Exodus 28: Holy Clothing

The strangest part of Exodus 28 might be the part that ends up being the clearest: God cares how His people approach Him. Not because He wants a fashion show, but because worship is never weightless. Pastor Brandon breaks down the purpose behind the high priest’s sacred garments and shows how every detail points to something bigger than cloth and gold thread. 

We talk through why Aaron is set apart, what it means for one person to represent the people before God, and why the names of the tribes are carried on the shoulders and over the heart. We also dig into the Urim and Thummim, a practical way Israel sought God’s specific guidance when they didn’t have a direct prophetic voice, and why believers no longer rely on that system after the coming of the Holy Spirit. Along the way, we connect the tabernacle, the holy place, and the seriousness of consecration to the daily reality of seeking God’s will. 

Then the story turns toward the New Testament: Jesus as our eternal high priest, the once-for-all sacrifice that doesn’t just cover sin but washes it away, and the torn veil that signals access to God for every believer. We close with a blunt question that hits home: when was the last time you shut off distractions and went all in with worship? If you want a Bible study that ties Exodus 28 to Hebrews, Jesus, and practical discipleship, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Transcript

Welcome And How The Podcast Works

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everyone and welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. In this podcast, we will be breaking down the Bible one chapter a day. Whether you are a new believer or have been following Christ for a while, we believe that you will learn something new and fresh every single day. So thank you for joining us and let's get into breaking down the Bible together.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, Pastor Brandon.

Exodus 28 And The High Priest

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Today, Exodus chapter 28, and today's title is Holy Clothing. Holy Clothing. You know, when we look at the New Testament, especially in the book of Hebrews, there's so much talk about Jesus being the high priest and so many things about how the high priest, what he would wear, what he would do, all this, his job, all this, how it was a symbol for what Jesus would eventually fulfill. Well, who's the high priest and why does his clothes matter? Well, that goes all the way back to this chapter right here. The high priest was the person who stood in representation of the people of God for worship. They would all worship God, but he was the one kind of leading the way. He would represent the people before God. And that's why he was so important, is that he was almost like the access point. Yet God on one side, you had the people on the other, and he was the one connecting them back together. And that's why it's so important that later on the Bible says that God himself connected us to him, to where now he is our high priest. But what does that mean? Why is that important? The high priest is introduced to us today. So it's gonna be a lot of fun. We're gonna jump into this. So get your coffee, get your Bibles, get your notebooks, all the things. Make sure you also get busy liking, sharing, and subscribing to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure to leave us a five-star review on the podcast. It really does help. And make sure you're going to the Bible breakdown discussion on Facebook. There's an amazing group of people doing a wonderful job. You can get all that information at thebibelbreakdown.com. And of course, as always, the more we dig, the more we

Set Apart To Represent The People

SPEAKER_01 2:01

find. Well, if you've been with us over the past couple of days, God has been revealing to Moses what the house of worship is going to look like. He was telling Moses, he was like, I want you to build a house of worship because the king, me, God, I'm gonna go with them. I'm gonna go with the people. I want to be among the people. So build me a house so that we can have fellowship together. So for the past two or three chapters, we've been talking about what that is going to look like. But now we got to fill it up with, okay, well, then how do we worship God in this tabernacle? And in the Old Testament, the priest and the high priest would worship God on behalf of the people. The people would be worshiping as well. They have things they'd have to do, but the priests themselves were the ones who were on the front line worshiping God. And there's so much symbolism here of what Jesus eventually fulfills in the New Testament. So we're going to read this and then we'll stop along the way and just share some of the different things that go into this. So if you're ready, Exodus 28, verse 1 says this call your brother Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eliezer, and Ithamar. Set them apart from the rest of the people of Israel, so they may minister to me and be my priests. Pause. That was the goal of what the priests were to do. They were to represent the people and minister to God. Verse 2, make sacred garments for Aaron that are glorious and beautiful. Instruct all the skilled craftsmen whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom. Have them make garments for Aaron that will distinguish him as a priest set apart for my service. These are the garments that you are to make a chess piece, an ephod, a robe, a pattern tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make these garments for your brother Aaron and his sons to wear as they serve me as priests. So give them fine linen cloth, gold thread, blue, purple, and scarlet thread. The craftsman must make an ephod of finely woven linen and skillfully embroider it with gold and with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. This is what it looked like. It will consist of two pieces, front and back, joined at the shoulder with two shoulder pieces. The decorative sash will be made of the same materials, finely woven linen, embroidered with gold with a blue, purple, and scarlet thread. Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the tribes of Israel. Six names will be on each stone, arranged in order of the birth of the original sons of Israel. Engrave these names on the two stones the same way a jeweler engraves a seal. Then mount the stones and settings of gold filigree. Fasten the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephibe as a reminder that Aaron represents the people of Israel. Aaron will carry these names on his shoulders as a constant reminder whenever he goes before the Lord, and then make these of gold filigree, then braid two cords of pure gold and attach them to the filigree settings, uh filigree settings on the shoulders of Ephot.

