Mosaic law made a sharp distinction between the priesthood and the people. Jehovah would have regarded all Israel upon their redemption from Egypt as a kingdom of priests, but the nation proved itself incapable of bearing the honor, and thus the divine purpose became narrowed, – one tribe out of Israel was selected for the ministry, one family of that tribe for the priesthood, and one person of that family for the high priesthood.
The election of Aaron for the honor of the high priesthood was a matter of divine choice (Heb. 5:44And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. (Hebrews 5:4)), and the honor descended from father to son, but so emphatic is the necessity for a high priest to be “called of God” that “even Christ glorified not Himself to be High Priest,” but God appointed Him to the service (Heb. 5:55So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. (Hebrews 5:5)). The importance of the high priesthood is incalculable, whether to Israel or to the Church, and in Aaron, called of God on Horeb to the high priesthood, there shines forth a remarkable type of the Son of God greeted High Priest in heaven by Jehovah.
Having consecrated His dwelling to Himself in Israel’s midst, Jehovah set apart His priests to serve Him in that dwelling. Their service, speaking broadly, was composed of three parts, attendance upon the brazen altar, the Holy, and the Holiest. The first was the service of the priests generally, though on certain occasions the high priest alone could fulfill its ministry; the second was the service of the priests and the high priest; the third was the service of the high priest alone.
To render the priests fit for their ministry, purification, adorning, and anointing were necessary. The adorning, being instituted prior to the other necessities, must be first considered. The ordinary garments worn by the people were so entirely different from those to which we are accustomed that we introduce drawings of the blue tasseled or fringed robe spoken of in the Book of Numbers (Num. 15:38-4138Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 39And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 40That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. 41I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God. (Numbers 15:38‑41)). No manner of service within the sanctuary and its court was lawful apart from the “robes of service” (see Ex. 39:11And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the Lord commanded Moses. (Exodus 39:1)), the “garments to consecrate him... that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office.” The number of these robes was four for the priests, eight for the high priest. The garments of the priests resembled those of the high priest, which were not “golden,” as will be presently detailed. Save when engaged in their ministry the priests of Jehovah dressed as did the people.
Aaron’s garments were assumed in the following order: the linen coverings, the linen coat, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, the breastplate, the girdle of the ephod, the miter, the crown (Ex. 29:5-65And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: 6And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. (Exodus 29:5‑6)).
The linen coverings, or “concealers” (literally), were of a negative character; their purpose was to hide man (Ex. 28:4242And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: (Exodus 28:42)). The rest of the robes were to adorn (Ex. 28:4040And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. (Exodus 28:40)) the man who was the type of Christ. The coat or vest was patterned linen; indeed, all the garments worn next to the person were of shining linen, and, save the coverings, which were of plain linen, holiness or purity in its resplendence was written upon each of them. In typical holiness Jehovah’s priests ministered before him.
The robe of the ephod was composed of one piece of woven work; its many threads brought into unity were an emblem of oneness, as was Christ’s robe, for which the soldiers cast lots (John 19:23-2423Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. 24They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did. (John 19:23‑24).) It was “all of blue”; it proclaimed the heavenly character of the wearer. The opening in it for the head was bound round with a strong binding, after the style of a coat of mail, the reason given being “that it be not rent.” Thus was figured in it a strength which should be proof against use.
The unity in itself of the robe, its heavenly color, its coat-of-mail-like strength, afford three beautiful symbols of the service of our Great High Priest in heaven. This robe, which was without sleeves, was worn over the snow-white coat, and the arms of the garment shone against it like the white clouds of heaven upon the deep blue sky.
Its skirts reached towards the feet, which were bare, for the ground within the sanctuary walls was holy. The hem of the skirt was ornamented with golden bells and forms of pomegranates. The pomegranates were composed of the blue, the purple, and the scarlet of the sanctuary. The pomegranate flower is bell-shaped, and of a golden crimson hue, its fruit is full of seeds, and is an emblem of exceeding productiveness. The bell and the fruit alternated. “A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate” (Ex. 28:3434A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. (Exodus 28:34)), was the divine order. First, melodious sound; next, fruitfulness. The sound of the steps of the high priest was ever to be heard as he approached Jehovah. The music of the robe – the bells being golden, imply a sound which is divinely glorious – announced his way, and his steps were full of fruit to man and trod.
