Exodus 28-29

No one tried the trivia yesterday?

Which tribe will be placed at the East Gate to enter God’s presence??  Look for #4.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The Tribe of Judah will be the entrance to the Gate.  (Yes, we are having Trivia Quizzes next weekend…😁  at school, I am pitting Tiffany against Ramona). Pick a friend to compete with.

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Movin’ on.  Look at the family line of Levi.  This is who we are dressing.

28:1:  “Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests.

The tribe of Levi has been carved out to maintain this tabernacle.  They will be the priesthood to serve until Jesus fulfills their role on the Cross.    If you go back and look at 29:29, Aaron’s garments, High Priest,  will be passed to his son.  I point this out because when we get to the time of Jesus, the priesthood is so corrupt that this position can actually be bought at the right price.

Let’s get the full-length mirror picture here:

Exodus: 28:3 The skilled workers were given wisdom from the Lord so there were no mistakes on this important garment.

The ephod and the breast piece go together.  The Ephod was a cloth that fastened to the breastplate.  The Ephod also held the stones on his shoulders that had the names of the tribes of Israel engraved on them-“the way a gem cutter engraves a seal”.

28:12 Aaron was the wear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord”.

The Breast Piece- Is the plate holding the stones over his heart.

Also, the breastplate would hold the Urim and Thummim over his heart.  I don’t know how these worked exactly because I wasn’t a High Priest, but I think they looked something like this

Think of them as dice that God controlled.  The Lord would use them through the Priesthood to cast lots for decision making.  So in my head, they looked more like the magic 8-ball BUT the Lord actually put what he wanted them to do through the clear screen at the bottom.

At the bottom of the garment, there were bells.  The bells have to do with God’s attention to the High Priest.  The entire worship ritual is mutual communication between the Lord that utilizes the full sensory experience.  In Genesis, he would say “God SAW that is was good”, and the burnt offerings are a pleasing AROMA.  Sound pleases the Lord too and recognizes the rich senses between the Creator and his worshipers.

Spoiler Alert:  I will say that when we get to Leviticus 10 SOMETHING is going to happen and the Levi family is going to turn these bells into an “Urban Legend”.  LOL  I love it!!!

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The Consecration of the Priests (No pictures here…Amen)

Because the priest is the covenant mediator, we start this chapter with the sacrifice of a bull.  It is very very important that we understand that the sacrifice is a true substitute for ourselves that deserves nothing less than death.  In verse 10 Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on its head.  We are to relate to the animal that will be sacrificed.  Hold their head.  Look them in the eye.  It should hurt our heart that because of our sin, someone innocent must die for us.

So let me ask you, here is the blueprint for the Tabernacle and the dress patterns for the priest.  How long do they have to build and sew?  Think of it this way: God is the Contractor and He will say “I need this done by….”.  What do you think the answer is and WHY.