Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 28:36

And thou shalt make a plate [of] pure gold, and grave upon it, [like] the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

36. a plate ] Heb. i, properly, it seems, a shining thing (usu. a flower, Isa 40:7 al.), i.e., here, a burnished plate (in this sense only Exo 39:30, Lev 8:9 besides); LXX. , a leaf, fig. a thin plate of metal. Cf. Polycrates ap. Eus. v. 24 (a worn by St John, as priest). According to tradition, the ‘plate’ was 2 fingers broad.

HOLY TO YAHWEH ] The high priest, in virtue of his office, was brought specially near to Jehovah, and was thus specially ‘holy’ to Him. Cf., in other connexions, Exo 30:37, Exo 31:15, Lev 27:23; Lev 27:30 Zec 14:10. Jos. ( BJ. v. 5, 7), and Pseudo-Aristeas ( ap. Swete, Introd. to O.T. in Greek, p. 536), say that the inscription was written in ‘sacred,’ or ‘holy,’ characters, by which they mean doubtless the older Hebrew characters, such as are found on old Heb. seals, as also on the Moabite stone, and in Phoen. inscriptions, before they had changed into the later ‘square’ characters.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Exo 28:36-38

Holiness to the Lord.

Holiness to the Lord

This plate of pure gold was fastened by blue lace to the mitre, or turban, or tiara, or linen, which was upon the head of the high priest. He put it on with the robe of the ephod, the robe under the breastplate and the ephod–the robe of the ephod, which had, round the bottom, a bell and a pomegranate alternately–fruitfulness and music–showing the fruitfulness of the priesthood and the music of the priesthood before God, without which emblems the high priest might never enter into the holy of holies, lest he die. To teach man that no creature can ever stand before God but through priesthood, lest he die. Were we to stand before God but in the fruitfulness and music of the priesthood of Jesus Christ, we should die. The plate of pure gold upon his forehead, he went in before God to present the inscription graven there like the engraving of a signet, Holiness to the Lord, to take away the iniquity of the holy things of Israel, and to make those holy things, purged from their iniquity, acceptable to God. Consider the subject of holiness.

I. The word is used in three senses in the Bible.

1. Sometimes the word holy means that which is set apart, consecrated. In that sense the vessels of the Temple were holy.

2. Sometimes the word signifies the indwelling of the Spirit, with His gradually sanctifying processes. In this sense the church is holy.

3. There is a still higher sense in which man is perfectly holy. Christ perfects them that are sanctified.

II. The true definition of holiness is the likeness of God. But we cannot conceive of the likeness of God but through a medium, and that medium must be the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever traits we find characterizing the life of Jesus, these make up holiness.

1. The life of Christ was a separate life.

2. He always carried about an inner sanctuary in His own soul.

3. The life of Christ had a subdued tone.

4. It was a life consecrated to an object.

5. It was a life of praise.

III. Look upon holiness as an end to be obtained. Do not seek holiness as a means to happiness, but happiness as a means to holiness. Be more careful about the holiness of little things than of great things. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)

Christ our High Priest, bearing the iniquity of our holy things

The first thing that strikes us here is, that it is the head of the high priest that is thus adorned, the most honourable member of the body, the seat of the indwelling soul. Then, again, it is the forehead that is selected, which is the comeliness and glory of the head–the place on which the eye of the observer rests, and on which the eye of God would rest when meeting with the priest or the worshipper. On the forehead of the high priest, on the forefront of his mitre, was the ornament to be fastened. It consisted of a plate of pure gold, the purest and costliest of metals, to signify the purity that God demanded. On it there was to be engraved, like the engravings of a signet, distinct and deep, Holiness to the Lord,–still farther foreshadowing the awful holiness of God, and the no loss awful holiness which He required in the sin-bearer. Forming thus the most prominent part of his dress, and placed upon his forehead, it would be that on which the eye of God might be said first to rest, whether at the-brazen altar, or the altar of incense, or the mercy-seat, in all parts of his holy service. When standing before God, it was this peculiar adorning that presented itself, with its inscription, Holiness to the Lord. Thus, then, there was proclaimed to Israel a free forgiveness for the iniquities of their holy things. It was forgiveness through the holiness of another, as if God would teach them that while He required holiness in him who was to bear any sin, yet especial holiness was required when bearing the sins of our holy things. And then there was not merely the bare forgiveness, but there was the acceptance thus provided, both for themselves and their services, before the Lord. All this was to Israel the shadow of good things to come. The law, indeed, made nothing perfect, but it was the bringing in of the better hope, by which we draw nigh to God (Heb 7:19). This better hope has now been brought in. What was thus foreshadowed afar off by Aaron, as Israels high priest, has been fulfilled to us in Jesus of Nazareth, Gods own anointed Priest.

I. We learn how complete is the provision made by God for a sinners acceptance. This provision is entirely in Him who is our great High Priest. It is not in ourselves at all, but in Him alone. It pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell. He is the Fathers infinite treasure-house of all blessing, secured for, and set open to sinners. Nothing that a guilty soul can require, is awanting in Him. Out of Him, there is nothing; in Him, there is everything. He, of God, is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. In our text, however, the allusion is not to His fulness in general, but to His priesthood alone, as making provision for a sinners pardon and acceptance: and this in reference to the sins of our holy things–the sins committed in our more direct transactions with God. For every sin, and for every kind of sin, there is provision in Him on whom our sins were laid. For all these there is a special way of pardon ordained by God, and certain sins are minutely specified, in order to show us that no case has been overlooked or left without a special remedy.

II. Let us learn how perpetual and unchangeable this provision is. It is written here, concerning the high priest on earth, It shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. In this we have a vivid type of Him, who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; who hath an unchangeable priesthood; who ever liveth to make intercession for us. He who bears the iniquity of our holy things, is one who changes not; who is ever the same holy High Priest, and ever glorious in the Fathers eyes. We vary, but He varies not. Our feelings change, His alter not. Our soul fluctuates, ever rising and falling, ever ebbing and flowing, but He remaineth steadfast and true. We grow cold and faithless, He abideth faithful, He cannot deny Himself. His is a priesthood which endureth for ever, which never loses aught of its efficacy and value.

III. Learn how glorious and certain is this provision. It depends upon the holiness of the high priest. Not upon his grace, or mercy, or compassion, but upon his holiness. It is because there is such holiness in him to meet and satisfy the holiness of God that our forgiveness is so secure, and the way of our obtaining it so glorious. What an ample pardon, what a secure acceptance, must that be which is secured to us by the holiness of our great High Priest! for His holiness cannot change, neither can it pass away. His mercy might be worn out by our sins, and He might forget to be gracious, but He cannot cease to be holy.

IV. Learn how accessible and free is this provision. It is set open to all. Its benefits are wide and unrestricted Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. (H. Bonar, D. D.)

The mitre

1. Made of blue silk and fine linen (Exo 28:39), like (as it seems) to an half-coronet.

2. Beautified with a golden plate, on which was written Holiness to the Lord.

3. The use. Aaron must ever have it on his forehead while he bears the iniquity of their offerings, to make the people acceptable before the Lord (Exo 28:38).

I. The mitre and crown on the priests head signified–

1. The Deity of Christ our head, which as a crown or circle wants beginning and end.

2. The kingly office of Christ, with all that honour and crown of glory set on the head of our Redeemer, to whom all power is given in heaven and in earth.

II. The golden plate in which was written Holiness to the Lord, did not only distinguish it from the mitres of the ordinary priests, which wanted such a plate: but specially typified Jesus Christ our head, in whom was most conspicuous (as in a mans forehead), a most Divine and perfect holiness purer than the gold of that plate.

III. The use was significant, that as the high priest, having on this plate, with this inscription, got the iniquities of the people pardoned, which he bare before the Lord: So our High Priest, Jesus Christ, presenting before His Father, His most absolute holiness, gets a pardon for all our sins, which He bears upon Himself. And as their sins were pardoned in respect of the high priest, who represented Christ: So both theirs and ours are indeed and in truth pardoned, for the true and eternal High Priest, who is Christ Himself. (T. Taylor, D. D.)

