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This week our parasha is Tetzaveh which means “you shall command” and covers Exodus 27:20 – 30:10. This parasha covers the unique garments, food, and anointing for the priests (Cohanim) as well as the altar of Adonai and the sacrifices.
Our parasha begins with the command that the priesthood must keep the lamps burning eternally outside of the Holy of Holies. Chapter 28 explains the garments of Aaron, the first High Priest. Described in detail are the ephod, breastplate, robe, woven tunic, turban, and sash.
The Ephod is a sleeveless garment worn over the rest of Aaron’s clothing made of gold and finely twisted yarn of blue, purple, and scarlet. Two large Onyx stones were mounted on the shoulders. Each stone was engraved with six of the 12 sons of Jacob.
The Breastplate was made similarly to the Ephod with gold and finely twisted linen. On the breastplate were precious stones each engraved with one of the twelve tribes. Every tribe had a unique stone, and each was placed in gold settings. The chains of the breastplate were like ropes made of pure gold. This breastplate was to be worn by the High Priest whenever he entered the Holy Place. He was to have the names of the tribes over his heart and on his shoulders to remember his duty before the Lord.
The robe, woven tunic, and sash for Aaron are described towards the end of this chapter. On the Turban was to be a gold plate bearing the inscription “Holy To The Lord”. This inscription reminded the High Priest of their serious responsibility as mediators. Tunics, sashes, and caps were also to be made for Aaron’s sons as well and in chapter 29 we see Aaron and His sons consecrated for their ministry of the priesthood.
In Exodus 29 we read that for seven days sacrifices of bulls and rams were offered before the Lord for Aaron, his sons, and the tent of meeting with the sacrificial altar. Aaron and his sons were washed and anointed with oil to set them apart as the Priesthood of Israel. The seriousness, deliberateness, and holiness of this consecration ceremony is shown in the exact way each sacrifice was to be offered along with how the priests were to dress.
Our parasha ends in Exodus 30 with the construction of the altar of incense to the Lord. Every morning and evening Aaron was to offer incense to the Lord on this altar and tend to the lamps. No other offering was to be performed on this altar except the atoning sin offering during Yom Kippur.
Parasha Tetzaveh can be summarized in a single theological principle: Holiness. The word kadosh – “holy” is found throughout this parasha! It means to distinguish, to set apart that which serves God’s purposes from everything else. We see this idea of holiness when the Lord declared that Aaron and the chief priests after him would wear a plate on their headpieces that read “Holy to the Lord”. Their garments were holy, as were the sacrifices, and even the anointing oil.
These items and sacrifices allowed the Aaronic priesthood to intercede before our Holy God on behalf of our people. It is only those who are holy who can stand before an infinitely holy God and not be killed. Or to put it another way I like this quote from Kevin DeYoung on how holiness unlocks the meaning of life, in his excellent book, The Hole In Our Holiness:
“You can’t make sense of the Bible without understanding that God is holy and that this holy God is intent on making a holy people to live with him forever in a holy heaven.”
God’s plan to save us from our lack of holiness is unveiled in His Word. The holiness of the Mosaic covenant is a gift from the Lord that requires us to obey and trust in His commands. God is infinitely holy, and we are not. Bridging that immense gap in holiness was the purpose of the Mosaic and now the New Covenant in Messiah Yeshua.
Under the Mosaic Covenant, Aaron was declared holy by the Lord’s standard, not his own. He could not create his holiness. If the Law of God was obeyed through the Sinai Covenant, we would all be declared to be holy, set aside as a treasure of the Lord. We would also be a kingdom of priests, each of us in the ministry of the Lord. Sadly, this was not the case for our people as the story of Scripture reveals.
But the Lord, in His mercy, knew that because of our fallen sinful nature, we would fail in meeting the standard of holiness outlined in His law. Not because God’s law was flawed, but because of our lack of holiness. So, He sent the Messiah, Messiah Yeshua, who through His Death, Burial, and Resurrection, has become the sinless and perfectly holy high priest we desperately need.
Like the Mosaic Covenant, we today are also called to be a priesthood who also are Holy to the Lord. This happens when we become a part of the priesthood of Messiah Yeshua, through the Holy Spirit. Our purpose as priests is to be holy and we are given the power to do so through the Holy Spirit. We begin to live lives that are pleasing to Adonai and shown in our actions and ministry to others.
Parasha Tetzavah makes it clear that without the Lord’s holiness we will all perish. The only way to the Lord is through the way He has provided. So, for us today we must know Messiah Yeshua, and accept the grace and forgiveness of sin provided through His sacrifice and His ministry as our High Priest. If you have not yet done so, then ask the Lord to reveal and transform you through His holiness.
May each one of us accept the atonement and service of our High Priest Messiah Yeshua. May the Lord make each of us holy for His service. May we look forward to living with Him in holiness forever.