How Should We Serve in the House of God. (Exodus 27:20-28:43)
If you read the book of Exodus carefully, you will sooner or later come across the fact that God decided to build a house. It's really interesting; it's called the Tabernacle, which is actually a tent. But He starts by describing the furniture. If I were going to give you the blueprint for building a house, I would not start with the furniture. Then He describes the abode itself, the structure, and then the courtyard around it. Next, He tells us about the priests who would minister in God's house. How they will serve there. However, that type of priesthood no longer exists today, and there is no Tabernacle. The temple replaced it, but then the temple was destroyed in 78 AD. In Israel today, there is no temple today and no Tabernacle, and therefore, no priesthood to serve there. So, what are we as New Testament believers, to do with this passage of scripture? What is the point of this passage from a Christian point of view. Let’s go figure it out.
We've looked at most of chapter 27 yesterday, here at the end of the chapter, the writer starts talking about the oil that was in the lampstand in the holy place. In the first part of the next chapter, he talks about the priests who tended to the lamp and burned the oil. So, I'm going to start with the last two verses in chapter 27 and go all the way through chapter 28. This is a huge assignment today, so we're going to hop, skip, and jump through this chapter. But I want to explain what is here, and I also want to talk about how we might profit from this chapter.
One more word of introduction. He first discusses the ordinary priests, which begins in chapter 27 verse 20 and that goes through chapter 28 verse 4. This includes the oil poured into the lampstand by the priests, but all of that pertains to the priests.Then, in chapter 28 verse 5, all the way down to verse 39, he discusses the high priest. What he really does is go into great detail about the clothing of the high priest—the ephod, the breastplate, the robe, a gold plate a tunic, a turban, and a sash. Then there are a couple of verses in chapter 28 where he goes back to talking about some of the ordinary priests. So, this all naturally falls into three parts: first the priests, then the high priest, and the vestments, and then the ordinary priest again.
“And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually. In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel.
(Exodus 27: 20-21)
This is about the oil that was put in the lampstand in the holy place. The critical part of this verse is that it says "pressed." That's how you get oil, you press olives, and you get olive oil, and that is what is used to light the lamp. But this particular Hebrew word means to be beaten and crushed. Exerts have suggested this method produced a finer quality of oil, an oil that would burn more brightly and produce less smoke when prepared in this manner. They were going to use it to light the lampstand which was in the holy place just outside the holy of holies which contained the ark of the covenant. If you have been listening to me as I've gone through Exodus, you know that the testimony is a reference to the Ten Commandments, which were beyond the veil in the Ark of the Covenant. What is interesting is that the light was to burn all night. The Lord wanted the lamp to burn all night, so they put enough oil in that container for there to be a light at night. Now, let's turn to chapter 28, verse 1.
1 “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, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 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. 4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skilfully 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.
(Exodus 28: 1-4)
These are the priests. Aaron had already acted as a priest, but this is the first time he's officially designated as a priest. The priests officiated in the Tabernacle, and they taught the people the law. At this point, he's just designating the priests. So, the text she says, "I want there to be special garments, holy garments that are separated to the Lord."
This verse is talking about their official clothes, which were to be used only in their duties in the Tabernacle. It indicates that they were set apart to the Lord. Notice it says they will need skilled artisans to make the priestly garments. They need to be filled with the spirit of wisdom. The word translated as wisdom here can also means skill. So, what he's saying is that you need special artisans, you need seamstresses who are both skilled and filled with the spirit of God to work with cloth.
These verses set up the rest of the chapter. Each piece of clothing will be discussed in detail. But one significant thing here is that we see that one role of the priesthood is to keep the lamp lit. Secondly, the priests clothing indicates his separation unto the Lord. The clothing itself is separated to the Lord, which indicates that the priest himself is separated to the Lord. In chapter 28, beginning in verse five and going all the way through verse 39, (Text in Episode Notes)he talks about the high priest. First, he talks about the ephod. In verses 5 to 14. He says, “You shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet thread, and fine linen. And they shall make the two shoulder straps of the ephod joined at its two edges, so it shall be joined together.' The ephod was a garment that looked like an apron. Actually, it was in two parts. The first part covered the front part of the body just below the waist, and the second part was over the back. This was one of the important garments of the high priest. It set them apart from common clothing. They had special clothing that elevated their office, giving them dignity and honour. They would serve with that clothing on as a reminder of God's holiness and their separation to the Lord. The ephod had two shoulder straps joined to the two edges, effectively uniting the two pieces together.
