The following is Pastor Nate’s teaching transcription from Calvary Monterey’s 5/18/21 Tuesday Night Service. We apologize for any transcription inaccuracies.
The Priestly Garments
"Then bring near to you, Aaron, your brother, and his sons with him from among the people of Israel to serve me as priest. Aaron and Aaron's sons Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar." (Exodus 28:1)
Now here, as we turn to chapter 28, we're going to see the calling, and the clothing of the priest. And then, in chapter 29, which we'll study together next time in Exodus, we're going to look at then, the consecration of the priest.
Here, we're going to see first what they're wearing, and what they're meant to serve God like, what their services to be like as indicated by their clothing, and then in chapter 29, we'll see them actually be consecrated, what their ceremony that set them apart for the ministry was supposed to look like.
And, really in a sense, what you have with the priests are a group of people who were to minister in the tabernacle in lots of unique ways. But very straightforwardly, they were to maintain the incense that would be offered twice a day on the altar inside of the tabernacle. Representing the prayers to God for the nation, they were to maintain the lamp stand that was inside the tabernacle as well. Make sure that it was filled with oil so that the fire was continuing to burn. They were every day to replace the bread that was inside the tabernacle with fresh bread, and take the old bread out, and they were to maintain and offer sacrifices on the altar that was outside of the tabernacle on behalf of the people, and they were to bless the people as well.
They also would from time to time preside over cases among God's people, sometimes dealing with things like remarriage or leprosy, civil cases amongst the people, and they were to instruct the people in the law of God, and give encouragement to the people when there were times of chaos or war.
When we get to the Book of Leviticus, especially Leviticus 1-8, we're going to get to see the details of the sacrificial system, and their work. I hope that'll be an exciting time, actually, as we go through that portion of the Book of Leviticus.
1 “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
One of the first things though that we see in this first verse of chapter 28, where we're going to look at the garments of the Old Testament priests. Is that, God tells Moses that it would be his brother Aaron, who would be chosen, Aaron's sons who would be chosen from among the people of Israel.
Now, one of the things that's interesting about this is that this means that this was not a position that was attained by character or status, but was something that God chose people for. He chose Aaron and his offspring to be the ones that would serve in this position. They were no self-appointed like so many other religions, but they were those who God had selected and merely just because they were descendants of Aaron himself. And then, of course they were the sons, they were to be men. These were male leadership positions amongst the people of Israel.
And, what he says there in verse 1, is that these men, Aaron, and his four sons. They were to serve God as priests, serve God as priests. In a sense, there's a human impulse to this, because all of the religions of the world have some form of a priesthood, or mediator that is in between the deity that is being worshiped, and the worshipers.
But, the difference here is that God is the instituter of this priesthood, and these priests are ideal representatives of all of us, because the full orb of God's Revelation, the Bible, teaches us that covered by the blood of Jesus, all of us are called to serve God as priests, Revelation 1:6, he's made us into a kingdom, priests to his God and Father. 1st Peter 2:5, "You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood. To offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
So in a sense, when we look at the garments of the original priests, understanding in the back of our minds that the destiny that God has for every believer is that we would serve God as priests ourselves. Then, we can approach this chapter knowing we got a lot to learn from this section of scripture as regarding our relationship with God, regarding our service towards the Lord.
Now, the four sons of Aaron are mentioned, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu, when we get to Leviticus 10, we're actually going to see these men suffer under the disciplinary hand of God for a specific sin that they commit. So they will die.
Eleazar and Ithamar will live on, and they will, again, assume the priestly duties and responsibilities after Aaron. Eleazar will actually be the one who becomes the high-priest after Aaron's death.
2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
Verse 2, it says, "And you shall make Holy garments for Aaron, your brother, for glory and for beauty." These are interesting phrases here, the garments that Aaron and his descendants were supposed to wear were called Holy Garments, and the reason that they were to be made was for glory and for beauty. Or as the NIB says, "For dignity and for honor." In other words, these garments were to establish these priests, particularly the high-priest. Because what you'd have is all of the priests wearing a certain garment that was more humble in nature. But most of what we're going to have described for us in this chapter is the vestments or the trappings, or the outfit of the high-priest. And the idea is that this garment, in the mind of God was created to create dignity and honor about the priesthood. They were to exalt the office and the function of the high-priest and stimulate the worship of and respect for God as a result of this office.