Holiness to the Lord

Holiness to the Lord! Where is that inscription to be stamped now? The Jewish Tabernacle has expanded into that world-wide brotherhood, where whosoever doeth righteousness is accepted. Morning has risen into day. The ministry of Aaron is ended. All the outward glory and beauty of that Hebrew worship which the Lord commanded Moses has vanished into the eternal splendour of the gospel, and been fulfilled in Christ. What teaching has it left? What other than this?–that we are to engrave our Holiness to the Lord first on the heart, and then on all that the heart goes out into, through the brain and the hand; on the plates of gold our age of enterprise is drawing up from mines and beating into currency; on bales of merchandise and books of account; on the tools and bench of every handicraft; on your weights and measures; on pen and plough and pulpit; on the door-posts of your houses, and the utensils of your tables, and the walls of your chambers; on cradle and playthings and schoolbooks; on the locomotives of enterprise, and the bells of the horses, and the ships of navigation; on music-halls and libraries; on galleries of art, and the lyceum desk; on all of mans inventing and building, all of his using and enjoying, for all these are trusts in a stewardship, for which the Lord of the servants reckoneth. (Bp. F. D. Huntington.)

Material and shape of mitre

Elsewhere this ornament is called nezer, from a verb signifying to separate; and hence denoting a crown as a mark of separation or distinction. The same word is applied to the diadem of kings. Indeed, such turbans of fine linen, with an encircling or front ornament of gold or precious stones, seem to have been the usual diadems of ancient kings. Justin says that Alexander the Great took his diadem from his head to bind up the wounds of Lysimachus. This shows clearly that it was of linen. Probably, it had some distinguishing ornament like that of the high priest here.

1. Jahn says curiously enough that, in the time of Josephus, the shape of the mitre had become somewhat altered. It was circular, was covered with a piece of fine linen, and sat so closely on the upper part of the head that it would not fail off when the body was bent down: apparently it did not cover the whole of the head. It may be that there is mystical reference to the crown of gold worn by each of those who exulted before God in the acknowledgment that He had made them prince-priests unto Himself. Each cast his mike-coronet down before Him, who sat upon the throne, singing–

I bless Thee, gracious Father, for Thy pleasant gift to me, And earnestly I ask Thee, that it may always be In perfect consecration laid at Thy glorious feet, Touched with Thine altar-fire, and made an offering pure and sweet.

On the cultivation of holiness

Let me say a few words concerning the cultivation of holiness. Look upon holiness as an end to be obtained. Do not seek holiness as a means to happiness–but happiness as a means to holiness. In heaven itself, the bliss of that world of glory is to be most prized because the happiness of that world will be the attainment of spotless sanctity. Be sure you take your forgiveness–accept the peace which God freely offers–believe in the love of God; receive gladly and gratefully every token of that love; if it be only for this, that it is the means to holiness; it will make you holy. And you may argue it with God so; Lord, give me happiness that I may be holy, for I find that without happiness I cannot glorify Thee by holiness, make me happy that I may be holy. Another suggestion which I would make to you in the cultivation of holiness, is to be more careful about the holiness of little things than of great things. It is so easy to go to church, and have a very devout manner, and even at the time to feel devoutly, and then to go away into life, and to have so very little holiness; rather, such unholiness, in the common affairs of our common life. Now that which characterizes the dispensation on which we are entered, and will characterize it infinitely presently, is this–that there shall be holiness to the Lord, not in the sanctuary, but in the common-places of every-day life, out of doors and in doors; out of doors on that most familiar thing in the East, the bells on horses–the very harness of the horses is to be holiness; and in doors (the same passage in the last chapter of Zechariah), in doors, upon the most ordinary vessels that are used for domestic uses, the commonest thing that is in the house is to be Holiness to the Lord!–the very culinary vessels are to be Holiness to the Lord. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)

The mitre

The white linen is the emblem of purity; the head is the seat of thought and of intellect. Christ had a pure mind; all His thoughts were holy thoughts. And because He is so holy, He can bear His peoples sins (Isa 53:4). He who is our Great High Priest before God is pure without a stain. God sees Him as such, and He stands for us who are His people, and we are accepted in Him. His holiness is ours by imputation. Standing in Him we are, in the sight of God, holy as Christ is holy, and pure as Christ is pure. (G. Rodgers.)

Holiness to the Lord in common things

In an old book I was reading the other day the writer laughed at some commoner who had just been made a peer, because he had his coat of arms burned and painted even upon his shovels and wheelbarrows. Now, in my reckoning, that was a very fine action and full of significance. If a man is a true man he is a man of God, a prince of God; and he ought to put the stamp of his nobility on the commonest things with which he has to do. (Christian Journal.)

Holiness unto the Lord

Write on our garnered treasures, Write on our choicest pleasures, Upon things new and old, The precious stone and gold–Wife, husband, children, friends–On all that goodness lends; Go write on your good name–Upon your cherished fame–On every pleasant thing–On stores that Heaven doth fling Into your basket–write! Upon the smile of God, Upon His scourging rod–Write on your inmost heart, Write upon every part–To Him who claims the whole, Time, talent, body, soul–holiness unto the lord!

That Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things.

The iniquity of our holy things

I. A sad subject, The iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow.

1. They were holy things. Despite the iniquity, their offerings were hallowed and holy. This is a precious saving clause. Our prayers, our praises, our service of God, these are holy things, albeit that iniquity attaches to them. They are holy as to Gods ordinance, for He has ordained them for His glory. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me. When we do what God bids us, the act is holy, because done in obedience to the Divine ordinance. Such deeds are holy as to the Divine design: for the sacrifices which the Israelites brought were meant to set forth Christ and His glorious work, and therefore they were holy. The great Father teaches us much precious truth by every institution of the Tabernacle and the Temple, and the gospel Church, and therefore obedience to each ordinance is holy. These deeds were often holy in the intent of the worshipper.

2. But although holy things, there was iniquity upon all of them; and did we ever do anything yet that had not some spot of iniquity upon it? Is not our repentance, after all, but poor stuff compared with what it ought to be? Is not unbelief mixed with our faith? Hath not our love a measure of lukewarmness in it? No act of consecration, no act of self-sacrifice, no rapture of fellowship, no height of spirituality has been without its imperfection.

3. Furthermore, some of these sins are apparent: indeed, many of them are painfully before our own eyes. If the Lord sees iniquity in our holy things, what iniquities there must be in our unholy things! I have to complain that wandering thoughts will intrude in my prayers, my study of the Word, my sacred song, my choice meditation; indeed, even in ministering the Word among you, I find my mind roaming. I have to complain also–and I fear many here would have to complain even more than I do–of want of faith in prayer.

4. These are only a few of the iniquities of our holy things which we can see; but beside these there are many imperfections of our service which we do not notice because we are not spiritual enough to discern them; but God sees them. Bring me that microscope! I have just now put the wing of a butterfly under it. That is Gods work, and, as I enlarge it, I discover no imperfection, but more and more of marvellous beauty. That butterflys wing under the microscope becomes most wonderful, and I worship God as I gaze upon His handiwork. Take the butterfly away now and put your needle in its place. What? Why this is a rough bar of iron which has never been smoothed or polished. This is wretched workmanship. It does not seem fitted for delicate work. Such is mans manufacture, the best of it. When God puts your prayers and my sermons under His microscopic eye, they are not at all what we thought they were, but quite the reverse. This ought to humble us as we come before the presence of the All-seeing One.

5. These imperfections in our holy things are so grievous that they would prevent any one of our works, or offerings, or prayers being accepted before the thrice-holy God.

II. A glad subject. What was done in type has also been done in reality.

1. Consider, then, that God provided the high priest. It was ordained that he should be a man perfect in his person. In our Lord Jesus there is no defect open or secret. He is perfect, and so He can be high priest unto God. The man had to be chosen of God. Aaron was so. Christ is ordained of God, and by Divine authority He stands as high priest for us. This man had to be anointed for his work. Aaron was anointed with oil; but our Lord was anointed with the Holy Spirit.

2. This high priest was altogether given up to his people. He has a heart; his peoples names are on the breast-plate which covers it. He has shoulders: his peoples names are written on his Shoulder-pieces, and thus he lends them his power. Thus Christ has given up His thought, His judgment, His mind, His every faculty to His people. He is all ours. The high priest reserved nothing of himself; he gave all of himself to all his people.

3. The high priest bore the iniquity of the holy things. All the iniquity of our holy things our Lord Jesus has borne, and it is no longer imputed unto us. As He stood before God, though He bore the iniquity of the people, yet He exhibited to God no iniquity, but on His forehead was written, Holiness to Jehovah. Notice that He bore before God a holiness most precious; in token whereof, in type, the engraving was inscribed upon a plate of pure gold. The righteousness of Christ is more precious to God than all the mines of gold in the whole world. There was no iniquity in His holy things; His holiness was conspicuous and undeniable, it shone on the forefront of His mitre. That holiness of His was permanent. One thing more I want you to notice, and that is, that he always wore it, And it shall always be upon his forehead. Jesus is always Holiness to God on our behalf. Our holy work is now viewed with Divine favour. Will you not offer more and more of these holy things, since they are in very deed accepted in Christ? Now I have taught you the main doctrine of the type, I desire to bring forth one or two lessons.

