And thou shalt weave the vest of byssus; and thou shalt make a turban of byssus; and thou shalt make a girdle of embroidery.
Where this garment sat on the body shapes what it pictures.
The tunic (or "coat" — KJV) was an undergarment, woven of fine linen (v. 39). After the priests had been washed, this was the first garment put on them (Lev. 8:6-7). So it speaks of the inward moral purity of the Lord Jesus. That purity fit perfectly with all the outward displays of His glory and beauty. Not only was it true that "He committed no sin" (1 Peter 2:22), but also "in Him there is no sin" (1 John 3:5). The sash for the tunic was also woven of fine linen and used for binding the tunic in place. It reminds us that all the inner thoughts and motives of the Lord Jesus were always kept in perfect control.
The same coat is read as a picture of what could never be true of Aaron himself:
Aaron's embroidered coat, of fine linen, with its girdle of needlework, still remains to be noticed (Exod. 28:39). This coat was worn as an inner vest (Lev. 8), and it pictures the personal purity of the Son of God.
Two places in the New Testament fix the meaning of fine linen.
Fine linen has two references in the New Testament which show its meaning. It was the material the veil was made of. In Heb. 10:20 we read, "the veil, that is, His flesh" — that is, the very body of Christ. And again, in Rev. 19:8, "the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." Both thoughts seem to be found in the coat — Christ Himself, in the character of righteousness. The further idea of the embroidery would be one of special enrichment, about which we are told no detail. It was of divine pattern, for Moses was to make everything after the pattern shown him on the mountain. It may suggest to us not simply righteousness of life, but that divine righteousness we find in the New Testament, the "righteousness of God."
Linen alone would speak of purity. The needlework tells of something added.
The fine linen, as always, is a type of personal purity — and, applied to Christ, of absolute personal purity. Its embroidery tells us that, as such, He was adorned with every grace. So all the garments alike speak of Christ. But remember: they were the shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things themselves. This caution is always needed when considering types and figures.
The turban covered the head, and it too was linen.
The head-dress of the high priest. It was made of fine linen. A blue cord fastened to it "the plate of the holy crown of pure gold," engraved with the words "Holy to the Lord." This plate came across the forehead. The turban pictured how the Lord Jesus, as the Minister of the sanctuary, or holy place, upholds purity, righteousness and holiness.
This covering also speaks of what went on inside the head:
The turban was to be made of fine linen (v. 39). The fine linen was pure and white with no blemishes in it. Aaron's head was to be wrapped in this pure white turban. Everything that passed through his thoughts was to have the pure character that turban represented.
One detail gives this plain coat unexpected weight: the day of the year it was worn on.
This innermost garment speaks of the utter perfection of the life and walk of our adorable Lord and Saviour. It is significant that on the Great Day of Atonement the High Priest did not wear his garments of glory and beauty, but this coat of fine linen. Our Lord went to the cross, not in His claims to universal dominion, nor in His kingship over the Jews, but in the perfection of His life. Death had no claim upon Him. So He was able to lay down His life as an atoning sacrifice for sin, and for our eternal blessing.
Aaron's sons were robed too, and that robing carries a meaning for believers.
The robing of Aaron's sons is really the putting on of Christ. This brings them into association with Him, for the Church has nothing apart from Christ. Believers are brought into the position of priests, and into the enjoyment of priestly privileges, only because of their connection with Him. He is the Priest, and He it is who makes them priests.
- Inner. The coat was the first garment put on after washing and worn nearest the body — purity that starts inside, not display.
- Bound. The sash held the coat in place, picturing inner thoughts and motives kept under perfect control.
- Covered. The linen turban enclosed the head, holiness reaching even to what passes through the mind.
- Enriched. The embroidery adds grace to purity — yet commentators warn that types remain shadows, not the thing itself.
- Shared. Aaron's sons wore the same linen; believers are priests by their link with Christ, wearing what He supplies.
And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make vests; and thou shalt make for them girdles; and high caps shalt thou make for them, for glory and for ornament.
Exodus 28 spends almost forty verses on the high priest's rich robes. One sentence then covers the plain clothes of his sons — yet God gives both the same purpose, which raises the question of where such glory comes from.
One writer notes how unexpected this wording is. The rich robes of verse 2 are easy to call splendid; these plain items are not.
When we look closely at the first set of garments — the ones that belonged to Aaron alone — we can easily see why they were "for glory and for beauty" (verse 2). It is surprising, at first sight, to find the same words used of the far simpler items worn by both Aaron and his sons (v. 40). And yet we can see that these linen garments had beauty and meaning too.
The explanation offered is that in neither case did the glory belong to the wearer.
The closing verses of our chapter say far less about the much plainer linen garments that the sons of Aaron were to wear in their lesser service. Still, these too were to be "for glory and for beauty." With Aaron, and with his sons as well, the glory and the beauty were put on them. They were not their own by nature. And so it is for us today.
The garments did two things at once: they hid something and they showed something.
The sons of Aaron were clothed as well. Their natural nakedness was not to show. What showed was the glory and the honour God clothed them with. The sash of service also marked them out.
