The High Priest - The inner Girdle
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And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the Lord commanded Moses.
Note the differences between the girdles described here. It would be easy to read and assume this as one girdle but I could not see past the differences…
And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as the Lord commanded Moses.
Intro: The high priest was fitted with two girdles. One called the “curious girdle” was used to hold the ephod in place and was made of the same materials as the ephod. The other the Bible refers to as the “girdle” and the thing that distinguishes as different other than the name is that it does not include gold.
And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.
We are looking at this first girdle as the next piece of holy garment, because this girdle is that which held in place the fine linen coat which the high priest was equipped with first.
A girdle in the Scriptures is a symbol of service.
And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
A girdle is also at times symbolized as strength for service.
And I will clothe him with thy robe,
And strengthen him with thy girdle,
And I will commit thy government into his hand:
And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
And to the house of Judah.
All of which finds its perfect fulfillment in the the perfect Son of God!
Behold my servant, whom I uphold;
Mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth;
I have put my spirit upon him:
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
From this verse we understand that in order to become a servant, Christ who was in the form of God, emptied himself of His form and took upon Himself the form of a servant.
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.
He poured His life out in service. Multitudes followed that they might receive something at His hands. When Christ departed from the crowds to a solitary place to pray, Simon Peter followed after him and when he found Him he said, “All men seek for thee”. This took place a great while before day. (Mk. 1:34-37)
From morning until evening He girded Himself continually in service and have Himself wholly to the needs of others. He was found patient, uncomplaining in His service, while He testified continually that He came to do the will of another.
From healing, and casting out devils, to kneeling down to wash the feet of His followers. We see the girded servitude of Christ divinely sketched in all He did. Is there another man in history or otherwise that is able to paint that picture so clearly? When you consider the distance He traveled to become that servant. The distance from the throne of God in heaven, where He held the sceptre and was glorified, to His disciples where with girded loins He washed the earth stained feet of stumbling men. There is not a surveyor who’s chain is long enough or who’s laser shoots far enough to comprehend the distant or degree of it. Think for a moment of the voice which spoke and all appeared to the moment, when He stooped down, His lions girded to serve simply to wash the feet of uncomprehending men.
We have shown that Christ was not High Priest until after His resurrection which we see pictured as He rose from that last supper He would eat of earth. That passover meal the same day He would become our passover. (1 Corinth. 5:7) He rose, gird himself, and served...
This was also pictured through the Brazen Laver which was at the door of the Tabernacle tent. The priest, as he would draw nigh to the presence of God to serve Him and be acceptable, was required to wash his hands and feet in the Laver. Hands set forth for service, and feet set forth as the walk. So, Christ remains as our Great High Priest in Heaven, performing His service for those who still walk amid the dust and stain of earth bearing His precious name!
At this time during a meal the people would lay next to the table in a relaxed and reclined position. The feet of one person would be in close proximity to the head of the person next to them. This is why it was customary to have place at the entrance of the dining area, jars, or basins of fresh water. When a guest entered the servants of the house would remove their sandals and wash their feet. To eat with Christ is to commune with Christ. If our daily walk is not clean, if it is not free from the dust and stain of the world it is impossible to eat and commune with Him. He does not eat with us and our communion with the Father is gone. He must wash our feet!
This is the service that Christ as High Priest performs for those who are His! He takes our spiritual feet, our walk and conversation and He washes them clean in the sight of the Father. He washes and cleanses us not as guilty sinners who are outsiders, but as children of God who have become spiritual unclean in the world.
Understanding the foot washing process, the disciples would present their feet to the Lord for both inspection and cleaning. This presentation represents the confession of their actual condition. Remember Peter at first refused to have his feet washed.
Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Peter then desired for his head and hands to be washed. When we think about it, those equipped with clothing, (armour of God) those portions are protected. Christ said that their feet being cleaned represented them being “clean every whit”. It was the sandaled feed of the disciples which came in contact with the dust and soil of the way. This therefore required washing by the water and applied by the servant.
Those that refuse to present there feet in submission to the will of Christ, will sadly one day stand before Him with un-confessed and dealt with sin, which will be a mark against him, and will result in a lack of reward.
Once saved, we no longer need a bath in the blood of Christ, for we are already delivered. Our judgment becomes about our walk, so in this we present our feet for inspection and washing. Christ will expose through conviction those areas that need cleaning, and through His word He will make us clean. It is through the forgiven given and promised through His word that we come in contact with the hands of our Great High Priest. A place in which we leave doubtless, that the Master’s hand, has taken and restored our fellowship to a place that is even closer than it was before. This presenting or confession is what was needed to both show our genuine love for Him and for Him to be able to make us clean and acceptable before Himself and the Father.
Christ is in heaven as the Girdled One, the Great High Priest.
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.
He came to do the will of the Father, to be a servant of the Most High God.
As earthly, spiritual priest we are called to the same. We are saved to do His will and to serve the Most High God in this world! Serving God in His name, serving one another, and confessing faults one to another.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
As He is in Heaven as a priest for us, bringing to our confession, forgiveness and restoration, we as spiritual should be one toward another, confessing to each other for by it is help, forgiving one another as we have been forgiven, and restoring one another to that sweet place of spiritual surrender to Him.