“They are to make the ephod of finely spun linen embroidered with gold, and with blue, purpose, and scarlet yarn. It must have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges so that it can be joined together. The artistically woven waistband that is on the ephod must be of one piece, according to the same workmanship of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen. Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of Israel’s sons: six of their names on the first stone and the remaining six names on the second stone, in the order of their birth. Engrave the two stones with the names of Israel’s sons as a gem cutter engraves a seal. Mount them, surrounded with gold filigree settings. Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites. Aaron will carry their names on his two shoulders before the Lord as a reminder. Fashion gold filigree settings and two chains of pure gold; you will make them of braided cord work, and attach the cord chains to the settings.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to go to the World War I museum in Kansas City. It is a truly world class exhibit that boasts one of, if not the largest collection of artifacts from the war they said would end all wars, in the world. One of the things that caught my eye on the tour were all the different ceremonial military outfits from all the different nations that participated in the conflict. There were some that struck me as regal and others that just seemed silly. Yet each was designed on purpose and in line with what the cultures that produced them believed would communicate well the weight of the position they represented. Sometimes we understand why people wear what they do. Sometimes we don’t. That doesn’t mean the people wearing it don’t. Let’s keep that in mind as we start talking about Israel’s priestly garments.

The first part of the priestly costume God described to Moses is the ephod. Given that an ephod isn’t really something we wear anymore, the first question that comes to mind when reading the description here is what is an ephod? You could Google it, but that’s honestly only going to be so helpful. You’ll read a number of different descriptions which, if you’re paying careful attention, will all use the same kind of vague language that gives you the sense after a while that the authors don’t really know for sure what they’re talking about. That’s because the authors don’t really know for sure what they’re talking about.

We don’t actually have any idea what the ephod was or what it looked like. The first clue to our lack of knowledge here is that the word itself is not a translation of a Hebrew word like all the other words around it in our English copies of the Scriptures, but rather a transliteration. Whenever you encounter a word that has been transliterated from one language to another, that means the target language didn’t have a word to properly capture whatever it is. So, they had to make one up. Rather than making up a good one, though, they just took the word in the first language and pronounced it with a different accent.

From the description, the ephod seems to have been some sort of an apron-like thing that mostly (although not entirely) priests wore as part of their ceremonial getup. Additionally, from an historical standpoint, it seems to have been a uniquely Hebrew vestment. Whatever it was, it was held on in part by an ornate sash around the waist, and at the shoulders by two even more ornate shoulder pads which actually receive the main attention of the description.

The reason the shoulder pads garner so much attention is because of what was inscribed on them. One stone was to be engraved with six of the names of the sons of Israel. The other was to be engraved with the other six. If you are a stickler for details, this is a little interesting because the obvious implication here is that the priest was to bear the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. If you pay attention to the various lists in the Pentateuch, though, the names of the twelves tribes and the names of the sons of Israel aren’t quite the same. Israel’s sons included Reuben and Joseph, neither of whom have tribes named after them. Instead, Reuben was disowned because of something he did, and Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were elevated to son status in his place.

In any event, though, the symbolism of the two stones is pretty clear even if it is not explicit. God told Moses that Aaron (or, presumably, the various high priests who would follow after him) was to wear their names on his shoulders “as a reminder.” As a reminder of what? We are not told, but we can offer up some guesses that are all pretty reasonable. The most notable of these is that Aaron was to be constantly reminded of who he was serving in his position. Their weight was to literally be on his shoulders so that he never forget it. He was serving the tribes of Israel, representing them before God.

This, by the way, is a big part of what made priests different from prophets. Prophets spoke to the people on behalf of God. God appointed true prophets Himself, and there wasn’t any kind of an ordination process for them. They didn’t serve in the tabernacle or temple such that they needed one. They were from among the people and did their work among the people. God simply gave them a message to share. Priests, on the other hand, represented the interests of the people to God. They went through various purification rituals to make sure their sins were covered before God so they could enter His presence on behalf of the people in order to make offerings and supplications directly to Him for them.

The priests were just individuals, though. They served as they did because it was both difficult and impractical for all the people to keep themselves pure and holy and able to enter into God’s presence on a regular basis. They were representatives in this sense. But, if you have been paying close attention to the text, this was never God’s ultimate intent for the people. Back in Exodus 19, God told Moses that He was making Israel to be a kingdom of priests. In other words, they were all to be able to be in His presence like Aaron was being prepared to experience. Yet on behalf of whom? The rest of the world. God was creating a people in Israel who could stand before Him on behalf of the rest of the world, interceding and bringing their concerns and interests to Him so that He could respond with appropriate grace and wisdom.

This provides the connection point for us to understand what’s going on here with the ephod through the lens of Christ. Peter would pick up on this priestly imagery and extend it to the church in 1 Peter 2:1-10. The church is to be humanity’s representative before God. We are purified in Christ and by that made able to be in His presence. We are to stand before Him in Christ and intercede on behalf of the world around us, working and calling for God’s very best everywhere we go.

As a kingdom of priests we must never forget who it is we serve. We follow our Lord Jesus in standing before God on behalf of the people around us. That’s on their behalf, not against them. There is an Accuser and we should have nothing to do with him. If we lose sight of this duty in Christ, we will start to see and then treat the people around us as our enemy. Yet people are never our enemy no matter what they think of us or how they treat us. Every single person around you regardless of any distinctions or what you might think of them is a precious individual created uniquely and loved completely by God. He wants only and nothing but the absolute best for them. If we aim any lower than that in our interactions with them, then we are not living up to our high calling as priests. We cannot represent well a people we hate.

If you are a follower of Jesus, remember who you are and remember whose you are. With those two things always freshly in mind, you will do your duty with grace and compassion; with humility and care. And because you stand in Christ and not on your own two moral feet, you don’t have to worry about failing as Aaron would soon do. You simply have to remain in Him and the rest will fall into place.