Garments of the High Priest: Overview of the High Priestly Ministry — John Stubbs

The High Priest’s Garments in Exodus

Now I would like to turn please, first of all, to Exodus, the book of Exodus, and chapter 28. The 28th chapter of the book of Exodus, and we'll read from verse 1 please. Thank you. Verse number 1. 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, Nedab, and Nebaiu, Eliezer, and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.

And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty. 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.

And these are the garments which they shall make, a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broided 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.

And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and so on. Let's turn now to the book of Leviticus, please. Chapter 8. Leviticus, chapter 8, and verse number 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread, and gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.

And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water, and he put upon them the coat, or him, that is Aaron, the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the effort upon him, and he girded him with the cutest girdle of the effort, and bound it unto him therewith.

Now would you kindly come to the epistle to the Hebrews for a reading in the New Testament. It's important to read the New Testament, touching the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. And we'll turn to Hebrews 7, Hebrews 7, and we'll read please verse 23, verse number 23.

And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. But this man, because he continued ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore, he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

For such an high priest became us, who were holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's.

For this he did once when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men, high priests, which have infirmity. But the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the son who is consecrated for evermore.

Now we do trust that God will bless the public reading of his precious word, most important, and we count upon him for his help tonight on this very interesting subject indeed. So we're going to embark tonight, beloved, on a very fascinating, and in many ways thrilling subject, namely the High Priest's Garments for Glory and for Beauty.

Aaron was the first high priest of Israel. There were thousands and thousands of Israelites, but only one high priest. There are millions of Christians in the world today, but only one saviour and one great high priest, our Lord Jesus Christ.

These garments are a very expressive and lovely type and picture of the greater glories to come of our great high priest, the Lord Jesus. So these garments, every one of them, anticipate and foreshadow the excellencies and the glories of our great high priest, especially as we see taught in the epistles of the Hebrews, because in Hebrews we have a great exposition, do we not, of the high priestly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Visible Glory of Aaron’s Ministry

If you saw in the camp of Israel, or around the tabernacle area, the high priest coming, you couldn't miss him. He had very colourful garments. When the sun shone, especially on the breastplate stones, they really did shine in their luster.

So there was no mistaking the identity of Israel's first high priest, Aaron, because of his conspicuous, resplendent, brilliant, colourful garments. Also, of course, we don't forget on the hem of the blue robe were the bells and pomegranates, the bells.

So every step that the high priest took in the camp, in his ministry, detailed ministry every day, responsible ministry, they would hear the sound of the bells. Now we have no doubt that these garments speak to us of the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Three things I want to mention about Aaron, very simply by way of introduction, and then we hope to try at least to get to the coat, and if there is time, we will look at the girdle hidden under the robe of blue.

There are two girdles that Aaron wore. Some believers make a mistake by confusing the two, or thinking that it was just one, but there are two. There's the curious girdle, what is called the curious girdle of the ephod, or ephod, and then underneath, as I've said, the robe of blue is the unseen girdle that he tied around his waist and drew closer to his skin and body, the white linen coat.

What does the name of Aaron mean? His name means high, or indeed very high, and even in the meaning of the name of Aaron, I think it points to the high, exalted ministry in heaven of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So his name is very expressive, and we think of the ministry, too, of his office, brings before us the exercise of his priesthood. His name, very high, his exalted position, and then the ministry of his priesthood bring before us the exercise of his priesthood.

Then we have the materials of his garments, and these bring before us the excellencies of his person. Now, beloved, Aaron, in some respects, was not really worthy to put on such garments. He was a sinner like any other man.

He had a corrupt nature like any other man. Certainly these garments are called holy garments, but that did not denote the inherent, real holiness of Aaron. His was, with these robes, for glory and beauty, a ceremonial holiness.

I know he is called in Deuteronomy 33, The High Holy One. I know in one of the Psalms he is described in a very expressive way, Aaron, the saint of the Lord. But Aaron was not always saintly. Sometimes he was unsaintly, even though he was Israel's high priest.

Let's not forget that before ever he put on these lovely, resplendent garments. Denoting his ceremonial holiness and the extended merit of his office. Let's not forget, before he put on these garments, he sinned.

Remember, he did that in Exodus 32. He was involved in the golden calf incident. He lent himself to that rebellion and that terrible happening at the foot of Mount Sinai. He should never have been involved in that.

