(8.) Soldier, Priest – The Breastplate of Righteousness
(8.) Soldier, Priest – The Breastplate of Righteousness.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For this struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:10-20).
I’m A Soldier In The Army Of The Lord (from the motion picture The Apostle) – YouTube
The Roman Soldier’s Breastplate: This was a vital piece of battle equipment, because it protected the soldier’s heart and other vital organs. During the time of Jesus, the soldiers generally wore a breastpiece of chain-mail, which was a covering of interlocking piece of metal. And over that was a leather jacket that had long flaps of metal hanging down in layers, much like a contemporary soldier’s flak jacket. Much of the time, an ordinary foot soldier would simply wear a leather vest-like jacket, and those fancier breastplates were reserved for the upper levels of soldiers. Without their breastplates, the soldiers would be vulnerable to swords and arrows during combat. The breastplate would be a fixed and irreplaceable part of their armor and not forgotten, even if hurrying to battle.
Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to me as priest. And you shall make sacred garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to me as priest… Have them use gold, blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.” (Exodus 28:1-3).
Yahweh wanted Aaron to be distinctive in his role of high priest. Aaron’s identity was firmly established in the minds of the people whenever they saw him because of his holy garments. Aaron wore a set of clothing that distinguished him as high priest. His sacred garments set him apart from the people, and it reinforced in his own mind that he was called to a serious business with God and with the people. Aaron’s high priestly uniform pieces were made to be “glorious and beautiful.” Rabbinic sources state that the garments were not intended to be merely attractive in their own right, but instead made for “the glory of God and for the beauty of His presence.” His holy garments were made to reflect the very glory and beauty of Yahweh. So nothing but the finest of materials were used, and even the tailors producing these garments were specially gifted for this project by the Lord Himself.
For Christians, God intended a Tabernacle that pointed to a future reality, the spiritual reality of Christ’s sacrifice. The Tabernacle was following a specific heavenly pattern that was fulfilled in the incarnation of Jesus. This earthly Tabernacle was an expression of principles that were founded in heaven. In the wilderness Tabernacle, everything had a spiritual meaning and a divine purpose. So it follows that the Lord had His reasons for demanding certain colors, five in particular, which is the biblical number for grace.
Gold. Unsurprisingly, this color represents holiness, priceless in value, beauty.
Blue. This brilliant blue continues to be called “the world’s most precious color” by the Jews. Probably any observant Jew walking the street could tell you why this biblical shade of blue is the most important color in Judaism… this blue looks like the sea, which reflects the blue sky, which reminds us of God in the blue heavens on His royal throne. This special blue dye was extracted from particular sea snails along the coasts. So this blue is a symbol of the deity and the importance of obeying the one true God. Yahweh was very specific about the importance of this particular blue in their walk with Him. “Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you must obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. I am Yahweh your God.” During the Middle Ages, when the Jews were not in their homeland, the blue dye process was lost. But now, since the creation of Israel in their land once again, these particular seas snails so plentiful along the Israeli coasts have been re-discovered and the sacred blue dye is being used once again in Israel and on the Jewish prayer shawls. This sacred blue continues to be referred to as the “biblical blue.”
Purple. This royal color is extracted from the same sea snail as the biblical blue. It is often called the Tyrian Purple or the Royal Purple. When this extract is kept indoors during processing into a dye, away from the sunlight, it will remain a vivid beautiful purple. But if the extract is left in the sunlight even for as little as two hours, the dye turns into the biblical blue. The purple represents the royal King of the universe, that He sits on His throne as Lord. Also vital is that this purple reminds everyone of the Lord’s words to Moses in Exodus 19:5-6: “Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you will be for me a kingdom of priests, a nation set apart.”
Scarlet. This brilliant red dye is once again an animal-based dye, and not a plant-based dye. The dyes coming from animals were brighter, more vivid, and were permanent. Dyes based on plants were short-lived and washed out rather quickly. The Lord wanted the colors to remain for all time. And here is the scarlet worm story: There was a small worm, or grub that the Israelites discovered when they were in the Sinai desert. This tiny worm the size of a pea is called the “shani”, which means scarlet red. This color is named after both the worm and the color it produces. As amazing as this story is, the history of the shani is completely true. When the female shani becomes pregnant, it climbs the nearest tree and buries itself into the bark so it is protected. The female will then give birth to its young, and the mother proceeds to die. During the birthing process and death, the female bleeds a bright red scarlet color, making the tree appear as if it’s bleeding. At the death of the mother shani, the newly birthed young feed on the dead mother until they are mature enough to crawl down the tree and live their lives. The dead mother’s body is still able to produce the bright red color when it is crushed during the dying process. The shani, the scarlet worm, continue to thrive in the Sinai desert to this day. It is astounding that Jesus on the Cross, when reciting Psalm 22, most probably continued to cry out the psalm after the first verse, and Jesus certainly recited verse 6: “I am a shani worm, and not a man!” Jesus knew the story of the shani, and He is declaring that He will offer His life, His blood sacrifice, to give birth to new lives around the world. Jesus Christ is our shani worm. And He continues to be our shani worm as we “feed on the Bread of life” during Eucharist. It is astounding that God put this all together in His wonderful mind.
