Sunday School Lesson Dr.

Jack Schaap, Pastor

First Baptist Church
Hammond, Indiana

=THE TABERNACLE=
Lesson 2
The Priesthood

AIM: to teach my pupils the meaning of the Old Testament priesthood, and that under the New Testament (the new
covenant) Jesus is our High Priest and we believers are priests.

POINT OF CONTACT: There is a visual aid picture called “The Pass from Death to Life.” This picture shows a
high cliff on the left side of the board. The cliff is named Death. Another cliff is on the right side of the board; this
is called Life. Between the two cliffs is a raging sea. There is not a strip of land connecting them. A bridge,
however, has been constructed so that man can walk away from his hopeless condition of being doomed to eternal
death to the glorious hope of eternal life. That bridge is the cross. The teacher could draw this scene on the
chalkboard, explaining that a way had to be made to reach life with God. God provided the tabernacle and the
priests of the tabernacle as a picture of the perfect way or bridge to God. The tabernacle and its priests were an
object lesson of the Holy Spirit, pointing out to His people that some day a perfect way would be revealed. At
Calvary Jesus gave Himself as the Perfect Sacrifice that would satisfy our heavenly Father’s demands for an
absolute righteousness to cover the sins of the human race.

INTRODUCTION: Just as God made plans for the construction and the appearance of the tabernacle, so He made
plans for the human personnel to carry out the ministries of the tabernacle. There were services within the
tabernacle that must be done by someone; God chose men to do them. Just as last week’s lesson was a general,
overall picture of the tabernacle, so this week’s lesson is a general, overall picture of the priesthood and its
functions. All the ministries within the tabernacle had one aim: to bring men to God. God was stooping to man
and holding out His hand to them. In last week’s lesson we said that God was establishing the way for man to have
fellowship with Him in the provision of the tabernacle. The construction itself could not suffice, however, to bring
man to God—there had to be services performed without and within the tabernacle to accomplish this purpose.
God chose to have a body of men to perform these duties. He called these men “priests.”

I. GOD CHOSE SPECIFIC PEOPLE TO BE PRIESTS.

1. God chose Aaron, Moses’ brother, to be the high priest. He chose as the priests the sons of Aaron:
Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. (Exodus 28:1)
2. No other family was to be included in the priesthood. (Exodus 40:12-15.)
3. The priesthood from this time was to be inherited by the members of the family of Aaron. Notice
Exodus 28:1.

II. GOD GAVE DETAILED PATTERNS FOR THE PRIESTS’ APPAREL. (Exodus 28:4-43)
1. God instructed Moses to ask certain people to make the garments for the high priest and his sons, the
priests. Specific people were to do the needlework and the work of a jeweler in making these
garments. God told Moses who these specific people should be: those who were wise hearted and
were given this special kind of wisdom from the Lord, Exodus 28:3.
2. God named the garments that the high priest was to wear. (The garments were to be for beauty and
for glory.) He was to wear under all the garments, short breeches; next, a robe that reached to the
ankles; next, the robe of the ephod; next, the ephod; next, the breastplate; on his head, the mitre. He
was barefoot.
1) The short white linen breeches covered the thighs.
2) A white linen robe was woven without a seam. This robe reached to the ankles.
3) The robe of the ephod was a blue, sleeveless robe that was ankle-length, also. Around the
bottom of the robe of the ephod were sewed pomegranates that were made of blue, purple, and
scarlet-dyed linen. Between each pomegranate was sewed a gold bell. (Any cloth that was dyed
was very expensive. The purple for dyeing the linen was obtained from various kinds of shell
fish. There was a gland in the neck of the fish which secreted a thin liquid that contained this
purple dye. Purple was worn by kings and people of wealth and high official position. The
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scarlet was obtained from matter contained in the eggs of an insect that thrived on the holm oak
in Palestine. The insect looked like a berry.)
4) The ephod was in two pieces: Both pieces draped down from the shoulders; one piece was worn
in front and one in back. The ephod was a short garment, reaching not quite to the knees of the
high priest. It was fastened at the shoulders with gold chain loops around “buttons” of onyx
stones. On each onyx stone were engraved six of the names of the tribes of Israel in sequence
according to the ages of the men for whom the tribes were named. The ephod was embroidered
with gold, purple, and scarlet and was made of fine twined linen.
5) The breastplate was made of white, fine twined linen. After the material was doubled, the
breastplate measured one span by one span. A span is determined by measuring a handbreadth
from the thumb to the little finger three times. A span, in other words, is three handbreadths.
The breastplate probably measured 9 inches by 9 inches square. On the front of the breastplate
were three rows of precious stones, four stones in each row. Each stone was placed there to
represent one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Engraved on each stone was the name of the tribe it
represented. Each stone was set in gold. The breastplate itself was embroidered with gold, blue,
purple, and scarlet.

In the first row of stones were a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle. The sardius was a precious
stone which was found near Sardis and was of a red or brownish red color. The topaz was
found in Ethiopia and on an island in the Red Sea. It was yellowish in color. The carbuncle was
a precious stone; the Hebrew meant “shining like lightning.” In the second row were an
emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. The emerald we all recognize as being a rich green
gemstone. The sapphire was a transparent rich blue stone which would polish beautifully. It is
next in hardness to the diamond. The diamond is unequaled in luster and hardness. In the third
row were a liqure, an agate, and an amethyst. The liqure was a precious stone of an orange
color. The amethyst was a purple or bluish violet variety of quartz. The agate might have been
brought from Sheba and could have been of any variety of colors. The fourth row contained a
beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. The beryl could have been one of many colors. The onyx is a
stone in layers of different colors which alternate with each other and bear some resemblance to
the white and flesh-colored bands of the finger nail. The jasper was of a variety of quartz and
could have been one of many different colors: red, brown, yellow, green, or gray. It could have
been of a transparent or translucent green variety, also.

