Chapter 28
The priests garments. Breastpiece, ephod, robe, coat, turban and sash. For Aaron and for his four sons. Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
21 There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. [Exo 28:21 ESV] One of the stones was a diamond...correction 2023...the names were engraved on onyx. Six on one shoulder, six on the other, according to their birth order. AND...on each of the 12 stones in the breastpiece of judgment, a name was to be engraved. So somehow, they were able to engrave a diamond, way back then.
2023 - I note this year that the ephod and the breastpiece of judgment were NOT made of gold with some pretty cloth around the edges. They were made of this gold, scarlet, blue, and purple yarns and fine twined linen. They were some sort of "cloth", made of these specifically colored threads. Had they been pure gold, they would have been extraordinarily heavy.
2023 - Beginning in vs 17, the four rows of stones to be set in the breastpiece of judgment are described. There is a note in the TCR saying we aren't sure what some of these stones really were.
Sardius, topaz, and carbuncle.
Emerald, sapphire, diamond.
Jacinth, agate, amethyst
Beryl, onyx, jasper
This verse:
29 So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the LORD. [Exo 28:29 ESV]
I don't recall a breastplate being symbolic of judgement before. Fire, yes, but a breastplate, no.
Also here:
30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the LORD. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the LORD regularly. [Exo 28:30 ESV]
2021 - So judgement was what "showed" in Aaron's priestly garments. The Law was focused on judgement for sin. This was it's most visible characteristic. The Law, the priests, the furnishings, the altar....all of it was about judgement, and the necessity of constantly delaying justice lest it wipe out the whole people, the whole planet. I know when I read the OT for months on end, that I get focused on judgement. I get a little more harsh about broken laws, and I get full of "enforcement" ideas. But when I get to the NT, that all changes. The NT is sacrifice, benevolence, and giving until it hurts. You feel all this as you read the Bible through. And here it is in Exodus as part and parcel of what these two covenants are about. One is about justice deserved by all, the other is about justice served by one. Wow.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=what+is+an+ephod&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F1200x%2F9b%2F85%2F08%2F9b85083372913c5b35043309ea9b412a.jpg
2021 - This interesting verse:
35 And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the LORD, and when he comes out, so that he does not die. [Exo 28:35 ESV] Why was the sound necessary to keep him alive? God would know he was coming, so this has to be about Aaron - about men, and not about God. Is it about respect? Is it just too presumptuous to go barging into the Holy of Holies without announcing your presence? Would it be wrong to try and sneak quietly into the Holy of Holies and maybe escape detection, maybe when you weren't quite as clean and pure as you better be to enter the presence of God? A good lesson here about prayer maybe...
Possible FB post
Then this verse:
38 It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. [Exo 28:38 ESV]
The high priest bears the guilt of the holy things...Christ carried all our guilt on the cross. There is no amplification in MSB. Surely there is significance in this wording.