1. The first is, see here a lesson of humility. Our good works, if we lay them up in store, and value them as jewels, will, like the manna in the wilderness, very soon breed worms and stink. There is enough rottenness in our best performances to make them offensive to an enlightened conscience. Oh, that this fact, that even our holy things are tainted, may he the death-warrant of our pride!

2. In the next place, learn the awful hazard of going unto God without our High Priest.

3. Learn how you must be dressed as a royal priesthood unto the Lord.

4. Lastly, let sinners gain a store of comfort here. If Gods own people have iniquity in their holy things, and yet they have Christ to bear it for them, how patient must He be who is our High Priest. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 36. Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold] The word tsits, which we render plate, means a flower, or any appearance of this kind, The Septuagint translate it by , a leaf; hence we might be led to infer that this plate resembled a wreath of flowers or leaves; and as it is called, Ex 29:6, nezer, a crown, and the author of the book of Wisdom 18:24, who was a Jew, and may be supposed to know well what it was, calls it , it was probably of the form, not of the ancient diadem, but rather of the radiated crown worn by the ancient Roman emperors, which was a gold band that went round the head from the vertex to the occiput; but the position of the Jewish sacerdotal crown was different, as that went round the forehead, under which there was a blue lace or fillet, Ex 28:37, which was probably attached to the mitre or turban, and formed its lowest part or border.

HOLINESS TO THE LORD.] This we may consider as the grand badge of the sacerdotal office.

1. The priest was to minister in holy things.

2. He was the representative of a holy God.

3. He was to offer sacrifices to make an atonement for and to put away SIN.

4. He was to teach the people the way of righteousness and true holiness.

5. As mediator, he was to obtain for them those Divine influences by which they should be made holy, and be prepared to dwell with holy spirits in the kingdom of glory.

6. In the sacerdotal office he was the type of that holy and just ONE who, in the fulness of time, was to come and put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

It is allowed on all hands that this inscription was, in the primitive Hebrew character, such as appears upon ancient shekels, and such as was used before the Babylonish captivity, and probably from the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. The Kodesh Laihovah, of the present Hebrew text, would in those ancient characters appear thus: –

which, in the modern Samaritan character, evidently derived from that above, is as follows: [Samaritan]. And the word [Samaritan] in this ancient and original character is the famous Tetragrammaton, or word of four letters, which, to the present day, the Jews will neither write nor pronounce. The Jews teach that these letters were embossed on the gold, and not engraven in it, and that the plate on which they were embossed was about two fingers broad, and that it occupied a space on the forehead between the hair and the eyebrows. But it is most likely that it was attached to the lower part of the mitre.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The plate of pure gold was like a half coronet, reaching, as the Jews say, from ear to ear.

Holiness to the Lord, to mind the priest of his special consecration to God, and of that singular holiness which was required of him, as at all times, so especially in his approaches to God. It might also represent Christ, who is called the Holy One of God, and who is a crowned Priest, or both King and Priest.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

36-38. plateliterally, apetal of a flower, which seems to have been the figure of this goldenplate, which was tied with a ribbon of blue on the front of themitre, so that every one facing him could read the inscription.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold,…. It was, as Jarchi says, two fingers broad, and reached from ear to ear, and so Maimonides f; it is sometimes called the holy crown, and the plate of the holy crown, Ex 29:6, this was a priestly crown, for priests were very honourable and dignified persons, especially the high priest among the Jews; and even among the Gentiles it was common for their kings to be priests: and though this crown may denote the kingly power of Christ, yet as residing in him who is a priest, for he is a priest on his throne, Zec 6:13, and so may signify the conjunction of the kingly and priestly offices in Christ, who has a crown of pure gold given him by his Father, and put upon him, and by his people, Ps 21:4 and being of pure gold, holy, and on the forehead, as this plate was, may signify the purity and holiness of Christ’s kingdom and office, the glory, visibility, and perpetuity of it:

and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD; which words were written either in two lines, or in one. If in two, Maimonides g says, the word “holiness” was above, and to “the Lord” below: but it might be written in one line, and that seems most likely: he also says the letters were protuberant, or stood out; but then they would not be graved like the engravings of a signet, in which the letters or figures are engraved within, but like the impressions of a signet made on wax, or other things: in this the high priest was a type of Christ, who is holy in himself, in his person, in both his natures, divine and human, in his offices of prophet, priest, and King; and he is holiness itself, the most holy, essentially, infinitely, and perfectly so, as angels and men are not, and the source and spring of holiness to others: and he is holiness to the Lord for his people; he is so representatively; as their covenant head he has all grace in his hands for them, and they have it in him; this is sanctification in Christ, and is by virtue of union to him, and is complete and perfect, and the cause of holiness in his people; and he is so by imputation. The holiness of his human nature was not a mere qualification for his office, or only exemplary to us, but is with his obedience and sufferings imputed to us for justification. Moreover, Christ has by his blood sanctified his people, or made atonement for them, and procured the cleansing of them from their sins, or the expiation of them; and he is also the efficient cause of their internal holiness by his Spirit, without which there is no seeing God, 1Co 6:11.

f Cele Hamikdash, c. 9. sect. 1. Vid. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 63. 2. & Succah, fol. 5. 1. g Cele Hamikdash, c. 9. sect. 1. Vid. T. Bab, Sabbat, fol. 63. 2. & Succah, fol. 5. 1.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The fourth article of the high priest’s dress was the diadem upon his head-band. , from to shine, a plate of pure gold, on which the words , “ holiness (i.e., all holy) to Jehovah, ” were engraved, and which is called the “crown of holiness” in consequence, in Exo 39:30. This gold plate was to be placed upon a riband of dark-blue purple, or, as it is expressed in Exo 39:31, a riband of this kind was to be fastened to it, to attach it to the head-band, “ upon the fore-front (as in Exo 26:9) of the head-band, ” from above (Exo 39:31); by which we are to understand that the gold plate was placed above the lower coil of the head-band and over Aaron’s forehead. The word , from to twist or coil (Isa 22:18), is only applied to the head-band or turban of the high priest, which was made of simply byssus (Exo 28:39), and, judging from the etymology, was in the shape of a turban. This is all that can be determined with reference to its form. The diadem was the only thing about it that had any special significance. This was to be placed above (upon) Aaron’s forehead, that he “might bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel sanctified, with regard to all their holy gifts,…as an acceptableness for them before Jehovah.” : to bear iniquity (sin) and take it away; in other words, to exterminate it by taking it upon one’s self. The high priest was exalted into an atoning mediator of the whole nation; and an atoning, sin-exterminating intercession was associated with his office. The qualification for this he received from the diadem upon his forehead with the inscription, “holiness to the Lord.” Through this inscription, which was fastened upon his head-dress of brilliant white, the earthly reflection of holiness, he was crowned as the sanctified of the Lord (Psa 106:16), and endowed with the power to exterminate the sin which clung to the holy offerings of the people on account of the unholiness of their nature, so that the gifts of the nation became well-pleasing to the Lord, and the good pleasure of God was manifested to the nation.

(Note: See my Archaeology i. pp. 183-4. The following are Calvin’s admirable remarks: Oblationum sanctarum iniquitas tollenda et purganda fuit per sacerdotem. Frigidum est illud commentum, si quid erroris admissum est in ceremoniis, remissum fuisse sacerdotis precibus. Longius enim respicere nos oportet: ideo oblationum iniquitatem deleri a sacerdote, quia nulla oblatio, quatenus est hominis, omni vitio caret. Dictu hoc asperum est et fere , sanctitates ipsas esse immundas, ut venia indigeant; sed tenendum est, nihil esse sane purum, quod non aliquid labis a nobis contrahat…. Nihil Dei cultu praestantius: et tamen nihil offerre potuit populus, etiam a lege praescriptum, nisi intercedente venia, quam nonnisi per sacerdotem obtinuit .)

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Verses 36-39:

The head-dress of the high priest was a mitre, similar to a turban, made of white linen. Its only ornament: an engraved plate of pure gold, secured to the mitre with a blue lace or ribbon fastener.

The gold plate had inscribed on it, “KODESH LAJEHOVAH,” HOLINESS TO THE LORD. This taught that recognition of the nature of Jehovah is essential to His worship. This must govern the mind and be the focus of the service. This engraved plate denoted that the high priest was representative of Him who alone can purify and cleanse the iniquity of fallen man.