The Word of God, which voices the priesthood of our Lord, is rich with divine melody. The steps of Israel’s high priest in the sanctuary, were foretellings of our High Priest’s footsteps in heaven itself. Indeed, the sound of the bells has echoed around this earth ever since our great High Priest entered heaven for us, for when He ascended up on high, He, the mighty victor over sin and death, led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. The accumulating voices of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers He has given to the Church, are the echo of the sound of the bells; and all the fruit borne up to heaven from this earth is as seed of the pomegranates upon the skirts of the robe of the ephod.
The ephod was of all other garments particularly splendid. It was made of linen into which were wrought the sanctuary colors and threads of gold. Thus the very splendor of the dwelling-place of God was the adornment of His high priest. “The robe of the ephod,” “the shoulder pieces of the ephod,” the “breastplate... not loosed from the ephod” (Ex. 39:22, 18, 21, 822And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. (Exodus 39:22)
18And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it. (Exodus 39:18)
21And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the Lord commanded Moses. (Exodus 39:21)
8And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. (Exodus 39:8)) and formed “like the work of the ephod,” all indicate the importance of this vestment. It was composed of two sections, which were held together by the shoulder pieces, and “the curious girdle of the ephod.”
The ephod was “the shoulder dress,” the sign of the burden of the office of the wearer. Upon the shoulder pieces of the robe precious stones, engraven with the names of Israel’s sons, were set. Six names rested on either shoulder, and did so “according to” the “birth” of those represented (Ex. 28:1010Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. (Exodus 28:10)), and “the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod” were “stones of memorial unto the children of Israel; and Aaron” bore “their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders as a memorial” (Ex. 28:11-1211With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. 12And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial. (Exodus 28:11‑12)). The whole burden, the prosperity, and the future glory of Israel rested upon the strength of the high priest, who appeared in Jehovah’s presence for them. The graven jewels were kept in their places by strands of intertwined gold wire “wreathen chains of gold.” The many strands combined in one, offer a symbol of the many varieties of divinely expressed glory, which unite in one chain of unbroken strength, sustaining the purpose of God.
This robe was worn when inquiry was made of God on behalf of the people, and it was so bound together upon the person of Israel’s high priest by shoulder pieces and breastplate, that, speaking figuratively, it was held in its place by remembrance of them and bearing of their burden. It was indeed the robe of office, but the office was such that he who bore it needed acquaintance with, and power in service for, those whom he served mediatorially. And in Christ, our High Priest in heaven, who serves for His people in the presence of His God, there is ever the gracious remembrance of them individually, and the bearing of their burden. Every true priest on earth partakes in some measure at least of these essentials in his intercessionary service. The office cannot be divorced from the moral qualities of the office bearer; he is invested with these holy qualities, as the priests of old were with their holy garments, otherwise he cannot minister for men before God, even as they could not minister for Israel apart from their holy garments.
The breastplate was attached by the golden chains to the shoulder pieces. Upon it were twelve precious stones engraven with the names of the sons of Israel whose judgment Aaron bore upon his heart. Connected with it were the Urim and the Thummim, borne by the high priest; but what these were none can tell – they are lost. Neither can the designations of the precious stones be given, as the meaning of the original words is unknown. The order in which the names of the tribes of Israel were inscribed upon the breastplate is also unknown, but for a divine reason. We are not to suppose that any one of the redeemed takes the precedence of another upon the high priest’s breast, for all are loved perfectly. The oldest may, indeed, come first upon his shoulders, for the longest liver is upheld the longest upon this earth by our High Priest, but His love knows no priority of favor – having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end” (John 13:11Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. (John 13:1)), or perfectly.
The symbol of the “two shoulders” of the high priest bearing up the weight of Israel’s burden before Jehovah is answered in the New Testament by such words as these: “He is able to succor,” “He is able to save” (Heb. 2:18; 7:2518For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)
25Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)). And the great words “for us”; “we have such an High Priest”; “such an High Priest became us”; “in the presence of God for us” (Heb. 8:1; 7:26; 9:241Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; (Hebrews 8:1)
26For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; (Hebrews 7:26)
24For Christ is 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 9:24)), guarantee to the whole of the Church all the favors expressed by all Israel’s names upon shoulders and breastplate. By Aaron’s shoulders, not by Israel’s strength; by Aaron’s breastplate, not by Israel’s constancy, did the people appear before Jehovah, and by Christ’s strength, and by Christ’s love, are we maintained in the presence of our God.
