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Introduction
Introduction
How many people in here today have ever heard the saying: “The Clothes make the man?”
The phrase has an interesting origin story. It was quoted and used by Mark Twain (world famous author) and Erasmus (a very popular and ancient catholic priest). The quote can be misleading because clothes do not make the man, but clothes can (not always but sometimes) communicate sometime us about the man.
In this first of a multipart mini series in Exodus on the Old Testament priesthood, we’re going to look at the garments. And yes, the clothes of the Priest indeed does communicate something to us about the Priest.
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.
Real quickly, let me pause and highlight a few points that stand out in these first six verses...
Aaron’s Appointment is God’s Doing Not Aaron’s
Aaron’s Appointment is God’s Doing Not Aaron’s
Aaron’s calling is not established upon his own doing. He is appointed by God.
“Bring near to me Aaron...
Over and over again, we see God making clear that He is the one who does the appointing and calling.
He called Moses out of the wilderness to lead His people out of Israel.
He called David out from watching after the folks to rule as King over His people.
He called Paul out from the evils of persecuting His church to spread the Gospel and increase His church’s reach.
Paul himself testified in Galatians 1
1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—
Our roles in God’s Kingdom are not a matter of will, passion, and/or talent. They are a result of calling. And we should never leave appointment into Christian leadership to just our own inventions, assessments, and ingenuity. They must be covered in prayer in order that they might ordered by God himself.
God’s Appointing Comes with God’s Equipping
God’s Appointing Comes with God’s Equipping
Look real quickly at verse 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.
Notice that the skillful that will be appointed to design these garments from Aaron aren’t just skillful by chance. They are skillful because the Lord has filled them with a Spirit of skill to serve and advance His Kingdom!
How many skillful people that we have in this room that are not just talented but are talented because they’ve been filled with a spirit of skill to serve the Lord.
There are some that can jump ahead of God’s calling and appoint themselves where He has not called them or equipped them
But there are probably even more that are sitting down on God’s calling to move and serve in His Kingdom. Gifted by His Spirit in supernatural ways that the Kingdom can be served and advanced through.
2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
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.
Notice the words we hear regarding these garments...
HOLY, GLORIOUS, BEAUTIFUL...
The Priest through His garment was reflecting God back to the people: Holy, Glorious, and Beautiful.
One look at him and you knew what he represented and where he belonged.
What the priestly garments show is that one of the main goals of the priest was to reflect the one in which they were approaching in worship...
He was holy...so they clothing reflected that.
He was glorious...weighty...so their clothing reflected that.
He was beautiful...so their clothing reflected that.
David said in Psalm 27:4...One thing I ask...
David also said in Psalm 63:2...So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
Finally, we hear David yet again ini Psalm 29:2...Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Beauty, Glory, and Holiness is who He is and thus those summoned to stand in His presence as a representative of the people were called to reflect that.
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.
What was an Ephod?
What was an Ephod?
A lot of speculation as to what this could have look like...
The Ephod and Two Shoulder Stones -
The Ephod and Two Shoulder Stones -
As Aaron walked into the Tabernacle. He was carrying the entire nation with him. All the tribes were on his shoulders as He made atonement at the in the tabernacle. It was a memorial to the Lord that served as a reminder of His covenant with the tribes of Israel. It was a call every time Aaron went in to the covenantal relationship that God had established with the tribes of Israel.
The Breastpiece
The Breastpiece
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.
The breastpiece was square shaped and a little smaller than a piece of notebook paper and just like every other article of clothing worn by the priest, it was BEAUTIFULLY adorned.
In fact the same threads that we see in the tabernacle and ephod: fresh white linen with threads of gold, blue, and purple show up in the priestly garments.
Remember. Holy, Glorious, and Beautiful: the qualities of God that were intended to be reflected in the priestly garments as the priest went into seek and worship God on behalf of the people.
Now, as you look at the jewels that are mentioned here, bear in mind that there is some debate on the actual translation, meaning that we don’t know 100% if all the jewels listed were in fact THE JEWELS on the breastpiece, but we do know it was intend to paint this spectacular picture of color and beauty. Of course, the priest was supposed to be blinged out in order to be distinguished from everyone else, but more than that, the priest again was displaying all sorts of symbols and signs with these worn elements.
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.
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.
Just like the stones on his shoulders that are attached to ephod and carry the the names of the tribes. The jewels were intended to serve as a reminder that these people were God’s people, a people that He had established covenant with and a people that He would constantly cover and protect despite their continued waywardness.
The jewels like the stones were a message to the Lord: REMEMBER US, SAVE US, CLEANSE US, and KEEP US.
This is a similar message that we bring to God in prayer. We are asking the Lord to not look past us.
“Pass me not O gentle savior. Here my humble cry while on others thou art calling…DO NOT PASS ME BY!”
Also several time in this text we hear words like this:
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.
On His Heart… On His Heart…On His Heart.
As the representative of the people, it was his calling to carry the people on His heart when he walked in to make atonement on their behalf.
This is the responsibility of any leader in the church. To bear on His heart the people and their burdens and to take those cares to the Lord, but may our hope to perfectly carry our burdens before the Lord never be placed in the hands of fallible men who God appoints to lead His flock.
There is another high priest…A PERFECT HIGH PRIEST who holds us near His Heart as well and makes PERFECT INTERCESSION for us!!!!
