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Exodus 28 Bible study: On his heart
Aaron carried Israel's names twice, on his shoulders and on his heart, "before the LORD" (28:29). One verb, bear, runs through the chapter, all the way to "the iniquity of the holy things" (28:38). Hebrews says a high priest is called by God, "just like Aaron was" (Hebrews 5:4), and so was Christ (Hebrews 5:5); but he "lives forever" (Hebrews 7:24): "holy, guiltless, undefiled" (Hebrews 7:26).
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“Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“Aaron carried the names of Israel's sons both on his shoulders and on his heart.”
Is that in Exodus 28, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Their names on his shoulders and his heart
Two onyx stones sit on the ephod's shoulder straps, with six names of the sons of Israel on each, "in the order of their birth" (28:10). "Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for a memorial" (28:12). The breastplate holds twelve more stones, one for each name, "for the twelve tribes" (28:21). "Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually" (28:29). Every time Aaron goes in before the LORD, he carries all twelve names, on his shoulders and on his heart.
Where it leads to Jesus
Called, just like Aaron
Exodus 28:1leads toHebrews 5:4-5
"Bring Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, near to you from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office" (28:1). Hebrews says, "every high priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men in things pertaining to God" (Hebrews 5:1), and "Nobody takes this honor on himself, but he is called by God, just like Aaron was" (Hebrews 5:4). "So also Christ didn’t glorify himself to be made a high priest" (Hebrews 5:5); he was "named by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 5:10). Hebrews also marks a difference. Such a high priest "is also surrounded with weakness" and must offer sacrifices "for himself" (Hebrews 5:2-3), while Jesus "has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Exodus 28
That was a taste
The rest of Exodus 28 is waiting in Favor
- What Aaron bears
- For glory and for beauty
- Holy to the LORD, on everything
- Four sons, and garments passed on
- Aaron in the letter to the Hebrews
- 13 questions as you read
- 10 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
נָשָׂאnasa'say na-SA
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "lift, carry, take". It comes five times in this chapter, and the WEB has "bear" each time: Aaron bears the names on his shoulders (28:12) and on his heart (28:29), "the judgment of the children of Israel" (28:30), and "the iniquity of the holy things" (28:38); and the priests wear linen "that they don’t bear iniquity, and die" (28:43). When the LORD proclaims his name, "forgiving iniquity" (34:7) is this verb with the same word for iniquity. Cain used the same pair: "My punishment is greater than I can bear" (Genesis 4:13). Isaiah uses the verb of the servant: "he bore the sins of many" (Isaiah 53:12), words Hebrews uses of Christ, "having been offered once to bear the sins of many" (Hebrews 9:28).
For your group
Exodus 28 Bible study questions
- 1Aaron carried twelve names on his shoulders and on his heart every time he went in before the LORD (28:12, 28:29). Whose names do you carry to God, and who do you know is carrying yours?
- 2"HOLY TO THE LORD" was engraved on Aaron's forehead (28:36), and Zechariah pictures the same words on horses' bells and cooking pots (Zechariah 14:20-21). What ordinary part of your week would you most like to see marked that way?
- 3Hebrews says Jesus is a high priest who can "be touched with the feeling of our infirmities", so "Let’s therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:15-16). What keeps you from drawing near with boldness?
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Questions
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home