Sermon Notes: From Miscellanies to the Messiah

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

These are a shadow of the things to come, 
but the substance belongs to Christ.
Colossians 2:17

Here is a PDF that I put together that gives a series of biblical texts that flesh out the Gospel-Positioning System I described yesterday.  They each start in the law of Moses (Exodus 30-31); they move through the prophets to Christ and the message of the gospel that is foreshadowed in the various elements described in Exodus.

Exodus 30-31: Miscellaneous Instructions That Shadow The Messiah

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

What Does the Tabernacle Symbolize?

/ davidsschrock

Justin Taylor has a helpful post on the meaning of the tabernacle on his blog today.  As we have seen in our study of Exodus, the tabernacle is filled with imagery that helps us better understand our own relationship with God.

Here is the ESV Study Bible note that he begins with on Exodus 25:1-31:17:

First, the tabernacle is seen as a tented palace for Israel’s divine king. He is enthroned on the ark of the covenant in the innermost Holy of Holies (the Most Holy Place). His royalty is symbolized by the purple of the curtains and his divinity by the blue. The closer items are to the Holy of Holies, the more valuable are the metals (bronze→silver→gold) of which they are made.

The other symbolic dimension is Eden. The tabernacle, like the garden of Eden, is where God dwells, and various details of the tabernacle suggest it is a mini-Eden. These parallels include the east-facing entrance guarded by cherubim, the gold, the tree of life (lampstand), and the tree of knowledge (the law). Thus God’s dwelling in the tabernacle was a step toward the restoration of paradise, which is to be completed in the new heaven and earth (Revelation 21-22).

The explanation continues here with a full-color picture of the tabernacle.

For further reflections on the tabernacle see:

The Tabernacle as Typological Model

The Tabernacle as Holy Abode

The Tabernacle as God’s Meeting Place

The Tabernacle as a Royal Victory Palace

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Redemptive Roadmap: A Gospel Positioning System

/ davidsschrock / 2 Comments

When Having a GPS Makes All the Difference

A few months ago, our family traveled to Chicago.  Somewhere near Indianapolis, we learned that there was a major accident on the highway in front of us.  Fortunately, we had the information ahead of time and were able to get off the interstate in time to miss the heavy traffic.  Or so we thought.

Misjudging the exits, we got caught with all the other cars and trucks on a side road.  Nevertheless, we still had our GPS.  With our global positioning device we were able once again to get off the side road and find our way on a dirt road back to the highway.

Certainly when we set out for Chicago, we did not expect ourselves to be traveling on a dust-covered dirt road in the middle of an Indiana cornfield.  And yet that was exactly where we were.  It was a place that was totally unfamiliar to us, and one that without the GPS we would have no idea where we were.

I think this is often how we feel when we open up the Bible.  Seeking to get to the City of God, namely Jesus Christ, books that contain instructions for bodily discharges (Leviticus 15) and chapters that describing flying scrolls (Zechariah 4) can seem as out of place as the road we found in Northern Indiana.

What we need when we get into the more “remote” places in the Bible is what we have in the car.  We need a positioning device that will help explain how to get from our current location–Exodus 31, Leviticus 15, or Judged 19 to Christ. What we need is a Gospel-Positioning System.  Anyone know where to find one of those?

I didn’t.  But this week, I have attempted to put something together that may function like that.  It has six steps, and it serves as a general rule of thumb for getting from obscure OT laws all the way to Christ.  It’s aim is to avoid the traps of hasty application and mere moralizing.  It’s goal is to find Christ in all Scripture, but not by making strange leaps and speculative links.  Rather, its aim is to follow the flow of redemptive history and present a gospel-patterened schematic (another GPS), that can benefit any reader of Scripture.

Redemptive Roadmap: Gospel-Positioning System

1. Law.  In the law, you find instructions for living in ancient Israel.  These rules and commands were part of the covenant framework of Israel.  They were given so that people could live in God’s presence.  They were also given, so that the people with sinful hearts would learn that they needed something greater.  In both cases, they were designed to point people to God–to his holiness and his mercy. They list the standard expectations of God, and they point out our failures.   (Romans 3:20; 5:20; Gal 3:21)

2A. Prophets (1). Next, when Israel broke the law, God sent prophets to warn and later condemn Israel.  The purpose of the prophets was to incite repentance, but knowing the hearts of the people, God also sent his prophets to pronounce judgment (Jeremiah 25:4-5; 26:4-6).

2B. Prophets (2). At the same time that he sent prophets to proclaim judgment, he also sent prophets with a message of hope and salvation.  These prophets were given to Israel to point them to the Messiah who was to come (1 Pet 1:10-12).

