Verses 1-3, “Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest." People who have incredible talent often take the credit for themselves, when God is the one who gives them the wisdom and ability to do it in the first place. Conversely, when God calls us to do something, our reaction cannot be like Moses' either, who made excuses for why he could not do what God had asked of Him. God has the power to equip you to do what He calls, even if you have no natural ability. You only need to obey in faith. Romans 4:17, "...God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did."
Verses 29-30, “So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the Lord continually. And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually." A breastplate was worn to protect the heart, and the high priest would wear this one when he went before the Lord as a reminder of God's judgement. The Urim and Thummim were to be used to determine God's will at certain times, because He is the only right Judge, and true discerner of man. Unfortunately, the priests would take on the role of being judge in their self righteousness, rather than relying on God's.
God was patient with Israel, waiting for someone to rise up and plead for the people before Him. When it didn't happen, the Lord put on His own armor and destroyed His enemies to bring glory to His name. Isaiah 59:15-17, "...Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak."
We have a similar choice. We can put on God's armor and fight for Him, or He will take it on Himself and fight for His glory. Ephesians 6:10-14, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness..." Unrighteousness will be judged, therefore we must use the armor given us to stand strong in the midst of an evil world to avoid judgement.
I Thessalonians 5:6-11, "Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing." The breastplate of faith and love, through Jesus' righteousness, can protect our hearts from evil as we wait for His return. Again, a symbol of God's divide protection if we choose to use it.
“Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest." God called Aaron into this position of priest. This was a position that was inherited by birth, and it was a heavenly service. Aaron's ministry was ultimately to the Lord himself. God commanded that garments be made for the priests, and God would give certain people wisdom when making these garments. God can certainly give people spiritual wisdom. He gave the writers of the bible spiritual wisdom when writing the different books. If we ask for wisdom from the Lord, He will give it to us. They key is we need to ask.
ReplyDelete“So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the Lord continually. And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord . So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually. And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord and when he comes out, that he may not die. “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE Lord. And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. Aaron's job was to constantly go to the Lord on the Jews behalf. He would intercede on their behalf. The Urim and Thummim were used to seek God's will on matters. These were placed in the breastplate and the priest would ask God a yes or no question and pull one out. This was how God's will was sought over the Jewish people. Aaron himself had to seek God's will and live a holy life. God had the right to strike him dead on the spot. We no longer need to go to priests today, but we are priests in God's family in that our ultimate ministry is to the Lord.
“For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty. So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests." There was a difference between high priest and priests. The high priest is the one who goes in to the holy of holies, but the regular priests could not. There was a difference in the way they dressed. They still had robes for glory and beauty because their priest role was for God's glory and for Him. They did not have the breastplate of judgment as the high priest did.