Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. This is to be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants. These must be wornThe garments referred to here are the sacred vestments designed for Aaron and his sons, the priests. In Hebrew, the word for "worn" is "לבש" (lavash), which implies not just putting on clothes but being enveloped or clothed with purpose. The garments symbolize the righteousness and holiness required to serve before God, setting the priests apart for their sacred duties. by Aaron and his sons
Aaron, the brother of Moses, was appointed as the first high priest, and his sons were to follow in his priestly lineage. This establishes a hereditary priesthood, emphasizing the continuity and stability of spiritual leadership. The phrase underscores the importance of family and legacy in the service of God, as well as the divine selection of Aaron's line for this holy office. whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting
The Tent of Meeting, or Tabernacle, was the portable earthly dwelling place of God among the Israelites. The Hebrew term "אוהל מועד" (Ohel Moed) signifies a place of divine encounter and revelation. The priests' entry into this sacred space required them to be properly attired, symbolizing the reverence and preparation needed to approach God's presence. or approach the altar
The altar was central to the sacrificial system, representing atonement and communion with God. Approaching the altar was a solemn act, and the priests' garments served as a reminder of the sanctity of their role and the seriousness of their duties. The Hebrew root "נגש" (nagash) for "approach" conveys the idea of drawing near with intention and respect. to minister in the Holy Place
The Holy Place was the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where the priests performed their sacred duties. The Hebrew word "שׁרת" (sharat) for "minister" implies service and worship, highlighting the priests' role as intermediaries between God and the people. Their ministry was an act of devotion and obedience, reflecting the holiness of God. so that they will not incur guilt and die
The gravity of the priests' responsibilities is underscored by the warning of death for failing to adhere to God's commands. The Hebrew word "עון" (avon) for "guilt" denotes iniquity or wrongdoing, emphasizing the need for purity and obedience in God's service. This severe consequence highlights the holiness of God and the seriousness of approaching Him. This is to be a permanent statute
The phrase "חוקת עולם" (chukat olam) in Hebrew means an everlasting ordinance. This underscores the enduring nature of God's commandments and the perpetual requirement for holiness in worship. It reflects the unchanging character of God and His eternal standards for His people. for Aaron and his descendants
The priestly lineage of Aaron was to continue through his descendants, establishing a lasting priesthood. This continuity signifies God's faithfulness to His covenant and the importance of generational faithfulness in serving Him. It also points to the ultimate fulfillment of the priesthood in Jesus Christ, our eternal High Priest. Persons / Places / Events 1. AaronThe brother of Moses, appointed as the first high priest of Israel. He represents the priestly line and is a central figure in the establishment of the Levitical priesthood. 2. Aaron's SonsThe descendants of Aaron who were also appointed to serve as priests. They were to follow the same regulations and statutes as Aaron. 3. Tent of MeetingAlso known as the Tabernacle, it was the portable earthly dwelling place of God among the Israelites, where the priests performed their duties. 4. AltarA sacred place for offerings and sacrifices, central to the worship practices of the Israelites. 5. Holy PlaceThe inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle where the priests ministered, distinct from the Most Holy Place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. Teaching Points Holiness in WorshipThe requirement for Aaron and his sons to wear specific garments underscores the importance of approaching God with reverence and holiness. As believers, we are called to prepare our hearts and minds when we come before God in worship. Obedience to God's CommandsThe permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants highlights the necessity of obedience to God's instructions. Our lives should reflect a commitment to following God's Word. The Role of IntercessionThe priests served as mediators between God and the people. Today, we are called to intercede for others, lifting them up in prayer and seeking God's will on their behalf. The Consequences of DisobedienceThe warning of incurring guilt and death serves as a reminder of the seriousness of sin and the need for repentance. We must be vigilant in our walk with God, seeking His forgiveness and grace. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the role of Aaron and his sons as priests relate to our identity as a "royal priesthood" in 1 Peter 2:9? 2. What can we learn from the specific instructions given to the priests about the importance of preparation and reverence in our own worship practices? 3. In what ways does the concept of a "permanent statute" for the priests challenge us to consider the enduring nature of God's commands in our lives? 4. How does the warning of incurring guilt and death for disobedience in Exodus 28:43 reflect the broader biblical theme of the consequences of sin? 5. How can we apply the principle of intercession, as seen in the priestly duties, to our daily lives and relationships with others? Connections to Other Scriptures Leviticus 16This chapter provides further details on the priestly garments and the Day of Atonement, emphasizing the importance of holiness and proper attire in the presence of God. Hebrews 4:14-16This passage speaks of Jesus as our high priest, drawing a parallel between the Old Testament priesthood and Christ's eternal priesthood, highlighting the fulfillment of the law through Him. 1 Peter 2:9This verse describes believers as a royal priesthood, connecting the Old Testament priestly duties to the spiritual responsibilities of Christians today. People Aaron, Abihu, Eleazar, Israelites, Ithamar, Moses, Nadab, ShohamPlaces Mount SinaiTopics Aaron, Age-during, Altar, Approach, Bear, Bring, Causing, Congregation, Death, Descendants, Die, Died, Drawing, Enter, Everlasting, Forever, Free, Guilt, Holy, Incur, Iniquity, Lasting, Lest, Meeting, Minister, Nigh, Order, Ordinance, Perpetual, Sanctuary, Seed, Serve, Sin, Sons, Statute, Tabernacle, Tent, Themselves, Wear, WheneverDictionary of Bible Themes Exodus 28:43 5578 tents
7404 ordinances Exodus 28:1-43 1065 God, holiness of 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 28:43 NIVExodus 28:43 NLTExodus 28:43 ESVExodus 28:43 NASBExodus 28:43 KJV
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