And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for ornament.
God has just called Aaron to serve Him as priest, and His first instruction is not about duties but about clothing — holy garments made "for glory and for beauty." Why would a priest need such splendid dress, and whose glory did those robes display?
Every piece is holy, and the point of it all is Aaron's service to God as priest.
All the garments of the priests were "holy garments," and Aaron's official garments were "for glory and for beauty" (vv. 2-4)... God filled gifted artisans with the spirit of wisdom, and they made these garments... Notice that Aaron was to minister to God as priest (v. 3).
One writer reads the whole outfit as a picture of the true High Priest, and follows the gold thread through it.
Aaron, robed in these garments of glory and beauty, pictures the Lord Jesus Christ in His personal, moral and official glories. These garments were made of seven items, and this in itself speaks of perfection... The gold, which sets forth the personal glory of the Son of God, was hammered thin, cut into wires and worked into the blue, the purple, the scarlet and the fine linen... whatever moral or official glories are seen in Christ, His glory as the Son of God underlies them all.
The Greek translation of Exodus used the very phrase Hebrews later applies to Christ. That link decides what kind of crown He wears now.
Aaron's garments pictured the "glory and honour" that form our Lord's present crown. They were said to be to him for "glory and beauty" (Ex. 28:2). The Septuagint uses the very same words for "glory and beauty" that our translators put as "glory and honour" in Heb. 2:7. So the Lord's present crown is a priest's crown or headdress, not a king's. He has not put on His royal crown yet.
Aaron added nothing to his own splendour. Others made the robes and put them on him.
The closing verses of our chapter give much shorter details about the plainer linen garments for the sons of Aaron in their lesser service. Still, these too were to be "for glory and for beauty." For Aaron and for his sons alike, the glory and the beauty were put upon them. Neither had any of it in himself. So indeed it is for us today.
Another writer presses the point further: the robing of the sons is where their priesthood comes from.
The robing of Aaron's sons is the putting on of Christ. This brings them into association with Him, for the Church has nothing apart from Christ. If believers, for example, are made priests and given priestly privileges, it is because of their connection with Him. He is the Priest, and He it is who makes them priests (see Rev. 1:5-6)... But in order for this they must first be clothed with robes for glory and for beauty — robes which adorn them with the glory and beauty of Christ.
One writer points to the Day of Atonement, when Aaron left the beautiful robes off.
It was on the great Day of Atonement that Aaron served without those splendid garments of "glory and beauty" that were his as high priest. On that day he had to carry out the solemn duties in the ordinary linen clothing of the priesthood, and not in the beautiful robes that belonged to him alone... When he wore only the holy linen garments, he was, to use the New Testament phrase, "made like his brothers." The splendid clothing that belonged to Aaron alone would go back on later, once the propitiatory work was finished... So the high priest's work in the linen garments (propitiation) came first, and it led on to the work in the glorious garments (intercession).
Commentators differ on how long Aaron kept those robes.
It appears that Aaron only wore these beautiful robes at his consecration. After his two elder sons failed, he had from then on to appear before God in plain linen only. The garments for glory and beauty had to be laid aside as a memorial of what might have been. In Hebrews 2:7 we read of Jesus, who is our High Priest, being "crowned with glory and honour." His garments of glory and beauty are never laid aside, since He is a Priest for ever. What a contrast!
- Glory made. The garments are holy because Aaron ministers to God, and God filled the workers who made them with wisdom for the task.
- Glory pictured. Gold worked through blue, purple, scarlet and fine linen shows the Son of God's own glory under every other glory seen in Christ.
- Glory laid down. On the Day of Atonement Aaron served in plain linen. Propitiation comes first, and the glorious robes of intercession follow.
- Glory crowned. The Greek words for glory and beauty come back in Hebrews 2. Christ's crown today is a priest's crown, not yet a king's.
- Glory shared. The glory was put on Aaron and his sons, never their own. Robing the sons is putting on Christ, and believers are priests only through Him.
And thou shalt speak with all [that are] wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to hallow him, that he may serve me as priest.
Exodus 28 opens with God naming Aaron and his sons as priests, and then turning at once to what they must wear. Verse 3 names the makers of those clothes and the source of their skill: the robes are not decoration, but the way Aaron is put into his office.
Nobody in Israel invented this uniform. God described it, and God supplied the hands able to make it. The choice of workers belongs to His plan too.
God declared what the clothing was to be. Who else could have designed it, when you consider the One whom Aaron as High Priest pictured? It was fitting, too, that God entrusted the making of it all to the wise-hearted in Israel. He had filled them with wisdom to make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, so that he might minister to God in the priest's office.
This work was done in the desert, while Israel was travelling.
Verse 4 lists the special garments that were to be made for Aaron. According to verse 3, God gave supernatural wisdom to the workers, who had to make them under the difficult conditions of the wilderness journey. […] The tabernacle and the veil set forth Christ as the One in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwelt. In the same way, these garments spoke of Him in His priestly office.
If the garments were only cloth, a good tailor would do. But they pictured a person. One writer draws the point from the making of the tabernacle itself.
There is said to be this difference between a photograph and a portrait drawn by an artist. The photograph will produce the exact features, so it may be an exact likeness. But an artist can put a living look into the picture by his own genius and spirit. So we say, "It is a speaking likeness." A man filled with the Spirit of God was needed to make the tabernacle and its vessels with divine wisdom and knowledge. Only so would they be a living, "speaking" picture of the things in heaven, with the mind of God reflected in them. It was not mere accuracy of construction, according to human skill, that was needed, but the true reflection of the wisdom of God.
The verse says the garments were made "to consecrate him" — to set him apart. Dressing Aaron did not just label a man who already held the office. It gave him the office.
He is indeed in the high-priestly dress that marks out the special service for others which he has undertaken: "this was equivalent," says Kurtz, "to an investiture with the office itself, the official dress being a visible expression of the official character." The word "investiture" is indeed a key to the meaning.
The verse ends with the reason for it all: Aaron is set apart "for my priesthood." This is not about a guilty person finding acceptance. It is about the privilege of coming near.
The purpose in setting apart a priestly family for Himself is described here in the Lord's words to Moses. First, that Aaron might minister to Him in the priest's office (vv. 1, 3, 4). […] Notice that "ministering to Him" is not a question of a soul drawing near for acceptance at the bronze altar, the place of meeting provided for a sinner. It is the privilege of drawing near, as the Lord Himself desires, into the sanctuary, according to the glory and perfection of His own presence.
This Godward direction does not push people's needs aside.
Notice that Aaron was to minister to God as priest (v. 3). Certainly his priesthood involved that "he can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward" (Heb. 5:2), but this is actually a part of his ministering to God.
- Pattern. The design was God's own. No human mind chose what the High Priest should wear, because the clothes had to picture the One Aaron stood for.
- Skill. The workers were skillful only because God had filled them. Their wisdom was supernatural, given for work done in the desert.
- Likeness. Human skill alone can copy exact features. Only God's Spirit gives a speaking likeness that reflects the wisdom of God.
- Investiture. The garments did not just mark the office. They gave it. Dressing Aaron was installing him.
- Service. It all ends in one aim: Aaron near to God, "for my priesthood." Dealing gently with people who go astray is part of that same service.
And these are the garments which they shall make a breastplate, and an ephod, and a cloak, and a checkered vest, a turban, and a girdle; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may serve me as priest.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.