A Fit Man - A Study Of The Garments Of Aaron - The Linen Breeches Series

Exodus 28:1-8 KJV And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. [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. [4] And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. [5] And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. [6] And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. [7] It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. [8] And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

Exodus 28:42-43 KJV 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.

Leviticus 6:8-10 KJV And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, [9] Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. [10] And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.

Leviticus 16:4 KJV He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

I. INTRODUCTION—THE HIGH PRIEST AND ORDER OF THE PRIESTS

When we look to the Tabernacle and the definite order that God established in it, we cannot doubt the fact that God used every piece of it to instruct the New Testament church in some way. The same holds true for the priestly garments that were designed for the priesthood. Just as the garments were made for the priests to enter into the ministry of the Tabernacle, there are also garments for us to come into the presence of the Lord. When we come into the presence of the Lord the garments that have covered us in a spiritual sense are very important.

When we look at the garments that God established for the priesthood to wear, it is noted that there were seven basic pieces that the High Priest would wear. There were some garments that only he could wear which is symbolic of the ministry of the great High Priest, Jesus Christ. There are certain matters afforded to Him because He is God that the New Testament saint does not have available to him. The High Priest would wear:

• The ephod—28:6-14

• The breastplate—28:15-30

• The robe of the ephod with a belt—28:31-35

• A mitre (turban) with a gold medallion—28:36-38

• The linen breeches—28:39-43

The ordinary priest would wear a similar uniform although not as ornate as that of the high priest (28:40-43).

• The linen breeches

• The embroidered coat

• The belt (girdle)

• The turban

Nothing was spared on the quality and work of these garments that the priests were directed to wear. In fact we should believe that anyone who enters into any kind of ministry for the Lord must see it as a very high calling that demands the very best that a man possesses. Furthermore it needs to be a commitment on the part of all who are involved in any form of ministry to be sure that as a God-chosen instrument that we should be clean and honest in our handling of the Word of the Lord. We need to give of our best to do the will of God!