It's sad to think that before he put on the garments for his ministry as Israel's high priest, the first high priest, he sinned. And then, sadly, after he had worn these garments for some considerable time, after he had been consecrated and inaugurated into his high priestly ministry for Israel, he sinned again.

Do you remember the book of Numbers, chapter 12? Miriam spoke against Moses, the Lord's servant, the man of God, the leader of the nation. That was jealousy that did that. And sadly again, Aaron ought to have known better.

And he joined Miriam in opposition against Moses. It's a sad chapter. And what, indeed, what that dear woman Miriam did caused the camp of Israel to stop. The journey was stopped and interrupted. Beloved, we must be always careful what we do and what our attitudes may be and disposition to other believers and how we treat one another in the assembly, because it can have a serious effect on the testimony, not only its atmosphere, but also can hinder its progress.

And we must be very conscientious and very, very careful. So, yes, he was a saint of the Lord. Yes, he's called Thy Holy One. But he wasn't always saintly. Thus, before he put on the garments, he sinned.

After he put on the garments, he sinned. And this, indeed, is very sad. He was just a mere mortal man like any other in Israel that he represented. He was a sinner. Yet he had a great office, a very, very important role to fulfill.

Practical Holiness and Unity Among Believers

These garments are called for glory and beauty. But ceremonially, they were holy garments that distinguished him from the rest of Israel. Holy garments. Beloved, we can't have glory and we can't have beauty without practical holiness in our lives every day.

Do you want to experience the glory of the Lord in the assembly and his presence? Do you want to behold more of the beauty of the Lord in his presence on the Lord's Day or any other meeting? Then we've got to be holy.

Practically holy. These are very practical thoughts and solemn and searching and very challenging to say the least. By the way, do you remember in Psalm 133, that little psalm of three verses? Well, the psalmist David speaks of unity among brethren.

You remember it, don't you? Behold how good and how pleasant. It's been said that not everything good is pleasant. Not everything that's pleasant is good. But here is something both good and pleasant.

Behold how good it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Then you remember the psalmist goes on and he compares unity, doesn't he? What to? To the anointing oil that was poured upon the head of Aaron in his induction to his high priestly office.

His head was anointed and that free flowing oil flowed freely down. It never touched the flesh. It went right down to the skirt of his garment. Beloved, unity will never be produced or even maintained by the energy of the flesh.

It must be maintained by spiritual principles. And living right in the fear of God. And doing those things that are right and scriptural in the assembly. But notice, just like the anointing oil flowed down the garment of Aaron to the skirt of his garment.

We can't produce on earth, by our effort, unity that the assembly needs. Unity among saints. It must come down. God must create it. God must maintain it. May the Lord give us more concern, beloved, about unity in the assembly.

So it's interesting that we do have this reference to the high priest garments there in Psalm 133. Don't forget. In Zechariah chapter 3 we have a vision of Zechariah, of Joshua the high priest at that time.

Clothed in filthy garments. What's the picture there? The corruption of the people. The corruption of the priesthood. Things had gotten far away from what God intended when he put first those lovely garments on Aaron.

Typical of the many glories of our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. What a foul cry, those filthy garments, on Joshua in that vision. It is, from Aaron's ministry, and his garments. Did God intend that they should be filthy garments?

It's a picture of the decadence, decadence of Israel. Of their disobedience, of their corruption, of their self-will, of their rebellion. To think where Israel had come in Zechariah and Proverbs days.

So we have interesting references outside of the Pentateuch, particularly Exodus and Numbers and Leviticus, to the high priest garments. Whether Psalm 133, or the vision of Zechariah seeing Joshua clothed in filthy garments.

The Garments as Types of Christ’s Glory

Joshua the high priest then, at that time, in Zechariah chapter 3. Beloved, when I look at the high priest's garments, I see that he was clothed, clothed from head to foot, almost. See that? And you'll admit with me, it's a beautiful chart.

The result of a sister's ministry, and work, and the perfection of her work in New Zealand. If this chart is lovely, picturesque, and almost real, and lovely colours, can we imagine what it must have been like, to see those garments in reality, as Aaron moved in the camp of Israel.

Brilliant, resplendent, lovely garments. The costliest of material, because Aaron is going to be a type of the person of work of our great high priest, as we see in Hebrews. So the best material, the purest material, the costliest of material, had to be used.

