Exodus
28
v. 1 – “And take thou unto thee Aaron thy
brother, and his sons with him,
from among the children of
office” - Literally, “Make to draw near to thee.” Moses had
hitherto been of all the
people the one nearest to God, the medium of
communication. He was now to
abdicate a portion of his functions, transferring them
to his brother and his brother’s
sons. By this act he would draw them nearer to him
than they were before. It is
worthy of remark that he makes no remonstrance or
opposition, (no jealousy) but
carries out God’s will in this matter as readily and
willingly as in all others. (See
Leviticus
8:4-30) - “even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar,
Aaron’s sons.” Nadab and Abihu, and again,
Eleazar and Ithamar, are always
coupled together in the Pentateuch (ch. 24:1; Leviticus
10:1,12), while a marked
division is made between the two pairs of brothers. It is
probably the sin and early
death of the two elder (Leviticus 10:1-2) that causes
the separation.
THE
HOLY GARMENTS (vs. 2-43)
The
special object of the present chapter is to prescribe the form, materials,
color,
etc.,
of the holy garments — or the attire of those who were to minister in the
tabernacle at the time of their ministration. As the
service of the tabernacle was about
to be committed to Aaron and his sons, their
selection for this office is mentioned in
v. 1, and
their investiture and consecration briefly touched in v. 41. Otherwise the
whole chapter is concerned with the attire. That of Aaron is first prescribed (vs. 4-39).
It
consists of an ephod (vs. 6-12); a breastplate (vs. 13-30); a robe (vs. 31-35);
a mitre
(vs. 36-38); a coat, or tunic; and a girdle (ver. 39). The
dress of his sons follows. It
comprises drawers (v. 42), tunics, girdles, and caps
or turbans (v. 40). Incidentally it
is mentioned in v. 43, that drawers are also
to be worn by Aaron; and, in conclusion,
the neglect of this ordinance in the case of
either Aaron or his sons is forbidden under
penalty of death.
vs. 2-4 – “And thou shalt make holy garments
for Aaron thy brother for glory
and for beauty” - “For glory.” To exalt
the priestly office in the eyes of the people
- to make them look with greater reverence on the priests
themselves and the
priestly functions — to place the priests in a class by
themselves, in a certain sense,
above the rest of the nation. “For beauty.” As fit and comely in themselves — suitable
to the functions which the priests exercised — in harmony with
the richness and
beauty of the sanctuary wherein they were to minister.
God, Himself, it would seem,
is not indifferent to beauty. He has spread beauty over the
earth, He will have beauty
in His earthly dwelling-place. He requires men to worship Him
“in the beauty of
holiness” (Psalm 29:2; 96:9; I Chronicles 16:29). He
ordains for His priests rich and
splendid dresses “for glory and for beauty.” “And thou shalt speak unto all that
are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom” - Wise-hearted.
In modern
parlance the heart is made the seat of the affections and emotions, the
brain of the intellect. But the Hebrew idiom was
different. There the heart was
constantly spoken of as the seat of wisdom. (See below,
chps. 31:6; 35:10, 25;
36:1-2; Job
9:4; Proverbs 11:29) The
spirit of wisdom might seem to be
scarcely necessary for the work of constructing a set of
priestly garments; but
where “glory and beauty” are required, high artistic power is needed;
and
this power is regarded by the sacred writers, as
indeed it is by most of those who
have written on the human understanding — notably
Plato and Aristotle — as a
very important part of the intellect – “that they may make Aaron’s garments
to consecrate him, (Investure
in the holy garments was made a part of the
ceremony of consecration (ch. 29:5-9; Leviticus
8:7-9, 13) - that he may
minister unto me in the priest’s
office. 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.”
THE GLORY OF THE HOLY GARMENTS
“Holy garments” — garments
appropriated to the service of God in His
sanctuary — will always be “glorious,” however
simple they are:
glorious
character, who are “ambassadors for God,” and “stewards of
His mysteries.”
glorious
work of redemption: and
heaven. The
garments assigned by the will of God to the Levitical
priesthood
were, further, glorious in themselves, i.e., splendid,
magnificent,
of rich and beautiful materials. They thus harmonized with
the
richness and magnificence of the tabernacle, and afterwards of the temple,
and taught
the people, by the eye, that whatever is rich and rare should be
devoted to
the service of God. But the highest glory of holy garments is to be
found in
those “robes of righteousness,” which the set
apparel of priests is
intended to
suggest and signify (Psalm 132:9; Isaiah 61:10). The white linen
of priestly
robes tells of purity and innocence — gold and jewels, of
precious
gifts and graces — azure, the hue of heaven, speaks of heavenly
thoughts
and aspirations — the scarlet and the purple are signs of the
martyr
spirit, which is willing to “resist unto
blood” (Hebrews 12:4). If
the priest
or the Levite have no other adorning but that of the outward
apparel, if
they are not “clothed with the garments of salvation” (Isaiah
1.
either
themselves, or those to whom they minister. The “marriage
garment” – (Matthew 22:11-12) required of each Christian
in Holy
Scripture is purity of life and
conduct; and certainly without this, “holy
garments” are vain,
and lose both their “glory” and their “beauty.”
