Exodus 28:19 - Forerunner Commentary

Exodus 28:19

Commentaries:

No entry exists in Forerunner Commentary for Exodus 28:19.

Exodus 28:15-21
Excerpted from: The Priesthood of God (Part 9)

The breastplate stones are listed according to tribal order, not birth order. A different jewel represents each tribe. Does that not already begin to tell you there are differences between the tribes? All the jewels are valuable, but no two stones were alike. This suggests that our attention is purposely drawn toward the general differences, and therefore the services and rewards given each; that is, tribal gifts—strengths and weakness, which they had within them—peculiarities and tendencies.

The jewel arrangement was also partly necessary because Joseph, who was not literally the firstborn, was given the right of firstborn when Reuben, the true firstborn, disqualified himself. That shook up the order of the jewels, and thus Jacob appointed Joseph firstborn, and he was given the firstborn's right of inheritance that normally would have gone to Reuben.

Now to be named "firstborn" is a distinctive honor setting the one named apart from all of his brothers. Joseph therefore received a double portion of the inheritance, and God backed Jacob's decision, and the Joseph tribe thus became two tribes—Ephraim and Manasseh. That made thirteen tribes, and that would have upset the order, and the configuration of the jewels, because it is an uneven number, and that would have destroyed the balance of the four rows, each of the three jewel arrangements on the order of the breastplate.

A careful reading shows that the Levite tribe was not listed among those represented by a jewel on the breastplate, and of course Joseph's name was not listed either. But with the addition of Ephraim and Manasseh—that is, Joseph's double portion—that brought the breastplate jewel number back to an even twelve.

Incidentally, I have no idea why they are all different. I have some ideas that I can get out of the scriptures, but I think it is interesting to notice this peculiarity. Why did God permit this? Why did He inspire it?

Exodus 28:15-21
Excerpted from: The Priesthood of God (Part 8)

There is a difference here. The onyx stones that were on the shoulder were according to their birth. When we get to the breastplate, He differentiates. These are according to their tribes. There is a difference.

The top row on the breastplate held the names of Zebulun, Issachar, and Judah. The second row consisted of Gad, Simeon, and Reuben. The third row consisted of Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. The bottom row included Naphtali, Asher, and Dan. Notice I said that they were placed in the breastplate, not on.

It almost seems at times that the main purpose of the breastplate was to hold the Urim and Thummim. They were that important to the life of Israel. This means that the breastplate was a decision-making instrument that the high priest bore for the well-being of the entire nation. This begins to delineate something, because it appears that the overall purpose of the breastplate was to serve as a reminder to Israelites of the values that God placed on each individual. Now how did it do this? It did it through the names that were written on the stones. Names that were written on the stones represented the entire population. Each tribe's name was written down, and it represented everybody in that tribe.

The entire Israelitish population was represented on the high priest's heart, showing that God intended it be an instrument of judgment, which takes emotions, healings, affections, and things of that nature into account as he is making decisions in behalf of the entire nation.

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