Thursday Night Bible Study

Exodus 28 (Click title for audio access)

"Whatever Shall I Wear!?"  •  5.12.11  •  Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro.

- The people of God have been instructed to give materials for the building of a worship facility that God would endow with His presence.

- The specifications of the Tent of Meeting and the Tabernacle proper remind us that worship is for Him, the end result being that the worshippers take on more of the imagery of Christ.

- Everything pointed to Jesus, from the veil, to the brazen altar, to the gate which was the only way into the place of worship.

- Now, as we come into chapter 28, we see another facet of Tabernacle life, that God is just as opinionated about, because again, it speaks very specifically about Christ.

- At the same time, we'll discover principles that are also very much a part of our lives. The Apostle Peter calls believers a "kingdom of priests."

- As a result, this chapter benefits you and I greatly, as we look at the order that our priestly life must maintain. This chapter will inform our priesthood in regard to

I. God (v.1-4)

II. His People (v.5-30)

III. Ourselves (v.31-43)

Text

I. God (v.1-4)

•  Exodus 28:1-4  :  "Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab, Abihu, Elemazar, and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest."  :  Moses was to remove Aaron and his sons from the children of Israel. They were to be consecrated, set apart, holy unto God.

- His family, the family of Aaron, would now form the line of the Priests. If you were a Hebrew that desired to become a priest, that would be an impossibility.

- You had to be born into this Priestly family to serve the Lord this way.

- Take note of the sentence structure.  "Aaron and his sons that he may minister to me."

- It would seem that this is a prophetic tie to the real High Priest, Jesus, of whom Aaron's office was typical. Jesus is our True High Priest.

- For the people of Israel, Aaron would be the High Priest, while his sons would serve and perform priestly duty. Their duties were different, but their call collectively was to minister to the Lord.

- Three times in these verses, God repeats the notion that the Priests are to minster to Him.

- The essentially, the word "minister" means to serve. The High Priest function was created to serve the Lord. This is significant for you and I today.

- Our first duty, our first desire is to serve the Lord with our lives. A Christian, more than any other passion, desires first to please the Lord with the life that flows out of them.

- When that get's confused, the Christian general begins to lose joy and purpose. The Priesthood, like the worship of the Tabernacle, is meant to serve the Lord first.

- Is that the goal of your life? Is that how your decisions are made? I pray that it would be so.

- God is particular about the tabernacle and is also particular about the clothing that the priests would wear.

- Moses was to make holy garments for Aaron. Of course, Moses himself did not grab a needle and thread. He was to have them made, the responsibility being his to delegate.

- These garments would be specific to the High Priest and they would be used exclusively for service. They were not to be common clothing. They would be for respect and honor.

- The people would look at the clothing of the High Priest and see the respect that He would be due, not because of Himself, but because of the office that He was appointed to by God.

II. His People (v.5-30)

•  Exodus 28:5-8  :  "They shall take the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, and they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, artistically worked. It shall have two shoulder straps joined at its two edges, and so it shall be joined together. And the intricately woven band of the ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship, made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen."  : God begins with the High Priest's ephod. It was not just thrown together in any fashion. It was to be woven together with these lovely colors that were intimately involved in the tabernacle.

- The veils of the tent of meeting and the gate were to all be made from this colored material. Now it is also the color of the ephod.

- The ephod looks like an ornate apron, which was very functional, but also brought with it, a sense of authority, as the High Priest alone could wear it.

- This piece was essentially two pieces that were joined together by these shoulder straps.

- The shoulders would bear the eventual weight of this piece.

•  Exodus 28:9-14  :  "Then you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: six of their names on one stone and six names on the other stone, in order of their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall set them in settings of gold. And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders as a memorial. You shall also make settings of gold, and you shall make two chains of pure gold like braided cords, and fasten the braided chains to the settings."  : On the ephod were to be these engraved onyx stones with names of the tribes of Israel. Onyx stones are the smooth black stones that have a mirror like appearance.

- Notice that this was to be done with the work of an engraver. Moses was not to do this. A person gifted in engraving would be necessary.

- We've seen the need for a weaver and now an engraver. God's people would need the gifts that they had been given to bring these things to life.

- These stones were to be set in gold settings and borne on the High Priest's shoulders. The shoulders are the place of work, as they are representative of strength.

- In the same way, Jesus worked to bring us before the Lord, carrying the burden of our cross upon His shoulders. Often, we would think it's our burden to take people to the Lord on our shoulders.

- There is no way! We bring our burdens to Jesus, who gives us the yoke of His peace!

- The onyx stones would serve as a reminder of His duties.

- These stones would be permanently attached to the ephod in gold fillings.

- The responsibility of the High Priest was to bring them before the Lord. The names on the shoulders the High Priest would serve as a constant reminder of the importance of his job.

- He ministered to the Lord on behalf of these tribes, his own people, who could not have a right relationship with God apart from his High Priestly activity.

- In the same way, we are to go to the Lord on behalf of the people in our lives. People from our family, our church and our sphere of influence. As Priest, we represent them before the Lord.