Together, the prophets proclaim a message of salvation through judgment.  But this is only takes us to the end of the Old Testament.  These first three steps are what Mark Dever calls Promises Made.  What comes next are Promises Kept.

3. Christ.  God’s word of hope is always fulfilled in Christ.  He is the end of the law, and he is the one who fulfills all the predictions of the prophets.  He is the long awaited Messiah, and all the promises of God are yes and amen in him.  Thus he is the center of all the Bible.  (2 Corinthians 1:20).  

4. The Gospel.  Finding Christ in Scripture brings you to the door of the gospel.  The only question that remains is what will you do when you come to Christ?  Will you simply try to imitate his life and work?  Or will you humble yourself, repent of your sin, and believe that his obedient life and substitutionary death have effected your good standing before God?  If the latter, you have followed the Gospel-Positioning System to the right address.  You have found rest in Christ.

This is so vital, because so often we can miss Christ and the gospel, especially when we begin in the OT.  Too many Bible-believing Christians and preachers miss Christ and settle for  moral lessons and spiritual examples in the Old Testament .  But to do this ignores the way the way Christ intended for us to read Scripture (John 5:39; Luke 24:27, 45-49).

How does this kind of reading differ?  Well, a GPS reading of the Old Testament moves from the text, through redemptive history, to Jesus Christ. Call it Christotelic if you like.  A GPS reading also sees how the Law is fulfilled (Rom 10:4) and the Prophets realized in Jesus Christ (Rom 15:4), and makes us all wise unto salvation (2 Tim 3:14-16).  It does not take the short-cut to Jesus, but it follows the long road through the Scriptures until it comes to faith and repentance in Christ.  And then from there it calls us to action.

5. Christian Application.  Once we have rested our heart, soul, mind, and strength in the completed work Christ has done for us, then we are ready for action.  This is what Paul calls “Faith working itself out in love” (Gal 5:6).  It always flows out of the gospel, and it is also energized by the gospel.  It is filled with love and good works, but they are works that do not justify.  They are works that testify to the grace of God and the love of his Son.

A Final Caveat

Now let me say it: This is cheesy.  Any time you devise a system for reading the Bible, you are in danger of draining its spiritual power.  Any time the Spirit who leads us into all truth is replaced by a systematic method, something of the life of the reading experience is lost.  I get that.

Nevertheless, I am willing to take a risk, because for too long, too many people have read “by the Spirit” and have totally missed Christ, or just treated parts of the OT like ancietn ancestors.  They may be necessary for my existence, but I don’t know or care anything about them.

With that real danger in place, I think that memorizing this 5-fold pattern can make you and I far better readers of Scripture.  By seeing how the law was given to increase our trespass (1), to heighten our condemnation and our need (2A), to point to a later, greater hope (2B), to finally culminate in Christ (3), to trust in him and his work (4), and to live according to the gospel he proclaims (5), that I believe, will not have a spiritually-stultifying effect.  Rather, it will help our minds better understand the long history of the redemptive history, and how to get from places like Exodus 31 and Leviticus 15 all the way to Christ.

Tell me what you think!  Is this is a helpful tool?  What would you add?  Edit? What else needs to be said?

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Sermon Notes: Holy to the Lord

/ davidsschrock

Aaron’s priestly work brings holiness Israel

In our last reflection on Exodus 28, we see that verses 36-39 describe the priest’s turban. Front and center in this brief description, and on the priest’s head, is a the mention of a golden plate.  Engraved in this golden crown is the inscription, “Holy is the Lord.”

From this statement, it seems that Aaron and his sons’ ability to enter the holy of holies and not die, indicates that he was given the status of holy and pure. Does this anticipate imputed righteousness? Perhaps, but clearly from the surrounding context (esp. Exod 29), he is not intrinsically holy, but covered in the blood of sacrificial bulls and goats, and wearing his priestly apparel, he is “holy to the Lord.”

More importantly though, he is not just representing himself.  He is approaching the throne of God on behalf of Israel’s twelve tribes.  Their names are on his heart. Thus, his status of holy is representatively communicated to the people of God as well.  As the mediating priest for this people, he maintains or establishes the ongoing holiness of God’s treasured possession (cf. Exod 19:5-6).

Christ’s priestly work does not depend upon bulls and goats

Again in Exodus, we are working in types and shadows.  So, it must be asserted that at the same time that the priestly work effectively preserves the people of Israel–God really does dwell in their midst–the sacrificial system given to Moses on Sinai cannot really make Israel holy.  The blood of bulls and goats cannot cleanse from sin (Heb 10:4).  But as they point forward to Christ, God accepts these offerings for his people, until the fulness of time, when his own Son would come and fulfill the law.

In fact Hebrews 10:1-10 explains how Christ’s priestly service depends not on animal sacrifice, but rather his own holy life.

