Glory&Beauty

Sometimes in the day to day routines and problems of life, I forget the kind of majesty that God has made available to us. In reading this week's sabbath portion titled T'tzavveh, meaning "You shall command", I was reminded of the system of glory and beauty that God has ordained for us in the heavenly realms now, in this life, and the exodus, or "way or road out of", that has been provided in this system of glory and beauty. This week's sabbath reading, starting in Exodus chapters 27 through 29, deals with the establishment of the priesthood which would serve God in the tabernacle of the wilderness. The brother of Moses, Aaron, and his four sons were set apart for the priesthood: "And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans (hakam + leb - exceedingly wise in heart and understanding), whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest...So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest." The LORD commanded that the work on portions of Aaron's garments be "artistically worked", and "intricately woven". Although God has gifted these artisans with a Spirit of Wisdom, I wonder if they mastered their craft under their slavery to Pharaoh. Where else would they learn the application of the finest workmanship? Slaves would have no need to make themselves intricately created garments. On these intricately made garments, Aaron the priest was to wear two sets of stones. One set of two onyx stones were to be worn on each shoulder, and twelve, representing the tribes of Israel were to be on a breastplate "over his heart", which was to be attached to the priest's ephod. These stones on the breastplate of judgment (vaw-aleph-tav attached to "judgment") would contain the "Light and Perfection" of the LORD, the Urim (aleph-tav attached) and the Thummim (aleph-tav attached). (Ex. 28:9-12, 20-30). The attachment of an aleph tav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, inserts the presence of Jesus, the Messiah, who called Himself the Alpha and the Omega translated into the Greek, or the Aleph-Tav. Urim is a word that means "lights, revelation, shine, glorious". Thummim means "perfection, upright, completeness, innocence, end, finished, done, accomplish, consumed, spent". As Jesus, the Light of the world (Jn. 8:12), hung attached to the front of the cross, as if He were the breastplate attached on the front of Aaron's body over the heart region, He said, "It is finished." (Jn. 19:30). He served as the Urim and Thummim, the Light and the Perfection, the confirmation of God's plan of salvation. In another portion from this week's sabbath reading, David's life was saved by consulting the Urim and the Thummim of the priest's ephod (see 1 Sam. 23:1-13). Upon the stones that were attached to Aaron's shoulders and on the breastplate, the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraved: "With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet...And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name..." (v. 11,21). These engravers gifted by God, were to engrave the stones as one would engrave a signet ring, the symbol of royal authority. Slaves don't wear signet rings, so the Hebrews would have had to perfect their Spiritual gifts from God by serving Pharaoh and his court in their slavery. This is a good reminder to us that although we may be gifted by God, those gifts are perfected into artisan quality by the trials and difficulties we may face (1 Pet. 4:12-14). Regarding the engraving of the stones worn on the shoulders and on the ephod of the priest, and continuing in the imagery of the Cross, Jesus was also engraved. He was engraved, both front and back according to the Shroud of Turin, with the many marks of a whip. Isaiah and Peter both wrote that these engravings into His skin were and are for our healing (Hebrew:rapa/Greek: iaomai - heal, physician, cure, repaired, restore favor, make whole, to mend, to pardon/heal, cure, make whole: to free from errors and sin, to bring about one's salvation). Scripture refers to the Book of Life, and the Lamb's Book of Life (Phil. 4:3, Rev. 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12,15, 21:7, 22:19). Could that Book have been written by the whip marks that engraved our names into Jesus flesh, as names were to be engraved like a signet upon the stones of the priest's garment? A Living Book, as well as a Book of Life? We are called living epistles (meaning "to send a message"): "...clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart." (2 Cor. 3:3). Would Jesus be less than a living epistle? As Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father on our behalf, does each mark upon Him bring our name before the Father as a memorial? If it seems distasteful to imagine our names engraved upon Jesus in this painful manner, we can also consider the verse: "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See (hen - Behold!), I have inscribed/graven (haqaq - to cut out, engrave, cut upon, mark out, decree) you on the palms of My hands (root word kapap - bore out, dig out, bend oneself, to submit oneself); your walls are continually before Me." (Isa. 49:15-16). The LORD tells us here to see, to look upon the engraving upon His body. He wants us to see them. The words and images contained in the description of the priestly garments and regalia bring to my eyes the image of Christ, our High Priest (see Heb. 4:14-16, 8:1), positioned on the cross. God also told Moses to follow the pattern shown to him on the mountain concerning everything