It seems that these days many things that I have been reading and the sermons I have been listening to are focusing on the topic of holiness. Earlier this month my church in Jamaica had prayer and fasting in regard to holiness and consecration. God has called us to be holy as He is holy, so this is very important. God’s holiness is beautiful, yet it also instills the fear of the Lord, so that we have reverential awe of Him.
Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Psalm 96:9
There are versions of the Bible which translates this as we should worship God in holy attire. That gives us a whole other significance as God wants even our clothes to be holy. Just as He did for Aaron and the other priests. God was so specific about how they dressed, and He was very detailed about it. It amazes me that even the people who made the priestly garments had to be given wisdom and understanding by the Holy Spirit.
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, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest. Exodus 28:2-4
These garments showed that they were set apart from the rest of the Israelites to minister to the Lord. There even had to be a golden bell and pomegranate attached to the hem of Aaron’s robe so that it would make a sound when he went in and out of the holy place before the Lord. This was done so that he would not die. If the priests weren’t wearing linen trousers to cover their “nakedness” when they went to the altar of the holy place they could also die. God was not playing around with His holiness, but there was much more, such as Aaron had to wear a signet on his head so that the Israelites holy gifts would be accepted by God.
“You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. Exodus 28:36-38
I am not sure why this article is referring as much as it is to clothing. This definitely was not my intention and so it was not planned. When I write each article I want to be led by the Holy Spirit. I knew I was going to write about holiness, but I wasn’t sure which direction I would go as I wrote. I usually start writing and I let God’s Spirit lead, if He hasn’t already showed me what to write. I don’t want to let what I write come from my flesh as that would go against God and that would not be holiness on my part. Holiness means not only separation from the world, but separation from my flesh. Holiness means that I cannot have my own way, but instead I seek assiduously to do things God’s way, even in writing this article.
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