You can trust that in the deepest and darkest moments of your LIFE, you are on HIS heart!
You can trust that in the moments where your sin has taken you farther away than you ever thought you would be or ever wanted to be, you are still on HIS heart and He is calling you and making provision for you to return back His again.
This is what one theologian says about this passage and its ties to Christ.
Exodus—Saved for God's Glory Close to the Heart
When God looks upon the great High Priest, He beholds His people upon His heart, as well as upon His shoulders, adorned with all the beauty of the One on whom His eye ever rests with perfect delight.… And with what joy does He so present them before God! For they are those for whom He has died, and whom He has cleansed with His own most precious blood, those whom He has made the objects of His own love, and whom finally He will bring to be forever with Him;
These precious stones also were intended to communicate that these 12 tribes whose names were inscripted on the jewels WERE GOD’s TREASURE.
God cherishes His people!
Though we waver, though we fail him in a host of ways, we are DEEPLY and RICHLY LOVED by Him!!!
The Lord said just a few chapters back in chapter 19
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
We hear in Psalms 135
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession.
He says of us who have become His people through Christ:
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
But there is something else at work here...
Nearly all of these stones show up elsewhere in the Bible as it describes two particular places.
Ezekiel highlights the 1st place that we find them:
EDEN
EDEN
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.
As Ezekiel is called too speak a word of Lament for what once was over the King of Tyre, he gives us this statement.
“You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering,”
So the stones placed across the heart of the High Priest were, LIKE SO MANY OTHER ELEMENTS, a reminder not only of the people and the covenant they had established with God but it was a reminder of what was lost: EDEN
Again, this is not the only other place where the stones make an appearance. Let’s take a look at the other place.
HEAVEN
HEAVEN
19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
The foundation of the walls of the NEW CITY; The New Jerusalem would be adorned with these precious stones.
So, again, as we have seen with the construction of the tabernacle. Even the garments of the priest are intended to tie together God’s complete plan of redemption.
From Eden to the Tabernacle from the Tabernacle to Christ and the New Heavens, New Earth, and New City.
One more thing I want to show you in Revelations because there are some significant DIFFERENCES surrounding the circumstances of the jewels’ appearance in Revelation versus their appearance in Exodus.
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Unlike what we are reading in Exodus, no more tabernacle was needed for God’s presence to dwell. The Lord was the temple. He was the tabernacle. His unbridled presence covered and rested upon the city itself!
No more lamps are needed in this tabernacle. For the glory of God through Christ will be the light that shines EVERYDAY.
Its gates will never be closed because everyone in the city has been cleansed by Christ and are no longer ceremonially or morally unclean.
And that even includes EVERY NATION, the non-Jewish nations don’t have to stay on the outside of this dwelling because through Christ we have all been made ONE NEW PEOPLE!
The breastpiece points us to what Israel currently had with God. COVENANTAL RELATIONSHIP.
But the breastpiece pointed Israel back to what they HAD with God, namely EDEN. Free of sin and shame and basking in the presence of God unmitigated. It pointed them back to Eden.
But lastly, the breastpiece pointed them ahead to the NEW CITY, the moment when the temple construction is not needed because God is the dwelling place, when light is not needed because the Glory of God is the light and when no bronze altar is needed because through Christ, the perfect sacrifice has been offered cleansing all who place their faith and trust in Christ ONCE and FOR all
The Priest’s Role of Judgement
The Priest’s Role of Judgement
English Standard Version Chapter 28
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.
Holy Dice
Stones
Jewels
Magic 8-Ball
We don’t know a whole lot about how it was used we just know that it was used often...
Here is what one scholar says of the tool...
Exodus—Saved for God's Glory The Urim and Thummim
According to Cassuto, we know:
1) That permission to inquire of the Lord through the priest by means of the Urim and Thummim in the pouch of the ephod was granted only to the person standing at the head of the people and only on matters of public concern;
2) That the inquiry related to matters that human beings could not possibly know, for instance an issue dependent on the conscience of an individual or something belonging to the future;
3) That the question had to be so formulated as to make only one of two answers possible: yes or no; the first matter or the second;
4) That two or more inquiries could not be made simultaneously; the answer was given to one question only;
5) That the reply was given by lot, as the expressions “casting” and “taking” indicate; this was based on the belief that the lot was not a matter of chance, but that God made his “judgement” known thereby, namely, His decision or verdict.
Now some of us are in the room right now saying to our selves…man I wish I had that…I would use it to make all kinds of important decisions in my life...
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
WE HAVE THE WORD OF GOD!!!
Exodus—Saved for God's Glory Divine Guidance
The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?” The answer is: “The word of God, which is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.”
WE HAVE THE SPIRIT OF GOD!!!!
The Failures of the Priest
1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
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. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
The Priesthood as glorious as it was and the garments as glorious as they were could not keep sinful men from sinning even the most honored among them.
So, God does something about it. He sends his son.
Two Ways In Which The New is Different from the Old
Two Ways In Which The New is Different from the Old
Christ is the High Priest
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 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. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.
Royal Priesthood Established Not through Blood but through Faith
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Not based kinship...
Not based on our ability to perform perfectly...
Based on the righteousness that we have attained through Christ Jesus...
Now you can go to Christ without a earthly mediator and you don’t have to have fancy clothes in order to do it. Your Clothes Do Not Make You! CHRIST DOES!!!