So what this highlights now, is the importance of this priestly ministry that God has established. You see, if you're just kind of reading the book of ... or the Bible from Genesis onward, what we've had really up to this point are various figures who have operated as priests and you definitely have figures that jump onto the scene, a figure like Melchizedek, who is the high-priest of God. You have figures like that, but for the most part, you look at men like Noah, or Enoch, or Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob. These are figures who as the heads of their household, they are the ones operating like the priest of that group of people. The ones building altars, offering sacrifices to God, prayers to God, creating monuments to the Lord.
Now, here God is saying, it's not that God is saying he didn't want the heads of the household to have any significances of course, does that all throughout scripture. But what he's saying here now, is that for this moment, the priesthood is going to be taken away from those figures they're beginning to develop now as a nation and it'll be the sons of Aaron who will operate in these priestly ministries.
And really, in a sense, it's almost shocking to say it this way, but it's kind of like the clothing makes the man in this chapter. In the sense that, there were moments, because the outfit that the priest is going to wear, it just reeks of the holiness of God. They even have a plate ... A golden plate that they'll put on their turban that says, "Holy to the Lord", the whole idea is that God is magnificent, beautiful, transcendent, and that holiness is required of these priests, and their consecration, and there's blood, and sacrifice and the setting apart of their bodies to God. The idea is that they're meant to be holy, but the reality is that over time there were many priests who were not holy men, though they should have been.
It's almost as if the garments themselves, they are communicating holiness, even if the person within does not have a holy lifestyle. So it's kind of like the clothes make the man. In the Bible there are many times where clothing represents outwardly what the wearer is internally. And in this case, it's representative of what the wearer is before God. To God, these priests are holy, to God, these priests are separated from everybody else for the task at hand.
Like I said, unfortunately there were many priests over the years who didn't really have the kind of character that these garments externally communicated. We live, of course, in an era where this is possible still. All of us are called to be priests before the Lord. If you're covered by the blood of Jesus, you belong to God. You've been declared as holy. But the question is, are you behaving in line with the declaration that has been made over you. You might be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. His righteousness might have been imputed to your account. But then, of course the desire, the believer is then to walk in the light as he is in the light. To actually be what we are, to live as we are.
For us, when you see, for instance in places like, 1st Timothy 3, or in Titus 1, the requirements of the pastorate, or the requirements of the deaconate. When you see these various descriptions and they describe the character, the internal character within. You're not actually seeing a replica, or a new testament version of what we're reading here in the Old Testament. Where the priests, they had to be one way, and now in the New Testament, the pastors, they have to be one way. No, what we're seeing here in the Old Testament is actually comparable to all of us, because we're all called in Christ to be priests before the Lord. The priesthood of all believers. So we all are called to this holy kind of life.
But, when it comes to the actual pastoral ministry, or the work of actual ministry within the church. There are character requirements that must be met. And that's where passages where 1st Timothy 3, and Titus 1 would come into play.
But, this is just fascinating to me, this was not an office that a man could even really aspire to. God just chose these people by birth, they were called into this work.
3 You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. 4 These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. 5 They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.
Verse 3 goes on and says, "You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill. That they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. These are the garments that they shall make. A breast piece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron, your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. They shall receive gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen."
Now, this little paragraph starts with an interesting phrase there in verse 3, where you see that they're called to speak to all the ... Moses is called to speak to all the skillful people who God has put in a spirit of skill. They'd be the ones to construct the tabernacle, but now they're going to be called here to construct or to put together the garments of these priests, particularly, like I said earlier, the high-priest. But, that's just an interesting phrase to me, the idea that God has made these people skillful, that he put in them a spirit of skill. I'm not trying to make too much of this, or to say that every single human being on earth has a specific skill that God has given to them.
But, I think that just by simple observation and studying of the human species, it's just clear that God has made us very different from each other. And there are talents and abilities that are innate to us that as we seek the Lord, he helps point us towards, they draws those out of us and perhaps we might be able to say that God has given a spirit of skill to me in such and such, an area of my life.
Now, what these skilled workers would create for the priesthood was a breast piece that would be on the surface of their garment that everybody would see. Underneath that an ephod, underneath that a robe that they would wear, and a coat of checker work, a turban and a sash. Really, those are six things, but there's eight things in total that are mentioned because there will be four inner garments that all the priests would wear. And then, you've got four over garments that the high-priest would wear.
And in verse 1, 3, and 4, God repeats a phrase, "They will serve me as priest." So this is making it clear that even though they're there to facilitate the worship of the nation. So they are serving in the nation. They're there primarily to serve God, answering to God.
