Exodus – Chapter 28

And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die. Exodus 28:35 – This chapter is dedicated to the design and creation of the garments to be worn by God’s priests. God had expectations on how His priests looked when they ministered unto Him. From the turban that was worn on their head to the breastplate that carried precious stones with the names of the tribes of Isreal engraved on them, the outfits worn by the priest, and especially the high priest, were to be as God described them, glorious and beautiful. Yet notice that even when the priest would wear everything exactly as the Lord described for them to, there was still the risk of death for the priests. Why would that have been the case? Let us remember that first, before looking on the outward appearance, the Lord looks on the heart. While wearing the garments perfectly, if a priest were to come before the Lord with unrepentant sin or in a posture of disrespect to the Lord, then no amount of precious stones or gold he was wearing could save him from the wrath of the Lord. For us today our wardrobe when coming before the Lord is of little importance to the Lord, yet what is important to the Lord is our heart posture when coming before Him. Are we living in peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ? Is there sin that is active in our life that we are not giving over to the Lord? Are we being faithful to the great commission in our daily life? While a fancy suit worn to church looks nice, but if there is a heart beneath that jacket that isn’t right with the Lord, then that outer garment is of no worth. Invest time each morning making sure your heart is right before the Lord so we can approach His work in beauty and glory. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3172

Exodus 28 Daily DEVO And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. Exodus 28:2 – As I was studying this passage a commentary said the reason for the garments to be beautiful was so that the worship in the sanctuary would be more beautiful than it would have been without them in there. How amazing is this that we can make the worship more beautiful in God’s sanctuary. No you aren’t wearing a fancy robe, you have something better, the covering of Jesus on you. So remind yourself next time of this when you feel unworthy to be in church or to come before God in prayer. That the worship is more beautiful when you’re in it. You make the worship in God’s presence more beautiful when you’re there. Not because of anything you’ve done, but because of the amazing work God has done in you. Never think anymore that you taint the specialness of worship somehow. No, your presence makes it more beautiful. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 822

It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. Exodus 28:38 – Aaron as the high priest was to bear the guilt that came along with any of the offerings that came in from the people. Meaning that even the things set apart for their atonement had imperfections. Maybe those imperfections came with the sacrifice itself or the heart of the one giving the sacrifice, either way the sacrifice wasn’t always wholly holy. This is why in order for us to find perfect peace and unity with God we needed a permanent sacrifice that was wholly holy. In Jesus there was no imperfection. There was no unholiness that needed covered in Jesus’ sacrifice, it was perfect before God. So today don’t feel like you have to bear any of the burden of making your relationship with God holy. Jesus took care of that entirely. Jesus is wholly holy. Know whatever is needed to cover your sin and make it possible for you to be blameless before a perfect God has been given through Jesus. You can approach God now as a blameless, guiltless, shameless child of His…all because of Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1911