"This chapter contains detailed construction instructions for making the priestly garments, the Ephod, the breastpiece, the robe and other priestly garments, and the Holy Diadem with 'holy to the Lord' inscribed on the plate. After all the work for the tabernacle and tent of meeting was finished, Moses inspects the work that had been done. He ensures everything was done according to what the Lord commanded. Moses blesses all the workers after they pass inspection."
Moreover, from the blue and purple and scarlet fabric, they made finely woven garments for serving and ministering in the Holy Place; they made the holy garments for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
2 Bezalel made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and fine twisted linen. 3 Then Bezalel and Oholiab hammered the gold [into thin sheets] and cut it into threads to work into the blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and into the fine linen, the work of a skilled craftsman. 4 They made attaching shoulder pieces for the ephod; it was attached at its two [upper] edges. 5 The skillfully woven sash with which to bind it, which was on the ephod [to hold it in place], was like its workmanship, of the same material: of gold and of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and fine twisted linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
6 They made the onyx stones, set in settings of gold filigree; they were engraved as signets are engraved, with the names of [the twelve tribes of] the sons of Israel. 7 And he put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be memorial stones (a remembrance) for the sons of Israel (Jacob), just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
- THE PRIEST AS A MEDIATOR. God wanted to redeem Israel, raise Israel as His firstborn (because Jesus, the ultimate firstborn will eventually come from them), forgive and cleanse Israel from all of its sins. Thus, He commanded the making of Tabernacle of Testimony, and appointed priests to temporarily "mediate" for the people of Israel. God empowered the Israelites (mainly Bezalel and Oholiab) with His Spirit to have all the skills in making everything according to God's commands and plans. When you think about it, everything truly comes from God. We cannot serve or give Him anything that we did not receive from Him-- it was Him who gave first, it was Him who loved first. The High Priest in Moses' time foreshadows the coming of the ULTIMATE HIGH PRIEST, who is Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah!
"Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." Hebrews 2:17
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:14-15
8 Bezalel made the breastpiece, the work of a skillful craftsman, like the workmanship of the ephod: of gold and of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and fine twisted linen. 9 It was square; they made the breastpiece folded double, a [hand’s] span long and a [hand’s] span wide when folded double. 10 And they mounted four rows of stones on it. The first row was a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald; 11 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they were mounted in settings of gold filigree. 14 The stones corresponded to the names of the sons of Israel; they were twelve [in all], corresponding to their names, engraved like a signet, each with its name, for the twelve tribes. 15 And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords of pure gold. 16 They made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. 17 Then they put the two twisted cords of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastpiece. 18 They put the [other] two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. 19 They made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inner edge which was next to the ephod. 20 Furthermore, they made two [other] gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at the front of it, close to the place where it is joined, above the woven sash of the ephod. 21 They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would lie on the woven sash of the ephod, and so that the breastpiece would not come loose from the ephod, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
27 And they made tunics of finely woven linen for Aaron and his sons, 28 and the turban of fine linen, and the ornamental caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twisted linen, 29 and the sash of fine twisted linen, and blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, the work of an embroiderer, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
30 They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engravings of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.” 31 They tied a blue cord to it, to fasten it on the turban above, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
- RICH IN DETAIL AND SYMBOLISM. I think the reason why the priestly garments were so intricately designed by God, and made skillfully, was because it represents Lord Jesus, God's own Son that He sent to be the Redeemer and Mediator, to pay all the penalty of our sins, to be the ultimate sacrifice, the Lamb of God, once and for all. The work and commitment of a High Priest is a special calling, it was no ordinary job. It is being "Jesus Christ" to all the stubborn, rebellious Israelites.
Footnotes: Exodus 39:34 The meaning of the Hebrew word is not certain; some scholars have suggested that the material is instead a fine leather of unspecified origin.
"The garments mentioned in this chapter are set aside for the high priest to wear in the presence of God. These garments were holy because they are set apart for the service of God. These garments are symbolic of the Christian life. As Christians we must be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Then, we must live a life to back it up."
"Again, the Old Testament pictures for us the amazing atonement of the perfect sacrifice of the Lamb of God dying for our sins on the cross, and clothes us with robes of pure righteousness. We stand before a holy God dressed in robes of righteousness without spot and without blemish. The Hebrew prophet Isaiah wrote: "I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61:10).
Believing sinners are treated by a righteous God as righteous through their union with Christ. They are justified and saved. God sees us "in Christ."
Believing sinners are treated by a righteous God as righteous through their union with Christ. They are justified and saved. God sees us "in Christ."
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