THE
MATERIALS OF THE PRIESTLY GARMENTS (v. 5)
v. 5 – “And they shall take gold, and blue,
and purple, and scarlet, and fine
linen.”
THE EPHOD (vs. 6-12)
vs. 6-12 – “And they shall make the ephod (a
sort of waistcoat) of gold, of blue,
and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined
linen, with cunning work. (Literally,
“work
of skilled workmen”) - It
shall have the two shoulder-pieces thereof joined
at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined
together. 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.
And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and
grave on them the names of the
children of
the rest on the other stone, according to
their birth. 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
set in ouches of gold. (Settings in open-work or filagree seem to
be intended —
a kind of setting which is very common in
Egyptian ornaments) - And thou shalt
put the two stones upon the shoulders of the
ephod for stones of memorial unto
the children of
upon his two shoulders for a memorial.” Rather
“for
the
children of
stones, i.e. which
should serve to remind God that the high priest
represented the
twelve tribes, officiated in their name, and pleaded on their behalf.
THE SYMBOLISM OF THE EPHOD
AND ITS ONYX STONES
The ephod
was, par excellence, the priestly garment. When idolatrous rites
grew up in
being modifications, or adaptations, of the Sinaitic
religion, an ephod was
always retained, and made a prominent feature in the
new form of worship
(Judges
8:27; 17:5; 18:14). The ephod came to be worn by all Israelitish
priests (I Samuel 22:18; Hosea 3:4), and even by laymen
when engaged in
sacred functions (II Samuel 6:14; I Chronicles 15:27).
Its materials and
workmanship united it pointedly with the tabernacle (ch.
26:1), and especially
with the holy of holies (ibid.
v.
31). It may be considered:
pieces of
the ephod were to be “joined together” (v. 7). The “curious
girdle” was to be
of one piece with it (v. 8). Though formed of various
parts, it
was to be one single indivisible garment, united both above and
below, and
always worn in its entirety. The seamless robe of our Blessed
Saviour is generally allowed to
prefigure His one Church. The ephod as
worn, was,
perhaps, not seamless; but still it was “woven of one piece,”
and so far resembled the Lord’s garment.
WITHIN THE CHURCH. The blue,
and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen,
and gold,
and gems of the ephod gave it a variety and a beauty which made
it the most
glorious of all the priestly vestments. Variety has a charm of its
own, and is
a mark of the Church, in which there is such vast “diversity of
gifts,” though
there is but one spirit. Gold is especially appropriate for the
dignity of
those whom God has made “both priests and kings.” -
(Revelation 1:6) - “The
king’s daughter is all glorious within; her
clothing is of wrought gold” (Psalm 45:13). Purple, too, is an imperial
color, and
suits those who shall “reign with
Christ for ever”
(Revelation 22:5)
PRESENTATION OF
THE CHURCH TO GOD IN PERFECT BEAUTY.
The onyx, or sardonyx stones, with
the twelve names engraved
upon them,
completed the representative character of the ephod, and
showed
clearly that the high priest, when, thus attired, he entered the
sanctuary, presented
before God the Church whereof he was the head, as
freed from
sin by the expiation which he had made at the altar before
entering,
and made meet for the presence of the Most High. And this
presentation
was, we are distinctly told (Hebrews 9:9-12; 10:19-22), a
type or
figure of that far more precious one, which Christ is ever making
before his
Father’s throne in heaven, where he presents to him his Church,
“a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing, but
holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27), washed in
His blood,
redeemed by His death, sanctified by His
in-dwelling. Christ can and will purge
His elect from all sin (I John 1:7); Christ can and will present them
pure
before God.
He has His “sealed” ones of
all the twelve tribes
(Revelation 7:4-8); and, besides
these, He has others who are equally
His — “a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations,
and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues” (ibid,
9)
- who “have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (ibid,
14),
and whom
He will “present
faultless” to His
Father. (Jude
1:24)
THE
BREAST PLATE (vs. 13-30)
It has
been noticed that the ephod had for its main object or purpose to be a
receptacle
for the breastplate which was attached to it
after it had been put on, and formed its
principal ornament. The Hebrew word khoshen,
which is translated “breast-plate,”
means “ornament;” and the khoshen must certainly have been
the most striking and
brilliant object in the whole attire of the high
priest. Externally, it did but repeat the
symbolism of the ephod, exhibiting the high priest
as the representative of the twelve
tribes, whose names were engraved upon its twelve
stones, as well as upon the onyxes
of the ephod.
