And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the LORD. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the LORD regularly.
“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment, so that it may not tear. On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the LORD, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.
“You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, Holy to the LORD.’ And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. “You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.
Comment: The High Priest’s garments were elaborate and like many things in the Bible are pointing forward to the Ultimate High Priest who ascended into heaven to be our High priest in the very Presence of the Father, who dwells in the real Holiest place, of which the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle was just a representation. Urim and Thummin mean in Hebrew ‘light’ and ‘perfection’. As referred to by Saul and in Ezra and Nehemiah they were used to tell truth from incorrect actions or decide the truth of the matter. They were to seek God’s answer in a situation. Some claim that this was ‘witchcraft’ but many (and I also) believe that this was God instituted and He was in control. Most certainly if we see it as looking forward to Jesus, He doesn’t make mistakes, knowing us better than we know ourselves! The robe was very beautiful, reflecting the perfect character of Jesus, the Messiah. The tassels (in the shape of pomegranates) and particularly the bells were there so that others could hear that Aaron was in fact alive and their representative in the Presence of God. Maybe the tassels were pomegranates, a fruit, because our service of God is meant to produce a fruitful character – loving, joyful … self-controlled etc – and certainly the life of Jesus was full of good character. The plate of pure gold had written on it Holy to the Lord. Sadly ‘holy’ is often seen as a negative word, often tied to a concept of self-righteousness or sometimes denying one’s own worth. Nothing could be further from the truth. Aaron was a good man but read the gospels Jesus wasn’t a weak and sappy person He was throughly God-centred but His story shines with character – graciousness, out-spokenness, truthfulness, thorough goodness. The phrase ‘bear any guilt’ speaks prophetically of what Jesus did when He died on the Cross as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 v 21 referring to Jesus’ death ‘For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him (Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God.’
Prayer: Help us to see that all of Your book is really centred on Your Son’s role in our lives and destiny. Please.
As I read it! 