Fallen & Forgiven
Have you ever done something you believe is so sinful that you wondered if God would ever love or accept you much less let you serve him again? Perhaps it was an act of immorality, or perhaps a failure of leadership. Maybe it was something you did against your better judgment, or maybe it was sheer rebellion. But whatever it was—whether it was something recent or something long, long ago—it seemed like such a terrible sin that it ought to permanently disqualify you from not only serving God but also being in an intimate relationship with Him. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We have all been there. We have all sinned against God and felt the weight of our sin, sorrow and shame. We have all felt at one time or the other that Jesus can’t be interested in having a relationship with us. We aren’t good enough or holy enough. There is no way God will accept me as one of His children. I am falling and there is no way that I will be able to get up.
Aaron probably felt just like that. Although he was chosen to be high priest over the house of God, Aaron committed a terrible sin. And if that wasn’t enough, he led the people of Israel into a “great” sin. While Moses was up on the mountain getting the law from God, Aaron led the Israelites into idolatry as he set up an alternative worship service—one did not ordain by God. With his own hands, he made a golden calf and set it up for the people to worship, in direct violation of the second commandment. It was such a catastrophic failure that God was ready to destroy the Israelite nation before it ever began. How could such a man ever serve God again? How could he be worthy of wearing the righteous robes of priestly ministry? We know that Aaron did serve God. He was anointed high priest over the tabernacle and God allowed him to continue in the very calling he had once desecrated by his sin. And as the mediator, he was dressed in holiness to the Lord and entered the Most Holy Place, where God was. He not only entered there but also lived to tell about it, for God had ordained his ministry as high priest. Why was a sinner like Aaron allowed to serve a holy God? He was able to serve because although he had fallen, he was also forgiven. In preparation for the priesthood, Aaron’s body was washed with water, symbolizing his consecration to God. Then he confessed his sins, placing his hands on the head of a bull, which was sacrificed as a sin offering to make atonement for himself. Through the cleansing water and the sacrificial blood, Aaron was redeemed from His sin, sorrow and shame, forgiven and set apart to serve.
God does the same for us today. We are also fallen human beings like Aaron but God by the blood of Jesus has redeemed us from the pit, from our sin, sorrow and shame. He has forgiven us, dressed us in holiness with the righteousness of Christ, and set us apart to serve Him as His kingdom of priest on the earth today. We are fallen and forgiven because God desires to redeem His people and put them back into a right relationship with Himself. And that brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires to redeem His people from their sin, sorrow and shame.
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we approach your throne this morning, humbly asking for your Holy Spirit to fill us as we investigate your Word. Let your Word be a light unto our feet and a lamp unto our paths. Help us to put all other thoughts away in this moment and focus our hearts and minds on you. May all we think, say and do here be honoring and glorifying to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
This morning there are three points, the first point is Heavenly & Heavy. We will be covering the material in Exodus 39:1-31 and as this information was covered back in Exodus 28, I won’t be reading all these verses. Our first point covers the material in verses 1-26. The construction phase of the tabernacle has gotten underway. The tabernacle has been built including all the curtains. The four items of furniture that will sit in the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies have been made. Last week we saw the making of the two items of furniture that will be outside the Tabernacle, the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Bronze Laver. The bronze altar was where the sacrifices for the people’s sins were offered. It symbolized judgment and Jesus on the cross taking our penalty for sin through His blood shed on that cross. It speaks to our justification, just as if we never sinned, before God. The bronze laver was where the priest would wash their hands and feet before offering sacrifices on the altar and performing their duties in the tabernacle. It symbolized God’s grace washing away our daily sin and speaks to our sanctification. Lastly, we saw the making of the courtyard which was the boundary that surrounded the tabernacle complex. It set apart the holy ground of the tabernacle from the rest of the camp and was a visible reminder that you could not casually approach God, and it was no ordinary affair to do so. Having only one entrance to the courtyard and into the tabernacle symbolized that there was only way to approach God, and that is only through Jesus Christ. John 14:6 says, “I (Jesus) am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”
This morning, we will see the making of priestly garments. The priests and the High Priest had to be suitably dressed to enter the House of the Lord and perform their duties. The high priestly clothes were made from the same materials as the tabernacle, including fine white linen embroidered with blue, purple and scarlet yarn. This connected the high priest to the tabernacle showing he belonged in God’s sanctuary. The tabernacle was the earthly representation of the true heavenly tabernacle and so everything associated with it portrayed the holiness, beauty and glory of God and of heaven. The colors and unusual clothing that Aaron wore were to give him dignity and honor among the people. There were four main items that constituted Aaron’s wardrobe. The first was the ephod which became symbolic of the Israelite priesthood. It was unique in that thin strands of gold were worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and the fine white linen. This was appropriate because gold was used the closer to the place where God dwelled. On the shoulder pieces were mounted two onyx memorial stones with the names of the sons of Israel engraved on them. This was symbolic of the high priest representing the people before the Lord and the Lord before the people. As he entered the tabernacle he carried the burdens of the people on his shoulders into the presence of God.
