I believe with all my heart that these detailed descriptions of the construction of the tabernacle in Exodus are as much the inspired Word of God as my favorite psalm. But for a free-spirited, color-outside-the-lines kind of girl like me, the sheer number of details recorded in these chapters gives me flashbacks to my freshman accounting class.
Why did the Lord instruct Moses to build altars and tables, lampstands and basins, tunics and turbans with such extreme attention to detail? Why were these details recorded so meticulously? All these centuries later, what do they have to teach us about the character of God and our relationship with Him?
Let’s zero in for a moment on Exodus 39, where we find the description of the priestly garments. This was more than a garment. With gold and stones, bells and crowns, this was an ensemble made to take our breath away. But why? Aaron’s robes weren’t designed to turn heads at Fashion Week. They wouldn’t be sold to the highest bidder. So why was such detailed extravagance needed?
Peel away the layers, and we find the answer in a single thread. The scarlet thread mentioned over and over in Exodus 39 is the same thread that is stitched throughout all of God’s Word. It is the thread God used to sew together garments of grace for Adam and Eve after the fall (Genesis 3:21). It is the thread that signaled salvation from Rahab’s window (Joshua 2:18). And most significantly, we see it at the cross, as trails of blood stream down our Savior’s face as evidence of His atonement for our sins.
Aaron’s priestly garments were woven with red thread, a picture of the gospel illustrated by the thread of salvation woven throughout all of God’s Word. The weight of the robe covered with stones was symbolic of the burden of sin; as Aaron slipped it on, I imagine its heaviness reminded him of the weight of his own sin and of ours. The crown on the priest’s head was a shadow of the crown of salvation purchased for us at Christ’s cross.
The garment maker couldn’t have known it, but he was preaching the gospel. Stitch by meticulous stitch, he was proclaiming salvation was near. Through the lens of the cross we see these extravagant robes showcase an extravagant gospel.
It’s possible the craftsmen tasked with the minutiae of the tabernacle felt overwhelmed and even belabored by the tedium of so many details. Obedience can often feel like that. As we shepherd our own children, or serve in other often thankless ways, or pull out our Bibles listening for God’s voice again and again, there are times when we all wonder, Why does all of this matter?
The answer rarely seems to come in the moment, but in hindsight we see that routine obedience to the Lord always reveals the gospel thread. He is using our seemingly small acts of surrender to transform these filthy rags into robes of righteousness. As we trust and obey, we can look back and sigh with gratitude saying we have “done just as the LORD commanded” (Exodus 39:43).
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34 thoughts on "Making the Priestly Garments"
JM, I’ve been wanting to know how you’re doing? You posted last month that you’ve been struggling with a hardened heart, and I have been praying for you. An update on my sister and her baby for those who have prayed for her. They both had a difficult time during and post-labor. Baby Robert had to go to children’s hospital again with rsv a couple weeks ago, but they seem to be doing well since. Thank you again for your prayers and praise to God for bringing them through.
I continue to find it amazing that instructions carved in stone by the finger of God were actually followed. And this reading makes it clear that it was with reverence. That the artisans took time and love to make sure everything was exactly right. They knew this mattered forever, not just then, and it was pointing to something so much greater.
Erin, thank you.
Well, TINA, add me to the list (along with at least Kelly (NEO)) of those your story brought to tears. An absolutely beautiful and moving testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness! Am I unnecessarily nursing or dealing with hurts from long ago? Has my clinging to lies blinded me to Truth?
A big Thank You to everyone that researched and added commentary or insights this week. The level of instructional detail and the intentional obedience is amazing. I’m finally learning to sew and there’s a lot to learn about fabric and thread types for various projects. Reading about the weaving and construction of the garments and curtains has been mind boggling – this was several thousand years ago! And in today’s Scriptures, they pounded the gold and cut it into threads .
So beautiful Tina! Rejoicing with you.
Thank you for sharing.
Amen
TINA – moved to tears of joy for you and your release from bondage to a lie. ❤
“It’s possible the craftsmen tasked with the minutiae of the tabernacle felt overwhelmed and even belabored by the tedium of so many details. Obedience can often feel like that.” Ouch! How often is my disobedience boiled down to thinking my way of doing something is “better” than what God’s (surely He had not fully thought it through and realized my situation would make obedience “impossible”)…
From HRT: “When it comes to obeying God’s Word, where do you find yourself cutting corners? Are there areas in your life, under the loving leading of the risen Lord, that you don’t care to do just as He says? Do you think His commands are optional, that Christ’s call to discipleship is just too costly?
“But there’s also another form of disobedience in adding our own creative touches to what the Lord asks of us. As the various craftsmen and artisans were making the priestly garments, no one took creative liberties. No one added a jewel where they thought one was needed. No one swapped out the purple yarn for another color, believing they could better the color palette of God’s design.”
Another ouch!
Be led by the Spirit today Shes!
Why does all of this matter?
It absolutely does, because in/at the end we will be able to say..
We have “done just as the LORD commanded” (Exodus 39:43)
Life doesn’t always have to be about or measured by the big things. The little things also count.. they also shape, mould and help us grow well in Our Fathers love and hope for us.
I spent a lot of my teenage life feeling disheartened by my family set up.. mum remarried and had 5 more children with my step father, I felt I never fitted in, when I came to spend the summer with her at the age of 16.
All my angst stems from those early days with her and her new family.
Here’s the thing, I have wasted nearly 50 years holding a thread and thought of rejection, unloved, ‘not one of them’ that 3 weeks ago, I realised was a lie!
I sat with my dad, for 6 hours, holding his hand praying, talking, and just being with him. His soft voice, his caring and kind words, advice and request to look after the siblings ‘ as you are the eldest child’
To an angry teenager with hormone issues in the 70’s that day was never going to happen..
BUT GOD..
You see what He did there, do you see what God did there?
In/at/near the end of dad’s life, God’s grace, love and kindness shone through. God gave me closure. He gave me the real thread of truth that was there all along. He restored to me the life He always had for me, only I was toooooooo stubborn to see!
He raised my spirit.
Days, years had been wasted, but in dad’s last days, I was set free from the thread of lies to the thread of truth, which was that I had always belonged..
And that thread is a game changer. A life saver. A truth/ thread worth stitching into the fabric of my life from now on!
BUT GOD..
AMEN..
Happy Thursday my dears wrapped in love and prayers as always ❤