In The Word
Read: Exodus 28
Garments of the Priests
28 “Then bring forward to yourself your brother Aaron, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to serve as priest to Me—Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. 2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 You shall speak to all the skillful people whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may serve as priest to Me. 4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a tunic of checkered work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that he may serve as priest to Me. 5 They shall take the gold, the violet, the purple, the scarlet material, and the fine linen.
6 “They shall also make the ephod of gold, of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, the work of the skilled embroiderer. 7 It shall have two shoulder pieces joined to its two ends, so that it may be joined. 8 The skillfully woven band of its overlay, which is on it, shall be like its workmanship, of the same material: of gold, of violet and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. 9 And you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, according to their birth. 11 As a jeweler engraves a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel; you shall set them in filigree settings of gold. 12 And you shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall carry their names before the Lord on his two shoulders as a memorial. 13 And you shall make filigree settings of gold, 14 and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them of twisted cord work, and you shall put the corded chains on the filigree settings.
15 “You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, the work of a skilled embroiderer; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen you shall make it. 16 It shall be square and folded double, a span in length and a span in width. 17 And you shall mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald; 18 and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. 21 The stones shall be engraved according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a signet, each according to his name for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall also make on the breastpiece twisted chains of cord work in pure gold. 23 And you shall make on the breastpiece two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two cords of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. 25 You shall put the other two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, at the front of it. 26 And you shall make two rings of gold and place them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on the edge of it, which is toward the inner side of the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold and put them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it close to the place where it is joined, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a violet cord, so that it will be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece will not come loose from the ephod. 29 So Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the Holy Place, as a memorial before the Lord continually. 30 And you shall put in the breastpiece of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.
31 “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of violet. 32 There shall be an opening at its top in the middle of it; around its opening there shall be a binding of woven work, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it will not be torn. 33 You shall make on its hem pomegranates of violet, purple, and scarlet material all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe. 35 It shall be on Aaron when he ministers; and its sound shall be heard when he enters and leaves the Holy Place before the Lord, so that he will not die.
36 “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37 You shall fasten it on a violet cord, and it shall be on the turban; it shall be at the front of the turban. 38 It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take away the guilt of the holy things which the sons of Israel consecrate, regarding all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be accepted before the Lord.
39 “And you shall weave the tunic of checkered work of fine linen, and shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash, the work of a weaver.
40 “For Aaron’s sons you shall also make tunics; you shall also make sashes for them, and you shall make caps for them, for glory and for beauty. 41 Then you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him; and you shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve Me as priests. 42 You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh; they shall reach from the waist even to the thighs. 43 And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or when they approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they do not incur guilt and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and to his descendants after him.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
After God instructed Moses on the tabernacle, He then went on to give very specific instructions for the priesthood. These men were to come from Aaron and his sons. What is interesting is how much detail God gave to the garments that the priests were to wear. The Bible says these garments had to be consecrated, holy, glorious, and beautiful. They included a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a broidered coat, a mitre, a girdle, and a crown made of pure gold. Then God even went on to give very detailed instructions for each garment.
Did you know God still requires us to be clothed with the right garment before entering His presence? However, where religion required an external garment, relationship requires an internal garment. Romans 13:14 says that we are to clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. When we put Jesus Christ on, God can look down and see His perfection rather than our blemished life.
If you have had a hard time entering into the presence of God, it may be that you are wearing the wrong garment. Many people today still try to enter in through works. It’s difficult for a person to enter into the presence of God with this mindset because, no matter how great a person is, they still come short of the glory of God. This is a mindset of “I am good enough,” and it separates us from God. We must humble ourselves and understand we need Christ. This mindset will always bring us into God’s presence!