Exodus 39

It was God’s desire that the nation of Israel be “a kingdom of priests” (19:6) in the world, revealing His glory and sharing His blessings with the unbelieving nations around them. But in order to magnify a holy God, Israel had to be a holy people, and that’s where the Aaronic priesthood came in. It was the task of the priests (Aaron’s family) and the Levites (the families of Kohath, Gershon, and Merari; see Num. 3—4) to serve in the tabernacle and represent the people before God. The priests were also to represent God to the people by teaching them the law and helping them to obey it (Lev. 10:8–11; Deut. 33:10; Mal. 2:7).

But Israel failed to live like a kingdom of priests. Instead, the spiritual leadership in the nation gradually deteriorated until the priests actually permitted the people to worship idols in the temple of God (Ezek. 8)! The Lord punished His people by allowing the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and the temple and carry thousands of Jews into exile. Why did this happen? “But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous” (Lam. 4: niv).

Today, God wants His church to minister in this world as a “holy priesthood” and a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5, 9). If God’s people are faithful in their priestly ministry, they will “proclaim the praises of Him who called [them] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2: nkjv). As we study the Old Testament priesthood, you will see significant parallels between the work of the Jewish priests in the past and the ministry of “the holy priesthood” in the church today.

In serving God and the people, the high priest wore seven pieces of clothing: undergarments (vv. 42–43); a white inner robe (“coat”; v. 39; 39:27; Lev. 8:6–7); a blue robe over that, with bells and pomegranates on the hem (Ex. 28:31–35; 39:22–26); the ephod, a sleeveless garment of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, held together by a jeweled clasp on each shoulder (28:6–8; 39:1–5; Lev. 8:7); a girdle at the waist (Ex. 28:8); a jeweled breastplate, held in place on the ephod by golden chains attached to the shoulder clasps (vv. 9–30; 39:8–21); and a white linen turban (“miter,” 28:39) with a golden plate on it that said “Holy to the Lord” (v. 36 niv).

The ephod and girdle (28:6–14; 39:2–7). “Ephod” is the transliteration of a Hebrew word for a simple sleeveless linen garment that reached to the ankles, usually associated with religious service (1 Sam. 2:18; 2 Sam. 6:14). The high priest’s ephod and girdle were made of white linen beautifully embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet threads. The ephod was of two pieces, front and back, held together on each shoulder by a jeweled golden clasp and at the waist by the beautiful girdle.

The significant thing about this ephod was not the fabric or the colors. It was that the names of six tribes of Israel were engraved on each onyx stone on the shoulder clasps, according to their birth order. Whenever the high priest wore his special robes, he carried the people on his shoulders before the Lord. Furthermore, these two onyx stones reminded him of two important facts: (1) the tribes of Israel were precious in the sight of God; (2) he wasn’t in the tabernacle to display his beautiful robes or to exalt his special position, but to represent the people before the Lord and carry them on his shoulders. He had been called, not to serve himself but to serve his people.

If the church is to be faithful as a holy priesthood, believers must serve Christ by serving one another and serving a lost world. Jesus said, “I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:27), and it’s His example that we should follow (John 13:12–17). In the highpowered spiritual atmosphere of the tabernacle, it would be easy for the priest to ignore the common people outside, many of whom had burdens and problems and needed God’s help. “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2: nkjv).

The breastplate (28:15–30; 39:8–21). The breastplate was a piece of beautifully embroidered fabric, nine inches square when folded double. It hung on the high priest’s chest, supported by two golden chains attached to the shoulder clasps. On the breastplate were twelve beautiful jewels, arranged in four rows, each stone representing one of the tribes of Israel. The stones were probably arranged according to the order of the tribes as they marched (28:21; see Num. 10).

So the high priest not only carried the people on his shoulders, but he also carried them over his heart. If we don’t have sincere love in our hearts, we won’t be concerned about the needs of others, and we won’t want to help them. “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1 John 4:18). As servants of God, we should be able to say honestly to the people we serve, “I have you in my heart” (Phil. 1:7).

The variety of stones on the breastplate suggests the variety of people in the church and in the world, all of them precious to God. Each of the tribes had its own distinctive outlook and personality, and no two were alike. Some were quick to go to battle, while some stayed home (Judg. 5:13–18). Some were easy to work with while others liked to argue and be important (Judg. 8). Yet the Lord loved them all and the high priest had to minister to them all.

“Pastoring a church would be a wonderful experience if it weren’t for people!” a young minister said to me. I reminded him that helping people and meeting their spiritual needs is what ministry is all about, and this demands a great deal of patient love on our part. We are a “holy priesthood” and a “royal priesthood,” but we must constantly be a “loving priesthood.”

Within the folded breastplate were kept “the Urim and Thummim” (“lights and perfections”) which the high priest used to determine the will of God for the nation (Ex. 28:30; Num. 27:21; 1 Sam. 30:7–8). We don’t know what the procedure was, but it was the priests’ duty to perform it (Deut. 33:8; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65). Some think there were two stones in the pouch, one black and one white, and the stone the priest withdrew indicated the will of God. Or perhaps they were jewels that shone in a special way to indicate the leading of the Lord. It’s useless to speculate because the details haven’t been revealed to us.

