The Linen Garments: Part 1 of 6 – High Priest’s Garments Series

Leviticus 16:3-5
3 “Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering. 4 He shall put the holy LINEN tunic and the LINEN trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a LINEN sash, and with the LINEN turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.”

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How many times have you read through your Bible and wondered why all these instructions to ancient Israel are so detailed?  It’s really quite amazing!  😮
Everything had to be made exactly the way God told Moses on the mountain.  From the smallest implement in the Tabernacle, to their sacrifices, the way they dressed, and even to how they treated one another.  All were prescribed by God.
Why all the excruciating detail?  Whenever you are studying any part of the Bible, keep one thing in mind:  It’s all about Jesus! 💖 It then becomes crystal clear what, or more to the point, “Who,” is on God’s mind!
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Qualities Of Linen.
Every part of the tabernacle, from the furnishings, the implements, to Aaron’s priestly garments…..everything unveils the beauty and glory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

The foundation of the garments of all the priest’s was LINEN; and not just linen any type, but “Fine linen.”  This is not the kind we know today.  Back then, it was a VERY expensive commodity.  Only royalty and the ultra rich could even afford it.

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Why linen?  Because it is a very unique fabric which keeps the wearer cool in hot weather, and warm when it is cold, very practical qualities when you live in a hot climate!  But God had a couple of other things in mind which explain why He chose linen, which we’ll discuss in the section on “Sweat.”

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Pictures Of Jesus.
Every part of the High Priest’s garments describes some aspect or attribute of our Lord Jesus.  Now, of course, He isn’t dressed like this in heaven. These pictures are serve as visual aids to teach us about our Great High Priest.  They are recorded for our learning and benefit because the more we learn about Him, the more grace and peace are MULTIPLIED in our lives according to 2 Peter 1, verse 2.

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Underwear.

Aaron, like every high priest, wore a linen turban on his head and linen breeches under everything. Yes, God invented underwear!  In fact, every priest wore these fine linen breeches in addition to a long-sleeved, ankle-length tunic which is called a “Kettoneth.” Imagine the hefty price tag on that clothing line!

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(For more amazing information on the topic of the kettoneth, which is first mentioned in the garden, you may follow the link below:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2020/05/03/coat-of-many-colors-story-of-joseph-part-1/)

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Kodesh LeYahweh

Attached to the front of Aaron’s turban was a solid gold band like the one pictured above, with the words, “Kodesh leYHVH,” [קֹ֖דֶשׁ לַֽיהוָֽה] engraved on it which means, “Holiness to the LORD.”  He was to wear this turban at ALL times because as long as the turban with the golden band was on his head, his thoughts were counted as holy before God.  His thoughts were counted as representative of all the thoughts of the entire nation, and as the High Priest goes, so goes the nation.

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(For more on that topic, you may follow the link below:

https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/as-the-high-priest-goes-so-goes-the-nation/)

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Purity.

White also speaks of purity and righteousness. Every high priest was literally covered from head to toe in Jesus’ purity and thus counted as pure and righteous before God. Just as his thoughts were representative thoughts, so his representative righteousness was credited to the entire nation.

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As it was then, so it is now, only our Great High Priest lives FOREVER!  He actually IS pure, righteous, and holy!  As our Great High Priest goes, so goes, the “Nation: the Church!” His righteousness, purity, and holiness are credited to us because of the cross! AMEN!

And just as He is, we also are kings and priests after the order of Melchizedek in this world.  As kings, we speak for God TO the unbelievers around us, but as priests, we speak FOR them TO God as an intermediary.

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Robes Of White.

The pure white garments of the priests are a picture of the very same pure white robes of the saints mentioned in the the book of Revelation.  They depict the white robes of righteousness given to every believer.

Though we are perfectly holy and righteous to God in our spirit, while we are in these unregenerated bodies, we still sin from time to time. But as we walk through life, we have Jesus’ covering over us.  Our Father doesn’t see you and I when we fail:  He sees us IN Christ!

