Exodus 28: “Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, to give him glory and splendor.”
God is establishing His priesthood, a priesthood like none other that has come before. In setting up such an institution, you might expect that God would begin with a series of orders regarding the priests’ duties; instead, God goes into enormous detail as to the dress code for the high priests and those assisting him.
We have already explained why God allowed only male priests to avoid having His religion become just another fertility cult. Now God is laying out the dress code to ensure that the clothing will be both beautiful and dignified. Priests are to radiate holiness, and every detail of their clothing is to add to that appearance.
Humans wear clothing while animals do not. The manner of dress also can inspire respect or disdain. Clothing is also a sign of respect for those around us. One of the first things we had to learn when we came to Ghana was how to dress for various occasions. Americans tend to dress quite casually; however, such dress does not communicate respect. We soon learned that when we were meeting officials or chiefs, we needed to dress nicely. Rubber bath sandals (flipflops) sent a terrible message; closed shoes or leather sandals were important. Clothing needed to be modest and attractive. On more than one occasion, I had to instruct visiting work team members to dress more modestly before greeting local officials. One young woman actually wanted to wear short shorts and a see – through blouse to work in our mission hospital; I ordered her to change into a scrub suit.
Clothing is a sign of self – respect. Here in Ghana, most schools have uniforms. Studies have shown that dress codes and school uniforms lead to less violence, higher grades, and more discipline.
Exodus 28:3 “You are to instruct all the skilled craftsmen, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make garments for Aaron’s consecration, so that he may serve Me as priest.”
Wow! First of all, God assures Moses that He has already “filled skilled craftsmen with a spirit of wisdom.” God knows the names and the abilities of every one of the people He has called to do this work. ”…for Aaron’s consecration, so that he may serve Me as priest.” These garments are literally going to make Aaron holy so that he can serve the Lord properly.
APPLICATION: Does clothing matter? Absolutely! In 1986 when I went to Haiti with a short term mission team, we were forbidden to wear blue jeans because the only people who wore them in Haiti at that time were prostitutes. One church group flying back to the U.S. with us had obviously not gotten that message; all their young ladies were in tight blue jeans. The Haitians must have taken one look at this group and thought, “Wow! Look at all the American prostitutes!” This message was not the one that the group leaders probably wanted to convey.
The same prohibition held true when we first came to Ghana in the late 1980’s. I remember attending one traditional funeral at which all the Ghanaians were dressed beautifully. We were wearing traditional funeral garb. At a distance we could see some white guys in dirty tee shirts and ripped jeans. Our immediate response was, “Dear God, don’t let them be Americans!” (They turned out to be Italians. Whew!)
One of the sad things that has crept into our local churches recently is the immodest dress worn by many of the young ladies. While copying the clothing seen on satellite TV might make someone feel trendy, it is sending a terrible message to many others, including our Muslim friends, whose women dress very modestly.
Do you have to dress up to dress in a holy fashion? No. One of the most effective American pastors we know routinely wears blue jeans, flannel shirts, and work boots to preach. But the question of dress is one that you need to settle with God. You are free to dress in any fashion you choose, but you need to consider the message you are sending. 1 Corinthians 6:19 – 20 says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.”
PRAYER: Father God, help us to remember that we are your children and that you are a holy God. Help us to honor you in our dress as well as in our actions. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment