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Saturday 4 September 2010

Exodus 28

We now come to the garments for the priests. These were designed to give them "dignity and honour". When Christ comes into our lives He comes to give us dignity and honour, for we are all priests. He does this not with outward clothing, but with the inner cleansing of the Holy Spirit. However, this will affect our outward appearance as well, for what is on the outside reflects what is on the inside. The most dramatic example in the Bible of Jesus bringing "dignity and honour" to a man, is the demoniac in the "bay of pigs" incident (Mark 5:1-20).
The ephod was a kind of vest and was made of gold. It had the names of the twelve tribes attached to it by means of two stones. When Aaron approached God he approached on behalf of the whole nation. Similarly Jesus represents the whole church before the Father. The ephod and brestpiece were linked to making decisions on behalf of Israel. When we need to make decisions in life there is nothing better than being in God's presence. This is not just a matter of praying directly about the matter, or thinking about it, or looking at relevant Bible passages, though all these things will probably be involved. It is more than this. When we worship God it helps us to think straight, and we are more likely to make the right decision. Moreover, decisions we make affect not just ourselves, but the lives of others as well. All our lives are interconnected.
The turban was connected to dealing with guilt, so that Aaron's service was acceptable. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin and makes our service to Him acceptable.

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