Fort Lupton Seventh-day Adventist Church

In Exodus 28:36, we find an interesting passage about holiness: "Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: holy to the Lord" (NIV).  The context of this passage is talking about one of the vestments that the high priest wore in the earthly sanctuary service, the blue robe of the ephod.  This robe was one of the articles of clothing that set the high priest apart from all the other priests in the sanctuary.  Aaron, the first high priest, was commanded to wear this (among other things) while he was ministering in the most holy place of the sanctuary - otherwise he would die (Exodus 28:35).  The high priest was also supposed to wear a small, golden plate on his turban that had the words etched into it: "Holiness to the Lord."  What is interesting about this plate is that a) its engraving ascribed holiness to God and not the high priest, and b) it served to seal the high priest for God.

Jesus Christ is the true high priest who ministers in the heavenly sanctuary for us right now.  With Jesus as our high priest, every Christian is also designated a priest who participates in Jesus' high priesthood - and this designation is by Jesus' own command (Rev. 1:5-6; Heb. 10:19-21)!  God is a holy God, and as such we need to respect him.  If the high priest in the earthly sanctuary system didn't respect God while ministering in the most holy place, he would die; this wasn't because God killed people, it was because God's holiness was something completely different - the exact opposite - of our sinfulness.  But God wants people to come into his presence; and God wanted the high priest to minister in the most holy place.  So God "sealed" the Old Testament high priest with his own holiness - basically, the high priest was made holy by God rather than by his own priestly actions.  Today, God invites us as a loving Father to come into his presence.  And through Jesus, our great high priest, God "seals" us with the holiness of Christ.  It is Christ who makes us holy through his own holiness, thus fitting us for fellowshiping with God.  Let us remember to take the holiness of God seriously in our worship.  And let us also remember that God's holiness transforms and seals us so that we imitate the holiness of Jesus Christ

                                                                                                      Blessings,