Exodus 28:2-122And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. 3And 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. 4And 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. 5And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 6And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. 7It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. 8And 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. 9And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: 10Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. 11With 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. 12And 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. (Exodus 28:2‑12).
We will learn a great deal if we carefully consider the marvelously detailed instructions as to the garments for Aaron and his sons. We need hardly remark that although Aaron was the high priest, Christ alone is the Great High Priest. Aaron was only a type, and a failing one at that, for he had to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for those of the people; but the Lord Jesus, the Great High Priest, is “holy, harmless; undefiled, and separate from sinners.” He was able to offer Himself “without spot to God,” and through His finished work ALL our sins are forever put away.
Let us now consider the garments of glory and beauty worn by Aaron. God, gave special wisdom from Himself to those who made them. The natural wisdom of those days, great though it was, was not sufficient to make them apart from the wisdom which God gave, and so the natural unsaved man can never understand the things of God. It is only by the Spirit of God that we can enter into or enjoy our place in and through Christ who is our Great High Priest.
The priest’s robe was to be of the same beautiful colors as the veil, and gold was also to be woven into it. The veil, we are told, speaks of Christ’s flesh (Heb. 10:2020By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; (Hebrews 10:20)), but now as the One who has accomplished redemption He carries on His blessed work as our Great High Priest above. All God’s righteous claims (the gold) have been settled at the cross, arid now as our Great High Priest and Advocate, He is “just” as well as “faithful” in maintaining our case before God.
The curious girdle of the ephod, speaking of service, was of the same material as the ephod itself, and it reminds us of the marvelous fact that the Lord Jesus is serving us above. He not only died for us but He lives for us and serves us there. When we think of this it is beyond our understanding— “curious” indeed when we think of what we were; and more “curious” still when we think of the Person who has stooped so low to undertake our whole case and to bring us into such a place of blessing. Not only has He brought us into this place, but His unwearied service on high is maintaining us there. If we were to visit a king and he himself prepared a meal for us, we would marvel indeed, hut our Great High Priest who serves us so faithfully is King of kings and Lord of lords. Surely it is the wonder of all wonders that Christ should so love and serve us.
There were three things on or in the ephod that deserve our special attention. First, there were two onyx stones fitted on Aaron’s shoulders—one on each shoulder. On each of these stones six names of the children of Israel were engraved, so that Aaron always carried all their names on his shoulders. There was no special place of favor for some and riot others of the tribes—all were there. And so the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, bears each one of His people (His sheep) on His mighty shoulders of strength, and will carry them all the way home. These two onyx stones were set in ouches of gold, and so our place of security is not because of anything we are in ourselves, but because of what Christ is in His Person and work which has satisfied all God’s holy claims.
“Stern justice can demand no more,
And mercy can dispense her store.”
ML 02/05/1950