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.
And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus,
The instructions for Aaron's clothing begin with a list of raw materials — five of them, gold heading the list. Everything else in the chapter comes from these five. Why these and no others?
The list is not new. These same materials built the tent itself. That link ties the priest to the place where he serves.
Verse 5 lists the various materials they were to use, and we notice that they are the same ones used in the tabernacle itself. The ephod with its sash was the priestly garment above all others. The tabernacle and the veil showed Christ as the One in whom the fullness of the Godhead lived. In the same way, these garments spoke of Him in His priestly office.
Gold stands at the head of the list, and that order is deliberate.
The gold is mentioned first, and signifies that which is divine. If we take the gold as a picture of divine righteousness, it means that this righteousness is the ground on which Christ exercises His office as Priest. His intercession before God is according to it, and so it must prevail. The remaining four materials show the heavenly character of Christ (blue), His glories as Son of Man and Son of David (purple and scarlet), and His spotless purity (fine twined linen)... Christ acts for us as Priest in all that He is as divine and human, as the God-Man. The whole value of His person enters into the exercise of His office.
That has a settling effect on the person who trusts Him.
The golden wire-thread sparkled on the dress of the High Priest. It reminds us that Christ takes His place as our great High Priest righteously — gold pictures divine righteousness. His High Priesthood is founded on His redemptive work, truly a firm foundation. Once we understand this, heart and conscience are at rest. Our relationship with our Lord rests on one foundation: the glorious work of righteousness He accomplished on the cross for our salvation.
The way the gold was worked into the cloth carries meaning too.
The gold speaks of what is divine in our Lord, and Exodus 39:3 shows how it was used. They beat the gold into thin plates and cut it into wires, to work it in with the blue, the purple, and the rest. Woven in like that, no one could have separated the gold without destroying the whole beautiful fabric. And who can separate the human from the divine in our Lord Jesus Christ? The union of the human and the divine in His person is one of the holiest mysteries of our faith. In all His ways and words, as recorded in the Gospels, this marvellous union shines out. For example, in John 11 we see Him first as a weeper — how human that is — then as the divine One who raises the dead.
One writer adds that the gold thread was "inseparably connected with, and yet perfectly distinct from" the other materials — joined without being blurred.
Blue, purple, scarlet and fine linen speak of the priest as a man. Commentators differ on what each colour means. Dennett above takes purple and scarlet as Son of Man and Son of David. The writer below takes scarlet as service.
Blue, purple and scarlet and finely woven linen all connect with His Manhood. But they show a unique Manhood, standing out above His brothers. He is the Man from heaven — that is the blue. He is King — that is the purple. He is the one perfect Servant of God — that is the scarlet.
The materials say something about the kind of priesthood as well.
These materials also reveal the character of His priesthood. They portray royal glories as well as His essential nature and character. He will indeed be a Priest on His throne.
The high priest was not the only one dressed from this list. The same threads reappear on the priests who served with him.
The fine woven linen speaks of His moral purity, and this was also used for the garments of the other priests. However, Exodus 39:29 tells us they had sashes of blue, purple and scarlet interwoven with the fine linen. These sashes showed that they belonged with the high priest. In the same way, all believers are identified with Christ in the beauties of His perfect Manhood, though in ourselves we are far short of Him.
- Gold first. Gold heads the list, and gold means what is divine. Taken as divine righteousness, it is the ground the Priest acts on, so His intercession must prevail.
- Colours next. Blue, purple, scarlet and fine linen set out His manhood: heavenly, royal, serving, spotless, and standing above every other. Those royal glories point on to a Priest on His throne.
- Woven, not mixed. The gold was beaten into wire and woven through the colours. No one could pull it out without destroying the fabric. No one can separate the divine from the human in Christ.
- Matching the tent. The same five materials build the sanctuary and clothe the priest. The One who dwells among His people is the One who serves for them there.
- Shared with us. Those same threads reappear on the ordinary priests' sashes. Believers are identified with Christ in His perfections, though far short of Him.
and shall make the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, scarlet and twined byssus, of artistic work.
The ephod was the chief garment of Israel's high priest. This verse lists the materials it was woven from. Why does gold come first, and why does the order of the colours matter?
The ephod marked a man out as priest.
The ephod is the distinctive priestly garment. It is the badge of a service our Lord has entered and will never lay aside. That service makes good for us all the blessed results of His redeeming work.
The ephod also pictures a two-way office.
It was specially used whenever the leaders inquired of God on behalf of the people. The high priest was the true intermediary between God and the people, just as Christ is the one Mediator between God and men. He represents God before the people, and He represents the people before God. The joining together of the two parts of the ephod may have some reference to this linking together of the people with God.
Gold is named first. One writer ties it to the foundation of Christ's priesthood.
The golden wire-thread sparkled on the dress of the High Priest. Gold stands for divine righteousness. So it would remind us that Christ takes His place righteously as our great High Priest. His High Priesthood is founded on His redemptive work, truly a firm foundation. Understanding this, we have rest of heart and conscience. Our relationship with our Lord rests on the glorious work of righteousness He accomplished on the cross for our salvation.
