The Book Of Exodus
Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."
Chapters 28 and 29 are God’s instructions to Moses regarding the high priests. Chapter 28 is a detailed description of the vestiture that will be worn by Aaron and his sons. Verse 1: God tells Moses that Aaron and his sons – Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar – are to be called out and separated “…from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office…”. (v.1) (Numbers 3:10, 18:7, Psalm 99:6, Hebrews 5:4) The role of the high priest is a sacred one, a position of the highest honor, for the priest is to be a mediator between God and His chosen people. Until now, the family patriarch had typically filled the role of priest for his household, i.e. Job, or the leader of a community had served as high priest, i.e. Melchizedek or Jethro. But now God is officially establishing and ordaining the Levitical priesthood for the nation of Israel. The Moody Bible Commentary explains it this way: “This office was not one a man could aspire to or assume on his own authority; it was not an office intended to elevate the man but to meditate between God and Israel. Everything about the priests, their clothes, their duties, their role, was designed to focus on the office and the function of the man. The quality and character of the man under the clothes counted, but only so far as the man’s character did not defile the clothes or demean the office. In his person he did not contribute to the value and vitality of the position. He could detract from it, but it was all about the office and it was all about the mediatorial function.” Just as God called Moses from a burning bush on the backside of the desert to be the leader of the Israelites, so He now calls Aaron and his descendants to serve as priests in the tabernacle. There is nothing that either of these men did of their own merit to earn their positions. God is the one who ordains and calls them, and He now establishes that it will be the tribe of Levi, starting with Aaron and his sons, that will serve as mediators between God and the Israelites. Verses 2-4: The robes worn by Aaron and his sons are “…holy garments…for glory and beauty.” (v.2) (Exodus 29:5, 29, 31:10, 39:1, Leviticus 8:7, 30) (See below, image courtesy of Logos Bible Software.) According to the Holman Bible Commentary, “…the priestly garments were much more than utilitarian. They resembled other elements of the tabernacle complex, which featured fine fabrics, colorful designs, precious metals, and specialized workmanship, as appropriate for honoring the Lord, who would reside there.” The robes would be made by specific Israelites God would choose from among the congregation, “…whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom…”. (v.3) (Exodus 31:3, 6, 35:30-31, 36:1, Isaiah 11:2, Ephesians 1:17) Verse 4 lists the different pieces that would make up the whole of the priestly garments: the breastplate of judgment, an ephod, a robe, a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle. (Leviticus 8:7) God emphasizes a third time the purpose of the detailed instructions that are about to follow: that Aaron and his sons “…may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” Verses 5-14: The ephod. (Exodus 39:2, Leviticus 8:7) This is a two-piece garment, open at the sides and joined at the shoulders. (v.7) It and the belt are made of finely spun cloth of gold, blue, purple and scarlet. (v.6, 8) At each shoulder where the two pieces are joined together is an onyx stone (Exodus 35:27), each one engraved (Exodus 35:35) with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, according to their birth; six on one stone, six on the other. (v.9-10) (Refer back to Chapter 25 for my cross references and commentary on onyx stones throughout the Bible.) The onyx stones are secured in “ouches”, or settings, of gold. (v.11) These are fastened to a pair of gold chains at either end, and those are what connect the two pieces of the ephod at the shoulders. (v.13-14) The purpose of these two stones is so that “…Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial.” (v.12) (Exodus 39:6-7) Verse 29 also reiterates this: “…a memorial before the Lord continually.” What this means is that the priest is representing the whole nation of Israel before God every time he puts on the ephod and the breastplate of judgment and performs the sacrifices in the tabernacle. Verses 15-30: The breastplate of judgment. (Exodus 39:8) The instructions for this garment piece are more detailed than any of the other pieces, thus highlighting it as the most important of all the pieces of the priestly robe. This, too, is made “…of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen…”. (v.15) It is an exact square, each side being a span, or about nine inches (v.16), and it’s attached to the front of the ephod by a gold ring with a gold chain at each corner. The upper pair connect to the shoulders of the ephod via the ouches of gold that hold the onyx stones, and the lower pair connects to the belt of the ephod. (v.22-28) The breastplate itself contains twelve stones (v.17), each one engraved with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Exodus 39:10) This is the order of the stones: sardius, topaz, carbuncle, emerald, sapphire, diamond, ligure, agate, amethyst, beryl, onyx, and a jasper. (v.17-20) In the text of my study Bible, there is a note next to each of the following names as thus: carbuncle (emerald), emerald (turquoise), diamond (sapphire), ligure (jacinth or amber), beryl (yellow jasper), and onyx (onyx or carnelian). Matching up the names of each gem according to its common name in the ANE compared to what we know it as today is somewhat difficult for a few of the gemstones named in the Bible, hence the notes in the KJV text. Although the text does not say specifically in what order the names of the tribes are to be engraved, we can logically presume from the earlier instruction regarding the onyx stones in the ephod that the order is according to birth. If this is the case, and if we go by the traditional Hebrew rule of reading/writing each line of a text from the right side of the page to the left, the name of each tribe and their assigned gemstone would be as follows: You’ll notice that the description of the breastplate in the illustration above says that the colors of each gemstone match the colors of the flag of each tribe, but none of the Bible commentaries that that I am using as resources for my notes here say anything about that, so I’m not sure how accurate that is. It is a reasonable possibility, however, that each tribe would have had a banner or standard of some sort with a color that would match their assigned gemstone. And as for the colors of jewel in the breastplate, that, too, is up for some debate, only because of what I mentioned earlier about some confusion regarding the differences in a few of the names of the stones back then and how we would label them today.
