6 “Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of skilled hands. 7 It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened. 8 Its skillfully woven waistband is to be like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.
9 “Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel 10 in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. 11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings 12 and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord. 13 Make gold filigree settings 14 and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings. Exodus 28:6-14
The golden ephod was the outermost garment worn by the High Priest. Other priests merely wore linen ephods (Samuel – 1 Samuel 2:18, and David – 2 Samuel 6:14). The Hebrews evidently had among them weavers of considerable skill to weave it altogether according to God’s specification.
Notice on the shoulders the name of all 12 Tribes of Israel. When the High Priest went in to offer sacrifices, he would be reminded of the people he would be sacrificing on behalf of. The other interesting detail that came up in my research was that the 12 Tribes on the ephod were a foreshadowing of Isaiah’s prophecy,
“And the government will be upon his shoulders.” Isaiah 9:6
It’s easy to gloss over details of these garments and structures. They do give us an insight into what life was like under the Mosaic Covenant, how they interacted with God and their leaders, and how the law revealed the weakness and sin in men and women.
Read these passages and take in the beauty and majesty of the moment. The priesthood and most everything surrounding it would quickly be corrupted and jaded as long as men were selfish and not God fearing.
More often than not, you’ll see glimpses of us. Sure, the clothing, culture, and times are radically different. Sin nature isn’t.
The Hebrews were desperately seeking a better place and someone to lead them to it; that’s also not new.