The Need for Jesus!
Notes
Transcript
Reading:
5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood
6 and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Introduction:
The book of Hebrews can teach us a lot about Jesus, the Tabernacle, High Priests, and the superiority of Jesus.
A lot of these connections point back to the Tabernacle and the details that God gives.
There is a lot of foreshadowing from Exodus forward to Jesus.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
If we were given a job description for the priest we should find, if simply written:
The morally impure representing the morally impure to the pure one.
The unrighteous representing the unrighteous to the righteous one.
A sinner pleading on behalf of the other sinners to the sinless one.
When we evaluate what a priests was supposed to do, it should spark a question:
(?) Why would God even have this position?
What value is there in someone doing this?
It doesn’t make sense.
There is no human who is worthy to represent themselves, let alone represent others in the presence of a Holy, Perfect, and awesome God.
Maybe there is something that we don’t realize.
In asking the question were admitting our inability to do the job at the same time realizing that God is pursuing us.
By allowing or “calling” a person to do a job who isn’t spiritually qualified, He has to make possible the impossible.
This is exactly what we find in our text today in Exodus 28.
In our pursuit of growth, I hope we make deeper connections and gain a better understanding of how awesome and consistent our God is.
Chapter 28 begins by detailing a position that is needed in the order for worship:
God Commissons Mediators (1-5)
God Commissons Mediators (1-5)
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.
2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
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.
God introduces a position that we know and are somewhat familiar with; yet often don’t understand.
The position of a priest.
There are different positions that God has instituted throughout history.
Priest: A representative to the Lord on behalf of the people of Israel.
Prophet: A representative to the people on behalf of the Lord.
King: Appointed by God to govern nations.
Apostles: Chosen by God to spread the gospel and establish the early church.
Elder: Appointed to oversee churches through teaching and shepherding.
Deacons: Called to assist in ministering to the peoples needs.
Church: Those who believe in Christ for salvation and are made up of all nations and tribes.
We can revisit those at a later date; but today we’ll focus on the position of a priest.
Notice that God appoints the priest!
No one can just submit an application because they “feel led” to it.
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.
God names them, summons them and ordains them.
Illustration:
If I were to get a letter in the mail that stated I have been selected to call this number and reference a number at the top of the letter for a Jury Summons that means that only I can call and fill that position.
Even if Ella wanted to sit on the Jury in my position, she couldn’t.
We understand that a summons means only the person named can fill that role, no one else because it is specific to that person.
Yet when it comes to God people have made it into this mysterious thing.
It isn’t mysterious. God gives you a spiritual desire to fulfill a role in the local body of believers to spread the gospel and it could be in fulltime positions or not.
He wasn’t vague about who is called as the priests of Israel.
God summoned the whole lineage of Aaron to be the priests that will represent the people before God.
Think of this small detail from the text:
Why did God name, summon and ordain a whole lineage?
23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,
24 but He holds His priesthood permanently, because He continues forever.
25 Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Each priest was plagued with the sickness of sin.
That sin concluded in their deaths.
The result of sin is death.
Because all have sinned; Death removes them from fulfilling their calling.
Illustration:
Let’s say that you ask a person to make you something that only they can make; but they die before getting it finished.
That item isn’t getting made it stopped with them.
We understand the principal.
Looking at the priesthood from this perspective confronts us with a truth:
Aaron’s call to priesthood, along with the whole Levite tribe pointed forward to a more perfect and permanent Priest that we needed!
God gave us the imperfect picture of a representative.
Thankfully Jesus, being God who wasn’t tainted with our nature, hasn’t stopped being our priest.
He conquered death and remains our High Priest forever.
God gets into details about the Priest:
They were to have priestly garments.
2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
The phrase describes and offers a “why” for their special garments.
“for Glory and for beauty”
Their dress code was to be set apart them apart from everyone else!
But it's deeper than that.
Their whole demeanor would fulfill the phrase and are entirely set-apart from everyone.
Ultimately they were to be different in appearance and also in their hearts and conduct.
God gives details about them and expects a seriousness to their calling.
(expound a seriousness:A fear of death for the “willy/nilly” performance like Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus)
1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.
They deemed their own logic worthy instead of God’s rules.
Similar to the way that our modern culture says: That is fine for you to worship that way; but I interpret it this way....
The doctrines are the teaching from God to man, not up for how you feel about it.
God is serious, consider what happened to Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10:2
2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
The Lord revealed how serious His details are.
We cannot attempt our own way to God, as He tells us in John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
There is only one way, and it isn’t ours.
God provided that for us.
God always provides for what He calls us to, just like He did here for Aaron.
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.
God stated what they were to make for the Priests
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.
They will have 6 items for their holy garments.
Here in chapter 28, God gives a lot of details.
I’m not sure about you; but I can get bogged down with details, admittedly: they become mundane and I almost want to skip over them.
