Exodus 39:8
And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
The verse describes the breastplate as skillfully woven like the ephod from gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen. It records the faithful carrying out of the instructions given in Exodus 25 to 31, with the breastplate made together with the ark and all its furniture exactly as God directed, which Moses inspected and found to be as commanded. The wilderness tabernacle so built was God's commanded dwelling among His people after their redemption from Egypt, the center of worship where forms and rites taught the plan of salvation to those unfitted by slavery to comprehend it. As the high priest's most sacred vestment bearing the twelve tribes of Israel upon its stones, it represents Christ the great High Priest bearing each repentant, believing soul on His heart before the Father. It is a type of His bearing the names recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life brought in on the tenth day of the seventh month, shadowing the investigative judgment of the house of God before the second coming when sins are blotted out by His blood. Like all the rites and furnishings of that worldly sanctuary, it was a typical object lesson pointing to Christ the Lamb of God until the earthly sanctuary passed away at His death when the veil was rent.
Sanctuary Context and Construction
The breastplate was skillfully fashioned like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. The materials and workmanship it displays accord with the advanced textile and metalworking skills known in the ancient world before the Exodus.
The verse stands in the account of the building of the sanctuary in Exodus 36-39, and in the building and setting up of the sanctuary recorded in Exodus 33-40. That account belongs to the full description of the sanctuary and its furnishings found in Exodus beginning with chapter 25 and continuing to the end of the book. In chronological order it comes after the events of Exodus 19-32 and immediately after the instruction concerning the sanctuary in Exodus 25-31 given to Moses in the mount.
The structure was of extraordinary magnificence, formed of upright boards overlaid with gold, thirty cubits long and about ten in width and ten in height, with an eastern entrance of five pillars and four coverings over it. It was the wilderness tabernacle built under Moses after God brought Israel out of Egypt, with its dimensions, material, and furnishings made exactly according to the directions given on Mount Sinai and described in Exodus 25 to 40, whose furniture is listed in Hebrews 9:1-5.
The wilderness tabernacle was built by Israel at God's command as God's dwelling place among His people, that He might dwell among them and reveal more fully His great love. It was the center of Israel's worship and service, which revolved around the most holy place, where the law of God rested beneath the mercy seat. It was given after God redeemed Israel from Egyptian bondage with a mighty hand, because hundreds of years of slavery had unfitted them to comprehend God's great salvation and the character He required, so God gave a great, multiple object-lesson which by various forms and rites would teach the great plan of salvation. He commanded Moses to ask free-will offerings of all that would be used in building to make Him a sanctuary that He might dwell among them, with the work done by workmen He specially endowed, according to a divine pattern given to Moses in the mount. In this way it carried forward the unfolding plan of redemption beyond the simple offering of a lamb on rough stones with the father as priest from Eden to the Exodus.
The verse records part of the carrying out of the sanctuary instructions given in Exodus 25 to 31, showing the breastplate made with the ark and all its furniture and equipment just as God directed. The sanctuary and its furnishings were made according to God's pattern, and Moses inspected the completed work and found it to be as God had commanded. This completed obedient work brought blessing and glory down upon the congregation and the building. The manifestation of God's glory in building and inaugurating the sanctuary and its services showed that He accepted the people's repentance.
Breastplate Typology and Judgment
The breastplate of judgment was the high priest's most sacred vestment, skillfully made like the ephod, bearing the tribes of Israel upon it with its twelve stones bearing the names of Israel's tribes. It represents Christ, the great High Priest, bearing each repentant, believing soul on His heart. It serves as a type of Christ bearing before the Father the names recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Those names were brought in on the tenth day of the seventh month. It belongs to the tenth-day atonement of the house of Israel, which was in a certain sense a day of judgment in which every unafflicted soul was cut off from among his people. That service shadows forth the investigative judgment of the house or church of God before the second coming of Christ, when the cases of the righteous dead and living are decided and their sins are blotted out by the blood of Jesus.
That worldly sanctuary was the dwelling-place of God with men and answered every purpose for which it was built, yet was always typical and shadowy. All its rites and furnishings were object lessons pointing to Christ the Lamb of God and His power to forgive sin, transform character, and deliver from burdens. The earthly sanctuary passed away entirely and forever at Christ's death when the temple veil was rent.