Prepare
Opening Prayer
Father, thank you for this day and the joy and blessing of reading your Word in a language we understand. Thank you for providentially placing it in our hands; help us understand it. In Jesus' name, amen.
Read
Scripture Passage
Making the Breastplate
8 And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. 9 They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones: a row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald was the first row; 11 the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings. 14 There were twelve stones according to the names of the sons of Israel: according to their names, engraved like a signet, each one with its own name according to the twelve tribes. 15 And they made chains for the breastplate at the ends, like braided cords of pure gold. 16 They also made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. 17 And they put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. 18 The two ends of the two braided chains they fastened in the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front. 19 And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which was on the inward side of the ephod. 20 They made two other gold rings and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate would not come loose from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ex 39:8–21
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
Bezalel and Oholiab make the high priest's breastplate according to the pattern God gave Moses, using Spirit-given wisdom and artistry. Twelve engraved precious stones represent Israel's tribes, and gold chains, rings, and cords secure the breastplate to the ephod exactly as the Lord commanded.
B — Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
Exodus 39:8, 21
Bryan explicitly summarizes his Bible markings as the first part of the first verse and the last part of the last verse: the breastplate is made as the Lord commanded Moses.
C — Called or Christ
C — Christ Connection
Examine where your worship and service obey Christ's law and repent where they do not. Cling to Jesus, the better Melchizedekian High Priest whose perfect obedience is counted for his people and who welcomes them into God's presence as their righteousness.
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
hey hey good morning good morning welcome to coffee and devotions this is where every day you and I we get together we have a little bit of coffee we get into God's word and we grow and our love for the Lord together in this year 2023 Lord willing we'll make it from Genesis through Leviticus so glad to be with you today why don't we have some coffee we'll pray and we'll continue on in Genesis Genesis verse chapter 39 oh boy I need coffee let's pray by the way thank you so much for this day it's a join a blessing to get to read your word lord it's in a language we can understand and that is not something to be taken lightly so we thank you for your work of Providence putting this in our hands and we pray now that you would help us to understand it in Jesus name amen okay here we go Exodus chapter 39 beginning at verse 8. and he made the breastplate artistically woven with like the workmanship of the ephod of blue gold purple and Scarlet thread and a fine woven linen he made the breastplate Square by doubling it a span was its length and a span was its width when doubled and when they set it set in it four rows of stones a row with a Sardis a topaz and an emerald was the first row the second row a turquoise of sapphire and a diamond the third row a jackanth an agate and an amethyst the fourth row a barrel an onyx and a Jasper they were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings there were 12 Stones according to the names of the sons of Israel according to their names engraved like a Signet each one with its own name according to the 12 tribes and they made chains for the breastplate at the ends like braided cords of pure gold they also made two settings of gold and two gold rings and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate and they put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings on the end of the breastplate the two ends of the two braided chains they fastened let's change a page into in the two settings and put them on the shoulder straps of the e-fod in the front and they made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate on the edge of it which was on the inward side of the ephod they made two other gold rings and put them on the two shoulder straps underneath the e-fod toward its front right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod and they bound the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord so that it would be above the intricately woven band of the ephod and that the breastplate would not come loose from the ephod as the Lord had commanded Moses wow we need to ask our three questions hey what's this about B what's the best versus some races and see what are we called to do so what's this about well the ephod has been made now the breastplates being made remember God had previously in Exodus chapter 28 given the pattern commanded Moses this was the way things were supposed to be made and now again don't take this for granted don't assume these things would normally happen now this all level and a holy up are actually making exactly as God described he gave them the pattern they were to fill it in with their artistic talents that he had given them in wisdom and skill to make these things but now they're actually seeing this come together in their eyes they're seeing it be me they're making it with their own hands they're being obedient day after day after day how did God tell us to do this oh he told us to make sure that there were three rows four four and four and here's a different type say when you sort through the gym sort through the jewels find the exact right ones and then oh holy you need to work on engraving the names in there so people think that they they actually put the put gold in those gems to make sure that they would stand out I'm not sure but the point is we're gonna make it like this and then we're gonna fold it over and we're gonna put the gold rings and we're gonna put the gold chains just like God said now all the chains were made were they were they what single hook or double hooked were they twist chain or the straight chain I don't know this stuff that's what the Lord left to them in their wisdom and talent but they're making it according to his pattern as Jehovah had commanded Moses this was their blessing to have Spirit-filled obedience to recognize that God was their Sovereign King God was the Covenant maker and Redeemer of his people he was the one who was to be obeyed and they're showing that obedience and how they make errands Priestly garments Aaron's going to serve as a meteor to go between I'm not sure God would have accepted Aaron as the mediator without bazal and holyb obeying the Lord because every time he would have seen Aaron he would have said if covenant-breaking people but here in his Mercy they obey what's best for us to summarize this well in my Bible you're going to see a pattern here the first verse first part of the first verse and he made the breastplate and then the last part of the last verse as the Lord commanded Moses he made the breastplate as the Lord commanded Moses so what in your life as you seek to worship him as you seek to serve him as you seek to follow him where in your life do you obey the law of Christ where in your life are you failing to do that and where you do I hope you repent but also remember that Jesus Christ was given a priesthood far better than that of Aaron he was in the priesthood of Melchizedek one without genealogy and Without End he was given the priesthood by his perfect obedience and God never looks at Jesus and goes I didn't follow the Commandments I'm not going to listen to my people anymore looks at Jesus Christ he remembers his son who died for his people who obeyed for their righteousness and he welcomes us into his presence he is our breastplate of righteousness to cling to Jesus brother and sister love him let's pray father we thank you so much for Jesus Christ we thank you for the work of your Holy Spirit and we pray Lord that you would please teach us to follow after you father we want to love you we want to keep your commands not out of a slavish fear but out of a loving heart so please teach us Lord and help us in Jesus name amen well may the joy of the Holy Spirit the shepherd the shepherding of the son and the love of the father be with you today and forever I'll see you next time bye [Music] thanks for listening to this week's message from God's word for you a Ministry of Sharon RP Church in rural Southeast Iowa we pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith in your life this week if you'd like to get more information about us feel free to go to the website Sharon rpc.org we'd love to invite you to worship with us our worship time is 10 a.m every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue Morning Sun Iowa 52640 may God richly bless you this week foreign [Music]