Éxodo 28:1-43

Ahora que entramos en el capítulo veintiocho, pasamos al sacerdocio. Ahora tenemos el tabernáculo construido, por lo menos la arquitectura, los diseños; se dibujan los planos. Ahora llegando a los sacerdotes,

Toma contigo a tu hermano Aarón, y a sus hijos con él, de entre los hijos de Israel, para que me sirva en el oficio de sacerdote, [incluso] Aarón, Nadab y Abiú, y Eleazar e Itamar, hijos de Aarón. Y harás vestiduras sagradas a Aarón tu hermano para gloria y hermosura. [Así que debían usar estas túnicas.] Y tú hablarás a todos [los que son] sabios de corazón, a quienes he llenado con mi espíritu de sabiduría, para que hagan las vestiduras de Aarón para consagrarlo, a fin de que pueda servirme en la oficina del sacerdote.

[Así que Dios iba a llenar a los hombres con el espíritu de sabiduría, dándoles la habilidad para hacer estas vestiduras.] Y estas son las vestiduras que harás; un pectoral, un efod, un manto, una túnica bordada, una mitra [o una corona] y un cinto: [una faja] y harán vestiduras sagradas para Aarón tu hermano y sus hijos, para que me sirvan en la oficina del sacerdote. Y tomarán oro, azul, púrpura, escarlata y lino fino.

Y el efod, [una especie de túnica que se usaba sobre los hombros y hacia abajo], de oro, azul, púrpura y escarlata, de labor primorosa. Y tendrá sus dos hombreras unidas por sus dos bordes; y se unirá. Y el cinto del efod, que está sobre él, será de lo mismo, de oro, azul, púrpura, carmesí y lino torcido. Tomarás dos piedras de ónice, y grabarás en ellas los nombres de los hijos de Israel ( Éxodo 28:1-9 ):

Así que estas piedras de ónice eran en realidad para unir este efod aquí en los hombros, para unirlo aquí en sus hombros. Pero en estos ónices estaban los nombres de los hijos de Israel, de modo que siempre que el sacerdote iba delante de Dios, siempre llevaba los nombres de los hijos de Israel, es decir, las tribus de Israel, sobre su hombro. Cada vez que iba delante de Dios llevando las piedras de ónice allí sobre sus hombros, las tribus de Israel estarían,

Seis en cada hombro siendo llevados ante Dios. De obra de escultor en piedra, a modo de grabaduras de sello, harás grabar las dos piedras con los nombres de los hijos de Israel, y las harás engastar en las uchas de oro. Y pondrás las dos piedras sobre los hombros del efod, para piedras memoriales a los hijos de Israel; y Aarón llevará los nombres de ellos delante de Jehová sobre sus dos hombros por memorial.

Y harás los ouches de oro; y las dos cadenas de oro puro en las puntas; de labor de corona las harás, y atarás las cadenas de corona a los ouches ( Éxodo 28:10-14 ).

Ahora, el pectoral sobre su pecho, estaba este pectoral que debía usar.

la coraza del juicio con arte de obra; la obra del efod la harás; de oro, azul, púrpura, escarlata y lino fino torcido lo harás. [Será un cuadrado y se duplicará] Cuadrangular se duplicará; un palmo será su largo, y un palmo su ancho ( Éxodo 28:15-16 ).

Ahora, un lapso es la longitud entre el pulgar y el dedo. Entonces un cuadrado como este, este peto pequeño que el sacerdote llevaba en el pecho.

Y pondrás en él engastes de piedras, cuatro filas: y tres piedras en cada fila: la primera fila será de sardio, topacio, carbunclo: la segunda será de esmeralda, zafiro y un diamante. el tercero será una ligura, una ágata y una amatista. Y el cuarto será un berilo, un ónice y un jaspe: [así estas piedras preciosas] y estarán engastadas en oro en sus recintos. Y las piedras serán con los nombres de los hijos de Israel, doce, según sus nombres, como grabaduras de sello; cada uno con su nombre serán según las doce tribus ( Éxodo 28:17-21 ).

Así que iba a haber una cadena de oro sosteniendo este pectoral sobre su pecho, de modo que en realidad ahora llevaba, no solo los nombres de los hijos de Israel sobre sus hombros ante el Señor, sino sobre su corazón. Los nombres de las tribus de Israel sobre su corazón tal como estaban grabados, cada piedra representaba una de las tribus. Los nombres de las tribus grabados en las piedras.
Así que el versículo veintinueve,

Y llevará Aarón los nombres de los hijos de Israel en el pectoral del juicio sobre su corazón, cuando entrare en el [lugar] santo, por memorial delante de Jehová continuamente ( Éxodo 28:29 ).