And, another thing to mention, is found there in verse 5. "They'll receive gold and blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns and fine twined linens." The idea here is that all the same elements that were used to build the tabernacle are now going to be used to construct the garments of the priest, and particularly the high-priest.
This is likely a way to kind of communicate that they are working in tandem, they are one in the same. And that, remember inside the tabernacle, there was the white linen, there was the ... Not the engraving, but the embroidering of the cherubim on the walls, there was beauty, and all of the colors that are mentioned here in verse 5. The idea is, is that the high-priest goes in, or the priest goes in with these garments. He's got garments that are matching, that would remind you or remind anybody watching of what's happening on the inside.
So the idea is likely that the character of the priest, or the worshiper is meant to imitate the character of the place. Which was of course, imitating the character of God. So the high-priest was meant to be a heavenly man, in other words.
And, the same materials here are used for the tabernacle, as would be used for their garments, and the idea that they were an extension of God in God's house himself.
The Ephod
6 “And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. 7 It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. 8 And the skillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. 11 As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. 12 And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance. 13 You shall make settings of gold filigree, 14 and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings.
It says in verse 6. "And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns and a fine twine linen skillfully worked." So here now, he's going to describe the ephod. The first garment that gets the description. "It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to it's two edges so that it may be joined together, and the skillfully woven band on it shall be like it and be of one piece with it of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns and fine twine linen. You shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel. Six of their names on the one stone and the names of the remaining six on the other stone in the order of their birth. As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree, and you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel."
And "Aaron", verse 12, "shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance. You shall make settings of gold filigree and two chains of pure gold twisted like cords, and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings."
Again, there's the description of the ephod, probably a waist coat kind of garment. Had blue, purple, scarlet, and white linen thread, all in it entwined with a gold decorative thread we learned. And this would distinguish the high-priest, which at first was Aaron. Because he would have a breast piece, he'd have this ephod, the special robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. And his sons basically are the other priests who had tunics, sashes, and headbands. So the high-priest stood apart from the rest of the priesthood.
It is interesting in the description of all the elements that they would wear, there's never a mention of what they would put on their feet. No shoes, no sandals, and some people think that that meant that they served God barefooted. Just like when God was approached at the burning bush by Moses, and God told Moses to take the sandals off his feet for the place that he stood was holy ground. Perhaps the priests serve God barefooted because they were on what would be considered holy ground. Not certainly possible, but we don't know what certainty.
But the thing that really stands out about this ephod that the high-priest would wear, is that there was these two onyx stones in verse 9 and 12 described where engraved on the stones were the names of the sons of Israel, so the tribes of Israel represented there, and Aaron would then wear these and it says in verse 12 that he would bear the names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance.
The significance of this is really clear. The priest, when going into the temple, or the tabernacle was representing the whole nation every time that he put the ephod on, and every time that he went in before the Lord. These were memorial stones for the sons or the tribes or Israel.
Part of what's beautiful about this is that of course the high-priest would be from the tribe of Levi, because he was a descendant of Aaron, and Aaron was part of the tribe of Levi.
So there might've always been a question, is the priesthood biased towards a particular tribe and neglecting the rest of the tribes? But that's not the case, he's bearing all of the tribes before God, and these names symbolize not only that he represents all of the tribes, but that he's carrying them on his shoulders before God. In other words, his might, his strength is being devoted to interceding for the people. And really in a sense, this to me has always been a powerful picture of the life of prayer. I know that many Christians really don't think much of or about prayer.
In our modern era, it's popular for believers to say things like, "Well, I just kind of pray throughout the day, or I really just don't believe in having a real time or moment where I'm praying to God. We just kind of talk throughout the day. And, in a sense, I get the sentiment because we tend to highlight the relational aspect of our walk with God. So God is your friend, your father, he is always available to you. We are told, in 1st Thessalonians 5, to be of people who pray without ceasing.
So in effect, that means that we'll be uttering words to God all day long, but that there's mean to be an unbroken communion and fellowship between God and us. So you're reading the news, and you're kind of processing it with God. You're in a conversation with somebody, you're asking God for wisdom. You're driving down the road. You're thanking God for whatever there is. So we can be in prayer without ceasing, I completely understand the concept and the idea.
