Godly Garments

Exodus 28:31-43 

31 “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 There shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear. 33 And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around. 35 And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord and when he comes out, that he may not die.  36 “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet:
    HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
37 And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. 38 So it shall be on Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
    39 “You shall skillfully weave the tunic of fine linen thread, you shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the sash of woven work.  40 “For Aaron's sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty. 41 So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests. 42 And you shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs. 43 They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him.

The godly garments of the priests who served the Lord and interceded for His people were meticulously made according to God’s instruction.  There were even bells on Aaron’s robe between the pomegranates to announce that he was approaching the Lord in the holy place.  It was not that God could not hear him coming, but rather for Aaron’s sake to make him aware that he was drawing near to God’s presence.  To make the seriousness of his service clear, God had Aaron wear a gold sign on his head reminding him that holiness to the Lord was essential to be on his mind in all his ministry.  This is a picture of our service as Christ followers and priests to our holy Lord; we also must be aware we are in the presence of the one and only almighty God as if bells go off in His presence with fearful awe and holiness to come before Him (Hebrews 12:14).  We are secure in Christ’s righteousness to justify us, yet still approach God as Holy and not with casual abandon.  We are to be holy as He defines it and because He Himself is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16, 2 Peter 3:11, Ephesians 1:4).  Disregard for who God is and how we are to be is as it was for Aaron and his sons who were warned not to earn iniquity and die as Ananias and his wife (Acts 5:1-5).  Even Job 24:23 reminds us not to use security as an excuse for sin (which Paul reminds us of in Romans 6:1-2), and this includes living with willing obedience towards holiness with a humble fear of our loving Lord and Master.  We must put on holy garments as His servants (Colossians 3:10) and Christ Himself (Romans 13:14) with His righteousness, for even Hebrews 12:28 reminds us to serve our Lord with reverence and godly fear.