And thou shalt make a thin plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, as the engravings of a seal, Holiness to Jehovah!
A plate of pure gold sat over the high priest's forehead, cut like a seal. The ESV reads "Holy to the LORD"; older versions read "HOLINESS TO THE LORD," the wording the writers below use.
The plate has a name of its own, and that name points past Aaron.
We come now to the plate of pure gold, with its striking inscription: "Holiness to the Lord" (Ex. 28:36). A blue cord fastened it to the front of Aaron's turban. Scripture twice calls it "the holy crown" (Ex. 39:30; Lev. 8:9). This reminds us that ours is a crowned Priest. He whose blessed brow was once encircled with the crown of thorns is now "crowned with glory and honour" (Heb. 2:9). Whatever God saw in the people of Israel, He always saw holiness in the priest.
A signet cuts into metal instead of marking the surface.
Topmost on the forehead of the high priest was the holy crown (Ex. 28:36). It was a plate of pure gold, engraved like a seal with the words: "HOLINESS TO THE LORD." Pure gold pictures the holiness and divinity that belong to God Himself. The high priest who wore that crown was to act under the control of the One that crown represented... No one could cover or erase those words. They were always on display.
The plate mattered more than the turban that carried it.
More important than the turban itself was the plate of pure gold with its engraved inscription, "Holiness to the Lord." So Scripture mentions it before the turban. It sat at the front of the turban, over the high priest's forehead, held there by a blue cord. The gold of the divine glory of the Lord Jesus, and the holiness of His character, shine from His forehead. This shows that all His thoughts were always for the glory of God. The blue cord implies that those thoughts are as high above ours as the heavens are above the earth (Isa. 55:9).
God's glory comes first — and that is why Aaron could not go without the plate.
The garments of Aaron were not complete without the plate of pure gold bound with a blue cord on his turban... This inscription could never be erased. It had to shine out on Aaron's forehead whenever he stood before God. He would have been no true priest without it. God must be first. Everything our Lord Jesus does as our High Priest must be for the glory of God. Without that, we could not be truly blessed.
Aaron did not wear the plate as decoration. It answered a real problem: even our best worship is imperfect and defiled.
This is the gracious provision which God has made for the imperfections and defilements of our services and worship. He can only accept what suits His own nature. So everything we offer Him must carry the stamp of holiness. If we were left to ourselves, God could never accept our offerings. That is true even though He has cleansed us, brought us into relationship with Him, and given us the right to come to Him. But He has met our need. Christ, as the Priest, bears the iniquity of our holy things; and He is holiness to the Lord, so God accepts the worship we bring through Him.
The plate was never taken off. Feelings rise and fall; the inscription does not. (The words quoted below come from an older translation.)
The golden plate on Aaron's forehead pictured the essential holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ. "It shall be ALWAYS upon HIS forehead, that THEY may be accepted before the Lord." What rest for the heart amid all the ups and downs of one's experience! Our High Priest is "always" in the presence of God for us. He represents us, and God accepts us in Him. His holiness is ours.
One day this holiness will spread far past one man's forehead.
In the past there were clean things and unclean, holy and unholy. Now all those distinctions will be gone, because everything alike will be holy, set apart to the Lord... Even the horses, unclean as they were under the law, will have "Holiness to the Lord" written on their bells or bridles. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts in the same way. The homes of the people will be in that day as holy as the house of the Lord.
- Engraved — the words were cut into pure gold like a seal. No one could rub them out or cover them. This holiness is fixed, not earned.
- Crowned — the plate is called the holy crown; the Priest who once wore thorns is now crowned with glory and honour.
- Worn — it sat on the priest's forehead, in full view before God. Whatever God saw in the people, He always saw holiness in the priest.
- Borne — the crown carried the guilt that clings to Israel's best gifts. God accepts only what suits His own nature, so our worship reaches Him through Christ.