related to the tabernacle (Ex. 25:40). This command must also include the garments of the priests. The Book of Hebrews tells us that the pattern followed by Moses on earth was after the heavenly things (Heb. 8:5). In scripture, the engraving works both ways. In Rev. 2:17, each of those who overcome with Christ are given a white stone with a new name that only they will know, written upon it. Revelation 22:4 says: "They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads." This is what I see in the pattern concerning the garments of the priest, Aaron (meaning "light bringer"). If this is the image of Christ's priesthood, then it is also the image of our priesthood of glory and beauty, because we also are called to be kings and priests (Rev. 1:6, 5:10). In another part of the description of the priest's robe, scripture says: "And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around...And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound (qol - voice, thunder, proclamation, send out, call aloud, the voice of God thundering) will be heard (sama - hear, obey) when he goes into the holy place before the LORD and when he comes out, that he may not die." (Ex. 28:33-35). There are various thoughts and traditions regarding the bells (pa-amon/pa'am - stroke, beat, being struck, like the strike needed to sound a bell, beat persistently, hit, impel) and pomegranates (rimmon/ramam- upright, lifted up, exalted, high, lofty, rise up) on the hem of Aaron's robe. However, the Hebrew meanings of the words as shown above, used in these verses, give us another very clear image. The LORD is listening for a certain sound to be produced, a thunderous proclamation, and this sound will keep Aaron from dying when he enters into the presence of the LORD in the Holy of Holies. Considering the meaning of the words, perhaps the sound that pacifies God toward men is the sound associated with the beating and lifting up of His Son, Jesus. Every strike upon Jesus had a sound and a meaning before the Father's eyes and ears. The prophet Isaiah brought the Word of the LORD regarding this: "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise (daka/dak - break, beat to pieces, humble, trample, afflict, chastise, reprove) Him; He has put Him to grief, when You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed (zera - seed, child, fruitful, harvest, yielding seed, produce seed, scatter seed), He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge, My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities." (Isa. 53:10-11). In Isaiah's verse, there is a beating of His Servant, or chastising, and this pleases the LORD because of the seed that is produced. The Son/Servant is beaten to produce seed, to produe a harvest, therefore it is pleasing. Pomegranates are all seed! There is very little pulp in this fruit and it is inedible, but the fruit is filled with edible and delicious seeds. Once you open the fruit, you have to "beat it" with a wooden spoon to get the edible seeds to fall out. God's Son wasn't beaten against His will, but He willingly submitted to the abuse and execution, knowing it would please His Father as the Son's soul became an offering for sin. Jesus told His disciples before His arrest: "Put your sword in its place...Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" (Mt. 26:52-54). The Father was listening. Jesus never prayed for those legions of angels, which the Father would have sent. Jesus submitted to all that followed so that the scriptures would be fulfilled. Some of those scriptures pertain to the garments that consecrated Aaron as priest, and were for glory and beauty. Isaiah says that the Father was pleased with His Son's choice. This sabbath is a special sabbath called Zachor, which means "Remember". It is the sabbath before Purim. In the remembrance of Purim, we see another example of the sacrificial priesthood of Christ. Queen Esther, clothed in her royal attire of glory and beauty, voluntarily risked her life in order to come before her husband, the King, saying "If I perish, I perish!" (see Esther 4:11-17). Because she came sacrificially, she was accepted into the presence of the King, and "she did not die." She made intercession before the King on behalf of the Jewish people, herself included, and exposed Haman's plot of genocide. Many view Esther as a prophetic type of the Church, the Bride of Christ, and so she was, as she followed "the exodus - sacrificial way, the road out of" of the prophesied Christ, our Priest of intercession. If you would like to know more about Jesus Christ as our Priest before the Father on our behalf, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You have given Your Son as my High Priest covered in glory and beauty. He is ever making intercession before You on my behalf. He is engraved with my name, written in His living book. The thundering sound proclaimed by His sacrifice is pleasing to Your ears, because it has produced abundant seed and harvest of souls, including mine. By Your Holy Spirit, help me to continue to learn the revealing of Christ in the imagery of the garments of Your priesthood, so I may learn how to be a priest before You in the image of Jesus, Your Son. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN." **There is a free ebook now available that was written by a well-respected author and expert on the subject of the fascinating Shroud of Turin titled: "The Shroud of Turin- A Perfect Summary". You can get this free ebook by going to www.TheShroudofTurin.org/freebook.**