The ephod uses almost the same materials as the veil inside the tabernacle. Two differences stand out.
The ephod was, above all, the priestly garment. It was made of the same things as the veil, except that there was no gold in the veil, and the veil had cherubim. In the ephod there is gold but no cherubim, because the priest must have divine righteousness, but he was not in the place of rule and government.
One writer warns against reading the colours in any other order.
To invert the order of these colours would be to introduce confusion into His earthly history. Blue reminds us of Him as the heavenly One. Purple tells us of His sacrifice. Scarlet foretells that the glory of the world in government will be His. His history in connection with earth comes out in regular sequence. Then the gold in the ephod witnesses of Him as a Divine Person.
Commentators differ over purple and scarlet. Another writer reads both as spheres of rule:
Purple sets forth our Lord's glory as the Son of Man with widest dominion, as King of kings and Lord of lords, the true world Emperor. Scarlet sets forth our Lord's glory as the King of Israel, as the Messiah of His earthly people.
On the linen and the skill of the weaving they agree.
Fine twined linen sets forth our Lord's spotless life. The skilled work brings before the delighted affections of the renewed mind all the beautiful details of that life of all lives. So we read, "For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26).
The gold went through several steps before it reached the loom.
The gold for the ephod was beaten into plates, then cut into fine wires. In this way it could be worked into each of the colours, and seen in every part of the ephod. Surely the Spirit of God is teaching us here. We cannot view the Lord Jesus in any of these varied features of glory without also beholding His divine glory as Son of God. We can distinguish the perfections of the Manhood of the Lord Jesus, but we can never separate them from what He is as God's own Son.
The finished garment pointed forward to someone still to come.
The ephod seemed to be saying that the people of God would only have the real Priest of God's thought when He came. He is the One in whom the pure gold of the fullness of deity has taken the lovely colours of perfect manhood in one Person. In fulfilment of this picture, these two themes form the subjects of the opening chapters of Hebrews. Chapter 1 presents the Divine Son, and Chapter 2 presents the One made like the men who are His brothers in every way, apart from sin.
- Gold first. Gold heads the list of materials and stands for divine righteousness. Christ's priesthood rests on His finished redemptive work.
- Gold everywhere. Beaten thin and cut into wire, the gold runs through every colour. We can never separate His perfect manhood from what He is as God's own Son.
- Gold, not cherubim. The ephod has the veil's materials, with gold added and no cherubim. The priest must have divine righteousness, but he is not in the place of rule and government.
- Colours in order. Invert the order of the colours and you confuse His earthly history. Commentators differ on purple and scarlet, but agree the linen is His spotless life.
- Gold worn for others. The whole woven garment is the badge of an office He entered and will never lay aside, linking a people to God.
It shall have two shoulder-pieces joined at the two ends thereof, where it is joined together.
The ephod was the garment that marked out the priest, and this verse describes how it was held together. Commentators find in the joining of its two shoulder pieces a picture of how Christ carries His people.
One writer explains what the priest's clothes stand for, then walks through the ephod piece by piece:
The priest is clothed in special garments. These garments are only pictures of what is real in Christ as He carries out His priesthood. The garment that belonged uniquely to the priest was the ephod. "Doeg turned and attacked the priests, and killed eighty-five men that day who wore a linen ephod." David used the ephod when he "inquired of the Lord." The ephod had two pieces: one in front and one behind. Two shoulder pieces joined them at the two edges. A belt wound round the body held it in place. Above that sat a square piece, folded double to form a breastplate, which carried the names of the children of Israel.
The ephod looked much like the veil of the sanctuary. One commentator notes what is added and what is left out:
The ephod resembled the veil of the sanctuary, but with important differences. There were cherubim in the veil but not in the ephod. The veil speaks of Christ's holy humanity (Heb. 10:20), and the cherubim speak of government and judgement. So we learn that these high offices are meant for the hands of the man Christ Jesus. But the cherubim would have been out of place in the ephod, every detail of which speaks of priestly grace. But gold — a picture of what is divine — had no place in the veil, yet it must come into the ephod, for our great High Priest is "Jesus the Son of God" (Heb. 4:14).
Commentators read the shoulder as the place of strength, and find meaning in the number of shoulders:
In Scripture the shoulder is the place of power. We read, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder" (Isa. 9:6). One shoulder is enough for the government of the world. But when it comes to Christ keeping His people in the presence of God, Scripture mentions two shoulders. So God teaches us this: the Lord Jesus, in all His ascended power, is able to keep each one of His own in the presence of God.
The same garment that holds the shoulder pieces also holds the breastplate:
The breastplate was coupled to the shoulders by rings and chains of gold. These two were never to be separated… The meaning of the picture is clear. The great High Priest carries the saints of God on His heart as well as holding them up by His power. His unchanging love stands behind His patient strength, and that strength never fails. The ephod made the breastplate and the shoulder pieces one. His is not a powerless love, or a loveless power; His power is the servant of His love, and both have no measure or end.
