Exodus 28:1-5

GARMENTS OF THE HIGH PRIEST

"And bring near unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to sanctify him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a coat of checker work, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. And they shall take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the fine linen."

This paragraph introduced a dramatic change into the religious economy of Israel. Until this point, Moses himself had acted in the capacity of a High Priest, actually sprinkling the blood upon the people in the ratification of the Covenant (Exodus 24:8). There had never been an established priesthood dedicated to the worship of Jehovah prior to the one commanded here. Job offered sacrifices for his family. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as countless others, as the first-born or heads of families, had discharged the duties of priests. That entire period of history was called the Patriarchal Age, but now, with the setting up of the Aaronic priesthood, the Mosaic Dispensation would begin, meaning the age which in matters of the priesthood would follow the instructions God gave to Moses.

It has been pointed out that Moses here offered no protest, nor did he defer in any manner from doing promptly and exactly what God commanded. One may read various opinions regarding the choice of Aaron instead of Moses, but the most convincing reason lies in the fact that as a type of Christ, it would not have been correct for Moses to have been High Priest, for Christ was not intended to be a High Priest after the order of Moses, but after the "order of Melchizedek" (Psalms 100:4). In his magnificent person and achievements, Moses was already a type of Christ in many ways, but adding the High Priest's office to Moses would not have fit the divine pattern.

The liberal community of scholars have advanced some impossible allegations regarding this chapter, denying its divine origin and Mosaic authorship. Clements stated that this introduction of the Aaronic priesthood, "represents a late development in Israel's history, which did not come into force until after the exile, probably late in the sixth century B.C."[1] Honeycutt also echoed this notion, but neither he nor any advocate of such a view has ever offered the slightest proof, not one solid fact, in support of their radical allegations. Honeycutt did say that, "Aaron's royal regalia is suggestive of the postexilic period when, in the absence of a king, the High Priest became a semi-royal figure."[2] The long centuries prior to the monarchy, however, are just as logically suggested as the later period. There was a tabernacle, and, therefore, there was an established priesthood from the very beginning of the tabernacle, which would have been worthless without it. And, as for the Aaronic priesthood being any kind of a late development, Johnson stated that, "There is no evidence in any of the later history of Israel that, except for extraordinary circumstances, any but the sons of Aaron ever acted as priests."[3] Even Martin Noth who frequently follows the critical line admits that this account of Aaron and his garments, "would not have been written purely from fancy."[4]

Of course, what we have here is the very moment of institution of the priestly system that was to dominate the history of Israel until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The pairing of the names of Nadab and Abihu and those of Eleazar and Ithamar in Exodus 28:1 is of deep interest. The first pair lost their lives in the very act of their consecration through disrespect for the Word of God, and it was through the latter pair alone that the Aaronic line continued: "Eleazar succeeded Aaron as High Priest (Numbers 3:4), later the descendants of Ithamar became High Priests from Eli through Abiathar (1 Samuel 2:27-28; 1 Kings 2:26,27)."[5] At a time still later, the sons of Eleazar again resumed the office from Zadok onward (1 Chronicles 6:8-15).

Esses, a former rabbi, pointed out that the elaborate dress of the High Priest was designed to "fit all sizes of men," and that the very garments described here continued to be worn, "until Titus invaded the city of Jerusalem in 70. A.D."[6] We are unable to find any confirmation of such an idea.

One of the things of great interest in this paragraph is in Exodus 28:3, where God indicated that unusually skilled persons had been given their great gifts by God Himself, "whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom." Indeed, how true this is! Great skills were truly God-given, and they still are. Think of Mozart who wrote a cantata at age seven years, which is still played by orchestras all over the world. "God is the Source of every intellectual faculty and artistic gift."[7] Amen! This conviction has long resided in the human heart.