THE MITRE AND THE BONNET

Transcription

1 THE MITRE AND THE BONNET Ex. 28:39 And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework. 40 And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. 39:28 And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen. Thus far, in our studies of the High Priest s garments we have considered the priesthoods of Aaron and Melchizedek, then we moved on to study the various individual vestments, - the linen coat, the robe of the ephod, the curious girdle of the ephod, the breastplate, and the Urim and Thummim. I think it is only right and proper that we return to the breastplate and study each of the stones and their significance, - each of them had a particular meaning to God and the individual tribes, so they therefore have a lesson that could apply to us also. But before we turn to the stones, there remain yet three vestments of the garment to consider, - the mitre and bonnet, the holy crown, and the breeches. Absolutely nothing is said concerning the description of the mitre. No indication is given of its shape, colour, size nothing! One distinguishing factor, though, was that the headdress of the high priest was different to the headdress of the priests, - the high priest wore a mitre, and the priests wore bonnets. What can we learn? THE CLOTH Regarding the cloth of the headdress, we are having to use any small piece of information to formulate a picture in our mind so that it would teach us lessons. One of these pieces of information is found in Ex. 29:9, thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them The word put is vb;x' chabash {khaw-bash'}and it means to tie and to bind up in the way a turban would be put on. Therefore, it seems to indicate a headdress comparable to turbans worn in some other religions today ( we ll come back to that in a moment!) The headdress was made of fine linen,, - as we have already seen, fine linen is the symbol of holiness and righteousness, for example Rev. 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

2 THE COVERING So, the headdress was made of fine linen and wrapped round the head. Today we see Arabs wearing a headdress wrapped in a similar fashion. Its significance is described by many scholars, e.g. the Islamic Ayatollah Khomeini, This cloth is so sacred that if I disrespect it, Allah would punish me. Hindus and Sikhs also wear a headdress, as do some forms of Judaism today (e.g. Yemenite Jews). In these religions the turban seems to carry with it a weightiness of high regard and respect. In a similar way, in the Old Testament, the mitre of the high priest and the bonnet of the priest carried with it a highly significant meaning. It was wrapped round the head and the head denotes authority and this authority is founded upon the authority God alone gives; advance this thought a little further and we find this authority is found supremely in Christ as the Head, Acts 4:11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner; Eph. 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church; 4:15 the head, even Christ; 5:23 Christ is the head of the church; Col. 1:18 he is the head of the body, the church; 2:10 ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power; I Pet. 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner. The head is therefore the symbol of authority and also of wisdom, for example, Prov. 16:31 The hoary head [ hb'yfe seybah {say-baw'] is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness. 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the grey head. In the Old Testament cities and towns it was the old grey-haired men who were entrusted with being elders because they were considered to have had the experience and the wisdom to make sound judgments and decisions. These were the heads of their communities (the elders ). And when we consider the high priest we recognise a more senior man whose head was covered with the righteousness and wisdom of God, - not his own righteousness, and not his own wisdom. The high priest was a man after God, uniquely positioned among his people! He wore the mitre, - his own special headdress. It made him stand out from the crowd. Everyone knew who he was, the principles and lifestyle he upheld. He was different, because he was the high priest! He stood out from everyone else. 2

3 3 In a similar way, Christ stands out from all the rest. He does not belong in the company of Mohammed, or Romish saints, or Buddha, or alongside any other. Christ alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life. You probably know that each week in Hollyrood there is a Time for Reflection. It includes all types of speakers from the various lanes of Christendom, Judaism, Islam, Unitarianism, Bahai, no faith, Mormon, and His Holiness Sri Ravi Shankar, the Pan Religious Spiritual Leader! One of the speakers openly denied any faith exclusive truth and declared we need more dialogue so we can learn various portions of the truth from the other. But there is no truth that compares with the Truth Who is the Lord Jesus Christ! He is unique. He is separate. There is not another like Him! He is the One I look to. He is my High Priest Who I serve. I don t need to dialogue with another because I know He is the Truth! Once I begin to doubt Him and His uniqueness, my faith and service for Him takes a wrong turn! Once I sit down and discuss with others any common ground I m starting to doubt His Word and His claims. When I do that I don t deserve to share company with Him! And you see, as the High Priest He has a unique position for me too. Look again at Ex. 28:39 and the goodly bonnets of fine linen. The High Priest wore the mitre, and the priests wore the bonnet. The word for bonnet comes from a word that means to elevate, to lift up. Consider how God has lifted us up Eph. 2:4 God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Ps. 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock. The priests were the servants of the High Priest, inasmuch as we have been called into the service of Christ. This bonnet spoke of wilful subjection and conforming, and being in the presence of a superior Rev. 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. The priest was always under the authority of the high priest. He would never question his commands he would simply be obedient, Lk. 22:42 not my will, but thine, be done. Ps. 134:1 A Song of degrees. Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. The cloth, the covering

4 4 THE CUSTOM It was the custom of the Jew to cover his head and uncover his feet when entering the synagogue, or when praying. He had a serious and a sincere motivation whenever he came into the closer presence of God. He recognised God s majesty, holiness, and glory. He recognised that he was coming into the company of One Who was altogether different to any other company. He did not saunter into God s presence unprepared. He did not take for granted God would be there and happy that he turned up at all! No, he came into the presence of God acknowledging his own unworthiness and he was careful to maintain reverence and a holy love for the things of God. He was dressed to meet with God. His outward apparel was the evidence of his inward preparation and seeking after God. He took the sandals from off his feet in the same way Moses was commanded by God in Ex. 3:5, put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground and he had his head covered in a sign of personal submission to God. Yes, our customs have changed. We don t remove our shoes when we come into our church building and neither do I put on a head covering but God remains a holy God Who is to be approached with reverence in recognition of His perfect dignity and His sovereign authority. The changing scenes and times around us do not alter the manner He still requires for us to meet Him. He has never changed, and His ways have never changed. All His ways are perfect. He is altogether the Holy One and there is only one means of entry before Him and that is through the blood-sprinkled way of the cross washed and cleansed God s way. Jesus is the only Way to approach the Father. Jesus said, Jn. 14:6 no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Rom. 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

5 5 CONCLUSION The cloth, the covering and the custom. Once again, we see that God has a particular pattern that we must use to come before Him in worship. Access is denied unless we are obedient to His instructions. I cannot expect Christ to accept me in His service if I pay no heed to how He instructs me to serve Him. Imagine! To be saved is to be a priest of the King! To be saved by the precious blood of Christ shed at Calvary is to be accepted into the priesthood of all believers! And to be saved fits us to serve! How can I serve Christ? I can only serve Him because He has called me into His service. Are all believers servants of Christ and priests of God? Yes, every person who has been saved has been called to serve and God expects everyone of them to serve, - no excuses! What if I have never trained in a Bible School or a Theological College? You are still called to serve, and God has a place for you to serve! How? Where? What can I do for Him at Pathhead Baptist Church? Your first priority in service is to be faithful to Him when His people meet together. Your second priority is to work for Him with your brother and sister. But I want to do more That s good. Sometimes though, you need to take your time and work alongside another priest so that when the time comes you can take over. And you should never think any task is too big for you, or similarly any task is too small for you. I believe this church continues and will keep on going as long as God has servants here who serve Him. If we were to stop serving Him His way, there would be no point in us continuing Godly service in the priesthood of Christ, - in accordance with the Biblical priorities, - is all He requires from us. And great promises come to God s servants, Ex. 23:25 shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. Ps. 100:2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting. Let s keep on standing apart and not be ashamed to wear these garments that set us out as belonging to Christ!