Next, in verse 8, it mentions a belt, an intricately woven band of the same workmanship made of gold, purple, scarlet, and so forth. In verses 9 and 10, it says, 'Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the twelve sons of Israel, six of their names on one stone and six names on the other stone, in the order of their birth.' The shoulders of the ephod were to contain two onyx stones with the six tribes of the nation of Israel in their order of birth placed on each one.
Verse 11 says, ‘They should engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones as a memorial to them. You shall set them in settings of gold.' This verse elaborates on the stones mentioned in verses 9 and 10. Verse 12 says, 'So Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders as a memorial.' Again, we see the significance of these two stones.
Then, in verses 13 and 14, he mentions the chains. 'You shall make settings of gold and two chains of pure gold like braided cords, and fasten the braided chains to the settings.' The two gold chains were attached to the stones. This is just describing the outermost garment of the high priest. There was something underneath this, but the best way to describe it is that it was something like an apron. It fit over his robe.
The next piece of garment described for the high priest is the breastplate, starting in verse 15 and going through verse 30. It is a long passage, and it could take forever if we went through it in detail. Suffice it to say that in verse 15, it says, 'You shall make the breastplate of judgment. It shall be of artistic design, a breastplate doubled into a square.' That's the critical part. The outermost garment, like an apron, had a square on the chest called the breastplate. It gives us the dimensions a little later, saying in verse 16, 'It shall be a span in length and a span in width.' A span is approximately nine inches, the distance from the little finger to the thumb when the hand is spread.
Verses 17 to 20 list the stones that are to be in this breastplate. There were four rows of stones set in gold and placed in the breastplate. Verse 21 says, 'The stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel.' The breastplate has twelve stones, and each stone has the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel’. In the book of Malachi, chapter 3, verse 17, the Lord calls the Israelites His jewels. So, the names are like the jewels. Verse 22 says, 'You shall make chains for the breastplate at the end like braided cords of pure gold.' It also mentions two rings of gold on the breastplate. Then, in verse 24, it says, 'You shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate.' The idea is that there is a square gem holder on the priest's chest, and it will be chained around his neck to hold it up. That's all that's going on here. The following verses, 26, 27, and 28, provide some more detail.
In verse 29, it states, '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.' This verse emphasizes that everyone's name will be on the high priest's chest, serving as a continuous memorial before the Lord. Additionally, the breastplate would contain the Urim and Thummim, as mentioned in verse 30, which were used to determine the message from God. Though the exact method is not described in detail, it is believed to be something like casting lots. Today, determining the will of God is different. Everything you need to know about the will of God is in the Word of God. Christians sometimes say that if you pray and feel satisfied that what you prayed about is in in the will of God you can then have peace. Knowing God's will is about following what the Bible already states. The Bible does not provide stones like the high priest for us to cast lots, instead, it clearly states His will. So, the Bible friends is the way to determine God's will today. Moving on to verses 31 to 35, it describes the robe of the high priest. Underneath the ephod was a robe, and these verses provide details about it. Verse 31 says, 'You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue.'
Verse 32 mentions an opening for the head in the middle of it and describes how it should be woven, binding all around its openings, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it does not tear. In addition, verse 33 mentions’ pomegranates and bells. '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.' The robe had a continuous pattern of alternating pomegranates and bells along its hem. Verse 35 states, 'It shall be upon Aaron when he ministers. Once a year, the high priest, in this case Aaron, went into the Holy of Holies. This verse is saying that the slightest movement would make these bells go off, and that's how they would know that he had not died. In fact, there is a popular Jewish interpretation, as I've mentioned before, that they tied a rope around his foot. They would know something was wrong if the bells quit making a sound.If those bells fell silent for a time, the people would assume that he fainted or died. They would pull him out, making it unnecessary for an unauthorized person to enter the Holy Place to remove the body. So, the bells served a double purpose. A couple more things about the high priest:
First, in verse 36, "You shall make a plate of pure gold and carve on it, like the carvings of a signet, 'Holiness unto the Lord.' And you should put it on a blue cord, that it should be made on the turban. It should be on the front of the turban. It should 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 acceptable before the Lord."
