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It is significant that Exodus 28 mentions glory first and beauty second. The ephod, in particular, was not used to cover the high priest’s nakedness or to protect him from cold it was altogether for glory and beauty. Rather, these garments were for glory and for beauty. The purpose of these garments was not mainly to cover nakedness or to protect the body from the cold. According to Exodus 28, the priestly garments were for glory and for beauty. Third, people wear clothes to beautify themselves. Thus, clothing also serves the purpose of preserving our health. If we do not wear suitable clothing in every situation, our health will be affected. Some of us are very sensitive to the temperature and need to wear the right clothing to keep us from being too warm or too cold. We are also protected from excessive heat. By wearing the proper garments we are protected from the cold, the wind, and the rain. The second reason for wearing clothing is related to our health. The first purpose of clothing, therefore, is to cover our nakedness. The priests in the Old Testament were fully covered from head to toe. It is both a sin and a shame to be naked. Immorality, on the contrary, encourages nakedness. They will not want to expose their nakedness. People who are moral will want to cover themselves properly.
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Thus, the first reason for wearing clothing is to cover our nakedness. Then God provided coats of skins to cover them. But after the fall, Adam and Eve realized they were naked, and they made something to cover their nakedness. Before the fall, man did not wear any clothes. In other words, the garments we wear serve three purposes. There are three main reasons for wearing clothes. The ephod, therefore, was used for fastening, girding, binding, or connecting. Rather, it was a part of the priestly garments used for fastening or binding. The ephod was not a jacket and not exactly a vest. Hence, the ephod was a part of the priestly garments used for fastening, girding, linking, or binding. God spoke to Moses concerning the ephod, and that was the time Moses first learned of it.Īccording to the dictionaries, the word ephod means to bind, fasten, gird, or link. This matter was completely unknown before Moses received the revelation from God. When the priestly garments were revealed to Moses by God, the ephod was something absolutely new.
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Nevertheless, in this message I shall try to impress you with the matter of the ephod, a matter that was not known in man’s culture before the priesthood was set up by God.
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If you were to ask me to explain what the ephod is, I would answer that I cannot describe it with a single word or even with a few sentences. For this reason, we are not able to translate this Hebrew word into English. But in our culture there is nothing exactly like the garment denoted by the Hebrew word ephod. The word automobile came into use to describe vehicles with which we are familiar. For example, if automobiles did not exist, we would not have in our vocabulary the word automobile. If there is not such a thing in our culture, then there cannot be a word to describe it. There is nothing in our culture that corresponds to it. The reason this Hebrew word is brought into the English translations of the Bible is that there is no word in our vocabulary to describe this item of the priestly garments. This means that ephod is a Hebrew word, not an English translation. Instead of translating the Hebrew word for ephod, most versions of the Bible simply give an English transliteration. These plates were connected, fastened, girded, to the ephod. Three pieces were attached to the ephod: the breastplate and the two shoulder plates. Actually the breastplate may be considered part of the ephod. THE BREASTPLATE AND THE EPHODĮxodus 28:4 says, “And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a tunic of woven work, a turban, and a girdle and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, and for his sons, to serve as priests to Me.” The first two items, the breastplate and the ephod, were worn only by the high priest. Most of the priestly garments, however, were both for the priests, the sons of Aaron, and for the high priest, Aaron. The other priests were not allowed to wear them. Certain garments were only for the high priest. Therefore, the garments were for two classes of priests. In typology Aaron as the high priest signifies Christ as our true High Priest before God, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, are types of the believers. At the time of Exodus 28, the high priest was Aaron, and the priests were the sons of Aaron. The priestly garments described in 28:4-14 were first for the high priest and then for the priests. LIFE-STUDY OF EXODUS MESSAGE ONE HUNDRED NINETEEN THE PRIESTLY GARMENTS (4) Scripture Reading: Exo.