Believers today don’t have devices such as the Urim and Thummim for determining what God wants us to do, but we do have the Word of God to guide our steps (Ps. 119:105). The Word of God reveals the God of the Word, His character, His desires, and His purposes for His people, and the better we know God, the better we can discover His will. God’s Word contains precepts for us to obey, warnings for us to heed, promises for us to claim, and principles for us to follow. If we’re sincerely willing to obey, God is willing to direct us (John 7:17; Ps. 25:8–11).

But if we had a simple infallible method of determining the will of God such as the Urim and Thummim, we probably wouldn’t pray as much, search the Scriptures as much, or humble ourselves as much as we do today as we seek God’s direction. But seeking and doing God’s will is the way we grow in the Lord, and sharing in the process is as much a blessing as knowing the results.

Moses enumerates some additional articles of clothing.

The blue robe (28:31–35; 39:22–26), worn under the ephod, was distinctive in at least three ways. For one thing, it was seamless, reminding us of our Lord’s seamless robe that symbolized His perfect character and integrity (John 19:23). The collar around the opening for the head was woven so that it would not tear. During our Lord’s ministry on earth, some people tried to “tear” the seamless robe of His character and accuse Him of wrong, but they never succeeded. Finally, around the hem of this garment hung pomegranates made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with golden bells hanging between them. The pomegranates symbolized fruitfulness and the golden bells gave witness that the high priest was ministering in the holy place. The bells and pomegranates remind us that our priestly walk must be fruitful and faithful, always giving witness that we’re serving the Lord with integrity.

The turban (28:36–38; 39:27–31) was worn only by the high priest, while the other priests wore linen bonnets. At the front of the turban was the golden plate that read “Holiness to the Lord” (“Holy to the Lord,” niv). The whole purpose of the Levitical system was to make men and women holy and therefore pleasing to the Lord.

It comes as a shock to some people to learn that Jesus did not die to make us happy; He died to make sinners holy. “Be holy, for I am holy” was a frequent command to the Jews (Lev. 11:44–45; 19:2; 20:7, 26; 21:8) and it’s repeated in 1 Peter 1:15–16 for believers today. The first step toward happiness is holiness. If we’re right with God, then we can start being right with others and with the circumstances of life that trouble us. If you aim for happiness, you’ll miss it, but if you aim for holiness, you’ll also find happiness in the Lord.

In wearing this holy turban and its gold “crown,” the high priest identified himself with the sins of the people as they brought their offerings to the Lord (Ex. 28:38). Just as Christians bring their holy sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ, and this makes the sacrifices acceptable (1 Peter 2:5), so the gifts of the people were acceptable to God because of the intercession of the high priest. However, our Lord and Intercessor in heaven doesn’t need any special garments or “holy crowns” to qualify for ministry, because He is the holy Son of God, and in Him there is no sin.

Twice in this section the priests are warned that they might die if they didn’t fully obey the Lord’s instructions and wear the right garments (Ex. 28:35, 43). In other words, God’s servants must walk in the fear of the Lord and be careful to obey Him and give Him the glory.

Nobody who is working wholeheartedly for the Lord will deny that “there is joy in serving Jesus,” but at the same time, we must cultivate “reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:28). If the Lord killed every believer today who didn’t enter seriously into his or her service, how many workers would be left? Fearing the Lord doesn’t mean cringing before a hard taskmaster so much as being reverent and humble before a loving Father and gracious Lord. “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling” (Ps. 2: nkjv). “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due Me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me? says the Lord Almighty” (Mal. 1:6).

We have already noted that the priests would die if they failed to wash at the laver (Ex. 30:20–21) or if they used a different incense from that which was ordered by God (Lev. 16:13). If the priests didn’t obey the laws concerning the clean and unclean, they were also in danger of death (22:1–9). It wasn’t enough for the priests to teach the people the law; they had to be careful to obey it themselves, because they had the greater responsibility. But the basic attitude that helps to determine our obedience is a Spirit-inspired fear of the Lord.

I’ve attended some Christian “worship” services and evangelistic meetings where the main emphasis was “having a good time” and not glorifying God. The music was entertaining but not edifying, and the preaching was shallow and flippant. The speakers were more concerned with getting the crowd to laugh than with helping them to see Jesus and repent of their sins. God didn’t kill anybody at these meetings, but we didn’t sense the life and power of the Spirit in what went on. Because the participants weren’t focused on honoring God, the meeting killed itself.

The book of Exodus opens with Moses seeing God’s glory in the burning bush (3:1–5), and it closes with the glory of God descending into the camp and filling the tabernacle. The presence of the glory of God in the camp of Israel was not a luxury; it was a necessity. It identified Israel as the people of God and set them apart from the other nations, for the tabernacle was consecrated by the glory of God (29:43–44). Other nations had sacred buildings, but they were empty. The tabernacle of Israel was blessed with the presence of the glory of God.

