The High Priest's Heart: Text: Exodus 39:8-21
Introduction: God's Sartorial Theology
We live in an age that prides itself on its casual approach to everything, which is another way of saying we live in an age that has contempt for everything. Our dress is casual, our language is casual, our worship is casual, and our theology is casual. We think this makes us authentic, but what it really does is make us slobs. We have forgotten that God is a God of glorious, painstaking, and beautiful detail. If you doubt this, I invite you to consider the iridescent feathers of a peacock, the intricate geometry of a snowflake, or the staggering detail of the passage before us today.
We are in the final chapters of Exodus, where the instructions for the Tabernacle, given by God on the mountain, are now being carried out by the people in the valley. And what we find is not a breezy summary. We do not read, "and they made some nice robes for Aaron." No, the Holy Spirit sees fit to repeat, almost verbatim, the detailed instructions He gave back in chapter 28. Why? Because obedience is found in the details. God cares about the thread count. He cares about the color, the cut, and the craftsmanship. This is not fussy legalism; it is a theology of glory. God is clothing His priest, and in doing so, He is teaching His people, and us, about the nature of true mediation, the identity of His chosen people, and the coming glory of our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This section focuses on the breastpiece, the most intricate part of the high priest's garments. It was worn over his heart, and it carried the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. This was not a mere piece of religious jewelry. It was a theological statement, a covenantal instrument, and a profound picture of the gospel. In our modern evangelical world, we are often tempted to skip over passages like this. We see them as tedious, irrelevant, or just plain weird. But in doing so, we are like a man who tears out the foundation of his house because he finds it less interesting than the curtains. These details are the foundation. They teach us that God's plan of salvation is not an afterthought but an eternal design, woven with divine precision from the very beginning. Let us therefore attend to the details, for in them we will find Christ.
The Text
He made the breastpiece, the work of a skillful designer, like the workmanship of the ephod: of gold, and of blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen. It was square; they made the breastpiece, having been folded double, a span long and a span wide when folded double. And they mounted four rows of stones on it. The first row was 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, an onyx, and a jasper. They were set in their filigree settings with gold filigree. The stones were corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they were twelve, corresponding to their names, engraved with the engravings of a signet, each with its name for the twelve tribes. They made on the breastpiece chains of a twisted work of cords in pure gold. They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. Then they put the two gold cords in the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. They put the other two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. They made two gold rings and placed them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inner edge which was next to the ephod. Furthermore, they made two gold rings and placed them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it, close to the place where it joined, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece would not come loose from the ephod, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
(Exodus 39:8-21 LSB)
Divine Design and Material Glory (vv. 8-9)
We begin with the creation of the breastpiece itself.
"He made the breastpiece, the work of a skillful designer, like the workmanship of the ephod: of gold, and of blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen. It was square; they made the breastpiece, having been folded double, a span long and a span wide when folded double." (Exodus 39:8-9)
Notice first that this is the "work of a skillful designer." God is the ultimate designer, and He fills men like Bezalel with His Spirit to carry out the work. This is a crucial point. True art, true craftsmanship, is not autonomous self-expression. It is the faithful, skillful execution of a divine pattern. The materials are the same as those used for the Tabernacle curtains and the ephod: gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen. These are royal materials. Gold speaks of divinity and glory. Blue speaks of the heavens, the transcendent realm of God. Purple speaks of royalty and kingship. Scarlet speaks of blood, sacrifice, and life. And the fine white linen speaks of righteousness and purity. This is a portrait of Christ before Christ ever walked the earth. He is our divine King who would shed His blood to give us His righteousness.
The breastpiece was a square, folded double to form a pouch. A span is the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger, roughly nine inches. So this was a nine-by-nine inch square. The square shape speaks of the earth, with its four corners, and the order of God's creation. The fact that it was folded double created a pouch, which we know from chapter 28 was for the Urim and Thummim, the "lights and perfections" by which God would give guidance to His people. The high priest carried God's Word and God's people on his heart. The pouch was a place of hidden counsel, of divine mystery, from which God's will was made known.
The People on His Heart (vv. 10-14)
Next, we see the centerpiece of the breastpiece: the twelve stones.
