The High Priest's Garments and God's Gifted Artisans
(Exodus 28; 31)
We have been walking through the Tabernacle room by room. The Ark. The Holy Place furniture. The Bronze Altar and Basin in the courtyard. Now God turns His attention to the people who would serve inside this building. A building without servants is just a structure. God was designing a community of worship, and every person in it had a specific role.
God chose Aaron, Moses' brother, to serve as the first High Priest. But Aaron could not simply walk into the Tabernacle in his everyday clothes. God commanded that special garments be made for him, garments that were described as being "for glory and for beauty." Each piece carried meaning. The Ephod was a vest-like garment made of fine linen woven with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread. Two onyx stones were mounted on its shoulder straps, with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel engraved on them, six names on each stone. Every time Aaron lifted his arms in service, those names were visible. He was literally carrying Israel on his shoulders before God.
Attached to the Ephod was the Breastplate of Judgment, a square piece set with twelve jewels arranged in four rows, each stone engraved with the name of one tribe. Aaron wore this over his heart. Inside the Breastplate were kept the Urim and Thummim, objects used by God to communicate His will to the people. Whenever Aaron went into God's presence, he bore the names of all twelve tribes over his heart. Every person was represented. No one was left behind.
On Aaron's head was a turban with a gold plate fastened to the front by a blue cord. The plate was engraved with the words: "Holy to the Lord." Aaron's robe had bells of gold sewn into the hem, alternating with pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. When Aaron moved through the Tabernacle, people could hear the bells ringing. The bells announced: the priest is present, the priest is serving, the priest is alive before God.
Who made all of this? God solved that problem directly. In Exodus 31, He told Moses He had chosen a man named Bezalel from the tribe of Judah and had filled him with God's own Spirit, with skill, intelligence, knowledge, and craftsmanship in every kind of work. He also appointed Oholiab from the tribe of Dan to work alongside him. Neither man appointed himself. God chose them, God equipped them, and God filled them with His Spirit to do work that was beyond their natural abilities. The artisans did not produce the Tabernacle by human cleverness. They built it by the Spirit of God working through willing hands.
A Curious Question
Aaron carried the names of all twelve tribes on his shoulders in the Ephod and over his heart in the Breastplate. He represented every single Israelite every time he walked into God's presence. If you were one of those twelve tribes whose name was engraved on a stone over the High Priest's heart, how would it feel to know you were being carried into God's presence by someone else, not by your own effort?
Jesus Connection
Aaron was a significant High Priest. But everything about his role was pointing toward someone far greater.
Aaron's role was inherited. He was a High Priest because he was born into the right family, the tribe of Levi. His qualifications were based on his bloodline, not his character. And Aaron had a serious personal problem: he was a sinner himself. He would need to offer sacrifices for his own sins before he could offer them for the people's. A High Priest who needs atonement himself is a limited High Priest.
Jesus is our perfect High Priest. The letter to the Hebrews spends several chapters making this comparison. Unlike Aaron, Jesus did not need to offer sacrifice for Himself first because He had no sin of His own. Unlike Aaron, Jesus did not receive His priestly role through family inheritance but through God's direct appointment. Unlike Aaron, who died and passed the role to his sons, Jesus holds the priestly office permanently because He lives forever.
Aaron carried the names of Israel on his shoulders and over his heart as physical jewelry. Jesus carries His people in a way that goes infinitely deeper. Hebrews 7:25 says He "always lives to make intercession" for those who come to God through Him. Right now, at this moment, Jesus is before the Father interceding for every person who belongs to Him. Not once a year. Not on a schedule. Always. His intercession is not a ritual He performs. It is the eternal reality of who He is as our High Priest.
The gold plate on Aaron's turban said "Holy to the Lord." It was an aspiration, a declaration of purpose. Jesus does not wear a label declaring what He aspires to be. He simply is holy, entirely and without any effort. What Aaron's garments pointed to, Jesus fulfills by nature.