The mitre and coat were made of fine line. The “coat,” keloneth, “shirt or tunic,” was a long cassock worn immediately over the “breeches” or drawers, and reached to the feet. It had long, tight-fitting sleeves.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

36. And thou shalt make a plate. It is not without reason that this inscription is placed upon the priest’s forehead, that it may be conspicuous; for not only did God thus testify that the legal priesthood was approved of, and acceptable to Him, since He had consecrated it by His word, but also that holiness was not to be sought elsewhere. These two things, then, are to be observed, — first, that the priesthood of His own appointment is pleasing to God, and so, that all others, however magnificently they may be spoken of, are abominable to Him, and rejected by Him; and secondly, that out of Christ we are all corrupt, and all our worship faulty; and however excellent our actions may seem, that they are still unclean and polluted. Thus, therefore, let all our senses remain fixed on the forehead of our sole and perpetual Priest, that we may know that from Him alone purity flows throughout the whole Church. To this His words refer,

“For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” (Joh 17:19😉

and the same thing is expressed in this passage of Moses, “that Aaron may hear the iniquity of the holy things,” etc. It is undoubtedly a remarkable passage, whereby, we are taught that nothing proceeds from us pleasing to God except through the intervention of the grace of the Mediator; for here there is no reference to manifest and gross sins, (167) the pardon of which it is clear that we can only obtain through Christ; but the iniquity of the holy oblations was to be taken away and cleansed by the priest. That is but a poor exposition of it, that if any error were committed in the ceremonies, it was remitted in answer to the prayers of the priest; for we must look further, and understand that on this account the iniquity of the offerings must be purged by the priest, because no offering, in so far as it is of man, is altogether free from guilt. This is a harsh saying, and almost a paradox, that our very holinesses are so impure as to need pardon; but it must be borne in mind that nothing is so pure as not to contract some stain from us; just as water, which, although it may be drawn in purity from a limpid fountain, yet, if it passes over muddy ground, is tinged by it, and becomes somewhat turbid: thus nothing is so pure in itself as not to be polluted by the contagion of our flesh. Nothing is more excellent than the service of God; and yet the people could offer nothing, even although prescribed by the Law, except with the intervention of pardon, which none but the priest could obtain for them. There is now no sacrifice, nor was there ever, more pleasing to God than the invocation of His name, as He himself declares,

“Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me,” (Psa 50:15😉

yet the Apostle teaches us that “the sacrifice of praise” only pleases God when it is offered in Christ. (Heb 13:15.) Let us learn, then, that our acts of obedience, when they come into God’s sight, are mingled with iniquity, which exposes us to His judgment, unless Christ should sanctify them. In sum, this passage teaches us that whatsoever good works we strive to present to God are so far from deserving reward, that they rather convict us of guilt, unless the holiness of Christ, whereby God is propitiated, obtains pardon for them. And this is again asserted immediately afterwards, where Moses says that by favor of the priest the sins of the sacred oblations are taken away (168) “for favorable acceptation,” i.e., that the Israelites may be sure that God is reconciled and favorable to them. I have nothing to say of the tiara itself, which some call a mitre, ( cidarim,) and others a cap; neither do I choose to philosophize too subtilely about the belt or girdle. (169)

(167) Addition in Fr., “ Et qu’on puisse condamner par le sens commun;” and which even common sense must condemn.

(168) Lat., “ In beneplacitum.” A. V. , “That they may be accepted.” The translation I have given is that of Ainsworth.

(169) This sentence is omitted in the Fr.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

THE DIADEM OF THE PRIEST.Exo. 28:36-38

The words on the priests mitre, Holiness to the Lord, signify that he who wore it was entirely devoted to God, and that it was his mission to elevate the people to the same sanctity. Thus is Christ pure, and thus does He seek to sanctify all who seek His aid. Consider the sanctity of the priest

I. As personal. The inscription on the priestly diadem signified:

1. That the priest was altogether separated to God. The inscription was on his brow, declaring the giving up to God of his whole personality.

2. The priest was always separated to God. It shall be always upon his forehead. Thus the Israelites saw in their high priest the ideal of a true humanitylife altogether and always given up to God. In Christ we see the glorious actualityan absolutely pure humanity. See Heb. 7:25-27. All other men, even the greatest, the wisest, the best, have been marked by imperfection and sin, but in Christ we have a great High Priest of absolute sinlessness, and in Him we may safely and fully trust.

II. As official. It was the duty of the high priest to raise others to his own sanctity, Exo. 28:38. He had to bear away the iniquity of the sacred things. The high priest was an atoning mediator of the whole nation, and in his intercession the sin of the people was blotted out. Thus Christ is a High Priest to take upon Himself and to bear away the condemnation of all sinful but penitent men. Christ declares in His teaching the holiness of God; in His own life He gives us the grandest illustration of that holiness; and in His ever-living advocacy, He seeks to elevate all His people to share His glory.

Lessons:

1. Man at his best is a sinful creature. The iniquity of the holy things. Our best works, feelings, hours, are tainted, and mixed and imperfect. What of our ordinary works, feelings, hours? What of our worst?
2. That God will only accept us and our gifts when we and they are pure. The priest had to purify the givers and the gifts; for so long as these were infected by iniquity they were unacceptable to God. Here we see the need of a mediator. How presumptuous are those who venture to go into the presence of God on merely natural grounds, and offer Him their spotted selves, and spotted lives, gifts, prayers, services! All sacrifices, prayers, oblations, services, are an abomination to God if they are not perfectly sincere and pure; and how can these clean things come out of our erring, passionate, perverse nature?
3. That in Christ we have full redemption and sanctification. He can make us pure and our offerings. He can purge the iniquity of our holy things and our unholy. We need seek no other priest; we need add to Him no other priest; His royal power and eloquent advocacy save to the uttermost all who come unto God through Him.

ILLUSTRATIONS

BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON

Scripture-Secrets! Exo. 28:1-43. The Bible can never be exhausted. The most learned commentators and eloquent preachers have but crossed the threshold of the magnificent temple. As in Nature, so in Revelation: the materials of every steam-engine, telegraph, microscope, and other mechanical and scientific contrivances, have been lying for countless ages under the dust of the earth undisturbed until a comparatively recent date. And what yet may be fashioned out of the materials of nature no sagacity can prognosticate. Our present conquests form the starting-points of more dazzling victories. So, in reference to Revelation: generations yet unborn will group around its pages, and gather from them more sublime and radiant truths than those which have flashed on our intellect and cheered our heartfrom the harps of the Hebrew bards they will hear a more elevating melody than ever charmed our spirits, and in the living words of the Divine Man perceive a depth, a grandeur, and a significance of which no conception can be formed. The ancient prophets have yet more to relate. Isaiah will reveal glories surpassing imagination, and Ezekiel unfold splendours which would overpower our visual organs. Intellectual perception will be quickened so as to penetrate the clouds which intercept mans vision of the truth. No NEW Revelation, however, will be granted; but from the present Bible will stream a light above the brightness of the sun. Never need we fear an exhaustion of the truth. It is sempiternal as God, and perennial as the springs of immortality.

The Book of God! a well of streams divine!
But who would wish the riches of that mine
To make his own, his thirst to satisfy
From that pure well, must ear, eye, soul apply.

Mant.

Mitre-Medallion! Exo. 28:36.

(1.) Dr. Kitto says that the mitre was a turban of fine linen, furnished in front with a plate of pure gold, on which were inscribed the words, HOLINESS TO THE LORD, and which was attached to the turban by a blue lace. The word translated, plate, signifies a flower, and is rendered petalon, i.e., a petal, by the Septuagint. This seems to show that the plate was wrought with flowered work, or was itself in the form of a flower or petal.

(2.) In the prophecies of Zechariah (Exo. 14:20) it is foretold that in the coming millennial days there is to be inscribed upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. Until the recent introduction of tram-cars there was little of such a custom in England, though in some continental cities almost every horse employed for draught purposes bears a bell round its neck. Russian and Canadian sleighs are always furnished with these bells.

(3.) Contrast the one inscription on the Messiahs frontlet with this inscription everywhere visible in the latter days. It tells us that so efficacious will the intercessions of our Great High Priest in heaven for 2000 years prove, that every kind of traffic shall be carried on in a manner becoming the Gospel, and that, whatsoever men do, each and all of their works shall be done with a single eye to Gods glory, i.e., shall be HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

And all the holy race of Abraham
Be clothed in priestly robes, spotless as snow.

