Lesson #37

EXODUS
Lesson #37
THE STUDY OF THE TABERNACLE: THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD:
THE HIGH PRIEST AND HIS DUTIES

• Memory Verse: 1Pet 2:5

• Now that we have an understanding of the tabernacle where the people worshipped God in the wilderness, we need to understand the details of the priesthood that God gave to Moses.

• Before the giving of the Law, there was no formal priesthood among the Israelites.
• The head of the family was to be a priest to his family.
• The tribal leaders were to be priests to their tribes.
• All of that changes with the giving of the Law.

• Read Exo 28:1-5
• The organization of the priesthood:
• The high priest = Aaron, the brother of Moses.
• The priests = Men from the tribe of Levi
• The family Gershon from the tribe of Levi (Num 3:14-17, 25-26)
• They took care of all the curtains, all the coverings, and all the cords of the tabernacle.
• The family Kohath from the tribe of Levi (Num 3:31)
• They took care of the ark of the covenant and all the other vessels and pieces of furniture in the tabernacle.
• The family Merari from the tribe of Levi (Num 3:36-37)
• They took care of all the boards, sockets, and fixtures of the tabernacle.

• God told Moses to make special garments for the high priest and the priests.
• Like the tabernacle, all these details have a special meaning.

• The Old Testament high priest is a prefigure or type of Jesus Christ, our High Priest..
• Read Heb 3:1

• The Garments of the High Priest:
• The garments of the high priest were supposed to impress the people with the beauty of holiness. (1Chr 16:29 Psa 29:2 Psa 96:9)

• Read Exo 28:39-43
• Read Exo 39:27
• The white robe of the high priest represents the sinless nature of Jesus Christ, who is our High Priest. (Heb 2:17)
• The Blue Robe of the Ephod:
• Read Exo 28:31-35
• Read Exo 39:22-26
• This garment represents Christ, clothed with a heavenly nature in unity with God, the Father..
• The blue robe was made without seams and worn over the plain, white robe.
• On the hem of the blue robe were tiny gold bells making a joyful noise before the Lord as a witness of his work and ministry. The priests knew at all times the location of the high priest.
• If the high priest was in the Holy of Holies, and the bells suddenly stopped ringing, the other priests would know he had died. His death would have been because he had attempted to approach a holy God without first performing the animal sacrifice that would cover his personal sins.
• The bells represent the work and ministry of Jesus Christ that brought joy and glory to God, the Father, because He was always located in the center of God’s perfect will.
• On the hem of the blue robe were also tiny pomegranates alternating in colors of blue, purple, and scarlet.
• This tiny fruit represents the fruitfulness of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
• The pomegranate was chosen because the fruit has so many tiny seeds which represent the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gel 5:22-23)
• Part of Christ’s fruitful ministry was healing.
• The woman touched the hem of His garment and was healed. (Mat 9:20-21)
• The Ephod:
• Read Exo 28:6-14
• Read Exo 39:1-7
• This garment was a multi-colored, embroidered vest worn over the blue robe.
• The ephod represents the multi-faceted richness of Christ.
• The colors of the embroidery:
• We find the same colors that were used in the curtains and coverings of the tabernacle with their same symbolic meanings that refer to the nature of Christ.
• Purple = royalty
• Red = sacrifice
• White = purity
• Blue = heavenly
• Pure gold threads = Deity
• The shoulder pieces:
• On top of the ephod were two shoulder pieces. They symbolize the fact that the government of God’s kingdom will be upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ.
• Read Isa 9:6