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(For more on that topic, you may follow the link below:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2017/01/21/the-five-offerings-of-leviticus-part-5-of-10-bullock-offering/)

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During His entire life, Jesus DID no sin, He KNEW no sin, and IN HIM is no sin.  At the cross, how did He become sin?  Not by committing sins, NO!  Our sins were placed on Him like a garment.  He paid for them, “In His body,” (See 1 Peter 2:24), His “soul became an offering for sin,” (See Isaiah 53:10), but Sin did not touch His spirit.  He had sin “On Him,” but IN HIM there was no sin.  We have sin “IN us,” but we have His righteousness “ON us.”  Remember, IN our flesh dwells no good thing.

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The Order Of Melchizedek.

Melchizedek comes from two Hebrew words: Melchi meaning “King,” zedek meaning “Righteousness.”  He was The King of Righteousness but also the King of Salem, which means, “Peace.”  Who does that sound like?  Jesus!  I believe, based on this, that Melchizedek was one of the many theophanies of Jesus in the Old Testament.

As the Levites were priests of the old covenant, we as believers are ministers of the New Covenant.

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God HATES Sweat!

As you read earlier, linen has a unique quality that keeps the wearer cool in hot weather, warm in colder temperatures.  It is a message from God to those in ministry.  He wants His ministers to have cool heads—hence the turban—and cool passions, the purpose of the breeches. In other words, He wants His ministers to be even-tempered.

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Another reason He chose linen is found in this curious little passage from Ezekiel 44:17-18. I have capitalized a few words for emphasis:

“When they (the priests) come through the gates of the inner open space, they will be dressed in LINEN clothing. They must NOT wear any WOOL while they are serving inside the gates of the inner open space or in the house. 18 They will wear LINEN head-coverings (turbans) and LINEN underclothes. They must not dress in anything that makes their bodies wet with heat. (SWEAT)”

God is concerned that His priests…..US…..not sweat. Why? Because HE HATES SWEAT!!!, or at least, what it represents. It was part of the curse from the garden.

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Now, God HATES sin, YES!….but He doesn’t want to punish us; He wants to bless us. Unfortunately, under the old covenant, the people were cursed more often than they were blessed. THAT’S WHY GOD FOUND FAULT WITH THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, as it says in Hebrews 8.

That is one of the reasons why Jesus came and took ALL OUR PUNISHMENT for us; so Abba could have His heart’s greatest desire: To bless and bless and bless and bless and bless!!!

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Rest In Him.

Now, it is not necessarily actual sweat that God is against.  It is quite possible to appear outwardly calm, cool, and collected while inside your mind and emotions are racing and churning, your heart pounding with worry and fear. Sweat represents human works, human effort, human reasoning, human striving, human worrying, etc., etc.

God, FIRST AND FOREMOST, wants us to REST in Him. That’s why we are “SEATED” in high places with Him. Seated means we are at rest.

That does not mean that we sit around all day and do nothing, of course.  But as we walk through our daily lives, we are resting in Him, not worrying what we shall eat or drink or put on.  As God clothes the lilies of the field, so He will much more take care of us, according to Matthew 6.

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He Redeemed Our Sweat.

But HALLELUJAH!!!  Great drops of sinless blood mixed with the great drops of sweat in the second Adam, Jesus, in the second Garden.  By this He redeemed OUR sweat, i.e., our human works, human effort, human reasoning, striving, worrying, etc.  He bequeathed to us His rest and peace as documented in this verse in John 14:27.

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“My peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. Not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled; neither let it be afraid.”

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He wants, above all, for us NOT to be worried or afraid; to not “Sweat,” but trust Him and be at rest.

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What wonderful pictures of Jesus the Holy Spirit has painted for us!  They are included in the Bible to help you and I see Him more clearly so that we will rest in Him.  These just are some of the things we can learn from the Linen Garments of the High Priest.

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You may follow the link below to Part 2 where we’ll be talking about the blue Tekhelet of the High Priest and the great significance of the color BLUE:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2016/05/15/tekhelet-part-2-high-priests-garment-series/