Bickersteth.

Mitre-Moral! Exo. 28:38. During Alexander the Greats career of conquest, he was opposed by the Jews, who remained faithful in their allegiance to Darius the Persian. Having wreaked his vengeance on Tyre by giving it to the flames, and crucifying 2000 of its citizens along the seashore, he marched against Jerusalem. Rollin gives an interesting account of the event. Jaddus, the high priest, interceded with God to aid His people, and was answered in a dream that he must cause flowers to be strewn about the city, set open the city gates, and go forth with the priests in festal procession, wearing his pontifical robes. He accordingly arrayed himself, and leading the procession, marched forth to meet the fiery scourge of God. Alexander, struck by the sight of the high priest, on whose mitre and forehead a gold plate was fixed bearing the name of God, bowed low before the august name of JEHOVAH. All were surprised, and one of the conquerors favourite generals asked for an explanation. The conqueror having given it, entered Jerusalem, and offered up sacrifices to the God of the Hebrews. Thus the proud head of earths mightiest warrior bent before the mitre-motto, Holiness to Jehovah. And before Jesus, the great High Priest, on the forefront of whose earth and heaven life is inscribed this title, shall all the mighty ones of the world be at last constrained to bow.

Exalted high at Gods right hand,

And Lord of all below;

Through Him is pardoning love dispensed,

And boundless blessings flow.

Barbauld.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

(36) Thou shalt make a plate.The plate is so much of the essence of the mitre that it is put forward first, as that whereto all the rest is subordinate. It was to be of pure gold, and fastened on high upon the mitre (Exo. 39:31); so catching the eye even more than the breastplate, and drawing mens special attention. But the plate itself was only the vehicle for an inscription, and thus mens attention would be especially directed to that. It taught the great truth that religion culminates in Holiness to Jehovah, without which all else is worthlessforms, ceremonies, priestly attire, sacrifice, prayer, are mockeries. It required primarily the high priest himself to be holy; but it was a call also to the whole nation, whose representative the high priest was, that they should be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests (Exo. 19:6), and should consecrate themselves heart and soul to Jehovah.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

4. THE MITRE.

(36-39) The head-dress of the high priest was to be of fine white linen (shsh) and appears by the description of Josephus (Ant. Jud. iii. 7, 3) to have been a turban, made of several thick swathes or folds in the usual way. It was to be adorned in front with a plate of pure gold bearing the inscription Holiness to Jehovah, which was to be attached to the linen fabric by a ribbon or lace of blue.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

36-38. A plate of pure gold This was the most notable feature of the mitre, or turban, and is, therefore, mentioned here before the blue lace and headdress, although in Exo 39:28; Exo 39:30-31, the mitre is first mentioned. This golden plate bore the inscription HOLINESS TO THE LORD, and, being attached by a blue lace so as to be upon the forefront of the mitre, it would appear as if set as a jewel upon Aaron’s forehead, and signifies that he, as high priest and atoning mediator in all matters of oblation and sacrifices, was set forth to bear the iniquity of the holy things. He, as the representative of a holy nation and consecrated people, sanctified unto God by remission of their sins and in the symbolism of all their holy gifts, was, while discharging the duties of his office, always to wear upon his forehead this symbol of the redemption and consecration of Israel. So intense was the conception of the holiness of Jehovah that even the holy things which the children of Israel consecrated were thought of as still containing some elements of iniquity, and this golden signet on Aaron’s forehead was a continual acknowledgment of this, and proclaimed the merciful provision by which the iniquity might be borne away and forgiven.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The Turban And The Golden Plate of Holiness to Yahweh ( Exo 28:36-38 ).

It should be noted that the turban is secondary here, only worthy of mention because of the plate of gold which had on it HOLY TO YAHWEH which was to be on Aaron’s forehead. The turban is not itself described here in any way (but see for this Exo 28:39). All eyes are to be on the golden plate with its powerful declaration.

This plate is remarkable. It sums up why Aaron can come before Yahweh as the representative of the people. It is because he has in his official capacity as ‘the Priest’ been made ‘holy to Yahweh’, set apart as ‘holy’ through due process. It sums up the significance of his office. It is why he can make atonement for all the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel ‘set apart to God’, and can ‘bear the iniquity of sacred things’. He stands alone, a picture of a Greater yet to come, because of God’s appointment, the shedding of blood on his behalf, and his various preparations which we have yet to consider. He is God’s appointee. But as such he represents all Israel. Thus in him Israel too is holy to Yahweh. The whole of the sacrificial system and ordinances, and the covenant, are summed up on that plate.

So having been anointed, and cleansed, and purified, and having clothed himself in his underrobe which covers him from neck to toe, including sleeves, so that no part of him might come naked before God, and having put on robe and then the ephod, together with the breastpouch of judgment, He now dons his turban and the golden plate on his forehead which declares that he and Israel are Holy to Yahweh. He is ready to function as Yahweh’s anointed.

And yet we are aware that Aaron too is sinful. His holiness as ‘the Priest’ is God-provided and not his own. He too has had to come through the blood of bulls and of goats, and through various other ceremonies, and will again and again have to do so, and will in the end die because of his particular sinfulness. He is not the perfect representative. But he is pointing ahead, pointing to One Who would one day come, and would wear on His head the declaration that He was holy to Yahweh, and that His people were holy to Yahweh, and that not because of some sacrifice offered on His behalf, but because He truly was so, and had offered Himself for them. And He would then bear, not just the iniquity of sacred things, but the sins of the whole world. Aaron is a shadow of things that will be, of Jesus, the Great High Priest Who is yet to come.

Exo 28:36-38

“And you shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet ring, HOLY TO YAHWEH. And you shall put on it a lace of bluey-violet, and it shall be on the turban. It shall be on the forefront of the turban. And it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron will bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel will sanctify in all their holy gifts, and it shall be always on his forehead that they may be accepted before Yahweh.”

The plate of pure gold is to be engraved HOLY TO YAHWEH, in the same way as a man’s signet ring is engraved, and in the same way as the stones were engraved (for they were engraved in the same way as a signet ring – Exo 28:21). Thus just as the signet ring represents a man, and the stones represented the children of Israel, it may be that we are to see this as representing Yahweh Himself. His stamp is on Aaron as the representative of Israel.

The golden plate is to be fastened to the turban over Aaron’s forehead by a bluey-violet lace (see Exo 39:31), the same colour as his robe. (The turban is in fact white – Exo 28:39). Perhaps the bluey-violet represents what is heavenly. But the placing of the golden plate certainly emphasises its pre-eminence. And it is because this one is made holy to Yahweh that he can in effect bring all the gifts and offerings of the children of Israel and present them to Yahweh even though there is that in them which is lacking, either because of what the children of Israel are, and because of the nature of the gifts, or because of anything lacking in their presentation. Aaron, through the whole sacrificial system carried through in accordance with God’s commands, as it were perfects them. It is the wearing of the golden plate, and its significance, that finally makes this possible. Through him Yahweh presents them to Himself, Aaron, of course, having previously made atonement for himself and the people as he does daily.

But this all points forward to the One Who will perfect for ever those who are sanctified by the offering of Himself as the perfect One (Heb 10:14). Thus are they made holy in Him.

“ And it shall be always on his forehead that they may be accepted before Yahweh.” Always, that is, when he is officially ministering and especially when he enters the Holy Place. The sign on his forehead is the symbol that all Yahweh’s requirements in the sacrificial system have been fulfilled. Full atonement has been made.

The assumption behind all this is, of course, that the people are living in accordance with the covenant. That is why later Isaiah will point out that their sacrifices were in vain (Isa 1:10-20), because they were not living in accordance with the covenant. Israel were no longer ‘holy to Yahweh’.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

EXPOSITION

THE MITRE. Josephus tells us that the head-dress of the high priest was “not a conical cap, but a sort of crown, made of thick linen swathes” (Ant. Jud. 3.7, 3). It was thus really a species of turban. The colour was white; and the only ornament on it was the gold plate, with its blue ribbon or fillet.

Exo 28:36

Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold. The plate, though a mere ornament of the mitre, was, at once, its most conspicuous and its most significant feature. Placed directly in front, right over the forehead, and probably of burnished gold, it would attract universal attention, and catch the eye even more than the breast-plate. Its position made it “the culminating point of the whole priestly attire” (Kalisch)and its inscription gave to that position extraordinary force and significance. For it taught that “holiness to the Lord” is the very highest crown and truest excellence of religionthat to which all ceremonial is meant to conducethat without which all the paraphernalia of worship must ever be in God’s sight a mockery. It set this truth conspicuously before the eyes, and was apt to impress it upon the hearts of all. It taught the high priest himself not to rest upon outward forms, but to aim in his own person, and teach the people to aim continually, at internal holiness. The extreme importance of this, causes the putting forward at once of the plate and its inscription before any account of the “mitre” is given.

