February 14
In our study in Exodus today, we continue with the description
of God’s instructions for the tabernacle. God calls our attention in chapter 39
to the holy garments for Aaron, the first high priest of Israel. Hebrews 8:5,
says, “there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto
the example and shadow of heavenly things”. Aaron was the shadow of our High Priest, Jesus
Christ. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed through
the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession” (Hebrews
4:14). What do the garments of the high priest of Israel reveal about our High
Priest, our Savior?
The names of the sons of Israel were engraved on precious
stones and were mounted in gold. No two stones were alike, just as no two
people are alike. Gemstones are faceted in such a way to best catch and reflect light and color, known as "brilliance" and "fire". We are being fashioned and shaped by God so that we best reflect the Light of the world. The breastplate was chained to the ephod
with two braided chains of gold so that it could not come loose, even as we
cannot become lost from Christ. Aaron was to bear the names of the children of
Israel before the Lord continually in the breastplate over his heart (Ex. 28:29,
30).
These verses are awesome and are a shadow of our relationship
with our High Priest. God says we are His treasure (Ex. 19:5). He carries us
over His heart continually even as the twelve gemstones rested over Aaron’s
heart. In John 15:4, Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you”. We are to be one
with Him. As Jesus keeps us over His heart, He admonishes us to keep Him over
our hearts by putting on “the breastplate of righteousness” (Ephesians 6:14). The
gemstones were mounted or held in place in settings of gold. Impurities are
separated out of gold by fire, resulting in pure gold. We are surrounded by trials that serve to keep us close to God.
It was exciting to read in Exodus about the completion of
the tabernacle and its furnishings. Only with God’s help and blessings could
this beautiful work have been accomplished. God’s timing is always perfect and His
plan is right on schedule. He instructed Moses to set up the tabernacle on the
first day of the first month of the second year. He and Aaron must have been
elated to finally see everything in place. The tabernacle, its furnishings and utensils were all anointed with oil. God announced it was holy. He deemed the altar as “most holy” (perhaps because the very
Son of God would one day become the ultimate sacrifice). Everything was in
place as God had instructed. The showbread was on the table “in order before
the Lord”, the lamps were lit, the fragrance of incense filled the tent, and
the laver was filled with water for the washing of the priests’ hands and feet when
they went into the tabernacle of meeting and when they came near the most holy altar. “Then
the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled
the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34).
In Matthew, Jesus has been arrested, the disciples have
fled, and Pilate has washed his hands of having anything to do with “the
innocent blood of this just Person”. Our reading in Psalms 22 prophetically
reveals the thoughts of Jesus during His ordeal that would bring us salvation.
Jesus’ thoughts were totally focused on His Father and the joy that sons and daughters would be born into His Father's Kingdom. He was silent before His accusers. The Roman soldiers would beat Him until He
was unrecognizable and then nail His hands and feet to a cross. Approximately
1440 years before Jesus was being scourged, Moses was following God’s
instructions to “partition off the ark with the veil” (Ex. 40:3), signifying mankind's separation from God. During Jesus' time the veil hung in the Temple
in Jerusalem. Tomorrow we will read how the veil would be torn from
top to bottom when Jesus finished the work God had ordained to forever give man
access to His Creator.
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