The Book of Exodus

Hebrew Study

Explanation

God chooses Aaron and his sons to serve as priests, and commands holy garments "for glory and for beauty," made by those "whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom." The chief garment was the ephod, a richly woven vest of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and linen, held by two shoulderpieces. On those shoulders were set two onyx stones, each engraved "like the engravings of a signet" with six tribe names, all twelve together. So whenever the high priest went before God, "Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial." He did not come alone; he carried the whole nation into God's presence, their names graven in stone upon the place of strength. The shoulders bore the weight of the people, and God saw them there, remembered before Him in their priest.

Gospel Focus

The shoulders are the place of strength and burden-bearing, and there the high priest carried his people before God. This is a beautiful picture of Christ, our great High Priest, who bears us upon His shoulders. When the shepherd finds the lost sheep, "he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing" (Luke 15:5), and of the coming King it was written, "the government shall be upon his shoulder" (Isaiah 9:6). Christ carries His people by His own strength, not ours; we are upheld before God because He bears us. Whatever our weakness, we are borne on the shoulders of One who is mighty, and our names are graven there, remembered before the LORD. "We have a great high priest" (Hebrews 4:14) who does not merely represent us at a distance but carries us. When you feel too weak to stand before God, remember: you do not stand in your own strength but are borne upon the shoulders of your High Priest, who is strong enough for all He carries.

Explanation

Over the ephod, upon the priest's chest, hung the breastplate of judgment, a foursquare pouch of the same costly weave, set with "four rows of stones," twelve precious gems, "every one with his name ... according to the twelve tribes." It was bound to the ephod by chains of gold and a lace of blue so that it could never be "loosed from the ephod." So the high priest carried the names of the people not only on his shoulders but "upon his heart ... before the LORD continually." Within the breastplate were placed "the Urim and the Thummim," by which the priest sought God's judgment and direction for the people. On the shoulders they were borne in strength; over the heart they were borne in love. Each tribe was a distinct, precious jewel, named and carried near the priest's heart every time he came before God.

Gospel Focus

If the shoulders are strength, the heart is love, and the high priest bore his people in both. Christ our High Priest carries us not only by His power but in His love, over His heart, "continually," never setting us down. And see how each tribe was a distinct, named, precious stone. God's people are not an undistinguished mass to Him; each one is a separate jewel, engraved with a name, worn over the heart of the Priest. "They shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels" (Malachi 3:17). You are not lost in the crowd; you are a precious stone borne on the heart of Christ, named and known. The Urim and Thummim, the lights and perfections for seeking God's will, point to Christ, in whom we find all the light and guidance we need, "a merciful and faithful high priest" (Hebrews 2:17). We do not grope in the dark for God's will; we have a High Priest who carries us on His heart and gives us light. Rest there, over the heart of Christ, remembered before God continually.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

Beneath the ephod, the high priest wore "the robe of the ephod all of blue," woven in one piece with a reinforced opening "that it be not rent." Around its hem alternated "pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet" and "bells of gold," a golden bell and a pomegranate, all the way around. As the priest moved to minister, the bells rang out, so that "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 bells announced that the priest was alive and ministering in the holy place; their sound was the sign that he still served and had not fallen under judgment. The pomegranates, full of seed, spoke of fruit. Sound and fruit together adorned the hem of the one who served God.

Gospel Focus

The bells and pomegranates on the hem preach a lesson for all who serve God. The golden bells gave a sound, testimony, the audible witness that the priest was alive and at his work; the pomegranates gave fruit, the silent evidence of life. True ministry has both: the sound of confession and the fruit of a holy life, word and walk together. A bell without fruit is mere noise, and fruit without sound is a hidden life that never testifies; God's servant is to have both, ringing and fruitful. And note that the people outside heard the bells and knew their priest still lived and ministered on their behalf. So it is a comfort to know our High Priest is alive, "he ever liveth to make intercession" (Hebrews 7:25), still ministering for us in the presence of God. Christ's robe was seamless, woven from the top throughout, and the soldiers would not rend it. Our Priest lives, His work is unbroken, and His people are called to a life that both sounds forth His praise and bears His fruit.

Explanation

The crowning piece was a plate of pure gold, worn on the front of the priest's turban, engraved like a signet with the words "HOLINESS TO THE LORD." It sat on his forehead as the highest mark of his office, declaring that he and his ministry belonged wholly to God. But its purpose was more than a label. By it the priest would "bear the iniquity of the holy things," for even Israel's holy gifts and offerings were tainted by the sin of those who brought them. The people's worship was never perfectly pure. So the priest, bearing holiness on his forehead, took away the iniquity that clung even to their sacred acts, "that they may be accepted before the LORD." The plate was to be "always upon his forehead," a continual covering, so that imperfect worship from imperfect people could still be received by a holy God.

Gospel Focus

Here is a truth that humbles and comforts every worshiper: even our holy things need an atonement. Israel's best gifts were tainted, and only the priest's holiness, borne on his forehead, made them "accepted before the LORD." So it is with us. Our prayers, our worship, our offerings, even our best service, are stained by the sin that clings to all we do, and they could never be accepted on their own merit. But we have a High Priest who is Himself our holiness, "who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). Christ bears the iniquity even of our holy things, and through Him our imperfect worship is received, for God "hath made us accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). We are accepted not because our worship is worthy, but because our Priest is holy and bears its imperfection away. What a mercy that the golden crown of Christ's holiness is "always upon his forehead," so that a holy God receives the flawed gifts of His people. Come, then, and worship, not trusting the purity of your gift, but the holiness of your High Priest.