Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 28-29.

My first thought when reading this was that the sacred, priestly garments would serve to make the priests stand out from everyone else.  As I thought about that, I struggle with the idea of a priesthood elevated above the “common man”.  I don’t think God desires us to elevate a small group of people as above everyone else, as between the ordinary person and God.  However, when I thought about it a little more I saw a connection with what I wrote on the 24th.  Those of us who follow Christ have been called forth into a holy priesthood.  Perhaps we should seek to dress in ways which make us stand out from those around us so that any who look will know that we strive to serve God.  Of course, if we do that we will also have to make sure that none of our casual utterances or actions bring dishonor to God, the way in which some drivers with a “fish” logo on their car bring dishonor to God by the way in which they drive.  I do not know what such clothing should or would look like, but I do believe the Church would be well served if its members could be visually distinguished from others by the casual observer.

Note: I come from a tradition which used to dress in a distinct manner (and some branches of this tradition still do). I think the reasons given for abandoning that dress were specious, but I also believe that many who wore such outfits thought that doing so made them better than others, without actually exhibiting the godly behavior to which I am referring.

I had not originally planned on writing that much about priestly garments.  Instead, I was going to make the focus of what I write today be on what God says at the end of this passage.  He said that after consecrating the tabernacle and Aaron and his sons, He would dwell among the Israelites and be their God.  They would thus know that He was their God and that He had brought them out of Egypt so that He could dwell among them.  Since creation, God has sought people who would know that He was God among whom He could dwell.  It was for this same reason that He came as Christ and died on the cross; so that we would know that He was God and He could live among us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 28-29.

I have written before about how I have trouble reading passages such as this one which detail the construction of items of worship which we no longer employ.  As a result, I struggle finding things to write on such passages.  Which leads me to what I am going to write about today.  First some background which sets the stage for what I noticed.  At this point there are thirteen tribes as Ephraim and Manasseh were each a tribe (they each have their own place within the overall encampment of the Israelites).  However, when God instructs Moses on constructing the garment for Aaron (and his successors as High Priest) He tells Moses to carve the names of the twelve sons of Israel into gemstones which will be attached to those garments.  Now, I am not sure why that is significant, but I have been noticing some interesting juxtapositions of the numbers twelve and thirteen throughout the Bible.  On his death bed (not quite, but close enough), Jacob had adopted Ephraim and Manasseh as his sons in place of Joseph (not to replace Joseph as his son, but in order to expand Joseph’s place as his son).  Perhaps it is significant that in that passage it refers to Jacob adopting Ephraim and Manasseh and here is says the sons of Israel.  I am writing this unsure about what it means.  I will note that the Bible does seem to use Jacob and Israel to distinguish between the earthly man, Jacob, and the spiritual heir to God’s promise, Israel (I am still working on the proper way to refer to that distinction).  However, it seems significant and I suspect that its significance is spelled out in a later passage, but that I will only see that significance if I have taken note of this juxtaposition here.

I am going to add an after thought here about what I have noticed regarding twelve and thirteen.  Jesus called the Twelve Apostles, who parallel the twelve tribes of Israel.  However, Jesus and His inner circle numbered thirteen, with Jesus interceding with God for the Twelve, just as the tribes numbered thirteen with the Levites interceding with God for the other twelve tribes (when we count Ephraim and Manasseh as separate tribes, which is done in much of the Old Testament).  There is a mystery of God here which I do not understand, but which makes me feel as if there is something about it which would improve my faith walk if I did understand it.  If my feeling is correct, the Holy Spirit will reveal it to me in God’s time.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 28-29.

I have never been particularly interested in ceremonial garb.  As a result this passage tends to go “over my head”.  However, one thing which has always bothered me about this passage is the lack of detail concerning the Urim and Thummim, which were to be used by Aaron, and his successors to consult God in order to make a decision.  I did a little Internet research today and learned more than I had known before (I had previously looked for information and found nothing useful).  Thummim is believed to be derived from a Hebrew word which means “innocent”, while Urim may be derived from a word which means “cursed”.  This leads to the idea that they were two stones of identical size and shape with a marking on them to indicate which was which.  If this is correct, that would mean that questions for which they were used would need to be “yes” or “no” questions.  Of course, I also noticed something about this passage which I have never noticed before.  The breastpiece into which the Urim and Thummim were to be placed  was referred to as the “breastpeice of decision”  (or perhaps, “breastpiece of judgement”), which suggests that the breastpiece may have been used in some manner for more complicated decisions.  Nevertheless, the basic nature of the Urim and Thummim suggest that when we seek God’s guidance we should seek to break the decision we are seeking guidance on down into yes or no questions.  Which is really a good idea for any decision…and right after I wrote that I realized that we should be seeking God’s guidance on every decision we make, even if it is just “What should I eat for lunch?”

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Exodus 28-29.

Today’s passage is another one of those which cause my eyes to glaze over.  I know people who make sermons from the description of the priestly garments, and I admire them for that.  One problem with the fact that my eyes glaze over as I read this detailed description is that I miss things.  Today was the first time I realized that the breast piece which Aaron was to wear whenever he entered the Most Holy Place was the “breast piece for making decisions.”  That fact, for me, changes the significance of the twelve names of Jacob’s sons being on it.  When God was being consulted for a decision, those seeking God’s guidance were reminded that they represented the entire nation as they made decisions.  In the same way when we seek God’s guidance in making a decision we need to remember that others are effected by what we decide.  When we make a decision we must remember to seek what is best for all who are impacted by that decision, not just what is best for ourselves.