• The shoulder pieces consisted of 1 large onyx stone on each shoulder set in gold. The names of 6 of the 12 tribes of Israel were engraved on each of the two stones.
• Onyx stone is the stone of remembrance (Exo 28:12)
• This indicates that God will never forget or forsake His Old Testament people. He will always carry them in a high position so as to eventually fulfill all His promises to them.
• The Girdle (belt) of the Ephod:
• Read Exo 39:29
• This belt was beautifully embroidered with the same colors as the ephod.
• The girdle (belt) represents Christ, who is girded and ready for service. (Efe 6:14)
• The Breastplate
• Read Exo 28:15-30
• Read Exo 39:8-21
• The breastplate was a very important piece of the High Priest’s clothing.. It represents guidance and judgment.
• The breastplate was made of the same colors as the ephod with the same symbolic meanings.
• The breastplate was made of two pieces of woven fabric, back to back and open at the top to form a pocket. This pocket carried the Urim and Thummim.
• What was the Urim and Thummim?
• They were a physical representation of God’s presence in the priesthood.
• It is not known specifically what they were physically. The words, Urim and Thummim, literally mean = “lights” and “perfections”. What is clear to us is that the high priest used them to determine the will of God. (Num 27:21)
• Therefore the Urim and Thummim symbolically represent the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
• There is no eternal light and perfect perfection through the Law.
• There are some scholars who believe that they were black and white stones cast like dice to determine God’s will.
• Usually the Urim is mentioned first which indicates that eternal light was to lead to perfection. However, in Deu 33:8, the Thummim is mentioned first. Why?
• The light of the Law cannot produce la perfection.
• The breastplate contained 12 precious stones of different colors in three columns on the front of the breastplate. These stones represented each of the 12 tribes of Israel. They indicate that God’s people are precious jewels in his sight. (Mal 3:17)
• This location of the jewels indicates to us that the people of God are close to the heart of the high priest. (Exo 28:29-30)
• Because Jesus is our High Priest, His people are close to His heart.
• The breastplate had 2 gold rings and 2 gold chains, one ring at each of the top corners that attached to the chains that connected the breastplate to the shoulder pieces of the ephod.
• The breastplate was called the breastplate of judgment in Exo 28:15.
• The determination of the will of God for his people was based on righteousness and judgment (Psa 33:5) (the two gold rings) and tied by God’s nature of justice and mercy (the two gold chains).
• There were 4 gold rings at the bottom of the breastplate. One ring was attached to each of the bottom corners. Two blue cords were attached to these two rings that led to two other gold rings attached to the girdle (belt).
• These 4 gold rings and 2 blue cords represent Christ who is ready to guide and do service for His people because of His great love for them.
• The 4 gold rings = The saints in the 4 corners of the world tied by blue cords.
• The blue cords = the love of Christ.
• The White Mitre, Gold Crown, and Blue Lace on the head of the high priest.
• Read Exo 28:36-38
• Read Exo 39:28, 30-34
• On the head, the high priest wore a white bonnet called a mitre, blue lace, and a gold crown that was engraved with the words, “Holiness to the Lord”.
• This represents Christ’s perfect humanity (white) crowned with Deity (gold) by the love of the Father (blue lace).
• The engraved words, “Holiness to the Lord” were a remembrance that the sin nature of the people of God was made holy through the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
• The priests always ministered barefoot because the tabernacle was considered holy ground.

