Lesson 3

PRIESTLY GARMENTS 

Reading: Exo.28 and 39

Memory verse: Heb.2:9

Theme: To understand the glory and beauty of Jesus Christ, our High Priest and to endeavour to grow closer to His image.

Introduction: Whom does the Israeli high priest foreshadow? Whom to the ordinary priests stand for? For both the types of priests, official garments are prescribed to suit their status and position. Let this study of their dresses help us see the glory and beauty of Jesus Christ and create in us a desire to be like him.

OFFICAL GARMENTS OF THE HIGH PRIEST 

There were seven pieces of clothing assigned to the high priest.

1. Long coat (tunic)- Exo. 39:27-29

2. Blue Robe -Exo28:31- 34

3. Ephod - Exo 28:6-13, 39:2-5

4. Girdle of the Ephod - Exo 28:8, Lev 8:7

5. Linen Girdle - Lev.8:7 Exo. 39:8-21

6. Breastplate - Exo.28:14-30, 39:8-21

7.Mitre (Turben) - Lev.8:9, Exo.28:36-39

1. Long Coat (Tunic): The first appeal that the high priest has to ware over his white undergarment is the long coat made of white linen. White colour represents holiness. the Lord covers  Himself with light

The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent (Psalm 104:2)

There is no darkness (sin) in Jesus Christ. 

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1John 1:5)

Let us reflect the glory of the holiness of Jesus Christ in our lives. The essence of holiness is to do the will of God. Jesus submitted Himself fully to the will of God. Therefore holiness was His garment.

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15,16)


2.Blue robe: The robe is woven as a single piece of cloth without stitching and with a hole in the middle just large enough for the high priests head to pass through. Bells made of gold and pomegranates made of blue, purple and scarlet linen were hung alternately in its hem. The blue colour of the robe stands for the heavenly grace of Jesus Christ. Its quality of being woven without stitching shows the unbroken flow of Gods grace. The golden bells and the pomegranates hanging in the hem of this robe covering the body of high priest represent the gifts and fruits of Spirit which abound in the Church, the body of Christ.

3. Ephod:  This garment was crafted skillfully with gold and blue, purple and scarlet linen. It reached from the shoulder to the knee of the high priest. It also had a girdle attached to it. An onyx stone was fixed on each shoulder of the Ephod. The name of the 12 tribes of Isreal was engraved on the stones, six on each, in the order of their birth. The high priest was carrying each of the tribes of Isreal on his shoulders while he was standing in the presence of God. This points to the fact that Jesus Christ, our High Priest, is holding us on his strong shoulders.

4. Girdle of Ephod: The girdle points to the readiness of Jesus Christ for service. Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Jesus showed His willingness to serve even at the last supper when He washed the feet of His disciples.

 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (John 13:4,5)

5.Linen girdle (For the blue robe): This girdle in fine needlework using blue, purple and scarlet linen represents the truth. Righteousness and truth are the foundations of Christ's throne. Truth should be our girdle too.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place (Ephesians 6:14)

6.Breastplate: The breastplate was also known as the plate of Judgement. This was the most precious and beautiful item among the garments of the high priest and was woven like the ephod. It was a square piece measuring one span long and one span wide after it was folded double, It was attached to the Ephod. with golden chains above the girdle such that it would appear close to the chest of the high priest. Inside the breastplate were kept Urim and Thummim which meant "revelation" and "Truth". Probably these were two precious stones used to find out the will of God. Twelve precious stones were mounted in a gold setting in four rows on the breastplate. The names of all the tribes of Isreal were engraved on the precious stones. Every one of us is a treasure of God. As our High Priest, Christ is bearing us continually in His loving heart in the presence of God. How much comfort and joy this knowledge should create in us!

7. Miter (Turban): The mitre (Turban) was made of fine linen attached to it with a blue cord was a plate made of pure gold with the words " Holy to the Lord", engraved on it. When the high priest was wearing the turban, the golden plate would be hanging in front of his forehead. Thus the high priest was shown to be bearing the guilt of all things which the people of Isreal were consecrating. This mitre points to the fact that our High Priest wore the crown of thorns to sanctify us. He will now appear finally as the King of kings and Lord of Lords.


The perfection of Jesus Christ is a divine mystery. In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And we as His body also grow to perfection.

 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.(Col.2:9,10) 


Let His glory and His divine beauty be always in our meditations.

