MONDAY 29 November 2021 “High Priest clothes” Exodus 28, 29

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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,

I wonder how you dressed yourself for today? Do you have a variety of clothes you wear depending on what you have on your agenda for that day? Do you have work clothes or school clothes or play outside clothes or funeral clothes or wedding clothes or very important event clothes? Many jobs provide or require uniforms for working, don’t they? Some schools require uniforms for students or teachers. I wonder what conclusions you draw from the clothes a person is wearing?

We’ve been up with Moses on Mount Sinai as he meets with God. 1 million former Hebrew slaves are camped at the base of the mountain. For the most part I think it’s safe to say they had only one type of clothes… hard work clothes! As they fled Egypt, Moses had urged them to request of their slave masters some other clothes (Ex. 12:35), and so many left Egypt with some new clothes! Here on the mountain with God, God has been explaining to Moses the style of worship He wanted from His people. It was very different from what they had seen in Egypt. It was to be honorable and sacred, for God is a holy God! God had described a building of worship He called ‘The Tabernacle’ and several furnishings for inside the Tabernacle, as we’ve seen in the past few days: “The Ark of the Covenant”; the “Altar of Incense”; the “Golden Lampstand”; and the “Table of Shewbread”. All of these were ornate, gold covered and to be very carefully crafted, for they would be used in worship of Holy, Almighty God.

But as Moses was hearing these detailed descriptions of the Tabernacle and these precious furnishings, I’m sure the question burning in his mind was… WHO? Who would be the people actually going into the Tabernacle and using these furnishings? And WHAT would be God’s prescribed way of worship? Once again Moses didn’t have to wait long for his answer. He records God’s instructions in Exodus 28. “Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve ME as priests. Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor... These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash… Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.” (Ex. 28:1-5) Now I wonder what picture you might imagine Aaron would look like dressed in all this never before seen wardrobe? Here’s an artists view:

As you can see it would have been striking, impressive, especially as compared to the rags of slave clothes! We know God doesn’t do anything haphazardly, right? So everything in this amazing attire had a purpose. Would you consider it with me for a moment? Let’s start from the bottom. The white linen undergarment contrasted with the royal blue robe would have given the appearance of royalty. Look closely at the bottom hem of the royal robe.

God explained it this way to Moses: “Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe with gold bells between them. The gold bells and pomegranates are to alternate around the entire hem of the robe. Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the LORD and when he comes out so he will not die.” (Ex. 28:33-35) Do you remember God had told Moses to tell these slaves that they were God’s treasured possession (Ex. 19:4-6) and that His desire was that they would obey His commands and thus He would view them as a royal priesthood, a holy nation of God’s people! Aaron, dressed in his royal priestly robes, represented how God wanted His people to understand their new identity… no longer slaves but now God’s holy people!

Then there is an ephod or overlay which was very ornate. On the shoulders were two large onyx stones, one on each shoulder. On each was engraved the names of six of Jacob’s sons. Can you see the significance? As Aaron would go into the Tabernacle to meet with God, he’d symbolically carry all the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob & his 12 sons, on his shoulders. Aaron knew he was representing the entire nation of Israel when he met with God in the Tabernacle! May I ask you a question? When you go into your prayer place, do you have a great sense of both privilege and responsibility that you are carrying on your shoulders, those of your family and other people you are praying for?

But there was more, my friends. There was what God called a ‘breastpiece‘, do you see it in the picture? It was very ornate in its design and it featured 12 precious stones each engraved with the name of one of the tribes of Israel. God described its purpose in this way: “Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob) over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the LORD. Also put the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece… Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD.” (Ex. 28:29-30) Now that sounds really strange doesn’t it my friends? What is a Urim & Thummim? These were two precious stones kept in a small pocket in the breastpiece and used for seeking guidance from God in important decision making.

Finally Aaron’s head was to be adorned with something very special. God instructed Moses: “Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on Aaron’s forehead continually…” (Ex. 28:36) Now with all this, I imagine it would require quite some time for Aaron to carefully put on all these various pieces of the High Priest attire, before going into the Tabernacle. Furthermore what attitudes of heart do you suppose Aaron engaged as he carefully dressed himself in this ornate wardrobe, preparing to go and meet with God? It causes me to ask us another question: When you prepare to go meet with God on your day of worship or even in your private worship time at home, how carefully do you prepare? What clothes do you wear? What is the message you are sending to everyone who sees you, about the importance you place on your encounter with God? And as God watches us prepare to meet with Him what does God see in our hearts my friends?

Let’s just pause right here and ponder this. There are lots of other details in Exodus 28 & 29 which I haven’t covered here today, but it’s enough to challenge us regarding our hearts and our attitudes toward our time with HOLY God. I wonder what the Holy Spirit is saying to us my friends? I’ve found a song that I think you’ll recognize, to help us reflect and worship. “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD God Almighty.”

Today’s Scripture is Exodus 28, 29.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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