Exodus 39: 1 – 43
Proper Attire Required
39 Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 2 He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. 3 And they beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads, to work it in with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, into artistic designs. 4 They made shoulder straps for it to couple it together; it was coupled together at its two edges. 5 And the intricately woven band of his ephod that was on it was of the same workmanship, woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 6 And they set onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold; they were engraved, as signets are engraved, with the names of the sons of Israel. 7 He put them on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 8 And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. 9 They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones: a row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald was the first row; 11 the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings. 14 There were twelve stones according to the names of the sons of Israel: according to their names, engraved like a signet, each one with its own name according to the twelve tribes. 15 And they made chains for the breastplate at the ends, like braided cords of pure gold. 16 They also made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. 17 And they put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. 18 The two ends of the two braided chains they fastened in the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front. 19 And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which was on the inward side of the ephod. 20 They made two other gold rings and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate would not come loose from the ephod, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 22 He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. 23 And there was an opening in the middle of the robe, like the opening in a coat of mail, with a woven binding all around the opening, so that it would not tear. 24 They made on the hem of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine woven linen. 25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates on the hem of the robe all around between the pomegranates: 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe to minister in, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 27 They made tunics, artistically woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, 28 a turban of fine linen, exquisite hats of fine linen, short trousers of fine woven linen, 29 and a sash of fine woven linen with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, made by a weaver, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30 Then they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 31 And they tied to it a blue cord, to fasten it above on the turban, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did. 33 And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 34 the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of badger skins, and the veil of the covering; 35 the ark of the Testimony with its poles, and the mercy seat; 36 the table, all its utensils, and the showbread; 37 the pure gold lamp stand with its lamps (the lamps set in order), all its utensils, and the oil for light; 38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, and the sweet incense; the screen for the tabernacle door; 39 the bronze altar, its grate of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the laver with its base; 40 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, the screen for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 and the garments of ministry, to minister in the holy place: the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister as priests. 42 According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. 43 Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them.
These days, when we hear the phrase "dress code" we're most likely to associate it with workplace rules.
A lot of jobs still have written guidelines for employee attire, at varying degrees of strictness.
Much rarer are dress codes for social events. We come across a lot of different situations in which we need to know what to or not wear. For example here are some of these various social gatherings; Weddings, church, banquets, funeral, Broadway, Theatre, Business, Restaurants, Job interviews and after ‘6’ get together.
Unfortunately, universal understanding of social dress codes is going the way of cursive handwriting: it has an old-fashioned appeal to some people, but most of us don't bother with it anymore.
I remember hearing about this guy who was on a first date and decided to put forth all his charm. He arranged a reservation at this upscale restaurant. He put on a new matching suit with a perfect offsetting polo shirt.
Upon the couple’s entrance at the restaurant they were stopped by the manager who informed them the establishment required a dress code for its guests. Since the man was not wearing a tie they were not allowed to be seated. Observing that the man was indeed well dressed he expressed empathy as to the couple’s plight, yet the policy was the ownership’s prerogative.
The man asked the manager that if someone came into the restaurant with one of the western string ties would that be acceptable for the house dress code. The manager said that it would.
The man smartly advised his date that he had to go to his car for a moment and would be right back. The man took out of his car a battery jumping cable and wrapped it around his neck. Upon his return he said to the manager pointing to the cable around his neck that it was his own new style of a tie. The manager holding back some laughter acknowledged the man’s attire said, ‘Very good sir, but please while you are here dinning please don’t ‘start’ anything.
Today we are going to look at a formal dress code our Holy and Magnificent God prescribes for those who minister to Him in His Tabernacle. We start off with the High Priest’s attire and then will be given what the rest of the servants are to wear.
All the garments worn by the priests were symbolic of being set apart for God’s work of atoning for sin. Compliance with His “dress code” was required. This is noted in verse 43: “Aaron and his sons must wear [the garments] whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.”
39 Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
The high priest's robes are to be known as the garments of glory and beauty. In style and color, the robes of the priests were rich in startling significance for they depicted both the wondrous beauties of Christ Jesus our Lord as the High Priest and also the privileges and duties of all who are the priests of God, whether the appointed ones of the Old Testament or all believers of the New. In his garments Aaron became that which The Holy Son of God Jesus Christ was intrinsically in all the purity and holiness of His being.
The Priests outfit in the Holy Place were these garments: A long tunic (the embroidered coat) with sleeves of white linen, woven throughout without seam, white trousers from hip to thigh, a white linen hat or miter wound like a turban, but cone-shaped, and a sash or girdle woven in the same material as the veil.