White. This color symbolizes righteousness, purity, perfectly virtuous, something washed totally clean of impurities.
Is there any doubt that the specific colors God selected for the Tabernacle had deep significance? Those colors were used all through the Tabernacle on many items. They were spiritually important… Royal Purple to represent the King of the universe and His kingdom of priests; Biblical Blue to point to God in heaven and the importance of obedience; Scarlet Red to remind everyone of the blood sacrifice of Christ as he gave birth to a whole new world of forgiveness and redemption.
The High Priest’s Breastplate: After putting on the white linen undergarments, the High Priest would first put on a sleeveless, “Bible Blue” robe that would be ankle-length. At the hem of this robe were small golden bells that would make a distinctive tinkling sound when he walked or worked. Alternating with the bells at the robe’s hem were imitation pomegranate-shaped articles representing fruitfulness, because of the abundance of seeds in the healthy pomegranate. Some rabbinic sources also state that the pomegranates represented man’s sinfulness, since it was believed that pomegranates wee the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. When the High Priest was working in the tabernacle, accepting sacrifices, interceding for the people and especially entering the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, those nearby would be comforted to hear the bells, because it would assure them that he was working in God’s house for their benefit. Also, the bells reminded the people that they are to be holy and righteous, because God is holy and righteous. Over the robe would be a beautiful, multi-colored ephod, an apron-like long vest that would be the anchor-point of the breastplate. On each shoulder of the ephod was placed a stone, six names on each of the two shoulders, that represented the High Priest’s bearing all twelve tribes of Israel up in his intercession and service onto the Lord in the Tabernacle. It truly represented the glory and beauty and magnificence of the Lord. Over the ephod the High Priest would put on the breastplate. It was like a pouch, 9 inches square, hanging by golden ropes in all four corners to the ephod. This is a sacred vestment visibly displaying 12 precious stones. There were four rows of these stones, three in each row, to represent all twelve tribes of Israel. All these stones were placed in pure gold settings on the breastplate. These gems told the people that the High Priest was responsible to intercede for all the people before God, and that he would hold them close to his heart. These precious gems were permanently fixed to the breastplate, representing the permanent covenant God has with His Chosen People. The stones, being so irreplaceable, reminded the people that they were special to Yahweh, priceless treasures to the Lord God. The breastplate also enfolded two mysterious stones, called the Urim (“light”) and the Thummin (“perfection”), and were used to help the High Priest make judgments regarding the Law of Moses. It is very unclear, but appears that these two stones were used kind of like spiritual dice, rolling them and finding God’s will somehow, His direction regarding important decisions. The breastplate was often called the “breastplate of judgment” for this reason. The High Priest’s breastplate was distinctive, to say the least, and it set the High Priest apart from everyone else in the nation of Israel. It’s beauty and special appearance invited the people to honor him and remember what he represented. It certainly was an important part of the High Priest’s spiritual armor.
Dikaios = the Greek word for both justice and righteousness, can be translated as righteous, just, fair, blameless, innocent, uprightness, heart that is right with God. “Stand firm, then… with the breastplate of righteousness in place.” (Ephesians 6:14). “For I tell you that unless your uprightness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of Torah, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20).
Warrior Priests. Breastplates actually get a lot of attention in Scripture… “the breastplate of faith and love” in 1 Thessalonians 5:8; the High Priest’s breastplate of Judgement in Exodus 28; the “breastplate of righteousness” in Ephesians 6:14 (in most translations); the “breastplate of holiness” in Eph. 6:14 (the Passion Translation); God Himself, as well as the coming Messiah, would “put on righteousness as a breastplate” (Isaiah 59:17). As believers, we know that each of us is a warrior priest, a member of a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9). Each of us is a soldier of Christ in the unseen warfare against our spiritual enemies (Eph. 6). As holy soldiers, we put on the spiritual armor provided by God, including the breastplate that protects the life-giving heart of our spiritual lives. Our spiritual breastplate protects our vital core from grievous attacks and sin. The breastplate keeps us from being assaulted by the evil one. And as holy priests, we are likewise wearing clothes provided by God. We priests are “clothed with righteousness” (Psalm 132:9), set apart to wear the “robe of righteousness” of Isaiah 61:10. As priests we are called to serve God wearing our sacred garments given to us by God. As both priests and soldiers, we are given a protective layer of righteousness and holiness, keeping our hearts in the right place, shielding us from the Adversary’s deadly assaults.
