Responsibility

"The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God." Psalms 14:2.

How often does God look down upon us to see if we're looking back at Him? Among our daily responsibilities, we can't forget our duty to God! God saw Aaron & his sons, and knew that they understood & sought Him. Moses guided them as God directed in order to be priests of the tabernacle. What a great responsibility! And the family was all in it together. I pray that there is family unity in all our families in order to achieve God's best for us in Jesus' Name!

...And it wasn't just the immediate family (Aaron & his sons) which were responsible for one another in this great priestly work & daily duty. It was the extended family, too! All the children of Israel! Aaron & his sons had a lot of weight on their shoulders, literally:

"And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial."
Exodus 28:12.

An ephod was a sleeveless garment worn by the priests. This ephod had added shoulder pieces which bore the names of the tribes of Israel. God has a way of always reminding us who we are, where we came from & why responsibility matters. We each have great roles in our families with lots on our shoulders, so we can somewhat relate. However, Aaron's work was special because it was all about that sanctification, holiness & separation unto The Lord. He was responsible for keeping everyone sanctified unto God through his daily work with his sons! That's HUGE!

There was also a special breastplate with stones, and they too bore the names of the tribes of Israel:

"And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes." Exodus 28:21.

"And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually." Exodus 28:29.

Again, it was a memorial. To remember the great task & responsibility at hand. These were not only his family, but God's people. They required special care and, as discussed previously, attention to detail. First, he bears them on his shoulders to show that he will carry the burden. Then, he has them engraved close to his heart, and this could be to show the love & dedication he has for them.

"And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually." Exodus 28:30.

The Urim & Thummim were other special things used in this process which were upon Aaron's heart. So he carried them physically, lovingly, and in the above Scripture: sacrificially. He bore the judgment upon his heart, too! This is a reflection of how Jesus took our sin upon Himself & was judged for us. We still will be judged when we stand before Him one day, but it won't be on how perfect we were in life. It will be on how much we trusted the Perfect One, Jesus, who has saved us. It will be revealed how much we truly desired to have our family walk in the way of The Lord, just like Aaron & his sons!

So remember, Aaron & his sons weren't chosen because they were perfect; they were just willing to do God's work. They too had to be consecrated: "And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them." Exodus 29:29.

The garments passed down. The responsibility passed down. Just like a uniform to a family business, it was an honor to carry on something which had so much history & so much meaning. Also, it was so special because it was the work of The Lord. Since family is close to the heart, the work upon our shoulders doesn't seem so heavy when we think about the love factor. Jesus took the cross upon His shoulders because the love He has for us is so strong, just like Aaron took on those shoulder pieces. The best thing we can do for our families is get them closer to God!