- Always — the plate never came off, so our acceptance never wavers. One day the same holiness will cover horses, pots and homes alike.
And thou shalt put it on a lace of blue, and it shall be upon the turban -- upon the front of the turban shall it be.
The gold plate did not simply rest on the high priest's head. God said how to fasten it: with a cord of blue, at the very front of the turban (older translations call it the "mitre"). Why fasten holiness to a man's forehead, and why fasten it with blue?
One writer reads the whole arrangement — gold, forehead, blue cord — as a picture of the thoughts of Christ:
More important than the turban itself was the plate of pure gold with its engraved inscription, "Holiness to the Lord." That is why it is mentioned before the turban. A blue cord fastened it to the front of the turban, over the forehead of the high priest. So the gold of the divine glory of the Lord Jesus, and the holiness of His character, shines from His forehead. This shows that all His thoughts were always for the glory of God. The blue cord implies that those thoughts are as high above ours as the heavens are above the earth.
Blue was the colour of the cord. One writer connects it with heaven, and with the One who came from there:
The holy crown was put on a blue lace. Blue is the colour of the sky and speaks of heavenly things. Our Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven to bring God's thoughts and plans to us. He was that lace of blue! The holy crown and the lace of blue were to be set at the forefront of the mitre or bonnet of the high priest. The mitre was to be made of fine linen — pure and white, with no flaws in it. Aaron's head was to be wrapped in this pure white mitre. Everything in his thoughts was to match the pure character of what that mitre stood for.
The crown went on last, and its few words were seen both ways — before the people and before God:
The holy crown, the small band of gold worn above the cap and over the forehead, was the eighth of the garments of glory and beauty. It was put on last, as a crown always is. All the other robes lead up to the crown. The high priest's crown was remarkable for its simplicity; it was a narrow band of gold, and its ornament was neither jewels nor feathers, but a few plain words, "Holiness to Jehovah." Whether he appeared before the people as Jehovah's representative, or before Jehovah as Israel's representative, one thing always shone out over his brow. It was an ornament and glory more precious than jewels, or earth's costliest gifts — words of God.
Scripture twice gives this plate another name, and one writer follows it to the Priest who wears it now:
We come now to the plate of pure gold, with its striking inscription: "Holiness to the Lord." This was fastened to the forefront of Aaron's mitre by a blue lace. It is twice called "the holy crown" (Ex. 39:30; Lev. 8:9). We are reminded that ours is a crowned Priest. He whose blessed brow was once encircled with the crown of thorns is now "crowned with glory and honour" (Heb. 2:9). Whatever God saw in the people of Israel, He always saw holiness in the priest. This was true as a picture, of course, for in himself Aaron was no better than anyone else.
The next verse gives the reason: the priest bears the guilt of the holy things, so that the people are accepted:
This is the gracious provision which God has made for the imperfections and defilements of our services and worship. He can only accept what is suited to His own nature. Everything offered to Him, therefore, must be stamped with holiness. So if we were left to ourselves, our offerings could never be accepted. That is true even though He has cleansed us, brought us into relationship with Him, and given us a title of approach. But He has met our need. Christ, as the Priest, bears the iniquity of our holy things. He is holiness to the Lord. So our worship, presented through Him, is acceptable to God.
Aaron never took the plate off. One writer rests the believer's whole comfort on that word "always":
Here is a weighty truth for the soul. The golden plate on Aaron's forehead was the type of the essential holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ. What rest for the heart in the middle of all the ups and downs of one's experience! Our High Priest is "always" in the presence of God for us. We are represented by, and accepted in, Him. His holiness is ours.
- Gold. The plate is pure gold, and its inscription is the holiness of Christ Himself — nothing Aaron supplied.
- Blue. The cord that fastens it is heaven's colour, and the thoughts it crowns are as high above ours as the heavens.
- Front. Worn on the forehead, it faces both ways — God sees it, and the people see it.
