Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he shall bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of judgment, as a continual reminder before the LORD. Whenever Aaron enters the Holy PlaceThe phrase "whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place" signifies the regular and sacred duty of the high priest. The Hebrew word for "enters" (בּוֹא, bo) implies not just a physical entry but a purposeful approach to a divine presence. The "Holy Place" (הַקֹּדֶשׁ, ha-qodesh) is a sanctified area within the Tabernacle, representing a space set apart for God's presence. This highlights the solemnity and reverence required of Aaron as he performs his priestly duties, reminding us of the need for holiness and preparation when approaching God. he shall bear the names of the sons of Israel
The act of bearing "the names of the sons of Israel" is deeply symbolic. The Hebrew word for "bear" (נָשָׂא, nasa) conveys the idea of carrying or lifting up, indicating a responsibility and honor. The "names of the sons of Israel" refer to the twelve tribes, each inscribed on the breastpiece. This act signifies the high priest's role as a mediator, carrying the people before God, and underscores the importance of intercession and representation in spiritual leadership. over his heart
The placement "over his heart" is significant, as the heart (לֵב, lev) in Hebrew thought is the center of emotion, will, and intellect. This positioning suggests that the high priest's intercession is not just a duty but a heartfelt commitment. It emphasizes the love and compassion required in spiritual leadership, reminding us that true intercession involves carrying others in our hearts before God. on the breastpiece of judgment
The "breastpiece of judgment" (חֹשֶׁן מִשְׁפָּט, choshen mishpat) is a sacred garment worn by the high priest, intricately designed and imbued with meaning. The term "judgment" (מִשְׁפָּט, mishpat) implies discernment and decision-making, reflecting the priest's role in seeking God's guidance and justice for the people. This garment serves as a tangible reminder of the divine wisdom and justice that should guide spiritual leaders. as a continual reminder before the LORD
The phrase "as a continual reminder before the LORD" underscores the perpetual nature of the high priest's duty. The Hebrew word for "reminder" (זִכָּרוֹן, zikaron) suggests a memorial or sign, serving to keep the people of Israel ever-present before God. This continual aspect highlights the enduring nature of God's covenant with His people and the ongoing need for intercession. It inspires believers to maintain a constant awareness of God's presence and the importance of upholding His statutes in their lives. Persons / Places / Events 1. AaronThe brother of Moses and the first high priest of Israel. He serves as a mediator between God and the Israelites, entering the Holy Place to perform priestly duties. 2. The Holy PlaceA sacred area within the Tabernacle where the priests perform their duties. It is a place of divine presence and worship. 3. The Sons of IsraelRefers to the twelve tribes of Israel, each represented by a name inscribed on the breastpiece worn by Aaron. 4. The Breastpiece of JudgmentA sacred garment worn by the high priest, adorned with stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel. It symbolizes the priest's role in seeking God's guidance and making decisions on behalf of the people. 5. The LORDThe covenant name of God, Yahweh, who established a relationship with Israel and provided the law and instructions for worship. Teaching Points The Role of the High PriestAaron's role as a high priest foreshadows the ultimate High Priest, Jesus Christ, who intercedes for us. Just as Aaron bore the names of Israel, Jesus bears our names before the Father. The Importance of RemembranceThe breastpiece serves as a continual reminder of God's covenant with Israel. We are called to remember God's faithfulness and promises in our daily lives. Intercession and RepresentationAaron's bearing of the names signifies the importance of intercession. As believers, we are called to pray and intercede for others, carrying their burdens before God. Symbolism of the HeartThe placement of the breastpiece over Aaron's heart signifies the deep love and commitment required in spiritual leadership. We are encouraged to lead with love and compassion. The Holiness of WorshipEntering the Holy Place signifies the sacredness of worship. We are reminded to approach God with reverence and purity in our worship practices. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Aaron's role as a high priest in Exodus 28:29 point to the work of Jesus Christ as our High Priest? 2. In what ways can we carry the names and burdens of others before God in prayer, similar to Aaron's role with the breastpiece? 3. How does the concept of remembrance in this passage apply to our daily walk with God? What are practical ways to remember God's faithfulness? 4. What does the placement of the breastpiece over Aaron's heart teach us about the qualities of spiritual leadership? 5. How can we ensure that our worship remains holy and reverent, reflecting the sacredness of the Holy Place described in Exodus 28:29? Connections to Other Scriptures Leviticus 16Describes the Day of Atonement, where the high priest enters the Holy of Holies, highlighting the significance of the priestly role in intercession and atonement. Hebrews 4:14-16Connects the high priestly role of Aaron to Jesus Christ, our ultimate High Priest, who intercedes for us before God. Revelation 21:12-14Mentions the twelve tribes of Israel in the New Jerusalem, showing the continuity of God's covenant people from the Old to the New Testament. People Aaron, Abihu, Eleazar, Israelites, Ithamar, Moses, Nadab, ShohamPlaces Mount SinaiTopics Aaron, Bag, Bear, Borne, Breastpiece, Breastplate, Breast-plate, Bring, Carry, Continual, Continually, Continuing, Decision, Entereth, Enters, Goes, Heart, Holy, Judgment, Memorial, Memory, Names, Priest's, Remembrance, Sanctuary, Sons, WheneverDictionary of Bible Themes Exodus 28:29 7394 memorial Exodus 28:1-43 1065 God, holiness of Exodus 28:15-30 5140 breasts
7320 breastpiece Exodus 28:29-30 4912 chance
5014 heart, human
7734 leaders, spiritual
8128 guidance, receiving Library Three Inscriptions with one Meaning
'Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it ... HOLINESS TO THE LORD.'--EXODUS xxviii. 36. 'In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD.'--ZECH. xiv. 20. 'His name shall be in their foreheads.'--REV. xxii. 4. You will have perceived my purpose in putting these three widely separated texts together. They all speak of inscriptions, and they are all obviously connected with each other. The first of them comes from the ancient times of the institution …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Names on Aaron's Breastplate
Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord, upon his two shoulders, for a memorial.... And Aaron shall bear the names of the Children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the Holy Place.'--EXODUS xxviii. 12,29. Every part of the elaborately prescribed dress of the high priest was significant. But the significance of the whole was concentrated in the inscription upon his mitre, 'Holiness to the Lord,' and in those others upon his breastplate and his shoulder. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ninth Day. Holiness and Mediation.
