Upon His shoulders and over His heart

Upon His shoulders and over His heart

“And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders as a memorial.” (Exodus 28:12)

“So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart”. (Exodus 28:29)

He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart. (Philippians 1:6-7)

I once went to a jewellery factory in Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A young Jewish woman had the job of taking visitors on a short tour. The one objective of this tour was to get you into the shop to sell you some very attractive but expensive jewellery. As we walked, there were pictures of the precious stones we have read about this morning. I stopped and said to the young woman, “These are the stones which were on the breastplate of your High Priest.” I will never forget the blank look on her face as the pace to the shop increased. I felt a sadness as I reflected on how little we realise how precious we are to God.

Aaron carried the people of God on his shoulders and over his heart in the presence of God. A compelling picture of the ministry of Christ, our High Priest, ever living to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). Exodus 28 describes the two onyx stones set in gold on Aaron’s shoulders. There was one on each of his shoulders and each stone was engraved with the names of six tribes of Israel (Exodus 28:12). I am always reminded of the Lord Jesus, describing Himself finding the lost sheep and laying it on His shoulders. There is a gentle but immense power in that action. Jesus never spoke of lifting off the sheep from His shoulders. We rest permanently in the power of Christ’s salvation.

Later in Exodus 28, the breastplate Aaron wore is described as set with twelve precious stones, each engraved with the name of one of the tribes of Israel, in four rows (verses 15-21). They are mentioned three times in verses 29-30 as being on Aaron’s heart. This is a great illustration of Christ’s love for us which Paul describes so beautifully in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.