Next, was the breast piece of judgment. It was made like the ephod and held the Urim and Thummim which were two stones for seeking the Lord’s will concerning the nation. It was decorated with twelve precious and semi-precious stones in four rows of three stones each. It was also a visual representation of the twelve sons of Israel and symbolized that the high priest bore the people’s concerns into God’s presence. Braided chains of gold were made to keep the breast piece from swinging out from the ephod. This would have kept the stones over the high priest’s heart representing the love and affection he had for the people. He carried the weight of the people on his shoulders, the place of strength, before the Lord, which was symbolic of their guilt. He also carried the weight of the people on his heart, the place of love and affection, before the Lord, which was symbolic of his intercession for them. The third item of clothing was the high priest’s robe. It was woven out of one-piece blue cloth, and it was seamless. Blue signified heaven and it was seamless symbolizing the wholeness and integrity that God demanded of the high priest and it reflected the perfection of the God he served.
Pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted white linen were made and put around the hem of the robe. Bells of pure gold were also made that were attached around the hem alternating between the pomegranates. Pomegranates were a sign of fruitfulness, and the gold bells were safe. The pomegranates symbolized that the high priest was fruitfully performing his duties. And the sound of the bells practically proved that the high priest was faithfully performing his duties. It was an assurance of life in that he had entered suitably dressed and was in holiness before God. The bells were also symbolic that God’s presence was with them as represented by the high priest. They symbolized the holiness of God and that He required holiness and reverence for those who would approach Him, or they would die. They served as a call to spiritual alertness, reminding the people of their dependence on God and that the high priest was sanctified or set apart for his service in the tabernacle. Imagine the heaviness and the weightiness of the high priestly garments. Physically, we aren’t told how much the garments all weighed together, but it has been suggested they could have weighed between forty and sixty pounds or more. Symbolically, the physical weight reminded the high priest of the immense and awesome responsibility he had of carrying the sin, sorrow, and shame, of the Israelites, before the Lord.
