96_The priestly garment Exodus 28:1-5 “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. 4 These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. 5 They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. A young man once attended a royal banquet by invitation. He had also received fine festal garments to wear to the feast. However, he chose to wear his own clothes instead. As the king greeted his guests, he noticed the man’s attire. “Friend,” he asked, “how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” The man had no answer. The king ordered his servants to expel the guest. This parable, in Matthew 22, indicates the significance of the right garment in the presence of the King. When our first parents sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, they immediately realized that they were naked, and they felt ashamed of their nakedness. In fact, they had been naked from the day of their creation, but, wrapped in innocence, it had never been a problem. But now, conscious of guilt and fearing God’s disapproval, they were afraid to appear in their nakedness before him or before each other. Man’s sin had corrupted his heart, and he was no longer one with God in seeking God’s will. When they knew that they were naked, their immediate response was to make a covering of fig leaves. This was far from being a good solution, as the leaves withered as soon as the sun became hot. But when God sent them out of the garden, he did not send them naked. himself clothed them with a garment of animal skins. Thus, their clothing, prefiguring the restoration of a good conscience, came at the price of an animal’s death. Without death, sin cannot be atoned for. The high priestly garments were not designed merely to cover nakedness. This is plain from the multiple layers and the elaborate design. The ephod is a colorful apron extending above the waist. It represents the God-appointed authority of the high priest to represent the people before God, to bear their iniquity, to turn away wrath from them, and to minister to him. The Lord said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” On the two shoulder pieces of the ephod were two stones engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel. Carried on the strong shoulders of the Good Shepherd, the people of God find security. About Benjamin, the last of the tribes,