EXODUS LESSON 47

     We will begin this lesson in Exodus 28:1 "And take thou unto thee
Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of
Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, [even]
Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons."

     God was telling Moses, here, to separate Aaron and his sons for
priests for the temple of God. Notice here, also, that Aaron was to
minister to God. The job of a high priest was two-fold. Not only was
he to present himself as a representative of God to the people, but
also, was to represent the people to God once a year on day of
atonement. You will find that the garments he wore in carrying out
these duties were two separate garments. We will get into that a
little later. There was a high priest, who was the only one allowed to
enter the Holy of Holies and the priests who could enter the Holy
place.

     "Abihu" means worshipper. "Nadab" means liberal. "Eleazar" means
God is helper. "Ithamar" means coast of the palm tree.

     Exodus 28:2 "And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy
brother for glory and for beauty."

     God was explaining that Aaron, the high priest, must not dress
just any old way. This garment should be beautiful, not only to please
Aaron, but to please God. These garments would be worn by Aaron for a
specific purpose. These garments had a meaning. This glory was to
separate Aaron from the people. They would know just by his dress, that
he was the high priest. These were not to be just regular clothing.

     Exodus 28:3 "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."

     Some, in the families of the Israelites, had been specially
gifted with the knowledge and skill by God to make this garment for
Aaron. It must be made precisely to specifications. This "consecrate"
means to set aside, or sanctify.

     Exodus 28:4 "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."

     These were the separate items that Aaron was to wear. they were not
necessarily in the order he would put them on. In chapter 6 of
Ephesians, we see the garment that Christians are to be clothed in. If
we carefully look at the two, we can probably see some comparisons.
Ephesians 6:13 "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that
ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand." Ephesians 6:14 "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about
with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;"
Ephesians 6:15 "And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel
of peace;" Ephesians 6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the
wicked."  Ephesians 6:17 "And take the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"

     You see, both have a breastplate, both have a head piece, and
both have something about the feet; to mention a few. As we go on, I
believe we will be able to see more similarities.

     Exodus 28:5 "And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine linen." Exodus 28:6  "And they shall make the ephod
[of] gold, [of] blue, and [of] purple, [of] scarlet, and fine twined
linen, with cunning work."

     This "ephod" was kind of like an over garment. this was made of
the fine linen and colored linen of blue, purple, and scarlet. This
was the garment the breastplate would fit over. This was held together
on the shoulders by the two onyx clasps, we will read about in the next
verse. The material was sewn by gold thread which held it together.
This beautiful, thin, pure gold thread was what it was sewn with. In
chapter 39 verse 3. we read about this gold thread. Exodus 39:3 "And
they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut [it into] wires, to
work [it] in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in
the fine linen, [with] cunning work." This gold interwoven in this
garment made it beautiful.

     Exodus 28:7 "It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined
at the two edges thereof; and [so] it shall be joined together."
Exodus 28:8 "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." Exodus
28:9 "And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names
of the children of Israel:" Exodus 28:10 "Six of their names on one
stone, and [the other] six names of the rest on the other stone,
according to their birth."

     We need to take another look at this garment of linen (blue,
purple, and red) sewn together with this beautiful 24 kt hammered gold
thread. This garment and the girdle of the ephod were both of the same
material. In fact, it was difficult to separate the two as they were
part of the same garment. The Hebrew word translated "onyx", here, means
to shine with the luster of fire. this was a very precious stone to
have this brilliance, and is not the same stone we call onyx today.
This stone on each side of the shoulder was mounted in pure gold, and
the stone on each shoulder was engraved with six of the twelve tribes
of Israel. Both stones together carried all the names of the children
of Israel. Aaron carried the names of all the tribes on his shoulders.
This girdle of the ephod, probably, held the garment close enough to
spiritually make it a part of the high priest's body.

     Exodus 28:11 "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."

     These names were on these stones like a signet on a ring. The
family name had an initial, or a symbol, that left no doubt which of the
twelve tribes it was. One of the things {on the high priest's
shoulder} indicates the responsibility of the pastor for his, or her,
congregation. The weight of the church falls upon the shoulder of the
pastor.

     Exodus 28:12 "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."

     These "stones of memorial", here, just meant that Aaron was not
just representing himself when he appeared before God, but was, in
fact, representing himself and all the children of the twelve tribes
of Israel.

