Exodus 28:9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:
10 Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.
11 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: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.
12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
13 And thou shalt make ouches of gold;
14 And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.
15 And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.
16 Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.
17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.
18 And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
20 And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.
21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.
Today is a significant day in world history. Two years ago today Hamas attacked Israel in a massive and destructive way. Over a thousand Jews were killed and several hundred were taken captive. Dead Jews were paraded in public and their bodies defiled. Due to the chaotic government system of the time in Israel, that planned attack was successful. Two years later, Israel is more united, but the world is still trying hard to destroy that nation and that land. The majority of the media is still claiming that Israel is the bad player in this whole matter. Most people have been lulled into believing that what is called as “main stream media” are telling the truth. Thus they believe the lies that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The fact is that Hamas is guilty of killing its own people if they do not submit to the demands of the terrorists. Wickedness is abounding these days. In all of this, God is still the only hope for man. Our world is steamrolling toward the time of the antichrist. Only God knows the day of this wicked man’s arrival. We can see how the majority of society today would embrace such a man. Those who are saved need to submit to the God of Creation and we need to be sure to:
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
God used many things and many people to demonstrate the different aspects of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the eternal Son of God. No man can replace Him. No man can even begin to fulfil who Jesus is.
The priesthood was a very important part of Old Testament worship. Man needs a way to come to God. Man cannot do so on his own. Man is born a sinner. God is holy. Man must have a holy intercessor in order to come before the Holy God. The priestly garments did not make the priests holy. As we will see Aaron was not a very holy man. He was quite inadequate to fulfil God’s design for a priest. However, God chose to use him for His purposes. It was not Aaron that was so good. It was the garments that he wore that portrayed portions of Who Jesus Christ is.
In our text we see that two onyx stones needed to be taken and they needed to grave the names of the children of Israel on those stones. These stones needed to be rather large to be able to grave six names on each stone. We read that these names needed to be graven into the stones according to their birth. The engraver needed to have a measure of skill to be able to fulfil this task. The writing needed to be legible and orderly.
The two stones were then placed in ouches of gold. They were set in a gold rim. We have already stated that gold was to depict the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The twelve tribes were to be a blessing to the nations of the earth. However, the twelve tribes would not be without sin. The only way they could be a blessing to the world is if they were built upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Israel lost their shining place in the world, because they forsook the God Who made them a nation. That is still true today. God has not abandoned Israel. That is very obvious. The day is coming when Israel will turn back to God and they will know the blessing of the Lord as never before.
At the ends of the ouches were to be two chains. The chains were to be specially made. They were wreathen work of gold. They were to be fastened to the ouches of gold. The presentation of the priests was to reflect the majesty and holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again we note that the priests were not without sin, however the garment they were to put on was a picture of the holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The breastplate was to depict the judgment of the Lord. It too needed to be made with cunning work. No one else would have a garment such as that which the priest would wear. The breastplate was made of the same materials as the ephod. It was made of gold, of blue, of purple, of scarlet and of fine twined linen. It was to be foursquare and doubled. The breastplate was to be a span in length. A span was half a cubit, thus about 9”.
In this breastplate were to be settings of stone. Four rows of stones. The stones were of different colours. The stones here are representative of the stones mentioned in Revelation 21. These stones also needed to have the names of the children of Israel graven in them.
The twelve tribes would be judged according to God’s holiness. The priest would bear the names on his breast as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ Who is the Saviour and the Judge. He will judge sin and He alone is able to forgive sin.
We see here that the priesthood was not for the faint of heart. God chose the ones that would be chosen as priests. They needed to take their role seriously.
Of course we do not need a priesthood today. God directed Peter to write that all Christians make up a “royal priesthood”. The Catholics have rejected the truth and have chosen to have a corrupted, humanistic priesthood that makes a mockery of the holy priesthood of God.
As we consider that born again Christians make up the royal priesthood, we see again how important it is that born again Christians live as lights in this dark world. We do not make up our own standards. We study God’s Word and we submit to His will. When we sin, we need to confess that to God and seek His forgiveness. Sin cannot reign in the mortal body of true born again Christians.
As we see in the Scriptures, God holds His children accountable for what He has given us. We are living in a time when there is great carelessness with God’s Truth. Those who want to play around with His Word need to be reminded that this is not a light thing. God is holy and He wants man to know Him as He truly is. We can be thankful that Jesus Christ came as a man to suffer and die for our sins. He shed His blood to make it possible for sinners to be forgiven and saved. He is now the Mediator between God and man.
We, those who are saved, need to put on Christ:
Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Ephesians 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Christians cannot live carelessly. We need to live holy lives. This is what God designed Christians to be. God does not sit idly by and allow His children to mock Him. He shows us that holiness is essential to the Christian life. Holiness is also possible through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Holiness will draw a few others in but it will drive many away. That is the sad reality. However, the solution is not unholiness. The solution is holiness and trusting in God to do His Work and that He would be glorified in us.
Pastor Bartel