The breastplate was attached to the ephod by gold chains which were looped around the onyx
stones on the shoulders of the high priest. At the bottom corners of the breastplate there were
gold chains which were to be fastened to loops on the ephod under the breastplate.
6) The high priest wore on his head a turban-type hat of white linen. Attached to the bottom band
of the hat so that it fit across the forehead of the high priest, was a metal band of pure gold in
which were engraved the words: HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
7) Tied around the ephod was a beautifully decorated sash of gold and purple and scarlet and blue
on white, fine twined linen.
3. God named the garments for the priests: They were to wear the linen breeches, the white robe which
was tied at the waist, and a small cap on their heads. They were also barefoot.

III. GOD GAVE SPECIFIC DUTIES TO THE PRIESTS.

1. The high priest.
1) He was the overseer of all the duties of the sanctuary—the holy place.
2) He was the ultimate one who was responsible for the treasures of the tabernacle.
3) He entered the holy of holies once a year to make atonement for all the nation of Israel. He
entered as the mediator for the entire nation to confess their sins and to ask forgiveness through
the blood of the sacrifice.
4) The high priest was also responsible for transmitting to the people messages regarding God’s
will in matters pertaining to the life of the nation. The Urim and Thummim contained in the
breastplate were probably objects that could be used like casting lots to determine God’s
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decision in a problem. Urim means “light” and Thummim means “perfections.” The objects
were worn in the folds of the breastplate.
5) He was qualified to discharge any priestly function. It was customary for him to offer the
sacrifices on Sabbaths, new moons, and annual festivals.
6) He presided also over the Sanhedrin when religious questions were before that body.
2. The priests.
1) They were to offer the morning and evening sacrifices for sin and sacrifices of thanksgiving for
the people.
2) They were to watch over the fire on the altar of burnt offering to keep it burning.
3) They were to replenish the oil so the golden lamps would burn continually.
4) They were to teach the children of Israel the statutes of the Lord.
5) Whenever the Israelites traveled, the priests were to cover the ark and all the vessels of the
sanctuary with a purple or scarlet cloth before the Levites could carry them.
6) As the people started on each day’s march, the priests were to blow “an alarm” with long silver
trumpets.
7) They were to keep incense burning on the altar of incense.
3. There were specific instructions given for the execution of all the duties.
1) Cleansing before entering the tabernacle and before offering sacrifices on the altar was required.
Their feet and their hands were to be washed.
2) In future lessons we will study the instructions for performing various services of the tabernacle.
4. The priests and the high priest were consecrated and sanctified—set aside for the work of the
tabernacle.

IV. THE PEOPLE WERE TO RECOGNIZE THE PRIESTS AND TO RECEIVE THEM AND TO ACCEPT
THEIR SERVICES.
1. The types of sacrifices that the people were to offer were set down for them. See Exodus 30:11-16;
Leviticus 1-7.
2. They were to accept the fact that their confession of sin to God was to be made through the priests’
offering of these sacrifices.
3. They were to accept the decisions of God which He handed down through the priests to them.
4. They were to accept the teachings of the priests as being teachings from God. Notice Jeremiah
18:18; Ezekiel 7:26.
5. They were to provide for the needs of the priests. Review Leviticus 2:3; 6:16; 10:13; 27:21; Exodus
29:32; Numbers 3:48; 5:9.

V. THE OLD TESTAMENT PRIESTHOOD WAS SYMBOLIC OF THE NEW TESTAMENT PRIEST-
HOOD.
1. The Old Testament priesthood was temporary, pointing to the time of Jesus’ coming.
1) The Easter Story could be told appropriately here. Jesus came to earth from Heaven as God’s
Perfect Lamb Whose slaying was planned from the foundation of the world, Revelation 13:8.
After His resurrection, He ascended into Heaven, with His own blood making atonement for the
sins of those who would accept Him as the sacrifice for their sins.
2) Jesus is our High Priest. See Hebrews 2:17; 4:14, 15; 8:1; 9:11.
2. The believers are priests. (I Peter 2:5; Revelation 1:6) We who have trusted Jesus as our Saviour are
admonished to come in His merit, Hebrews 4:16.
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QUESTIONS:

1. What were the men called who were to accomplish the services of the tabernacle?
2. Whom did God choose to be the high priest?
3. How were the priests related to the high priest, Aaron? They were his __________.
4. Were the garments of the priests of such importance to God as to deserve His detailed instructions?
5. Name the garment in which all twelve stones representing the tribes of Israel were set.
6. On what were the two pieces of the ephod buttoned at the shoulders? What was engraved on these stones?
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7. Did the high priest or the priests wear shoes?

8. Were the garments of the high priest inexpensive?
9. The garments were to be for beauty and for __________.
10. Could the high priest and the priests have other jobs outside the service of the tabernacle?
11. The essential idea of a priest is that of a mediator between man and __________.
12. The Old Testament priesthood is a picture of the __________ Testament priesthood.
13. Who is the Christians’ High Priest?
14. Is every believer in Christ a priest?

MEMORY VERSES: I Timothy 2:5, 6—“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”