The Perfect Picture of Man

TODAY'S READING: Ex. 28, 29; Acts 7

SCRIPTURE: Ex. 29:4-9; 21
⁴ Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. ⁵ Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband. ⁶ Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred diadem to the turban. ⁷ Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head. ⁸ Bring his sons and dress them in tunics ⁹ and put headbands on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons. The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance. In this way you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.

²¹ And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated.

OBSERVATION: Here is Aaron and his sons being anointed as priests before God. God himself tells what to do in specific detail. The robes that they were to wear were spectacular in their magnificence. Gold thread, blue, purple and scarlet linen, beautiful embroidery and precious stones in gold settings were all a part of their robes and were for the purpose of giving them "dignity and honor" when they ministered before the people. Yet, as part of the ordination process, these intricately designed and rather ostentatious robes were to be stained. First with oil, which represented the Holy Spirit, then with the sprinkling of blood from the sin offering. I have written on this before, but it is still such a striking picture that it captures my attention each time I read it. It is such a complete picture of man; created in the image of a glorious God and yet stained with a sin nature.

APPLICATION: How appropriate that God gave such glorious robes to Aaron and his sons to remind him (and all the people) of their inherent value and glory as the pinnacle of God's creation and creatures made in his image. And so they would not get too arrogant and puffed up in their self-image because of that they also had to constantly view the blood stains on these beautiful garments. Likewise, we need to keep a balance in our attitude toward ourselves. We need to remember our sin nature and have humility as a result, but we also need to remember our value and the glory we have in being created in the image of God. It is sin to think too little of ourselves and wallow in a sense of worthlessness when God himself has given us such a high place and calling. We are the ones he has chosen to carry his message and to bring his kingdom here on earth. But we also need to have the humility to realize we need the Holy Spirit's power in us to show us the right way to live. We have a sin nature that requires that we rely on God instead of our own wisdom.

PRAYER: Father, it is not always easy for me to maintain this balance in my life. I tend to be one who is too hard on myself and forgets the innate value you have given me as a human being. May I always be reminded of that. Also, even though I often suffer with too low of a self-esteem, I can also fall into the sin of arrogance. Keep me from that too! Let Aaron's robes be a picture for me of the proper balance I should have as it relates to how I view myself. In Jesus' Name, Amen.