銅濯盆TheBronze Basin
作者: Justin E. Estrada 譯者: Maria Marta
當以色列敬拜者進入會幕和聖殿的庭院，各種景象、聲音、氣味便襲面而來。祭司在上帝面前事奉，要忙碌不停地活動，參與者對這毋容置疑的事實一定心有感觸：執行獻祭制度是繁瑣雜亂的事。罪破壞人與上帝的關系，帶來道德上的汙穢，祭師聖衣和身體上的血與汙垢的混合便是罪的汙穢的生動象征。
然而以色列的聖者在庭院中央設置了一些器皿，亞倫和他的後裔借著這些器皿在儀式上的得到潔凈，並將他們自己分別出來，因為他們要代表以色列參與人類生存最基本和最重要的構成部分：敬拜。這些器皿就是會幕的銅濯盆和聖殿的銅海。
出埃及記記錄了有關建造銅濯盆的稀疏細節（出卅十17–21）。主耶和華委任摩西用銅制造器皿及其支撐架，但祂沒有規定濯盆的尺寸。相反，祂強調濯盆的位置和用途：置於前庭內會幕和祭壇中間，供亞倫和他的子孫在進入帳幕或在祭壇上服事前清洗手腳用。
上帝的警告如下：「他們要洗手洗腳，免得死」 (21節)。這項禁令顯示濯盆的主要目的。祭壇和會幕是重要的連接-----祭師藉著它們，整個以色列民族藉著他們的中保(中間人)------進入聖潔的上帝的同在當中。上帝臨在，人只有兩種選擇：因玷汙死亡，或藉著潔凈敬拜。藉著水的洗滌，主耶和華提供了讓祭師能在儀式上得潔凈的可再次使用的器皿，好叫他們能夠在祂面前事奉。
雖然銅濯盆的形狀作了改變，目的是與錫安山聖殿的榮耀相稱，但作為儀式凈化器皿的主要功能仍未改變。按照啟示給大衛的指令 (歷上廿八19) ，所羅門鑄造了一個巨大的濯盆：熔海。這個熔海超過七英尺深，直徑十五英尺，容納一萬加侖水，銅海的邊緣「形狀像百合花」，邊緣以下有兩行匏瓜圍繞著 (王上七23-26)。銅海由四組銅牛，每一組三頭支撐，銅牛分別面向北，西，南，東方向。
再一次，聖經作者的注意力更少集中在細節上，更多的集中在象征意義和目的上。耶和華「榮耀聖潔，可頌可畏」，像一只野牛(民廿四8) 踐踏所有屬肉體和形而上學的敵人，在錫安建立祂在地上的避難所(出十五13，17)，並為祂的敬拜制訂條例。當見證人驚嘆熔海所代表的上帝聖潔的大能和純潔時，無數人必定與大衛在詩篇十五中的說話產生共鳴：「耶和華啊，誰能寄居你的帳幕？誰能住在你的聖山？」 (1節)
大衛對自己的問題的回答-----「就是行為正直，做事公義，心裡說實話的人」 (第2節)-------表明銅濯盆的功能超過普通清洗。它們預示一個更大的事實：進入上帝的同在要求道德純潔。主耶和華為亞倫和他的後裔的事奉所預備的潔凈儀式，能使他們分別為聖，但卻不能除凈他們的罪。相反，他們不斷的清洗強調了他們的汙穢，他們無法克服汙穢，而上帝用忍耐的心寬容他們的罪(羅三25)， 直到祂差派另一位像麥基洗德那樣的大祭司，即「聖潔、沒有邪惡、沒有玷汙、從罪人中分別出來」的那一位，來處理汙穢 (來七26)
。這位沒有瑕疵的大祭司，耶穌，為教會捨己，為的是要用水藉著道把教會洗淨，成為聖潔，可以作榮耀的教會歸給自己，甚麼汙點皺紋等也沒有，而是聖潔沒有瑕疵的。（弗五25-27)
一勞永逸的洁凈-----洗禮所表徵的-----表現在：敗壞的罪人悔改自己的罪，憑信心接受上帝在耶穌裡應驗的，和在祂的聖言裡宣告的應許，並與祂聯合。藉著這種聯合，信徒打破舊的生活方式，開始一個成聖的過程，漸漸呈現出他們救主的品格，救主確保成聖過程的完成、並為他們預備一個永遠與聖潔的上帝同在的地方。
本文原刊於Tabletalk雜誌2017年十二月號 。
The
Bronze Basin
by
Justin E. Estrada
s
Israelite worshipers entered the courtyards of the tabernacle and the temple,
various sights, sounds, and smells assaulted them. Out of the constant activity
of the priests as they ministered before the Lord, an unmistakable reality must
have struck the participants: the institution of sacrifice was a messy
enterprise. Sin had created a breach in mankind’s relationship with God and
brought moral defilement, symbolized vividly in the intermingling of blood and
dirt on the priests’ garments and bodies.