Exo 28:37

Thou shalt put it on a blue lace. In Exo 39:31, it is explained that the blue lace, or ribbon, was “tied to it,” probably at either end. That it may be upon the mitrei.e; “that it may be kept in place, and not slip from its position on the mitre.”

Exo 28:38

It shall be upon his forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the sacred things. Imperfection attaches to everything that man does; and even the sacrifices that the people offered to God required to be atoned for and purified. It was granted to the high priest in his official capacity to make the necessary atonement, and so render the people’s gifts acceptable. For this purpose he was invested with an official holiness, proclaimed by the inscription upon the plate, which exhibited him as the type and representative of that perfectly Holy One, through whom alone can any real atonement be made to the Father. It shall be always upon his foreheadi.e; whenever he ministers.

HOMILETICS

Exo 28:36-38

The Teachings of the Mitre.

The main lesson taught by all the priestly garments is intensified in the mitre, namely, the need of holiness. “Without holiness no one shall see God; Holiness becometh thine house for ever.” The high priest was to be

I. HOLY, OFFICIALLY. By his birth, of Levi and Aaronby his bringing upby his consecrationby his investitureby his representative position as priestly head of his nation and type of Christhe was set apart from all others, dedicated to holy employments, assigned a holy character. Of these things he could not dispossess himself. Even a Caiaphas “prophesied, being high priest that same year.”

II. HOLY, PERSONALLY. To wear holy garments, to be employed about holy things, and yet to be impure in heart and life, is to be a “whited sepulchre,” beautiful outwardly, but “within full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness” (Mat 23:27). Nothing can be a greater offence to God. A high priest, with “holiness to the Lord” written upon his brow, and unholiness working in his brain and nestling in his heart, was a moral contradiction, a paradox, a monstrosity. Such there may have been, and their official acts for the benefit of others God may have accepted and allowed, since otherwise the innocent would have suffered for the guilty; but their hatefulness in his sight must have been great, and their punishment will be proportionate. We may believe that such cases were few. Not many men can bear to be hypocrites. The holy attire, the holy offices, the profession of holiness upon the brow, must have helped to make the great majority holy, or at least harmless, in lifetrue “examples to the flock” (1Pe 5:3)holy, not merely officially, but personally.

III. A CAUSE OF HOLINESS IS OTHERS. The high priest, as the religious leader of the nation, had to help forward holiness in every possible way

(1) Ceremonially, by his official actions;

(2) Ministerially, by teachings and exhortations;

(3) Individually, by the force of example.

It was his mission to make the people “accepted before the Lord.” The mediation which he offered not only purified from legal defilements, but, by virtue of his typical character, purged the conscience and cleansed the soul from sin. His exhortations and example had the natural force of one in authority, and must have been potent at all times. It was at his peril if he took life too easily, and rebuked sin too mildly, and was not “a faithful priest,” as appears from the history of Eli (1Sa 2:22-36; 1Sa 3:13; 1Sa 4:11-15). Unfaithful priests are, in truth, an abomination, and have need to tremble at the “terrors of the Lord.” Those who have undertaken a holy office are doubly bound to holiness. If men “corrupt the covenant of Levi,” God will “send a curse upon them, and curse their blessings” (Mal 2:2, Mal 2:8),

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Exo 28:36. Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold The word rendered plate, properly signifies a flower; and, probably, this plate was formed with indentations or rays like a flower. It is called in the next chapter, Exo 28:6. nezer, a crown, a mark of separation, or distinguished dignity, either priestly or regal. It was to be fastened with a blue lace upon the fore-front of the mitre, which was to be made of fine linen, Exo 28:39 something like the Turkish turbans, of which form were anciently the diadems of kings. Justin (lib. 15: cap. 3.) tells us, that Alexander the Great took his diadem from his head to bind up the wounds of Lysimachus. Upon the plate, thus bound upon the mitre, was to be engraved HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH; and it was always to be worn upon Aaron’s forehead, i.e. upon the part of the mitre which covered the front of his forehead, Exo 28:38 not only to remind him of the solemnity of the service to which he was consecrated, but also to shew that he was the intercessor for the people; and, in that capacity, the type of HIM, who, being essentially holy and undefiled, intercedes for, and makes acceptable to God, all his believing people. See Heb 7:25; Heb 7:28. For an exact description of the mitre, as well as the other parts of the sacerdotal dress, we refer to Josephus, b. 3: ch. 7.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

DISCOURSE: 100
AARONS MITRE

Exo 28:36-38. And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre: upon the fore-front of the mitre it shall be. And it shall be upon Aarons forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things. which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts: and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

IF it were once ascertained that God had imposed a number of ordinances upon his people, we should be ready to conclude that his institutions were not mere arbitrary and insignificant laws, but that they had some occult meaning, worthy of their divine Author. But when we are informed by God himself, that many things, apparently most indifferent, were intended to shadow forth the great mystery of redemption, we are persuaded that not even the minutest ordinance among them was without some appropriate and important signification. But though we believe this, we do not presume to assign the meaning of each, any further than we are warranted by the Scriptures themselves. Instead of wandering into the regions of conjecture, we judge it more for general edification to confine ourselves to matters which are obvious and acknowledged.
The whole dress of the high-priest was unquestionably typical; and designated either the office of our great High-Priest, or his qualifications for the discharge of it. That part to which we would now direct your attention, is his mitre. This, as the text informs us, was a covering for his head (somewhat like the turbans worn in the East at this day): it was made of fine linen, and had, in the front of it, a gold plate, with this inscription, holiness to the lord. It was worn by him whenever he officiated in the temple. Through this the high-priest was considered as holy, and was the appointed means of expiating the defects that were in the services of the people, and of procuring acceptance for their persons. Now, whilst the end for which it was worn manifests, beyond a doubt, that the appointment was typical, it enables us to declare with certainty the true intention of the type.

This institution then was intended to foreshew,

I.

The holiness of our great High-Priest

[Christ was in truth the holy one of Israel It was necessary that he should be spotless himself; for had he not been so, he could not hare made atonement for us; yea, he would have needed an atonement for himself [Note: Heb 7:26-27. 1Jn 3:5.]. The utmost care was taken respecting the typical offerings, to ascertain that they were without blemish: and it seems to have been particularly ordained of God that the innocence of Jesus should be established by every possible proof, (and by the repeated testimony even of the judge that condemned him,) in order that his fitness, as our sin-offering, might appear. Thus was the type accomplished in him; and a sure foundation was laid for all the hopes that are built upon him.]

II.

The need we have of an interest in it

[The high-priest, so habited, was to bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the people should hallow. Their best services were imperfect, in manner at least, if not in the matter of them also: and they were to seek acceptance through the holiness of their high-priest alone. Thus it is with us also. All that we do is imperfect. The best service we ever performed was mixed with sin, and needed an atonement to be made for it. Without an atonement, it could never have been regarded by a holy God. This was strongly marked in the ordinance before us, and ought to be remembered by us as a ground for the deepest humiliation.]

III.

Its efficacy in our behalf

[The peoples services were, through this typical holiness of their high-priest, accepted of God, notwithstanding the imperfection of them: nor shall ours be despised, if we trust in the merits and mediation of the Lord Jesus. This was beautifully represented under the Mosaic dispensation by the acceptance of leavened bread [Note: Lev 2:11 with 7:13 and 23:17.], and mutilated beasts [Note: Lev 22:21-23], when offered as thank-offerings, and not as offerings for sin: and the same encouraging truth is plainly asserted in the New Testament [Note: Heb 13:15; 1Pe 2:5.]. Let us only be interested in the spotless Lamb of God, and all that we do in his name shall find acceptance before God.]

This subject is well calculated,
1.

To humble the self-righteous

[What room can there be for trusting in our own righteousness, when the most righteous act we ever performed had an iniquity in it which needed to be borne by our great HighPriest? Lay aside your proud thoughts, and seek to be found in Christ, not having your own righteousness, but his.]

2.

To encourage the desponding

[Be it so; you are a sinner: but if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and through him you may draw nigh to God with boldness and confidence [Note: Eph 3:12; Heb 10:19-22.].]

3.