Internally, it had, however, another, and a deeper import. It contained
within it the Urim and the Thummim (v.
30), by means of which God was consulted,
and signified His will to His people. This
must be regarded as its main end and use.
It was
from the decisions thus given that it received the name of “the breastplate
(or
ornament)
of judgment.”
vs. 13-30 – “And thou shalt make ouches” - “Buttons”
according to one view (Cook):
“sockets,”
according to another (Kalisch): “rosettes,” according to a third (Keil). Some
small ornament of open-work (see the comment on
ver. 11), which could be sewn on to
the ephod, and whereto a chain might be
attached, seems to be intended. The object
was to fasten the “breast-plate”
firmly to the ephod – “of gold. And
two chains of
pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the
wreathen chains to the ouches. 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.
Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a
span shall be the length thereof, and a
span shall be the breadth thereof. 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. And the second row shall be an emerald,
a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure” – The
term “ligure” is
unknown in modern mineralogy; and it is to the
last degree uncertain what stone the
ancients intended by their lingurium
or lapis ligurius Some
think that “jacinth,”
others that “tourmaline,” is the stone here
meant. A few suggest amber, but
amber
cannot receive an engraving – “an agate, and an amethyst. And
the fourth row a
beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.
(Rather
their “settings”) And the stones shall be with the names of the
children
of
every one with his name shall they be according
to the twelve tribes. And thou
shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the
ends of wreathen work of pure
gold.
And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and
shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the
breastplate. And thou shalt put
the two wreathen chains of gold in the two
rings which are on the ends of the
breastplate.
And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt
fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the
shoulderpieces of the ephod
before it.
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. 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.
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. And
Aaron shall bear the names of the children
of
judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the
holy place, for a memorial
before the LORD continually. 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
THE
TEACHINGS OF THE BREAST-PLATE
The
breast-plate of judgment has many aspects, and teaches us several
important truths:
to, and
workable by the engravers of the day — sard, and onyx, and
carbuncle,
and lapis lazuli, and chrysolite, and perhaps turquoise. We are
reminded by
this of the saying of the Lord recorded by the prophet Malachi
-“They (that fear me) shall be
mine in that day when
I make up my
jewels” (Malachi
3:17). His own elect are the “jewels” of Christ,
wherewith He
decks Himself as a bridegroom with His ornaments (Isaiah
61:10). As Israel was of old, not
only His “special people,” but His
“peculiar treasure” (ch.
19:5), so are Christians now — each one of them
dear to
Him; each one of them purchased with His blood; each one of them
a stone in
that glorious temple whereof He is the chief corner stone — a
“white stone,” having on it “a new
name written” (Revelation 2:17; 3:12).
different
from all the rest — each had its own peculiar beauty. One was
more
brilliant, one more lovely in its hue, one more curious from its
complexity.
Yet the breast-plate needed all, would not have been perfect
without
all. None could say to its neighbor — “I
have no need of thee.”
(I Corinthians 12:21) - Contrast
with its neighbors heightened the effect
of each and
so added to its beauty. It is the same with Christ’s “jewels” —
no two are
alike — each has his own peculiar characteristics, his
idiosyncrasy. And the
crown in which the jewels are set is rendered more
beautiful
than it would otherwise have been by this diversity and variety.
An endless
repetition of even that which is most lovely, pails. Of the
thousands
upon thousands whom Christ has saved and will save, no two
but will be
different; no one but will add somewhat to the majesty and beauty
of the
Church in heaven by its peculiar and distinctive character.
KNOWLEDGE. It was not
from its external beauty — from the gold and
purple, and
scarlet, and blue, and fine linen of its main fabric, or from its
ouches and
its golden chains of wreathed work; or even from the dazzling
brilliancy
and varied hues of its twelve gems — that the breast-plate of the
high priest
drew either its main value or its honorable title. It was “the
breast-plate
of judgment;” and this “judgment” was wholly unconnected
with the
external beauty and gorgeous appearance of the breast-plate.
Hidden away in the treasury of its
innermost folds lay the mysterious
objects,
known as “light” and “perfection,” by means of which the priest
pronounced
his “judgments,” and
declared the will of God to the people.
These constituted the true glory of
the breastplate. While the twelve stones
symbolised
the twelve tribes, with their varied gifts and faculties
(Genesis 49:3-27; Deuteronomy
33:6-25), the Urim and the
Thummim
symbolised light and perfection — intellectual and moral
excellence
— those best gifts of wisdom and moral knowledge which are
the
crowning graces of the regenerate human being (Ephesians 1:8, 17;
Philippians
1:9; Colossians 1:9-10).
