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.
And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel
God tells Moses to cut the names of Israel's twelve sons into two onyx stones. Those names would then rest on the high priest's shoulders every time he stood before God.
One writer starts with the word "onyx", then moves from the picture to what it points to:
The Hebrew word translated 'onyx' means "flashing forth in splendour." It was a flesh-coloured gem, called by Job "the precious onyx." Two of this precious gem had to be taken and the names of Israel's tribes deeply cut into them, "like the engravings of a signet" — unmistakable and permanent. That was the shadow — but what is the substance? With reverence we say that the names of the ransomed people of God are for ever engraved in the very flesh of the Lord Jesus. He uses the figure Himself about Israel. "Behold," He says, "I have engraved you on the palms of My hands." And on the evening of the resurrection day He appeared among His disciples. He showed them His hands, His side and His feet.
Writing can be wiped off; engraving cannot. One writer follows the names into the ephod, the priest's outer garment, and on to Christ:
Israel's names were engraved in the jewels of the breastplate and of the shoulder-pieces of the ephod. The stones would have to be broken before the names could be erased. Scripture states that the breastplate was joined to the ephod, the shoulder-pieces and the girdle, so it could not be removed. No priest in Israel, therefore, could go in before the Lord without those names upon his breast and shoulders. Transfer all that imagery to our blessed Lord. The very fact that He is a Priest and remains forever secures the eternal safety of His beloved people.
One writer explains what gave each tribe its place on the stones:
Their birth was their title. In God's dealings with each He might distinguish one from another, either in His sovereignty or His government. He set Ephraim before Manasseh, gave Judah the royal place and Levi the priesthood. Here all are borne, according to their birth, on the shoulders of the high priest for a memorial before the Lord.
Two stones and twelve stones tell two different stories, and the difference matters:
The names were borne upon the shoulders of the priest according to generation; in this all are alike. On the breastplate all are different.
The gems sat in settings of gold on the priest's shoulders. One writer reads gem and gold together:
The onyx stones were gems — precious stones, picturing the excellencies of Christ. Putting this together with their gold settings gives us two things. First, that the names of His people appear upon the shoulders of the Priest in all His beauty and excellency, and, as the gold symbolises, set in divine righteousness. The shoulder is the emblem of strength. Christ therefore, as pictured here, upholds His people in the presence of God in all His almighty strength. He has the title to do so, since they are set upon His shoulders in divine righteousness and clothed with all the radiance of His own beauty. What a comfort to us when we are conscious of our utter feebleness!
Why two shoulders and not one?
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." One shoulder is enough for the government of the world. But when it is a question of Christ maintaining His people in the presence of God, we have two shoulders mentioned.
The high priest did not only speak for the people. He stood in for them on the ground of propitiation — that is, of sacrifice:
The basic idea of the high priest is that he acted as the representative of the people before God, but as their representative on the ground of propitiation. If we read the picture here, we learn something of our blessed Lord. As the great High Priest, He bears up His people — on the ground of His sacrifice — before God with divine strength. He maintains them there according to His own claims, in all the perfection and power of His own acceptability to God. His claim to be there is also our claim.
- Engraved — the names were cut in like a signet, not written on. The stone would have to break before a name could be lost.
- By birth — birth alone set the order, so every tribe was carried on the same footing. Rank and role belong elsewhere.
- In gold — gold settings hold the names. They appear before God in divine righteousness and in the beauty of the Priest who carries them.
- On the shoulders — the shoulder is the place of strength. One shoulder carries the government of the world; two carry His people.
- For a memorial — the high priest could not enter God's presence without those names. His right to be there became theirs.
six of their names on the one stone, and the six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.
Two onyx stones carried twelve names on the high priest's shoulders, six names on each stone. Rank and merit played no part in the order. The names followed the birth order of Jacob's sons. That leaves two questions: why the shoulders, and why birth?
The name of the ephod itself points to what the high priest carried.
The ephod was "the shoulder dress," the sign of the burden of the office of the wearer. On the shoulder pieces of the robe sat precious stones, engraved with the names of Israel's sons. Six names rested on either shoulder, and they did so "according to" the "birth" of those represented. The whole burden, the prosperity, and the future glory of Israel rested upon the strength of the high priest. He appeared in the Lord's presence for them.