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'” When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

With Christ as our perfect high priest, his holiness extends to all those for whom he represents.  As Hebrews 10:14 declares, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”  To say it another way, the priestly work of Christ is particularly for those designated by God to receive the benefits of his atonement, not his enemies (v. 13).   Still, the effect of his purification goes even farther.

Christ’s priestly work purifies all of heaven and earth

There is only one other place in the Bible where an inscription reads, “Holy is the Lord.” It is in Zechariah.  Consider the what the prophet sees,

And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day (14:20-21).

The question is what does it mean that “Holy is the Lord” is inscribed on the bells of horses?  What is Zechariah, the prophet, telling us about the age to come?

Consider a couple things. First, the bells are on a horse, not a human.  Though, I have had little experience with horses, the smell of Mackinaw Island stands out.  There on that little island, cars are not permitted, and thus the island has a certain “horsey” smell.  In other words, horses are not clean, and the bells on their bodies would certainly not, of themselves, have the kind of cleanness needed to enter the courtyard, let alone the holy of holies.

More biblically, the mention of horses in the Bible, though variegated, is often not holy.  In the law, kings were not meant to collect horses as a means of strength (Deut 17:16).  In the Psalms, there is exists a contrast between trusting in horses, or trusting in the LORD (20:7).  In the prophets, this sort of distinction, plays itself out with regularity (cf. Isa 31:1).  While not attempting to draw out a “theology of horses,” there is a certain kind of tension in the text, that the inscription of the priest is now engraved on the bells of horses.

Moreover, as verse 21 continues, this holiness is not limited to horses.  Rather, it is an example of how far-reaching this holiness is.  What does this mean?

Here is my proposal: This prophecy magnifies Christ’s priestly work!  So great is Christ’s priestly work that not only will his people be eternally redeemed by his blood, but all heaven and earth will be cleansed as well. His blood perfectly atones for the New Israel (Gal 6:16), but it also makes a way for all the earth to be purified.

Has this happened yet?  No, but the text in Zechariah is eschatological.  It is looking forward to “that day.’  The cleansing of the universe has not taken place yet.  New Creation is still forthcoming; and yet Christ’s new creation work has begun in the individuals who have been made priests by the blood of his atonement (1 Pet 1:18-19; 2:5, 9).  Thus, while we have not seen Zechariah 14 yet, we have every reason to expect that it will come to fruition “on that day.”

In the meantime, we have confidence that if Christ’s blood has the power to make horses clean, his blood has the power to make the worst sinner clean.  In other words, if the atonement is so extensive as to clean all the universe, than it must be have such an intensive power, that there is not one sin that God cannot forgive in Christ.

Indeed, that is the promise: For anyone who confesses there sins to God, he is faithful and just to forgive their sins and cleanse them of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).  This is the good news, and it seen in the tabernacle of Exodus 28, on the bells of horses in Zechariah 14, and throughout the rest of the Bible.

What could be better knews than that?

Soli Deo Gloria, dss


How Should We Talk About God?

/ davidsschrock

A few weeks back I read Psalm 78, and came across this strange verse.

Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a strong man shouting because of wine. And he put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting shame (Ps 78:65-66).

What does that mean?  And what does that say about God?  I wrote a few reflections on what this verse means and how we should get our “God-talk” from the Bible.

Check it out: God Is No Drunkard; Or, What’s with Psalm 78?

Let me know what you think.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

 

 

 

 

Sermon Notes: The Priest’s Particular Work (NT)

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

Moving from Old Testament to New, the particularity of the priestly office continues.  In fact, just as the high priest represents the 12 tribes whose names are engraved on his heart; Christ lays down his life for his church, the New Israel, those who are made new in Christ (cf. Gal 6:16; 1 Pet 2:5, 9).

Jesus Priesthood in John’s Gospel

For instance, in John, Jesus describes his atoning work as accomplishing salvation for those who believe (3:16), for all his sheep (10:14), for all his friends (15:13), and for all those God the Father has “given to him” —Jew or Gentile.  Consider Jesus high priestly prayer,

Since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him… I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours (John 17:2, 6-9).

As John records it, Jesus does not reveal himself or pray uniformly to all people.  He prays for those whom the father has given him.  In priestly vernacular, he mediates only for those whose names are written on his ephod and breastpiece.

Maybe you are thinking, can we really connect Exodus 28-29 with John 17? That is a legitimate question, so it is important to see that there do seem to be some linguistic and conceptual links between the two passages.  This is most evident in verses 16-19.