THE OFFICIAL GARMENTS OF ORDINARY PRIESTS 

There were three pieces of clothing assigned for ordinary priests to wear over their white undergarments

Make tunics, sashes and caps for Aaron’s sons to give them dignity and honor.(Exo. 28:40)

1. Long coat: This coat made of white linen point to holiness. Believers must be holy in the sight of      God in all respects.

2.Girdle: As the girdle distinguishes priests, the believers also should be distinguished by the girdle of truth. Nothing against truth should ever be seen in believers.

 3. Holy mitre (Turben): Jesus Christ wore the crown of thrones and became the supreme sacrifice for us in order to give us the helmet of salvation. Therefore let us shine as witnesses of our saviour wearing on our heads the mitre of salvation that we received by faith in Him.


Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17)

Lesson 2

THE PRIESTHOOD IN ISRAEL 

Reading: Exo. 28,29 : Heb. 4:14 , 5: 10,   7:1 , 8: 6

Memory Verses : Heb 4:14 - 16

Theme : To learn that the priesthood given to Israel was only a shadow for the High Priestly office for our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we can boldly approach the presence of God and receive blessings.

Introduction  :  Have you seen people who are called priests? How do you recognize them ? 

What is their job? In the Old Testament days, Israel had priests. Clear instructions regarding their priesthood were given to them on Mount Sinai through Moses 

1 “Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. 2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor. 3 Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest. 4 These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. (Exodus 28:1-4)

Before that the eldest son in the family used to do priestly duties for the family. The Aaronic priesthood was established through the Law of Moses.

Priests: There were two offices ordained by God in the Old Testament times: Priest and Prophets. Priests are those who stands between man and God and speak to God on behalf of man. But the Prophets are those who stands between God and man and speaks to man on behalf of God. At the time when the law was given to the people of Israel, God separated the tribe of Levi from among them to carry out the priestly services 

 At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today. (Deuteronomy 10: 8)

When all Israel turned to idolatry, Moses called out those who are on the Lord's side to come near him. Then the the tribe of Levi came forward and showed their opposition to idolatry and their allegiance to the Lord.

25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him. 27 Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’ ” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.(Exodus 32:25-28)

Aaron and his sons belonging to the family of Kohathin the tribe of Levi were appointed to do priestly duties. Other Levites were appointed to assist the priests in worship services. There was only one High prest at a time. Aaron was the first High Priest. when the High Priest died, his official garments and position were handed down to his eldest son. Thus the high priestly position remained traditionally with the family of Aaron. From the family of Aaron, one would be the High Priest and other sons would be ordinary priests. If anyone was disabled or afflicted with leprosy or unclean in any other way, he had no right to do any priestly duty. The High Priest stands symbolically as out Lord Jesus Christ and the priest represent the believers.

The Priestly Ministry:  The duties of the priests were confirmed to the Outer Court and the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. 

The alter for sacrifices and the laver of brass containing water for cleansing were placed in the outer court. 

The golden candlestick, the table of show-bread and the incense alter were kept in the Holy Place. 

Priests go to the Holy Place every day with the blood of sacrifices. The New Testament believers are all priests 

4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:4-10)

We are duty-bound to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices every day. We approach the presence of God on the basis of the supreme sacrifices of Jesus Christ. We enter the Holy Place, the church, after cleansing ourselves by Gods word and the Holy Spirit. There we shine as candlestick filled with the olive oil of Holy Spirit, obtain nourishment through Jesus Christ the Bread of Life and offer the incense of prayer and praise to God. As priest of the New Testament, it is Gods will that we offer sacrifices continually like this in His presence. Let us examine ourselves how we stand in this matter.

Ministry of the High Priest: The Aaronic high priest entered the Holiest Place with the blood of sacrifice only once in a year on the tenth day of the seventh month known as the Day of Atonement.

He  sprinkled blood and burnt incense in fire on the alter for his own sins and for the sins of the people.  This act foreshadowed the redemptive act of Jesus Christ. Christ who came as the High Priest of all future blessing offered Himself as sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. He has gone to the Holiest place in heaven with his own blood to intercede for us in the presence of God. It is not necessary for Him to offer sacrifices again and again for His own sins and for the sins of the people as the Aaronic high priests had to do. Jesus Christ is our High Priest: The greatness of our High Priest is described in the Epistle to the Hebrew.

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. (Hebrew 3:1)


14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.(Hebrew 4:14,15)

There is no High priest other than Jesus Christ."There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all" (1 Tim.2:5,6). Let us draw near to the Throne of Grace boldly and receive blessings.