To direct and animate the godly

[You are now priests unto God; and are to have holiness to the lord written upon your foreheads [Note: Zec 14:20.], that it may be visible to God and man. Remember that God will be sanctified in all that draw nigh unto him [Note: Lev 10:3; Psa 93:5.] ; and that as He who hath called you is holy, so must ye be holy in all manner of conversation [Note: 1Pe 1:15-16; 1Pe 2:9.].]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

This glorious inscription of “holiness to Jehovah, ” could mean no other, than that the Lord Jesus was hereby represented. For Aaron, considered in himself, had no holiness. He was sprung from that stock of whom it is said, Rom 3:12 . But beheld as personating him, how precious is the sight. Heb 7:26 . And through him and in him his people are said to be so too, Zec 14:20 ; 2Co 5:21 ; 1Co 1:30 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Exo 28:36 And thou shalt make a plate [of] pure gold, and grave upon it, [like] the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

Ver. 36. HOLINESS TO THE LORD. ] Hence it was not lawful for the high priest, say the Jews, to put off his bonnet to whomsoever he met, were he never so great a man; lest the name and glory of God, whose person he sustained, should seem to submit to any man.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Exodus

THREE INSCRIPTIONS WITH ONE MEANING

HOLINESS TO THE LORD.’ – Exo 28:36 .

HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD.’ – Zec 14:20 .

‘His name shall be in their foreheads.’ – Rev 22:4 .

You will have perceived my purpose in putting these three widely separated texts together. They all speak of inscriptions, and they are all obviously connected with each other. The first of them comes from the ancient times of the institution of the ceremonial ritual, and describes a part of the high priest’s official dress. In his mitre was a thin plate of gold on which was written, ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ The second of them comes from almost the last portion recorded of the history of Israel in the Old Testament, and is from the words of the great Prophet of the Restoration-his ideal presentation of the Messianic period, in which he recognises as one feature, that the inscription on the mitre of the high priest shall be written on ‘the bells of the horses.’ And the last of them is from the closing vision of the celestial kingdom, the heavenly and perfected form of the Christian Church. John, probably remembering the high priest and his mitre, with its inscription upon the forehead, says: ‘His servants shall do Him priestly service’-for that is the meaning of the word inadequately translated ‘serve Him’-’and see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads.’

These three things, then-the high priest’s mitre, the horses’ bells, the foreheads of the perfected saints-present three aspects of the Christian thought of holiness. Take them one by one.

I. The high priest’s mitre.

The high priest was the official representative of the nation. He stood before God as the embodied and personified Israel. For the purposes of worship Israel was the high priest, and the high priest was Israel. And so, on his forehead, not to distinguish him from the rest of the people, but to include all the people in his consecration, shone a golden plate with the motto, ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ So, at the very beginning of Jewish ritual there stands a protest against all notions that make ‘saint’ the designation of any abnormal or exceptional sanctity, and confine the name to the members of any selected aristocracy of devoutness and goodness. All Christian men, ex officio , by the very fact of their Christianity, are saints, in the true sense of the word. And the representative of the whole of Israel stood there before God, with this inscription blazing on his forehead, as a witness that, whatsoever holiness may be, it belongs to every member of the true Israel.

And what is it? It is a very unfortunate thing-indicating superficiality of thought-that the modern popular notion of ‘holiness’ identifies it with purity, righteousness, moral perfection. Now that idea is in it, but is not the whole of it. For, not to spend time upon mere remarks on words, the meaning of the word thus rendered is in Hebrew, as well as in Greek and in our own English, one and the same. The root-meaning is ‘separated,’ ‘set apart,’ and the word expresses primarily, not moral character, but relation to God. That makes all the difference; and it incalculably deepens the conception, as well as puts us on the right track for understanding the only possible means by which there can ever be realised that moral perfection and excellence which has unfortunately monopolised the meaning of the word in most people’s minds. The first thought is ‘set apart to God.’ That is holiness, in its root and germ.

And how can we be set apart for God? You may devote a dead thing for certain uses easily enough. How can a man be separated and laid aside?

Well, there is only one way, brethren, and that is by self-surrender. ‘Yield yourselves to God’ is but the other side, or, rather, the practical shape, of the Old and the New Testament doctrine of holiness. A man becomes God’s when he says, ‘Lord, take me and mould me, and fill me and cleanse me, and do with me what Thou wilt.’ In that self-surrender, which is the tap-root of all holiness, the first and foremost thing to be offered is that most obstinate of all, the will that is in us. And when we yield our wills in submission both to commandments and providences, both to gifts and to withdrawals, both to gains and to losses, both to joys and to sorrows, then we begin to write upon our foreheads ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ And when we go on to yield our hearts to Him, by enshrining Him sole and sovereign in their innermost chamber, and turning to Him the whole current of our lives and desires, and hopes and confidences, which we are so apt to allow to run to waste and be sucked up in the desert sands of the world, then we write more of that inscription. And when we fill our minds with joyful submission to His truth, and occupy our thoughts with His mighty Name and His great revelation, and carry Him with us in the hidden corners of our consciousness, even whilst we are busy about daily work, then we add further letters to it. And when the submissive will, and the devoted heart, and the occupied thoughts are fully expressed in daily life and its various external duties, then the writing is complete. ‘Holiness to the Lord’ is self-surrender of will and heart and mind and everything. And that surrender is of the very essence of Christianity.

What is a saint? Some man or woman that has practised unheard-of austerities? Somebody that has lived an isolated and self-regarding life in convent or monastery or desert? No! a man or woman in the world who, moved by the mercies of God, yields self to God as ‘a living sacrifice.’

So the New Testament writers never hesitate to speak even of such very imperfect Christians as were found in abundance in churches like Corinth and Galatia as being all ‘saints,’ every man of them. That is not because the writers were minimising their defects, or idealising their persons, but because, if they are Christians at all, they are saints; seeing that no man is a Christian who has not been drawn by Christ’s great sacrifice for him to yield himself a sacrifice for Christ.

Of course that intrusive idea which has, in popular apprehension, so swallowed up the notion of holiness-viz. that of perfection of moral character or conduct-is included in this other, or rather is developed from it. For the true way to conquer self is to surrender self; and the more entire our giving up of ourselves, the more certainly shall we receive ourselves back again from His hands. ‘By the mercies of God, I beseech you, yield yourselves living sacrifices.’

II. I come to my next text-the horses’ bells.

Zechariah has a vision of the ideal Messianic times, and, of course, as must necessarily be the case, his picture is painted with colours laid upon his palette by his experience, and he depicts that distant future in the guise suggested to him by what he saw around him. So we have to disentangle from his words the sentiment which he expresses, and to recognise the symbolic way in which he puts it. His thought is this,-the inscription on the high priest’s mitre will be written on the bells which ornament the harness of the horses, which in Israel were never used as with us, but only either for war or for pomp and display, and the use of which was always regarded with a certain kind of doubt and suspicion. Even these shall be consecrated in that far-off day.

And then he goes on with variations on the same air, ‘In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, “Holiness unto the Lord,”‘ and adds that ‘the pots in the Lord’s house’-the humble vessels that were used for the most ordinary parts of the Temple services-’shall be like the bowls before the altar,’ into which the sacred blood of the offerings was poured. The most external and secular thing bearing upon religion shall be as sacred as the sacredest. But that is not all. ‘Yea! every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts, and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them,’ and put their offerings therein. That is to say, the coarse pottery vessels that were in every poverty-stricken house in the city shall be elevated to the rank of the sacred vessels of the Temple. Domestic life with all its secularities shall be hallowed. The kitchens of Jerusalem shall be as truly places of worship as is the inner shrine of the Most High.

On the whole, the prophet’s teaching is that, in the ideal state of man upon earth, there will be an entire abolition of the distinction between ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’; a distinction that has wrought infinite mischief in the world, and in the lives of Christian people.

Let me translate these words of our prophet into English equivalents. Every cup and tumbler in a poor man’s kitchen may be as sacred as the communion chalice that passes from lip to lip with the ‘blood of Jesus Christ’ in it. Every common piece of service that we do, down among the vulgarities and the secularities and the meannesses of daily life, may be lifted up to stand upon precisely the same level as the sacredest office that we undertake. The bells of the horses may jingle to the same tune as the trumpets of the priests sounded within the shrine, and on all, great and small, may be written, ‘Holiness to the Lord.’

But let us remember that that universally diffused sanctity will need to have a centre of diffusion, else there will be no diffusion, and that all life will become sacred when the man that lives it has ‘Holiness to the Lord’ written on his forehead, and not else. If that be the inscription on the driver’s heart, the horses that he drives will have it written on their bells, but they will not have it unless it be. Holy men make all things holy. ‘To the pure all things are pure,’ but unto them that are unclean and disobedient there is nothing pure. Hallow thyself, and all things are clean unto thee.

