Christ in all the scriptures The High Priest Breastplate

 Christ in all the scriptures

The Breastplate  Exodus 28v13-30

"For Christ has not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us"  Hebrews 9v24.

The New Testament interprets the Old Testament, and the Old illuminates the New.  Nowhere is this better illustrated than here; we need both Old and New to understand God.  Exodus 28 depicts the Aaronic Priesthood as a type of the present High Priestly ministry of Christ in heaven for us, which is expounded in Hebrews.  The old instructions to Moses concerning the priesthood, find their resonance right now in a way that is unimaginable.  The present, and superior, High Priestly ministry of Christ is truly an amazing, if neglected, reality.  This teaching must be resurrected in our thinking as it the most powerful incentive for godly living!  We rob ourselves and those around us of much blessing if we fail to understand this.  There is a man in heaven today, a man who loves us, who died to save us, who is daily involved in representing us before the throne of God.  The names of all His people are engraved on onyx stones set in gold upon His strong shoulders.  The names of all His people are set in gold as precious stones on the breastplate, close to His heart.  In the onyx stones on the shoulders we see His power to save us in every situation, and carry us through to our eternal life with Him.  In the breastplate we see His passion for us in loving care and understanding.  On His shoulders, and next to His heart-Divine strength and Divine love.  Not one without the other, or one sometimes and then the other, but both working together at all times. We say it, we sing it, but do we really believe it?  We are represented in this way continually before God!-refer Exodus 28v29-30.  In the detail of the breastplate, we find heart-warming features of Christ's ministry for us in life.

The breastplate is foursquare   It is universal and applies to all believers-Hebrews 7v25.

It is near to His heart  He can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities-Hebrews 4v15.  He lived here on this earth, He knows how difficult life can be; He knows the rejection of men, the fickleness of human kind; He knows the emotions of the heart, apart from sin.

It was doubled   It was strong and useful; we shall see the usefulness later, but His affection for us is strong-Hebrews 4v15, "He was in all points tempted (put to the test) as we are...", He knows every experience we pass through.

It is measured by a span   The span in scripture is the measure of the handbreadth, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the index finger on an outstretched hand.  The Hebrew zereth for span is used again in Isaiah 40 v12 to describe Creation, |"God measured out the heavens with a span"- His span is greater than ours and it is this unlimited measure we apply to the breastplate.  There is no limit to God's affection for us.

The names of the children of Israel are characterised by precious stones   Each tribe a precious stone, each one of varying colour.  All God's people are precious to Him,. His treasured possession-Deuteronomy 7v6; Isaiah 43v4; Daniel 10v19; Zechariah 2v8; Matthew 13v46; Ephesians 2v10; James 1v18; 1st Peter 1v7; 2v9; Titus 2v14.  The prophet Malachi (3v17) describes God's people as His jewels.  In the vision of the throne by John in Revelation 4v3, the throne appears in the form of the sardine (ruby) stone and the jasper (crystal stone.  These are the first and last stones on the breastplate, therefore encompassing all God's people.  In the eternal city the city of God, the New Jerusalem, the 12 foundation stones are precious stones, as are the 12 gates.  Together, they represent the 12 apostles of the Lamb and the 12 tribes of Israel.  All God's people depicted as precious stones!  The value of anything is the price someone is prepared to pay for it.  God paid the ultimate price to secure our salvation, when He gave His only Son-Acts 20v28.   Speculation is around to interpret the meaning of the different stones to characterise the different tribes.  This is a study that requires separate attention and it is open to all today to ponder this special subject, which has received scant attention thus far, and some current offerings are dubious in the extreme.  The epistles of Peter focus on the value of God's people to God, by the repetition of the word precious applied to our salvation-1st Peter 1v7; 1v19; 2v4; 2v6; 2v7; 3v4; 2nd Peter 1v1; 1 v4.  Such a study is very revealing and edifying.

The Ephod is linked to the breastplate by means of wreathen chains.   Wreathen is not a word in common use today, but means material, whether floral or fabric or metallic, intertwined to form a continuous chain.  My friend Graham Kennedy, the bible artist, points out that he once produced a life size painting of the High Priest, but found that he had depicted the chains in link form; someone corrected him by observing that the strength of a chain made from links is only as good as its weakest link.  There are no weak links with God! and so Graham altered the painting.  Set in sockets of gold, and linked by unbreakable chains, God's power and His pathos for us are inextricably linked.

The breastplate is called "The breastplate of judgment", three times in the chapter-v15v29v30.  This aspect is usually passed over but it is the most revealing of all.  Inside the pocket of the doubled over breastplate were placed the mysterious stones called "Urim and Thummim"-v30, meaning "lights and perfections".  No explanation is given of these, but it is thought they may have been crystalline stones which interacted with the 12 coloured stones to form some kind of communication between God and the High Priest.  The judgment is not in the sense of punishment, but of decision making, and reveals the constant communication between God and Aaron in decisions affecting the twelve tribes.  That these were in constant use is evident from their repeated mention in scripture, as in Numbers 27v21; 1st Samuel 28v6; Nehemiah 7v65.  This suggests a continual decision making process between God and our great High Priest, in matters that affect us as the people of God.  These decisions are made from the heart, and thus we are the permanent concern before Him at the very pinnacle of the universe!!

Is this an illustration of Peter's word of comfort to believers in 1st Peter 5v7 "Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you"-or as one version puts it, "it matters to Him about you".   In the glory of heaven, His thoughts are with us, He cares for us, He is in communication with His Father concerning us!  He performs all things for me-Psalm 57v2; He perfects all things concerning me-Psalm 138v8.  "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose-Romans 8v28.

We are not alone, there is One in heaven who is powerfully and passionately, and permanently involved in our lives.