Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 29:5-9

5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:

6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.

7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.

8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.

9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.

We hear how the clothes we heard of last chapter are placed upon the priests, and these verses appear to give the correct order in which articles would be put on. First the coat as the bottom layer, then the robe and the ephod. Next the breastplate would be secured to the front, and all the layers would be fastened by the girdle. The mitre would be placed upon the head, and finally the golden plate inscribed with HOLINESS TO THE LORD would be tied to the mitre as a holy crown.

There was a proper order to getting dressed, just as there would be a proper order to every ritual performed at the tabernacle. The priest would have to dress himself correctly each morning to be ready to conduct himself rightly in his duties. Just as every article of clothing needed to be applied in its proper time and place, so must the affairs of our lives be properly ordered and timed as well.

Verse 7 also mentions the anointing with oil, which is the touch of the divine to complete the adornment of the priests. They would put themselves in order, then God would enrobe them in His spirit to be fully ready.

As I read through the rest of the process, I will treat it as a symbol for all of us in our approach to the Lord. The first step, as we have already seen, is to set ourselves in order and clean up our act as best we can. Just for following our conscience in this way, God will make His spirit rest upon us, like the anointing of oil. So prepared, we will be ready to progress further towards Him.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:13-16

13 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.

15 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.

Ouches is another word for settings: recessed receptacles to hold the onyx stones mentioned in the previous verses. These would be attached to the shoulder, and golden chains would run from them to the breastplate that sat upon the chest.

I have seen some images where the breastplate is rigid and made of some metal, usually gold. I have also seen images where the breastplate appears to be made of woven cloth. I assume the metal presentation comes from the name of the article: breastplate, which we most often identify as a metal piece of armor. Verse 15, however, suggests that the cloth interpretation is correct. It sounds as though it was made of the same dyed linen that the ephod was, and probably blended in with it.

We are told that the breastplate was a square, one span on each side. A span was half of a cubit, which was about a foot-and-a-half. A span would therefore be about nine inches, which is well-fitted to the chest of an adult. Of course, the truly notable element of the breastplate was not the body of it, but the stones that were embedded on its face. We will examine those tomorrow.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:9-12

9 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.

On each shoulder of the priests would be an onyx stone, each set in a golden base and each with half of the tribes of Israel engraved on its face. According to Josephus, the names were written in order of birth, the six elder sons of Jacob being placed upon the right shoulder, and the six younger upon the left.

Thus, the priests literally bore the weight of the twelve tribes upon their shoulders, a constant reminder that they stood not only representatives of God, but also of all the people. Every move of the arm and hands while carrying out of their tabernacle duties would shift the tribes upon their shoulders.

God also specifies that the stones were to be engraved “like the engravings of a signet.” A signet was a ring or a bracelet with a person’s name carved into it, which would be pressed into wax as a seal or signature for whatever document it was attached to. There is no record of the shoulder stones ever being used literally as a signet, but God does seem to be suggesting that they are to be viewed as a sort of signature of the people upon the priests.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:6-8

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.

Today we hear the details of the ephod and the girdle that the priests wore. The ephod, once again, was a sort of apron that was the priest’s outer layer of clothing, worn above the robe and coat. The girdle was a sash, bound around the waist to secure the layers of clothing against the body.

These two articles of clothing were to be made with linen, dyed in colors of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, woven together in a cunning pattern. There is an immediate connection between this and the inner curtains and walls of the tabernacle. Recall that the instructions for those included that they be made, “of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet.” Also, just as the tabernacle followed that first layer with others of goats’ hair, rams’ skin, and badgers’ skin, similarly the priest had other layers with their robe and their coat.

These similarities in design would have had the aesthetic effect of binding the personage of the priest to the place of his duties. One could tell at a glance that the man belonged with the tabernacle because of their similar adornment. There is also a symbolic lesson, wherein it is suggested that the body of the man was the tabernacle of the Lord, meant to house the same holy and most holy places that the constructed building did. Paul made this very point in 1 Corinthians 6:19: “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you.”

In fact, the one difference between the priest’s clothes and the curtains was that the clothes added the extra color of gold. This might suggest that the person was an even holier tabernacle than the physical edifice. While the Israelites would construct this new tabernacle, God had already constructed the human tabernacles, propping them up with bones instead of boards of shittim wood, covering them with human skin instead of badgers, topping them with human hair instead of goats. Man was made for the same purpose as the tabernacle, to be a house of the most holy of places. A sacred structure wherein resides the presence of the Lord.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:4-5

4 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.

The overview of the clothes is given in today’s verses, and next we will hear about each piece in greater detail. All of the mentioned elements are as follows:

  1. A mitre: a sort of hat or turban. Something that would be worn on the head.
  2. A breastplate: a square patch of fabric which was adorned with precious stones. It sat on the chest, hanging from the shoulders by chains of gold.
  3. An ephod: a sort of apron that the breastplate rested upon.
  4. A robe: a poncho-like layer underneath the ephod.
  5. A broidered coat: yet another layer underneath the robe.
  6. A girdle: a sash tied around the waist to secure all the layers.

Thus, there are three layers upon the body: broidered coat, robe, and an ephod, all bound by the girdle, with a breastplate upon the chest, and a mitre on the head.

Yesterday we spoke of the clothes as having a weighty beauty, and one can see how all of these layers and different adornments would fit that bill. We have already seen great symbolism in the structure and instruments of the tabernacle, and surely the pattern continues with this complex and multi-faceted clothing. We will consider the meaning of each as we continue.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:2-3

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.

Aaron and his sons are to be dressed in specific clothes while performing the office of the priest. These clothes, we are told are for the particular purposes of “glory and beauty.”

The Hebrew word that is translated into “glory” is kabowd (כָּבוֹד), which means weighty good. It is used to describe things that have dignity, honor, and yes, glory. Thus, the design of these clothes is to bring a sense of seriousness and importance to Aaron and his sons, they are to feel the weight of their honorable undertaking when they wear its vestiture.

That is something I can immediately understand. Whenever I have worn a full suit, with its extra weight and encumbrance, I have felt a sort of dignity imparted to me just by the wearing of it. I’m not quite sure why but wearing things that are heavy and deliberately fashioned give a greater sense of importance to the things that we do.

Moving on to the second descriptor, the glory of the priest’s clothes would be paired with “beauty.” Beauty, of course, means to delight and please. Where glory may inspire reverence, beauty inspires engagement. Thus, together, these clothes are meant to draw in, but with soberness. They are meant to create a serious connection. If I were to try and describe that notion in one word, I would say “sacred.” Sacred things are beautiful, but they are also heavily weighted.

Given this, is it any wonder that in verse 3 God states that the creation of this clothing is to be done by those he had filled with his spirit of wisdom? Truly sacred things come to us when heaven touches with the earth. Only those touched by God would be able to construct these sacred clothes as intended.