Discussion Questions
- Aaron carried twelve names on his shoulders and twelve over his heart. What does it tell us about Jesus that He carries every person who trusts in Him not just symbolically but actually, in His ongoing prayers to the Father?
- Bezalel and Oholiab were filled with God's Spirit to do artwork and craftsmanship. Does that surprise you that God would fill someone with His Spirit to do creative work? What kinds of things might God want to do through your specific skills?
- The gold plate on Aaron's turban said "Holy to the Lord." What does it look like in ordinary, everyday life for a person to live in a way that is dedicated to God?
"So What?" What Can I Do?
Bezalel and Oholiab did not sign up for the job of building the Tabernacle. God chose them, God equipped them, and God put them to work. This week, do one thing you are good at as a deliberate act of worship. If you can draw, make a drawing for someone and tell them God helped you make it. If you can cook, help prepare a meal. If you are good at building, build something. Whatever your hands do well, do it this week with the awareness that God is the one who put that skill in you, and He wants it used for others, not just for yourself.
Memorize God's Word
"He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship." (Exodus 35:31)
Hand Motions:
- "He has filled him": Cup both hands together at your stomach and slowly raise them up to your chest, as if being filled from the inside up.
- "with the Spirit of God": Open both hands wide and lift them toward the sky, palms up.
- "with skill": Tap your right temple with your index finger, like a thought lighting up.
- "with intelligence, with knowledge": Touch your forehead with two fingers, then open both hands wide.
- "and with all craftsmanship": Move both hands in a big slow circle in front of you, like shaping something large.
Praying with Kids
Dear Father, thank You for giving us a High Priest in Jesus who is so much better than Aaron. Thank You that He carries our names not just on a piece of jewelry but in His actual prayers for us right now. Thank You also for filling people like Bezalel with Your Spirit to do good work. Please fill us with Your Spirit too, and help us to use whatever You have put in our hands for Your glory and for the good of others. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Craft: The Jeweled Breastplate
Children will create their own version of the High Priest's Breastplate to remember that Jesus carries each of us over His heart before the Father.
Materials Checklist:
- Prepare the breastplate: Round the corners of the cardstock slightly so it looks like the square breastplate described in Exodus 28. Punch two holes at the top corners.
- Thread the cord: Thread the gold cord or yarn through the two holes and tie it so the breastplate can be worn around the neck like a necklace.
- Place the twelve jewels: Stick the twelve jewels onto the cardstock in four rows of three, like the biblical design.
- Write the names: Under each jewel, use a fine-point marker to write the name of a person the child wants to pray for this week. This is their personal version of carrying people before God.
- Decorate the border: Use gold glitter glue to trace the edges of the breastplate, representing the garments of glory and beauty God commanded for His priest.
Teacher Tips
Walk into class wearing something that jingles if you can manage it, keys on a lanyard, bells attached to your sleeve, anything that makes a sound when you move. Do not explain it at the start. Let the kids notice. When you get to the part about the golden bells on Aaron's robe, ask them: "Have you heard that sound during class today?" Then explain why the bells were there. The priest made noise to signal that he was alive and serving. That small sensory experience will make the detail unforgettable.
During the Breastplate section, pause and ask the class: "If you were Aaron, whose names would you want on your breastplate, the people you would carry into God's presence?" Let a few kids answer. Then pivot: "Jesus carries your name right now. Not because you earned it. Because He chose you." That moment of personal connection between the ancient text and the child's own identity is the heart of the lesson.
The detail about Bezalel and Oholiab being filled with God's Spirit for artistic and craftsman work opens a wonderful conversation about how God values every kind of talent, not just preaching or singing. Take a few minutes to affirm specific skills you see in individual children in your class. Walk around during the craft and say, "God gave you these hands. He wants to use them." A specific word of affirmation from a teacher lands differently than a general statement about gifts, and for some kids, it may be the first time an adult has said that to them.