Pastors today are spokespersons for God. Pastors, Evangelists, Bible Teachers and Missionaries, are called of God for His specific purposes in all kinds of places.  When God calls and we answer, “Yes, Lord, I’m listening,” as young Samuel did with a heart for God when he first heard the Lord; God begins his unique work to set apart and equip His chosen and called from the congregation of believers. God knows exactly what each called out person will need to fulfill the work God has for them to do. It occurs to me, because I was called of God for a special work for “such a time” that the moment of answering the Call of God; a deeper burden for lost souls without God is placed on our shoulders—just as it was with God’s Son, Jesus.   

The Israelites will not only build a special place to meet with God; God is now choosing a generation of priests to enter the Holy of Holies within this structure on special days designed by God for the atonement of sins.  These chosen men are to be set apart and made holy by God. They’re work will be to seek God’s wisdom in decision making for the nation. Upon listening to God; they are the spokespersons who will rely what God says to the people.

But it doesn’t stop there. God also wants His priest to be dressed in such a way that the Israelites will know who they are and Who they represent.  God, Himself, designed their clothing with distinct significance to remind the people where they came from with knowledge, conviction, awe and reverence for Who they love, worship, and serve.  So, God’s priests will be dressed in very specific ways.  These significant garments will remind the Israelites of their heritage as decedents of Jacob’s twelve sons—The Twelve Tribes of Israel.  We are reminded that Jacob was called Israel by God for a reason as his family would birth a new nation in a new land, a promise made from God to Abraham!  After being rescued from the bondage of slavery to Egypt; it is now time to form this new nation of Israel.

Who will lead them?  God is now setting apart Aaron and his sons, (and generations to come) to be God’s chosen men who will be dressed and equipped by God to bear the sins of the people on their shoulders as they go into the Holy of Holies to meet with God and ask for atonement (forgiveness with restitution) of those sins. It was God design that the nation be led by His designated priests.  As we study the Old Testament priesthood, we will see significant parallels between the work of the Israel’s priests in the past and the ministry of “the holy priests” in the church today. 

Exodus 28

The Priestly Garments

“Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. ² Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor. ³ Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his , so he may serve me as priest. ⁴ These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. ⁵ Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.

The Ephod

⁶ “Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of skilled hands. ⁷ It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened. ⁸ Its skillfully woven waistband is to be like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.

⁹ “Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel ¹⁰ in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. ¹¹ Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings ¹² and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord. ¹³ Make gold filigree settings ¹⁴ and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings.

The Breastpiece

¹⁵ “Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions—the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. ¹⁶ It is to be square—a span long and a span wide—and folded double. ¹⁷ Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; ¹⁸ the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; ¹⁹ the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; ²⁰ the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. ²¹ There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

²² “For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. ²³ Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece. ²⁴ Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, ²⁵ and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. ²⁶ Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁷ Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. ²⁸ The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.

²⁹ “Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord. ³⁰ Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.

Other Priestly Garments

³¹ “Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, ³² with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear. ³³ Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. ³⁴ The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. ³⁵ Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die.

³⁶ “Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: holy to the Lord. ³⁷ Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.

³⁹ “Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer. ⁴⁰ Make tunics, sashes and caps for Aaron’s sons to give them dignity and honor. ⁴¹ After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.

⁴² “Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.

“This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Let’s begin by defining “consecration”.  Consecration is the transfer of a person or a thing to the sacred sphere for a special purpose or service. The word consecration literally means “association with the sacred”. Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups. The origin of the word comes from the Latin stem consecrat, which means dedicated, devoted, and sacred. A synonym for consecration is sanctification; its antonym is desecration.

God instructed Aaron and his sons to become the first temple priests. These priests ministered to the people’s spiritual needs and represented them before God.  Priests became mediators between God and the people. The priest carried God’s wisdom to the people and the people’s needs to God.  Directed by God to Moses in their forty days and nights together on the mountaintop; Aaron and his sons will be set apart to meet with God on behalf of the people.  God not only gave Moses the design for the traveling Temple and the special place within this structure to meet with Him once a year for the atonement of sins; He gave Moses the design and significance of the garments they must wear.  It wasn’t the garments that made the priests holy, it was God.

“I am the Lord, Your God.  Worship God alone. There shall be no other gods before Me” are the leading commandments God gave to His People who had lived in a land of many gods for centuries. God Chosen priests through Aaron and succeeding generations are being set apart to teach and consistently remind God’s people of their allegiance to God alone, the One who redeemed them!  To magnify a holy God, Israel had to be a holy people, and that’s why God chose Aaron and his sons.  The task of the priests (Aaron’s family) and later the Levites (the families of Kohath, Gershon, and Merari) were to serve in the tabernacle and represent the people before God. The priests were also to represent God to the people by teaching them the law and helping them to obey it. (See also Leviticus 10:8–11; Deuteronomy 33:10; Malachi 2:7). 

But over the centuries, the priests forgot God as fell into pride with attempts to be God. This ushered in a Darkness that permeated the world. God fell silent for over 400 years. The nation of Israel, because of their priests’ pride and power seeking, felt captive again.  Many were ready to give up but there were some who were still devoted and clung to the words of the prophets of God who spoke of a Messiah who would come and take away the sins of the world and set them free once more. 

The Promise was fulfilled in Jesus, God’s Son, the Messiah sent to seek and to save the lost. God chose to send His Son in the form of infant to be born to a virgin who was chosen because of her dedication to God.  Her espoused husband was also dedicated to God and chosen to lead them.  God called them for a specific task and they were pleased and happy to answer yes—no matter what people would say in their community. 

God sent His One and Only Son to earth, to be His Light in dark world of self, falling for evil’s work to destroy all the God created within us—the very people made in His own image.  But God’s Enemy could not and would not destroy what God had created for His purpose, to be set apart and consecrated as a human on earth to be sacred and perfectly holy.  Jesus, became High Priest, who was above all other priests, who not only represented God—He was God. 

Jesus, our High Priest forever, carried all the sins of the world on His shoulders as he hung on the cross of punishment and humiliation that we all deserve but did not have to endure.  Jesus endured it all, paid it all, so that we could be set completely free from all our sins, sins to be remembered no more, along with the Hope of eternal life forever with Him!  No other human priest on earth could do that—only Jesus!

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16

Believe and be saved!

Lord,

Thank you for leading us to see your glory at work through all generations!  You are God. there is no one else like You. You have proven Yourself thoroughly from Genesis to Revelation!  I believe. I’m listening. I wait on You daily with expectant Hope.  I love you with all my heart, mind, and soul.  I praise you with all that is in me for saving my soul and making me whole. I thank you for tough times that build my faith with resolve.  Thank you for opportunities to tell your story of redemption so others will know. Thank you for helping us come out of the darkness into the Light of Your love, mercy, and grace. To you be the glory!

In Jesus Name, Amen