"And they mounted four rows of stones on it... The stones were corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they were twelve, corresponding to their names, engraved with the engravings of a signet, each with its name for the twelve tribes." (Exodus 39:10, 14)
This is where the representational nature of the priesthood becomes intensely personal. The high priest did not go before God as a private individual. He went as Israel. He carried the people with him, not just in his thoughts, but physically, symbolically, on his heart. Each stone represented one of the twelve tribes. Think of the glory of this. These were precious stones, each unique, each beautiful, set in gold. This is how God sees His covenant people. He does not see them as a faceless mob. He sees them as a collection of precious jewels, each distinct, each valuable, each held securely in a setting of divine glory.
The names were engraved on the stones like a signet. A signet was used to impress a seal on wax, signifying ownership and authority. This means the names of God's people were permanently and authoritatively etched into these stones. Their identity was secure. This is a picture of our eternal security in Christ. Our names are not written in pencil on some celestial waiting list; they are engraved on the heart of our High Priest. As the hymn says, "Graven on the palms of His hands." Here, they are graven on precious stones over his heart.
The number twelve is the number of the people of God, the number of governmental perfection. We see it in the twelve tribes of Israel, and we see it again in the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The Old Covenant people and the New Covenant people are one people, represented by their head. This breastpiece is a prophecy of the New Jerusalem, whose foundations are twelve precious stones, and whose gates have the names of the twelve tribes, and on the foundations are the names of the twelve apostles (Revelation 21:12-14). The church is not a replacement for Israel; it is the fulfillment of Israel. And here, on Aaron's chest, we see the whole assembly of the redeemed, carried into the presence of God.
Secured in Place (vv. 15-21)
The final section of our text describes, in meticulous detail, how this breastpiece was to be fastened to the ephod.
"They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece would not come loose from the ephod, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses." (Exodus 39:21)
This might seem like the most tedious part of all. Chains, rings, cords, settings. Why all this detail about how it was tied on? Because the security of God's people on the heart of their mediator is of paramount importance. The breastpiece was not to be casually draped over Aaron. It was to be bound securely, so that it "would not come loose from the ephod."
The breastpiece, representing the people, was attached to the ephod, the primary priestly garment representing the priest's office and work. The people are inseparable from the work of their priest. Our salvation is not a loose attachment. We are bound to Christ. Notice the cords were blue, the color of heaven. Our security is a heavenly security. It is fastened by divine, transcendent power.
Furthermore, the breastpiece was connected at the shoulders and at the waist. In Exodus 28, we learn that two onyx stones, also engraved with the names of the tribes, were on the shoulder pieces of the ephod. This means the high priest bore the names of the people on his shoulders, the place of strength and burden-bearing, and on his heart, the place of affection and love. Our Great High Priest, Jesus, bears us up by His strength, and He holds us fast in His love. He is strong enough to carry us and loving enough to want to. The intricate system of rings and cords ensures that these two things, His strength for us and His love for us, can never be separated. The breastpiece could not come loose.
Christ, Our Jeweled Breastplate
As with all Old Testament liturgy, this is a shadow, and the substance is Christ. Aaron was a sinful man, clothed in borrowed glory, who would one day die and his garments would be passed to another. But these garments were a prophecy pointing to the one who would be our perfect and eternal High Priest.
Jesus Christ is the skillful designer and the perfect design. He is the gold of divinity, the blue of heaven, the purple of royalty, and the scarlet of sacrifice, all woven into the fine linen of His perfect righteousness. He carries His people on His heart. We are His precious jewels. The world may see the church as a motley collection of unimpressive stones. But in the eyes of the Father, presented on the heart of the Son, we are a dazzling array of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Each of us, with our unique gifts and callings, reflects His glory in a different way. He knows us by name, and our names are engraved, permanently secured.
And most gloriously, we are bound to Him. The apostle Paul asks, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8:35). And the answer echoes from this ancient text. Nothing. The breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. We are bound to Him by the blue cord of heaven's decree. We are held by His shoulders of strength and cherished on His heart of love. When He entered the true Holy of Holies, heaven itself, He did not go alone. He carried us with Him. He presented us to the Father, a people for His own possession, precious and secure.
Therefore, when you feel worthless, remember you are a jewel on Christ's heart. When you feel weak, remember you are borne up on His shoulders of omnipotence. When you fear you might fall away, remember the blue cord and the gold rings, and the divine command that the breastpiece must not come loose. Your security does not depend on your grip on Him, but on His unbreakable hold on you. He is our High Priest, and He bears us upon His heart before the Father, forever.