The girdle – the sixth of the garments – was splendid, like the ephod. It was worn across the breast (see Rev. 1:1313And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. (Revelation 1:13)), and around the loins. It was so bound about the wearer that ephod, shoulder pieces, and breastplate could not be dissociated. An investiture of personal glory is here portrayed. He whom Israel’s high priest prefigured, the Wearer of the girdle, in the day appointed, and in His own person, will establish on the earth the honors which are His, symbolized by the sanctuary colors. He will, by virtue of His suffering unto death, reign over the earth, and in Him all shall recognize the Lord from heaven, perfect in holiness, and divine.
The shape of this garment cannot be defined. But typical holiness covered the head of the high priest before God and before man. The cap worn by the high priest after the failure of the line of kings developed into a semblance of royalty, which was not its first intention. “Josephus doubtless gives a true account of the high priest’s turban as worn in his day. It maybe fairly conjectured that the crown” (that is, a “triple crown of gold”) “was appended when the Asmoneans united the temporal monarchy with the priesthood, and that this was continued, though in a modified shape, after the sovereignty was taken from them.” “High Priest,” Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible.
The holy crown, the small band of gold worn above the cap and over the forehead, was the eighth of the garments of glory and beauty. It was assumed last, and, indeed, the crown is ever placed last upon the wearer’s head. All other robes lead up to the crown. The high priest’s crown was notable for its simplicity; it was a narrow band of gold, and its ornament was neither jewels nor feathers, but a few plain words, “Holiness to Jehovah.” Whether he appeared before the people as Jehovah’s representative, or whether he appeared before Jehovah as representing Israel, there ever shone forth over his brow an ornament and glory more precious than jewels, or earth’s costliest gifts – words of God.
Yet why should the high priest wear a crown? No high priest in Israel was king. We have already called attention to the fact that the priest-king was present in Jehovah’s mind before He separated the priest and the king in their order in Israel. The priest-king is of the order of Melchizedek, and the glory of the coming Priest-King, and His chief honor in His kingdom on earth, and the beauty of His crown shall be “Holiness to Jehovah.”
Priest-kings of the heathen ruled the world when Aaron was robed in the wilderness, and entered upon the service of Jehovah. They had their crowns, their jewels, and their feathers, and their spiritual and temporal power. They bound men soul and body in slavery, forcing upon them subservience to their gods, and using them as tools for building temples. These crowned heads excelled in destruction, in fields drenched with blood, and in cities wasted by fire; they lived lives of abomination, and their names are execrable, yet all they did was called “divine,” and while to the glory of their gods they filled the earth with darkness, they accumulated the greater glory to themselves. Not over the brow of any one of them did “holiness” shine. And since Israel’s high priest has passed away, and his royal crown has been lost – lost in the darkness of pagan triumph – there have arisen upon this earth fresh priest-kings, or at least rulers who have swayed both the spiritual and temporal kingdoms of this world. In the name of the living God, and as representatives of the Prince of Peace, these rulers have but too faithfully followed the footsteps of the pagans. The wails of orphans and widows, the roar of blazing villages, the crackling of bonfires, the moans of torture chambers these are Christendom’s praise-songs to their glory! The private lives of these “priest-kings” have been pages of infamy, while their noble tombs adorn the Christian temples where their dust awaits the call to God’s judgment throne. Our own generation has seen temporal and spiritual dominion burn villages and drive thousands to starvation, it has read and knows the history of the deeds of the dark acres; yet there are thousands of men today banded together once more to crown one head to the greater glory of God with sole spiritual and temporal power. Where in Christendom has one of these crowns ever borne “Holiness to the Lord” upon it?
Although Christendom has rivaled paganism in abominations and blood, it has not yet reached to its climax of iniquity. It shall have a ruler, who in himself will unite both spiritual and temporal dominion, and shall bear upon the “forehead a name” exceeding in its horror every other name of evil – “Babylon” – and this shall be inscribed with the blood of martyrs upon its crown – its proud iron band of apostasy from God.
But “He must reign” (1 Cor. 15:2525For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. (1 Corinthians 15:25)); He will come forth according to the promise of God, and the music of the golden bells shall be heard over the face of the earth.
The robes of the high priest worn on the Great Day of Atonement were entirely different from those just enumerated. They were four in number, and were composed wholly of linen, yet not of the resplendent linen of the golden garments, but merely of white linen. Their utterance was purity, only, purity, all purity.
