The Ephod

The ephod, being preeminently the priestly garment, is first described. The priest could not fully execute his office without this garment (Ex. 28:4-6). It was made of the same materials as the various hangings of the tabernacle, with gold added. The divine character of Him who is our great High Priest is brought before us in the gold, which is mentioned first. The blue comes next, and speaks of His heavenly character — then the purple which tells of His glories as Son of Man — “Lord of lords, and King of kings.” Then the scarlet in its order, telling of Jewish royalty, as Son of David — “born King of the Jews.” Last, the fine twined linen which speaks of the spotless purity of His life on earth — “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” Christ, acting for us as Priest, is thus beautifully presented to us. In Hebrews 4:14 mention is made of this perfect High Priest in such a way as to bring both God and man before us: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.” The gold woven into the garments speaks of that which is divine; the varied colors speak of the perfections of the “man Christ Jesus.” But the interweaving of the gold with the other materials, shows the inseparable character of the two. Who but such a person could be a suitable representative for His people? He is not in God’s presence for the salvation of sinners; sinners must meet Him at the cross; He is there on behalf of a saved people (Heb. 9:24). We see this in Aaron who entered the holiest in virtue of the shed blood on behalf of God’s people. And Christ is before God for us, not according to what we are, but according to what He is. This is a truth of vast importance which we should do well to remember.
The gold was beaten into thin plates and then wrought into the blue, and into the purple, and into the scarlet, and into the fine linen, with cunning work (Ex. 39:3). Thus we see all were interwoven; and in the words of another, “The strength and glory of the gold was intimately blended with every part of the ephod, and gave firmness as well as brilliancy to the whole fabric.... Scarlet and blue are colors of the ephod. The purple also — the new and wondrous color which combines in itself both the blue and the scarlet was curiously wrought in this priestly garment — a color denoting that great mystery so inseparably connected with all contemplation of the ways, thoughts, and words of Jesus; namely, that He did combine the wisdom, love, holiness, and power of God, with every true feeling, affection, and sympathy proper to man. All these beauties were inwrought in a vesture of fine twined linen.” These materials thus interwoven, would forbid us to say, This part is gold; that part is something else. Neither can we say of our blessed Lord, This part is divine; that is human. But this we can say: Christ can represent His people because He is human; He can go into God’s presence because He is divine.
Such is our High Priest, dear fellow believer. When we look at His spotless life, we can say, God sees us there, for we are in Him — “accepted in the beloved.” When we look at the glory into which, as man, He has entered, we can say, That is what awaits us, for His own words are, “The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them” (John 17:22). God looks upon the Christian as in Christ, and can, therefore, speak of him as cleansed from all sin through the blood of Jesus Christ (1 John 1:7). On the same principle He could say as to failing Israel, “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel” (Num. 23:21).