And he put upon him the vest and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the cloak, and put the ephod on him, and he girded him with the girdle of the ephod, and fastened the ephod on him.
Moses has washed Aaron and his sons, and now he dresses his brother for the office of high priest, one garment at a time. God gave the directions for every item, so the real question is what He is showing us in a man being clothed.
Three chapters in the Bible describe these garments, and each does a different job:
Exodus 28 describes each item, and Exodus 39 confirms that God's directions for the High Priest's garments of glory and beauty were carried out. Leviticus 8 sets Aaron before the reader as Moses dresses him in his priestly clothes. So if Exodus 28 reminds us more of the workroom, Leviticus 8 takes us into the robing room.
These are not the plain linen clothes worn on the day of atonement:
The garments were not those of the atonement day, which were of linen only. They were "for glory and beauty": the coat and its sash, the robe, and the ephod with its skilfully woven band to fasten both firmly. Then came the breastplate with the Urim and the Thummim, and the turban with the golden plate. They express what Christ is and does for us as the great High Priest before God. This is how He represents His own.
The dressing begins with the plainest item, worn underneath everything else, where no one would see it.
To be dressed, Aaron first had to put on the coat and tie a sash round it. These were of white linen. As the garment worn under all the rest, the coat surely stands for the spotless purity of the One whom Aaron pictured. Over the white linen coat came the robe, and its colour was blue.
The robe worn over the coat was blue. One writer ties that colour to heaven:
Under the ephod was the long robe, "all of blue." Blue is the colour here most characteristic of Christ. Faith could say of Him even while He was on earth, "the Son of Man who is in heaven" (John 3:13, older translations). How much more certainly now, when He has passed through the heavens and entered once for all into the holy places, having secured an eternal redemption! So "blue" runs through these pictures, even where other glories appear. But the purple and the scarlet did not fade, because the blue prevailed. He is the King and King of kings, though He is acting in other relationships for now.
The ephod went on over the robe, and its name explains why the verse dwells on it being tied on:
In the ephod we have first, gold — God's righteousness, suitability for His presence according to His holy character. The other beautiful materials were worked with the gold into the garment of fine twined linen. That linen pictured the person of Him who said, "A body have you prepared for me." The embroidered band was made of the same materials, and it speaks of the great characteristic of this garment. The word "ephod" itself has the sense of being "girded on." So we can see how it pictured ministry to the Lord, finding its fulfilment in Him who also said, "I have come to do your will, O God."
Moses clothes Aaron on his own, apart from his sons, and that separation carries meaning:
Aaron is now separated from his sons for the next action; he is robed and anointed alone. First come the priestly garments described in the last chapter — the garments for glory and beauty. Then oil is poured on his head to anoint him... when Aaron is alone he stands before us as a picture of Christ; but when he is with his sons, the Church is shown as the priestly family... He is anointed without blood as a figure of Christ. The One Aaron pointed to was absolutely holy, and needed no blood.
The pattern reaches past the tabernacle. God still clothes those He brings near:
So the prodigal son, when he turns to God and finds in Him the Father... is clothed for the first time with "the best robe," and adorned with honour throughout. We are urged in practice not only to cast off the works of darkness but to put on the armour of light. More generally still, we are urged to put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:12, 14). In principle, all the baptised are said to have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27).
- Washed first. Moses washes Aaron before he dresses him. Nothing goes on until the cleansing is done.
- Clothed next. God supplies the garments, and another man puts them on. Aaron receives his glory; he does not make it.
- Girded then. The word "ephod" itself means "girded on." The priest is tied in for service, and points to the One who came to do God's will.
- Anointed alone. Aaron is robed and anointed by himself, before any blood is shed. At that moment he pictures Christ, who needed no sacrifice for Himself.
- Shared last. The sons are clothed only after the head. The family comes in on the strength of what is true of him first.
And he put the breastplate on it, and put on the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim;
Moses is dressing Aaron as high priest, and here he fastens the breastplate on him and puts the Urim and the Thummim inside. What were these objects, and why is a piece that carries the names of God's people called a breastplate of judgment?
Moses dressed Aaron; the priest put on nothing himself. These robes were not the plain linen of the Day of Atonement:
The garments — the coat, the robe and ephod, the breastplate with the Urim and the Thummim, and the turban with the golden plate — were not those of the atonement day, of linen only, but "for glory and beauty." They express what Christ is and does for us as the great High Priest before God... The breastplate of judgment was on his heart for a memorial continually. It held a still more precious token: twelve stones of rare value, each bearing a name of Israel's sons. In it Moses put the Urim and the Thummim, the lights and the perfections.
The wording matters. Moses does not engrave the Urim and Thummim. He puts them into a breastplate — the ESV calls it the breastpiece — that already held its twelve stones:
The meaning of these Hebrew words is "lights" and "perfections." They were distinct from the gems on the breastplate, for Moses put the breastplate on Aaron, and "in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim" (Lev. 8:8). It is clear that God answered questions by means of the Urim and the Thummim.
Scripture never says what they looked like or how they worked. One writer warns against filling that silence:
For some wise reason Scripture does not give the details of how they were placed in the breastplate, or how they worked. Guessing about this would serve no good purpose. Moses put them in "the breastplate of judgment." The breastplate seems to get this title from the Urim and Thummim. Judgment here does not mean condemnation, but discernment and guidance. In everyday speech we speak of a man of sound judgment, that is, one able to give wise counsel.
