Week 43, Day 4: The priestly garments
Today’s Reading: Exodus 28:1-43
Some thoughts from the reading…
It is impressive to envision what the garments of the high priest looked like. They were to be “for glory and for beauty” (vs 2). There is an impressive amount of gold and fine jewels that were a part of his attire. And I do not imagine this attire as being common in appearance in any way. The person who made these garments was skilled and endowed with the spirit of wisdom by God (vs. 3). Thus I believe the skill and craftmanship going into these garments would rival the best craftmanship that we could think of. If you have ever seen the works of skilled craftmen of the past you can have some picture of what these men could have made. Fabrege is one example. This man made some exquisite works of art. They have some amazing detail crafted into the work (look up the imperial egg on the internet for an example). This might give us some understanding of what a skilled person whom God gave a spirit of wisdom could accomplish. These garments were not something that looked like a 4th grader made in wood shop. They were crafted “for glory and for beauty”. I am not saying that the garments had to be something complex in design, they could have been simple in design, but they were certainly beautiful to behold.
I also want to encourage you to consider what the high priest would have looked like when he was working around the tent of meeting. All of the gold shinning in the sunlight must have been impressive. Even in the material of his garments themselves, gold was woven into the material (Exo 39:3). Gold thread was woven into the garments themselves. It must have been very impressive to see the high priest.
Something else that I think is interesting is the addition of bells to the high priest’s robe. So as he walked around there was a tinkling sound heard (vs. 35). This passage mentions that these bells were on him so that he will be heard coming and going before the Lord and not die. I do not understand why this is needed but it was what God commanded to be done.
Question: Why do you think God gave these skilled workers a spirit of wisdom?