The people of Israel did not appear before God on their own strength. Another writer presses the contrast:
The high priest's "two shoulders" carried the weight of Israel's burden before the Lord. The New Testament answers that symbol with words like these: "He is able to help," "He is able to save." (Heb. 2:18; 7:25.)… The people appeared before the Lord by Aaron's shoulders, not by Israel's strength; by Aaron's breastplate, not by Israel's steadiness. And Christ's strength and Christ's love keep us in the presence of our God.
The ephod was not a costume for a day:
The ephod is the distinctive priestly garment. It is the badge of a service our Lord has entered upon and will never lay aside, a service that makes good for us all the blessed results of His redeeming work… The garment is held fast upon the shoulders by the onyx stones, which tell us of the glories of God.
Darby states the purpose behind it all:
It was not to acquire righteousness, but to maintain their cause before God. He is there, acting before God on the people's behalf.
- Joined — The ephod had two pieces, front and back. Two shoulder pieces held them together at the edges.
- Gold — Unlike the veil, the ephod has gold woven through it and no cherubim: priestly grace, worn by One who is the Son of God.
- Shoulders — The shoulder is the place of power. One shoulder carries the world's government. Two carry His people before God.
- Heart — One garment holds both the shoulder pieces and the breastplate. His power and His love are never separated.
- Kept — The people stood before God on the priest's shoulders, not on their own strength. Christ has taken up that service and will never lay it aside.
And the girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to its work of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet and twined byssus.
This band was not decoration. It held the ephod to the high priest's body, and commentators read it as a picture of Christ's ongoing service for His people.
Older translations call this "the curious girdle." Scripture uses its name for nothing else, and the name points to skilled work:
Two belts are mentioned here. One was on the tunic. The other, the one we are meant to notice, is called "the belt of the ephod." The word used here is used only for this special belt of the ephod, and it means "of skilful workmanship." It points to the unique perfection of the service of Christ as our Great High Priest. There is no service like His. He always lives before the face of God to intercede for us.
A belt in Scripture marks a servant at work. Notice who is wearing this one:
The belt is the sign of service; compare Luke 12:37; 17:8. Think what the gold, the purple and the rest stand for — the Deity and royal glory of our Lord Jesus. Then it is overwhelming that such a One would make Himself the servant of His people. Yet it is true. His grace is that wonderful. When He became Man He took the form of a bondservant, and He will never lay it aside… So He serves us in the heavenly sanctuary while we travel through this world. And Luke 12:37 tells us that when He brings His waiting people home, it will be His joy to put on the belt, sit them down at the table, and come and serve them.
The band used the very same materials as the ephod. Each one says something about the Priest it pictures:
The ephod was a garment that covered the upper body. It seems to have been made of two pieces, joined at the shoulders by straps (v. 7), and held by a belt (or "band") called "the curious girdle of the ephod." Its first material is gold, telling us that our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus, must Himself be God… Blue, purple and scarlet and fine woven linen all belong to His Manhood, but they show a unique Manhood that stands out above His brothers. He is the Man from heaven, and the blue says so. He is King, as the purple shows. He is the one perfect Servant of God, and the scarlet marks that out.
Commentators differ over what the colours mean. Another writer reads them like this:
The materials in the belt of the high priest were "gold" and "linen," and the colours "blue, purple, and scarlet" were displayed in the linen (Ex. 28:8). This shows the union of divine and human righteousness in Jesus our great High Priest. The colours set out His heavenly character (blue), His sufferings (purple), and His glory (scarlet).
The belt held a garment that carried names. Israel's tribes were written on the shoulders and on the breastplate:
The breastplate is linked to this belt and to the shoulder pieces of strength. It holds twelve different jewels, and on each one is engraved the name of one of the tribes of Israel… It all rests on the heart of our blessed High Priest, and it declares a love that can never change, just as the names on the shoulder pieces speak of power that will hold us up forever.
The picture can be misread. One writer draws a careful line between being served and having a servant:
He serves us, but He is certainly not our Servant. A servant is told to do this or that at his master's command. Suppose I were invited to the King's table, and he kindly brought me a cup of tea with his own hand. He would be serving me. But he would be very surprised to be told that I had called him my servant. The Lord's service for us is His own choice, and it comes from the love of His heart.
So what does this service do for us on the way?
It is in this character that He keeps up tireless intercession for us. In this way He secures for us a constant supply of mercy and grace — mercy for our weakness, and grace to help us when we are tempted — which we need as a people crossing the desert. It is a great comfort to lift our eyes and see Christ wearing His priest's belt. It assures us that He will save us all the way through.
- Girded — the belt's name is used of nothing else in Scripture. It means skilful workmanship. No service matches the service it pictures.
- Grace — the belt marks a servant. The One it pictures took a servant's place and will never lay it aside.
- Glory — woven of the same gold and colours as the ephod, it displays who the Servant is: God, the heavenly Man, the King.
- Grip — the belt holds the garment that carries Israel's names on shoulder and breast. That is power to hold us up and love that never changes.
- Guarantee — Christ still wears the priest's belt. That is our assurance He will bring His people the whole way through.