They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen—the work of skilled hands. – Exodus 39:3

Today's Scripture Reading (December 9, 2024): Exodus 39

Whenever I think of my favorite clothing, my mind goes back to a shirt I wore for a long time when I was younger. The shirt was gold and black, and I have no idea why I liked the shirt, but I admit I did. I wore the shirt for years until it was literally filled with holes and in tatters. Finally, it simply disappeared. It might be tempting to argue that I wore the shirt until nothing was left of it, but the truth is that one day my wife simply ensured the shirt was permanently evicted from my closet. I would look for it, but it was gone. 

Most of the things we wear are made from an assortment of materials. Part of the reason for this is two-fold. First, we want our clothes to be comfortable. Often, single-component clothing can be uncomfortable to wear. But the second reason is that multi-fabric clothing wears better and longer, holding its shape and color longer than others. The last thing any of us want is a comfortable piece of clothing that we fall in love with, which becomes like my gold and black shirt in just a few wears. We want our clothes to last.

The ephod was an apron-like garment that was to be worn by the high priest. But one of the unusual attributes of the priest's ephod was the things of which this piece of clothing was made. When David danced before God, he wore a linen ephod, but the priest's ephod was made of multicolored yarn, linen, and gold. It is not made of gold-colored fabric but actual gold.

Moses tells us how the artisans hammered out the gold into a thin sheet. Gold is a precious metal, but it is also very soft. I don't think most Olympic gold medal winners understand why some athletes are pictured biting into their medals. If the medals were pure gold, the medal would be soft enough to leave tooth marks on the medal from the bite. Pure gold is highly malleable. Of course, Olympic medals aren't pure gold; at best, they are six percent gold.

For the ephod, the gold is hammered into sheets that are as thin as the artisans can make it and then cut into thin strips that can be woven into the mix of yarn and linen. Modern clothing is made of mixed fabrics to make it durable, but the inclusion of gold likely made the ephod a little more delicate. And it likely symbolized both the purity of the priest, but also the fragility of the priesthood. Without God, the priesthood would fall apart, and Israel would never be more than one generation away from complete apostasy. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 40