Why six names on each stone, and not all twelve on one?
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 we read of two shoulders when it is a question of Christ maintaining His people in the presence of God. So God would teach us this: the Lord Jesus, in all His ascended power, can maintain each one of His own in the presence of God. "Christ … entered … into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf" (Heb. 9:24).
The stones themselves, and the gold they sat in, both carry meaning.
The onyx stones were gems — precious stones, figurative of the excellencies of Christ. They were also set in gold. Put the two together and you get two things. First, the names of His people appear upon the shoulders of the Priest in all His beauty and excellency. Second, as the gold symbolises, those names are set in divine righteousness. The shoulder is the emblem of strength. Christ, as portrayed here, upholds His people in the presence of God in all His almighty strength. He has the title to do so, for they are set upon His shoulders in divine righteousness. They are clothed with all the radiance of His own beauty. What a comfort to us when we feel our utter feebleness! Our memorial is always before Him, for Christ cannot be in the presence of God without our names being seen upon His shoulders.
God did make distinctions among the tribes elsewhere. On these two stones He made none.
Their birth was their title. In His dealings with each of them God might distinguish one from another, either in His sovereignty or in His government. He set Ephraim before Manasseh. He gave Judah the royal place, and Levi the priesthood. Here the high priest bears all of them, according to their birth, on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord.
The first name in that order belonged to a man who had failed badly.
The Great High Priest remembers every saint and sustains him by His power. That power is victorious over all the might of Satan and of death. Merit has nothing to do with this; it is all of grace alone. The names of Israel's tribes were engraved "according to their birth." So Reuben stood first, and Joseph and Benjamin came last. God did not let Reuben's appalling failure affect His thoughts of grace. But the failure did bring Reuben under His holy hand in discipline (Gen. 49:3-4). If Christ only took an interest in those who were worthy of His interest, where would even the best of us stand?
The same names appeared again on the breastplate. One writer sets the two lists side by side.
The priest bore the names upon his shoulders according to generation; in this all are alike. On the breastplate all are different.
Another writer draws a different contrast from the same two lists.
Names on the shoulders, according to their birth, would suggest their place of responsibility before God. Names on the breastplate, according to their tribes, would suggest the thought of privilege. God set them in that order around the tabernacle. Each time Aaron moved Godward in these garments, he represented the whole twelve tribes in the presence of God.
- Birth — the right to be on the stone came from being born into the family, not from conduct; birth was the title.
- Grace — Reuben's name stood first despite his failure. Merit has nothing to do with being carried; it is all of grace.
- Strength — the shoulder is the place of power. The whole burden of the nation rested on the priest who appeared before God for them.
- Beauty — gems set in gold. The names are held in divine righteousness, and in all the beauty of the One who wears them.
- Always — the priest could not enter God's presence without the names on his shoulders; so Christ cannot appear there without ours.
According to the work of an engraver in stone, as the engravings of a seal, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; surrounded by enclosures of gold shalt thou make them.
God tells Moses exactly how to cut the names of Israel's twelve tribes into the two onyx stones. A skilled worker must engrave them like a signet, then set them in gold. Commentators see more than craftsmanship here. How the names are cut, and what holds them, carries the message.
A signet was not a decoration. It was a working tool of the ancient world.
Stones on which words, letters, or symbols are engraved. In ancient times people pierced them and hung them from the arm or the neck on a cord or chain. Some set them in rings and wore them on the finger. The design left its mark in pieces of clay attached to official documents. In the East such a document counts as genuine only when sealed. The seal was also used to make something secure, or to guard the sanctity of things not to be revealed.
You can wipe a name off a surface. You cannot wipe a name out of stone.
Engraving came next on the precious stones, both on the shoulder plates and on the breastplate. God said of Zion, "Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me" (Isaiah 49:16). Engraving means something permanent: it cannot be erased, and it lasts. How these engraved stones move us! They speak of the deep and lasting place believers have in the heart of Christ.
The same comparison appears three times in this chapter. Each time it marks a different part of the high priest's clothing. One writer reads the three together as one picture of what Christ is for us.
"Like the engravings of a signet." This phrase occurs three times in our chapter (Exodus 28). That chapter describes the garments of the high priest in Israel. Once for the shoulders, once for the breast and once for the brow. The shoulders for strength, the breast for love, and the brow for wisdom... it is not here what we can be for the Lord in the world, but what He is for us in heaven.
