Verses 1-3 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. 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.
The priesthood started with Aaron and continued down through the different generations. The question needs to be asked as to why Moses was not selected by God to head up the priesthood since he was the one directly communicating with the LORD. There may be many reasons that could be valid, but since Moses is a type of Christ in the Bible, delivering the Word of God to the people and leading them out of bondage to freedom, perhaps the repetitive duties of the priesthood were more suited to Moses’ brother who had been a part of the entire Exodus story from the beginning, but who did not have the direct communication with God as had his brother, Moses. Even after the instituting of the priesthood and the duties involved with the position, Moses remained apart from the office and continued to deliver the law and lead the people towards the land of promise.
Application: Believers today have no need for a priest who acts as an intermediary between them and God. Believers are all priests in the spiritual kingdom of God here on the Earth and all have direct communication with the LORD at all times.
Today there is a push for equality in society and there seems to be an envious spirit in people who see others who have more than they have. God did not seek equality within the Hebrew community. He clearly made His tabernacle or tent beautiful and expensive while the people were no doubt living in simple tents. He made sure that the men in service to Him were attired in fabulously tailored outfits that were going to make them stand out from the crowd. God wanted His place of worship to be spectacular and His ministering servants to look the part and to garner respect from the masses, something that seems to be missing from society today.
Application: Just as God wanted the holy garments of the priesthood to be for glory and beauty, today each believer is spiritually clad in robes of righteousness that gives them glory and beauty in the eyes of God. 1 Peter 2:9 states, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” When the priests entered the tabernacle in their glorious and beautiful garments, they entered into the presence of God, very God, and into a lovely place lighted with candles that would cast a special light upon the gold, silver and brass used for the construction of the tabernacle and its furniture. Believers are in the presence of God continually and are to be like the priests of old, ministering both to the LORD and to each other and bringing the light of the Gospel into the lives of those people living in the darkness of sin.
Wisdom is a spirit and it comes from God. Just as the LORD gave wisdom to the artisans that made the priests’ garments, He will give wisdom to anyone who seeks it. James 1:5 states, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” Verse 17 goes on to say that, “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” Do not confuse the wisdom of this wicked world with that from God. Worldly wisdom is not pure, peaceful, gentle, merciful, full of goodness, impartial and without hypocrisy.
Verses 4-8 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 shoulderpieces 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.
The breastplate was thought to be a sacred pouch that the high priest wore over his chest that held the Urim and the Thummim which will be seen for the first time and discussed in future verses.
The ephod was an outer garment like a cape or mantle.
The coat may have been an under-garment or a long shirt-like garment. Not really sure.
The mitre was a turban affair that covered the priest’s head.
The girdle was like a sash that tied all the layers of the garments together. For the priests to minister, they had to be clothed in these garments. Ordinary clothing or what could be termed today as street clothing would not be acceptable. Perhaps this is where the church in times past required its members to be dressed in their best clothing when attending services.
Verses 9-12 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.
There is no indication as to the size of the onyx stones. They could not have been too large as they were worn on the shoulders of the high priest. Notice that the names were to be inscribed in the order of the births of the patriarchs. God is a god of order. So it makes sense that He would want these stones to have a specific order in the listing of the names of the 12 sons of Jacob. The ouches were most likely gold settings in which the stones were secured.
Application: Just as the high priest was to symbolically bear the descendants of Jacob via the onyx stones on his shoulders before the presence of God, the LORD Jesus Christ bears the name of each believer on His shoulders in the throne room of God. He remembers each and every believer every moment of the day. He carries the believer’s burdens on His shoulders. A rather comforting thought, don’t you think?
Verses 13-14 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.
The ouches had golden chains attached to them that would allow them to be attached to the ephod.
Verses 15-16 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.
A “span” was the distance between the thumb and the little finger on an outstretched hand. It would be approximately half a cubit in length, or 9 inches.
It was called “the breastplate of judgment” as the devices used to make decisions were kept in this breastplate.
Verses 17-21 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.