Attached to the breastplate are the Urim and the Thummim. (v.30) (Leviticus 8:8, Numbers 27:21, Deuteronomy 33:8, 1 Samuel 28:6, Ezra 2:63, Nehemiah 7:65) This is why the breastplate of judgment is so named: “…Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.” Exactly what the Urim and Thummim are is not clear. According to Strong’s concordance and the Brown-Driver-Briggs Bible dictionary, the word “Urim” means “lights” and Thummim means “perfection”. Scripture doesn’t describe them in any detail, saying only instead that the priest uses them to determine the will of God in any given situation or dilemma. (See Numbers 27:21 in the cross references above.) The Moody Bible Commentary says this: “Some have suggested that they were used as sacred lots (something like modern dice) to gain yes and no answers to specific questions. However, it might be that these objects were only symbolic of the high priest’s special authority as the Lord’s spokesman; in other words, when the priest was wearing these stones he was speaking for God.” Verses 31-35: The priest’s robe. (Exodus 39:22) This garment is worn under the ephod, and it’s made of only blue cloth. It’s longer than the ephod, extending past the knees. All around the hem, in an alternating pattern of one and one, are blue, purple, and scarlet pomegranates and tiny gold bells. (The pomegranates are most likely just bits of cloth sewn in the shape of the fruit.) (v.33-34) The reason for this is given in verse 35. If the high priest were to die while in the holy of holies, the lack of sound from his movements will be noticed by those who are either in the holy place or gathered in the courtyard outside the tabernacle. (Leviticus 10:2, Luke 1:21) Verses 36-38: The mitre and gold plate. (Exodus 39:30-31, Leviticus 8:9, Zechariah 14:20) The mitre, or turban, is the final piece of the priestly garments described in this chapter. Notice that the description of this headpiece starts not with the turban itself but, rather, with the large gold plate that contains the engraving, “HOLINESS TO THE LORD”. (v.36) It’s attached to the front of the turban with a cord of blue lace (v.37), and the turban itself “…probably consisted of folded fabric around the head, the sort of thing made familiar in pictures of men from the Middle East and Islamic countries today.” The meaning of the gold plate and its inscription is explained in verse 38: “…that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts…”. This goes back to the fundamental purpose of the role of the high priest from verses 1-3. Aaron and his sons are to be the mediators between God and the Israelites. Part of that responsibility means sanctifying all the things set aside in the tabernacle for the worship of God, as well as conducting the blood sacrifices that would temporarily cover the sins of the people before their holy and righteous God. “…that they may be accepted before the Lord.” The whole purpose of the tabernacle, the priest, and the blood sacrifices is so that God may have a covenantal relationship with His chosen people. Sin, remember, separates us from God. By instituting the Levitical priesthood and the system of blood sacrifices, God is making a way for the Israelites to worship and commune with Him without violating and staining His holiness with their sin. (Leviticus 10:17, 22:9, 16, Numbers 18:1, Isaiah 53:11, Ezekiel 4:4, John 1:29, Hebrews 9:28) This is why Jesus Christ is compared and contrasted with the role of the high priest in Hebrews. The tabernacle and the duties of the priest as instructed to Moses here in Exodus and Leviticus is a foreshadowing of Christ and all that he would do for all mankind hundreds of years later on the cross at Calvary. Jesus provided the once-for-all blood sacrifice that would take away the sins of all who would believe on His name. He now sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding on our behalf as our priest and mediator to God the Father. (Hebrews 4:15-16) Verses 39-43: The coat and mitre are to be made “…of fine linen…” (v.39) (Exodus 35:35, 39:27), and the girdle is to be crafted of needlework. Only the high priest is to wear all of the garments described thus far in this chapter. The other priests, including Aaron’s sons, will wear only the coat, belt and turban. (v.40) (Refer back to the illustration above.) (Ezekiel 44:17-18) The materials and the handiwork of these garments are to be a reflection of God’s beauty and glory. (v.40) They, like everything else related to the tabernacle, are to be HOLY UNTO THE LORD. Aaron and his sons are to be anointed, consecrated, and sanctified before God in order to minister for Him in the office of priest. (v.41) (Exodus 29:7, 30:30, 40:15, Leviticus 10:7) “Sanctified” means “to be set apart”. To stand before almighty God as mediator for the people of Israel is a holy and sacred duty that is not to be undertaken lightly. Furthermore, the priestly office, as well as the daily responsibilities within the tabernacle, are to have no hint of sexuality. This is the reason for the command in verse 42: “And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness…”. (Exodus 39:28, Leviticus 6:10, 16:4) The underwear extends all the way to the thighs, and is as essential to the office of the priesthood as all the other garments described in this chapter. God specifically states in verse 43 that Aaron and all others who serve after him in this role must wear these breeches, as well as everything else as instructed up to this point, lest they offend God’s holiness and be condemned to death for it. “…that they bear not iniquity, and die…” (Exodus 20:26, Leviticus 5:1, 17, 20:19-20, 22:9, Numbers 9:13, 18:22) This is a statute forever to Aaron and all his descendants. (Exodus 27:21, Leviticus 17:7) One final note: there’s no instruction in this chapter regarding footwear for the priests. That’s because the tabernacle is holy ground and, therefore, the priests are to remain barefoot. (Exodus 3:5) Below is an artist’s rendering of what the high priest might have looked like while wearing the garments described in this chapter. (Courtesy of Logos Bible software.)
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