Turn with me again to Exodus
chapter 28. Tonight we'll begin looking at
the high priest garments. And like everything else in the
tabernacle, along with every furnishing in the tabernacle,
we'll see that not only the high priest typify and picture Christ,
but the high priest's garments do also. As we've seen in previous
studies, the tabernacle, its furnishings, its priest, and
even Their clothing are a figure, a type. That's what the word
figure means, a type for the time then present. Hebrews chapter
nine, verse nine says. They were a shadow of good things
to come and not the very image of the things. All the things
that we've seen in our Old Testament studies point to and picture
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And I remind you again tonight
what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter 15, verse four. He said, for whatsoever things
were written aforetime. And what he meant there was the
Old Testament scriptures. Whatever was written in the Old
Testament scriptures were written for first our learning, that
we through patience and comfort of the scriptures. That's where
we get our comfort. This is God's word. God's word
to his people. And it's through patience and
comfort of the scriptures that we might have hope. So I pray
and hope that this brings hope to you tonight. And that's why
we study the Old Testament scriptures where they show us Christ and
how he is our tabernacle and as our high priest is our one
mediator between God and me. And see, we have to have a mediator.
We have to have a go between. We in and of ourselves and our
sin, we cannot approach God, but our mediator can. Why? Because
he's perfect. He's sinless. And he's our mediator
between God and us, his people. No doubt that all God's truths
contained in the Old Testament writings were inspired by the
Holy Spirit. I think we've seen that very
clearly. And it's true, Christ has now
come and he's fulfilled everything typified in these Old Testament
pictures and shadows, for he's the very image of those things.
And that's why we no longer need an earthly priest. And that's
why we've been made ourselves priest unto God and we have no
need to dress in these garments as some in religion still do.
Christ is the express image of what was once only pictured.
Teresa and I have pictures of our children and grandchildren
on the refrigerator. But when my children come to
visit or my grandchildren come over, I don't look at their picture
held up by those magnets. I look at them. And many today
still wear these robes and religious garb, and it's for the same reason
our Lord gave when He exposed the scribes and the Pharisees.
He said that they desire to sit in Moses' seat and be seen of
men. some religious men in some denominations,
and I'm not gonna get sidetracked on this, but they still dress
that way, but nowhere in the scripture are men required to
do so. It's nothing less than something
man-made religion has come up with and required, and the sole
purpose is to try to convince people that by wearing such robes
and things, that they're more spiritual and holy than others.
And that may impress a few men and women on earth, but God in
heaven is not impressed. You know what God is impressed
with? He's impressed with one thing, and that is His beloved
Son in whom He's well-pleased. And His people are made priest
unto Him. They wear His perfect robe of
righteousness. The garments of the Old Testament
priests were not given as a model for believers to imitate. Christ
Himself dressed and looked like every ordinary man, The priest's
garments were given as a foreshadowing of spiritual things, the things
that Christ himself fulfilled. And Christ has not entered into
the holy places, the scriptures say, made with hands, which were
but figures, just types. of the truth. Christ has entered
into heaven itself. That's the most glorious thing. He's entered into heaven itself,
now to appear in the presence of God for us, His people. Hebrews 9, 24. And why? To show us that He's put away
sin by the sacrifice of Himself. What a high priest He is. Now
here in Exodus chapter 28, verse two, God tells Moses, and thou
shalt make holy garments for Aaron, thy brother, for glory
and for beauty. Aaron and his sons being by God
appointed priests, their garments are described in the verses before
us. Before their work is ever described,
their garments are. And Aaron is the high priest,
his garments were different from those of his sons. And the garments
of the high priest are said to be here for glory and for beauty. Yes, these garments pointed out
the dignity of the office and they show great honor and respect
to the priest service. But chiefly, they were glorious
and beautiful because they were typical of the glory and beauty
of the Lord Jesus Christ, our great high priest. And what a
picture we have in them of the garments of salvation and the
perfect robe of righteousness in which all God's people, made
priest unto God, are made glorious and beautiful with, even unto
perfection. These garments were absolutely
necessary. Without them, God would not receive
the high priest. Look at verse three. And thou
shalt speak unto all that are wisehearted, whom I have filled
with the spirit of wisdom that they may make Aaron's garments
to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's
office." Now this is speaking here of those who had knowledge
in the art of making garments. Men with more than just an average
ordinary skill set. Only those filled with the spirit
of wisdom, it says here, would be employed in the making of
these garments. These special garments were uncommon
ones and they required a great deal of thought and ingenuity.