They [i. e. those whom God has given to Jesus] are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world… For their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth

In this brief prayer, there are at least two words/ideas that were used in Exodus 28–sanctify/sanctified and consecrate.  Apparently, as Jesus anticipates his atoning death, he prays to the Father for his own.  He stakes the fact that he will consecrate himself for them, which has explicit reference to his priestly work of sacrifice, so that they might be sanctified for access into God’s holy dwelling (cf. Heb 10:19ff).  This was obviously the purpose of Exodus 25-40; and so it is with Jesus, who makes atonement not in an earthly tabernacle, but in God’s heavenly temple.  And who does he make atonement for?  According to John 17, it is those people whom the father has given.  This is not a universal group; it is God’s particular covenant people.

Jesus’s Priestly Work in John’s Apocalypse

Finally, the list of names for whom Jesus represents as priest is also given in Revelation.  For instance, in Revelation 13:8, John declares that judgment is coming upon “Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.”  In other words, God in eternity past purposed whose names would be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  Here, John is warning earth-dwellers of their impending demise, but by contrast, those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be saved.  Clearly, it would be inappropriate to say that this passage refers to the ephod or the breastpiece.  However, the principle is analogous.  In both the Lamb’s Book of Life and on his priestly garments are the names of those for whom Christ died.  Again, the names indicate a particular representation for a particular people.

Likewise, in Revelation 17:8, John records, “And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.” Like the earlier verse in chapter 13, John is describing those whose names are left out of the book; but that has to imply that their are others–a countless multitude in Revelation 7–whose names are recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Thus in both positive (the ephod and breastpiece) and negative (the book of life) terms, God distinguishes those whom the Lamb dies for, and those whom he does not.  As God’s appointed priest and sacrifice, God sends him to earth to be slain, so that by his blood he would ransom people for God “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (5:9-10).  In this way, God’s particular means of salvation are made known to all the earth; and the promise that the gospel will be universally effective is found in the fact that in every tribe, language, people, and nation, God has his chosen ones.  In this way, God’s offer of salvation can be offered to all people indiscriminately; and it has the promise of absolute efficacy, because of Christ’s perfect, priestly atonement and intercession (see Hebrews 9-10).

The Good News of Christ’s Priestly Work

This is the Good News!  Christ’s salvation cannot be revoked.  It cannot be overturned.  It will not fail.  While the Levitical priests were weak, and unable to cleanse human guilt, they did preserve the flesh.  Yet, they could never save the soul.

Not so with Jesus.  His priestly ministry is infinitely better.  For all whom he died, he effectively saved.  He is a glorious and beautiful priest!  He perfectly intercedes for all those whose name are on his vestments; he does not forget us.  We are close to his heart.  As John records, He has lost not one!  And all those who have trusted in him and repented of sin, can have glad-hearted confidence that their name is written across his heart.

May we proclaim that word all over the earth, until the priestly-king returns to reign on the earth!

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Sermon Notes: The Priest’s Particular Work (OT)

/ davidsschrock

In typological fashion, the names of Israel engraved on the breastpiece & ephod show how the priest represents God’s people before YHWH.  In other words, in Exodus 28 we learn that the priestly duty was to represent Israel before God in the holy of holies (cf Heb 5:1).  Specifically, verses 12 and 29 say that Israel was to remember them as they were kept on Aaron’s heart as he entered the holy of holies.  In this way, he made atonement for Israel.  Notice, in the OT, he didn’t make atonement for Egypt, Assyria, or Babylon.  He only represented those who were redeemed from Egypt, who passed through the sea, who were in covenant with God at Sinai.  It tells us that the priestly service was for those who are in covenant with God.  In fact, the Exodus 28 is a very strong typological argument for definite atonement.  Let’s consider.

To start, the priestly garments are made “for glory and for beauty” (28:2), but they are not simply for aesthetics; they are highly symbolic and even instructive for discerning what the priest did behind the veil.[1]  As Carol Meyers puts it, “priestly office and priestly garb are inextricably related.”[2]  G.K. Beale has developed the connection between the priestly garments, the temple and the universe,[3] but there is also good reason to examine the relationship between the priest and the covenant people.

In this regard, the priestly attire ‘visualizes’ the particular nature of the atonement.[4]  It does so in this way: From head to foot, the priest is to wear the holy attire designed and decorated to teach Israel and later generations what the priest is doing as he enters into the holy of holies.[5]  Of greatest interest (and illumination) are the “shoulder pieces” and the “breastpiece of judgment.”   Concerning the former, YHWH instructs,

And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together… You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel… And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for remembrance (Exod 28:6-12; cf. 39:2-7).