And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.'--Ex. xxviii. 36, 38. God's house was to be the dwelling-place of His Holiness, the place where He was to reveal Himself; as the Holy One, not to be approached but with …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ Edwards -- Spiritual Light
Jonathan Edwards, the New England divine and metaphysician, was born at East Windsor, Connecticut, in 1703. He was graduated early from Yale College, where he had given much attention to philosophy, became tutor of his college, and at nineteen began to preach. His voice and manner did not lend themselves readily to pulpit oratory, but his clear, logical, and intense presentation of the truth produced a profound and permanent effect upon his hearers. He wrote what were considered the most important …
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3 That the Ruler Should be Pure in Thought.
The ruler should always be pure in thought, inasmuch as no impurity ought to pollute him who has undertaken the office of wiping away the stains of pollution in the hearts of others also; for the hand that would cleanse from dirt must needs be clean, lest, being itself sordid with clinging mire, it soil whatever it touches all the more. For on this account it is said through the prophet, Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord (Isai. lii. 11). For they bear the vessels of the Lord who undertake, …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Sanctification
'For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.' I Thess 4:4. The word sanctification signifies to consecrate and set apart to a holy use: thus they are sanctified persons who are separated from the world, and set apart for God's service. Sanctification has a privative and a positive part. I. A privative part, which lies in the purging out of sin. Sin is compared to leaven, which sours; and to leprosy, which defiles. Sanctification purges out the old leaven.' I Cor 5:5. Though it takes not …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity That the Ruler Should be Always Chief in Action.
The ruler should always be chief in action, that by his living he may point out the way of life to those that are put under him, and that the flock, which follows the voice and manners of the shepherd, may learn how to walk better through example than through words. For he who is required by the necessity of his position to speak the highest things is compelled by the same necessity to exhibit the highest things. For that voice more readily penetrates the hearer's heart, which the speaker's life …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Thirtieth Lesson. An Holy Priesthood;'
An holy priesthood;' Or, The Ministry of Intercession. An holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.'--I Peter ii. 5. Ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord.'--Isaiah lxi. 6. THE Spirit of the Lord God is upon me: because the Lord hath anointed me.' These are the words of Jesus in Isaiah. As the fruit of His work all redeemed ones are priests, fellow-partakers with Him of His anointing with the Spirit as High Priest. Like the precious ointment upon …
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer That the Ruler Should be Discreet in Keeping Silence, Profitable in Speech.
The ruler should be discreet in keeping silence, profitable in speech; lest he either utter what ought to be suppressed or suppress what he ought to utter. For, as incautious speaking leads into error, so indiscreet silence leaves in error those who might have been instructed. For often improvident rulers, fearing to lose human favour, shrink timidly from speaking freely the things that are right; and, according to the voice of the Truth (Joh. x. 12), serve unto the custody of the flock by no means …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Text: Romans 13, 8-10. 8 Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; love therefore is the fulfilment of the law. CHRISTIAN LOVE AND THE COMMAND TO LOVE. 1. This, like the two …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II The Covenant of Grace
Q-20: DID GOD LEAVE ALL MANKIND TO PERISH 1N THE ESTATE OF SIN AND MISERY? A: No! He entered into a covenant of grace to deliver the elect out of that state, and to bring them into a state of grace by a Redeemer. 'I will make an everlasting covenant with you.' Isa 55:5. Man being by his fall plunged into a labyrinth of misery, and having no way left to recover himself, God was pleased to enter into a new covenant with him, and to restore him to life by a Redeemer. The great proposition I shall go …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Earliest Christian Preaching
1. THUS far we have confined ourselves to the words of Jesus. The divine necessity of His death, indicated in the Old Testament and forming the basis of all His teaching regarding it, is the primary truth; the nature of that necessity begins to be revealed as the death is set in relation to the ransoming of many, and to the institution of a new covenant -- that is, a new religion, having as its fundamental blessing the forgiveness of sins. I do not think this view of our Lord's mind as to His own …
James Denney—The Death of Christ Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Exodus 28:29 NIVExodus 28:29 NLTExodus 28:29 ESVExodus 28:29 NASBExodus 28:29 KJV
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