I remember very well carrying my children who had fallen asleep in the back of a long car journey. I lifted them as carefully as I could, up the stairs and then into their beds, all without waking them. In the morning they had no knowledge of being carried. They didn’t know how they had gone from the car journey to their bed.
God’s instructions for the ephod are about that kind of carrying.
“Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of skilled hands. 7 It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened. 8 Its skillfully woven waistband is to be like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen. 9 “Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel 10 in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. 11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings 12 and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord. 13 Make gold filigree settings 14 and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings.” (Exodus 28 v 6-14)
God tells Moses to have skilled craftsmen make the ephod from gold, coloured yarn and fine linen, with shoulder pieces and a matching waistband.
But today, I want to highlight these two verses: “Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other (v9-10).
Slow this down a moment and say with me, “Surely not all 12 names!?”
Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah were included despite their serious failings, alongside Joseph and Benjamin.
Have you ever removed anyone from your contact list because of what they became or the harm they caused you? I have someone like that. He caused me a lot of harm, and we no longer talk. For a long time, I couldn’t bring myself to delete his details, even though he hates me. I think I held on because I was still grieving the friendship we had when we were younger. But I finally deleted him from my contacts; it took 12 years. It was a sign I had let him go. I still hope he finds his way back to God. But I cannot carry his name on my life anymore.
Thankfully, God doesn’t treat us this way. Let’s go back to the High Priest’s ephod.
Each name was permanently engraved with gold and carried on the priest’s shoulders. Though none had earned it, whenever Aaron entered God’s presence, he carried them with him.
In the Bible, God’s strong shoulders are the place where burdens are carried. Isaiah said of the coming child, “the government will be on his shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6). The lost shepherd who found his lost sheep “joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home” (Luke 15:5).
This is what we have in Christ. We have a High Priest, Jesus, who “always lives to intercede” for those who come to God through him (Hebrews 7:25). Through Isaiah, God says to his people, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:16). On Calvary, Jesus’ hands carried that engraving in the nail marks.
People may judge you as a Reuben, Simeon, Levi or Judah, and you might even agree. We don’t spend our entire life as a Joseph or a Benjamin. But you don’t get deleted from God’s contact list. You are there not because you earned it. In fact, compromise would suggest you shouldn’t be there at all. But you are there because of Christ. Your name is carried because you belong to Him, and it is held not by braided gold, but by the powerful blood of Jesus.
You may not be aware of it today. You are a sleeping child being carried into the house. But your High Priest stands in the Father’s presence with your name on his shoulders.
You have been and are being carried.