The purpose of the shoulder pieces is far more than ancient Near Eastern fashion or utilitarian function.  The names of the twelve tribes were “deeply and permanently cut into the onyx,”[6] signifying the priest’s intimate connection with the people of Israel. As the priest of the covenant, he mediated for the people of the covenant.  Of this “corporate solidarity” that the priest shared with Israel, it was a necessary function of his office to be in communicative relation with those whom he represents. In other words, the priest does not mediate for an unspecified group or number, the “stones of remembrance” were designated to represent “the sons of Israel”—one stone for each tribe.  So that, when the priest entered the tabernacle, and later the temple he did so with Israel on his heart and mind.[7]

In the same way, the high priest’s breastpiece of judgment functioned as a symbol of the high priest’s covenantal representation.[8]  Moses records,

You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work… It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth. You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes… So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the LORD (Exod 28:15-30; cf. 39:8-21).

Like the shoulder pieces, the breastpiece is designed to bring the sons of Israel into “regular remembrance before the Lord” (v. 29).  Again, as a priest chosen from his brothers for his brothers and their families, he does not generally atone, intercede, or minister.  Rather, God has appointed the high priest to make atonement for God’s particular people, people who knew they had a priest.  Rightly, D.K. Stuart says, “the high priest symbolized Israel” and “that whatever he did, he did as the people’s representative, and his actions would have the same essential effect that they would have if all of them, one by one, had done the same thing.”[9]  This, by itself doesn’t prove definite atonement, but it does show the exact representation of his priestly office.  It is not general, but particular.[10]

In fact, this notion of personal relationship between priest and people has been forcefully argued by Hugh Martin as evidence against indefinite atonement. Unpacking Hebrews 5:1, which develops the Levitical priesthood, Martin argues that the law of the office of the priest “rests on personal relation,” and this relation is not abstract.  Rather, the priest represents “individual men, particular persons.”[11]  Moving from textual observation to dogmatic assertion, he concludes,

If the atonement of Christ falls under the category of His Priesthood, it is impossible it can be impersonal, indefinite, unlimited; for the priesthood is not.  In order to its very constitution, it pre-requires personal relation; and the same must be true of the Atonement, unless the Atonement transpires outside the limits and actings and conditions of the priesthood…The pre-requisite of personal relation to particular persons is so indispensable in all real priesthood whatsoever.  It is true of “every” priest that is taken from among men [Heb 5:1].  Any “general reference” contradictory to this, or in addition to this—except simply community nature, secured by his being taken from among men—violates the very first principles of the office.[12]

While the priestly garments do not give conclusive evidence for Christ’s particular work on the cross; they are very suggestive.  Moreover, the fact that Christ, as the antitype of Israel’s high priest, wears the golden plate on his head declaring ‘Holy to the Lord’ and the names of his covenant people on his chest; there is great reason to see in his attire the inseparable union of Christ and his elect from every nation.

What do you think? Would love to hear how you think Christ’s priestly garments typify the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

[1]They also connote a strong sense of authority.  See Douglas Stuart, Exodus, New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2006), 604.

[2]Carol Meyers, Exodus, New Cambridge Bible Commentary (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 240.

[3]G.K. Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission, 39-45.

[4]For instance, speaking of the priest in his vestments, Alec Motyer writes, “he is the visual display of the Lord’s ‘judgment,’ his opinion regarding his people” (J. A. Motyer, The Message of Exodus, The Bible Speaks Today, ed. J.A. Motyer [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005], 279.

[6]Stuart, Exodus, 609.  Stuart’s offhand comment about the engraving does not in itself signify anything about the definite nature of the atonement, but it does add to the mounting evidence that the priestly work was for a people whom he would not forget (cf. Isa 49:16).

[7]“This feature [the names engraved on the priestly attire] has commemorative symbolic value, bringing all Israel into the tabernacle with Aaron as he carries out the rituals thought to help secure the well-being of the people or adjudicate their conflicts” (Meyers, Exodus, 241).

[8]“The breastpiece was not merely a patch on his ephod but a square frontal vest, a very prominent, central, expansive, symbolic display of the covenant relation of God to his people” (Stuart, Exodus, 610).

[9]Stuart, Exodus, 611.

[10]On this point, it should be noted that the priests served the covenant people only, and they stood against those who were outside the people of God (David Williams, The Office of Christ and Its Expression in the Church, 13-14).

[11]All these quotes are taken from Hugh Martin’s discussion of the nature of Christ’s priestly office in The Atonement, 58.  Martin ties this particular relationship to the definite nature of the atonement.  Speaking of the Levitical priests, he says, “The priests of Levi were chosen for, or in lieu of, the first-born [Num 3]; and they were ordained for [Lev 8-9], or in room and on behalf of men, even for the Israel of God collectively and individually.  They acted for individuals; and besides such action, they had no priestly action whatsoever, no official duty to discharge.  The introduction of a ‘general reference’ into the theory of their office is an absurdity” (The Atonement, 65).

