Fort Lupton Seventh-day Adventist Church

Last week we briefly reflected on Exodus 28:36, which was God's command that a golden plate be made for the high priest to wear with his turban, and on that plate was to be engraved the inscription: "holiness to the Lord."  This week we look at the obedience of God's people in fulfilling this command. 

Exodus 39:30 contains the description of Israel constructing the golden plate: "They made the plate, the sacred emblem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: holy to the Lord" (NIV).  In the Hebrew of this verse, the word "holy" shows up two times: in the word "sacred" and in the word "holy" of the inscription - and this passage draws our attention to two facts about holiness. 

First, some Bible versions translate the word for "plate" as "golden crown."  The reason for this is that this word is tricky, especially when you combine it with the word holy: did the high priest wear a golden plate at the base of the forehead, over the turban, which was considered holy; or did the high priest actually wear a crown over the turban, which was crafted from a plate of gold and designated as sanctified by God? While these are interesting questions, they are not salvation issues; the point which the text is making about this golden headpiece is that it is holy - not because gold is intrinsically holy, but because God has blessed this headpiece and set it apart for the high priest to wear in the sanctuary service. 

Second, and related to the first point, this passage reiterates that God is the source of holiness.  Ultimately, this passage emphasizes that the Old Testament high priest is holy because God made him holy - because God set him apart for a special work: to represent the true high priest who was coming.  Jesus, the God-man, is the true high priest, and he is the one who is himself holy because he is the God who makes his people holy. 

Sometimes Christians are tempted to think that they need to make themselves holy before they can come into God's presence.  The truth is that the Bible repeatedly identifies God as the one who makes us holy.  We have a holy high priest, Jesus Christ, who continues to make us holy so that we can serve and worship God.  In light of this, let us worship God with a heart that is confident of his goodness and holiness.