Lesson 1

SYMBOLIC PICTURES - A STUDY 

Reading: 1 Cor.10 :1-10, Heb. 9:1-10

Memory verses: Heb. 1:1,2

Theme: To study the Old Testament writing keeping in mind the fact that the rituals,  incidents, personalities, structures etc.. are symbols or shadows of truth revealed in the New Testament.

Introduction:  Which are the two main divisions of the Bible? How many books are there in each division? What is the central topic of the Bible?

The central topic of the Bible is the redemption of mankind which is in the bondage of sin.  This topic is presented in the Old Testament through symbolic pictures. The true meaning of these pictures is revealed in the New Testaments.

IMPORTANCE OF THIS SUBJECT 

Jesus Christ while His earthly ministry taught divine truth to people through parables and examples. In the same way, God used to reveal His plan for the man in parts and in various ways. In Old Testament times, He unfolded His plan of salvation symbolically in the form of rituals like sacrifices, festivals, etc.., through certain incidents, through some structural forms and through the lives of certain individuals. Praise God for the full revelation that we have through Jesus Christ. Therefore, the study of the Old Testament should not be neglected. 

The symbolic pictures of the Bible can be divided into four groups. They are rituals of worship, individuals, incidents and structural forms. 

1. Rituals of worship 

Rituals like sacrifices, festivals, priestly duties, etc. stand as symbols of the great truth of the New Testament. For example, the killing of the Passover lamb is a shadow of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary for the salvation of mankind. "For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed for us" (1 Cor.5:7-8).

2. Individuals 

Certain personalities in the Old Testament are types of Jesus Christ. Experiences of certain other individuals reveal spiritual truth associated with the lives of believers. We shall consider below a few examples.

Adam: Adam stands as the representative of mankind under the bondage of sin. On the other hand, Christ stands as the head of the redeemed man.

For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior (Ephesians 5:23)

By one man, Adam, sin entered into the world and death by sin.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned (Romans 5:12)

By the obedience of the last Adam, Jesus Christ, the free gift came upon all man unto justification of life. 

18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18,19)

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22)

47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. (1 Corinthians 15:47-49)

Issac: Issac was born as a promised son.

Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. (Genesis 17:19)

1 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. (Genesis 21:1-3)

Jesus Christ also was born into this world as the promised seed of Abraham. It is in Jesus Christ that the promise of God to bless all nations of the earth through the seed of Abraham has been fulfilled.

through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me. (Genesis 22:18)

Isaac obeyed his father unto death. Jesus Christ became obedient even unto death on the cross.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)

The bringing of a bride for Issac be Eliezer, the steward of Abraham points toward the preparation of the Church as the bride of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. 

Joseph: Joseph the most loved son of Jacob is a type for Jesus Christ, the beloved son of God. Joseph started out in search of his brothers, but he was hated and persecuted by them. Jesus came unto His own people, Isreal, but they hated and persecuted Him. 

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (John 1:11)

Even as Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver, Jesus was betrayed by His own disciple, Judas, for 30 pieces of silver. Joseph, though innocent but put in prison, came out triumphant and became the ruler of Egypt. Jesus, though sinless, was crucified and buried. But on the third day, He rose from the dead. God highly exalted Him and gave him a name above every name. 

Besides these people Melchizedek in his priestly role, Moses in his faithful service, David in his royalty and Solomon in his wisdom stand as shadows of Jesus Christ.

3.Incidents: Many incidents recorded in the Old Testament are, symbolic of the truths of the New Testament. For example, Cain's offering to God from the fruits of his labor represents efforts of people to obtain salvation by works. On the other hand, Abels sacrifice of a firstling of his flock represents salvation through faith. It proclaims the truth the salvation is based on the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. (Hebrews 11:4)

The journey of Israel through the wilderness towards the promised land of Canaan after being delivered from the bondage of Egypt by the blood of the Passover lamb is a great example of the sojourn of believers towards heaven through the wilderness of this world. 

4.Structures: Structures which were built as per the instructions from God like the Noah's Ark. Tabernacle and the Temple of Jerusalem reveal spiritual truth. In the days of Noah, when the wicked world was judged by the flood, God provided a means of escape for those who entered into the Ark made according to His instructions. The Ark is a shadow of the means of salvation that God has provided through Jesus Christ. The Tabernacle and the Temple and the various articles kept inside them were symblic of many truths concering New Testament belivers.