Make linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh, extending from waist to thigh. Make linen undergarmentsThe instruction to "make linen undergarments" is significant in the context of the priestly garments. The Hebrew word for linen, "שֵׁשׁ" (shesh), indicates a fine, white fabric, symbolizing purity and righteousness. Linen was a common material for priestly garments due to its association with holiness and separation from the profane. The undergarments were an essential part of the priestly attire, ensuring modesty and preventing exposure during their sacred duties. This reflects the broader biblical theme of God’s concern for both the inner and outer purity of His people. to cover their bare flesh
The phrase "to cover their bare flesh" underscores the importance of modesty and the avoidance of shame in the presence of God. In the ancient Near Eastern context, nakedness was often associated with shame and vulnerability. By covering their flesh, the priests maintained a sense of dignity and respect in their service. This requirement highlights the holiness of God and the need for His servants to approach Him with reverence and propriety. It serves as a reminder that God sees beyond the physical, valuing the heart and intentions of His people. extending from waist to thigh
The specification "extending from waist to thigh" provides a clear guideline for the coverage required by the undergarments. This detail emphasizes the completeness of the covering, ensuring that the priests were fully prepared to serve without distraction or dishonor. The waist-to-thigh coverage signifies a comprehensive approach to modesty, reflecting the thoroughness with which God’s instructions were to be followed. Historically, this level of detail in the priestly garments illustrates the care and precision with which God’s people were to approach their worship and service, setting a standard for holiness and dedication. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe leader of the Israelites, who received the instructions for the priestly garments from God on Mount Sinai. 2. Aaron and His SonsThe first priests of Israel, for whom these garments were specifically made to serve in the tabernacle. 3. The TabernacleThe portable dwelling place for the divine presence among the Israelites, where the priests performed their duties. 4. Mount SinaiThe mountain where God delivered the laws and commandments, including the instructions for the priestly garments, to Moses. 5. The IsraelitesThe chosen people of God, who were to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. Teaching Points Holiness and PurityThe linen undergarments symbolize the need for purity and holiness in approaching God. As believers, we are called to live lives that reflect God's holiness. Modesty and RespectThe instruction to cover the priests' nakedness underscores the importance of modesty and respect in worship and service to God. Preparation for ServiceJust as the priests prepared themselves with specific garments, we must prepare our hearts and minds for service to God, ensuring we are spiritually ready. Symbolism of ClothingClothing in the Bible often symbolizes spiritual truths. As Christians, we are to "clothe" ourselves with Christ, embodying His character and virtues. God's Attention to DetailThe specific instructions for the priestly garments remind us that God cares about the details of our lives and our worship, calling us to be intentional in our devotion. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the instruction for linen undergarments in Exodus 28:42 reflect the broader biblical theme of holiness? 2. In what ways can we apply the principle of modesty and respect in our own worship practices today? 3. How does the concept of being a "royal priesthood" in 1 Peter 2 relate to the priestly garments described in Exodus 28? 4. What are some practical ways we can prepare ourselves spiritually for service to God, similar to how the priests prepared with their garments? 5. How does understanding God's attention to detail in the instructions for the tabernacle and priestly garments influence our view of His involvement in our daily lives? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 3The concept of covering nakedness is first introduced when God provides garments for Adam and Eve after the Fall, symbolizing the need for covering sin and shame. Leviticus 16The Day of Atonement rituals, where the high priest wears special garments, highlight the importance of purity and holiness in approaching God. 1 Peter 2The New Testament concept of believers as a royal priesthood, emphasizing the call to holiness and purity in the lives of Christians. Revelation 19The imagery of the saints clothed in fine linen, representing the righteous acts of the believers, connects to the theme of purity and holiness. People Aaron, Abihu, Eleazar, Israelites, Ithamar, Moses, Nadab, ShohamPlaces Mount SinaiTopics Bare, Bodies, Body, Breeches, Cover, Covering, Flesh, Hips, Knee, Linen, Loins, Middle, Naked, Nakedness, Reach, Reaching, Thigh, Thighs, Trousers, Undergarments, WaistDictionary of Bible Themes Exodus 28:42 5136 body
5146 covering
5258 cloth
5392 linen
7767 priests, OT institution Exodus 28:1-43 1065 God, holiness of Exodus 28:41-42 5073 Aaron, priest Exodus 28:42-43 5190 thigh
6750 sin-bearer
8269 holiness, separation from worldly 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 28:42 NIVExodus 28:42 NLTExodus 28:42 ESVExodus 28:42 NASBExodus 28:42 KJV
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