Stones On Shoulders And Over Heart

SPEAKER_01 5:18

Now pause. So what he's saying is first of all, he is saying, make these extra, extra good. Like Aaron is going to be the high priest, the one over all the rest of the priest, make sure that he looks pretty good because he is representing the people. He's and he's worshiping me in a special way. And I love how the first thing is to put on his chest engraved stones of the house of Israel or the names of Israel, that way he remembers what he's doing. That when he comes before me in worship, that he remembers that he's not coming as himself, he's coming as a representation of the people of God. All right, verse 15. Then with great skill and care, make a chess piece to be worn for seeking the decisions of God from God. Make it to match the ephod using finely woven linen embroidered with gold and with purple, blue, and scarlet thread. Make the chest piece of a single piece of cloth folded to form a pouch nine inches square. Mount four rows of gemstones on it. The first row will contain red carnelian, a pale green peridot, and an emerald. The second row will contain a turquoise, a blue lapis lizuli, and a white moonstone. The third row will contain an orange jachnith, an agite, and a pure amethyst. The fourth row will contain blue green beryl, an onyx, and green jasper. All these stones will be set in gold filigree. Each stone will represent one of the twelve sons of Israel, and the name of that tribe will be engraved on it like a seal. To attach the chest pieces to the ephod make braided cords of pure gold thread. Then make two gold rings and attach them to the top corners of the chest piece. Tie the two gold cords to each ring on the chest piece. Tie the other ends of the cord to the gold settings on the shoulder pieces of the ephod. Then make two more gold rings and attach them to the inside edges of the chest piece next to the ephod. And make two more gold rings and attach them to the front of the ephod below the shoulder pieces just above the knot where the decorative sash is fastened to the ephod. Then attach the bottom rings to the chest piece, to the of the chest piece to the rings of the ephod with blue cords. This will hold the chest piece securely to the ephod above the decorative sash. In this way, Aaron will carry the names of the tribes of Israel on the sacred chest piece over his heart when he goes into the holy place. This will be a continual reminder that he represents the people when he comes before the Lord. Insert the Urim and Thumim into the sacred chest piece so they will be carried over Aaron's heart when he goes into the Lord's presence. In this way, Aaron will always carry over his heart the objects to determine the Lord's will for his people whenever he goes in before the Lord.

Urim And Thummim And God’s Will

SPEAKER_01 8:17

Now pause. Now what is the Urim and Thumum? Basically, what would happen is if they needed to know something very specific about God, what God's will was, and they didn't have a prophet, they didn't have Moses there anymore, and it didn't, it wasn't spelled out in God's word, then what they would do is they would ask God for wisdom, ask God for guidance, ask the question, and then they would throw the Urim and Thumum, and it was almost like dice. And they would trust that the way it landed was the was the way God wanted things to go. Because if they did not have a prophetic voice where someone was hearing from God, they still needed to be able to know God's will. And this was how they would discover this. Now, when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, we don't need this anymore because now we have the inner uh witness of the Holy Spirit and we have God's word to lead us and guide us. This was before the cross and how they would hear from God. If there wasn't a prophet, Moses wasn't around, and they had a very specific thing, they would ask God, they would throw the Urim and Thumum, and that is how they would determine the Lord's will. Verse 31 Make the robe that was worn with the ephod from a single piece of blue cloth, with the opening of Aaron's head in the middle of it. Reinforce the opening with woven uh with a woven collar so that it will not tear. Make pomegranates out of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and attach them to the hem of the robe with gold bells between them. The gold bells and pomegranates are to alternate all around the hem. Aaron will wear the robe whenever he ministers before the Lord, and the bells will tinkle as he goes around in the Lord's presence, uh, in the Lord's presence in the holy place. If he wears it, he will not die. So in other words, he's when he's in the Lord's presence, he's making a lot of noise. And God is saying he needs to make some noise while he's in there. Verse 36, make next make a medallion of pure gold and engrave it like a seal with these words, holy to the Lord. Attach the medallion to with a blue cord in front of Aaron's turban where it must remain. Aaron must wear it on his forehead

