Exodus 28:36-38

The Turban And The Golden Plate of Holiness to Yahweh (Exodus 28:36).

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 Exodus 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.

Exodus 28:36

“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 - Exodus 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 Exodus 39:31), the same colour as his robe. (The turban is in fact white - Exodus 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 (Hebrews 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 (Isaiah 1:10), because they were not living in accordance with the covenant. Israel were no longer ‘holy to Yahweh'.