Exodus 28:1-5

The priests 28:1-5

Aaron had been functioning as a priest (Heb. cohen; Exodus 4:16). Now Moses officially appointed him and his sons to this office. God apparently specified Aaron because he was the brother of Moses whom God had already designated as the covenant mediator. [Note: Merrill, "A Theology . . .," p. 50.] Before the sinful priests could approach their holy God, they had to cover their uncleanness symbolically with holy clothes. The priests had to wear these garments when they served in the tabernacle ritual, but they could not wear them at other times (Exodus 35:19; Leviticus 16:4; Leviticus 16:23-24). The fact that the workmen who made these garments needed to be wise and skillful (Exodus 28:3) indicates the importance that God placed on their construction.

Aaron’s priesthood prefigured that of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 5:5; Hebrews 7:26; Hebrews 9:11).