Así como él viene en la presencia de Dios. El lleva realmente los nombres de las tribus de Israel, sobre sus hombros, sobre su corazón.
Ahora en el versículo treinta el Urim y el Tumim.

Y pondrás en el pectoral del juicio el Urim y el Tumim; y estarán sobre el corazón de Aarón cuando entre delante de Jehová; y llevará Aarón el juicio de los hijos de Israel sobre su corazón delante de Jehová continuamente ( Éxodo 28:30 ).

Ahora bien, ¿qué es el Urim y el Tumim? Realmente las palabras significan "luz" y "perfecciones". Realmente no lo sé. La Biblia no nos dice qué son en realidad el Urim y el Tumim. Pero en los años venideros, cuando querían escuchar a Dios, muchas veces acudían al sacerdote para consultar al Señor. Y el Urim y el Tumim tenían algo que ver con la consulta de Dios, porque vendrían al sacerdote con el Urim y el Tumim y él consultaría al Señor por ellos.

So when David wanted to know, "Shall we go out to battle?" Rather than just going out to battle, he would come to the priest and say, "Inquire of the Lord shall we go to battle?" The priest with the Urim and the Thummim would inquire of God and say, "Yes, go." Then they would continue to get directions.
Now some believe that the Urim and the Thummim were actually two stones, a black stone and a white stone; that in the inquiring of the Lord, the priest would reach in and pull out one of the stones.

If he pulled out the white stone, it was God saying yes. If he pulled out the black stone, it was God saying no. That is one of the most prominent theories of what the Urim and the Thummim actually were. Two stones by which the priest would say, "God show us shall we go now", and he'd pull in and if the white stone would go out, "Yes, we go now", the black stone would go out, "No, we wait". Then they would keep asking questions that could be answered by yes and no, inquiring of the Lord for directions and guidance.

It is interesting in the New Testament; the disciples were following somewhat similar kinds of leadings when they were wanting to choose a replacement for Judas Iscariot. They sort of drew straws; they cast lots.
Now the casting of lots is much the same. It is, and this was a method, casting of lots was a method used quite often by people to determine the will of God. You remember Saul used the casting of lots to determine who had disobeyed his orders.

He said, "We'll divide all of Israel and Jonathan and my son, and we'll cast lots." And the lot fell on Saul and Jonathan. He said, "Jonathan what did you do?" So the casting of lots was a method by which they sought from God answers.
Now all of us desire to be led by God. We would like to make sure that it is God leading. We remember where Gideon put out his fleece of wool, seeking that God would lead by the fleece.

"Lord, are You really in this thing? Let the ground be dry and the fleece be wet, so that I can know that You're really in it." Then the next time, "Lord let the fleece be dry, and the ground be wet." He didn't know but what maybe he'd stumbled on some phenomena of nature that fleece will always get wet at night, and the ground even when it is dry, and maybe it's just a phenomena of nature. So, "Lord let's reverse it and see if it works the other way," whereby he was seeking to be sure of the leading of God.

Now we would love to have some way that we could be sure of the leading of God, but this is almost like flipping a coin. I surely wouldn't, I surely wouldn't recommend that. "Heads I go, tails, I stay. God let it land according to Your will."
I knew of a fellow that used to seek the leading of the Lord by putting ten pennies in his pocket. As he would pray and ask God for guidance, he would take out the pennies and put them down, and if they all came up, all ten came up heads, he took that as a yes indication from God.

Any other combination he accepted as a no. Well, you know they all come up heads, you are fighting for pretty good odds now. The amazing thing, every once in awhile, they would all come up heads.
The idea is that we would all like some kind of a sure method of knowing when God is saying yes, and when God is saying no. But the problem is we don't always give God all the alternatives. "Well, which one shall it be Matthias or Barsabas that you've chosen to take Judas' place?" So casting lots between Matthias and Barsabas was not good because God had a third party that they didn't even know at that time, except as an enemy, a zealot Jew, Paul, or Saul of Tarsus.

"Oh, surely God doesn't want him. We'd never put his name in that pot because no way would God want him." So we don't always give God all the alternatives. We so often say, "Lord shall it be this, or that?" Well, it may be something entirely different from this or that. Something I haven't even thought of.
Now I'm sorry that there is no surefire way of getting a yes or a no, like tossing a coin or pulling out a black or a white rock.

We walk by faith. What I do is when I begin the day I say, "God my life is Yours. You guide in the circumstances of this day. I commit this day to You. Bring to pass Your will in my life." Then I just have to trust God to do it. I accept the things that come in the day as from the Lord and the leading of the Spirit. I believe that my life becomes the revelation of God's will, as I submit myself to Him.

"If in all of your ways you acknowledge Him, He will direct your path"(Proverbios 3:6). Where you get into trouble is by jumping in because you think, "Oh man, look at this good deal." You don't say, you think, "Oh man, don't even need to inquire of the Lord on this one. It's quite obvious such a good deal I don't even have to ask." That's where I get in trouble. "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."