The choice of linen carries its own message, and it is one that makes a demand on anyone who serves God.
Bible readers know linen as a symbol of practical purity and righteousness (see Rev. 19:8). Our true High Priest had these qualities perfectly (Heb. 1:9 and 7:26). And they are essential for anyone today who wants to serve as a priest and does so — and that should be every Christian.
Aaron's robes and his sons' coats stand for two different things — one belonging to Christ Himself, the other given to His people.
Here we have Aaron and his sons, a picture of Christ and the Church, standing in the power of one divine and everlasting righteousness. Aaron's priestly robes express the qualities that belong to Christ Himself — essential, personal, and eternal. The "coats" and "caps" of Aaron's sons stand for the graces God gives the Church, because it is joined to the great head of the priestly family.
So where does the sons' beauty come from? One writer traces every bit of it to the Priest they stand beside.
To robe Aaron's sons is really to put Christ on them. This brings them into association with Him, for the Church has nothing apart from Christ. If believers are brought into the place of priests and enjoy priestly privileges, it is because of their connection with Him. He is the Priest, and He is the one who makes them priests… every blessing and privilege of the priestly family comes from Christ. But first they must be clothed with robes for glory and for beauty — robes that adorn them with the glory and beauty of Christ.
Another writer draws out what this means for how God regards the worshipper.
Every detail of the sons' robes, and of their father's robes too, speaks of Christ. What does this picture show? Every Christian is covered with the perfections of Christ, so that the holy eye of God sees nothing but Christ upon us when we draw near to Him in faith.
The order in which the items are listed carries its own lesson.
Verse 40 shows that the sons of Aaron also had tunics made for them. The account names Aaron's outer garments first, but with his sons the inner garments come first. Christ is the Object of our worship, and all His outward glories prove what He is within. With us it works the other way. We must begin with our inward thoughts, and have them judged and disciplined according to the will of God. The sash also reminds us of strict self-discipline.
- Given, not grown. The glory and beauty of the sons' clothing was "put on them," not "their own by nature."
- Given through Christ. Robing the sons means putting Christ on them, since "He is the Priest, and He is the one who makes them priests."
- Given to all, not a few. Aaron and his sons wore the plain linen, a picture of believers joined to their High Priest in priestly service.
- Given with a demand. Linen stands for practical purity — "essential for anyone today" who serves as a priest.
- Given from the inside out. For the sons the inner garments come first: we "must begin with our inward thoughts, and have them judged and disciplined according to the will of God."
And thou shalt clothe with them Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and hallow them, that they may serve me as priests.
Moses must first dress his brother Aaron and Aaron's sons in the robes just described. Then come three acts done to them, not by them: anointing, ordaining, and setting apart — all so that they may serve God as priests.
One writer takes the verbs one at a time and gives each its plain force.
They were to be anointed (v. 41), which is a picture of all believers today being anointed by the Spirit of God to enable them for priestly service (1 John 2:20). They were also consecrated, which showed that they were entirely devoted to God's interests. And they were sanctified — set apart from others for the sacred purpose of glorifying God. How good it is for believers to keep these things in mind, given the great dignity they have as priests of God.
The robes go on before the oil. That order matters for what Aaron's sons picture.
Aaron's sons typify Christians, viewed not as members of Christ's body, but as belonging to the priestly family of which Christ is the Leader and Head. Every detail of the sons' robes, as well as of the robes of their father, speaks of Christ. So what do we have in this picture? Every Christian is so completely covered with the perfections of Christ that God's holy eye sees nothing on us but Christ when we draw near in faith before Him!
In the later account of the anointing, Aaron does not receive the oil in the same way his sons do. One writer shows what that difference means.
Aaron alone is anointed first, without blood (Lev. 8:12). When his sons come into it, he stands with them. Then the blood of consecration is put on him and on them. That blood is the righteous ground for their being anointed with him. So Jesus alone could be and was anointed — and as man, note — without the shedding of blood. The Holy One of God, He needed no offering to receive the Holy Spirit in this way. But if He would have us enjoying the fellowship of that anointing from on high, blood there must be, and was.
Where the ESV says "ordain," older translations say "consecrate." The Hebrew word behind it is not about effort. It is about receiving.
The word translated "consecrate" in this chapter means, as the margin shows, "to fill the hand." This gives us the scriptural meaning of consecration. The general idea is that consecration lies in our yielding something to God. So the soul is thrown back on itself and looks for strength to devote itself and all its energies to God's service. With this in view, it is often called on to reach that by a solemn act of self-surrender. Scripture reveals a better way. It lies, as seen in this chapter, in being filled with Christ.
Another writer names what filled those hands.
Aaron and his sons were a company whose hands were filled with the excellencies of Christ, and who entered into the delight of God in Him. The sweet savour of Christ to God filled their hands.
The verse names anointing and consecrating as two acts, not one. One writer holds them apart, and says what consecration costs.
