Shadow of Things to Come 1
Holiness • Sermon • Submitted
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In this teaching, we’re going to look at some of the symbolism in the Old Testament and how it applies to us today in Christ. You’ll see that the beauty of holiness was all over the OT and pointed to the Lord’s finished work of the cross.
Clothed in Christ
Clothed in Christ
2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. 4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest.
Here we see that the gifted artisans, which we already studied, were to make Aaron’s garments TO CONSECRATE HIM so that he could minister to the Lord as His priest. Consecrate is a verb form of “qodes” and means “to show oneself holy, to treat as holy, to be made holy, to declare holy or consecrated, to behave, to act holy.” From these definitions we see that the idea here is that when Aaron donned his holy garments, a sense of holiness and the glory of his work was to come upon him and the people. In other words, he was removed from ordinary use and set apart for holy use. That’s the Hebraic idea. And notice that he was clothed to minister to the Lord. His ministry, our ministry, is to the Lord first.
The garments were to be “for glory and for beauty.” Glory is our familiar kabod meaning “honor, glory, majesty, wealth.” Beauty is “tipharah” and means “beauty, glory.” So we see garments made for glory and more glory.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
The word “dwelt” here means tabernacled. Aaron’s garments foreshadowed the coming of the Lord and His glory but also us being clothed in Christ!
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
What’s interesting about the word beauty and that makes it different is that it was often used to refer to the beauty of finery of the wealthy that gave them dignity and honor. Like you know someone had wealth by the clothes he or she wears. To me this implies that Aaron’s garments were of the highest quality as befitting a servant to the Lord.
The Breastplate and Ephod
The Breastplate and Ephod
The breastplate of the High Priest was more like a pouch that housed the Urim and Thummim. I was 9 inches square and made of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen. Over it he wore the ephod and on it were 12 precious stones in rows of four that represented the 12 tribes of Israel. The priest was to wear the tribes over his heart. To me this implies that he was to always be affectionately mindful of the people of God.
30 And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.
The Urim and Thummin means “lights and perfections.” They weren’t described in detail but might have been a pair of dice or stones for casting lots to determine the will of the Lord. Interestingly, the patriarchs didn’t use them—Abraham, Joseph, David, etc. Some thin that each item might have had the letter of the alphabet Urim, which was the Hebrew letter ALEPH, the first letter of the alphabet, and Thummin, which was TAV, the last letter of the alphabet.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
Alpha is the first letter of the alphabet and Omega is the last. Remember that these were to discern the will of the Lord implying that JESUS IS, ALWAYS HAS BEEN, AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE WILL OF THE LORD IN YOUR LIFE! You’re in trouble? Jesus. You need a financial miracle? Jesus. Your marriage needs healing? Jesus. But what’s even neater is that we now have the will of God living IN us plus in written form! We don’t have to cast lots. We simply ask Him who dwells within us to show us His will.
The word “judgement” in Exodus 28:30 is “a legal decision.” The High Priest carried the legality of the Lord close to his heart. His job was to render legal decisions that were the will of God.
18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
I love this in the Amplified. It’s “whatever you find [forbid, declare to be improper unlawful] on earth shall have already been bound in heaven and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth shall have already been loosed in heaven.” The context is judgment for or against a sinning brother. When dealing with those in sin, it’s imperative that we keep the people of God close to our heart so that discipline is done in love but they should never be above our affection and allegiance to God.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
We see here that this authority was for establishing the kingdom on earth because Jesus is our legality. Listen to this great definition:
The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament 1210. δέω déō
Accordingly, as they shut or open the door to anything that should be believed or rejected in the church on earth, it must be in agreement with what God has already ordained in heaven. The allusion here is to the ancient manner of binding together the twin doors of houses with a chain to which a padlock was sometimes suspended.
The Robe and Tunic
The Robe and Tunic
The High Priest’s robe or cloak was clothing “worn by key classes of persons in Israel and the ancient Middle East” and from its use, it appears those of wealth and rank.