FOR DECISION. Though the
Christian Church does not enjoy, any more
than did
the post-captivity Jewish Church (Ezra 2:63), the advantage of
oracular
responses from on high, though our High Priest is gone before us
into the
holiest, and has taken with Him the light and perfection, which are
His alone, yet it is still
possible to refer doubts to God, and so obtain light
enough to
serve as a guide to conduct. If we take our difficulties to God on
our knees,
and ask His counsel upon them in a faithful spirit, we have FULL
REASON to trust that we shall receive illumination from Him. What
after
prayerful communion with God appears to us the best course to take,
we may
accept as His decision, His voice speaking to us. How consoling and
encouraging
the thought that we can, each one for himself, in the solitude
of our
chambers cast the burden of our cares upon One who is perfectly
good and
perfectly wise, and who has promised to be our guide unto
death! (Psalm 48:14)
THE
ROBE OF THE EPHOD – (vs. 31-35)
Underneath
the ephod and breast-plate the high priest was to wear a robe, or frock,
wholly of blue.
This robe was to have a hole for the head at the top, and was to be
woven without seam (ch. 39:22). It was put on over
the head, like a habergeon or
coat of mail, and probably reached below the knee.
Josephus says that it had no
sleeves.
vs. 31-35 – “And thou shalt make the robe of
the ephod all of blue. 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. 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: A golden bell and a
pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the
hem of the robe
round about.
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.” These bells were a call to vigilance and
attention -
“his
sound shall be heard” or “that its sound may be heard.” The bells were a means
of uniting priest and people in one common
service — they enabled the people to
enter into and second what the priest was doing
for them, and so to render his
mediation efficacious — they made the people’s
worship in the court of the
sanctuary a “reasonable service.”
(Romans 112:1-2) And hence the
threat,
which certainly does not extend to all
the priestly garments, implied in the words,
“that
he die not.” If the high priest
neglected to wear the robe with the bells, he
separated himself off from the people; made himself
their substitute and not their
mouthpiece; reduced their worship to a drear
formality; deprived it of all heartiness
and life and vigor. For thus abusing his
office, he would deserve death, especially as
he could not do it unwittingly, for his ears
would tell him whether he was wearing
the bells or not. (What a grave responsibility! I have heard it said that a rope was
drawn around the priest’s waist so that if he
died in performing his work, he could
be safely pulled out without further loss of
life – CY – 2010)
THE TEACHINGS OF THE ROBE
be of one
hue — uniform, peaceful; without glitter; something on which
the eye
could rest itself with a quiet satisfaction. And it was to be “blue” -
the color
of heaven, the hue which God has spread over “that spacious
firmament
on high,” which in His word represents to us His dwelling. “The
blue sky is
an image of purity.” Nothing purer, nothing calmer, nothing
more
restful, than the deep soft azure of the eternal unchanging sky. The
high
priest’s robe was to mirror it. He was to present himself before God in
a robe “all
of blue.” So let us present ourselves before Him arrayed in purity
and
peacefulness.
of the oneness
of the Church, so, and much more, was “the robe of the
ephod.” It was of
woven work (ch. 39:22), absolutely seamless —
one,
emphatically, in material, in hue, in texture. So Christ prayed that His
Church might be one — “as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that
they also may be one in us — one, even as we are one; I in
them, and
thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one” (John
17:21-23).
Visible unity is broken up; but something of invisible unity there
may still be,
if all true lovers of Christ will cultivate the spirit
of unity; judge charitably;
think the best they can of all branches of the Church;
look to the good points
of each; pray for their advance in holiness and in
the knowledge of Christ;
work with
them so far as they can — e.g., for charitable and moral
objects,
amicably.
If we thus act, if we be thus minded, we shall, in a true sense, put
on “the robe of the ephod” — we shall
be promoters, and not hinderers, of
unity.
ACTIONS OF OUR
TRUE HIGH PRIEST, AND JOINING IN THEM.
The bells of the robe were to
advertise the people of every movement made
by the high
priest, and enable them to take their part in his actions. To
profit by
the contrivance, they had to keep their ears attent to the sound,
and their
minds fixed on the service which was in progress within the
sanctuary. We
Christians have equal need to mount up in thought
continually
to that holy place, whither Christ has taken our nature, and set
it down at
the right hand of God — to join with Him as He pleads His
meritorious
sacrifice on our behalf; to “have boldness” with Him “to enter
into the holiest;” (Hebrews 10:19) with Him to ask the Father to
pardon
our sins; with
Him to intercede for the whole Church; with Him to pray that
strength
may be given us to persevere. We do not, indeed, need bells to tell
us how He
is employed at each successive moment, because He is always
doing all
these things for us — always interceding, always pleading His
sacrifice,
always beseeching His Father to forgive us and sustain us.
