Pastor continued his series on the priest's garments for bible study tonight. This time, it was not the High Priest (Aaron), but the garments worn by Aaron's sons. Here are my notes for today. Lots of food for thought. I'm going to divide it into 3 parts for easy reading. Be blessed!
Revelation 1:5-6
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen
This passage tells us we are kings and priests! That's our identity today.
I also love the beauty of this passage. See how John writes it. "To Him who loved us" how? He "washed us from our sins" in the giving of Himself, "in His own blood."
"To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood"
The passage below describes the garments of Aaron's sons.
Note that today, Jesus is our High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7,9) and we are the priests (not high priests) - like the sons of Aaron. So it behooves us to see the new testament significance of the garments that Aaron's sons wore.
Exodus 28:39-43
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.
and also in Exodues 39:27-29 which similarly describes that the garments won by the priests were linen.
Linen is a light material as we all know. Contrast wool. It's a material particularly when one wants to keep cool. It is designed to 'minimise' sweating. The significance here is that God does not want, the priests in serving Him, to have any element of human sweat.
Ezekiel 44:17-18
And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.
Why? Because sweat is a curse (Genesis 3:19) It speaks of man's effort before God, least man should boast. [even in the construction of the tabernacle, it was the Holy Spirit who came upon the craftmen]
God wants us to depend on Him. To rest in Him. (Note that rest is not inactivity. It is Holy Spirit directed activity)
Below, we see that the elders are sitting, a position of rest.
Revelation 4:4
Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.
Sitting honours God because we esteem the perfect work on His Son on the cross for us.
The number 24 may be an actual number but it may be symbolic. Pastor submitted that it refers to the God's people in the old testament (the 12 tribes of Israel) and the gentiles in the new.
Elders does not refer to age. It refers to Christians who are mature in the Lord. And those who are mature (not dependent on age or how long one has been a Christian) are the ones with a righteousness-consciousness. [1 John 2 identifies that there are different stages of development in the Lord - children, fathers and young men]
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