Robes Bells Holiness And Consecration

SPEAKER_01 10:24

so he may take on himself any guilt of the people of Israel when they consecrate their sacred offerings. He must always wear it on his forehead so the Lord will accept the people. Weave Aaron's patterned tunic from fine linen cloth. Fashion the turban from this fine linen as well. Also, make a sash and decorate it with colorful embroidery. For Aaron's sons make tunics, sashes, and special head coverings that are glorious and beautiful. Clothe your brother Aaron and his sons with these garments, and then anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they can serve as my priest. Also, make linen undergarments for them to be worn next to their bodies, reaching from their hips to their thighs. These must be worn whenever Aaron and his sons enter the tabernacle and approach the holy place to perform their priestly duties. They will not, then they will not incur guilt and die. This is a permanent law for Aaron and his descendants after him. So, first of all, I want to say that is both amazing, and if I'm honest, I feel just a little bit sad for Aaron because I'm gonna tell you something, as a lot of clothes. He's got all this stuff on him. But all of this has representation. For instance, he said that over him is gonna be holy to the Lord, is gonna be something that is over his head as like a turban because it was a representation that this person is standing in place of the people for the Lord. Then he's gonna have the 12 tribes of Israel over his heart so that wherever he goes, he has the 12 tribes of Israel on his heart as a symbol of he's thinking about them. Then he is

How Jesus Fulfills The High Priest

SPEAKER_01 12:04

going to have the uh the Urim and the Thermos, other words, that you need to ask him to know the will of God. And he got and this person is represent representing God before the people. But all this was also a type and shadow, an example of what ultimately Jesus was going to be. The book of Hebrews says that Jesus became our high priest forever. And so Jesus fulfilled these types and shadows. In other words, Jesus became our holy sacrifice for God. That on his heart constantly are us, his people. And that we no longer have to go to a person, but we can go to God Himself to discover his will for our life. That Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for us. During this time, they they would represent, or one person would represent the people and would go into the holiest place and they would ask God for forgiveness of the sins of the nation for another year. They would cover their sins for a year. When Jesus came, he didn't cover our sins anymore, he washed them away. And the veil that is there that separates the ark from everyone else in the book of Matthew was torn because now we don't have to have a high priest, but now we become priests in the kingdom of God. And so all of this is a type and shadow of what is to come one day, but it has to begin somewhere.

A Challenge To Worship Wholeheartedly

SPEAKER_01 13:32

And I love the fact that God says that when you worship me, man, do so with all your heart. Get decked out, look good for it. And that doesn't necessarily mean that we dress a certain way. It just means that we get excited about God, that we go all in when we worship God. We don't leave anything to the side. Let me ask you this question. When is the last time you spent time with God and you just went all in? You turned off your phone, you turned off whatever distraction, you just say, God, I'm just gonna right now focus my attention on you. You are worth everything that I can give you. That's what God is telling them. So, man, make them look glorious, make them look beautiful. You know why? Because they're mine and I love them. And when they come see me, man, you you tell them to get ready, look their best, look the part. Well, now it's got nothing to do with how we look on the outside. It is the position of our heart on the inside. So, what if today you spend time with the Lord and you go all in? You go just as far as you can go. God, I'm gonna worship you with everything I have and watch what happens.

Prayer And Closing Promise Of Freedom

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you, God, that you're with us and you're for us. Thank you for the opportunity of being able to worship you. Thank you, God, that in the Old Testament they had to go through a human high priest to get to you, but because of you, Jesus, we no longer have to go through an earthly high priest. You made the way for us. You tore the veil. And now we get to be in the very presence of God. Thank you, God, for loving us that way. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, God's word says in Exodus 6, verse 6, he says, I will free you from your oppression and I will rescue you from your slavery. I'm so thankful to serve a God of freedom. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Exodus chapter 29.