“Wherefore
He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession
for them”
(Hebrews
7:25) - We may join Him in these acts
at any moment. Thus,
bells are
not necessary for us; but still they may sometimes help us. Many an
Israelite, whose thoughts wandered
and became fixed on worldly things,
when no
sound issued from the sanctuary, was recalled to a sense of religion,
and the
recollection of his soul’s needs, by the tinkling of the priest’s golden
bells. So
Christians, who ought in heart and mind ever to ascend to where
Christ sits at the right hand of God (Colossians
3:1-3; Ephesians 2:6, ), but
whose
attention will wander to earth and earthly objects, may
sometimes by
the chime
of bells, or by their solemn toll, be woke up to higher
thoughts, —
recalled,
as it were, from earth to heaven, taken back from the vain distractions
of the world to
that holy place where their High
Priest is ever interceding for
them.
THE
MITRE (vs. 36-38)
Josephus
tells us that the head-dress of the high priest was “not a conical cap, but a
sort of crown, made of thick linen swathes” (Ant.
Jud. 3:7, § 3). It was thus really a
species of turban. The color was white; and the
only ornament on it was the gold plate,
with its blue ribbon or fillet.
vs. 36-38 – “And thou shalt make a plate of
pure gold, and grave upon it, like
mere ornament of the mitre, was, at once, its
most conspicuous and its most
significant feature. Placed directly in front, right
over the forehead, and probably of
burnished gold, it would attract universal
attention, and catch the eye even more than
the breast-plate. Its position made it “the culminating
point of the whole priestly attire”
(Kalisch) —
and its inscription gave to that position
extraordinary force and
significance. For it taught that “holiness to the Lord”
is the very highest crown and
truest excellence of religion — that to which all
ceremonial is meant to conduce
— that without which all the paraphernalia of worship must
ever be in God’s sight a
mockery. It set this truth conspicuously before the
eyes, and was apt to impress it
upon the hearts of all. It taught
the high priest himself not to rest upon outward forms,
but to aim in his own person, and teach
the people to aim continually, at internal
holiness. The extreme importance of this,
causes the putting forward at once of the
plate and its inscription before any
account of the “mitre” is given. “And
thou shalt
put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the
mitre” – that it may be kept in place,
and not slip from its position on the mitre –
“upon the forefront of the mitre it
shall
be. And
it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity
of the holy things” - Imperfection attaches to everything that man
does; and even
the sacrifices that the people offered to God
required to be atoned for and purified.
It was
granted to the high priest in his official capacity to make the necessary
atonement, and so render the people’s gifts acceptable.
For this purpose he was
invested with an official holiness, proclaimed
by the inscription upon the plate,
which exhibited him as the type and representative
of that perfectly Holy One,
through whom alone can any real atonement be made to
the Father – “which
the
children of
upon his forehead” – whenever
he ministers - “that they
may be accepted
before the LORD.”
THE
TEACHINGS OF THE MITRE
The main
lesson taught by all the priestly garments is intensified in the mitre, namely,
the need of holiness. “Without
holiness no one shall see God”
(Hebrews 12:14) –
“Holiness becometh thine house for ever.” (Psalm
93:5) - The high priest was to be:
bringing up
— by his consecration — by his investiture — by his
representative
position as priestly head of his nation and type of Christ —
he was set
apart from all others, dedicated to holy employments, assigned a
holy
character. Of these things he could not dispossess himself.
about holy
things, and yet to be impure in heart and life, is to be a “whited
sepulchre,” beautiful
outwardly, but “within
full of dead men’s bones and
of all uncleanness” (Matthew
23:27). Nothing can be a greater offence to
God. A high priest, with “holiness to the Lord” written
upon his brow, and
unholiness
working in his brain and nestling in his heart, was a moral
contradiction, a paradox,
a monstrosity. Such there may have been, and
their official
acts for the benefit of others God may have accepted and
allowed,
since otherwise the innocent would have suffered for the guilty;
but their
hatefulness in His sight must have been great, and their punishment
will be
proportionate. We may believe that such cases were few. Not many
men can
bear to be hypocrites. The holy attire, the holy offices, the
profession
of holiness upon the brow, must have helped to make the great
majority
holy, or at least harmless, in life — true “examples to the flock”
(I Peter 5:3) — holy, not merely officially, but personally.
religious
leader of the nation, had to help forward holiness in every
possible
way:
ü Ceremonially,
by his official actions;
ü Ministerially,
by teachings and exhortations;
ü Individually,
by the force of example.
