Tabernacle and Its Services
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Israel, the Lord accepted the tribe of Levi for the work of the sanctuary.
By this signal honor He manifested His approval of their fidelity,
both in adhering to His service and in executing His judgments when
Israel apostatized in the worship of the golden calf. The priesthood,
however, was restricted to the family of Aaron. Aaron and his sons
alone were permitted to minister before the Lord; the rest of the tribe
were entrusted with the charge of the tabernacle and its furniture, and
they were to attend upon the priests in their ministration, but they were
not to sacrifice, to burn incense, or to see the holy things till they were
covered.
In accordance with their office, a special dress was appointed for
the priests. “Thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother,
for glory and for beauty,” was the divine direction to Moses. The robe
of the common priest was of white linen, and woven in one piece. It
extended nearly to the feet and was confined about the waist by a white
linen girdle embroidered in blue, purple, and red. A linen turban, or
miter, completed his outer costume. Moses at the burning bush was
directed to put off his sandals, for the ground whereon he stood was
holy. So the priests were not to enter the sanctuary with shoes upon
their feet. Particles of dust cleaving to them would desecrate the holy
place. They were to leave their shoes in the court before entering
the sanctuary, and also to wash both their hands and their feet before
ministering in the tabernacle or at the altar of burnt offering. Thus was
constantly taught the lesson that all defilement must be put away from
those who would approach into the presence of God.
The garments of the high priest were of costly material and beauti-
ful workmanship, befitting his exalted station. In addition to the linen
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dress of the common priest, he wore a robe of blue, also woven in
one piece. Around the skirt it was ornamented with golden bells, and
pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet. Outside of this was the
ephod, a shorter garment of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and white. It
was confined by a girdle of the same colors, beautifully wrought. The
ephod was sleeveless, and on its gold-embroidered shoulder pieces
were set two onyx stones, bearing the names of the twelve tribes of
Israel.
Over the ephod was the breastplate, the most sacred of the priestly
vestments. This was of the same material as the ephod. It was in
the form of a square, measuring a span, and was suspended from