- Crown. Twice called "the holy crown": the One who wore thorns is now crowned with glory and honour.
- Accepted. Because it never comes off, God receives imperfect worship from imperfect people — accepted in Him.
And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all gifts of their holy things; and it shall be continually on his forehead, that they may be accepted before Jehovah.
Aaron wore a plate of pure gold on his turban, engraved "Holy to the LORD." God gave it a strange task: Aaron had to carry the guilt of Israel's own gifts, so that God would accept the worshippers.
God set the plate where everyone would see it.
This plate was to be in front, upon Aaron's forehead, where it would be visible to all. He was not to forget, and no one else was to forget, that he was wholly separated to the service of the LORD. As thus separated he was to bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the people would set apart as gifts to the Lord. By this striking phrase God taught the people that nothing they offered was perfect. The solemn fact is that man is a sinner, and he defiles everything he touches, when it is seen in the light of the sanctuary.
The plate was also a crown. One writer follows that through to the priest Christians have now.
This reminds us that our Priest is a crowned Priest. The One whose brow once wore the crown of thorns is now crowned with glory and honour (Heb. 2:9). Whatever God saw in the people of Israel, He always saw holiness in the priest. That was true in the picture, of course; in himself, Aaron was no better than anyone else. The high priest carried responsibility for the people before God — in everything to do with their worship and sacrifices.
The sin in view is not in Israel's crimes but in their gifts. One writer shows how that happens in an hour of worship.
We may start some act or word of worship with our hearts taken up with Christ. Before we reach the end, we may become taken up with what we are doing or saying, or with the people listening to us. In this way we fall into what may be called "iniquity in our holy things." This is a solemn thing, and should make us very watchful. We may begin our worship in the Spirit and end in the flesh.
If God lowered His standard, the plate would serve no purpose. Writers trace the need back to who God is.
This is the gracious provision which God has made for the imperfections and defilements of our services and worship. He can only accept what suits His own nature. So everything offered to Him must carry the stamp of holiness. If we were left to ourselves, our offerings could never be accepted — even though He has cleansed us, brought us into relationship with Him, and given us the right to come near. But He has met our need. Christ, as the Priest, bears the iniquity of our holy things; and He is holiness to the Lord, so that our worship, presented through Him, is acceptable to God.
One writer sets Aaron's task beside the Christian sacrifice of praise.
Will you compare Exodus 28:38 with Hebrews 13:15? Aaron bears the iniquity of the holy things. The Christian sacrifice is praise and worship... We still have sin in us, and how often imperfections and sin get mixed into our worship. But what a blessing to know that it all goes up to God through Him. He presents our praise to God in all the fragrance and acceptability of His own person. It is not as it goes out of our lips. It may be only a few stammering sentences, but said with a true heart, which Christ takes up and presents to God.
The plate never came off Aaron's forehead. One writer reads that as the ground of a settled acceptance.
The golden plate was to be always upon Aaron's forehead that the people might be accepted before the Lord. The reality of that shadow for us is "to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved" (Eph. 1).
(Mawson quotes an older wording, "made us accepted in the Beloved.")
One writer carries this into our praying.
Our prayers ascend in holiness to the Lord, because Christ is there. He bears the iniquity in our holy things — and there is iniquity, because all our service is imperfect. So our offerings come before God according to divine holiness in Christ.
- Holiness — the plate read "Holy to the LORD" in plain sight, marking the priest as wholly set apart for God.
- Iniquity — even the gifts Israel set apart carried guilt. Worship can begin in the Spirit and end in the flesh, so stay watchful.
- Borne — God accepts only what suits His own nature. So Christ, as Priest, carries the sin that clings to our offerings.
- Presented — God does not receive our stammering words as they leave our lips. Christ takes our praise up in the fragrance of His own person.
- Accepted — the plate never left the forehead. Acceptance holds steady, resting on where Christ is, not on our best moments.