[12]The Atonement, 63-65.

Sermon Notes: What You Wear Matters More Than You Think

/ davidsschrock

Beware of Externalism

Too often, religious talk about clothing crashes on the rocks of legalism or drowns in the sea of irrelevance.  On one side of the aisle are Christians who measure their holiness by the length of their dress or the style of their hair; and on the other side are those who reject social norms for dressing and end up looking like they slept in their clothes all night–to steal a line from Back to the Future.

In both cases, the problem is externalism–making Christianity about something that you do on the outside instead of something that Christ did in history and that the Holy Spirit does within you.  Ironically, this is of a piece with a certain kind of Mormon error. Pointing to Exodus 28, their false religion–for Mormonism is not Christian–finds support for holy undergarments.  Listen to their statement, from Mormon-Underwear.com.

For temple-going Mormons, the garment serves much the same purpose as religious clothing throughout history—it privately sets them apart from the world and signifies a covenant between the wearer and God. There is no professional clergy in the LDS Church, so in some ways the garment serves as a symbol of the lay clergy, where both men and women share in the responsibilities and blessings of the priesthood…

The meaning attached to the garment by devout Mormons transcends the fabric and design used to create the garment. It is sacred to the wearer not for what it is, but for what it represents. It reminds the wearer of the continuing need for repentance and obedience to God, the need to honor binding covenants voluntarily made in the temple, and the need to cherish and share truth and virtue in our daily living. By so doing, the garment helps the wearer to focus his or her life on Jesus Christ and to thereby lay claim on the blessings promised to those who do so.

Christians can point the finger and perhaps even snicker, but the problem is, Christians do the same thing today.  Whether it is Simon Schrock—who is not of immediate  relation—who has written the book What the redeemed should wear?, insinuating that redemption is externally apparent, or countless Christian clothing companies who challenge devoted teens to boldly wear their faith, the problem is that Exodus 28 does not point to our clothing options.  It points to Jesus.

Here is the point.  Wear whatever you want.  Your clothing doesn’t save you.  It doesn’t make you more acceptable to God.  It would, if we were Levitical priests, but we are not.  The message of the gospel is one of inner renewal, not outward conformity.

What You Wear Still Matters

With all of that said, I think what you wear is of eternal importance.  More accurately, whose clothes you wear is of eternal importance. In fact, the redemptive story, from one angle, can be told from the perspective of Nakedness and Clothing.  Consider:

In the garden, man and woman were naked and unashamed; their innocence permitted them to be naked before God (Gen 2:24).  However, after the fall, clothing was needed.  Adam and Eve sensed that, so they made fig-leaf fashion.  They hid themselves under the clothes they made for themselves–sounds familiar to many of us today!  But such man-made garments never cover the sin and insecurities that the fall produced.  Adam, Eve, and everyone of their offspring needed and needs divine covering.

So God slaughtered an animal and clothed Adam and Eve.  In the rest of the Bible, God’s saving plan is seen in the way he clothes his people.  This is seen in Exodus 28 and Psalm 45, where the bride of the king is adorned in a royal robe.  But even more to the point, Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”  Salvation comes from God’s clothing us.

From this position of being clothed in Christ, we are called to put off the old ways of life, and to put on the new. Notice what Paul says in Colossians 3:9-10, Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.  Though, the language is not exactly the same; the idea of putting off the impure garments of this age and putting on pure garments of the new age (cf. 2 Cor 5:4).

A concluding thought: The danger in Exodus 28 is simply principalizing the text, such that it becomes a handbook for clothing, instead of seeing how it shows us our uncleanness and the need to be clothed with Christ.  From start to finish, the Christian message is how God clothes impure sinners in his righteous robes.

This is the saving message of Exodus 28:  Jesus is your clothing.  His priestly garments make you holy, so far as you trust in him.  He is your righteous robe.  That is what separates you from the world, more than any wash and wear you can put on.

So, trust in the garments Jesus offers, and you will not be naked or ashamed when he calls you to stand before him at the judgment (Rev 3:18).

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Christ’s Priestly Garments (Exodus 28)

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

Read by itself and without understanding how it fits in the larger narrative of Exodus and the rest of the Bible, Exodus 28 sounds like a cross between a jeweler’s catalogue and a tailor’s procedural manual.  If seen in this way alone, it can make Exodus 28 feel unfamiliar and unimportant.  However, what Exodus 28 does for the Christian is give a colorful explanation of what Christ has done for his saints.  It lists a number of priestly garments worn by Levitical priests, and it foreshadows a number of important things that Christ did when he assumed the mantle of a priest greater than Aaron.

Today, we will consider the priestly garments in the order they appear in Exodus 28.