Great care and talent went into making them as God had required
them to be made. And this skill required more
than just extraordinary talent for it was God that filled the
makers with the spirit of wisdom and gave them a special gift
to make these garments. You know, God always equips his
people with what they need to serve him. Now I'd have you to
notice that these garments were for Aaron and made, it says,
to consecrate him, that he may minister unto God in the priesthood. Now that word consecrate there
means to make ceremonially clean, to ceremonially purify, sanctify,
and make holy. I bet you already see the picture
there. It's Christ's garments of salvation
and His robe of righteousness that makes the believer not just
ceremonially clean, but sanctified and holy and in reality, perfect. We've got to be perfect for God
to accept us. Holy and righteous in the eyes
of the holy, righteous and just God. God requires that. He requires
that the elect of God be made holy, even as he is holy. He
said that, didn't he? Be ye holy as I am holy. And
Christ's covering, made ours is the only way. Only in Christ,
all God's people are glorious and beautiful. Look down at verse
41 here in chapter 28. and thou shalt put them upon
Aaron thy brother and his sons with him and shalt anoint them
and consecrate them and sanctify them that they may minister unto
me in the priest's office." You see, without these garments,
we can't minister unto God in the priest's office. We must
be made clean. We must be sanctified, holy,
righteous, and perfect in order to do so. Look at verse 43. And they shall be upon Aaron
and upon his sons when they come in unto the tabernacle of the
congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister
in the holy place, that they bear not iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever
unto them and his seed after him. You see, there's none that
can appear before the throne of God. None can come unto the
throne of God or be in his presence without the righteous covering
of Christ's perfect garments. For all who bear any iniquity
cannot see God and live. That's what God told Moses when
Moses requested to see God's glory. Let's look at that. Keep
your place here in Exodus and turn over a few pages, Exodus
33. too close not to look at it, beginning in verse 18. Exodus
33, 18. And he, Moses, speaking to Moses,
said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And it's only because
Moses found grace in God's sight, according to verse 17, did God
say in verse 19, well, I'll make all my goodness pass before thee,
and I'll proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and will
be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy
on whom I will show mercy. And he said this, this is God
speaking. He said, thou canst not see my
face for there shall no man see me and live. Why? Because man
is full of sin. Can't be in the presence of a
thrice holy God, not in live. Verse 21, and the Lord said,
behold, there's a place by me and thou shalt stand upon a rock. We know who that's talking about,
don't we? "'Thou shalt stand upon a rock and it shall come
to pass, "'while my glory passeth by, "'that I will put thee in
a cliff of the rock.'" I'm gonna put you in Christ. That's how
we get there. He puts us in the Lord Jesus.
"'And I will cover thee with my hand while I pass by, "'and
I'll take away mine hand, "'and thou shalt see my back parts,
"'but my face shall not be seen.'" And I read those verses, I thank
God for the righteous covering of his hand, that Christ, our
cliff to the rock provides for us, his people. Now back in Exodus
chapter 28, verse four, we're told of the garments that God
instructed Moses to have made for the priesthood. Verse four,
and these are the garments which they shall make, a breastplate
and an ephod, and a robe and a broadered coat, miter and a
girdle, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron, thy brother,
and his sons, that he may minister unto me and the priest daughters."