God’s glory reflected (Ex. 34:29–35; 2 Cor. 3). Moses had been fasting and praying in the presence of God for eighty days, and he had seen a glimpse of God’s glory. Is it any wonder that he had a shining face? He didn’t realize that he had “absorbed” some of the glory and was reflecting it from his countenance. Because of this glory, the people were afraid to come near him, but he summoned them to come and they talked as before. However, after he was finished speaking to the people, Moses put on a veil to cover the glory.

Why did Moses wear a veil? Not because he was frightening the people, but because the glory was fading away (2 Cor. 3:13). The Jews saw this glory as something wonderful and exciting, but what would they say if they knew it was fading away? Who wants to follow a leader who is losing his glory? So Moses would go into the tent of meeting to talk with God, and the glory would return, but then he would wear the veil so the people wouldn’t see the glory disappear.

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul made several applications of this remarkable event. First, he pointed out that the glory of the Mosaic legal system was fading away, but that the glory of the gospel of God’s grace was getting more glorious (vv. 7–11). This was his answer to the legalists who taught that obedience to the law plus faith in Christ was God’s way of salvation (Acts 15:1). Why believe in something when its glory is vanishing?

He also applied the event to the lost Jews of his day whose hearts were covered by a veil of unbelief so they couldn’t see the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 3:14–16). The only way to remove that veil was to believe the Word and trust in Jesus Christ.

Finally, he applied Moses’ experience to Christians who by faith see the glory of Jesus Christ in the Word and experience a spiritual transformation (vv. 17–18). This is why Christians read the Bible and meditate on it, because when the child of God looks into the Word of God and sees the Son of God, he or she is transformed by the Spirit of God into the image of God for the glory of God.

God’s glory resident (39:32—40:38). The people of Israel had no idea what Moses had experienced on the mountain and how close they had come to being rejected by God and destroyed. Never underestimate the spiritual power of a dedicated man or woman who knows how to intercede with God. One of our greatest needs today is for intercessors who can lay hold of God’s promises and trust God to work in mighty power (Isa. 59:16; 62:1; 64:1–7).

The work on the tabernacle and its furnishings was now completed, so the workers brought it all to Moses for his inspection. It would have been foolish to erect the tabernacle and put the furnishings and utensils in place only to discover that the workers had made serious mistakes. The word “commanded” is used eighteen times in Exodus 39 and 40 to remind us that the workers did what God had told them to do. Moses was a faithful servant who did all that God told him to do (Heb. 3:1–6).

The work was approved and the building was constructed (Ex. 40:1–8, 17–19, 33). This chapter summarizes the dedication of the priests, which was already described in Exodus 28—29, as well as the dedication of the building and its contents. Moses personally saw to it that every piece of furniture and every utensil was anointed and placed where it ought to be. God could not and would not dwell in the tabernacle unless everything was done according to the pattern He showed Moses on the mount (25:8–9, 40; Heb. 8:5; 9:9).

Too many sincere people have tried to do God’s work their own way and then have asked God to bless it. But ministry doesn’t work that way. First we find out what God wants us to do, and we do it to glorify Him. If we obey His will and seek to honor His name, then He will come and bless the work with His powerful presence.

After everything and everybody associated with the tabernacle was dedicated to the Lord, then the glory of God filled the tabernacle and abode there. The Hebrew word translated “abode” in Exodus 39: (“settled,” niv) is transliterated shekinah in English, “the abiding presence of God.” (See 24: and 25:8.) So powerful was the presence of God’s glory that Moses wasn’t able to enter the tabernacle!

When you read Jewish history, you discover that the glory that once dwelt in the tabernacle departed from it when the priests and the people sinned against the Lord (1 Sam. 4:21–22). Ichabod means “the glory is gone.” When Solomon dedicated the temple, God’s glory once again came to dwell with His people (1 Kings 8:10–11), but once again their sins drove God’s glory away (Ezek. 8:4; 9:3; 10:4, 18; 11:23).

The next time the glory of God came to earth was in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14). In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint), the word “abode” in Exodus 39: is the Greek word used in Luke 1: and translated “overshadowed.” Mary’s virgin womb was a Holy of Holies where the glory of God dwelt in the person of God’s Son. What did the world do with this glory? Nailed it to a cross!

Where is God’s glory today? The body of every true believer is the temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19–20), but so is the local church (3:10–23) and the church universal (Eph. 2:20–22). When Solomon finished the temple, the glory of God moved in, but when God finishes building His church, He will move the church out! Then we will share God’s glory in heaven for all eternity! “And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light” (Rev. 21: nkjv).

L E V I T I C U SGod today doesn’t live in buildings (Acts 7:48–50; 1 Kings 8:7). Buildings are dedicated to God to be used as tools for His work and His workers. But God does dwell in His people, and it’s our responsibility to glorify God individually (1 Cor. 6:20) and collectively (14:23–25). What a tragedy it would be if the glory departed and we had to write “Ichabod” on our buildings. How much better it would be if, like Moses, we did everything according to the heavenly pattern so that God’s glory would feel at home in our midst.