• The duties of the high priest on the Day of Atonement
• Read Lev 16:3-6
• The high priest had to put aside his beautiful robes and dress as all the other priests, who wore white pants and a white robe with a girdle (belt) woven of the same 4 colors of purple, red, blue, white, and pure gold.
• This represents Christ who put aside His Deity to become a sinless man and die for us to atone for our sins.
• The high priest offered a bull for his own sins and for a spiritual cleansing of the tabernacle.
• The blood from the bull was sprinkled all over the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
• Christ had no sin, so this part of the ceremony applied only to the Old Testament high priests. However, the cross was a degrading means of death for a criminal. Through the crucifixion of Jesus as a sinless man, the cross was made a holy thing.
• Read Lev 16:7-22 The Scapegoat
• The high priest took 2 goats, one he killed. This goat represented Messiah and specifically points us to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
• The blood from this goat was poured 7 times on the ground at the base of the bronze altar in the courtyard of the tabernacle.
• The blood of Jesus Christ fell at the foot of cross. Remember that the bronze altar represented the cross at Calvary.
• The number 7 is God’s symbolic number of perfection or completion to symbolize that Christ made a complete and perfect atonement for the sins of the world.
• The blood of the goat was put on the 4 horns of the bronze altar.
• This symbolized the blood of Christ shed for the sins of the whole world, north, south, east, and west.
• The high priest placed his bloody hands on the head of the second goat (the scapegoat) and confessed the sins of Israel. The Scapegoat represented Satan and Sin. The sins of Israel were transferred to the goat.
• Our sins were transferred to Jesus Christ on the cross when He became sin for us. (2Cor 5:21)
• Coals from the bronze altar were mixed with some of the blood of the goat and taken into the Holy Place. Some of the blood was put on the 4 horns of the altar of incense. Coals from the bronze altar were mixed with incense and put into a censer at the altar of incense. The priest prayed for the forgiveness of the sins of Israel for the past year.
• All prayers for mercy from the consequences of sin from the 4 directions on earth were paid for by Jesus’ blood on the cross. (Luk 23:34)
• The smoking censer and blood from the goat was taken into the Holy of Holies. Blood was put on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant 7 times. (complete and perfect atonement).
• After the crucifixion, Christ took His blood to heaven and put it on the mercy seat in heaven to atone for our sins. (Joh 20:17 Heb 9:12)
• The remainder of the bodies of the bull and goat were taken outside the city and burned to indicate that the sins of the people are separated from them as far as the east is from the west. (Psa 103:12)
• This was to indicate that Christ would die outside the city of Jerusalem.
• The Scapegoat was taken into the wilderness and either set free or thrown over a cliff. The priest took with him a red cord. If the cord turned white, the sins of the people were forgiven and indicated that God had accepted the sacrifice of the other goat.
• Sinful man is the scapegoat set free because Christ atoned for our sins through His death on the cross. With the forgiveness of sin, we are made whiter than snow in the righteousness of Christ.
• Application:
• Now that we have some understanding of the priesthood of the Old Testament, we can relate these things more fully to us today.
• Read 1Pet 2:5,9
• The priests in the Old Testament are a type or prefigure of the New Testament believers in Jesus Christ.
• All the Old Testament priests wore white pants and white robes:
• The white pants = The believer must put on a pure life. (Rom 13:14 Eph 4:24 Col 3:9)
• The white robes = The believer partakes of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. (Rev 7:9-15)
• The priest had an embroidered girdle (belt) of 4 colors = As New Testament priests, believers in Christ are made ready to serve God by the ministry of Christ in us.
• The priest had a white turban which represents purity of mind and deed. (Phi 2:5)
• The duties of the priests in the Old Testament parallel our duties as New Testament believers in Christ.
• Read Exo 29:38-44
• The priest had to kill and offer animal sacrifices every morning and evening.
• The believer in Christ is to remember daily that we have Christ as our sacrifice for sin through repentance.
• The priest had to keep the coals burning continually in the bronze altar where animals were sacrificed. (Lev 6:12-13)
• Believers are to keep alive the love for Christ as our Savior.
• The priest had to wash at the bronze laver. (Exo 30:18-31)
• The believer must maintain a clean life by reading the Word of God, examining his life, and repenting of sin.
• The priest was to make the bread and keep it fresh on the table of showbread (Lev 24:5-9)
• The believer must feed on Christ the Bread of Life by studying and growing in his relationship with Christ.
• The priest had to make the oil and keep it continually in the golden candlestick (Exo 27:20-21), and he had to keep the wicks trimmed. (Lev 24:1-4)
• The believer must keep the Holy Spirit fresh in his life so that his light in the world will not be dim and so that he does not neglect his witness about Christ to a lost world.
• The priest had to make the incense and offer it at the altar of incense. (Exo 30:34-38)
• The believer must keep his prayers pure and constant before the Lord, praying and interceding for others.
• The priest had to teach the people the truths of God (Lev 10:11)
• The believer must preach and teach the truths of God to all people.
• The priest was to blow the silver trumpets for assembly and warning (Num 10:1-8)
• The believer must keep fellowship with the church so as to be aware of the danger from the enemy.
• The role of the priest was one of reconciliation, to bring man to God and God to man.
• The New Testament believer has the same role.
• Read 2Cor 5:18-19

HOMEWORK
THE STUDY OF THE TABERNACLE: THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD:
CONSECRATION AND DEDICATION
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of the Study of the Tabernacle: the Royal Priesthood: The High Priest and His Duties:
• We have learned that the New Testament believer in Jesus Christ is a royal priest.
• In what ways are you exercising your responsibility to God as a royal priest?

• In what ways can you improve in your responsibility to be a clean and active priest for God?

• Preparation for the Study of the Tabernacle: the Royal Priesthood: Consecration
• Read Exo 29:1-37
• What does the word, consecration, mean to you?
• Summary Review of the Tabernacle:
• Read Exo 40:1-33
• What part of the Study of the Tabernacle was the most meaningful to you? Why?

• Memory Verse: Heb 9:22