Yet,
in the midst of the courtyards, the Holy One of Israel stationed instruments by
which Aaron and his descendants might ceremonially cleanse and consecrate
themselves as they represented Israel in the most fundamental and important
component of human existence: worship. These vessels were the bronze basin of
the tabernacle and the molten sea of the temple.
The
book of Exodus records sparse details concerning the construction of the bronze
basin (Ex. 30:17–21). The Lord commissions Moses to manufacture the vessel and
its stand from bronze, but He does not prescribe dimensions for the basin.
Instead, He emphasizes its location and function: in a vestibule between the
tabernacle and the altar, to be used by Aaron and his sons for washing their
hands and feet before entering the tent or ministering at the altar.
A
warning follows: “They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may
not die” (v. 21). This injunction reveals the primary purpose of the basin. The
altar and the tent of meeting serve as the nexus through which the priests—and
by virtue of their mediation, the entirety of Israel—enter into the presence of
a holy God. In His presence, only two options emerge: death from defilement or
worship through purity. Through the washing of water, the Lord provided
renewable means by which the priests could undergo ritual purification so that
they might minister in His presence.
While
the form of the bronze basin underwent alterations befitting the glory of the
temple on Mount Zion, its primary function as a means for ritual purification
remained unchanged. Following instructions revealed to David (1 Chron. 28:19),
Solomon cast a monumental bronze structure: the molten sea. A basin more than
seven feet deep, with a diameter of fifteen feet, and holding more than ten
thousand gallons of water, this receptacle featured a brim “like the flower of
a lily” and two encircling rows of gourds (1 Kings 7:23–26). Four sets of three
bronze oxen each supported the sea, each set facing toward a different
direction of the compass.
The
biblical authors again focus less on details and more on symbolism and purpose.
Like a wild ox (Num. 24:8), the Lord, “majestic in holiness,” had trampled all
physical and metaphysical enemies, established His terrestrial sanctuary on
Zion (Ex. 15:13, 17), and prescribed regulations for His worship. As witnesses
marveled at the power and purity of God’s holiness represented by the molten
sea, many people must have echoed David’s words from Psalm 15: “O Lord, who
shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?” (v. 1).
David’s
response to his own question—“He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart” (v. 2)—demonstrates that the basin offered more
than ordinary rinsing. They signaled a greater reality: entry into God’s
presence demanded moral purity. The Lord’s provision of a purification ritual
consecrated Aaron and his descendants for service but did not purge them of
their sin. On the contrary, their constant washing emphasized their defilement,
their inability to overcome it, and God’s forbearance of punishment for their
sins (Rom. 3:25) until the time when He would commission another high priest in
the likeness of Melchizedek, one “holy, innocent, unstained, separated from
sinners” (Heb. 7:26), to deal with defilement. This blameless High Priest,
Jesus,
gave
himself up for her [the church], that he might sanctify her, having cleansed
her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church
to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she
might be holy and without blemish. (Eph. 5:25–27)
The
once-and-for-all washing—signified by baptism—occurs as defiled sinners repent
of their sins, in faith receive God’s promises fulfilled in Jesus and
proclaimed in His Word, and become joined to Him. Through this union, believers
break with their old lives and begin a process of sanctification in which they
take on the qualities of their Savior, who will ensure its completion and a
place for them forever in the presence of a holy God.
Justin
E. Estrada is a former associate editor of Tabletalk magazine. He has degrees
from the University of Pennsylvania, Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson),
and the University of Oxford.
