The bronze sea held up by 12 oxen and the 12 disciples' feet

Recently we covered the number 12, and 12 compounded as 144; which both mean the sum of all truths and goods of the Church and also those who know and practice them. This is why there were twelve tribes, why there were twelve disciples, and why the number twelve figures so prominently in the description of New Jerusalem. Today we are going to explore this notion of twelve further by demonstrating some connections which you might not otherwise notice; as always in the hope that this will enrich your reading and practice of the Word.

We begin with a charming yet serious episode in the Gospel of John in which the Lord, so to speak, puts His money where His mouth is! For the Lord said that "the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). But here is the extract in question:

"5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

10 Jesus 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.

11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean" (John 13:5-11).

In human life, of course, many people get to feeling like they are so important that they do not need to serve others; but the Lord has a better way for us to follow, which is that those with ability and indeed everyone should come not to be served but to serve. He makes that clear in this very chapter when He indicates that if the Master has stooped to serve then they had best do so likewise! 

Here, the Lord is specifically performing the service of washing the disciples' feet; that is because "feet" is a correspondence of the natural level of our lives, what most people would call 'real life' or 'everyday life'. It is in this everyday life, called our spiritual feet, that we need to apply the waters of divine truth to evils which we uncover in our interior lives and in our outer behaviors.

Obviously, it is not enough for someone to merely be baptized literally; for essentially this washing-the-feet episode is about baptism. No, we cannot simply be baptized literally and thus saved; we have not only to be baptized literally with material water but also to apply the truths of faith represented by that water, not just hearing the Word but also doing it. For otherwise we have merely gotten wet. Is there any proof of this? Yes: for in this very episode, Jesus comments that He has wet Judas' feet but Judas is not for all that clean. 

One began by saying that this episode of the Gospel is very charming, and one wishes to stress the human element here before moving into more of the serious. Notice how playfully the Lord and Peter interact here! Once Peter has gotten the fact that we do indeed need washing, he blurts essentially 'Then wash everything!' And Jesus patiently explains that only the feet need to be washed; because the feet are your natural life, and that is what we need to reform each one of us.

This is emblematic of the humanity and patience with which the Lord adjusts Himself to each one of us; like a decent teacher adjusts themselves to the strengths and weaknesses of those whom they address, becoming in Paul's terms "all things to all men" in service of making the Gospel come alive for them personally; "each man hearing them in his own tongue" in Luke's terms in Acts.

We now have some context in which to appreciate the bronze sea -- essentially a vat -- which was held up by 12 bronze oxen on 12 bronze bases in 1 Kings:

"23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. 24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast. 25 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" (1 Kings 7:23-25).

First of all, it does to know that just like "feet" the metal "bronze" involves the natural level of our lives; and that "bronze" specifically involves good or evil in those natural lives. So this is why such particular attention is given to these items being made of bronze; as well as the bronze lavers mentioned in this chapter also and in relation to the holy tent or tabernacle of the Israelites which the priests were not to enter before washing in such a one.

Second, one frequently uses different camera angles on the same concept in the Word because that is the procedure that God Himself follows; showing us the same spiritual concept from first one angle and then another. We began with the 12 disciples' feet being washed by the Lord; and we continue with another way of saying the same thing, a bronze vat held up on 12 oxen which also represents the need for washing our natural lives clean of evils by applying the truths of faith to these.

It may perhaps tie things together a bit more to consider how in Revelation the Lord's feet are described as being like molten bronze (Revelation 1:15). For this reference to His feet being of bronze refers to His goodness' manifesting in our natural lives. This the same reason that Moses was commanded to put a bronze serpent on a pole so that the Israelites who fastened their eyes upon it would be protected from the fiery serpents' bites. The Lord Himself amplifies this story mentioned:

"14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:14-15).

It may seem strange to refer to the Lord in any way using a serpent, but I want to emphasize that "serpent" just like any other correspondence in the Word may be positive or negative. Did not the Lord command us to be wise as serpents but harmless as doves? That is because the serpent represents the sensual or sensory-perceptual aspect of our natures; and thus the bronze serpent is the sensual or natural aspect of the Lord which we, as inhabitants of natural life, should fasten our eyes upon fixedly while applying His teachings to our issues.

As anyone who has been here for long knows, the Church makes a very big deal about the inner meaning or spiritual meaning of the Word of God. We regularly claim that every aspect of the Word contains spiritual meanings hidden within the literal ones which are in general abundant in good in truth as the name of the Lord. One therefore emphasizes that our doctrine of the inner meaning is the same as that of the Lord: for He supplied inner meaning of Jacob's Ladder as the Son of Man or Himself and the inner meaning of the bronze serpent likewise. In general, when He referred to the Old Testament He did so while unlocking the literal meaning thereof and revealing at least part of the spiritual meaning. That is what we do, what has been done today, and why it is so important to follow these terms like "feet" and "bronze" and learn their meanings. Because that is the way to come to an ever richer understanding of the Word.

So now if someone tells you that you need to wash your feet in a bronze basin held up 12 bronze oxen so that you can be, in the Lord's words, "clean every whit", you will know exactly what they are talking about; and likewise when you see mention of bronze lavers, bronze serpents, feet of bronze, washing of feet, or the number 12 and its compounds. Speaking of 12, let us conclude by zeroing in on a verse which features the 12 disciples in an enigmatic way:

"And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:28).

The disciples, as a careful reader of the Gospels knows, were often concerned about who would be greatest in Heaven; like humans generally, they were very competitive. And Jesus did not want them to be competitive or worry about trivial things like being greatest in Heaven. After all, there is already a greatest in Heaven, the Lord! But the Lord was very patient, and He adjusted His teaching gradually to the reality of His disciples human natures. That is why He here sounds as though He is talking about His disciples literally judging everyone who comes into the other life.

But what is actually happening is this: the 12 disciples represent the sum total of goods and truths of the Church the hearing and doing of which will judge us each and every one.

Every one of us will either apply the goods and truths to our natural life, cleaning up our feet and our bronze; or we won't. And we will be found worthy or wanting according to that standard, hence the description of 12 disciples sitting on 12 thrones and judging everyone. As usual, one hopes that this has been interesting and helpful and that some of it will stick with you and make more sense of the Word. Godspeed on the Way.

Appendix:

"And water to wash his feet. That this signifies purification there, is evident from the signification of "water for washing," or of washing with water, as being to purify (concerning which presently); and from the signification of "feet," as being natural things, or what is the same, the things in the natural man (see n. 2162). In the representative church it was customary to wash the feet with water, and thereby to signify that the unclean things of the natural man were washed away. The unclean things of the natural man are all those things which are of the love of self and of the love of the world; and when these unclean things have been washed away, then goods and truths flow in, for it is solely these unclean things that hinder the influx of good and truth from the Lord" (Arcana Coelestia 3147).