It was his mission to make the
people “accepted
before the Lord.” The
mediation
which he offered not only purified from legal defilements, but,
by virtue
of his typical character, purged the conscience and cleansed the
soul from
sin. His exhortations and example had the natural force of one in
authority,
and must have been potent at all times. It was at his peril if he
took life
too easily, and rebuked sin too mildly, and was not “a faithful
priest,” as appears from the history of Eli (I Samuel
2:22-36; 3:13;
4:11-15). Unfaithful priests are, in
truth, an abomination, and have need to
tremble at
the “terrors of the Lord.” Those who
have undertaken a holy
office are doubly
bound to holiness. If men “corrupt the covenant of
Levi,”
God will “send a curse upon them, and curse their blessings” (Malachi
2:2, 8),
THE
TUNIC AND THE GIRDLE (v. 39)
From the
outer garments, which were the most important and distinctive, a transition
is now made to the inner ones, in which there
was nothing very remarkable. The linen
drawers are for the present omitted, as not
peculiar to the high priest. Directions are
given for the tunic and the girdle. The former
is to be woven in some peculiar way —
so as to be diapered, as some think — and the
latter is to be “the
work of the
embroiderer.”
v. 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.”
THE
LESSON OF THE TUNIC
The tunic,
or inner vest, was to be of fine linen, and of spotless white. Both
the material and the hue denoted purity. God’s
priests must be clothed in
purity from top to toe. Purity must
wrap them round on every side. This
purity may be hidden — unseen of man, or nearly
unseen. But God sees
it
and honors it. The tunic, though it must be
all of white, shall not lack its
ornamentation. It is to be diapered with a pattern, like the
best damask
cloths, and so to be rich and costly.
THE LESSONS OF THE GIRDLE
battle, for
a race, for active exertion of any kind. The high priest was to
have his
loins continually girded, that he might be ready at all times for
God’s service. But he was
not to make a parade of this readiness. The
girdle was
to be hidden under the robe of the ephod.
colors, the
work of the skilled embroiderer. The Israelites were taught by
this, that
things devoted to God’s service, whether they be seen or not,
should be
of the best. The intention is not to please men’s eyes by beauty
of color or
form, or richness of material, but to do
honor to God.
Scamped work in places where
it is not seen has been thought allowable by
many a
church-architect; dust and untidiness in hidden corners are tolerated
by many who
have the care of sacred buildings. True piety will make no
difference
between the seen and the unseen, the hidden and that which is
open to
sight, but aim at comeliness, fitness, beauty, in all that appertains
to the
worship of God.
THE
APPAREL OF THE ORDINARY PRIESTS (vs. 40-43)
The chapter
concludes with brief directions concerning the official attire of the
ordinary priests. This was to consist of linen drawers
like those of the high
priest; of a tunic, also of linen (ch. 39:27), shaped
like his, but not
diapered; of a linen girdle, the exact character of
which is not stated; and of
a close-fitting cap. The entire dress, with perhaps the
exception of the
girdle, was white. The linen drawers were regarded as
of primary necessity,
and the priest who did not wear them was threatened with death.
vs. 40-43 – “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.”
It is very
noticeable, that the extremely simple attire of the ordinary priests — a
dress of pure white, without anything ornamental
about it, unless it were
the girdle — is still regarded as sufficient “for glory and for beauty.” White
robes have certainly a vast amount of scriptural testimony
in their favor
(Leviticus
16:4; Mark 9:3; John 20:12; Acts 1:10; Revelation 4:4, 6:11; 7:9,14)
“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. And thou shalt make them
linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from
the loins even unto the thighs
they shall reach: And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his
sons, when
they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation”
- Literally, “when they go
into the tent of meeting” — i.e., the place
where God and the high priest were to
meet – “or
when they come near unto
the altar to minister in the holy place;
that they bear not iniquity” - To “bear iniquity” is to
incur guilt, or have sin
imputed to one. If even through forgetfulness a priest
entered the sanctuary
without this necessary article of clothing, and so
risked an unseemly, exposure
of his person, he was to be accounted guilty, and punished by
death. This was to
be a “statute
for ever,” and to apply both to the high priest and the ordinary
priests.
Compare
ch.20:26 – “and
die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his
seed after him.”
THE
PRIESTS’ ATTIRE
The dress of
the ordinary priests teaches us:
MINISTERS OF THE SANCTUARY MUST BE
CLAD IN HOLINESS.
The priests’ garments are called “holy,” no less
than the high priest’s (v.4).
They are almost entirely of fine
white linen. The linen drawers denote
the need of holiness with respect
to sins of the flesh. The linen cap implies
purity of thought and
imagination. The linen tunic is symbolical of the
complete sanctification in which
the whole man should be wrapped. The
girdle,
also of linen, marks the need of purity in respect of all the
active
part of
life. In every one of these respects the ordinary priests were on a
par with
the high priest. The same holiness was required of both.