Clothed

Most of us, both men and women, care enough about our appearance that we are willing to put time, effort, and money into it. We shop for and purchase clothing, outerwear, accessories, including jewelry, based upon what society and the fashion industry dictates. Once we purchase the items, we take care of them, keeping them cleaned, pressed, and ready to wear.
As well as having natural clothing, visible to the eye, we also have spiritual clothing. Perhaps some don't realize that we all have spiritual clothing, but scripture makes it very clear that we do. While our spiritual clothing is just as real as our natural clothing, we don't pay much attention to it, because we can't see it, and it can't be seen by others- or so we think.
While scripture has many references to spiritual clothing, natural clothing that  has spiritual significance, and lack of clothing altogether, I will limit this discussion to three categories of spiritual clothing.
Let's start with the spiritual clothing of the wicked:
"As he loved cursing, so let it come to him; as he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, so let it enter his body like water, and like oil into his bones. Let it be to him like the garment which covers him, and for a belt with which he girds himself continually. Let this be the LORD's reward to my accusers, and to those who speak evil against my person....Let my accusers be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle."
                                                                        Psalm 109:17-20, 29, a psalm of David
The malicious character of the wicked person covers him in layers of spiritual garments, from his inner tunic to his outer mantle, even to the belt that surrounds his waist. The nature of these particular garments causes the fruits of the wicked person's maliciousness to seep back into him. While the wicked man's intention is to cause harm to others, he doesn't realize that a spiritual garment is being woven around him with each wicked thought, word or deed. That garment will cause his own life to be poisoned.
The next set of garments are for those who set up a "system" of righteousness, and live their lives making sure that they maintain the appearance of Godliness and holiness, but their inward thoughts and ways fall far short. We might look upon their natural outward appearance, and admire their seemingly righteous ways, but God is not as impressed with them as we are, because He sees the heart inside a man:
"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."   1 Sam. 16:7
"All the ways of man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirits."  Pro. 16:2
"Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart."  Ps. 44:21
"O, LORD, You have searched me and known me,"  Ps. 139:1
"I, the LORD, search the heart. I test the mind (most secret parts)..."  Jer. 17:10
So what do the spiritual garments of the outwardly Godly, but inwardly sinful look like?
"But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags...our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."        Isa. 64:6
The "filthy rags" as described here are, by definition, defiled by the body's unclean fluids, cast off fluids of fruitlessness, fluids that have not brought forth life, as they were purposed. The garments might be the finest white, but the stains of the sinful heart are all over them to the point that the spiritual garments have become repellant. Jesus agreed, describing this condition of the most outwardly religious people, the scribes of the Law and the Pharisees, as being like whitewashed tombs- clean and beautiful on the outside, but full of death, corruption, and uncleanness on the inside (Mt. 23:27). These unbearable religious rules of men do not bring men to God, and do not generate life, but rather death and condemnation (Mt. 16:6, 23:15). 
So if the spiritual garments of the seemingly righteous are so revoltingly stained, what is the answer?
The prophet Isaiah tells us:
"...In these ways we continue, and we need to be saved."  Isa. 64:5
The apostle Paul taught:
"...that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith..."    Phil. 3:8-9
This brings us to the third set of spiritual garments. These are garments attained through salvation by Christ. They are garments that are produced as Jesus cleanses us from the inside, out. These garments are not produced out of our own righteousness, which doesn't exist, but only as a result of our union and oneness with Christ, and His righteousness, which is the righteousness of God:
"...that He might sanctify and cleanse her (the Church, like a wife to whom Christ is joined) with the washing of water by the word."   Eph. 5:26
Because our spiritual garments reflect the spiritual condition of our hearts and minds, this is where the cleansing begins, and this cleansing is done with the washing of water (including the Holy Spirit) by the Word, both the written and Living Word, which is Christ. The process is also described this way by the LORD:
Come now, and let us reason together,"  says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
                                                                                                  Isa. 1:18
The appearance of these spiritual garments of salvation are described:
"For as many of you were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."   Gal. 3:27
"...that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."   Eph. 5:27
"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints ("kodesh/kadesh"-apartness, holiness, separateness, consecrate, sanctify, holy, separate)"   Rev. 19:7-8
These particular spiritual garments are the garments of a wife, one who is intimately joined to her Husband, Christ, so that the two become one. His righteousness becomes our own.
As you can see, there are different types of spiritual garments. We have been called to wear the beautiful spiritual bridal garments of righteousness. We should keep in mind, however, that the true spiritual condition of our hearts and minds are reflected upon these garments. Let us daily repent and renew our intimate relationship with the One who washes us clean from the inside, out, and clothes us in pure, clean, bright linen.

Our Father has clothed us in garments of salvation.


"Refiner's Fire"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y8zP34AhuU

"Create in Me a Clean Heart"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv16YUTCp9U