Preparing

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

PREPARING 

1 Kings 7:25-26

25 The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.  

NIV

The sea, which is not a sea, but a bronze basin with a diameter of 15 feet that was 45 feet in circumference and 7 ½ feet tall. It rested on the hindquarters of 12 bronze bulls, each facing one of the four directions. From the description, the rim was tapered outward, like a lily blossom, and about 3 inches thick in solid bronze. It would hold about 11,500 gallons of water. The size might resemble some of the modern baptismal tanks. From what we can gather, it seems it was used as a place where the priest would ceremonially wash before entering the holy place, the temple, to perform the service to the Lord. But what spiritual significance would apply to our lives? We could use the Hebrew word ‘Yam’, which means to roar, like roaring water, such as a large sea, to resemble or represent the water the Spirit hovered over in the creation account. We could see this as the waters of baptism we should walk through, as we follow Jesus, as he walked through those waters in the Jordon as he was baptized by John. We could view this basin in the way the priests used it as a ceremonial cleansing before entering the presence of the LORD in his temple. Although we are not just ceremonially washed by water, we are cleansed of all our sins by being washed in the blood of Jesus. This large basin would have replaced the brazen laver that stood before the entrance of the tabernacle in the wilderness. This laver was hammered smooth like a mirror to show the dirty feet of the priest, symbolizing sin. The word of God shows or reflects our sins to us and our need to be cleansed before entering the presence of the Lord. We know this is personal and spiritual, but we wonder if we prepare ourselves before we enter the presence of our Lord when we enter the holy sanctuary at church. We know it is just a building, but so was the temple Solomon built. When we come into the sanctuary of the Lord, have we prepared ourselves? Of course, we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, but we have walked in the filth of this world, even if we have not entered into partnership with it. We have not yet attained perfection either, so sin has been somewhere within before we enter the sanctuary of the Lord. Should we not prepare ourselves so that we can truly worship in spirit and in truth? Sometimes it is bothersome to use the church as a meeting place for chatter, even gossip. We have been in some churches that have great coffee bars, donuts, sweets, and places dedicated to this chattering and clamoring about, trying their best to label it fellowship time before entering the sanctuary, if it can be called that, when it looks more like a theater to view a performance. Let us prepare our hearts, our spirits, our minds as we come to worship our Lord, so that we can worship in spirit and in truth.