Holiness to the Lord
In the book of Exodus, God gave instructions, not just for the building of the tabernacle, but for every aspect of worship that was to be performed there.
In those days, the work of the Lord was done by the Priests and Levites, whose lives were to be lived in service to God, and God had instructions and commands for even the smallest details of their lives. The very clothes they wore during their time of service in the tabernacle were designed by God, even down to the pattern and color of the embroidered border on the hem of the robes.
One detail given to us about the High Priest’s attire is found in Exodus chapter 28:
“And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, 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 it shall be. And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.” (v.36-37)
Whenever the people saw the High Priest, they were reminded that he was set apart as holy to the Lord. (As were the Israelites themselves, as God’s chosen people.) The High Priest was to carry that mark of holiness, of separation from the world and dedication to God right there on his forehead, out in the open for all to see.
As Christians, we have Christ as our great High Priest, but we also are called “priests unto God.” (Revelation 1:6) One passage that mentions our role as priests is 1 Peter 2.
“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ… But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you from darkness into His marvellous light.” (1 Peter 2:5, 9)
Our service for God may look different than that of the High Priests of old, but just like those High Priests, we are to wear the marks of our holiness out in the open, for all to see. We show forth His praises by showing the world Who He is and how His gift of reconciled relationship with God has changed our lives.
So I wonder… when people look at you and me, what do they see? Of course, they can only see the outside, but our external appearance is a reflection, a demonstration of our heart’s focus.
That shiny gold plate hanging on the priest’s forehead would have been the first thing people noticed. Is our holiness, our delight in being set apart for God the first thing people notice about you and I?