The Priests' Garments

 Exodus 28:1-14

 

October 11, 2024

 

The Priests' Garments

“Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.  And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.  You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.  These are the garments that they shall make: a breast piece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests.  They shall receive gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.

“And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked.  It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together.  And the skillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.  You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel,  six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth.  As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree.  And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance.  You shall make settings of gold filigree,  and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings.

 

As I read Exodus 28:1-14, one verse caught my attention, verse three. Maybe it would be wise to ponder.  You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill. How many people do you encounter that God has blessed with skills and talents, looks, and a great mind, and believe it was their doing?  In my career in sales.  I often told people who I work for and my customers that would say You are good at what you do;” I’m a composite of all those professionals in sales that I’ve encountered.”  And there was some truth in that statement. I often learn from them, but who gave them the skills they have?  My question to me and maybe to you is, where did the skills, the talents, the mind, and our good appearance come from?  And why are we willing to give credit to others but not to God?

Maybe it is time to open your Bible to James 1:17, which states, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." 

In Exodus 31:1-3, we have a very clear picture of how God has blessed you and me, “The Lord said to Moses,  “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,  and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,” 

That being true, why not apply Romans 12:3, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”

If you are a follower of Christ and believe you are better than another brother or sister in Christ because of your spiritual gifts, you need to examine yourself. I Corinthians 12:4-11 makes it clear that these gifts have been given to serve others.  “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of work, but in all of them and in everyone, it is the same God at work. Now to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous power, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

 

Let me share my thoughts about myself. I’m not sure why you do it, maybe for some of the same reasons.  I never applied myself in school; I did not see the value in learning at that time in my life. I just wanted to be noticed.  I was one of the smallest in my class for many years, and I chose to be somebody by association, and who I wanted to be like, the smart kids, not to mention they were popular.  So, my kind of flesh, needing to be noticed, needs to be included, but on my terms.  When you grow up with that kind of mindset, you’re not very secure, and so once more, you look to others who seem to be the best at whatever needs to be done.  One big problem was that fear and insecurity do not go away with becoming a new person in Christ.  I was trained like a bird dog on how to get my needs met outside of Christ.  For many years, I was that man, and then one day early in my career, I was putting a copy machine in my car and saw a young man in a suit, who looked very sharp and handsome, going into my office, and I just knew that he would get my job.  And at that moment of fear and insecurity, I heard a voice in my head that said, Bob, I have given you skills and talents to be the best at this job, and I listened and went about my day, and never again did I doubt that God had blessed me.  I did look at others who were real pros in sales, but often what they did was not a fit for the gifts God had given me.  Was I blessed by the many who helped me improve? You bet, but they were sent by my Lord.

 

Let's end with 1 Timothy 6:6-8, “But godliness with contentment is great gain,  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice