The Royal Priesthood

The Royal Priesthood Exodus 28 Context • God has gone into great detail describing His abode (the Tabernacle) among His people. • Now God turns His attention to the people who will attend the Tabernacle. • God begins by describing the dress of a specific person, the High Priest. • Today, we’ll cover the components of the wardrobe (Regalia) and then we’ll explore the message they convey (Themes). The Regalia 1. Pieces: • • • v.4 – breastpiece, ephod, robe, coat, turban, and sash v.36 – head plate of pure gold v.42 – linen undergarments (breeches/trousers) 2. Ephod: • • • • Outermost garment; blue/purple/gold are the same colors that line the inside of the tabernacle Ephod is essentially an apron with shoulder straps that wrap behind the person wearing it (8) Onyx shoulder pieces bearing Israel’s names (9-14) The shoulders hold gold chains that hold our next piece. The Regalia 3. Breastpiece (15-29) • • • • • Most prominent item Cloth pocket, made from the same purple/scarlet/gold; 9x9 square (15-16) Jewels set in gold arrayed in 4 rows of 3; each unique stones contains the name of an Israelite tribe (17-21) Gold chains connect the breastplate to the ephod (2228) Inside the pocket are two stones, the Urim and Thummim (29-31) [“Light” and “Dark”] The Regalia 4. Robe: • • Long and blue; very simple piece with a hole cut for the head (31-32) Tassels of cloth pomegranates and golden bells (33-35) 5. Turban: • • Most prominent feature is a golden headband that reads, “Holy to the Lord” (36) White linen with blue band affixing the plate (37-38) 6. Tunic: base layer of white linen; the same that all the other priests wore while in Tabernacle service. Themes 1. Ordained – God ordains the men who serve (1), specifies every intricacy, and warns the bearers of these items of their grave significance (35, 38). God is serious about worship. 2. Representative – the High priests bears Israel on his shoulders, hides Israel over his heart, and crowns his head by the reminder of God’s special relationship with these people. Themes 3. Regal: • • • • God’s specific intention is that these pieces are for both glory and beauty (2) Purple, scarlet, blue, and gold are all colors or royalty The headpiece was reminiscent of ancient crowns Picture of God’s intention for this nation, “you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6) Reflections 1. The clothing for the High Priest pointed toward our Great High Priest who is both Priest and King (see Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:5-10) 2. The clothing of the High priest pointed toward God’s intention for us (1 Peter 2:9)