The Ephod

In the Bible, ephods are typically involved in the process of worship—true worship and false (cf. Judges 18:14-20).  In Exodus 28, God gives Israel the true ephod for worship.  It was a royal apron, as R. K. Harrison describes it,  “a sleeveless vest, which fitted close to the body and may have extended somewhat below the hips.” It was made of the finest fabrics–“gold, blue, and purple and scarlet yarn, and fine twined linen”–materials that matched the make up of the tabernacle.  In other words, when the priests came into God’s house, they had to dress for the occasion.

Significantly, the ephod is fastened to the high priests body by two onyx shoulder pieces.  And on each of these of shoulder pieces are the names of Israel’s twelve tribes—six on one shoulder, six on the other.  What were they for?  “They were a reminder that Aaron served God as high priest, not for his own benefit, but on behalf of the Israelites” (T. D. Alexander, From Paradise to Promised Land, 198).

Breast Piece of Judgment

On top of the ephod was the “breastpiece of judgment.”  Like everything else, it was a “skilled work,” one that corresponded to the ephod—literally, “in the style of the ephod,” Moses was to make the breastpiece “of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it” (verse 15).

The shape of the breastpiece is square and sits in the middle of the chest—over the heart.  It is doubled, or folded over, so that the Urim and the Thummim may be placed in the breastpiece (v. 30).  Now on the breastpiece are 12 stones—four rows of three.  Verses 17-21 describe it like this,

A row of sardius, & topaz, carbuncle shall be the 1st row; the 2nd row an emerald, a sapphire, & a diamond; the third row a jacinth, an agate, & an amethyst; & the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.

These precious stones indicate the value of God’s people in eyes of God, but God’s love is not mere sentimentality; it is effective.  The names of the tribes of Israel indicate the way the priest represents the people before God.  As verse 29 states, “So Aaron shall bear the names of sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the LORD.”  The breastpiece then is not simply for glory and beauty; it serves the purpose of mediating God’s blessing towards Israel, and protecting God’s covenant people from imminent danger.

Urim and Thummim 

The function of this breastpiece is also seen in verse 30, “And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes before the Lord.  Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.”   No one definitively knows what these are.  When they are mentioned in Scripture they are involved in decision-making and discerning the will of God. For instance in 1 Samuel, when God does not respond to Saul because of Saul’s foolish leadership, to determine where the fault lies, he employs the Urim and Thummim.

Therefore Saul said, “O LORD God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O LORD, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped (14:41).

Robe  

Under the ephod, Aaron was to wear a robe.  More than ephods, robes appear throughout the Bible: They were usually adorned by people of rank; they symbolized authority and/or status; kings often adorned robes as did their court and their brides. In short, robes function as a status symbol.  Think of Joseph’s multi-colored robe.  Such is the case with priests.  These men are the chosen instruments of blessing and mediation in Israel.  Their apparel and adornment–especially the high priest as he served–reminded Israel of their important role.

In the NT, this imagery continues.  For instance, Jesus in Revelation is clothed in a royal robe (1:13; 19:16).  And so are his people (6:11).  All those who trust in Christ, will be clothed in royal, maybe even priestly garments (3:18).  In fact, in Revelation, the book is filled with royal priests—Christ is the priest who now reigns as king; and all of his people are blood-bought royal priests.  

So in Exodus, the robe demonstrates the especially favored position of the priest, who has intimate (though dangerous) access to God’s royal throne.  The robe itself has bells on it.  Some have said this was to announce his coming into God’s presence, but this seems a little odd.  He doesn’t need to be warned of what he already knows.  Rather, it points to another reality, namely that the tinkling of bells announces the sacrifice is being effected.  Verse 35: “It shall be on Aaron when he ministers, its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, & when he comes out, so that he does not die

Turban

There rests on Aaron’s head a turban.  Like everything else, it is made for beauty and glory, but the beauty and glory are not limited to the visual.  There is a gold plate on the forehead that says much about what the high priest achieves as he makes atonement.  Douglas Stuart explains, “The gold forehead plate was not primarily decorative but apparently symbolized Aaron’s role as representative of the people in the process of atonement (v. 38).”  To say it another way, the work that Aaron did on behalf of Israel achieved or maintained their holy standing.

In Exodus 19:6, Israel is called to be a holy nation.  They are not naturally holy.  They, like us, are a sinful people.  The question is: How can they be holy?  The answer: God’s holiness is imparted to them by the priest.  As the Exodus 29 shows, Aaron is consecrated and made holy, but even more his service purifies the people of Israel from their sins, which defile them and make them unholy.

This is a beautiful picture of the way God cleanses sinners from the acts and attitudes that defile them.  This is true in part in the Levitical system; this is increased infinitely in Christ.