Beloved, there's one thing very interesting. We never, never read in Aaron's dress, that he had to wear shoes. Interesting? I ask myself the question, why? Because he's constantly reminded daily in his ministry, in the tabernacle, and outside the tabernacle, that he has to serve God with reverence and godly feet.

Hence he didn't have any shoes on his feet. I remember once looking a little closer at these garments, and everything on these garments, and I came to the pomegranates and bells at the bottom of the, or hem of the blue robe, beautiful robe.

First time the Bible speaks about a robe in the word of God. The robe, the blue, heavenly colour robe. And we're going to see later, maybe tomorrow night, the significance of that. But, do you know these garments are real, aren't they?

Look close, they're very real. Actual material, but, but, there is something that is not real on these garments. It was a long time to discover it, but I enjoyed it. You say, what do you mean? What's not real on these garments?

The pomegranates. They're not real. They're material, made like, have the appearance of pomegranates. But not real fruit, not the real fruit. What does that tell me? Is this fake? Maybe that's a strong expression to use.

The pomegranates are not real. The only thing I can see as far as the high priest's garments are concerned, that wasn't real. But listen, what a contrast with our Lord Jesus. Was there anything fake about him?

Anything unreal about him? Did he ever pretend to be what he wasn't? Thank God for the integrity and purity and dignity of our blessed Lord Jesus and his reality. Are you beginning to have an interest in these garments?

Maybe most of you are listening to ministry in the high priest's garments for the very first time. And I want to introduce you to the subject. I want you to enjoy it. I want you to open up wonderful truths to your heart and mind concerning the present high priest in ministry in heaven.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is our great high priest. Aaron? He's never called, is he, a great high priest. Never. This adjective, great, is only used in the New Testament in Hebrews. Reserved exclusively for him, our Lord Jesus.

He is truly, what Aaron wasn't, a great high priest. Brethren and sisters, I asked myself the question once years ago. Why did God choose Aaron especially to be Israel's first high priest? Oh, I know he was Moses' brother.

Why did God not give it to somebody else? Why did not God give it to Moses? Oh, you say he had many responsibilities and things to do. That's correct. Can I tell you why Aaron was chosen to be Israel's first high priest?

Moses was not in Egypt suffering the whip of the taskmaster. He never knew what it was to endure what they did in their affliction in Egypt. But Aaron did. Aaron was in Egypt. Aaron experienced, didn't he, what the rest of the Israelites in Egypt were enduring.

He knew all about it. He'd come through that very difficult phase of Israel in Egypt, in the bondage in Egypt. Listen. Why is our Lord Jesus functioning for us as our great high priest? Why does he represent us in heaven?

Because he has been here. He trod the path here below. He knows our feelings. He understands our need and the difficulties we face. In all things he was tempted. He became like unto his brethren, sin apart.

Our Lord has been here. And that qualifies him and fits him to be our great high priest in heaven. Why do we need a high priest? Ever thought that? When did he commence his high priestly ministry? The moment he entered into heaven.

Oh, I know that he had priestly characteristics and features in his lovely life on earth and his ministry. Yes. But Hebrews tells us, Hebrews 5, he was saluted of God, a priest after the order of Melchizedek.

He was welcome in heaven. And I take it from that scripture that the Lord Jesus commenced his high priestly ministry upon his ascension into heaven, the right hand of God. Why do we need a priest, a great high priest?

The Present Intercessory Ministry of Christ

We need in our Lord Jesus Christ, beloved, a great high priest to take us into the presence of God inside the veil. To help us in our worship. To sustain us and succor us in our pilgrim way on earth. We're not yet in heaven, we have great need and problems and opposition and difficulties.

But more than that, you know, wonderful to think that the Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven. Why do we need him particularly? May I say this? We need the intercessory work of our Lord Jesus Christ as our great high priest.

To render our service down here and even our worship, often stained by sin, to render that acceptable to God, to all our prayers and praises. He adds his sweet perfume. And love the sense it raises, its odours to consume.

How can I enjoy the priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus now? Why, the same way that I would enjoy any other truth in the New Testament or in the Bible as a whole. By faith. By faith. We ought to be more alive to and conscious of and indebted to the present high priestly ministry of Christ.

Maybe not until we get home to heaven, gathered all inside the veil, will we then fully appreciate the debt we owe to the present high priestly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. These are important things.