All the stones used in the clothing of the priests were precious stones of the day. The “sardius” is thought to have been a ruby. The “carbuncle” is thought to have been an emerald. The “emerald” is thought to have been a turquoise or a greenish stone of some kind. The “beryl” is thought to have been a yellow jasper or some other yellow colored stone. There were four rows of stones (the number of the Earth) with three stones (the number of perfection) in each row. An interesting study might be to research the character of each stone and the character of each tribe to see if there are any correlations. Regardless, the perfect God of the Earth and of the universe decreed these stones and the reader can be assured that they were not chosen just because they were lovely. There was a divine purpose.
Verses 22-28 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 shoulderpieces 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.
Essentially, the breastplate was attacked to the two stones on the shoulder of the ephod with handmade chains of gold and then further secured with handmade blue lace ties. The breastplate of judgement was always attached to the shoulder ouches with the names of the 12 tribes inscribed upon them. 12 is the number of godly government and it makes sense that, symbolically, judgement was to come forth from government that was godly or based upon the laws and statutes of a holy, righteous God.
Verses 29-30 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.
“Urim” means “lights”. “Thummim” means “perfection”. These two stones were used to determine the will of God regarding certain situations as they arose among the nation, Israel. It is thought that they were tossed on the ground and then a determination was made by the priest as to what they meant. This writer is not really sure that anyone knows how these stones functioned. Some scholars have even suggested that the stones would supernaturally light up or glow. Many fictional movies have been produced by Hollywood using the glowing stone scenario. Regardless, all that is known for sure is that this system worked for the Hebrew priests and that God Almighty is light and perfection.
Application: The high priest was to bear the judgment of the people when before the LORD. Jesus Christ is the believers’ high priest and He bore the people’s judgment when He died on the cross. He continues to be the only High Priest and He continues to bear the judgment of His people so that they are forgiven and escape the punishment that is due them because of their sins.
Verses 31-32 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.
The word “habergeon” used in the KJB means “corselet” which means “a piece of armor covering the trunk”. The word “corselet” seems to have its origins in the late 15th century and is derived from the French language. The word “habergeon” means a garment protecting the neck or a sleeveless coat of mail or armor. So you, the reader, decide what Moses did regarding this piece of clothing. This writer believes that the neck opening was simply reinforced with multiple stitching and perhaps fabric in order to prevent the opening from being torn or damaged when pulled over the head of the priest. After all, these garments had to withstand hundreds of years of use.
Application: The high priest’s robe was not to be rent or torn. But in Matthew 26:65 and Mark 14:63 it is recorded that Caiaphas, the high priest in Jesus’ day, rent his clothes. That was the end of the temple priesthood.
Verses 33-35 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.
The hem of the high priest’s garment was decorated with alternating embroidery representing the pomegranate fruit and by gold, tinkling bells. This was not only beautiful, but functional. If the priest died or became ill so that he was no longer moving around, the Levites attending the temple would know that this had occurred by the lack of sound from the bells swinging on the hem of the sacred garment.
Verses 36-38 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.
Aaron and all the high priests that followed were separated out from the people to serve the LORD. They were to handle the things that the people would bring to dedicate to the LORD and to the service of the temple. This gold plate was a reminder of the sacred service that the high priest was called to perform.
Application: Just like the priests of old, each believer is holy or set apart for the service of the Kingdom of God here on Earth. Instead of a gold plate for a reminder, today’s believers have the entire Bible or Word of God to remind them of their position in Jesus Christ and of their service, and they have the indwelling of the Holy Ghost/Spirit to guide and direct them in that service.
Verses 39-41 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.
Linen was traditionally white in color. White in the Scripture is representative of purity. The blue, purple, gold, and scarlet embroidery applied to these garments would have contrasted with the white beautifully. God stated in the verses above that He wanted the priests’ temple clothing to be for “glory and for beauty.” God cares about the details.
Verses 42-43 And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: 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.
The linen breeches were essentially long underwear. These would prevent the exposure of the priests to the public should they be going up stairs or onto platforms to administer their duties. Unlike society today where the human body is flaunted on the TV, in print material, and on the beaches, personal bodily privacy was valued and expected in Hebrew culture