Exodus 39:23
And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend. And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend.
The high priest's robe was made with an opening in its middle, strengthened by a band worked around the opening so the cloth would not tear. That band is described as woven work set round about the opening for strength. Its central opening was like the opening of a coat of mail, and the tabernacle account with its garments accords with the craftsmanship of the ancient world. The verse thus supplies one detail of the priestly robe in the account of the wilderness tabernacle, the sanctuary God commanded Israel to build.
It stands in chapters 35-40, which record the preparation and fitting of the Tabernacle, set up on the first day of the first month of the second year from the Exodus. It belongs to the detailed instructions for constructing the sanctuary and its furnishings, given in Exodus 25-27, 30, and 35-40. It is part of the record in Exodus 35 to 40 of carrying out the sanctuary instructions given in Exodus 25 to 31, showing the ark built with all its furniture and equipment exactly as God directed, after which blessing and glory came down upon the congregation and the building when it was completed. It belongs to the building and setting up of the sanctuary in Exodus 33-40, which came immediately after God gave Moses the sanctuary instruction in Exodus 25-31 in the mount, continuing in chronological order the events from Exodus 19 to Exodus 32.
It belongs to the directions for building and the description of the marvelously beautiful sanctuary structure that God instructed Moses to have Israel make from free-will offerings so He might dwell among them after redeeming them from Egyptian bondage, as a multiple object-lesson comprehending the great plan of salvation, built by specially endowed workmen according to the divine pattern given to Moses in the mount. It is part of the description in Exodus 25 to 40 of the worldly sanctuary first pitched in the wilderness after Israel was brought out of Egypt to Sinai, one detail of the movable dwelling-place made for God to dwell among men, whose dimensions, material, furnishings, and all were exactly according to the explicit directions given to Moses in the mount. That ancient sanctuary answered every purpose for which it was constructed, yet was always typical of and foreshadowed the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man, with all its rites pointing to Christ, and with the death of Christ its typical earthly service passed away entirely and forever.