The Coat and Under Garments

Finally, not only are the external garments holy unto the Lord, but his undergarments are as well.  Verse 39 describes a fine linen coat that would have been up against the body, that the priest would have worn.  And verses 40-43 describe a holy undergarments for the purpose completely covering the nakedness of the priest.

While it may seem strange to us that Exodus includes this mention of nakedness.  It reminds us that from Genesis forward, man is not innocent.  While in the Garden Adam was naked and unashamed, now mankind’s nakedness is a mark of shame and impurity before the Lord.  Because of our sin, all humanity is in need of holy apparel–clothes that man cannot manufacture, but rather that must come from the Lord (cf. Isa 61:10; Rev 3:18).

Overall, Exodus 28 is a wonderful picture of the way God clothed the priest in Israel, such that this sinful man could come into the presence of the Lord and atone for the rest of Israel.  But still this doesn’t touch the rest of humanity or people today.  So, in the days ahead, we will see how these garments point to Christ and apply to believers who have been clothed with Christ and his righteousness.  In this way, Exodus 28 helpfully shows us our shameful nakedness before God and the way that God has intended to clothe us once and for all.  Stay tuned!

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

A Bag of Treats or a River of Delights: A Halloween Parable

/ davidsschrock

In a few weeks children, teenagers, and some adults will adorn super-hero suits, clown wigs, and other silly costumes all for the purpose of having some seasonal fun and gathering a bag full of candy.  Good Christians differ on what to do with this holiday, and without stepping into that firing line, I simply want to take note of the way that Halloween is a dramatic parable of the fleeting pleasures of sin handed out by the houses of this world.

In Hebrews 11, Moses is described as a man of faith because “he considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt” (v. 26).  Because he was looking to the reward, he chose to be “mistreated with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (v. 25).  With heaven in view, he sought God’s reward, instead of the treats of this age.

The same was true of Abraham.  Earlier in Hebrews 11, the father of faith is depicted as a man whose hope is set on the city whose architect and builder is God (v. 10).  Scripture says of him and his offspring, “If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (v. 15-16).

In these statements, we see that hope in God’s rewards defines the life of the Christian (Heb 11:6). While we do not yet see our treasure, we believe in the promises of God that Christ has gone away to prepare a place for us (John 14:2; Heb 11:16).  We live in this reality. We say no to the world’s offerings because our hearts are in love with the world to come.

Here is where Halloween provides such a fitting parable.  As trick-or-treaters dress up in search of candy, they hope to collect a sack full of Hershey miniatures and Starburst packets.  On that night, the collection is sweet.  Serious trick-or-treaters know where the best candy is, and they get there early to pull in the full-sized Snickers or Silver Dollar.  Yet, all that is gained on that single night is soon eaten and the costume outdated or outgrown.

The joy of Halloween is as light as cotton candy and as long-lasting as cheap gum.  Contrast this with the joy that comes from the Lord.  Psalm 16:11 says, “In God’s presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures evermore.” So too, Psalm 46 describes his dwelling place as possessing “a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.  God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns” (v. 4-5).

In terms of our parable, God’s house is the one who doesn’t stop you at the door.  He doesn’t demand a trick.  He doesn’t leave you hungry by giving you an itty-bitty bag of candy-coated chocolate.  Rather, his guests are invited to come and dine with him.  His food is satisfying and cost of admission is free.

But here is the rub.  In order to arrive at his home, the Christian must pass by all the other doors.  He must say “no” to constant offers of SweetTarts, Smarties, and Milk Duds.  Even when hunger sets in, he must keep plodding towards the mansion on the hill, whose invitation to dine with the king is sweeter than the houses in the valley of death.

So how will the Christian make it?  Like Moses and Abraham, he must keep before him the promises of God and the reward at the end.  Christian faith is not meant to be a stoic battle of the will, that says “I will do right, even when I don’t feel like it.”  No.  The Christian faith is much more like a long journey that says I will say “no” to the hospitality of this world, because I have the promise of an outstanding feast with the king ahead (See Isaiah 25:5-9).

To the world, this kind of reasoning sounds unappetizing.  They will say, “Just Trick or Treat!”  But to the Christian who takes God at his word, he becomes like the child who forsakes the city block to travel into the country to find the home he has never seen, but who has promised a Christmas dinner that is more than he could ask or imagine.

This fall, as you see children dressed in costume and pursuing an abundance of sugary treats, whether you partake or not, remember that such is the feasting of the world.  It comes through personal effort; it lasts for only a night; and its fruits fade away within days.  Contrast this with the city of God and the house of our Lord, whose gifts are never so small, never so fleeting, and never so empty… they only take time for them to come to us!

May we like Moses reject the fleeting treats of this world, because we remember that filling our bags with them is the devil’s trick.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss