We’ve established where God is going to “live” among His people (the tabernacle), how His place will be furnished (and what it will be used for), and what the area surrounding His house will be like. Now, the burning question of what those who are in God’s service are going to wear. This may seem of little consequence to us, but it shouldn’t be a foreign concept that clothing communicates status or office or responsibility. These duds will carry a significant duty, these are the servants of Yahweh we’re talking about, they must appropriately reflect that the work for the king.
First, though, we need to know the fellas who will wear these items. God calls Aaron and his sons to be the priests, an indication that this is not a job one can merely apply for or attain skills to get, nor purchase (yes, this will be attempted). These duties will be carried out by this man chosen by God, Aaron, and his sons and their sons and so on. And for them, holy garments are to be made (think clothes that set them apart, indicating their chosen service to Yahweh).
In the ancient world, vestments signified authority. There was no human king of Israel, Yahweh was it, so the High Priest (Aaron, at present) was the leader of the people and was wearing the types of clothing that would traditionally be reserved for kings in other cultures. Thus, we are prepared to see the High Priest as one who served Yahweh on behalf of the people of Israel, most often expressed in worship.
This plays out in the sacrificial system kind of like this. A guest doesn’t prepare food at another’s home, the homeowner does the preparation of the food and the guests join in eating it. Thus, in the logic symbolized by the meal-based sacrificial system, worshipers at the tabernacle were Yahweh’s guests and the priests were Yahweh’s servants, serving both the host and the guests. In the case of tabernacle worship, the guests brought the food not because it was theirs and they wanted to honor their host by contributing to the meal; it was not theirs, but they were bringing that portion of their harvest that had belonged to Yahweh from the beginning. By reason of having a meal together they were showing covenant relationship since it was not normal in ancient times for people to eat together unless they were allies.
Now the items. First up is the ephod. Easiest visual here is kind of like an apron or if someone took a sleeveless man-bruiser and turned it into a short dress (so, a covering from thigh to shoulder but not covering legs or arms). We should recognize the colors, it’s the same as the bottom layer ornate tabernacle covering and the curtains. Basically, dude should look like he belonged with the tabernacle because he did. There was to be an onyx stone on each shoulder, each carrying the names of 6 of the sons of Israel (Jacob). The engravings of the names were to be deep (when you see “signet” think “seal”. So, had to be deep like a seal would be to carry and press ink on a document). Point was, Aaron was carrying the representative nation on his shoulders, he was representing all of God’s people, and all of the people were in solidarity with him as he did his work.
The ephod itself, aside from being created using the same thread action as the tabernacle innards, was a pretty basic item. See, for example, in 2 Samuel 6 where the Ark of the Covenant is being taken back into the city and we see King David dancing in the streets in excitement around it. I had generally been under the impression that David was nude here, that’s why his wife Michal said to him, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, (she was being sarcastic), uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” However, he wasn’t naked, v14 says he was wearing a linen ephod. His wife was upset with him because she believes that he had embarrassed himself by dressing below his station, wearing just the ephod like a common man.
Next, a breast piece of judgment. Think of this like a giant, man-chest sized pocket (which contained the Urim and Thummim, more on that in a minute) and was decorated on the outside by another representation of the people/tribes, 12 precious stones. For each of the stones, one of the names of the sons of Israel was to be engraved, cut deep like the names on the onyx stones that are on the shoulders. (As an interesting digression, these are largely the same stones listed in Revelation 21 as being contained throughout the walls of the New Jerusalem. Still thinking through if there’s anything to that or not). The breast piece was attached to the ephod by blue lace tied between the rings of the ephod and the rings of the breast piece. Again, the point was for Aaron to represent the tribes in himself, what he was doing in the Holy of Holies was being done on behalf of everyone.
That leads to the Urim and Thummim, translated as “lights” and “darks” likely in reference to the colors of the rocks (or whatever they are) in the pocket that were used to discern the will of God. The Bible is never really explicit as to how these are used. It’s likely something akin to casting lots where a question is posed to God and the High Priest takes out a rock (either among two options or perhaps a bunch of rocks with either light or dark colors) and it is answered in the affirmative or negative based upon what was picked. So, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that someone would use this type of thing as a way to divine God’s will on something (in fact, we see folk casting lots to decide the replacement for Judas in Acts so, go figure).
However, before we get too far down this action, we should remember its notable absence as a reference to solve problems (meaning, it’s not popping up all the time with fellas going, “take it to the Urim!”) It most certainly wasn’t normal. It seems like it was an option, but we see God’s commandments as the primary source of guiding decisions, followed by receiving word from God from a prophet (also not frequent) and then petitioning God directly for response (even less frequent). It also wasn’t likely for personal matters, it was a need for guidance on corporate decisions. The issue, of course, with the Urim and Thummim, is that a rock, so to speak, would always come out and there would always be an answer. However, if it was being petitioned unfaithfully or without having gone through the other options (especially fealty to God’s commandments), it might be hard to discern whether the answer was actually guided by Yahweh.
Next, the robe. Worn under the ephod, it’s a blue rectangle with a whole in the middle for the head of the High Priest, hanging down likely around ankle length. At the bottom of the hem, there were pomegranate shaped tassels and gold bells. The bells, perhaps surprisingly, were necessary so that the priest “…did not die”. Again, seems odd to us, but consider how we’re to think of the tabernacle. One simply cannot invade Yahweh’s house (in this case, the Holy of Holies) without proper warning. Yes, this all seems like a show to us, but that’s probably because we’re prone to treating the presence of God as some kind of magical mist or some other silliness. If you believe that the Holy of Holies is where the presence of God actually resided (because it did), then you don’t just waltz in there. It wasn’t the priest’s house, it was Yahweh’s, and you best announce yourself before strutting in. The bells ensure you don’t forget. Obviously, it wasn’t necessary, but it was the symbolism relative to the covenant reality established by God for the benefit of the people.
Next, the turban with the gold plate on the front that reads “Holy to Yahweh”. The purpose of this seems to be a tagging of Aaron (or the High Priest in general) as the one who is to bring the sacrificial offerings, those being submitted for atonement of the sins of the people. Why is this a deal? How does the gold plate make the Israelites “acceptable to the Lord”? It’s a notion of intentionality, or doing something with conscience purpose. Religious rituals, Christian/Jewish ones specifically here, aren’t magic. You don’t take communion just by drinking wine, you don’t get baptized just because you were in a hot tub, and you’re not worshipping God just because you were sitting in a church with other folks who were doing so. All of these rituals require conscience faith, intent. The gold plate on Arron’s head was a reminder that Aaron’s actions on their behalf were done in faith for a purpose, to receive God’s gracious forgiveness of sins that they might be holy, making them able to serve Him as a “kingdom of priests, and a holy nation”.
The other priests (Aaron’s sons) get garments, they just aren’t as fancy (although, still noted as beautiful). Also, everyone who does the priest work gets linen undergarments (it’s not acceptable to expose your parts to anything holy to Yahweh). The forever statute for Aaron and his offspring isn’t limited to the underpants thing, it’s everything in this chapter related to how they dress, how they’re anointed, and what they represent.