Thank God tonight for the high priestly ministry of our Lord Jesus, for the teaching in particular of the epistles of the Hebrews. May I suggest, in Hebrews 2, we have the faithfulness of his priestly ministry.

We have a merciful and faithful high priest, says the writer. Merciful towards us, faithful towards God. The faithfulness. Thank God for the faithfulness of our high priest. What about the feelings of our high priest?

In Hebrews 4, the end there. Touched with the feelings of our infirmity. What lovely sympathy the Lord Jesus has for his own. How we thank God for his interest in us, for his concern, for his sympathising, suffering ministry.

We could develop these things. Hebrews 2, his faithfulness. Hebrews 4, his feelings towards his people. Come with me to the passage we read in Hebrews chapter 7, the features, the features of his high priestly ministry.

The writer says there, There were many priests in Israel, but they couldn't continue by reason of death. Yes. But our Lord Jesus, as our great high priest, will never, never die. He is unchangeable. He has an intransferable office.

He will never have a successor. Wonderful. How much we owe to the Lord Jesus. Many high priests, beginning with Aaron the first high priest. Many high priests in Israel. But we only have one singular, unique, great high priest.

Our Lord Jesus. And how does the writer in Hebrews 7 describe him? Listen. Who is holy, harmless, undefiled. The word should be following. Separated from sinners. That verse is quoted quite often. For example, in the morning meeting.

And that's nice. Nothing wrong with that. But we tend to think that the Hebrew writer is there describing the Lord's life on earth. His character on earth. What he was on earth. Now it's true he was holy, harmless, undefiled.

In his life, of course, it's pleasantly true. But Hebrews 7 verse 26 is not talking about the past life of the Lord Jesus on earth. Notice. Who, don't miss it, is. Not was. Who is holy, harmless, undefiled.

What does that tell me? The Lord Jesus in heaven still is holy as he was on earth. Harmless as he was on earth. Holy, harmless, undefiled. Separated from sinners. Beyond the reach of sinners. That is his present position in heaven.

Separated from sinners. Great. Come back to Aaron for a few moments. And his garments. Was he always holy? No, we've seen that. He wasn't always holy. Holy? Harmless? Was he always harmless? No, we've seen in his dealings and the situation in Numbers 12 with Miriam.

Joining together against Moses, the Lord's servant, the prophet, the mediator, the leader. How awful that was. And how serious were the consequences. He was not always holy, Aaron. He was not always harmless.

Holy, harmless, undefiled. Was Aaron undefiled? You know, don't you, as well as I do. After he was consecrated to his dignified, important office as Israel's first high priest. First of all, he was washed all over.

That washing was never repeated. It answers to the permanence of new birth. The washing that we've had when we came to Christ. It never needs to be repeated. It's one for all. But then that same high priest, with his sons of priests in daily service, a function in the tabernacle, why they had to wash both hands and feet at the laver.

What a practical challenge that is to us. God is looking for clean workers, for clean servants. For clean believers in thought and word and deed. Unlike our Lord, we're not holy, harmless, undefiled. And neither was Aaron.

You see what I'm doing? What am I doing? I'm contrasting those lovely qualities and moral features of Christ in Hebrews 7 verse 26 with Aaron. Great man though he was. Important office in Israel though he had.

Tremendous responsibility. People couldn't do without him. Beloved, let me remind you that these garments placed upon Aaron for glory and for beauty, I want to say simply, he wasn't really worthy to wear them, was he?

In one real sense, he wasn't really worthy. They gave him an adornment and a dignity that he didn't deserve. You can contrast that with the Lord Jesus Christ. While the garments of Aaron adorned him, our blessed Lord Jesus, just the very reverse, adorns the garments.

Don't you see that in the Mount of Crucifixion? When his glory was seen by those three disciples, when his face had shined in the sun, and his garments were glistening, white and glistening, says Mark chapter 9, he adorned the garments as he were.

These are lovely things. Let me come now to the coat. We're going to consider in these meetings the actual physical order which day by day Aaron would put on these garments. The first thing of course that he put on was this pure linen coat.

The Linen Coat and Christ’s Sinlessness

Next was the robe of blue, but the first was the coat. He put that on before any other garments. This coat was closest to his body, held firmly in place by the unseen girdle underneath the robe of blue.

