Engraved on the Heart of God
Introduction: The Crisis of Anonymity
We live in an age of curated identities and manufactured personas, and yet, paradoxically, we are drowning in anonymity. We are numbers in a database, faces in a crowd, users to be monetized. The modern world promises you can be anything you want, which is another way of saying that you are, at your core, nothing at all. You are a blank slate, a ghost in the machine. And so people scramble to find an identity, any identity. They cobble one together from their grievances, their appetites, or their political tribe. But these are identities built on sand, and when the rains of crisis or mortality descend, they wash away, leaving the person naked and unknown.
The world offers two equally bleak alternatives: either you are an insignificant cog in a vast, impersonal cosmic machine, or you are the absolute center of your own self-created universe. Both are lies, and both lead to despair. The first tells you that you do not matter. The second places a burden on you that you cannot possibly bear, the burden of being your own god, your own lawgiver, your own savior.
Into this confusion, the Word of God speaks with glorious, weighty precision. The God of the Bible is not the god of the philosophers, a distant, abstract principle. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is a God who knows His people by name. The intricate, almost bewildering, detail in our text today is not divine fussiness about fashion. It is a declaration of war against anonymity. It is God revealing, in gold and jewels and fine linen, how He sees His people, how He secures His people, and how He remembers His people. This passage is about the breastpiece of the high priest, and what we find is that it is nothing less than a detailed schematic of our eternal security in Jesus Christ.
The Text
"You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, the work of a skillful designer; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen you shall make it. It shall be square, having been folded double, a span in length and a span in width. You shall mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald; and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl and an onyx and a jasper; they shall be set in gold settings. The stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a signet, each according to his name for the twelve tribes. You shall make on the breastpiece chains of a twisted work of cords in pure gold. You shall make on the breastpiece two rings of gold, and you shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. You shall put the two cords of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. You shall put the two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, and you shall put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. You shall make two rings of gold and shall place them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on the edge of it, which is toward the inner side of the ephod. You shall make two rings of gold and put them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it close to the place where it is joined, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. They shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it will be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece will not come loose from the ephod. Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he comes into the holy place, for a remembrance before Yahweh continually. You shall put in the breastpiece of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he comes in before Yahweh; and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before Yahweh continually."
(Exodus 28:15-30 LSB)
Precious, Particular, and Permanent (vv. 15-21)
The first thing to notice is the sheer glory of this object. It is made of the finest materials: gold for divinity, blue for the heavens, purple for royalty, scarlet for the blood of atonement, and fine linen for righteousness. This is the fabric of salvation itself. And into this glorious fabric are set twelve distinct, precious stones.
"The stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a signet, each according to his name for the twelve tribes." (Exodus 28:21 LSB)
This is a portrait of the covenant people of God. Notice three things. First, they are precious. These are not common rocks. They are rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. This is how God views His people. In a world that treats people as disposable, God declares His own to be jewels. Peter picks up this imagery when he calls us "living stones" being built into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5).
Second, they are particular. There are twelve stones, and they are all different. A ruby is not an emerald, and a topaz is not a diamond. The unity of God's people is not a bland, uniform sameness. God does not save a generic mass of humanity. He saves individuals from every tribe and tongue and nation. He saves you, in all your particularity. The church is a body with many members, a breastpiece with many stones, each with its own color and fire, all held together in one glorious design.
Third, their identity is permanent. The names are not written in ink; they are engraved "like the engravings of a signet." A signet ring was used to press an authoritative, unalterable seal into wax. This is a permanent mark. God's choice of His people is not provisional. Your name is not penciled into His book, liable to be erased if you misbehave. He has engraved you on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16), and here, He engraves the names of His people on these stones. This is the doctrine of election, displayed in gemstones. It is an objective, eternal reality.
Inseparably Bound to Christ (vv. 22-28)
The next section gives us an exhaustive, almost tedious, description of how this breastpiece is to be attached to the ephod, the priest's outer garment. There are chains, rings, and cords, all meticulously arranged.
"They shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord... that the breastpiece will not come loose from the ephod." (Exodus 28:28 LSB)
Why all this detail? Because God is teaching us about the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. The breastpiece represents the people of God. The ephod, and the priest wearing it, represents our great High Priest, Jesus Christ. And the central point of all these rings and cords is that the people of God are inseparably bound to their Priest. The connection is not flimsy. It is not based on our weak grip on Him, but on His unbreakable grip on us.
Notice the "blue cord." Blue is the color of the heavens. Our security is a heavenly security. It is a covenantal bond, fastened by God Himself. The final clause is the glorious summary: "that the breastpiece will not come loose from the ephod." Can a true believer lose their salvation? Can one of the precious stones fall off the breastpiece? God, in His meticulous wisdom, has designed our salvation in such a way that it is impossible. We are bound to Christ. "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:28). That is the blue cord talking.
Carried on the Heart of God (vv. 29-30)
Now we come to the very center of it all, the purpose for this glorious and securely fastened object.
"Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he comes into the holy place, for a remembrance before Yahweh continually." (Exodus 28:29 LSB)
This is one of the most comforting truths in all of Scripture. Aaron, the high priest, was a type and shadow of Jesus Christ. When he went into the presence of God, he did not go alone. He carried the names of the people, not in a pouch or on his back, but "over his heart." This is a picture of Christ's loving, constant, high priestly intercession for us. He holds us in His affections. He presents us to the Father. Our acceptance before God is not based on our own merits, but on the fact that our great High Priest carries us on His heart.
And this is "for a remembrance before Yahweh continually." This does not mean that God is forgetful and needs a reminder. In the Bible, to "remember" is a covenantal act. It means to act on behalf of someone according to a promise. When Christ presents us before the Father, He is continually activating the covenant on our behalf. He is continually pointing to His finished work and saying, "Father, they are with me. Their names are on my heart."
Finally, this is the "breastpiece of judgment," containing the Urim and Thummim. These were likely two objects used to discern the will of God, perhaps giving a yes or no answer. The name means "lights and perfections." Where is the judgment of God's people? It is carried on the heart of their priest. Where do we find guidance and truth? It is found with our Priest. For the believer, the judgment has already fallen upon Christ. He bore it for us. He now carries us on His heart, and from that place of love and security, He gives us all the light and perfection we need. He is our judgment. He is our guidance. He is our all.
Our Unshakeable Identity
So, what is your identity? Are you a random collection of atoms? Are you the sum of your failures and successes? Are you what your feelings tell you that you are on any given morning? The world offers these flimsy foundations, and they all lead to ruin.
The Word of God offers something else entirely. Your true identity is found here, in this ancient piece of priestly clothing. You, if you are in Christ, are a precious stone, chosen by God. You are engraved with a new name, permanently and authoritatively. You are inseparably bound to your High Priest, Jesus Christ, by a heavenly, unbreakable bond. And you are carried, continually, over His heart in the presence of a holy God.
This is not a feeling. It is a fact. It is an objective reality established by God Himself. When the accuser comes, as he will, and whispers that you are forgotten, that you are worthless, that you are not good enough, you must not look inward to your own performance. You must look outward and upward to your great High Priest. You must point to Him and say, "I am on His heart. My judgment is with Him. My name is engraved in stone, set in gold, and presented continually before the throne of grace." This is the only identity that will stand, and it will stand forever.