DEGREE OF BEAUTY. The
priests’ garments were, like the high priest’s
(v. 2), “for glory and for
beauty” (v. 40). And, being designed by God
for those
ends, they doubtless attained them. Yet, unless the girdle was an
exception,
they were all white. So, when Jesus
was transfigured, “His
raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no
fuller on
earth can white them” (Mark 9:3). There is a
wondrous beauty in pure,
spotless,
snow-white raiment. Still more is there beauty in the simplicity of
a spotless
life. A pure mind — a pure heart — pure conduct — simple,
uniform
performance of every-day duty — what is more lovely, more
glorious? To such the Divine Bridegroom will address the
words —
“Thou
art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee” (Song of
Solomon 4:7).
The Priests and their Garments (vs. 1-43)
From
instructions about inanimate things, we come now to persons. Aaron
and his four sons were to be set apart for the office of the
priesthood, and
garments were to be made for them, “for glory and for beauty.” Aaron was
to be high priest (“the priest who is higher
than his brethren, upon whose
head the anointing oil was poured,” Leviticus
21:10); his sons were to
be ordinary priests. The high
priest was a very especial type of Christ.
had been no distinct class invested with the office
of the priesthood. The
need for a separate priesthood arose with the giving
of the law, with the
entrance of
founding of a sanctuary.
Ø With the giving of the law. A distinct revelation had been made of God’s
holiness. But God’s holiness had as
its correlative the unholiness of the
people. By the law came the
knowledge of sin. A priesthood, specially
sanctified to God’s service, became
necessary to mediate between an
unholy people and a holy God.
Ø
With
the establishment of a covenant relationship between
Jehovah. In virtue of the covenant,
priests and an holy nation” (see ch. 19:5).
It was this priestly calling of
the nation which found official expression in the
priesthood of the house
of Aaron. The priests were “vicars,” in the sense
of the following
passage — “A truly vicarious act does
not supersede the principal’s
duty of performance, but rather implies and
acknowledges it ..... In the
old monastic times, when the revenues of a
cathedral or cure fell to the l
ot of a monastery, it became the duty of that
monastery to perform the
religious services of the cure. But
inasmuch as the monastery was a
corporate body, they appointed one of
their number, whom they
denominated their vicar, to discharge
those duties for them. His service
did not supersede theirs, but was a perpetual and
standing
acknowledgment that they,
as a whole and individually, were under the
obligation to perform it” (Robertson of Brighton,
Sermons, vol. 2. p. 92).
That is to say, the priests stood in a representative
relation to the body of
the people. They acted in the name of the
community.
Ø With the founding of a sanctuary. “The groundwork of this new form
of religion stood in the erection of the
tabernacle, which God chose for
His peculiar dwelling-place, and through which He
meant to keep up a
close and lively relationship with His
people. But this relationsip would
inevitably have grown on their part into
too great familiarity, and would
thus have failed to produce proper and salutary
impressions upon the
minds of the worshippers, unless
something of a counteracting tendency
had been introduced, fitted to beget feelings of
profound and reverential
awe toward the God who condescended to come so near
to them. This
could no otherwise be effectually
done than by the institution of a
separate priesthood, whose prerogative
alone it should be to enter
within the sacred precincts of God’s
house, and perform the ministrations
of His worship” (Fairbairn). The Aaronic
priesthood had thus a twofold
function to discharge in relation to
the people.
o Representative. It represented the nation in its priestly
standing and
vocation. It performed sacerdotal acts
in the name of the tribes. The
representative character
culminated in the person of the high priest.
o Mediatory. The priesthood mediated between the people and
Jehovah.
It was the link of communion between the holy
and the unholy. Gifts
and offerings, which otherwise, on account of the
unholiness of the
people, would not have been
accepted, were accepted at the hands
of the priests.
The high priest transacted with God on behalf of his
constituents as well as
in their name. It pertained to him, and to the
other priests, “to make reconciliation for the sins of the people”
(Hebrews 2:17). The priesthood, and especially
the high priest,
thus typifies Christ:
§
in His Divine appointment to
His office (Hebrews 5:5-6);
§
in His personal and official
holiness (Hebrews 4:15; 7:26);
§
in His representative
relations to His people (Hebrews 6:20);
§
in His work of mediation and
intercession (Hebrews 9:11-12,
24);
§
in His heavenly glory (Hebrews 2:9).
Note, however, the following point of difference (one among
many)
between the high priest and Christ.
The Jewish high priest embodied
priestly rights already
existing in the nation. Believers, on the contrary,
derive their priestly rights from Christ. They are
admitted to a share in His
priestly standing. Their priesthood,
unlike that of the old covenant, is
purely spiritual. It includes
privileges formerly possessed only by the
official classes, e.g., the right of direct access to God (Ephesians
2:18;
3:12; Hebrews
10:19).