Let’s see what we find in verses 6-39.
We find.
God’s Detailed Order Form (6-39)
God’s Detailed Order Form (6-39)
He provides the 6 pieces in detail.
Ephod (6-14)
Ephod (6-14)
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.
The Ephod was likely a robe or a tunic worn on the upper body above the waist.
It was to be blue, purple, scarlett, of fine twined linen.
It was to have 2 Onyx stones, on each shoulder.
Each stone had the name of 6 tribes of Israel, in birth order.
As the priest entered the presence of the Lord, with the Onyx stones he is bearing the 12 tribes to God.
The stones would remind him of the duty to represent the 12 tribes, not just for himself.
That constant reminder of all relying on his intercession.
The next detailed piece is:
Breastpiece (15-24)
Breastpiece (15-24)
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.
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, an agate, 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.
There are to be 4 rows of stones in 3 columns, and each stone is to carry the name of a tribe of Israel.
The breastpiece is also called the “Breastpiece for decisions making” since there is a pouch on the back of it where the Urim and Thummim is located. (we’ll revisit that).
It is also referred to as the “breastplate of judgement.”
Makes sense considering the Urim and Thummim’s purpose.
The Breastpiece and Ephod are connected and worn together (25-28)
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.
The 12 tribes over his heart and it holds the means for deciding God’s will by the Urim and Thummim.
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.
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.
We are not exactly clear about what the Urim and Thummim was but we know they were in the pouch of the breastplate.
It is supposed that the cultural implication was 1 white and 1 black stone.
This seems logical; but we also get more support for this in the words themselves.
The Urim is: Fire, or To give light/Illuminate
The root for Urim is to bind with a curse or lay under a curse.
The Thummim is: Innocent, completeness, integrity.
The root for Thummim is: To become completed, finish, to be finished.
Perfection, Purity, Innocence.
Urim has the connotation of black and void of light, not pure.
Thummim has the connotation of white like purity and cleanliness.
They would have been used to make decisions about the Lord’s will.
This was how to decide or discern the will of the Lord, by whichever one was pulled out.
Thankfully that isn’t how God’s will is decided any more.
Instead we have His revealed will from His word and the Holy spirit to lead us.
The Lord details for the:
Robe (31-35)
Robe (31-35)
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.
This is the multi-colored article under the breastplate and over the Ephod.
This would not only posses fine twined linnen and yarns but it would serve a functional purpose.
Notice that bells were to be sewn onto the hem of the robe.
Also notice why.
When you don’t hear the bells ringing.....you pull his lifeless body out of the Holy of Holies.
His life was required because He wasn’t coming to God clean, pure and as He details here in the law.
We hear of a small detail, yet it gets 3 verses for it’s description.
A Seal of Gold (36-38)
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.
This seal is something that would be worn on Aaron’s forehead.
Interesting place for it.
It kind of reminds me of the 144,000 in Revelation who will be protected.
3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
Verse 5 lists 12,000 names from each tribe, adding up to 144,000.
The seal of the new testament believer is the Holy Spirit.
We are sealed and protected by the Lord as His children.
It isn’t an outward appearance; but an internal change of spiritual position.
The Holy spirit bears our guilt and consecrates us to the Lord and has forever taken up residence in our lives.
The location for the seal:
Fastened to the turban with a cord of blue.
Which brings out the last detailed order from the Lord:
Turban, Sash “under garments” (39-43)
Turban, Sash “under garments” (39-43)
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.
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.
Notice with the undergarments there is a covering for their nakedness before the Lord.
God in this small detail is still covering our shame before Him.
The priestly lineage is to be consecrated publicly through the anointing of oil while wearing a garment that sets them apart from everyone else’s dress attire.
Conclusion:
Let’s makes some connections from the priests to us:
in the New Testament, all believers are called priests.
5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Which means that we are called as Aaron and his family are.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
By name we are called:
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
We are called to be different than the modern culture who has no relationship or reverence for the Lord.
It is equally what we were called out of and what we are called to.
This is the term: Sanctified or set-apart.
It is a process where God works on those called, the term is:
Progressive Sanctification.
As priests we are to Mimic the orders to the priests, not their exact duties but in:
Our appearance it should be different, Our demeanor is different, our heart is different and our conduct:
Because of the relationship we have.
The bible says we are to be Peculiar people.
King James Version Chapter 2
“Who gave Himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” -
King James Version Chapter 2
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, fa peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the gpraises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” -
You are a priest to this generation, offering yourself as a daily sacrifice holy and pleasing to God as instructed in Romans 12.
Our offering is through acts of praise, thanksgiving and selfless service to our fellow men ministering to their needs,
Physical and Spiritual.
Hebrews 13:15-16 summarizes the living out of our priesthood.
15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
This week think through all that God taught about the priests and how you are choosing to fulfill your calling.
-Pray