The engraving had to be deep and unmistakable, cut in a precious gem. One writer then asks what this shadow points to.
The Hebrew word translated "onyx" means "flashing out in splendour" (Soltau). It was a flesh-coloured gem, called by Job "the precious onyx" (chapter 28). Two of these precious gems had to be taken, and the names of Israel's tribes cut deep into them, "like the engravings of a signet" — unmistakable and impossible to erase. That was the shadow — but what is the substance? With reverence we say that the names of the ransomed people of God are for ever engraved in the very flesh of the Lord Jesus... On the evening of the resurrection day He appeared among His disciples. He showed them His hands, His side and His feet.
The verse does not stop at the engraving. The stones are also enclosed in gold.
The onyx stones were gems — precious stones, picturing the excellencies of Christ. Put that together with their gold setting, and we get two things. First, the names of His people appear on the shoulders of the Priest in all His beauty and excellence. The gold shows that they are set in divine righteousness. The shoulder is the emblem of strength... Christ therefore, as pictured here, upholds His people before God in all His almighty strength. He has the right to do so, because they are set on His shoulders in divine righteousness, clothed with all the radiance of His own beauty. Note too that gold chains fastened the settings which held the onyx stones, binding them on His shoulders.
One writer answers from the way a gem behaves in strong light.
Here is the special excellence of a precious stone: the stronger the light on it, the brighter it shines. Light can never make a precious stone look dim; it only increases and develops its lustre... Every tribe alike, the smallest as well as the greatest, Aaron carried continually on his breast and shoulders before the Lord. Whatever their weaknesses, errors, or failures, their names still shone on the breastplate with unfailing brilliance. The Lord had set them there, and who could pluck them from it?... Who could get into the holy place to snatch from Aaron's breast the name of one of Israel's tribes?
- Engraved — the names are cut like a signet: deep, unmistakable, impossible to erase.
- Sealed — a signet made a document genuine and secure; it was also used to guard what was not to be touched.
- Set — the gold around the stones speaks of divine righteousness; gold chains hold them fast.
- Borne — the shoulder is the emblem of strength; Christ carries His people before God in almighty strength.
- Shining — a gem only grows brighter in strong light, and no one can reach into the holy place to remove a single name.
And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod [as] stones of memorial for the children of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
The ephod was the high priest's outer garment, and two engraved onyx stones sat on its shoulder pieces. They were not decoration. They carried the names of a whole nation into God's presence on one man's shoulders. Everything here turns on who bears the names and what it means to be remembered before God.
The stones sat on the shoulders. One writer compares that with Isaiah, where government rests on one shoulder.
These were to be set in settings of gold and placed one on each shoulder of the ephod. They are called "memorial stones" (v. 12). This shows that all Israel was to be kept in memory, upheld on the shoulders of the high priest. In the same way today, all believers are established in Christ, the Son of God (the gold settings), and sustained on His capable shoulders at all times. Wonderful grace! Wonderful strength! Compare Isaiah 9:6, "the government shall be upon his shoulder." The strength of one of His shoulders is enough to govern all the nations. But believers are sustained on both of His shoulders!
The names were not fixed to the cloth. They were cut into precious stones, and gold held those stones in place.
The onyx stones were gems — precious stones, picturing the excellencies of Christ. Join this with the gold they were set in, and we get two things. First, the names of His people appear on the shoulders of the Priest in all His beauty and excellency. They are set in divine righteousness, as the gold symbolises. The shoulder is the emblem of strength. Christ therefore, as pictured here, upholds His people in the presence of God in all His almighty strength. And He has the title to do so, since they are set on His shoulders in divine righteousness and clothed with all the radiance of His own beauty. What a comfort to us when we feel how weak we are! Our memorial is always before Him, because Christ cannot be in the presence of God without our names being seen on His shoulders.
The order of the names matters. One writer sets the shoulders beside the breastplate.
The priest carried the names on his shoulders in order of birth; in this all are alike. On the breastplate all are different.
The memorial rests on what gives the high priest his place: propitiation, the sacrifice that deals with sin.