Jesus is our Righteousness. In our roles as both priest and soldier, we are holy, set apart, and asked to “put on” something. We are to put on the holy breastplate of righteousness as well as a robe of righteousness, garments of blamelessness, virtue, justice, goodness. In fact, what else is this but simply “putting on the Lord Jesus” (Romans 13:14)? God has graciously provided the Lord’s righteousness as we live into the holy priesthood and the army of God. His breastplate of righteousness means that this not a breastplate of our own construction. One of the names our Father gave to the Messiah in Jeremiah 23:6 is “The Lord Is Our Righteousness.” Jesus Himself is our righteousness, He is our breastplate. When we put on Jesus and His righteousness, we are participating in His perfect righteousness, and not merely depending on our own righteousness to suffice as our ultimate protection. Jesus was strong to resist temptation in the wilderness and throughout His life. Wearing His breastplate will do the same for us. After all, as it is with all other aspects of our Christian life, it’s not about us. It’s about putting on Jesus and living into His righteousness. Because He is holy, we are to be holy: in the way we live, the decisions we make, the behavior we demonstrate. When we put on the holy armor, we are “clothing ourselves in Christ” (Galatians 3:27). We are “putting on the new self which is in the likeness of God and has been created in righteousness and holiness in the truth” (Eph. 4:24). Our breastplate is described well in Colossians 3:12: “And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other. And beyond all these things, put on love.” That is what our breastplate of righteousness looks like. These are the holy virtues of Christ, and we put them on when we put on His breastplate.
Hid in Christ. When we put on the holy breastplate of Jesus, we are in a sense hiding behind it. We have found our hiding place. His righteousness is covering over us. We are “hid in Christ” (Colossians 3:3) when we put on the breastplate. We are confidently and faithfully hiding behind God’s declaration that we are now holy and righteous in His eyes. When God looks at us now, He sees Jesus. When God sees us with our spiritual armor on, He sees us wearing the holy, protective gear of Christ Himself. We can not generate our own righteousness and try to put that on. We instead participate in Christ’s righteousness. We do not declare ourselves to be holy warrior priests. We live into God’s calling us to those roles in His strength. “He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault.” (Colossians 1:22). In our spiritual warfare, we stand firm and protect our hearts because we have put on the righteousness of Jesus. And we are expected to mature in that righteousness, walking in the holiness that has been declared by God and fleshed out in the Lord.
“Behold, the days are coming, says Yahweh, when I will raise up from David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the Name by which he will be called: Yahweh-tsidkenu, LORD-our-righteousness.” (Jeremiah 23:5-6).
Tsidkenu: the Hebrew word for righteousness; saving justice; upright; someone who is perfectly what he ought to be; full of truth, integrity and wisdom; unswerving adherence to righteous standards of fairness; blamelessly put things right.
Jeremiah’s prophecy came to the Israelites when they were under an ominous cloud of judgment. God would send His chosen people into exile for idolatry, immorality, and for judging the people falsely. There was no justice for the innocent. But in the midst of the gloom and doom, Jeremiah speaks the Lord’s words of hope and restoration that will follow on the heels of the difficult judgment. God promised to restore justice through a righteous king who will rule with wisdom and fairness. There will be saving justice in the land. This will be a time when the people will not have to depend on the tainted goodness of other people. The time will come when God Himself will be the people’s righteousness. The Messiah, the righteous Branch from David’s line, will restore the earth. There is reason to hope in the midst of judgment, says the LORD.
In many ways Jeremiah’s prophecy remains unfulfilled. These prophetic words are referring to the Lord’s return in glory to execute justice and righteousness over the earth. These are not words spoken about the Messiah Jesus when He became incarnate and suffered death on the earth. Messiah did indeed bring a foretaste of the full restoration. But Jeremiah is mostly speaking about when Jesus comes in glory as the the righteous king and will restore all things unto Himself. God the Father is going to call Jesus by this glorious Name, LORD-our-righteousness, and Jesus will finally be the world’s righteousness for eternity. “And this is the name by which He will be called, Yahweh-tsidkenu, LORD-is-our-righteousness.”
“I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garment, and a s bride adorns herself with jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so Yahweh Elohim will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” (Isaiah 61:10-11).
Yahweh is the only One who is naturally and completely righteous. The LORD is the truly Righteous One. When we put on Christ, when we wear God’s righteousness, we become partakers of His divine nature. We share in His holiness. We are members of His priesthood. We participate in His character. When we put on His robe, He declares us righteous. We haven’t all of a sudden become good. We are good through God’s goodness. Because of our union with Jesus, when God looks at us, He sees Jesus and His righteousness. It is our new position before God. After we put on the robe and the breastplate, they are sized a little too big, so we grow into them. We are expected to mature in His righteousness. We are called to live into His holiness as we participate in His nature. We don’t become gods, we become like God as we share in His righteousness.
Dress Clothes. God’s grace provides the holy breastplate of Jesus. God’s strength is needed to put on this breastplate. God’s power will transform us as we wear Jesus Christ. Let us rejoice as we think about the time when we will take off the breastplate for good and put on the wedding garments of clean white linens. The warfare will have been ended, the enemy vanquished. There will be no need of protection, and the victory banquet, the wedding feast of the Lamb, will begin.
Take My Life (Vineyard Music) – YouTube