King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Wednesday, February 08, 2023
Chapters: EXODUS 28-29
Study: 
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
Do you know the saying, “Love is blind.”? Blind love is that love to where every time you look at someone they get more attractive by the day. And I am not talking about a physical attraction, the word attractive means; a drawing to by moral influence. Can you believe that? Moral, meaning conformed to rules of right, in other words, living our lives in a way that God wants us to live is godly. Who would have thought that someone who lives for God gets more attractive the closer they get to Him? I God guess did. Well, when you stop to think about it, is that not how we conform to Christ? Jesus, has blind love for us, He has seen all the flaws and yet loves us more every day, [Romans 8:35-37 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.]
Yesterday, we read about God giving Moses the instructions on how to build the tabernacle, and as we continue in the reading of Exodus, God, gives Moses instructions on the priesthood, these would be those who would minister or serve God in the tabernacle. That task was given to Aaron, his sons, and every descendant of males in Aaron’s family until Christ’s passion. First, they had to get dressed for the part, and God ,gives specific instructions for they clothes they would wear in order to minister to Him.
[Exodus 28:1-4 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.]
[that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him,] To consecrate means to separate and make one clean so that they can stand before God and serve Him. The priest’s were not without sin either, so, in order to serve God, they had to be redeemed and atoned for their sin even before they could enter the tabernacle. The ephod, which was kind of like a girdle, it was brought from behind the neck over the two shoulders, and put across the stomach, then tied round the waist and used as a girdle to the tunic. God, gives specific instructions of what was to be on the ephod and in what order.
[Exodus 28:5-10,12 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. 9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: 10 Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. 12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.]
[gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen,] The colors, and material used has a specific purpose and reasoning behind it, Gold; represents the Deity of God; Blue; Heaven, Purple; Royalty, Scarlet; Sacrifice, and Fine linen; personal righteousness. Those who serve God in His ministry carry these same colors upon us as they represent Christ who not only died and shed His blood for us, but leads us to the Kingdom of heaven, and is our KING, [John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.]
[bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.] This is the same reason why we observe the Lord’s Supper, which is not a memorial because Christ in no longer in the grave, it is a reminder of what Jesus did for us, and why we are saved, [Matthew 26:28-29 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.]
Every single time the high priest stood before God, He saw those names, and it was a reminder to Him that He made a promise to save and protect all who had come to Him for atonement. In addition to the ephod was the breast plate of judgment that only the high priest would wear over the ephod.
[Exodus 28:15,17,21,29-30 And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. 17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. 21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes. 29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. 30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.]
[and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart,] In addition to Jesus bearing every saved soul upon His shoulders, He also has each name written upon His heart. Urim; Light, Thummim; Perfection. The breastplate of judgment was to be put Aaron to remind him that he would do justice and judgment in the execution of God’s office. Jesus, is the Light that we all look upon, and the Perfection that gives justice and judgment to all, [Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.]
Now, in addition to the ephod and breast plate of judgment, a robe would be worn, this would be blue with a hem at the bottom with bells and pomegranates attached to it, [Exodus 28:31-36 And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent. 33 And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: 34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. 35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not. 36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.]
[and when he cometh out, that he die not.] It was important that one; the priest be heard coming toward God in order to minster to the people. Two; that he had on all the proper garments, and three; that he leave with the same garments on that he came in with. We must believe in and receive Christ as our Saviour before we can enter the holy place of God. And that faith must be the same until the day we take our last breath, otherwise, we will not be able to stand before Him and live, [Matthew 22:11-13 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.]
Now, it was not enough to have on the proper clothes, they had to be cleansed of their sin, this was something that water would not cleanse. The only thing that cleanses us of sin is blood. God, gives Moses the instructions on what the priests were to do in order to be cleansed of their sin.
[Exodus 29:1-2,4-7 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, 2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. 4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. 5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: 6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. 7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.]
[Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,] It took the blood of three animals in order for them to be consecrated. The bullock was the sin offering, [Exodus 29:10-14 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. 11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. 13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.]
[shalt thou burn with fire without the camp:] The flesh, the skin, and even the dung were to be taken outside of the fence of the tabernacle and burned. They signify the sinfulness of our flesh, how tainted it is, and cannot be offered to God on the altar on its own for atonement. And therefore, a second sacrifice was necessary after the sin offering, and that was the burnt offering.
[Exodus 29:15-18 Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. 16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. 17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. 18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.]
[And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar:] A ram wholly burnt, to the honor of God, in token of the dedication of themselves wholly to God and to His service, as living sacrifices, kindled with the fire and ascending in the flame of holy love. Wow! What a thought! And they were not done yet, now came the blood.
[Exodus 29:19-21 And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. 20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.]
[and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron,] Placing the blood on their right ear was to keep them attentive to what they were hearing, the thumb was to keep them alert to what they were touching, the right toe was to keep them minded of where they were walking. Right, always signifies doing what is actually right as opposed to the left which always signifies what appears to be right, but is wrong, [Matthew 7:15-19 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.]
Now, once they were consecrated they were able to not only stand before God, but eat with Him, and fulfill their ministration duties. However, in addition to the three animals, one more sacrifice would be made, bread.
[Exodus 29:23-26,28 And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: 24 And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. 25 And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part. 28 And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD.]
[And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons] Do you know that all this signifies? Jesus said it this way, [John 6:53-54 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.]
My goodness! Everything that Christ is is wrapped up in every one of these sacrifices, and it only took one day. As opposed to the seven that it took for the priests and high priests to fulfill their duties. Yes, this was not something that happened in one day, it took seven days for them to follow this procedure so that they could go into the tabernacle and minister before the people. And this is why they stayed there for two weeks. Once they were consecrated they were able to not only stand before God, but eat with Him.
[Exodus 29:35-37,44-46 And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. 36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. 37 Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy. 44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office. 45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.]
[when thou hast made an atonement for it,] Why were they to make atonement for the altar? It took on the sin offerings. It too needed to be cleansed of all that blood that was shed on it for the sins of the people. Remember, seven is the number of completion so after seven days of this they were now they would be able to go into the tabernacle and fulfill their duties. This is also why we need to confess our sins daily after we are saved. While the blood covers our soul, we still have our flesh to deal with, [1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.]
[And I will sanctify the tabernacle] It is Jesus who sanctifies our tabernacle once we accept Him as our Saviour. We can live our lives by the thread of our salvation and get by just a little bit because Christ truly loves us and that will never change or we can live our lives as a living sacrifice, giving our love in return, [Romans 12:1-3 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.]
Today’s Prayer: God, We know that there is nothing we can do or say to merit salvation, it is a free gift to all who believe in the ultimate price that Your Son paid for our sins. Thank You, Jesus, for giving Your life, and saving my soul. And thank You also for cleansing me so that I may be able to minister to You. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your power, wisdom, guidance, and the strength to be the minister that You want me to be. Help me remove everything from my life that would keep me from serving You with my whole heart. And fill me with Your mercy, grace, and the things that are acceptable to You. I ask these things in your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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