•  Exodus 28:15-21  :  "You shall make the breastplate of judgment. Artistically woven according to the workmanship of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, you shall make it. It shall be doubled into a square: a span shall be its length, and a span shall be its width. And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row; the second row shall be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold settings. And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes."  :  The breastplate would go over the ephod. God calls it the breastplate of judgment.

- It was for the sake of making a righteous and good decision on behalf of the people. Bring your decisions before the Lord. Let Him make them for us.

- All the stones would be engraved with the tribal names, set in gold. It's interesting to me that the Lord chooses these stones.

- For one, they are already represented in the two black onyx stones on the shoulder. It's not enough for God to have worked for us and to represent that.

- God loves His people! These stones are over the heart!

- Notice also that these stones are all different colors and they shine differently in the light. In the same way, God's people are unique. There are no two that are exactly alike.

- Later on in the book of Revelation, we see these stones as part of the foundation of the walls of heaven!

- Finally, these stones are precious stones, indicating great value. One cannot help but understand the value of Israel to the Lord. They are His children and as such, are greatly loved.

- He loves His people greatly and He calls us to love His people greatly as well!

•  Exodus 28:22-30  :  "You shall make chains for the breastplate at the end, like braided cords of pure gold. And you shall make two rings of gold for the breastplate, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. Then you shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate; and the other two ends of the two braided chains you shall fasten to the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front. You shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which is on the inner side of the ephod. And two other rings of gold you shall make, and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod. They shall bind the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod, using a blue cord, so that it is above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and so that the breastplate does not come loose from the ephod. So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the Lord continually. And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually."  :  The breastplate of judgment and the Ephod were inseparable pieces of clothing, bound together by golden band.

- Verse 29 tels us what we saw a little earlier: Aaron would have this on him as a continual reminder of the people that He represented.

- He would stand figuratively before God on behalf of the people and then would turn around and represent God's decrees to the people.

- This brings us to the Urim and the Thummim. The words mean "lights and perfections."  These were essentially, according to man, lots. They were stones used for determining God's will.

- It's not a matter of having a dice game to finalize a matter. It seems that this was used by the High Priest before the Lord and the outcome was determined by the Lord Himself.

- The fact that these were close to His heart, reminds us that our decisions matter to God.

- What He proposes to do is of great value to Him.

III. Ourselves (v.31-43)

•  Exodus 28:31-35  :  "You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. There shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear. And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around. And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord and when he comes out, that he may not die."  :  This robe was to be one piece, with an opening for the head and it was all blue. One commentator mentioned that the color blue is the color of heaven.

- Certainly one looks up at the sky and sees that corrolation. It speaks of remembering one's destination. Where is our priesthood have it's destination? In the very presence of God!

- Remember where you are going! Remember whose you are! Remember your city!

- The bottom of this robe was to be hemmed and weighed down with a golden bell and pomegranate all the way around. This was going to be a noisy robe!

- The bells have long been thought of as the indicators of life. If the bells stopped ringing, the Priest did not have his act together!

- Later in history, tradition has it, that robes were tied to the legs and that if the bells stopped, the rope would be used to draw the Priest out from the Holy Of Holies.

- I found myself agreeing with one commentator who mentioned that in the believer's life, there was to be sound. We are to speak like Christians and sound like the Lord.

- But there must also be fruit! The pomegranate is a very fruitful fruit in that it, when opened, filled with seed! Fruit upon fruit.

- The believer is to sound and act as one who has been radically affected by the love of God!

•  Exodus 28:36-39  :  "You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. You shall skillfully weave the tunic of fine linen thread, you shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the sash of woven work."  : The head piece of the High Priest was called the turban and it would have a gold plated engraving upon it.

- Holiness to the Lord. Separated for Him and His work. It would be on Aaron's forehead, which is an interesting place to place this, considering where the mark of the beast will eventually be!

- But notice, that this is a public statement: I'm separated to the Lord! I am living to please God!

- Christianity was never meant to be some secret society. It's supposed to be right there on your forehead, as plain as day, that you belong to Christ.

- It was to be engraved there, a permanent reminder that God is the head of your life.

•  Exodus 28:40-43  :  "For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty. So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests. And you shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs. They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him."  :  Aaron's sons were also to be covered properly when they came to minister in the holy place.

- Their clothing was made for the same reason: For glory and beauty!

- They were not allowed to come into the Holy Of Holies, but they would have charge of the lighting of the Menorah, as well as the changing of the showbread.

- Their clothes are similar, but one can see that they are sort of akin to underwear. One would not see these clothes with the other clothes covering them. What does this speak of?

- This is a warning against hypocrisy! Don't think that what people do not see, is not important to the Lord! What you are underneath is just as important to the Lord!

Conclusion

- Priests are first to minister to the Lord! He is our first priority. His people are next, as we serve them. We can't love God and not love the church! But then, we must attend to ourselves!

- We must remember that we are in need of His touch and ministry as well.