What does this linen coat speak of? In type it tells us, dear child of God, of the sinlessness of our Lord's priesthood. Wonderful. We have in heaven a sinless, pure, holy high priest. Morning by morning thou didst wake amidst this poison air, yes?

Yet no contagion touched thy soul, nor sin disturbed thy prayer. Just as this pure linen white coat speaks of the sinlessness of our great high priest, and was the foundation of all the rest of the garments, I want to say to you tonight, the foundation of all the glories in the present high priestly ministry in heaven of our Lord Jesus Christ, is his own absolute sinlessness.

Thank God for the sinlessness of our Lord Jesus. Without which, there's no way he could function in heaven for us. Wait a minute. Do you know that linen, pure linen, the linen coat, the material linen that was made of, worn by Aaron, was the purest, costliest kind of linen you could have ever got.

Egyptian linen in 2 ,500 BC was very fine and costly. What is it? I'm not a good hand at these things. 540 warps per inch. The best that you can get now is 360 warps per inch. So this, the linen I assume brought from Egypt with other things, was so fine and pure.

The best kind of linen you could have had has not been the like ever since. You can't get any today like that. God chose that pure, costly linen to set forth the absolute sinlessness of our Lord Jesus.

So it was a linen garment, the coat, yes? It appeared to be like the sons of the priests, who also wore, without any other garments like Aaron, though strange enough, the coat that they wore, and whatever else, is still called garments for glory and beauty.

But they didn't wear lovely, brilliant, costly garments, beautiful garments, nor the priesthood, the sons of the priests, just wore plain, very plain linen coat. They had to serve God in His fear. They were required to be holy.

Beloved, what I'm saying to you, as we think of the holiness and purity and sinlessness of our Lord Jesus Christ, if you look closely at this coat, you would see there's something different about it, that really distinguishes it from the linen coats, the sons of the priests wore in their daily priestly ministry.

You look closely at this one, the Aaron wore. It's broided, it's broided. And the remarkable thing is, it's not broided from without, it's broided from within, in the texture, right through. I say again, not broided from without.

Listen, Christ cannot have any outward thing placed upon Him to make Him better or more worthy. He's got that. His worth is an intrinsic, inward, pure worth. To look at Him with His coat, you would have said, it's the same, but it isn't.

Sons of Aaron, the priests, their coats were not broided, but Aaron's was. Our Lord Jesus Christ was like that of any man that ever lived. Did the Lord a man become, that He might the law fulfil? Bleed and suffer in my room, and canst thou my tongue be still?

Thank God for the manhood, the true manhood of our Lord Jesus, beloved. Hold tenaciously to this fundamental truth concerning the manhood of Christ. He's a real man still. He was a real man here. So the Lord Jesus was like that of any other man that ever lived, but, physically of course, but morally, He was unlike that of any man that ever lived.

I put it like this. He was as much a man as we are, but not such, such a man as we are. Holy. Harmless. Undefiled. Several sins. If you want an exposition in the New Testament of the meaning of this coat, the first garment He put on every day, you get it in Hebrews 7 verse 26.

That's an exposition, that verse, on the meaning, typically, of the coat. Didn't Pilate see the difference in the Lord Jesus Christ? Didn't the centurion see the difference in the Lord Jesus Christ? Didn't the dying repentant thief see the difference in the Lord Jesus Christ?

Didn't they see the broided garment? I find no fault in him. Certainly this was a righteous man, said the centurion. This man hath done nothing out of place, said the dying thief. What did they see? Our Lord Jesus Christ was no ordinary man.

He was an extraordinary man. Unique in His manhood. Different. Like us, indeed. In all things, He was made like unto His brethren, says Hebrews 2. But how very different. Oh, thank God for this broided garment, this pure linen coat.

I say again to you tonight, beloved, it's the foundation of all Aaron's garments. And the sinlessness and purity and holiness of our Lord Jesus, hold on to this too, is the foundation of His successful ministry as our great high priest in heaven.

The feelings of His priesthood, the faithfulness of His priesthood, the lovely features of His priesthood, the function, as Hebrews tells us, of His priesthood in heaven. Beloved, this is a very lovely and very important subject.

And we thank God for the epistles of the Hebrews that really tells us something of the typical meaning of these garments of glory and beauty that Aaron wore, for they foreshadow the greater glories to come of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Harmony, Holiness, and Spiritual Inheritance

If you look at these garments, they are harmonious garments. Whatever does that mean, harmonious garments? Well, the gold and the silver and the blue and the purple and the scarlet, all these colours, seven colours in fact, and the white, blended in perfectly with the surroundings in which Aaron, the high priest, served, especially in the tabernacle.