     Exodus 28:13  "And thou shalt make ouches [of] gold;"

     This just means that the stones that bore the names of six tribes
on each shoulder were set in a gold mount. Gold meaning "God" shows us
that God was right there with them, as long as they were stayed in Him.

       Exodus 28:14 "And two chains [of] pure gold at the ends; [of]
wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to
the ouches."

     These chains would be connected to the ouches and the breastplate
to secure the breastplate to the garment of the high priest.

     Exodus 28:15  "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."

     This breastplate was like an ornament. In fact, that is what the
original word translated breastplate means. the Greek word for
breastplate is translated oracle. We find that the breastplate was made
of this same fine twined linen; woven with blue, red, and purple that
was used in the ephod.

     Exodus 28:16 "Foursquare it shall be [being] doubled; a span
[shall be] the length thereof, and a span [shall be] the breadth
thereof."

     This was a square piece to be worn in the center of the front.
This was doubled to make a kind of pouch at the back called the Urim
and Thummin. I believe this Urim and Thummin held a stone engraved
with the unspeakable name of God on it; next to the heart,
under the breastplate. "Urim" means lights or fire, and "Thummin"
means perfections. We will see by this that God speaks through the
heart.

     Exodus 28:17 "And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, [even]
four rows of stones: [the first] row [shall be] a sardius, a topaz,
and a carbuncle: [this shall be] the first row."  Exodus 28:18 "And
the second row [shall be] an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond."
Exodus 28:19 "And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst."
Exodus 28:20 "And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper:
they shall be set in gold in their enclosings." Exodus 28:21 "And the
stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve,
according to their names, [like] the engravings of a signet; every one
with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes."

     We see, here, that this square breastplate had four rows of three
stones each. These stones were set down in little gold holders. Each
stone had one name of one of the tribes of Israel engraved in the
stone. The mark, or signet, signified which tribe it represented. This
breastplate's position over the heart tells us that the high priest
had all the people on his heart all the time. We talked earlier about
the Urim and Thummin being inside this breastplate. The stones
in various colors, probably, had some significant reason and meaning.
Each family, possibly, had a stone, or color, or both, that represented,
along with their signet, their tribe. These, perhaps, were not the same
names these stones are known by in our society today.  Since we are
unsure of any further meaning, we will not belabour this point. We are
all precious stones to the Lord.

     Exodus 28:22  "And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at
the ends [of] wreathen work [of] pure gold." Exodus 28:23 "And thou
shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the
two rings on the two ends of the breastplate." Exodus 28:24 "And thou
shalt put the two wreathen [chains] of gold in the two rings [which
are] on the ends of the breastplate." Exodus 28:25 "And [the other]
two ends of the two wreathen [chains] thou shalt fasten in the two
ouches, and put [them] on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it."
Exodus 28:26  "And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt
put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof,
which [is] in the side of the ephod inward."  Exodus 28:27 "And two
[other] rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two
sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over
against the [other] coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the
ephod."

     We see that these chains of gold connected the ephod, breastplate,
 and ouches together. The chain that binds the church and
its people together is of God. This chain from the ouches went through
the rings and connected all the garments.







                          Exodus 47 Questions

1.  Who did God tell Moses to set aside for the priesthood?
2.  Name them.
3.  What two jobs did the high priest have?
4.  Who was the only one who could enter into the Holy of Holies?
5.  What does "Abihu" mean?
6.  What does "Nadab" mean?
7.  What does "Eleazar" mean?
8.  "Ithammar" means what"
9.  What two things did the holy garments stand for?
10. Who was to make the garment of the priest?
11. What six things were they to make?
12. Where do we find the instructions on the garment Christians are to
    wear?
13. What is the sword of the Spirit?
14. What shall the ephod be made of?
15. What was the thread made of?
16. What was on the shoulders?
17. What was engraved on the onyx?
18. The word translated "onyx" means what?
19. What was the girdle like?
20. What was the engraving in the stones like?
21. What does the fact that these stones were carried on the high
    priest's shoulder mean to us today?
22. What did these stones of memorials mean?
23. What was the purpose of the two chains?
24. The breastplate was like an ______________.
25. The Greek word for breastplate means what?
26. Where was the Urim and Thummin?
27. What does "Urim" mean?
28. What does "Thummin" mean?
29. What was the shape of the breastplate?
30. How were the stones on the breastplate arranged?
31. Name the twelve stones in the breastplate.
32. What was a descriptive word used describing the girdle?