God first provided the Law to Moses, then the construction
of the utensils, then the Tabernacle itself. Then God designed the garments of
the Aaronic priesthood for the Levites (This passage is lengthy but well worth considering):
2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. 3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office…
35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not…
40 And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, …41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. 42 And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: 43 And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him. (Exod 28)
In the beginning man (Adam) had been innocent, and with one sin, Adam broke all the commandments; not just the first, the ten, but all of them because if God is defamed, His entire Will is defamed.
God provided the Law so that sinners would know their sins. The apostle Paul explained the Law: “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin” (Rom 7:7; ESV). Thus, the Law is not to mete out punishment but to recognize sin.
Even with the Law, the Hebrews failed to recognize sin, and those whose doctrine is antinomianism believe it is okay to ignore the Law. Antinomian is that sinners are released from sin by grace. As such, that branch of Christianity believes sin is not accounted to the sinner who has grace on them.
As such, failure to recognize the Law for Christians would be much like driving an automobile without rules while everyone else is following the rules and regulations. They may be in danger, endanger others, but when the “cop” comes, the explanation is: I am sorry I killed these people, but I was driving with grace.
The point is that when others see Christians disregarding the Laws of God, it endangers them and everyone else. Even if sin is not accounted to them as sin, sin still has consequences. If a Christian truly loves his brother, then he will not sin in order to influence his brother positively.
The Law was given to Moses because it was the Will of God. The Hebrews were not excused from the Law because the Law was especially for them; not for punishment, but for prescriptions for extended well being so that the Abrahamic Covenant could be fulfilled — that the seed of Abraham would multiply.
It should be obvious that the all the Covenants from Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, and now to Moses have the same theme — obedience and prosperity or disobedience and destruction.
Just as Adam was told to multiply after he was given grace, so was Noah, Abraham, and Moses. The Law was more for multiplication and longevity in all the Covenants more so than punishment, and when Jesus came to fulfill the Law, that completed all the Covenants and all the Laws… not that the Law was dead to Christians, but that Jesus made the Law life itself. It was the Way for Christians, not under the penalty of the Law, to demonstrate to God that they love him. Simply put by Jesus, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
So, that covers the Law. What about the garments of Aaron and his sons?
Aaron and his sons had sinned. So had those of the other tribes, but the Aaronites were set apart to be holy. They were to be priests (Hebrew kohen) on the order of Melchizedek and basically messengers and servants of God. They were to be much like the angels who represented God and served Him. They were to be like the coming Messiah whose example was Melchizedek.
There was a “Priestly Covenant” established right then: Aaron and his descendants were set apart to multiply living souls, just like Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. That priestly covenant was delineated even more; it would be Phineas, the grandson of Aaron (Exod 25:7-15). Aaron and Moses descended from Levi, and they were set apart as chief priests. In other words, Moses was a priest but because he had murdered, he was not eligible for the blessing.
Although Aaron had sinned greatly just as Adam, he and his sons were set apart in that new covenant.
Today’s verses focus on the Aaronites who continued the Levitical priesthood. By the time of Jesus, they too had been so corrupted that their chief priests murdered Jesus. When Jesus was crucified that replaced the chief priests, the priestly covenant and all the Covenants that came before and afterward, to wit: the Davidic Covenant. Jesus would no longer be on the order of Aaron but Melchizedek himself (Heb 7:11).
Like Adam and Eve long before, Yahweh made garments to cover their flesh, indubitably made from the skins of innocent lambs. When Noah found grace (Gen 6:8), the Book of Jasher relates that he put on the coat of skin made for Adam. Noah had been set apart as priest on the order of Adam and Seth who was said to have inherited that coat.
By the time of Abraham, it is written that Ham stole the coat and Nimrod ended up with it, and perhaps Esau later. The Garment of Adam had become the birthright for all of God’s anointed and scripture is much about the firstborn son and later born sons fighting over the birthright.
Perhaps the “coat of many colors” of Jacob was about who got the birthright. He made it for Joseph (Gen 37:3) but in the end, the “coat” was divided among the twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob) and the sons of Joseph got his share. By that time, Esau had the Garment of Adam, and that is the last time it is mentioned. Jacob made the new coats.
Jewish literature describes the coat of many colors as a full-length gown made of decorative material like royalty would wear. It covered all the flesh from the neck down. It seems apparent that God described a similar coat of many colors and fabrics to cover the priests. It seems logical that the priestly garments were a replacement for the coat of many colors and the Garment of Adam that was stolen by pagans of other religions. Those fancy robes were royal priestly garments that would first consecrate Aaron.
The first consecration was the Sabbath (Gen 2:3). It was set apart for God to rest, and so that He could rest, so would Adam and his kind.
Then God set apart the firstborn to be His of man and beast (Exod 13:2). Well, another reason to pick Aaron as chiefest of the two chief priests (him and Moses) was because Aaron was the firstborn. Aaron was consecrated holy because he like Jesus were the “firstborn” of God. However, the Man, Jesus, chose to be like Melchisedek because Aaron and the Levitical priests failed Him.
The apparel of the priests was so that when they ministered to God they would not die. They were to clean up their flesh before ministering to God, but that would not be enough. They required garments to keep them safe in the Presence of God just as Adam and Eve were given to wear for their safety both in the presence of God and Lucifer.
The garments have always been to protect the flesh of those who were willing to wear the coats, but for them to be effective, God would have to provide them. Wearing stolen garments was ineffectual as Esau soon found out!
In other words, the garments do not make the priests; God sets them apart. Nowadays just too many wear the garment, but God is nowhere to be found. The garments worn by the priests are no more significant than a wolf wearing sheep’s clothing!
Tomorrow, the significance of those garments will be considered.
(picture credit: The Catholic Register; "Vestments and Symbols of the Office of the Cardinal:)
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