Garment

DEVOTION

EXODUS

GARMENT

Ex 28:1-5

28:1 "Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. 2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor. 3 Tell all the skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest. 4 These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. 5 Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.

NIV

Before we get into the details of the garment of Aaron that will give him dignity and honor among the people, we have two truths which we should deal with first. Although the idea of the garment giving him dignity and honor among the people may be the greater of the two truths, let us deal with the other first. God tells Moses to tell all the skilled men to whom he had given wisdom in such matters to make this garment. It is as plain as the nose on our face that it is God who gives wisdom in such matters. Our skills or abilities are not a result of our hard work or varied training, or education. Now that is not to say that we do not go about training, or educating ourselves in areas that we desire to be knowledgeable in. But that is the key here. They are areas we desire. What we should be ready and willing to acknowledge is that it is God who gives us the wisdom in such matters which he will have need of our doing for the kingdom. We might have all sorts of knowledge, education, abilities in some things, but what is the wisdom he has given us for his purpose for us in the kingdom? We might even make our living doing something totally unrelated to the wisdom he has given us. It was not too many years ago many preachers were known as revelation preachers. That is they never attended any bible college or seminary and had no formal training in the proper preparation of sermons. They were given that wisdom from God to share the truths of him to the people. They were called and anointed by God, rather than by men, as it seems we have evolved into. Somehow it seems we have determined that a person must learn all the proper methods and understanding of a certain denominational bible college or seminary and be degreed by them in order to obtain a job as a minister. It might even be that God has not given that person the wisdom in such matters. We need to see just exactly what wisdom God has given each of us and be ready to use that wisdom in such matters for the kingdom. The second and again perhaps the greater truth is the garment itself. The purpose of the garment, as stated by God, is so Aaron would have dignity and honor among the people. He would be dressed so that he stood out, looked special, looked as he was a servant of the God most high. Has not God clothed us with a similar garment?

Isa 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,   2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

NIV

God has clothed us in a garment of praise. That alone should give us pause for a moment. Our garment which brings us dignity and honor among the people is praise. When we praise our God we are wrapped in dignity and honor. But he also has given us a garment of armor. We could go through all that garment, but again the purpose of that garment is for our work our purpose in the kingdom and as we wear this garment we will have the dignity and honor God desires for us to have among men. However there is one more aspect of this garment of ours, given to us by God, or made for us by the hands of God. That is the garment of our body. We are a spirit who lives in this garment of our body. How we use it either brings disgrace or dignity and honor to God.