But this element, the onyx stones with the names of Israel on their shoulders. To me, it speaks of a more intentional attitude in prayer. I think for this in the New Testament era, we have Paul's prayer life in ministry. He listed so many people that he intentionally prayed for, interceded for before God. And he clearly had a burden for people. And I think these onyx stones represent that burdened life of prayer before God. Bringing someone else to the throne room of God. Asking God to move in their life. Asking God to do things that perhaps they aren't even asking God to do in the first place in their own lives.
So the priest would wear these ephods and I think that when we read about them, they should encourage us to be a people of prayer who are intentionally interceding for those in our lives.
The Breastpiece
15 “You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it—of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it.
But, he goes on in verse 15 to talk about the next piece which is the breast piece. And this is going to be the most descriptive element of all of the garments. So it's very important, it's got a few different elements to it.
It says in verse 15, "You shall make a breast piece of judgment and skilled work in the style of the ephod, you shall make it of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen you shall make it." So this is the introduction to this breast piece. And basically just kind of an overview of the breast piece, because it's kind of as you read through the description, it's easy to get a little bit lost in it. It's made the same way as the ephod, it was folded in half, and basically what the breast piece ended up being was a nine inch by nine inch square, that would sit on the front of the high-priest. And it has a pouch in it for a thing called the urim and the thummim, which we'll talk about in a moment, and it had 12 precious gems on it, each one it representing one of the tribes of Israel.
As I said, the detail that we're about to read is more detail than any of the other element. So this highlights for us the importance of this breast piece in the mind of God.
16 It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth. 17 You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; 18 and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth [jay-sinth], an agate [aa-gatt], and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. 21 There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 23 And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 25 The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 26 You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. 29 So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord.
As it says in verse 16, "It shall be square and doubled the span it's length and a span it's breadth. You shall set in it four rows of stones, row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle, shall be the first row. And the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. In the third row, jacinth, agate, and amethyst. And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree."
"There should be 12 stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name for the 12 tribes. You shall make for the breast piece twisted chains like chords of pure gold. And you shall make for the breast piece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the edges of the breast piece, and you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. The two ends of the two cords, you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front of the shoulder pieces of the ephod. You shall make two rings of gold and put them at the two ends of the breast piece on it's inside edge next to the ephod. And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod. At its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod and they shall bind the breast piece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod so the breast piece shall not come loose from the ephod."
So "Aaron", verse 29, "shall bear the names of the sons of Israel, and the breast piece of judgment on his heart when he goes into the holy place to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord."
So again, great detail in this breast piece that is constructed 12 stones, they represent the 12 tribes. And again, verse 29, "Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breast piece of judgment on his heart."
So two onyx stones with six tribes each on his shoulders, now you have 12 stones, each with a name for Israel, each representing a tribe of Israel on his heart. And he bears them before the Lord. Again, the precious stones symbolizing the value that God places upon his people, he considers each one of his people precious in his sight, these precious stones representing the preciousness of the people of Israel in the eyes and in the mind of God. And this priest is bringing them before the Lord. He's a representative, he's responsible to the Lord.
Again, the names of the sons of Israel, they just are all over the priest, his shoulders, his heart, and the idea being that he is bearing these people before the Lord.
On his two shoulders, you've got the stones, and then again, on his chest the 12 individual stones. I love this, because it speaks of the priest having the people on his shoulders, and on his chest, or in his strength, he's bringing them to God. And then, a heart of compassion for the people. So working for them, but also interceding for them, loving them, caring for them, being compassionate for them.
The high-priest, if you really think about where this role developed over time, you do wonder as the day of atonement approached each year. Were there a multitude of compassion required conversations that the high-priest would have with citizens in Israel who knew that he was going to represent them before God? And perhaps confessing sins, or telling him of something they needed God's grace for, and would he confess their sins to the Lord or something like that?
Conversations like that require great compassion, and so the high-priest with this garment is meant to be that kind of person. For me, I want to be that kind of believer who uses my shoulders, my strength, energy, might, mind, talents, ability. And then, also my compassion, my heart, my character for the people of the Lord.
30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.
But, he also says in verse 30, to conclude this portion about the breast piece that, "In the breast piece of judgment, you shall put the urim and the thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart when he goes in before the Lord. Thus, Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly."
Now, this leads us to the mysterious subject of these elements called the urim and the thummim. Which literally just means lights and perfections. But, speculation abounds as to what they actually were. They were somehow inside the pouch that was behind this breast piece. And, generally it seems that they were used somehow to help the priests determine God's will for his people. So some have suggested that they were a black and white stone, that one was dark, one was light, and one represented yes and no. So the priest would ask these yes and no questions before the Lord and pull out a stone, and that's how they would get their answers.
