Exodus 28: 6-14: “And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial. And thou shalt make ouches of gold; And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.”
Because the high priest was dedicated to the Lord’s service he had to wear special clothes to show the correct amount of respect for the Lord himself. It is not proper for a person to come into the Lord’s presence without showing the proper amount of respect. (Compare Matthew 22: 10-14, “So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.”) The sense of this applies to people who believe that they can impress the Lord with their own goodness for the righteousness of the saints can be compared to fine linen (Rev 19: 8, “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”). If a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as their own Saviour then their own righteousness is discounted and they come under the righteousness of the Saviour (Rom 4: 5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”) The other issue from this passage is the fact that Aaron, and subsequent high priests, all carried the names of the Israeli tribes above their hearts when they went to represent Israel to the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ carries the names of all those who believe in Him on His heart as well.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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