While such elaborate garments may seem odd today, God used these distinctive garments to set His spiritual leaders apart from the other Israelites. Each piece of the priestly garments held significance related to the work the priests performed. The Israelites lived with a continual reminder of the importance of the priestly work. They also had a foreshadowing of our Lord Jesus, the “great high priest” (Hebrews 4:14), who would carry out God’s plan of atonement in true holiness and perfection
The garments were to be made from materials received in offerings from the people (Exodus 25:2-7). This included the usual offerings of colored yarn (blue, purple, and scarlet). Woolen fabrics were identified by the costly dyes used in their manufacture. In addition, gold thread was received, along with fine-twined linen, which had been spun from flax by the women (35:25). The people also contributed precious stones for the ephod and the breast piece (25:7). All of the dyes, gem stones, gold thread and other materials would have been incredibly expensive, showing that only the very best should be used in the worship of God to honor His own majesty and glory.
The High Priest would have been noticeable by three different senses. He was beautifully dressed, he made a sound as he walked, and he carried the smell of holy anointing oil. This gave him an aura of being utterly set apart and holy for God's service. His garments and anointment served several purposes:
1. Decorative--They were to give Aaron dignity and grandeur (Exodus 28:2). This was most essential since the appearance of the high priest was to convey the beauty and authority that belonged to God himself.
2. Functional--Each piece obviously had, in addition to the decorative purpose, a functional role.
3. Symbolic--More than ornamentation was involved. The clothing of the priest was to provide a measure of realization of his task in representing Israel to God.
2 He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. 3 And they beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads, to work it in with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, into artistic designs. 4 They made shoulder straps for it to couple it together; it was coupled together at its two edges. 5 And the intricately woven band of his ephod that was on it was of the same workmanship, woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 6 And they set onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold; they were engraved, as signets are engraved, with the names of the sons of Israel. 7 He put them on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 8 And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. 9 They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones: a row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald was the first row; 11 the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings. 14 There were twelve stones according to the names of the sons of Israel: according to their names, engraved like a signet, each one with its own name according to the twelve tribes. 15 And they made chains for the breastplate at the ends, like braided cords of pure gold. 16 They also made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. 17 And they put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. 18 The two ends of the two braided chains they fastened in the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front. 19 And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which was on the inward side of the ephod. 20 They made two other gold rings and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate would not come loose from the ephod, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
The Ephod was perhaps the most important item of the priestly clothing. A kind of apron made of materials woven out of gold and linen thread and variously colored yarns, it covered the back and chest, reaching nearly to the knees. It was fastened to the body by two shoulder straps and a belt with which it was lined. Upon the shoulder straps were two onyx stones, on which the names of the sons of Israel were engraved in the order of their birth. These two onyx stones, called "stones of remembrance," were not so much to remind Aaron of all the tribes he should serve, but to remind God of all the tribes with whom He had made a covenant. As long as the priest bore the names of Israel before the Lord, He would not forget to be gracious to Israel. Thus, in effect, there was a kind of wordless intercessory prayer.
The unity of one and many represented by the ephod’s shoulder stones is naturally quite directly applicable to what Christ Jesus our King came to do. Our Precious Lord Jesus became the One Who acted for the many not by putting stones on His shoulders but by taking on human shoulders. He identified (and identifies) fully with humanity in its broken state, and holding this identity in place He has entered the presence of God the Father where He saves us and intercedes for us as one man for all men.
Each of the colors of the ephod symbolizes some characteristic to be found in our lives.
Gold
Gold represents a tried faith -- "tried with fire" (1 Peter 1:7). Gold is one of the most precious metals. It is very flexible and can be drawn into thin wire without breaking. It can withstand much pounding. Gold is a fitting symbol of faith, "without (which) it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6).
The color blue
Under the ephod, the priest wore a long blue robe that was visible below the ephod. Blue also appeared in the ephod itself. The Jews have always worn blue upon ceremonial garments, feeling that it had a special significance. Our Great God Yahweh commanded Israel to "make fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribbon of blue... that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them" (Numbers 15:37-40).
The fringe itself represented a law, because it encircled the wearer and restricted him within it. Its blue color reminded him of the sky above, and thus of the heavenly origin of the law. He could not go anywhere without seeing the heavens, God's dwelling place, stretched out above. His clothes were all blue; his laws were all divine; and his only hope was to remember and meditate upon them always. Blue therefore represents the Divine, or heavenly, element in our garments. We are to manifest God's love and mercy always. We must try to follow Christ's footsteps. Christ so perfectly imitated God's character that those who saw Him, saw God (John 14:9).