Now tonight, we'll only have time to deal with the ephod,
but the ephod was the outer robe of the high priest. Verse five
says, and they shall take gold and blue and purple and scarlet
and fine linen. and they shall make the ephod
of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twine linen
with cunning work." Now this ephod was made in two parts. One part covering the priest's
back, and the other part covering his front. The ephod was kinda
in the same design of shoulder pads that football players wear. And it was joined together at
the shoulders by golden clasps. which formed the setting for
two onyx stones. I wish I had a picture to show
you. You can find it on the internet or on your phone. Just type in
the priest garments and the picture paints a thousand words. Now
the goal for these clasps to hold these two pieces of the
ephod together front and back was interwoven and it was not
just gold colored thread, but real gold interlaced with the
linen. How that was done is described
in Exodus 39. Again, stick your marker here
and turn over there with me. Exodus 39, I want you to see
this. Look at verses three and four
of Exodus 39. It's here that we find that they
did beat the gold into thin plates and they cut it into wires to
work it in the blue and in the purple and in the scarlet and
in the fine linen with cunning work. You see why it took extraordinary
skill set to make these garments? Verse four, they made shoulder
pieces for it to couple it together by the two edges was it coupled. Together, the fine twine linen,
as we've seen in previous study, typifies the holy humanity and
righteousness of Christ, and the gold here pictures Christ's
divine glory as God. The colors reveal the perfections
of the Lord's character as both God and man in one person. If
you remember, blue is called the heavenly color. When we look
at the skies in the daytime, they're blue. We think of God
in heaven. purple being the color of royalty,
and scarlet, the color of the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus. And back in Exodus 28, verse
seven, it says, it, speaking of the ephod, shall have the
two shoulder pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof, and
so it shall be joined together. Verse eight, it says, and the
curious, and that word means embroidered, the embroidered
girdle of the ephod which is upon it shall be of the same
according to the work thereof, even of gold, of blue and purple
and scarlet and fine twine linen." The girdle of the ephod speaks
of being prepared for service. In Luke chapter 12, verse 37,
you don't have to turn there, but the Lord said, blessed are
those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say unto you, that he
shall gird." That word means fasten on one's belt. that he
shall gird himself and make them to sit down to meet and will
come forth and serve them." So this girdle has something to
do with Christ's service. If you remember our Lord in John
chapter 13, when he went to wash the disciples' feet, he took
a towel and girded himself. He wrapped a towel around his
waist and then he washed the disciples' feet. It has to do
with service. According to Revelation 1, verse
13, it says that today the Lord stands in the midst of the churches,
gird about with a golden girdle, ready to serve his people on
earth. And then in Isaiah 11, verse
five, it says, and righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins
and faithfulness, the girdle of his reign. So the girdle here
pictures the faithful service of the Lord Jesus Christ to his
people. He is faithful at promise. The
girdle of the high priest was made of the same materials and
the same lovely colors of the effort itself. And what a picture
this is of the gracious workings of the Lord Jesus in his priestly
service to God on our behalf. They're according to the perfections
of his own person and character as the God man. And even though
our Lord is now glorified, he is a servant still. And having
gone into heaven to appear in the presence of God for us, he
sits at the right hand of God. And what does he do? He makes
intercession for us. He's still servicing our needs
before God, still mediating on our behalf. Now look at verse
nine, and thou shalt take two onyx stones and grave on them
the names of the children of Israel, six of their names on
one stone and the other six names of the rest on the other stone
according to their birth. And with the work of an engraver
in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave
the two stones with the names of the children of Israel. And
thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. And thou shalt
put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod, for stones of a
memorial unto the children of Israel. And Aaron shall bear
their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial. Now, on these two stones were
the names of the 12 sons of Israel, who was Jacob. Remember, Jacob
had 12 sons, and those 12 sons represent the 12 tribes of Israel. But here's the spiritual picture.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is our great high priest. He bears the
names of each of his elect on his shoulder. Like the high priest
had the names of the children of Jacob and the children of
Israel on his shoulder pieces. And it's in this act of Christ,
our high priest, that God remembers us in mercy. As a memorial, it
says, a memorable people we are. Christ's shoulder throughout
the scriptures represents his strength. That's what Isaiah
9, verse six tells us. It says, the government shall
be upon his shoulder. First, the government of fulfilling
the righteous law of God. It's on Christ's shoulder. Why
men and women insist today in trying to keep God's law as a
means to be saved, I'll never understand because we can't do
it. The law was never given for us