God next proceeds to clothe them. As the office was of His
appointment, so
must the garments be which are to be the insignia
of
it. Nothing is left to
individual taste. The articles of attire;
their shape, material, color,
workmanship; the manner of their
ornamentation; everything is fixed after a
Divine pattern. The
garments are to be “for glory and for beauty” (vs. 2, 40),
indicative of the official dignity, of
the sacred character, and of the
honorable prerogatives of the wearers
of them. Men are even to be
inspired with “the spirit of wisdom” (v. 3), for the purpose of making
them, so entirely are they to be garments of Divine origin. Look:
o at what
these garments were, and
o at the
functions and privileges of the priesthood as
shadowed forth in them.
Ø The parts of the priestly dress. The dress of the ordinary priests, with
the exception of the girdle of needlework (compare
ch.39:29), was to
be of fine white linen. It consisted of an
embroidered coat, a cap, and
plain white linen drawers. The high
priest’s garments were of a much
richer order. They embraced:
o the ephod, with its curious girdle (vs. 6-15).
o The breast-plate, in which
were to be placed
“the
Urim and Thummim” (vs. 15-31).
o The robe of the ephod, “all of blue,” and embroidered along
the hem with pomegranates. Alternating with the
pomegranates
were to be little golden bells, which should give a
sound when
the priest went into the holy place, and when he
came out
(vs. 31-36).
o The mitre, on which
was to be a plate of gold, fastened with
blue lace, and engraved with the words — “Holiness to the Lord”
(vs. 36-39).
o A broidered coat, girdle, and drawers, similar
to those of the
ordinary priests (v. 39).
Ø The symbolism of the dress. The blue of the robe of the ephod denoted
the heavenly origin of the priest’s office; the shining
whiteness of the
ordinary garments, the purity required
in those who served before
Jehovah; the gold, the diversified colors, the rich
embroidery and gems,
in the other articles of attire, the exalted honor
of those whom Jehovah
had chosen, and caused to approach to Him, that
they might dwell in
His courts (Psalm 65:4). More
specifically, the garments bore testimony:
o to the
fundamental requirement of holiness in the priesthood.
This requirement found its most distinct
expression in the
engraved plate on the high priest’s
mitre. Holiness was to be the
characteristic of the people as a whole. Most of all
was it
required in those who stood in so peculiarly near a relation
to JEHOVAH, and on whom it devolved to make atonement
for the others. The requirement is perfectly fulfilled in Christ,
whose people, in turn, are called to
holy living.
o To the representative character of the priesthood. This was
beautifully imaged by the fact that, both
on his shoulders and on
his breast, the high priest bore precious stones
engraved with the
names of the twelve tribes of
indication of this representative character
is found in the order
to place bells upon the hem of the robe of the
ephod, that the
people might hear the sound of his
movements as he
went in and out of the holy place (v. 35). Conscious
that he was
transacting in God’s presence in their
name, they were to follow
him with their thoughts and prayers in the different
parts of his
sacerdotal task. It was, however, the wearing of “the breast-plate
of judgment” (v. 29), which most specially declared that the
high
priest appeared before God as the
people’s representative. His
function, as clothed with the
breast-plate, was to sustain the
“right” of the children of
The “right” included whatever claims were given them on the
justice and mercy of Jehovah by the
stipulations of the covenant,
it was a “right” derived, not from unfailing obedience to
the law,
but from Jehovah’s goodness. It was
connected with atonement.
Our “right,” in like manner, is embodied in Christ, who bears us
on His heart continually in presence of his Father.
o To the priestly function of mediation. The onyx
stones on the
shoulders of the high priest, each
having engraved on it six of
the names of the tribes of
rested the burden or responsibility of
the entire congregation.
A more distinct expression of this idea is given
in v. 38, in
connection with the gold plate of the
mitre, engraved with
HOLINESS
TO THE LORD — “It shall be upon Aaron’s
forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things,
which the children of
and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be
accepted before the Lord.” Thus a shadow of the higher
mediation of our persons, gifts, and
works that find acceptance
only in Christ.
o To the need of sympathy in the priest, as a qualification for
his office. The high
priest was to bear the names of the children
of
(v. 23). Christ has
perfect sympathy (Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:14, 16).
The people also, as is hinted in v. 35, were to have sympathy with
their priest.
o To the function of the priest, as revealer of GOD’S WILL
(v. 30). Urim and Thummim — whatever these were —
are now superseded by the external
word, and the inward
illumination of Christ’s Spirit. Christ gives forth unerring
revelations of the will of the Father. “Lights
and perfections”
is not too high a name to bestow upon the
Scriptures (Psalm
19:7-12; II Timothy 3:15-16).
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