The color red
As blue represents God’s Heavenly Divinity red represents man. Red is the color of flesh and the color of the blood that flows through it. Both flesh and blood are reminders of the imperfections of sinful dying nature. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14,15).
So that Christ would undergo real trials, he had to be subjected to the temptations and lusts of the flesh. Only by suppressing the natural self could he remain sinless. We must have the weakness of mortality now -- so that we may learn to rely only upon God and not upon our own strength. Man is as a flower of the field that fades away; we must learn that "to God alone be glory and honor."
The color purple
Purple is the color of kings. Our Great King Jesus was mockingly arrayed in a purple robe -- along with a crown of thorns. However, few realized at the time the rightness of doing such a thing. Purple is a mixture of the blue of God and the red of man. It was only by showing a God-like character in the weak body of a man that our Lord Jesus triumphed over sin and opened a way for us to do the same. The only right to any form of kingship is through submission to God as the only true ruler. This is what our Master Jesus did, and what we must do. The climax of the process is foreseen in Revelation 5:10: "Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth."
White linen
The white linen is the foundation fabric of the ephod. Its significance is simply explained in Revelation 19:7, 8: "And to her [the Bride] was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."
In the end, it will be the only color in the garments of immortality. It will be whiteness and purity, both moral and physical. The flesh will be totally forsaken and forgotten: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).
The ephod as a whole, with its different colors and materials, typifies Christ in His high priestly ministry. Christ, the High Priest bears His people upon His shoulders, the place of strength and seat of power. The shoulders also speak of carrying a burden, Christ; the High Priest carries the whole burden alone.
On the shoulders of the ephod there were two onyx stones with the names of the TWELVE tribes engraved upon them. Also, on the priest's breastplate there were another TWELVE stones arranged in four rows (suggesting the encampment of the twelve tribes around the tabernacle in the wilderness). Both sets of stones plainly symbolize the tribes of Israel. The fact that Aaron wore them shows a connection between himself and his countrymen.
According to Josephus, the engraved onyx stones on the shoulders were designed so that the names of the six eldest sons were engraved on the stone on the right shoulder, and those of the six youngest sons on the stone on the left shoulder.
22 He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. 23 And there was an opening in the middle of the robe, like the opening in a coat of mail, with a woven binding all around the opening, so that it would not tear. 24 They made on the hem of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine woven linen. 25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates on the hem of the robe all around between the pomegranates: 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe to minister in, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
The making of the blue-violet robe to be worn directly under the ephod is described, a kind of long, flowing tunic made to be slipped over the head, with the hole for the head having strong binding round it so that it would not tear, and thus introduce defect into the Holy Place, and decorated at the bottom of the skirt with pomegranates and bells in sequence, acting as an announcement to God that he was coming (as every servant had to be announced), and letting those outside know that he was still alive. They may also be seen as making a joyful noise to Yahweh.
27 They made tunics, artistically woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, 28 a turban of fine linen, exquisite hats of fine linen, short trousers of fine woven linen, 29 and a sash of fine woven linen with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, made by a weaver, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Then is described the making of the fine linen, woven robes. For Aaron this was the under-robe worn beneath the robe of the ephod. For his sons it was their basic robe, all of woven work. Also made was Aaron’s turban, the caps for the sons, the breeches, and the girdle of multi-colored materials. It will be noted that here the breeches are mentioned along with the other garments, and not deliberately separated off as they were previously, but this is describing what was done, not initially introducing them. They were all made exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
30 Then they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 31 And they tied to it a blue cord, to fasten it above on the turban, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
And finally they made the golden head-plate to be worn over the turban, with its declaration that ‘the Priest’ was holy to Yahweh. This too was made as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did.
In final summation the fact that all the work was done exactly as Yahweh commanded is again stressed. All was done according to His will. Would that we could all say the same, that we could say, ‘I have done all as Yahweh has commanded me’.
33 And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 34 the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of badger skins, and the veil of the covering; 35 the ark of the Testimony with its poles, and the mercy seat; 36 the table, all its utensils, and the showbread; 37 the pure gold lampstand with its lamps (the lamps set in order), all its utensils, and the oil for light; 38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, and the sweet incense; the screen for the tabernacle door; 39 the bronze altar, its grate of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the laver with its base; 40 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, the screen for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 and the garments of ministry, to minister in the holy place: the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister as priests. 42 According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. 43 Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them.
Finally all has been brought to Moses. The first showbread has also been made and that too has been brought. And it is observed that after his inspection all the work was declared as being in accordance with the pattern that had been shown to him in the Mount. That was of crucial importance. And so Moses not only approved all but gave them the divine blessing.
