The Garments of the Priest

The craftsmen made beautiful sacred garments of blue, purple, and scarlet cloth—clothing for Aaron to wear while ministering in the Holy Place, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. [Exodus 39.1]

I am intrigued by the clothing made for Aaron the priest to wear. Three things in particular interest me today: the ephod, the chestpiece, and the turban.

The ephod and the chestpiece were worn over the shoulders and over the heart respectively. The turban obviously was worn on the head.

What is really interesting is that each piece mentioned above carried identifying decor attached to it. The ephod had two stones on the shoulders engraved with the names of each tribe of Israel. The chestpiece had twelve precious stones attached, one for each tribe, each engraved with a tribe's name. The turban had a gold medallion engraved with the words, "HOLY TO THE LORD."

Now, it is important to remember that the priest represented the people before the LORD. There would be no forgetting this fact because of the ephod and the chestpiece.

The ephod covered both the front and back of the priest's torso, but the two stones with the twelve tribes' names were on his shoulders. I would guess this had some significance relative to work or works.

The chestpiece covered the priest's heart. Perhaps having the twelve stones representing the twelve tribes over his heart had a significance in the realm of faith.

The gold medallion worn on the turban on the head could have signified that the priest, in all his mental capacity, was committed to the work of advocacy for the people. And, as such, was in the place of highest possible honor, HOLY TO THE LORD, because of his role and commitment as intercessor.

This all speaks to me today about prayer. How seriously do we take our intercession for others?

It seems all too simple to me, but still significant, that we should prepare lists of people that we are committed to pray for. These lists serve as reminders. These lists somehow seem to correlate with the engraved stones on the shoulders and chest of the priest. These lists would involve both our physical efforts (seeking opportunities to do good) and our spiritual efforts of faith represented by the shoulders and heart respectively.

But not to be overlooked is the turban with the gold medallion. Perhaps our commitment to intercession for others is that medallion. It could be significant that the medallion is not in the line of sight of the priest - he can't see it as he can the ephod stones and the chestpiece stones. But his commitment (at the head level) to serve as intercessor aligns him perfectly working with and for the Most High God - and, as such, is HOLY TO THE LORD. 

As we as New Testament believers have been called "kings and priests," whether what I have suggested here is accurate or not, it at very least deserves consideration.

Father, I want to understand my role as an intercessor.