Exodus 28-29 "Mediator: Bridge Between God and Man"

STAND FOR THE READING OF GOD’S WORD

Exodus 28:29–30 ESV

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. 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.

MEDIATOR: BRIDGE BETWEEN GOD AND MAN

Moses’s brother Aaron will be ordained as a priest in today’s passage, with the clear function of going between God and Man. This is an amazing glimpse ahead at the roll of Jesus our perfect Mediator.

PRAY

EXODUS 28

Vs. 1

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.

SETTING RECAP

Moses is up on Mount Sinai with God receiving instruction on how to lead God’s people.

MAKING THE TABERNACLE - FIRST CHURCH

They will build the tabernacle or mobile place of worship.

AARON TODAY BECOMES A PRIEST

God says, “bring Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, to serve me as priests” - Priests function as mediators between God and Man.

A couple hot takes on passages to get us started…

Vs. 2

2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

“you shall make holy garments for Aaron… for glory and for beauty”

Vs. 3

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.

those whom God has “filled with a spirit of skill” - giftedness from God

Vs. 4

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.

Special gear - all with deep and powerful meaning… we will discuss some today

Vs. 5

5 They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.

RECAP GIVING FROM LAST WEEK

“They shall receive…” all things donated by the people as their “giving”

Vs. 6-8

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.

EPHOD

An ephod is a sleeveless half-robe, worn over the priests full robe, decorated with stones.

Vs. 9-11

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.

THE TWO ONYX STONES

God says, “take two onyx stones” engraved with “the sons of Israel” to be worn on the ephod bearing the names of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

Vs. 12-14

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.

READ: IMAGINE THIS

With each thing that Aaron would do in God’s presence the people were there with him… yet not consumed by God’s holiness!

STONES OF REMEMBRANCE

Listen “stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel” and “Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord”

Vs. 15-21

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.

READ

There are roughly 1.5 million people making up Israel at this point in Exodus, and all are represented in the priestly clothes.

BREASTPIECE OF JUDGEMENT

The “breastpiece of judgement” is a pouch resting on the ephod with 4 rows of 3 precious stones set in gold representing “the sons of Israel”.

Vs. 22-27

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.

Can you see this large decorated outer piece the size of the priest’s chest, with gold chains and jewels? It’s like Hip Hop designed priestly gear! :)

Vs. 28-29

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.

LISTEN - SO POWERFUL

“Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece … when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord”

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NOTE FOR SCREEN

MEDIATOR: BRIDGING THE GAP

The High Priest was a mediator between God and humanity, representing the people by bearing their names on him bodily so they could enter God’s presence and not be consumed by His holiness.

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Vs. 30

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.

URIM AND THUMMIM - DISCERNMENT NOT PUNISHMENT

It says, “in the breastpiece … you shall put the Urim and the Thummim” and “bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord”

These stones, 1 black and 1 white, that would determine the will of God (like a divine coin toss). Judgement here is guidance not punishment.

Vs. 31-34

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.

HIGH PRIEST’S ROBE POMEGRANATES

This too was a robe with “pomegranates” and “gold bells”: “pomegranates” are full of seeds representing the promise to Abraham about his “seed”, and the “gold bells” were for a very unique purpose…

Watch what God says about the gold bells now…

Vs. 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.

READ: EXPLAIN BELLS

On the day of Atonement the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies (remember from last week) ONE DAY A YEAR, and if he did this wrongly - he would literally die on the spot… the bells let everyone know he was still alive.

Vs. 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.

notes below, then: gospel about Jesus bringing us “holy to the Lord” in our sin…

HIGH PRIEST HAT

A “turban” with a gold plate on it written “Holy to the Lord”

POINT

The main idea of the HIGH PRIEST was taking guilt away from the people.

He was dressed to remind the people that God is holy and people need a Savior.

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SHARE GOSPEL

share gospel focused on Jesus entering into the presence of God on our behalf - being holy to the Lord!

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Vs. 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.

SUMMARIZE - THEN READ

“This shall be a statute forever”

TRANSITION QUESTION

Forever? Then where is the High Priest today?

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VERSE FOR SCREEN

Hebrews 6:19–20

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever…

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So how does Jesus our High Priest apply to us today?

EXODUS 29

Vs. 1

Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests…

In Exodus, Moses is told how to get Aaron ready for the priesthood…

Skip down to vs. 4

Vs. 4-5

4 You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 5 Then you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

READ

Moses, wash them and dress them in the holy priesthood gear, that will allow them to come in… and without that they would die!

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VERSE FOR SCREEN

Hebrews 7:26–27

[Jesus our] high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

NOTE FOR SCREEN

JESUS OUR MEDIATOR

High Priests were washed and dressed to remind us that sin separates us from God. Jesus, our sinless High Priest, stands in God’s presence forever. As the priests represented Israel, Jesus represents us in God’s presence today.

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Now, several sacrifices cleansing them from sin later, this happened…

Vs. 19-20

19 “You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, 20 and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar.

Note below and then note/verse note/verse on screen

BLOOD ANOINTING

God is declaring that we cannot hear God correctly because of sin

We cannot serve God with our hands properly because of sin

And, we cannot stay on the path to following God correctly because of sin

As a blood sacrifice was made it allowed all those things to be overcome.

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VERSE FOR SCREEN

Hebrews 8:1–3

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.

NOTE FOR SCREEN

JESUS OUR MEDIATOR

High Priests offered sacrifice after sacrifice shedding a great amount of blood to cover their own sin, and the sin of the people. As mediator Jesus shed His own blood to be both our High Priest and our Atonement Sacrifice.

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CLOSING OF MESSAGE

AARON = A TYPE OF CHRIST

Aaron - in his office of High Priest serves to gives us a “type” of Christ

VERSE FOR SCREEN

Hebrews 7:25

Consequently, he [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

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