The tunic was seamless and an opening or a mouth was created for the person’s head. Figuratively it represented the character and attributes of the Lord—justice, zeal for judgment, and righteousness—all the things the Lord came to establish.
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. 24 They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:
“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Therefore the soldiers did these things.
The word for tunic is “chitonos” and was a close-fitting inner vest or inner garment for ornament or luxury, again, implying that it was a costly piece of clothing. Father bringing justice, zeal for judgment and righteousness to us was definitely costly. We see this in the quoted scripture. Garments is any type of clothing but clothing implies “stately and costly” clothing. What’s amazing to me is that even in Aaron’s robe we see a shadow of things to come in which it was imperative that Jesus have a fine, stately, and costly tunic to fulfill scripture and that was fitting for the High Priest that He is to wear.
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Fine linen was a type of linen or sometimes cotton highly prized in ancient times. Because of His sacrifice, we are now arrayed in fine linen as kingly priests to God.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
The Turban and Sash
The Turban and Sash
36 “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet:
HOLINESS TO THE LORD
37 And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. 38 So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
The NLT says, “Aaron must wear it on his forehead so he may take on himself any guilt of the people of Israel when they consecrate their sacred offerings. He must always wear it on his forehead so the Lord will accept the people.”
Our High Priest, Jesus Christ, wore a crown of thorns on His head so that He not only bore our guilt but rid us of guilt and CROWNED US WITH THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS.
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
Thorn bushes are undesirable and inedible. Thistles are weedy, prickly plants that “grew of itself in places abandoned by humans.” We no longer live in the cursed state of Adam and Eve. Jesus has been given ALL authority in heaven and on earth and as His agents, we are legally empowered to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth in tangible ways!
The Armor of God
The Armor of God
I’m sure you can see that the armor of God is related to the high priest’s clothing.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
Belt of truth/sash. The garments of the orientals was loose and flowing and it was necessary to wrap them about their hips when they wanted to EXERT OR DISPLAY THEIR STRENGTH. The idea is to always be in a state of readiness with truth. Truth is “reality, the reality clearly lying before our eyes as opposed to a mere appearance without reality; purity from all error and falsehood.” The belt of a soldier was essential to keeping the other parts in place!
Breastplate of righteousness/the breastplate. The breastplate of a soldier covered the body from the neck to the thigh in both the front and the back. Righteousness is “justice, that which is right and equal according to define law.” We are to have justice close to our hearts just like the high priest. But for us it is also the revelation that Jesus has MADE US RIGHTEOUS and living from that heart condition. Wuest states, “The breastplate of righteousness is therefore the breastplate which is righteousness or consists of righteousness.”
Shoes of peace/sandals. The high priest would go into the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement with the blood to cover the sins of the people for peace between them and God. Jesus Christ gave us His peace forever. No longer do we need a high priest to do it for us each year. We have His peace and the Prince of Peace living inside of us. We are at peace with God forever! The feet of the Roman solder was shod with sandals that were “thickly studded with nails” to give him firm footing in case of attack. As believers, we must understand that we are guiltless in Christ and not allow our hearts to condemn us or we will fall in battle. If you sin, confess it and get cleansed then move on!
Shield of Faith. The high priest didn’t carry a shield while going about his ministry; however, he needed to do his ministry IN faith, especially on the Day of Atonement.
Helmet of Salvation/turban. I like how the NLT says it, “Put on salvation as your helmet.” The salvation spoken of here is the “salvation from the power of sin in this present life.” I.e. our realization that “It is finished!” is our protection. Understanding the full concept of salvation protects our minds from the enemy. We understand that salvation isn’t earned and everything we need has already been given; therefore, we don’t allow fear nor condemnation to get us off track!
Exodus 29:4–9 (NKJV)
4 “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water. 5 Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the intricately woven band of the ephod. 6 You shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. 8 Then you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. 9 And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.
Jesus established an entirely new priesthood hidden in the tribe of Judah not Levi. And I believe that’s why both the ark and the Urim and Thummin disappeared at the Babylonian invasion because a new way was being prepared. And now because we are born again, we not only put on Christ, we have Him dwelling on the inside of us!