Exodus 28:1-29:46 Study Guide: Priestly clothing

Community Group Study Guide — Priestly Clothing

Exodus 28:1-29:46

Study Information:

What we wear can communicate a lot about who we are and what we’re doing. You likely would not wear sweatpants to a funeral or a suit to the gym. Clothing styles shift and vary with time, but in every culture they communicate something from reverence to rebellion to relaxation. Our passage teaches on the clothing of the priest in great detail! Probably more than any other passage in scripture we get a picture of the rich symbolism of clothing related to one’s vocation. It is an interesting feature that in the Old Testament almost everything about worship was given very specific detail even down to the colors of the priest garments and the length of the tassels on his robes, and yet we do not have that same level of detail in the New Testament for worship. God commanded the priests to dress in a particular way and consecrated them to their priestly activity so that they’d communicate his glory and beauty and represent the people of God before him, and in that we get a picture of Christ (Exodus 28:1-2, 9). The writer of Hebrews desired that we see Christ as the true and better priest who represents us fully before God. 

Beauty, Glory and Presence

Exodus 28

The priestly garments point to the role of the priest was to represent the people to God and to bear their judgement and guilt before the Lord. Their clothing must have stood out from all of ancient Israel based on how ornate and intricate it was. God did this to communicate something about his glory and beauty (Exodus 28:1-2). The various materials used to create the garments including fine linens and threads, gold, onyx, purple and scarlet yarns and images like pomegranates embroidered into them. The priestly outfit included robes, gold medallions, a breastplate and shoulder pieces and many jewels and precious metals. On the shoulder pieces and breast plate, God set visual reminders and images of the priest representing the people to God in the holy of holies. This included two onyx stones that each contained six of the tribe names that were placed on the two shoulder pieces of the ephod. Likewise, on the breast plate there were to be 12 stones representing the 12 tribes. The priest would have a reminder as he served in the Holy Place that he was not alone, but representing all the people in their judgment, sin and guilt before the Lord as he offered sacrifice and went before the Lord.

In many ways the priest embodied the people. Aaron “was” Israel as he entered into God’s presence, they were symbolically present with him on his chest and shoulders. Aaron bore the judgement and guilt of Israel in the presence of God as their representative (Exodus 28:9-12, 29-30, 35-38). His garments even had bells on them so that if he went into the Holy of Holies they’d know that he was still alive in there! 

This was serious work, making atonement and going into the presence of God on behalf of the people. If he was accepted, the people were accepted. 

Set Apart to God

Exodus 29

After detailing out the garments of the priest, we get a description of their consecration ceremony. To be consecrated means to be set apart for a specific task. This ceremony set them apart as holy in their role of representing the people to God. This ritual involved the blood of bulls and lambs, offered cakes and bread and anointing oil. The first sacrifice was a bull as a sin offering, as a cleansing of the people, so the priest could draw near. The second sacrifice was a ram as a burnt offering which also pointed to atonement or a covering over of one’s sin. The third sacrifice was also a ram, and was referred to as a ram for ordination and as a wave offering (Exodus 29:22, 26). This final offering is similar to what was known as a peace offering or fellowship offering which was for reconciliation or restored fellowship. With these offerings they consecrated the priest, purified the altar and set up a system of sacrifice for the people. Aaron was also anointed with oil, as a symbol or sign of God’s presence (Exodus 29:7)

To be consecrated was to be set apart as holy for a certain use or task. You may have certain objects around your house that are special and only used for a specific task like a certain chair that you sit in at the end of the day or a specific utensil that only gets used when you make coffee or something like that. Those objects become “holy” to that task in a way. God has done the same thing with Aaron and his son’s by setting them apart to be the ones who represent the people before him. The priest’s vocation and main purpose in life and worship was to be that bridge between God and the people in the temple. 

Jesus the True and Better Priest

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Some of us may long for a more tangible way to access God through a priest or a specific offering, but if you’re a follower of Jesus you need to recognize that you have a better priest than Aaron and better access to God through the Holy Spirit because of Jesus. Just as the blood of bulls and rams gave the priest access to the holy place, in a better way the blood of Jesus gives us access to the holy place that is God’s presence. The writer of Hebrews gives us a picture of the priesthood of Jesus in Hebrews 4:14-5:10. Jesus gives every believer confidence to draw near to God’s throne of grace because he passed through the heavens, he was appointed to represent us to God and offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins which is a lasting sacrifice once and for all (Hebrews 10:10). The result being eternal salvation to those who follow Christ (Hebrews 5:9). 

Jesus democratized access to God’s presence for all of us by being the true and better priest. We do not need to rely on someone going into the Holy of Holies on our behalf since Christ has made access to God available through his better sacrifice. What we gain is a priest who is able to sympathize with our weakness, yet without sin, confidence to draw near to God for grace and mercy in a time of need, a permanent atonement applied to us through faith and eternal salvation in Christ. The Old Testament priest hood pointed forward to this reality that was fulfilled in Christ. 

At your community group:

Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.

How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week? 

Discussion Questions:

Read Exodus 28:1-29:36 (or selected portions)

What does it mean to be consecrated? 

Describe the priestly clothing and what role or function to they point to for the priest?

The priest would have to offer sacrifices again and again to go into the holy place of the temple. How does the book of Hebrews talk about the ministry of Jesus giving us a different kind of access to God? What does that access to God look like for us today?

What do you think it would be like to have to make a sacrifice for sin whenever you wanted or needed to draw near to God? The writer of Hebrews described that the sacrifice of Jesus was once for all, and that we can draw near the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. What does access to God look like for you on a day to day basis?