K. In addition, "And make," it is said, "a polished tablet of pure gold, and carve on it, as one carves on a seal, 'Holiness of the Lord,' and fasten it with a blue cord to the kidar, so that it is on the front side of the kidar; and it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear upon him the defects of the offerings which are consecrated from the children of Israel, and of all the gifts which they offer. and it shall be continually upon his forehead, for the Lord's good pleasure towards them" (Exodus 28:36-38). So, the headband is made of blue cloth, and the tablet is golden; the inscription carved on it is the mystery of Christ and a clear foreshadowing of His sending into this world. For "holiness," it is said, is to the Lord; but did not Immanuel clearly say of Himself that He was sanctified by God and the Father?

P. Yes, because I remember His words to the Jews: "If He called them gods to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken, do you say, To Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, do you say, 'You blaspheme, because I said, 'I am the Son of God?'" (John 10:35-36).

K. When the Son says of Himself that He is sanctified by God and the Father, He indicates that He is as it were pre-chosen and sent. "The holiness of the Lord," it is said, that is, the appointment and message into this world; but only for the kingdom and glory. For thus God makes Aaron, placing a golden tablet on his forehead. And Christ is the Lord of all and King by nature and at the same time by communion; for, being God by nature, He "made Himself small," having descended to "the form of a servant" (Phil. 2:7). And he accepts the kingdom as befits the human image, although from the beginning he was a neighbor of God and the Father in heaven, co-ruler over all things and co-ruler. Consider, then, how his (Aaron's) headband was made of blue cloth, having a shining sign of the kingdom, that is, a golden tablet. The blue color signifies the sky; and remember the words of Christ: "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36); for Christ is not an earthly king, but a heavenly one, having all creation under His feet. Adding the words: "And Aaron shall take away the sins of the saints, since they shall sanctify them from all the gifts of their saints," the Scriptures clearly indicate that all "bringing in" (Ephesians 2:18) and fulfillment are in Christ, and that all justification is in Him and through Him, and the laying aside of former sins; for He Himself lifts up our sins, and through Him we are made pleasant, offering spiritual gifts to God and the Father.

P. Well said.

K. Indicating very clearly that the kingdom of our Savior is inalienable and permanent, and extends to endless ages, the Scriptures speak of the board on the headband: "And let it be on the forehead of Aaron always." Where, then, should the impudent and insane speech of impious heretics find refuge, talking idly that the power of Christ will one day cease and that Immanuel will deliver up the Kingdom to God and the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24), having departed from the throne of the Godhead? And it is precisely such terrible and at the same time empty teachings that people boast of, to whom it may be justly said: "Ye err not knowing the Scriptures" (Matt. 22:29). And so, when God and the Father clearly and evidently adorns Aaron with unceasing glory and honor and signs of royal dignity, they dethrone and almost steal by force his sacred head ornament.

P. Pravda.

K. "And make," it is said, "a tunic of fine linen and a kidar" (Exodus 28:39). Aaron's warrior appearance was given by a belt and a helmet; for this was the appearance of the Kidar. And for us Christ "wrestled with a secret hand," according to the Scriptures (Exodus 17:16), and "He made His bow with tension and ready, and made His arrows unto those who were burned" (Psalm 7:13 and 14), and He cast down the principalities, triumphed over the powers, shook the dominions, and set free the captives on earth. And that His battle was not visible or sensual, and not with blood and flesh, seems to be covertly indicated by the fact that the military armor – the kidar (klobuk) and the belt – was made of the same very fine linen. Thus, through the sacred adornment, God reveals Aaron to be glorious and wondrous. He adds to this another commandment, saying: "Make tunics for the sons of Aaron, make them girdles, and make them headbands for glory and splendor, and clothe Aaron thy brother and his sons with him in them, and anoint them, and fill their hands, and consecrate them, and they shall be priests unto Me. And thou shalt make them a linen undergarment to cover their nakedness from the loins to the legs, and they shall be upon Aaron and his sons when they enter into the tabernacle of meeting, or come to the altar to serve in the sanctuary, lest they sin and die. [This] is an everlasting statute for him and for his descendants after it" (Exodus 28:40-43). You see that it is fitting for the descendants of Aaron to appear as if in military form; for the whole holy race is militant, and must not fight and contend with flesh and blood, but put up barriers to unclean sin, quite openly and verbally advocating for true teachings, we captivate every thought in obedience to Christ," as it is written (2 Corinthians 10:5). Furthermore, they had linen undergarments (nadragi), which very well covered the ugliness and shame of the surrounding parts: for everything among the saints is honest and there is nothing shameful in them; and linen, placed on the parts of the body, signifies, as it were, that it is most appropriate for the saints to cool the pleasure of the flesh, because linen is refreshing; and fervor in the most vile desires is alien to every saint. And for another reason, those who have received the lot of the priesthood have their vestments and undergarments made of linen: they must shun dead works; and the image of deadness is that which is taken as it were from the dead, that is, from the sheep. Thus, the laying aside of dead works, again as if in a type, is indicated by the vestment in linen, and not in woollen garments: and this is a holy law that is everlasting. And that in any case and without fail death will follow for neglecting the proper and most appropriate adornment for them (priests), He clearly indicated in the words that they must perform the sacraments while wearing these garments: "Let them not bring sin upon themselves," it is said, "lest they die."

P. A law is provident, which shows everyone very well what is useful, and makes clear to everyone that by which he can become the best.