The Hebrew root word for heavy or weight and the root word for honor and respect is the same. Weight and honor and gravity and respect can be seen by judges when they put on their robes and make decisions. Or by policemen, firemen and other emergency personnel when they put on their uniforms and protect and serve or save lives. Like judges, policemen, firemen, etc. when Aaron dressed for work, with the inherent responsibility of that work, he would have felt the accumulated weight in his honored role in the Israelite society. Think for a second about what you wear the times that you carefully dress for what you are doing or where you are going. You will dress differently if you are appearing in court, attending a wedding to bear witness to a beginning, or attending a funeral to bear witness to an ending, or teaching in front of a classroom, then you would if you were going to play tennis or going to the beach. There is a connection between heaviness and respect, and the weightiness of leadership and responsibility. For Aaron and the other priests, their clothes reminded them of “wearing” or “bearing” one’s responsibility, every day. As Christ’s priests, we need to daily put on our heavenly garments. These heavenly garments are Christ himself. In Romans 13:14 Paul tells us to cloth ourselves in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Ephesians 4:24 says, “and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” And Colossians 3:12 says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Being clothed in Christ is a heavy and weighty responsibility for Christ-followers. We are to cloth ourselves in Christ and with Christ so we can reveal the glory of God to the world. We have an immense and awesome responsibility to absolute surrender and commitment to the Lord. We must reorder our priorities, we must die to self, we must live as God’s example, and we must depend on His strength. This is what it means to be clothed in Christ and in His righteousness. How should being clothed with Christ affect our behavior? Are the clothes you are putting on reflecting Christ? Let us be people who are putting on Christ, living out His attributes such as compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Let us be people who dress thinking about the heaviness that comes from our responsibility of being Christ-followers. Let us be people who daily put on the garments of heaven and so reflect the holiness and righteousness of Christ to the world. That brings us to our first next step which is to Daily clothe myself with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our second point, this morning is Holy and is covered in Exodus 39:27-31. In this section we see the making of the pieces of clothing that round out the priestly garments for both Aaron and his sons. They made tunics, turbans, and caps for them woven from fine white linen. They made undergarments for them of finely twisted white linen. And an embroiderer made sashes from finely twisted white linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn. And lastly, they made a sacred emblem or plate out of pure gold that was engraved with “HOLY TO THE LORD” on it and fastened with blue cord to the high priest’s turban. These garments were not normal attire nor were they for ordinary use even by the priests. These special garments would only have been worn once they entered the courtyard and after being ceremonially washed.
These garments all had the character of “holiness” and set apart the priests as holy. The Lord was teaching the Israelites that He is holy, and His priests must approach Him in holiness. God desired to dwell with His people, but he must be approached and worshipped on His terms. Aaron and His sons could dress up in these holy garments but that didn’t make them holy on the inside. Externally they looked magnificent, divine, sanctified and reflected light and heaven. But internally they were depraved, sinful, human beings filled with darkness. They were sinners in need of a Savior. So how could these sinful human beings represent a sinful nation before God? Psalm 15:1-3 says, “Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others.” Of course, no human being can live up to that. And in verse 5 we see that “Whoever does these things will never be shaken or moved” which means if you don’t live up to those things you will be shaken or destroyed in God’s holy presence. Th priests were not shaken or destroyed because they were obedient and didn’t approach God on their own terms but on what they were wearing. They were wearing the holy clothes that were made exactly to God’s specifications. Twice in this section alone it says the people did as the Lord commanded Moses. Their obedience to the prescribed worship of the Lord allowed the sinful priests to approach Him clothed in His holiness and righteousness (Big Idea)
That brings us to our third point, Hope. Just as the tabernacle, the furnishings inside and out and the courtyard all foreshadowed Jesus, so did the priesthood of the Israelites. Aaron and his sons were not holy on the inside and so had to offer sacrifices for their own sins. God was showing them that there was one who was coming, the Messiah, who was holy and perfect and had no need to offer sacrifices for himself because He was without sin. God allowed Aaron and his sons to be sinners representing sinners and through their sacrifices and His forgiveness be considered holy. He did this because He knew that the day would come when Jesus, the spotless Lamb, would come as God’s perfect High Priest. Hebrews 9:11-12 says, “But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
Jesus would do perfectly what Aaron couldn’t. He would offer sacrifice for our sins, bring us into God’s presence and would intercede before the Father for us. The priesthood of Jesus was perfect in its person, in its purity, in its performance, in its perpetuity and in its passion or sufferings. There would never again be the need for a high priest to offer up an animal sacrifice. The proof of which was God tearing the veil of the Temple in two from top to bottom. Also, the high priest even though he was clothed in holiness was inferior to Jesus Christ. Jesus was superior to Aaron in several ways. First, He ministered in a superior place. The high priest served in the tabernacle, but Jesus serves in heaven, before the throne of God. Second, He ministers with superior righteousness. His righteousness was not external as it was with the high priests. Jesus is clothed in righteousness inside and out. He is perfectly God and perfectly man, untainted by sin.