Why in the tabernacle you get all these colours? And these garments, therefore, I say to you, harmonise with the sphere of His service. The colours blended in. Do you know what I thought? What about my life?

Am I living in harmony with God? Do I take character from the holiness of God, and especially the holiness of the assembly? Let us never forget 1 Corinthians 3 makes very clear, solemn, certain, that the assembly is a temple, a temple of God.

Which temple you are, it's a holy place. We kind of do what we like in it. Let us behave ourselves accordingly. Let there be harmony in our lives, and consistency, as we think of the holiness, the harmony of the garments, the holiness of the garments, ceremonially of course.

They were harmonious garments, they were holy garments, they were also, they were also handmade garments, right? Skillfully made by men, filled with the spirit of God, and wisdom from God, to make them handmade garments.

This dear sister who made the chart here, of Aaron and his garments, did the ethoid, on a small loom. I said she was a perfectionist. First time she attempted to do a chart as I wanted her to do, on the high priest, when she completed it, she thought it looked drab.

I'm sure it would have been nice, a nice picture. But she said, in view of this lovely subject of the glories of Christ and these resplendent garments, would you not let me just make it a bit lifelike, put on the chart the actual material?

I said go ahead. When I first got the parcel by airmail from New Zealand and opened it in my living room, my breath was taken away. I never expected such a beautiful chart. And I'm indebted to that dear sister who died of cancer and is now with the Lord Jesus.

She did three of my charts. I have ten. And you know these three are the best. The others are pretty good. But these three are outstanding. Very, very precise, careful, excellent work. Harmonious garments, holy garments, handmade garments.

And these garments, they were handed on to a priest that followed. Aaron had successors. And so these garments were handed on, handed on garments. I don't know whether Aaron had sheep or cattle or whatever, or what he possessed, how wealthy he was or otherwise.

But the biggest thing he could pass on to his son following was these garments. And all of this spoke of what are we going to leave our children behind with? Maybe a nice bank balance to take over and benefit by.

That's good and important in its place. But I trust that we leave a spiritual inheritance with them. That we hand on to them something precious. Instill into them and prepare them with heavenly spiritual things.

That would be good. And we could continue to speak of Aaron's garments in this way. But let me just come for a few moments. I might go 2 or 3 minutes over at 8 o 'clock and I trust you'll not mind. I wonder where to go next.

The Unseen Linen Girdle and Christ’s Service

It's so, so extensive and so absorbing and so full of Christ even typically. What was done after he put on the first garment physically? Before he began his daily ministry as the High Priest of Israel.

He put on this coat speaking of the sinlessness of our Lord's priesthood. But then the next thing he put on was a girdle. Now this girdle I mentioned right at the beginning is to be distinguished, don't confuse them, distinguished from this what is called curious, you know this looks like some glorious waistcoat doesn't it?

With a belt around it. That's the nearest we can say in our understanding. But it's a curious girdle he thought. If you were a little doubtful read carefully the verse that we did in Leviticus chapter 8 and you'll discover the word girdle is twice mentioned in one verse.

Twice mentioned. May I suggest if in the white linen garment or coat we have the sinlessness of our Lord's priesthood. In the girdle underneath the robe of blue and next to the coat drawing it closer to the skin and body of Aaron the girdle speaks of the service the service of our great high priest in heaven.

Generally may I say this the girdle in the Bible speaks of service. Don't we see that very classically beautifully in the example of our Lord Jesus in the upper room in John chapter 13 he takes a towel and girds himself with it and washes oh what humility his disciples' feet.

Would they ever forget that? I'm sure their pride was rebuked. The Lord of Glory stooping down to the feet of the disciples washing their feet they should have done it to him. But he girded himself with the towel he's serving them.

And if you look carefully into the Bible and the references to girdles generally it speaks of great service. Beloved all I want to say about this unseen girdle underneath the robe of blue is this it was made of linen.

Fine twined linen. Fine. Yes fine twined linen there was no uncleanness in the service of our Lord Jesus. Fine there was no roughness in the service of our Lord Jesus twined there was no looseness in the Lord's ministry on earth or in heaven there is no looseness.