So was Aaron, once dressed in these robes, God's High Priest? No. He needed consecration for that. True, he was already anointed. But the anointing did not make him High Priest. For that he must be consecrated. See Ex. 28:41; 29:29, which distinguish between these. Along with his sons he was consecrated, and here a key principle comes out: consecration for priesthood cannot happen without death. There never was a High Priest of God's appointment consecrated without death first taking place.
The closing clause names the goal. One writer marks how astonishing that goal is, and on what basis it became possible.
It is probably in Ex. 28:41 and Ex. 29 that we have for the first time the full teaching about consecration. And it is a blessed thing to remember this. The voice of the LORD alone broke the silence of the holy mountain. He was instructing Moses about what fitted Aaron and his sons to minister to Him in the priest's office. Man was to be allowed to approach Him in His earthly courts. A thing unheard of until then — indeed, impossible. But redemption had now been accomplished in the power of the sprinkled blood, and the LORD would have His dwelling place with man.
- Clothed — the robes go on first. The priestly family wears what speaks of Christ, so God's eye rests on Christ when they draw near.
- Anointed — the oil pictures the Spirit. Aaron alone received it without blood, as Christ did. His sons received it only after blood, as believers do.
- Filled — "consecrate" means "to fill the hand." Consecration is not something we squeeze out of ourselves. It is being filled with Christ.
- Set apart — sanctified means separated from all others for the one purpose of glorifying God.
- Sent in — every step aims at one goal: that men may serve God as priests. Commentators say the full teaching on consecration starts here, and that it rests on death and shed blood.
And thou shalt make them linen trousers to cover the flesh of nakedness; from the loins even to the hips shall they reach.
Exodus 28 dresses Israel's priests in gold, jewels and colour, then ends with a plain garment nobody would ever see. Why does God command linen undergarments — and why does the next verse make wearing them a matter of life and death?
One writer sets out what these garments were, who had to wear them, and what it cost to skip them.
Linen trousers were made for both Aaron and his sons (v. 42). These were clearly undershorts, since they reached only from the waist to the thighs. Moral purity is again the point. All of them had to wear these undergarments when they entered the tabernacle. They had to represent the purity of the Lord Jesus rightly, as God sees it. The penalty for disobedience was death (v. 43).
The other garments in the chapter were made "for glory and beauty." This one had a different job, and the word for it says so.
The linen coverings, or "concealers" (that is the literal meaning), had a negative purpose: they were there to hide man. (Ex. 28:42.) The rest of the robes were there to adorn (v. 40) the man who pictured Christ. All the garments worn next to the body were of shining linen. Only the coverings were of plain linen. Holiness, or purity at its brightest, was written on each of the others.
Through most of Exodus 28, Aaron pictures Christ. Here that breaks down, because Christ had nothing to hide.
Aaron wore these as well as his sons. He could not picture Christ in this. Blessed be God, in Him there was no nakedness that needed covering. He was absolute perfection. But with Aaron and his sons, this careful provision shows that we are dealing with a holy God. There must be no presumption in His holy presence.
Where the command sits in the chapter says the same thing. The undergarments do not appear in the high priest's own list of robes. They show up only when his sons come into view.
Notice that the high priest's garments do not include linen undergarments. Their whole purpose was to cover "naked flesh." So we can see why God, who had Christ in view, left them out. Still, Aaron was a sinful man just as much as his sons. So when the garments for Aaron's sons are described later, these necessary coverings are set down with care.
God did the clothing Himself. Something disappears from view, and something else goes on in its place.
The sons of Aaron were clothed too. Their natural nakedness was not to show — what showed was the glory and honour God clothed them with. The sash of service also marked them out.
Nakedness was not the last word.
Man was not left in his nakedness. More than that, grace clothes him, as it pleased Jehovah, for His presence in the sanctuary.
The command names the exact area to be covered. One writer draws a lesson for Christian service from that detail.
Third, the text states plainly that the linen undergarments were to cover the flesh "from the hips to the thighs" (verse 42). Activity of the flesh (that is, flesh on show) and priestly service do not go together. Note in passing that the Lord Jesus had no sinful flesh: "in him there is no sin" (1 John 3:5). This shows again that Aaron pictures the Lord Jesus only when he is named on his own, not when he is named together with his sons.
Verse 43 makes the requirement equal — the same covering, for father and sons alike, or they die. Read as a picture, that shared requirement has a positive side.
Here we have Aaron and his sons, picturing Christ and the Church, standing in the power of one divine and everlasting righteousness.
- Covered — the undergarments were "concealers." Every other robe was made to adorn the man. These were made to hide him.
- Cost — the covering was not optional dress code. Without it, a priest who entered the tent would die.
- Christ — the picture breaks here. Aaron wore them because he was a sinful man; there was no nakedness in Christ that needed covering.
- Clothed — God does not merely hide what is shameful. Grace clothes the priest with glory and honour for His own presence.
- Consistent — the covering God required stays on during service. Displayed flesh and priestly ministry do not go together.
And they shall be upon Aaron and his sons when they enter into the tent of meeting, or when they come near to the altar to serve in the sanctuary; that they may not bear iniquity and die -- an everlasting statute for him and his seed after him.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.