The basic idea of the high priest is that he acted as the representative of the people before God. But he was their representative by means of propitiation. So Christ entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. He entered into heaven itself, to appear now in the presence of God for us. If then we interpret the picture given here, we learn this. Our blessed Lord, as the great High Priest, bears up His people before God with divine strength — by means of His sacrifice. He maintains them there according to His own claims, in all the perfection and power of His own acceptability to God. In this office Christ is a representative Person, and so His claim to be there is also our claim.
One writer notices what the stones did for the garment itself.
If the stones had not been on Aaron's shoulders, the ephod would have fallen. The names of the children of Israel fastened it. If Christ is Priest we are on His shoulders, borne as a memorial before God. He bears the burden and the government; He does all. Effectiveness depends entirely on Him, even in what we do for the Church.
The names stay on the shoulders. That decides what this priesthood is for.
The priesthood of Christ is not there to meet us when we sin. It is there to keep us from sinning. Our names are always on His shoulders, and He has an abiding, unchangeable priesthood. "Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." What a contrast this is to putting ourselves under law, or taking a pledge, to save ourselves from sin!
- Engraved — the names are cut into precious stones, not written on cloth; on the shoulders all are alike.
- Set — the stones rest in gold. The people appear before God in divine righteousness and in the Priest's own beauty.
- Borne — the shoulder is the emblem of strength; the whole nation is upheld by another's power, not its own.
- Remembered — the memorial rests on sacrifice. The Priest's claim to stand there is His people's claim too.
- Kept — the names never come off His shoulders. This priesthood keeps us from sin, not just meets us after it.
And thou shalt make enclosures of gold;
God's instructions move from the two onyx stones engraved with Israel's names to the small gold frames that hold them. Why does God give a whole verse to a jewellery fitting?
The settings belong to the ephod — the main garment Aaron wore when he acted as priest. One writer traces how the pieces fit together:
The ephod was the main garment of the high priest. Attached to it was the breastplate, with its precious stones carrying the engraved "names of the children of Israel." Onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold and engraved with the same names, were for the shoulders of the high priest. These were also attached to the ephod, which was therefore the garment of priestly office.
So the settings are not decoration. They belong to the dress the priest wears when he serves.
Gold runs through the whole priestly dress. Commentators read it as a picture of righteousness that comes from God:
The gold wire-thread sparkled on the dress of the High Priest. That gold would remind us that Christ takes His place righteously as our great High Priest, for gold stands for divine righteousness. His High Priesthood rests on His redemptive work — truly a firm foundation.
The stones sat on the shoulders, and the gold encased them. Edward Dennett draws both facts together:
The onyx stones were gems — precious stones that picture the excellencies of Christ. Put that together with their setting of gold, and two things follow. First, the names of His people appear on the shoulders of the Priest in all His beauty and excellency. Second, as the gold symbolizes, those names are set in divine righteousness. The shoulder is the emblem of strength. So Christ, as pictured here, upholds His people in the presence of God in all His almighty strength. And He has the title to do so, because they rest on His shoulders in divine righteousness, clothed with all the radiance of His own beauty.
Pollock notes a detail in the count. When the government of the world is in view, one shoulder is enough; here God names two:
One shoulder is enough for the government of the world. But when it is a question of Christ keeping His people in the presence of God, two shoulders are mentioned. In this way God teaches us that the Lord Jesus, in all His ascended power, can keep each one of His own in the presence of God. Christ "has entered ... into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf" (Hebrews 9:24).
One older translation calls these settings "enclosures of gold" — a frame that shuts a stone in so it cannot fall out. Fereday reads the craftsmanship as a picture of security:
The names were cut into the stones the way "a jeweler engraves signets." They were not written or painted, but cut deep and permanently. The stones were then "set in settings of gold." So the names could never be rubbed out, and the stones themselves could never fall out of their place.
The next verse ties twisted gold chains to these settings. The chains run down to the breastplate worn over the heart, and Fereday sees meaning in that link:
The breastplate was connected with the shoulder-pieces by gold chains (verse 25), showing the union of power and love in the Lord Jesus for the good of His people.
Witherby finds meaning in how those chains were made:
The jewels were held in place by strands of twisted gold wire — "chains of pure gold, twisted like cords." The many strands joined into one are a symbol of the many kinds of glory God has shown, which unite in one chain of unbroken strength, holding up the purpose of God.