On the Great Day of Atonement the high priest, clad in white, entered the Holiest, and stood before the throne of Jehovah. No golden bells made music at his coming; no names of men were upborne upon his shoulders, or pressed upon his breast; he entered the presence of the Holy One shrouded in a cloud of incense with the blood shed for sin. He was alone; the sacred precincts were empty; the voices of the people were hushed. He carried the blood into the dread presence of Jehovah, and sprinkled it upon and before the throne. He placed it upon the golden mercy-seat, towards which the faces of the cherubim inclined, and in immediate proximity to the place where Jehovah dwelt, and whence He uttered His commands concerning the people of Israel. On that occasion the sin of man, the blood shed for that sin, and the throne of Jehovah were brought together, and the connecting power was the person of the high priest. And in this great act he expresses in his person one of the grandest types of Christ existing in the Scriptures.
Having accomplished the service, the high priest laid aside his white robes, and they were “hid away”; neither were white robes worn again until a new year called for a fresh atonement. (Soiled garments of “the high priest were ‘hid away.’ The high priest wore a ‘fresh suit of linen vestments’ each time on the Day of Atonement.” Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Its Services, p. 75.)
The contrast between the two sets of garments is as marked as possible. The state garments were handed down from father to son, and were preserved with vigilant care; the others were disposed of when once used. The one set displayed the glories of priestly intercession and the fulfilling of God’s promises, both to men and the earth, the other described the one necessity for effecting atonement for sin – sinlessness.
The glorious robes were mentioned first. And in the order of the divine unfolding in the books of Moses, the prime thought or purpose of God usually comes first, and the manner of its fulfillment next. The high priest’s appearance “at all times” in the Holiest in his mediatorial robes was the first great purpose of God, but because of the sin of the priests (which will be dealt with in our next chapter) Aaron was not allowed to come thus at all times before Jehovah (compare Lev. 9:23; 16:223And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. (Leviticus 9:23)
2And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. (Leviticus 16:2)), and, indeed, he never appeared in the Holiest thus arrayed, unless it were on the first occasion of his entering into the dwelling-place of God together with Moses.
The intercession of Christ in heaven for us, is based upon His having entered in once into the Holiest by virtue of His blood, and He, having obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 9:1212Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews 9:12)), is crowned with glory and honor (Heb. 2:99But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9)). The white robes – speaking figuratively – worn when “He” was “made sin for us Who knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)), are “hid away” forever; His atoning work is complete, His mediatorial work is continuous; His blood once shed has exalted the throne of God forever, His life of service on high without a break exalts the love of God for His own to all eternity. The glory and honor with which He is now crowned answer to the robes of glory and beauty of the high priest in Israel, who was a figure of the true High Priest of God.
The high priest of Jehovah was the fountain-head of the priesthood – all flowed out from him. His position in relation to Jehovah and Israel called for a family of priests to serve with him. In this he was a notable type of Christ, from Whom all true Christian priesthood emanates. He is the High Priest in heaven, and, indeed, “If He were on earth He should not be a priest” (Heb. 8:44For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: (Hebrews 8:4)), and from His heavenly glory He has made His people on earth the family of priests to His God and Father.
The garments of the ordinary priests partook of the character of those of the high priest; their three chief garments were composed of white linen, two of glistering white, the other of plain white. They were girded like the high priest, excepting the gold in the girdle. The symbol of the divine was not in their girdles; but in the blue, the words are to be read, “As is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly” (1 Cor. 15:4848As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. (1 Corinthians 15:48)); in the purple, “joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:1717And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17)); in the scarlet, “if we suffer we shall also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:1212If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: (2 Timothy 2:12)); and in the glistering white, “holy and without blame before” God (Eph. 1:44According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Ephesians 1:4)).
Holiness and glory were the two main significations of these robes. And as the root meaning of the word (cohen) “priest” implies, their service was that of “one who stands up for another and mediates in his cause.”
The garments were a general necessity for the priesthood in the performance of its service; the individual necessity for each priest prior to his service was purification. The body of the man had to be washed with pure water (Ex. 29:44And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. (Exodus 29:4); Heb. 10:2222Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22)). The figure declared that before a man could serve as a priest, he must be morally pure. He was sanctified by the washing of the water prior to taking office; hence, as holy, he assumed office; the office did not make him holy. The water was a sign, as has already been pointed out; it “sanctified to the purifying of the flesh” (Heb. 9:1313For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: (Hebrews 9:13)); and being merely water it did not impart a spiritual sanctification. After the purification, followed adorning, and then the anointing. The stamp of the number three was impressed upon the persons who served the tabernacle, as well as upon the tabernacle they served.
