What are we allowing to come into our minds in what we watch, what we listen to, what we say, and what we think? But how often do we use a holy filter… and then wonder why we’re not growing in Christ? Galatians speaks about the carnal Christian–the Christian who wants to pursue holiness but also really still enjoys living the fleshly life. It needs to be our filter and our protection. It covered their mind–reminding them of the holiness of God and their role in the temple. This turban and seal was always up in front of the priests’ foreheads. A seal protects and locks away that which it’s sealing, and this seal is no different. Fasten a blue cord to attach it to the turban it is to be on the front of the turban” (Exodus 28:36-37). Moses says, “Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. Take a Sabbath.Īnother lesson we learn is from the turban and the seal, or the priests’ headdress. Our relationships lose their luster, our time with God suffers, and our soul starts to suffocate. When we don’t let our soul breathe, we start to stink. He set aside a whole day, holy unto Him, for his children to rest and worship and breathe from the chafing of life. Um, ouch? God designed us to need more rest than just sleeping at night. Isaiah says, “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy one of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it’” (30:15). We’re too busy moving on to the next thing. Gotta get that homework done. Gotta work. Gotta see friends. Gotta, gotta, gotta. Western Christians don’t usually take a Sabbath. Very seldom in this busy day and age do we take time to rest, to breathe, and to recharge. Likewise, we need to make sure the part of us that others can’t see, namely our soul, has room to breathe. Linen, which was a looser weave of fabric, provided room to breathe in the parts people didn’t see. The stench of sweat did not produce the holiness God required. The holiness of the temple demanded that the priests be perfectly clean, even down to their most hidden parts. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire” (44:17-18). Ezekiel explains the purpose of the tunic: “When the priests enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear… linen tunics around their waists. A tunic was a piece of clothing that would wrap around a person to keep the other robes from chafing or causing sweat. Moses writes, “Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen” (Exodus 28:39). The second accoutrement of the priests was their tunic. It had the names of the tribes of Israel beautifully engraved on it, and it served as a constant reminder of why the Levites served in the temple–to bring their family to God every day. This piece of wood was hung over the priests’ necks and placed over their hearts.
Moses writes, “Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord… Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord” (Exodus 28:29-30). Lesson 1: The Breastpiece of Decision (Heart) Each part of the priestly adornment corresponds to a lesson we need to learn to be good priests of God, priests who “love the Lord with all their Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength” (Mark 12:30). They wore special blue and purple robes with extravagant weaves and bells (and yarn pomegranates? We’ll talk about that later, though), turbans, headpieces, and tunics. God told Moses to “make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor” (Exodus 28:2). The Levitical priests were known by their accoutrements: you could tell a priest was coming from a mile away. An accoutrement is an accessory or particular piece of clothing. Just as we are “known as His disciples by our love for one another,” the priests were known by their outer accoutrements (John 13:35). They were careful to follow God’s ordinances for cleansing and clothing. When Jesus tore the temple curtain by his death on the cross, he initiated a new covenant, and thus a new, anointed priesthood. Peter writes, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). No longer do Christians need another person to mediate between them and the Most Holy God, since Jesus is our mediator, interceding for us at the Father’s throne. In the Old Testament, only the Levites, the chosen consecrated tribe of Israelites, were allowed to minister before God in the tabernacle and then in the temple.
Although the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament no longer apply to believers, there are certainly lessons we can learn from them.