- Gold first. The settings are gold, the metal that runs through the whole priestly dress. Writers read gold as God's own righteousness — the ground the priest stands on.
- Gold holds. A setting grips a stone. The names were cut so deep no one could erase them, and the stones could never fall out.
- Gold on the shoulder. The shoulder is the place of strength. God names two — power enough to keep each one of His people before Him.
- Gold in chains. Twisted gold links these settings to the breastplate on the heart, joining power and love in one design.
- Gold on duty. All of it hangs on the ephod, the garment of priestly office. The priest carries the names whenever he serves.
and two chains of pure gold; of laced work shalt thou make them, of wreathen work, and fasten the wreathen chains to the enclosures.
This verse describes a small fitting: two cords of pure gold, twisted like rope and fixed into gold settings on the high priest's shoulder. Why would God specify the braid of a chain, and what does it hold together?
The verse names the chains but does not say where their far ends go. Reading forward in the chapter supplies the answer.
Chains of pure gold were to be attached to each of the two gold settings for the onyx stones (v. 14). Nothing more is said of them here, but from verses 24-25 it seems likely that the other end of each chain was fastened to the breastplate.
So the chains span the distance between the two shoulder stones and the breastplate worn over the heart. The ephod was the garment of priestly office, and the breastplate hung on it by these cords.
They were evidently part of the ephod, and linked on with the breastplate to which they were firmly attached by wreathen chains of gold.
The settings named in this verse are the gold clasps that hold the engraved stones. The instructions for cutting the names were exact.
The names must not be written or painted. They must be cut deeply and permanently. The stones were then set in settings of gold. The names on the stones could never be rubbed out, and the stones themselves could never fall out of their place.
Why gold, and why the shoulder?
The names of His people appear on the shoulders of the Priest in all His beauty and excellence. The gold symbolises that they are set there in divine righteousness. The shoulder is the emblem of strength. So Christ, as pictured here, holds His people up in the presence of God in all His almighty strength. Our memorial is before Him continually, for Christ cannot be in the presence of God without our names being seen on His shoulders.
The word points to strands of gold wire twisted together, and writers find meaning in the braid itself.
The ephod was the shoulder dress, the sign of the burden of the office of the wearer. The engraved jewels were kept in their places by strands of intertwined gold wire — wreathen chains of gold. The many strands combined in one give a symbol of the many kinds of glory God displays. They unite in one chain of unbroken strength, sustaining the purpose of God.
Another writer weighs the word itself and finds in the strong band a picture of the Priest's own person. Commentators read the gold differently: others take it as divine righteousness.
The word translated "wreathen" means a strong band. The strong bands of His Godhead and Manhood show us how well and securely we are sustained, according to God. However great our testing, in our High Priest we have One who is more than equal to every circumstance of the way. He will bring us safely through.
The chains tie the shoulder stones to the breastplate. So they join the shoulder, which carries, to the heart, which loves.
The breastplate was coupled to the shoulders by rings and chains of gold, and these two were never to be separated… The saints of God are carried on the heart of the great High Priest as well as held up by His power. His unchanging love stands behind His undiminished and patient strength. 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 same names are engraved at both ends of the chain, and the link between them is deliberate.
The names of the tribes of Israel were engraved both on the onyx stones and on the breastplate. On the stones they are seen all together; on the breastplate, one by one. The shoulder pieces are connected — divinely connected, since gold is the emblem of divine righteousness — by two golden chains of wreathen work of pure gold. This assures us that the almighty power of Jesus the Son of God and His perfect love both combine to keep us in righteousness and acceptance in Himself, continually before the face of God.
None of this came from Moses. God gave every detail with someone else in view.
Moses was not left to design these garments for glory and beauty out of his own imagination. God gave him the most definite instructions about them, because He had Christ in view, and us. He would show us in picture the graces and glories of our great High Priest.
- Gold — the metal stands for divine righteousness; names set in gold are held on that ground.
- Settings — the clasps hold so tight that the names cannot be erased and the stones cannot fall out.
- Wreathen — many strands twisted into one strong cord, picturing many glories joined in unbroken strength.
- Chains — they run from shoulder to breastplate, tying His power to His love so the two never come apart.
- Christ — God gave the whole pattern with His great High Priest in view, so strength and love together keep His people before Him continually.