Third, He ministers to us with superior sympathy. The high priest carried the nation into the presence of God close to his heart, but he couldn’t understand exactly what they were going through. But Jesus suffered and endured everything we do and so He understands what we are going through. Fourth, Jesus ministers to us with superior longevity. All the high priests of Israel are dead. They can no longer minister but Jesus by His resurrection lives forever, and His ministry is eternal. Fifth, Jesus ministers to us with a superior sacrifice. The high priests offered the blood of animals for the people’s atonement, but Jesus offered His own blood. By His free will he became the spotless Lamb on the altar. He offered Himself as the atonement for our sins and He only had to do it once for all. Jesus is superior to all human high priests and is our great and perfect High Priest. So, through our perfect High Priest, Jesus Christ, we have the hope of salvation and spending eternity in the presence of God. But what about now as we live on this earth. What are we going to do? We are to be a kingdom of priests. Just like the Levites were set apart and the distinctive garments set them apart from all the other tribes, we are set apart and our distinctive garments, the righteousness of Christ, set us apart from the world. We can be dressed as holy because we are related to Jesus. Hebrews 2:11 says, “Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.” Since we are a kingdom of priest of the family of God in Jesus, we have a responsibility to live, love and serve in holiness. Holiness is not an option but a requirement. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” We are to be holy as God is holy. Matthew Henry says, “Holiness to the Lord must be so written upon their foreheads, that all who converse with them may see that they bear the image of God’s holiness, and are devoted to the praise of it.”
Serving the Lord as His priests is an awesome privilege. And because of the shed blood of Jesus, we can now approach God’s throne with prayer and sacrifice. Prayer must be a significant part of our ministry as priests. We should be praying for everyone we know who needs intercession. We especially intercede for those who do not know Jesus as their Savior. We intercede with their care and concerns and most importantly their salvation. We interceded for our local church. We pray that the gospel is preached, sinners are saved and that we would grow in love for God and for each other. And we pray for the church around the world, interceding for our missionaries, for Christians being persecuted and for the advance of the gospel. Bringing our sacrifice before the Lord is also an awesome privilege. First, we bring ourselves as living sacrifices to serve the Lord. Second, we bring a sacrifice of praise. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” And 1 Peter 2:5 says, “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” We are to serve and worship the Lord and bring Him honor, glory and praise both individually and corporately.
Our calling as priests demands complete holiness. We are to be holy in our daily lives. We are called to be holy in our homes, living in peace with our family and serving them in love. We are to be holy in our thoughts, in our speech, and in our actions. 1 Peter 1:15 says, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” We can’t be holy on our own. We sin against God daily in our thoughts, words and deeds. How can we be holy and serve the Lord in holiness? In conclusion I want to read this story that Philip Ryken tells in his commentary on Exodus. One memorable Thanksgiving Day I went out to play football in the rain. When I returned home, I started to go into the kitchen, which was the primary functional entrance to our family home. As I opened the door, I was confronted by my mother, who was accompanied by a guard of female relatives brandishing rolling pins, potato mashers, and carving knives. “Don’t you dare set one foot in my kitchen!” Mother said. I looked down and realized she was right. I could not enter the house: I was covered with filth! The same thing is true whenever we seek to enter God’s house for worship. We are filthy, having committed the kinds of sins that ought to forbid our entrance. So, how can a holy God accept our priestly service? It’s not because we’re holy, but because He accepts us because of the holiness of Jesus. When we trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation, we are clothed in his righteousness. Now when God sees the service we offer, he does not look at the stains of our sin but at the perfection of his Son (Big Idea). So, it is good news that we don’t have to live in perfect holiness, because we can’t do it. But with the help of the Holy Spirit in us, we can purpose to live our lives in complete holiness to the Lord. That is our second next step this morning which is to Purpose to live my life, my thoughts, words and deeds, in complete holiness to the Lord.
As Gene and Roxey come to lead us in a final hymn and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Lord, we worship you for your Word and the truths found in it. We pray that every day as we go out into the world, we would continually clothe ourselves with and in your son, Jesus Christ. Help us to live our lives, our thoughts, words and deeds, in complete holiness to you. Thank you for redeeming us from our sin, sorrow and shame. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Opening: Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 1133–1153.
Closing: Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 1133–1153.