The anointing oil was poured upon the head. “According to the Jewish tradition the anointing of Aaron the high priest was different from that of the sons of Aaron, the ordinary priests, the oil being poured upon the head of the former, whilst it was merely smeared with the finger upon the forehead in the case of the latter.” (See Keil and Delitzsch, “Leviticus,” Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, p. 335.)
The oil is a figure of the Holy Spirit, and “like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments,” God, through His Holy Spirit, commands “the blessing, even life for evermore” (Psa. 133:2-32It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. (Psalm 133:2‑3)) through His High Priest. Every typical feature of robes and actions finds in the outpouring of the Spirit of God its fulfillment.
After the priests had been made personally fit for their service, a series of sacrifices was offered on their behalf, by which they were made officially fit to mediate on account of others.
The peculiar character of Jehovah’s priesthood, and its strong contrast with other existing priesthoods, are most striking. The priests were not to possess themselves of the land, as was the case in Egypt. The priesthoods of the old world were unhallowed associations which used their spiritual powers to aggrandize their authority, their treasures, and their temples; and more, to enslave the souls, and, at times, the bodies, of the people. The high priests were grandees, and wielded their powers as did bishops in our mediaeval times. The priests of Jehovah were not instituted to be a class who, as the pagan priests, should lord it over others, but to be His servants, who should act for Him amongst men.
The corruptions that had arisen from the union of temporal and spiritual power in the priesthood, may be one reason why Jehovah separated the princes from the priests, and the ruler from the high priest in Israel. The kingdom of God is not advanced by worldly patronage; spiritual power is of God the Spirit, and is in no sense the result of a high position in the world. Jehovah was the inheritance of His priests among the children of Israel. The priests were not to be princes, as were the heathen. Their true power in Israel was spiritual. “Their income, which, even under the most favorable circumstances, must have been moderate, was dependent on the varying religious state of the nation, since no law existed by which either the payment of tithes or any other offerings could be enforced. How little power or influence, comparatively speaking, the priesthood wielded, is sufficiently known from Jewish history.”
The history of the high priests affords an insight into the gradual loss by man of the divine purpose in the priesthood, and concludes with an emphatic departure from that purpose. As Israel left the faith and suffered for their sin, the priesthood lost one and another of its distinctive glories. The Holiest of All possessed but a slab of stone instead of the ark of Jehovah, when the high priests sought to be priest-kings, and eventually to the heathen it fell to forbid them their royal diadem. At the time of Christ the personal glory of the high priesthood had vanished, for “Herod made men of low birth high priests, deposed them at his will, and named others in their room.” After Christ’s ascension this personal nobility was miserably ridiculed, for the last of the high priests was chosen by lot from the ordinary priests, and was robed in impious mockery of the divine command given to Moses. Thus the glory and honor with which Jehovah had invested the office perished from off the earth by means of the sins of Israel and the triumph of the pagan; but before this hopeless darkness had closed Qver the high priesthood on earth, the heavens above received the Great High Priest, Whom Aaron typified, in His unsulliable glory, to fill the highest exaltation there.
Aaron himself, by his being stripped of his robes upon Mount Hor, and by the transference of them to his son, and then by his death upon that mount, forewarned Israel of the weakness of man in representing the High Priest of God, Who lives to die no more. He went up into the mountain “in the sight of all the congregation” (Num. 20:27-2827And Moses did as the Lord commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. (Numbers 20:27‑28)); a striking contrast to the High Priest above, Who ascended to heaven with hands uplifted in blessing (Luke 24:5050And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. (Luke 24:50)); and Aaron “died there in the top of the mount,” and his son, dressed in the sacred robes, returned with Moses to the camp to fulfill the high priestly functions in his father’s stead, but Christ, “because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable” – or, rather, untransmissible – “priesthood” (Heb. 7:2424But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. (Hebrews 7:24)). Aaron, with Moses, failed in patience, and because he did so, died upon the mount, but Christ’s patience is exhaustless, and the temptations under which He suffered when on earth, have only rendered Him the more suited to succor His people when they are tempted (Heb. 11:1818Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: (Hebrews 11:18).) and when they, like thirsting Israel, are guilty of murmuring.
The historic facts of the loss of the oil of consecration, the breastplate, and the crown, are but finger-posts erected by divine command, to direct man as he passes along the highway of Time, to lift his eye from all human types of Christ, however glorious, and though glorious as was Aaron, and from all earth’s priests to the heavens above. For there “we see Jesus.... crowned with glory and honor” (Heb. 2:99But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9)).... “a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man” (Heb. 8:28) .... “perfected for evermore” (Heb. 7:2828For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore. (Hebrews 7:28). RV).