Others believe that it was more supernatural than this and that something illuminated, that God actually did this perhaps even with the stonework on the front of the breast piece for the priest.
But, however it operated, it does seem that somehow the priests were meant to be figures who help the people of Israel determine God's will, God's desires for their lives at various critical points.
Again, verse 29 and 30 tell us, "They were to bring the people to regular remembrance before the Lord and to bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly." So the idea here is that they would help the people, the phrase, "bear judgment" in verse 30 is a phrase not found elsewhere, and some have translated it making decisions. Like making judgments, making determinations, making decisions.
So it's very possible, that the priest was meant not only to be a man of prayer, but also a man who you could seek direction and guidance, and counsel from. Again, thinking about the priesthood of all believers, of course Jesus is our great high-priest. He did not take up the priesthood of Aaron, or the tribe of Levi. But Melchizedek, actually, when you look at the Book of Hebrews, but he fulfilled this whole priestly ministry, so now we all have complete access to God. But again, we're all called priests before the Lord. So when you think about the garments up to this point, well you're learning that as God's people, we're to be a people of prayer, we're to be interceding for other people. And now, this added element that perhaps as priests of God, we should be people who are able to give competent, biblical counsel to help point people towards God's purposes and will for their lives.
And, of course, that might not mean that we know the specific things that a person should do at any place and time. But, with a Bible saturated mind, you know the mind of the Lord and some general ways, so that might equip you to listen to somebody as they're going through life and help kind of give them counsel and guidance for where they should go and what they should do because they're made in the image of God, you've studied God's book, you've learned a bit about what human beings need to look like and what God's redemptive work can become in them. And so, the counsel that you might be able to give to somebody as time goes on.
And again, don't be afraid of that word counsel as if every Christian has got to go buy a couch or something that you have your patient lie down on as they pour out their lives to you like you're a therapist, or something like that. I'm just talking about the regular course of life and as you're talking and asking questions. A believer should become more equipped to be able to share the word of the Lord with someone else.
The Robe
31 “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment, so that it may not tear. 33 On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. 35 And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.
Now in verse 31, we move on to the robe. It says, "You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment so that it may not tear. On it's hem, you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple, and scarlet yarns around it's hem with bells of gold between them. A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe. And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sounds shall be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord, and when he comes out so that he does not die."
All right, so underneath the ephod and the breast piece, there would be this robe that they would wear. It was to be sleeveless and blue, no seam, probably go a little bit below the knees, and it would have slits for their head and for their arms so they could operate inside of it. And, along the hem were blue and purple, and scarlet colors, kind of alternating. And then, these pomegranates that says at the bottom of it, kind of around the bottom edge with golden bells that would jingle as they moved about the tabernacle. So everybody on the outside could hear when the priest was moving on the inside of the tabernacle.
And then, there's this ominous phrase, "So that he does not die." At the end there on verse 35. So that he'll be heard so that he does not die. The idea being that God is holy, you have this priest, he's got to offer these sacrifices before he goes in to spend time with the Lord. If his hands are unclean, if he is unholy, then if they didn't hear the bells jingling any longer, then they would know that ... Our priest might've died in the presence of the Lord. It was in a later era that they began to put a rope around the ankle of the high-priest so that they can drag him out of there if he did die. But that wasn't prescribed here at this point. It just kind of told that you need to have this pomegranates with bells on the outer garments so that he can be heard as he moves around into the holy place.
The idea of this garment, again, it's very ornate and beautiful. As some have suggested that the pomegranates representing fruitfulness before God, a joyfulness, a fruit before the Lord. And all of these colors were very bright, festive colors that would make the high-priest standout and then the sound, of course, would make him stand out even more because you'd hear him coming, you'd see him coming, you'd hear him coming. And again, it would communicate this beauty and glory, like the first verse had said about the priest and his garments. The respect for that position so to speak.
The Turban
36 “You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37 And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. 38 It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. 39 “You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.
And again, a beautiful image of who this priest was. And on verse 36 he says, "You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it like the engraving of a signet holy to the Lord. He shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban, it shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things of the people of Israel consecrate on their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead that they may be accepted before the Lord. You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework."
