effectual safeguard against the working and the influence of sin is to have the heart established in grace and to be clear about our standing in Christ. When I know that all my sins and all my defilements were judged and condemned in the cross and that I am justified and accepted in a risen Christ, then I stand on the true ground of holiness. And, if I fail, I can bring my failure to God, in confession and self-judgment, and know Him as faithful and just to forgive me my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I judge myself on the ground of this, that Christ has been already judged before God for the very thing which I confess in His presence.
True it is, I must confess and judge myself, if I have gone wrong. A single sinful thought is sufficient to interrupt my communion. But it is as a purged one that I confess. I am no longer viewed as a sinner; I am now in the position of a child having to do with God as a Father. He has made provision for my daily need, a provision which does not involve a denial of my place or an ignoring of the work of Christ, but a provision which tells me at once of the holiness and grace of Him who made it. I am not to ignore the altar because I need the sea, but I am to adore the grace of Him who provided both the one and the other.
The Object—Washing
Now, a very few words will suffice as to the object of the sea. “The sea was for the priests to wash in.” Thither came the priests, from day to day, to wash their hands and feet, so that they might always be in a fit condition to go through their priestly work. A striking type, this, of God’s spiritual priests, that is to say, of all true believers whose works and ways need to be cleansed by the action of the Word. Both the brazen laver, in the tabernacle, and the brazen sea in the temple foreshadowed that “washing of water by the word” which Christ is now carrying on by the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ, in Person, is acting up in heaven for us, and, by His Spirit and Word, He is acting in us and on us. He restores us when we wander; He cleanses us from every soil; He corrects our every error.
We are saved by His life. All is secured in Him. “Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25-2725Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25‑27)).
And now, one word as to the “oxen” which sustained the brazen sea. The ox is used in Scripture as the symbol of patient labor, and hence their significant place beneath the brazen sea. From whatever side the priest approached, he was met by the apt expression of patient labor. It mattered not how often or in what way he came, he could never exhaust the patience that was devoted to the work of cleansing him from all his defilements. What a precious figure! We can never weary Christ by our frequent coming. He will not tire until He presents us to Himself without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
May our hearts adore Him who is our Altar, our Laver, our Sacrifice, our Priest, our Advocate, our All!
C. H. Mackintosh (adapted)