So again, we have holiness mentioned in this passage for the third time, and here we now have a gold plate that says, "Holiness to the Lord."
Verse 39, "And you shall skilfully weave the tunic of fine linen thread. You shall make the turban of fine linen. You shall make the sash of woven work." So again, these are the other garments. The tunic was the undergarment, so from the body out, that was first the tunic, then there was a robe, and then there was the ephod. So, there were three layers of clothing on the priest. Now, beginning in verse 40 and going down to verse 43, he's going to talk about the ordinary priests again. He started out talking about the priest and their duty to put oil in the lampstand, and then he spent most of the time talking about the garments of the high priest. Now he's going to go back and talk about the general priests again.
Chapter 28, verse 40, "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 again, they had special clothing for which to serve the Lord. Verse 41, "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." So again, talking about the separation to the Lord. Special clothing is mentioned again that has to be worn when carrying out the Priestly duties.Special clothing to be worn anytime they come into the Tabernacle of Meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place adding that this will be “A statute forever to him and his descendants after him."
Well, we did it we’ve covered 45 verses?
Alright, I want to set all this up. The priests were servants of the Lord. They were called that. They would be dressed in garments that spoke of their separation to the Lord. Or to put it simply, this passage is describing, if I could put it in the modern terms a uniform for those who serve as priests. These servants had specific uniforms, and uniforms designated that they were separated for the Lord. Like any uniform, it says that person has a separate function, a police officer or a nurse's uniform, anybody that wears a uniform, they are separated to that job. That's the point of this passage. What do you do with this passage? What's or insight can it give us today. Well, let me tell you a couple of things, let’s go way back at the beginning. They were putting oil in the lamp, and a number of interpreters come to that part of the passage, and they say that the oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and off they then talk about the filling of the Holy Spirit. The oil represents the Holy Spirit, also mentioned elsewhere in the bible and oil was used for the prophets, the priests, and the kings to anointing them for their office, when they come into their service, signifying what should be a life of service under the power of the Holy Spirit. It was also employed for lighting purposes. It was a means of dispelling the darkness and gloom. Saying that is legitimate but in this case, it can obscure the plain meaning I think disclosed in this passage. Having said all of that, I want to make two suggestions that I think are much closer to the point of the passage. The great amount of detail in this passage about the consecration of the priests, if there's anything that jumps off the page, it's a gold plate that says, "Holiness to the Lord." That's what the high priest had on his forehead when he went into the presence of the Lord. So, for me what is key here is that the closer the relationship we have with the Lord the closer our relationship needs to be in our understanding of his Word, the greater the need for cleanliness spiritually and holiness in our lives. This is the principle that we can learn that flows from this passage through the book of Exodus and into Leviticus, that we should be separated unto the Lord, in order to serve Him. That's what this passage is about.
Someone said, "Those whom God selects to minister to others through intercessory prayer, spiritual counsel, and sacrificial worship must always represent the holiness of the Lord in all their activities and the demeanour of their everyday life. We should be separated unto the Lord in our service to Him. So, I believe this passage very simply is saying, "Here are the priests. Here is their service, don’t forget to put oil in the lamp." The clothing is there to emphasized that those who serve Him are to be separated to the Lord. But I said I had two points. I want to make a second suggestion. You remember that breastplate that had 12 stones in it and the names of the 12 tribes of Israel? That's got to be significant. Well, it was placed over his heart. The Lord wanted the high priest to have "Holiness to the Lord" on his head and the names of the people of God over his heart. Is that not symbolic of the fact that the children of God hold a special place in the heart of the Lord. They are in his min and close to His heart all the time. We are the apple of His eye, it says elsewhere. I think that's kind of important and that's the kind of application I think this passage wants to remind us of.
A child on her mother's knee, hugging her because she loved her so much. Mummy said the little girl. "I wish I could look right into your heart. "I don't know if you can do that," replied the mother, "but you could try to look through the window of my heart she said. The eyes are the windows of the heart. Look into my eyes and who do you see. The little girl looked and said, ‘I can see me’. It's me. I can see me." That little girl could see herself reflected in her mother’s eyes and know that she was very much loved and was in her mother's heart. I think that's a beautiful picture that we can take out of this passage. God loves us, and He has us on his mind, and in His heart, and that my friends is the message of Exodus chapter 28.