Exodus Chapter 28

 

  • Exodus 28:1 And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.
  • 2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.

Here we see the ordained priesthood of Aaron put in place to keep order and lead people in the proper worship of God until the time when the priesthood was changed after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The entire book of Hebrews deals with this change and explains that the old priesthood of Aaron has been replaced by the new. We no longer have to worship in a certain place and the ones that serve in the capacity of a minister do not have to dress differently than anyone else because now the High Priest is Jesus Christ and all that believe in Him become kings and priests.

Until the time of Christ when a way was made to cleanse individuals from sin and put within them the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they needed order and direction. The priests were set apart, not to exalt themselves above their brethren but to show how holy God is and that in our natural sinful state, we could not just approach God in any manner. He cannot dwell with sin. To enter His presence while we are full of sin, would kill us.

That is why Jesus had to come into flesh or become human so that God became a man and became the intercessor between God and man, paying the price for our sins, cleansing us from sin and then filling us with God's Holy Spirit. Now we do not need a human intercessor to enter the presence of God. We come through Christ. Ministers are now instructed to preach the gospel so that all can come to Christ for salvation. They are not our intercessors between others and God but vessels to preach, teach and instruct in the word of God. Interceding and agreeing with people in prayer is still the job of all who believe in Christ, not just the ministers but that type of interceding is not in place of God but agreeing in prayer with us and also praying for the lost who do not pray themselves.

In the time of the Exodus though they had to do all things by the ordinances of the law as a schoolmaster to show the seriousness of sin of the breaking of the law and how we all, Jews and Gentiles alike need a savior from sin.

The garments of the priests at that time represented, purity and the beauty of holiness. They actually represented Christ the one that was to come. To observe the ordinances of the law was actually an act of faith and obedience until the time of Christ. They were saved by looking forward to God's salvation and we are saved by looking back to that time but we are all saved by the blood of Christ that He shed on Calvary. The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin but was a picture of the innocent lamb of God, Jesus Christ whose blood is powerful enough to take away our sin.

  • Exodus 28:3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.

This was a very solemn and serious calling to have. The priest had to be called of God and appointed to this position. Just like Jesus was called to be the High priest forever. He was called of God.

  • Exodus 28:4 And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
  • 5 And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.
  • 6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.
  • 7 It shall have the two shoulder pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together.
  • 8 And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
  • 9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:
  • 10 Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.
  • 11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.
  • 12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
  • 13 And thou shalt make ouches of gold;
  • 14 And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.
  • 15 And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.
  • 16 Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.
  • 17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.
  • 18 And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
  • 19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
  • 20 And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.
  • 21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.
  • 22 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold.
  • 23 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
  • 24 And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate.
  • 25 And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod before it.
  • 26 And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward.
  • 27 And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.
  • 28 And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.
  • 29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.
  • 30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.
  • 31 And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue.
  • 32 And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.
  • 33 And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:
  • 34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.
  • 35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.
  • 36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
  • 37 And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be.
  • 38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.
  • 39 And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework.
  • 40 And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.
  • 41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.

Here is the comments of Darby on the subject of the priest's garments:

The garments were composed of everything that is connected with the Person of Christ in this character of priesthood; the breastplate, the ephod, the robe, the broidered coat, the curious girdle, and the mitre. The ephod was, par excellence, the priestly garment; made of the same things as the veil, only that there was no gold in the latter, and there were cherubims (but all enclosed inside the veil was gold, for God's government and judgment were in Christ as Son of man): in the ephod, gold but no cherubim, because the priest must have divine righteousness, but was not in the place of rule and government (compare Num. 4). It signified also the essential purity and the graces of Christ. The girdle was the sign of service. The girdle was of the same materials as the ephod to which it belonged.

Arrayed in these robes of glory and beauty, the high priest bore the names of the people of God in the fullness of their order before God; upon his shoulders, the weight of their government, and upon the breastplate on his heart-breastplate which was inseparable from the ephod, that is, from his priesthood and appearing before God. He also bare, according to the perfections of God's presence, their judgment before Him. He maintained them in judgment before God according to these things. They therefore looked for answers through the Urim and Thummim that were in the breastplate; for the wisdom of our conduct is to be according to this position before God.

Upon the hem of the robe of the ephod there was the desirable fruit, and the testimony of the Holy Ghost, which depended on the priesthood. I think that Christ, in entering heaven, made Himself heard through the Holy Ghost in His people-hem of His garment (compare Psalm 133); and He will make Himself heard through His gifts when He comes out also. Meanwhile He bears within also the iniquity of the holy things in holiness before the eternal God. (This holiness is upon His very forehead.) Not only His people, but their imperfect services are presented according to the divine holiness in Him.

End of Darby's comments.

So we see that the garments represented the holiness of God. This office was not to be taken lightly. Later when the priests defiled their office with idolatry, greed and sin, it was a very serious offense against God. We can read of the judgment upon two of Aaron's sons as well as the sons of Eli the priest in later years.

Something I see also when I read about the engraving of the names of the tribes of Israel in verses 9-12 and verse 21 is how much the children of Israel meant to God and how each tribe had a place in the heart of God. 

The story of Eli is in 2 Samuel chapter 2. Verse 35 of that chapter prophesies of the coming of the anointed eternal priest, Jesus Christ.

God's way is always holy. Holiness is taught in both the Old and New Testaments. We must never take the seriousness of sin lightly. Christ paid a high price for us to be made holy enough to enter eternal life. For us to trample on His blood and willingly return to sin after coming to Christ is a serious offense just like those that knowingly went into idolatry and broke the law of God in the days of Moses.

The way of Christ is so much better than trying to live right by our own will power for we have been given His Holy Spirit to abide within us and give us direction and power to overcome sin and live by the righteousness of Christ put within us.

  • Exodus 28:42 And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:

This also shows the seriousness of being modest especially in the office of the old order priesthood. Seems to me that if they had to cover themselves completely that we should also consider this. Its something to think about. Lust and sexual immorality was to be avoided at all costs.

I wouldn't oppose the return to modesty in dress as long as we don't make a religion out of it and substitute it for the gospel itself as a way of salvation. We are never saved by the way we dress but it is important. Immodesty can cause lust and evil thoughts especially when we come into a place of worship as a congregation.

  • Exodus 28:43 And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

To be irreverent and unholy would actually cause them to die prematurely. It was that serious. I think in these last days we have lost some of the awe and reverence in out places of worship.

When we study these ordinances and laws we can see more clearly the importance of what Jesus did when He died for our sins so that we could be made free from sin. It is awesome to think about.

I want to include the 10th chapter of Hebrews in this study on Exodus 28 to show us the change that took place at the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It also shows the holiness of God and the necessity never to take these holy things lightly.

  • Hebrews 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
  • 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
  • 3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
  • 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
  • 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
  • 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
  • 7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
  • 8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
  • 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
  • 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
  • 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
  • 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
  • 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
  • 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
  • 15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
  • 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
  • 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
    18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
  • 19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
  • 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
  • 21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
  • 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
  • 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
  • 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
  • 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
  • 26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
  • 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
  • 28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
  • 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
  • 30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
  • 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Exodus 29

Exodus Index

 

 
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