SCRIPTURE: Exodus 28
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face. [John 19:2-3] The high priest is decked out in the finest of attire, and treated with the dignity and honour that he deserves. And on his shoulders, and near to his heart, he bears the names of God’s people.
There is a similarity and a contrast between the priestly robes of Aaron, and what happens to Jesus before He died. Each carried the burden of the people before the Lord (symbolized by the ephod, two stones engraved with the names of the 12 tribes, on shoulders) and close to their heart (symbolized by the breastplate, with its 12 stones for each tribe). Each was to appear before God with the sacrifice of atonement, to receive forgiveness of sins. Each one served as a mediator between God and the people, bringing the peoples’ concerns to God, and bringing God’s will to the people (symbolized by the Urim and Thummim).
The contrast of course is in the indignity suffered by Jesus as he was robed in mockery, not respect. He was flailed, not hailed. He did not offer sacrificial lamb, He was the sacrificial lamb. It was not the anointing oil that dripped down His beard and onto the stones bearing the names of God’s people, it was His blood. He did not just symbolize purity (as did Aaron and the other priests, with their clean white linen robes), He was purity.
Jesus was the ultimate high priest, as well as the high king. Like the mysterious Melchizedek, he was both priest and king [Hebrews 7], the priest of the new covenant [Hebrews 8] and the sacrificial lamb [Hebrews 9:11-10:18]. He is the perfect fulfillment of all that the old covenant symbolically points forward to.
I especially take comfort from the fact that my name was engraved on His heart, that my sins were born on His shoulders, and that I receive forgiveness and acceptance through Him before God. I am loved, I am accepted, I am forgiven, I am free and alive! Hail, the king of my life! May we treat Him with the honour and dignity He deserves!
PRAYER:
Lord, You are amazing, You are perfect, You are everything I need! Thank You for engraving my name in your heart, and dying so that I might live!
A change. Aaron was now the priest before the Lord rather than the heads of the families. He was to be wholly/holy unto the Lord. He was to represent the people and this was to be a total heart commitment – over his heart before the Lord is repeated throughout the passage. He was the mediator between the people and God. He was the people’s go between. He made all things acceptable through sacrifices, through him representing the people before the Lord. He was a separate person in service to the King.
Thanks be to God that Christ Jesus is my Mediator. The names of the people, my name, are engraven on His hands. He makes me right with God. Christ makes all things right. By His blood I am made clean and acceptable in God’s presence. What a Saviour. What I High Priest! What a gift! he makes all things a possibility to do His will.
We bring the sacrifice of praise, into the house of the Lord.
We bring the sacrifice of praise, into the house of the Lord.
We bring the sacrifice of praise, into the house of the Lord.
We bring the sacrifice of praise, into the house of the Lord.
And we offer up to you the sacrifices of thanksgiving.
And we offer up to you the sacrifices of joy.
We bring the sacrifice of praise, into the house of the Lord.
We bring the sacrifice of praise, into the house of the Lord.
And we offer up to you the sacrifices of thanksgiving.
And we offer up to you the sacrifices of joy.
And we offer up to you the sacrificies of thanksgiving.
And we offer up to you the sacrifices of joy.
And we offer up to you the sacrifices of thanksgiving.
And we offer up to you the sacrifices of joy.