The walk of faith is always a difficult walk. It isn't easy. As I say, we would like it much better if we could get some very positive indications of yes or no. It's hard to just walk by faith trusting God. It can be very confusing if we keep getting blocked in something that we're attempting to do. Is it God saying no or is it Satan trying to hinder me from doing the work of God? You know, and so it's so difficult at times to really know when to persevere and when to realize, "Hey, I'm trying to buck God.

God isn't wanting me to do this."
I surely wish that I could have a more positive, definite way of ascertaining when God wants me to move, when God doesn't want me to move. I don't. I'm just like you are. I just pray and then I trust God, and then I move and then I hope I've done the right thing. I trust that God is great enough that if I haven't, He knows my heart, He knows the sincerity of my heart.

And if I've done the wrong thing, He'll, knowing the sincerity of my heart, He'll overlook it and help me to correct it.
So we really don't know exactly what the Urim and the Thummim was. I am convinced that I know what it wasn't. I know that it wasn't what Joseph Smith said it was. But with the golden tablets that he found, supposedly, he also found this pair of colored glasses that were magic glasses, because when he put them on, he could read the hieroglyphics on the golden tablets. So they were magical, interpretive glasses by which he could read the hieroglyphics. No, that's not what the Urim and the Thummim were. But what they actually were, we don't know.

Now this robe of the ephod was to be all blue. There was to be a hole in the top of it, in the midst: and it should have a binding of woven work round about the hole, as though it were the hole of a habergeon, so it would not be torn. [So sort of a hem really to keep it from being torn.] And beneath upon the hem thou shalt make pomegranates [Now this is on the bottom side of this ephod there were to be these pomegranates] of blue, and purple, and scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, about the hem of the robe all around it.

And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not (Éxodo 28:31-35).

Now the purpose then around the hem of the ephod was these, were these little golden bells and then a pomegranate. The golden bell, the pomegranate all around the hem. The purpose was that when he went into the Holy of Holies, no one could go in there except the high priest, but coming into the presence of God was really a hazardous job. When the whole thing first got started they realized what a hazardous occupation they'd gotten into as priests.

The very first day that they started their ministry as priests, two of them got wiped out. Nadab and Abihu both got wiped out the very first day. Because when they got the whole thing set up, and they got the altar all set, and the wood on the altar, fire came down from heaven, and the wood just spontaneously started to burn. Aaron's two sons got so excited they grabbed their little incense burners, and they took strange-they took the incense burners, but it took strange fire, and they went in to offer it before God and the fire came from the altar and consumed the two sons of Aaron.

It was a dangerous, hazardous job. You're coming into the presence of God, and you better make sure that everything is right; if it isn't, you've had it.
Now even the high priest in coming in before God, coming into the presence of God, everything had to be just right, if it wasn't the high priest would get wiped out. How would they know? The bells would quit ringing. So that was the purpose of the little bells.

They would tie a rope on his foot, and if the bells would quit ringing they'd take and drag him out. Occupational hazard.
So that was the purpose of the little golden bells around the hem, is that when he was ministering before God, in the actual going into this area of coming into that area where God's presence was to meet the people, things had to be right or it could mean the life of the high priest. So the golden bells so that they would know in case he died.

Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, [A crown that the priest was to wear.] and on this little plate you were to grave, engraven on it, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre shall it be. [So this mitre, or crown, blue crown that the priest was to wear, on it this little golden plate, with the engraving, "HOLINESS TO THE LORD".

] And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron might bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall sanctify in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, thou shalt make a mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make a girdle of needlework. And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets, and thou shalt make for them, for the glory and for the beauty (Éxodo 28:36-40).

So they were very ornaments, it was quite-I want to say ornamentation, but it was, it was very ostentatious and awesome as they would come out in these robes.

Thou shalt put upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; thou shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even to the thighs shall they reach: And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in to the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not the iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever and ever unto him and to his seed after him (Éxodo 28:41-43).

So that when they're bearing the iniquity of the people, they don't die themselves.
Now notice that the robes were all of linen. There wasn't to be any woolen garment worn by the priest. For wool causes you to sweat, and God didn't want any man sweating in his labor for Him. That's very interesting, isn't it? When we look at all the perspiration that goes into the work of God today so many times, God doesn't want you to perspire in your work for Him.

Por eso vestían de lino, no de lana en sus vestidos, para no transpirar en su servicio a Dios.
Dios quiere que nuestro servicio sea un servicio inspirado, en lugar de un servicio transpirado. Si tienes la inspiración, no se necesita la transpiración. Pero si no tienes la inspiración, te lo diré, incluso la transpiración no lo hará. Así que la obra inspirada al Señor.
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