to keep, but to show us our inability of keeping it. Christ has fulfilled
the law for us. Christ in history fulfilled the
law. Only our sinless substitute could
bear the enormous load of all the sin of all the elect throughout
all time. You think about that. I have
enough sin myself to send me to hell a thousand times over. but you take all the sin of all
God's people throughout all time. And that was put on the Lord
Jesus on his shoulder and his knees didn't buckle. Oh, he carried
that enormous load. The scripture says he hated that
he abhorred the sin. He despised the shame of our
sin. Yet he bore our sin in his own
body on the tree. The whole massive load of all
those sins on his shoulders. He was made sin for the elect
multitude. Made sin. He knew no sin, but
he was made sin. And just like our righteousness
is not pasted on, that sin wasn't just pasted on him. He felt the
guilt and the shame of it. Christ bore the full weight of
God's wrath in his people's place. God didn't go easy on him. No,
sir. He bore the full weight of God's
wrath. Christ took that wrath that was
due to you and I. He submitted to that death that
was ours. Our Lord was buried in a grave,
but he didn't stay there. Why? Because death shall never
have dominion over a perfect man. And for those whom that
perfect man died, therefore death no more has dominion over us. Christ, our great high priest,
put away the sin of His people. How? By the sacrifice of Himself. And that's the only way it could
be put away. The wages of sin is death, and He died in our
place. It's substitution. Without the
shedding of blood, there's no remission for sin. Christ shed
His precious blood for our sin. Therefore, we have no sin. It's
not that our sin is simply covered. It's done away with, it's put
away. And that's why He alone is a
just God and a Savior. Yes, He's a just God, but He's
also a Savior. And that's why He alone is both
just and justifier of God's elect people, those who believe in
the Lord Jesus. Being a perfect man, the law
could not condemn him. Being a spotless sacrifice, God's
justice was once and for all satisfied. Therefore being seated
at the right hand of God in God's holy presence, our high priest
has the government of interceding upon his omnipotent shoulder
to give his people rest. So rest, rest in Christ. It's the strength of His intercession
that assures God's hearing of our every need. Not because of
us, because of Him. It's by Christ's doing and dying
that God is honored and His law fulfilled and His justice is
satisfied. Not because of what we've done,
not by works of righteousness that we've done, no sir. But
what He did for us. Who is He that condemned? No
one can condemn us. Why? Because it's Christ that
died, yea, rather that is risen again, who's even where? At the
right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. That's what
a high priest means. Wherefore he, who? Christ, our
great high priest, is able to save them. Who? God's people,
God's elect. He's able to save them to the
uttermost. Those that come unto God by Him. How do they come unto God? By
Him. How? Seeing that He, the Lord Jesus
ever liveth to make intercession for them. Romans 8 34. God's people are saved to the
uttermost because of who it was that saved them. When you and
I sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the
righteous. How righteous was He? Perfectly
righteous. And by taking our sin upon Himself,
we were made the righteousness of God in Him. That means that
Linda, you have God's perfect righteousness. Secondly, the
government of the world in general is on his shoulders, and particularly
his church is upon his shoulder. Christ is the king of nations
and the king of saints. The scripture declares him as
both. God said, yea, I have set my king upon my holy hill of
Zion. He's God's king, not in the sense
that he rules over God, but he's the king that God provides. God
the Father made His Son Lord over all His house, Lord over
all His people, and ruler over all His substance. Everything
we have belongs to Him. Everything in this world is His.
Someone asked me one time if my father was rich. I said, more
than you know, more than you know. He owns the cattle on a
thousand hills. It all belongs to Him. Our Lord
Jesus declares all powers given to me in heaven and in earth,
Matthew 28, 18. God has given Christ power over
all flesh that he should what? Give eternal life to as many
as God gave him. Sounds to me like salvation,
our salvation is in his hands. But that's not all John chapter
17, verse two suggests. Thirdly, the government of our
salvation is on his shoulder. Just as Aaron had the names of
those sons of Jacob, who was later named Israel, representing
the 12 tribes of Israel, as I said, on his shoulder, Christ has the
name of each of his lost sheep that he redeemed on his shoulder.
On that spiritual ephod are written the names of his people, his
sheep. And I tell you, God's sheep trust in the strength of
their shepherd. one who gave his life for the
sheep. He said, other sheep I have and them I must bring. Guess
what? He's going to bring them. Well,
is he going to be successful? You better believe he is. Bring
them he will. You see, only a strong shepherd
can carry his sheep all the way home into the fold. "'What man
of you having a hundred sheep, "'if he'd lose one of them, "'doth
he not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness "'and go after
that which is lost until he find it? "'And when he hath found
it, "'he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing.'" Not only did he
put me on his shoulders, but he rejoiced the whole way back
to the fold. "'And when he cometh home, "'he
calleth together his friends and his neighbors, "'saying to
them, rejoice with me, "'for I found my sheep which was lost.'"
