“And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. And the skillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for remembrance. You shall make settings of gold filigree, and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings.
The priestly uniform was an amazing garment to behold:
The purpose of the garment was to tell a story about the glory of God and the fact that He chose this nation to magnify His Glory. The holy garments were not to be taken for granted. The priest would come before God to offer the sacrifices. Therefore there needed to be both and inward and outward manifestation of the glory of God. The crafters of the garments had to take great care to craft it just as God described. Today we don’t honor God much with our Sunday-go-to-meeting dress. There was a day we dressed up for church. There is nothing wrong about coming to God in worship in shorts, flip-flops and t-shirts. However, mankind does recognize that the appropriate dress gives more honor to the occasion. Last week we went to a wedding. We were told ahead of time it was a somewhat formal event. We dressed up in honor of the bride and the groom. Yet, on Sunday I wore jeans and a sweater to teach the Sunday message. What we wear on the outside can be simply a way to convey our respect for an event. But John the Baptist showed up in clothes that the religious leaders of the day found offensive. In the Tabernacle setting God was trying to make a statement. He was trying to communicate to the people that coming to God in awe and wonder is important. God used these clothes to communicate that. In the NT we read that God wants us to approach Him in humble and contrite heart, no matter our outward dress.
1 Peter 5:6 (ESV)
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
It is not the garment you were to worship God, it is the heart you bring that is covered by that garment.
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