Sat.’s Devo - The Priestly Garments

Read: Exodus 28:1-43; Matthew 25:31-26:13; Psalm 31:9-18; Proverbs 8:12-43 God told Moses to set Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar apart so they could minister to the Lord as priests. They were to wear sacred garments to distinguish them as priests. Craftsmen with wisdom were to make an ephod, a robe, a patterned tunic, a turban and a sash from linen cloth, gold thread, blue, purple and scarlet thread. The high priest, Aaron was to wear the ephod, sash, breastplate, mitre, and robe. Aaron represented Jesus, our high priest. *** The ephod was to be made first and it would be like a vest with a sash. Two onyx stones were cut with the name of six of the tribes engraved on one and the other six tribes on the second stone. These stones were to be attached to the shoulders so that when he went before the Lord, he was representing all the tribes to the Lord. God could look down from heaven and see their names and bless them. They made a curious girdle which was a sash to wear over the ephod. Jesus carried all the sins of all mankind past, present and future on himself when he died on the cross. This ephod and sash was the “loins girt about with truth” in Ephesians 6:14. *** On his chest, he would wear the breast plate of judgment which was a cloth square that had the stones of all the tribes of Israel in rows of three. It was held to the priest’s chest with gold chains that went from the onyx stones on the shoulders to the top corners of the breastplate. Then there were gold chains at the bottom corners that went around his waist. In a pocket on the inside of the breastplate, the Urim and the Thummim were kept. These were stones that when the priest asked of the Lord a question, he would take one of the stones out and one was “yes” and the other was “no”. This breastplate of judgment went over the priest’s heart as he judged with the heart of Christ. In Ephesians 6, this is the breastplate of righteousness. *** Over all this was the robe which was all blue. It was bound in gold around the neck. It had a hem of pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet. Between the pomegranates were bells so he made a sound every time he moved. Pomegranates represent the Word of God since there are the same number of seeds in the fruit as precepts in the law. *** A gold plate was made with the words HOLINESS TO THE LORD engraved on it. It was to be woven onto the mitre with blue lace. Aaron was to wear it on his forehead to bear the iniquity of the holy things the people offered to the Lord, so that their gifts would be accepted by the Lord. In Ephesians this is the helmet of salvation. *** Aaron’s sons were to wear coats, sashes and bonnets for their heads. Aaron and his sons were also to wear linen breeches to cover their legs. They were to represent Jesus, so they had to be holy. *** We are now God’s priests on the earth and we are to wear these garments spiritually, plus the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit. Our walk should always bring peace. *** In Matthew, Jesus tells us what will happen when he returns in all his glory. He will sit upon his throne and all the nations will be gathered to him. Then he will begin to judge placing the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. To the ones on his right he will bless and they will inherit the kingdom prepared for them, because they treated the least of the people with kindness. They fed the hungry, clothed the naked and visited those who were in prison and God took it personally. The would receive eternal life. *** But, the ones on the left received God’s rebuke because they didn’t do any of these things. Their reward would be eternal punishment. *** Then Jesus reminded them that after two days, he would be betrayed to be crucified. The high priest, Caiaphas was plotting with the other scribes and elders of the people to take Jesus secretly and kill him. They didn’t want to do it on the feast day because the people might oppose them. *** Jesus was at Bethany eating at Simon’s house when a woman came in with precious ointment and poured it on his head as he sat eating. The disciples wondered why Jesus would let her waste the expensive oil instead of selling it, and giving it to the poor. Jesus perceived their thoughts and said that this woman had discerned the time and had prepared him for his burial. They would have plenty of time to give to the poor, but not much time was left to tend to him. She would be remembered throughout history for being obedient. *** We will always be judged by others about how we live, and especially how we spend our money. We have to be in tune to what God is saying and know his nature. God loves to bless his people and we should never be afraid to enjoy his blessings. We give as we are moved by the Holy Spirit to give. We have to be confident in our walk with Jesus and walk our walk. *** Lord, all we have is yours. May we rejoice when it is time for rejoicing and mourn when it is time to mourn. Give us discernment to live our lives according to our assignment and not be tripped up by what others think.