III. And so I come to my third text-the perfected saints’ foreheads.

The connection between the first and the last of these texts is as plain and close as between the first and the second. For John in his closing vision gives emphasis to the priestly idea as designating in its deepest relations the redeemed and perfected Christian Church. Therefore he says, as I have already explained, ‘His servants shall do Him priestly service, and His name shall be in their foreheads.’ The old official dress of the high priest comes into his mind, and he paints the future, just as Zechariah did, under the forms of the past, and sees before the throne the perfected saints, each man of them with that inscription clear and conspicuous.

But there is an advance in his words which I think it is not fanciful to note. It is only the name that is written in the perfected saint’s forehead. Not the ‘Holiness unto the Lord,’ but just the bare name. What does that mean? Well, it means the same as your writing your name in one of your books does, or as when a man puts his initials on the back of his oxen, or as the old practice of branding the master’s mark upon the slave did. It means absolute ownership.

But it means something more. The name is the manifested personality, the revealed God, or, as we say in an abstract way, the character of God. That Name is to be in the foreheads of His perfected people. How does it come to be there? Read also the clause before the text-’His servants shall see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads.’ That is to say, the perfected condition is not reached by surrender only, but by assimilation; and that assimilation comes by contemplation. The faces that are turned to Him, and behold Him, are smitten with the light and shine, and those that look upon them see ‘as it had been the face of an angel,’ as the Sanhedrim saw that of Stephen, when he beheld the Son of Man ‘standing at the right hand of God.’

My last text is but a picturesque way of saying what the writer of it says in plain words when he declares, ‘We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.’ The name is to be ‘in their foreheads,’ where every eye can see it. Alas! alas! it is so hard for us to live out our best selves, and to show to the world what is in us. Cowardice, sheepishness, and a hundred other reasons prevent it. In this poor imperfect state no emotion ever takes shape and visibility without losing more or less of its beauty. But yonder the obstructions to self-manifestation will be done away; and ‘when He shall be manifested, we also shall be manifested with Him in glory.’

‘Then shall the righteous blaze forth like the sun in My heavenly Father’s Kingdom.’ But the beginning of it all is ‘Holiness to the Lord’ written on our hearts; and the end of that is the vision which is impossible without holiness, and which leads on to the beholder’s perfect likeness to his Lord.

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

HOLINESS TO THE LORD. This is one of’ the few places where the Authorized Version uses large capital letters (see App-48). Here it was worn only on the forehead of the high priest; but in Millennial days it will be worn even on the bells of the horses, Zec 14:20-21. Compare Rev 19:11-14; Rev 14:20.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

a plate of pure gold: The word tzitz, which we translate a plate, properly signifies a flower. It is rendered by the LXX , a leaf, and is called nezer, a crown in Exo 29:6 and , a diadem, by the author of the book of Wisdom, 28:24. Josephus says that it was adorned with three rows of the flower which the Greeks call . It was two fingers broad, of a circular form, suited to the shape of the head, and so long that it reached from ear to ear, and was fastened upon a blue lace or ribband, which was tied behind the head; and as the plate reached only half round the head, the remaining part of the ribband was highly ornamented with artificial flowers.

grave upon it: Exo 28:9, Exo 28:11

HOLINESS: Exo 39:30, Lev 8:9, Lev 10:3, Lev 19:2, Psa 93:5, Eze 43:12, Zec 14:20, Heb 7:26, Heb 12:14, 1Pe 1:15, 1Pe 1:16, 1Pe 2:9, Rev 21:27

Reciprocal: Lev 21:6 – holy Lev 21:12 – for the crown Deu 33:8 – Let thy Psa 106:16 – the saint Zec 3:9 – I will engrave Zec 6:11 – make

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

THE PRIESTLY MITRE

And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, Holiness to the Lord.

Exo 28:36

This plate of pure gold was fastened by blue lace to the mitre, or turban, or tiara, or linen which was upon the head of the high-priest. With the plate of pure gold upon his forehead, he went in before God to present the inscription graven there like the engraving of a signet, Holiness to the Lord, to take away the iniquity of the holy things of Israel and to make those holy things, purged from their iniquity, acceptable to God. Consider the subject of holiness.

I. The word is used in three senses in the Bible.(1) Sometimes the word holy means that which is set apart, consecrated. In that sense the vessels of the Temple were holy. (2) Sometimes the word signifies the indwelling of the Spirit, with His gradually sanctifying processes. In this sense the Church is holy. (3) There is a still higher sense in which man is perfectly holy. Christ perfects them that are sanctified.

II. The true definition of holiness is the likeness of God.But we cannot conceive of the likeness of God but through a medium, and that medium must be the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever traits we find characterising the life of Jesus, these make up holiness. (1) The life of Christ was a separate life. (2) He always carried about an inner sanctuary in His own soul. (3) The life of Christ had a subdued tone. (4) It was a life consecrated to an object. (5) It was a life of praise.

III. Look upon holiness as an end to be obtained.Do not seek holiness as a means to happiness, but happiness as a means to holiness. Be more careful about the holiness of little things than of great things.

Rev. Jas. Vaughan.

Illustration

Josephus tells us that the head-dress of the high-priest was not a conical cap, but a sort of crown, made of thick linen swathes (Ant. Jud., 3. 7, 3). It was, in fact, a kind of turban. The colour was white, and the only ornament on it was the plate of pure gold, with its blue ribbon or fillet. This plate was placed in front over the forehead, was made probably of burnished gold. It had engraved on it the inscription Holiness to the Lord. That golden plate was a type of the essential holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ. His was a life of holy separation to God. Throughout the whole of His lowly course, holiness to Jehovah was the ruling purpose of His mind. And it is written, It shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. This shows us where we stand in Gods sight. It shows us how and why we are accepted. Not because of any holiness imparted to usnot in virtue of what we areor have become by Divine grace, but because of what He is. We are represented by Him. His holiness is ours. He is always in the presence of God for us. Are we ever tempted to think that because of fluctuating feelings and harassing doubts we are no longer acceptable to God? Let us remember that it is never because of anything in us that we are accepted at all. The measure of our acceptance is what Christ is to God; and that remains ever the same in spite of the ups and downs of our spiritual condition. He is there before the throne, that we who are here on earth may be accepted of God in Him.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

Exo 28:36. On the golden plate fixed upon Aarons forehead, like a half coronet, reaching, as the Jews say, from ear to ear, must be engraved, Holiness to the Lord Aaron must hereby be reminded, that God is holy, and that his priests must be holy. The high-priest must be consecrated to God, and so must all his ministrations. All that attend in Gods house must have holiness to the Lord engraven upon their foreheads, that is, they must be holy, devoted to the Lord, and designing his glory in all they do. This must appear in their forehead, in an open profession of their relation to God, as those that are not ashamed to own it, and in a conversation answerable to it. It must likewise be engraven like the engravings of a signet, so deep, so durable; not painted, so as it may be washed off, but sincere and lasting.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

28:36 And thou shalt make a plate [of] pure gold, and grave upon it, [like] the engravings of a signet, {o} HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

(o) Holiness belongs to the Lord: for he is most holy, and nothing unholy may appear before him.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

The gold plate 28:36-38

A plaque of pure gold was attached to the front of the high priest’s turban. It bore the engraved words, "Holy to the LORD."

"Through this inscription, which was fastened upon his head-dress of brilliant white, the earthly reflection of holiness, he was crowned as the sanctified of the Lord (Ps. cvi. 16), and endowed with the power to exterminate the sin which clung to the holy offerings of the people on account of the unholiness of their nature, so that the gifts of the nation became well-pleasing to the Lord, and the good pleasure of God was manifested to the nation." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 2:204.]

"It was necessary also that he should be a holy man. . . . It was as though they said: ’We are conscious that our representative may fail in personal holiness, but on that golden plate of purest metal we have placed our ideal, the high-water mark, which we desire our priest should attain.’" [Note: Meyer, p. 359.]

"’Set apart for Yahweh’ refers not alone, indeed not even primarily to ’Aaron’ and his successors, as Exo 28:38 makes plain. It is Israel that is ’set apart for Yahweh,’ ’Aaron’ of course among Israel and representing Israel . . ." [Note: Durham, p. 388.]

The tunic, turban, and sash 28:39

These items completed the high priest’s wardrobe. The tunic was an undergarment, the turban covered his head, and the sash served as a belt.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)