The breastplate carried Israel's names up to God. The Urim brought God's answers back down:
Many passages of the Word connect the "Urim" with God making His mind known on the questions that came up in Israel's history. For example, at the appointment of Joshua we read, "He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord" (Num. 27:21)... "And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets" (1 Sam. 28:6)... So we learn two things. The high priest carried the judgment of the congregation before the Lord. He also brought the judgment of the Lord back to the congregation.
Why "judgment" and not "love"? One writer answers that question:
The breastplate is called the breastplate of judgment. We might have thought it would be called the breastplate of love. But love is made perfect with us in just this, that we might have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is, so also are we in this world. What can the holy judgment of God say to those who are only seen as written in each precious stone? ... They shone in the breastplate, and made clear the beauty and perfection of the setting of the names according to the judgment of God.
A gem is made for light. That is why jewels carry the names:
A precious stone has this special excellence: the stronger the light shone on it, the brighter it shines... Whatever their weaknesses, errors, or failures, their names sparkled on the breastplate and never lost their brilliance. The Lord had set them there, and who could pluck them from it?
Some questions in Israel had to wait for a priest who could give God's answer:
In Nehemiah's day there were matters that could not be settled until a priest stood up with Urim and Thummim. In the Lord Jesus we have such a Priest, One in whom is all the mind of God, in whom all light and perfections are found.
It also shapes how believers settle hard cases among themselves:
We too need to truly recognise the lights and perfections of Christ in His saints. Without that, we will not have the discernment to judge any important problem that arises.
- Placed, not earned. Moses put the breastplate on Aaron and set the Urim and Thummim inside. The priest received his standing from another's hand.
- Lights and perfections. That is what the two Hebrew words mean. Scripture never says how they looked or worked, and writers refuse to guess.
- Judgment, not condemnation. Here judgment means discernment and guidance, like a person of sound judgment who gives wise counsel.
- Both directions. The names went up to God on the priest's heart; God's answers came back down through the same breastplate.
- The Priest who stands up. Some matters had to wait for a priest with Urim and Thummim. Commentators find that Priest in Christ, in whom all light and perfections are found.
and he put the turban upon his head; and upon the turban, on the front of it, he put the golden plate, the holy diadem; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
This verse closes the clothing of Aaron. The last item put on is the gold plate on the front of his headdress — the piece everyone would see. It raises a question: on what basis does God accept what His people bring?
Consider first what the headdress was, and what it pictured.
The headdress of the high priest. It was made of fine linen. A blue cord tied "the plate of the holy crown of pure gold" to it. The plate carried the engraved words "Holiness to the Lord." This plate came across the forehead. The headdress pictured how the Lord Jesus upholds purity, righteousness and holiness as the Minister of the sanctuary, or holy place.
The covering itself, not just the plate, has meaning.
Moses next placed the turban on Aaron's head. That covering reminds us that every thought of the Lord Jesus was always kept in perfect subjection to His God and Father. The golden plate went on the front of the turban, with its inscription, "Holiness to the Lord." So the Lord's thoughts were always consistent with the absolute holiness of God.
The plate also carries a royal name.
It is twice called "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. That was true as a picture, of course; Aaron himself was no better than his fellow Israelites.
The plate sits on the forehead for a reason, and the reason concerns the people rather than the priest. The wording quoted here comes from an older translation.
The golden plate on Aaron's forehead was the picture of 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 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 Him, and accepted in Him. His holiness is ours.
The same truth touches the moment believers meet to worship.
There are no times when we so much need the gracious help of the Lord Jesus as when we meet for worship. We are so weak that, with the purest motives and the best intentions, we cannot offer spiritual sacrifices to God perfectly. Worse still, sin is seldom absent from what we do. Our comfort is that all our offerings come before God through the hands of the perfectly Holy One in His presence. God looks at Him — at His perfections — and so accepts His people and what they bring.
Verse 9 finishes the robing. The oil comes next, and the blood only later. Commentators read that order as deliberate.
Moses washed them all with water. Then he put the priestly garments on Aaron and "poured the anointing oil on Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him" (Lev. 8:6-12). When Aaron is alone — apart from his sons — he is anointed without blood. Later, together with his sons, the sprinkling of the blood came before the anointing oil (verses 13-30). The reason for the difference is clear. Aaron with his sons pictures the Church as the priestly family. Aaron alone is a picture of Christ. So he is anointed without the blood. This sets out the truth that the One he pictured was "harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." He did not need the blood, since He was without spot or blemish, and holy before God.
Aaron did not wear this splendour for long.
Read Leviticus 8, 9 and 10, and then Leviticus 16:1-4. It appears that Aaron wore these beautiful robes only at his consecration. Failure came in with his two elder sons. From then on he had to appear before God wearing only the linen coat and undergarments. The garments for glory and beauty had to be laid aside as a reminder 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!
- Holiness — "Holiness to the Lord" was engraved in pure gold on a linen headdress. It pictures thoughts always in step with God's holiness.
- Crown — the plate is twice called the holy crown. The Priest who once wore thorns is now crowned with glory and honour.
- Always — the plate stays on the forehead. So our acceptance does not rise and fall with our experience.
- Accepted — our worship is never perfect, yet it reaches God through the hands of the Holy One. His holiness is ours.
- Forever — Aaron's robes of glory were laid aside after failure. Christ's are not, because His priesthood never ends.