Now here's where the messaging of this outfit really comes to a crescendo. He'd have this turban on his head with a plate, a golden plate that said, "Holy To The Lord", this expressed a need for this man, he's declared holy by God, but it expresses a need for him to be holy before God. When they're consecrated there will be blood on their right ear, their right thumb, and their right big toe. It kind of communicates, "I'm going to holy places, I'm doing holy things, and I'm consuming holy things. I'm not an impure person."
And here, God is declaring this is a holy person, with this golden plate on their head, it's kind of like you can't get away from seeing this, you cannot look at the high-priest without seeing this golden plate right there, right above their eyes declaring them to be holy unto God, holy unto the Lord. I actually have this image in my head right now, and one of the study resources that I use that had an artistic rendering of one of the priests, and you do, you just see this turban, it stands out, this metal plate. And the particular drawing that I have, I don't know why they did it this way, but the priest sure looks like George Clooney to me with a big, huge beard, white beard. But, just looks like a dead ringer for George Clooney, there's a high-priest. I can picture it right now in my mind's eye.
But, here again, this holiness unto God. This sacred diadem over their head. And just a further reminder of what God is looking for, for us as we serve him as priests. He wants to help purify us and grow us, make us holy before him. And it probably helps us understand that as we walk with him, this is one of the things that he's trying to do on us. He's trying to bring out the holiness that Jesus has deposited into our hearts, and into our lives.
So it's not for us to make ourselves holy, but it is for us to join God in the process of developing real, true, and legitimate holiness within. So, they were to go in before the Lord, and it says there in verse 38, that they were to bear any guilt from the holy things that they would be accepted before the Lord. So the idea here is that, again, as representatives, they were to bring the guilt of Israel before God.
Ordinary Priestly Garments
40 “For Aaron’s sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them for glory and beauty. 41 And you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. 42 You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs; 43 and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.
Now verse 40-43, we close out with just a small description of the ordinary priestly garments. Everything we've looked at up to this point, this is the way the high-priest would dress. But he says in verse 40, "For Aaron's sons you shall make coats and sashes, and caps. You shall make them for glory and beauty, and you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him, and you shall anoint them and ordain them, and consecrate them that they may serve me as priests. You shall make for them linen garments to cover their naked flesh, they shall reach from the hips to the thighs, and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tandem meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever, for him, and for his offspring after him."
Again, this is the garments of the ordinary priests serving with the high-priest, and their garments. Again, verse 40, were also for glory and beauty, the same reason that was given for the high-priest garments. All these priests would be consecrated, these garments would be consecrated, he even gets down to describing what they would wear underneath their garments ... they're linen undergarments, they would not be like the pagan nations that would often in their priesthoods serve their Gods with lewdness and nakedness and things like that. Their nakedness would be covered and when they approach God, they would approach God with dignity and with care.
Now, in just thinking about this chapter as we close this out today. It might be easy for us to reflect on it. For me, I really don't detach myself from this and think to myself, "Wow, what a strange, odd era that was." What I think about is, I think, "God's glory and God's presence was there in that tabernacle." When the arc was constructed, the holy of holy's, the holy place, the candlesticks, the table of showbread, the showbread was placed there on that table. The altar of incense, the incense being burned, the laver outside to cleanse, the bronze altar, the walls around the tabernacle. When all of that was instituted and the priest put on their garments and they offered those sacrifices, the presence of the Lord came. The Shekinah glory of God was thick there in that place.
And I just think about what that would've been like for the priests to go in to the presence of God, to spend time with God in his presence. And I'll be honest, there's a little part of me that is kind of jealous of what that would've been like. Just as when I read that Moses went to the tandem meeting, and he met with God face-to-face as a man meets with his friend. I'm a little jealous of that connection with God.
That visceral, real experiential contact with the God of all flesh. But what we learn through the progressive revelation of scriptures, that when Jesus came, tabernacled among us for 33 years or so and died and rose from the dead, and ascended. He poured out his spirit so that the spirit would come to live inside of us, so now we're the temple of the Holy Spirit. And we are the priesthood of the believers, so we can go in to spend time with God.
We can pray, we can boldly come to his throne of grace, and in a sense of what we have is so much better. Not just better because we all can do it and in this instance only the high-priest could do it. That is part of what's better, but it's also not just better in quantity, it's better in quality. The radical access that we have as God's children to his throne of grace. I pray that we would enjoy it more than we ever have and that perhaps these garments would help us be stimulated to do so.
God bless you, Church. Have a wonderful week.