What a glorious thought that our Lord finds each and every
one of his lost sheep, and he lays them on his shoulder. He
doesn't put the responsibility to get home on their shoulders. No, sir, he carries the sheep
all the way back to the fold. I've heard preaching that proclaims
that God's done all he can do, and he's left the rest up to
you. I'm telling you, if that's so, if that is so, then I'll
be forever lost. But our good shepherd carries
us on his omnipotent shoulder and he carries us all the way.
He himself is the one who has the key and the power to open
our hearts and reveal himself to us. Listen to this verse,
Isaiah 22, verse 22. And the key of the house of David
will I lay upon his shoulder. So he shall open and none shall
shut and he shall shut and none shall open. With every temptation,
Christ makes a way for us to escape that we may be able to
bear it. And he carries us all the way
through the trial and the tribulation. The idols and the little G gods
of this world, men and women, bear them upon their shoulders.
They carry them. They set them in their place.
They cry unto them, but they can't answer, nor save them out
of trouble. Why? Because they're the gods
of men's imagination. That's what we have in religion
today. It's a god that men have conjured
up in their own minds. Just something about knowing
our helplessness and being carried that shines forth Christ's compassion
and grace like nothing else. Our Lord through the prophet
Isaiah said, and even to your old age, I am He and I will carry
you. I have made and I will bear,
even I will carry and will deliver you. Why do we worry about the
things we worry about? We're afraid we ain't gonna be
able to get home, walk home. You don't have to worry about
it. He's gonna carry you. One day King David sat upon his
throne and he said, is there any that's left of the house
of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? He loved
Jonathan. And there was a servant left
of Saul's house by the name of Zeba and David called for Zeba
and he said, is there not yet any of the house of Saul that
I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Zeba said to the
king, he said, Jonathan has a son, which is lame on his feet. He's
lame from a great fall. That's a picture of me, and that's
a picture of you. We're lame, unable to do anything
for ourselves, spiritually speaking. And David said, where is he?
And Ziba said, well, he's down in Lodabar, which means a land
of no pasture, a land of no word. No communication. Sharon, that's
exactly where I was when God called me. I was a cripple, lame
on both feet from a great fall, and I was in a land that had
no pasture, no word, and no communication from God, dying in my sins, what
I was doing, and didn't even know it. And David sent and fetched
Mephibosheth, He fetched him out of the land with no pasture,
and that's exactly what God did for me. It's called fetching
grace. He fetched me. And when Mephibosheth
was coming to David, you remember what he did? He fell on his face.
That's what we do when we come to God, isn't it? We fall on
our face. We don't come proudly. We don't
come arrogantly. We come and we fall on our face. Oh, we're cripples. We're lame
on both our feet. We can do nothing to help ourselves.
He fell on his face and he did reverence to the king. And David
said, fear not. Can you imagine how relieved
he was? Well, it was common in those
days for the new king to kill all the descendants of the old
king, Saul being his grandfather. But David said, fear not. For
I surely show thee kindness, and I'm gonna do it for Jonathan,
your father's sake." The day that I came before God, he said,
I'm gonna show you mercy for Christ's sake. And I'm gonna
restore thee all the land of Saul, thy father, and thou shalt
eat bread at my table continually. And he bowed himself and he said,
what is thy servant? That thou shouldest look upon
a dead dog as I am. That's the attitude of every
believer. And David said, I'll tell you what I'm going to do.
I'm going to see to it that for the rest of your life you're
cared for. And I'm going to see to it that
you dwell with me here in Jerusalem in God's kingdom. And you shall
eat continually at the king's table. That's exactly what we
do as children of the living God. That's exactly what God
has done for me, and that's exactly what God has done for you, child
of God. I was nothing more than just
a lost sheep, one that was prone to wander. Prone to wander. Leave me alone for a second,
I'm wandering off. That's what sheep do. Prone to
leave my beloved shepherd. Prone to leave the God I love.
Prone to do it. Oh, that sin within me so easily
besets me. But my Lord came to seek and
to save me. And He found me and He placed
me on His shoulder and He brought me home like David did Mephibosheth.
And I'll forever and continually eat at the table of the King
of Kings and the Lord of Lords. This is no fairy tale, friends.
This is the truth. This is God's Word. You can write
it down. And there's only one reason,
just one, My great high priest is the one and only mediator
between me and God. And by the sacrifice of himself,
I've been reconciled to God. May God enable us to rejoice
in Christ, our great high priest and our King. Amen.