1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,600
Day 27, or January 27, Priestly Clothes and Ceremonies.

2
00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:13,560
Our thoughts today are rooted in Exodus chapter 28, verses 1 and 2.

3
00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:19,000
Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons

4
00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:26,600
Nadab and Abihu, Eliezer and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests.

5
00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:32,800
Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor.

6
00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,080
And the big picture surrounding these verses.

7
00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:42,000
One of the big projects in Exodus is the making of priestly garments, which would be used

8
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:47,600
by all who were serving in the tabernacle and later in the temple itself.

9
00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,420
The priests were all descendants of Aaron.

10
00:00:50,420 --> 00:00:56,400
The high priest alone would wear the ephod and breast-piece, but King David wore the

11
00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:02,840
ephod on at least one occasion, as recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 6 verse 14.

12
00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:09,720
The ephod was made in two halves, clipped together, and had two precious onyx stones,

13
00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,640
each bearing the names of six of the twelve tribes.

14
00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:20,440
The high priest also wore a breast-piece, which was highly decorated with twelve precious

15
00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:26,920
stones, each one representing a tribe, and having the tribe's name engraved upon it.

16
00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:33,000
Having the names of the tribes on his clothing was a permanent reminder that he was representing

17
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:39,640
all twelve of the tribes before God, every time he entered the tabernacle.

18
00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,800
And now our action step for today.

19
00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:47,440
It's very symbolic to learn that the high priest would have had a breast-piece that

20
00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:53,640
was decorated with twelve different precious stones, each stone representing one of the

21
00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:57,460
twelve precious tribes of Israel.

22
00:01:57,460 --> 00:02:01,140
Every stone was different, just like the tribes.

23
00:02:01,140 --> 00:02:07,420
This is a great reminder that whilst we are all different, we are nevertheless all precious.

24
00:02:07,420 --> 00:02:12,940
The high priest was responsible to treat all the tribes fairly and equally.

25
00:02:12,940 --> 00:02:17,480
We should do the same with people both inside and outside the church.

26
00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:23,140
I realize that some people seem to go out of their way to make it hard to treat them

27
00:02:23,140 --> 00:02:26,240
the same as others who are very likeable.

28
00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,720
But you don't have to be one of them.

29
00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:37,960
We are all precious in God's sight, and we must treat each other as if that were true.