K. So. Adorning the holy and chosen race with such vestments, God also sanctifies it in other ways, as if in a canopy, but nevertheless in Christ; For it is written, "This is what thou shalt do unto them, that thou mayest ordain them to be priests unto me: Thou shalt take one bullock of the oxen, and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, and unleavened bread mingled with oil, and cakes of unleavened bread anointed with oil: of fine flour thou shalt make them, and put them in one basket, and offer them in a basket, and the bullock and the two rams together. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tabernacle of meeting, and wash them with water. And thou shalt take the garments, and clothe Aaron in the tunic, and in the outer garment, in the ephod and in the breastplate, and thou shalt gird him according to the ephod; and thou shalt put a kidar on his head, and fasten the diadem of the holy thing upon the kidar; And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. And thou shalt also bring his sons, and clothe them in tunics; And you shall gird them with a girdle, Aaron and his sons, and put bands on them, and the priesthood shall belong to them according to the statute for ever. and fill the hands of Aaron and his sons" (Exodus 29:1-9). So he commanded that a bull and two rams, unleavened bread and loaves in a basket (koshes) should be sacrificed; but He also purifies them in another way, doing this, as I think, an image of true sanctification: for having washed Aaron with water, He cloths him in holy clothing. And we, only having been washed by holy baptism and having been wiped from every kind of impurity, are enriched by grace from above and from heaven, receiving the garment of gladness, according to what is said: "Put on our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13:14). The foregoing discussion has shown us that Christ was prefigured in many ways in Aaron's adornment. Now he anoints the head of Aaron with holy oil, as David also sings in one place: "He anointed my head with oil" (Psalm 22:5); where oil signifies joy in hope, proclaimed by the voice of the saints, or joyful visitation from above: for we who believe have mercy and are blessed by the Lord, fattening the mind with the alms of the Spirit; the image of the mind is the head. In the same way, the priests were sanctified, washed with water and anointed with oil, being clothed in the sacred garment, having perfect hands, so that they might appear capable of the pure and blameless performance of sacrifices. In the same way, we are presanctified and adorned with grace from above and anointed to spiritual perfection, so that with boldness and, so to speak, with pure and all-holy hands, we offer to God gifts, obviously spiritual. And this, I think, means what is sung by Blessed David about everyone who ascends the mountain of the Lord: "The hands are innocent, and the heart is pure" (Psalm 23:4).

P. I think so.

K. And the manner in which the sacrifices for the priests were to be made, He determined by the law, saying: "And thou shalt bring the calf before the tabernacle of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the calf, and slaughter the calf before the face of the Lord at the entrance of the tabernacle of meeting; Take the blood of the bull, and put it with thy finger on the horns of the altar, and pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. And thou shalt take all the fat that covers the intestines, and the omentum of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn it on the altar. And the flesh of the bull, and the skin thereof, and the uncleanness thereof, thou shalt burn in a fire outside the camp: this is a sin offering. And thou shalt take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the ram's head; And thou shalt kill a ram, and take its blood, and sprinkle it on the altar round about; Thou shalt cut the ram into pieces, and wash its intestines and its legs, and put them on the parts thereof, and on its head. And thou shalt burn all the ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord, a sweet aroma, a sacrifice to the Lord. Take another ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the ram's head; And thou shalt kill the ram, and take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, and on the tip of his sons' right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. and sprinkle the blood on the altar on all sides; And thou shalt take the blood that is on the altar, and the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him, and he and his garments, and his sons, and their garments with him, shall be consecrated. And thou shalt take of the ram the fat, and the tail, and the fat covering the intestines, and the omentum of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, the right shoulder, and one round loaf of bread, and one cake of oil and one unleavened bread out of the basket that is before the Lord, and thou shalt put it all in Aaron's hands, and in the hands of his sons, and thou shalt offer it shaking it before the LORD. And thou shalt take it out of their hands, and burn it on the altar of burnt offering, as an aroma before the Lord: it is an offering to the Lord. And thou shalt take the breast of the ram which is for Aaron, and offer it, shaking it before the Lord, and it shall be thy portion. And you shall sanctify the breast of the offering, which was shaken, and the shoulder of the offering, which was offered, from the ram of the offering, which is for Aaron and for his sons, and it shall be to Aaron and his sons for an everlasting portion from the children of Israel, for it is an offering. the offering shall be from the children of Israel at the peace offerings, their offering to the Lord" (Exodus 29:10-28). And after a few words, then: "Take the ram of the offering, and boil its flesh in the holy place; And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of this ram out of the basket at the door of the Tabernacle of Meeting, for by this the cleansing is made for the conferral of the priesthood upon them, and for their consecration. a stranger should not eat [this], for it is holy; if there remains of the meat of the delivery and of the bread until morning, then burn the remnant in the fire: it is not to eat it, for it is holy" (29:31-34).

P. How profound is the content of these commands of the law!

K. Yes, very profoundly: you said it right. However, it is not completely dark if the Holy Spirit illuminates us with Divine light. Let us explain again, as far as possible, each separately. Our Lord Jesus Christ sanctifies us in innumerable ways and makes us sacred and acceptable (to God): "For through Him both have access" (Ephesians 2:18) And we are desired by God and the Father. His death is very useful and necessary for salvation for us, who have been subjected to corruption and sin, as well as His life, and moreover His accomplishment through His Body and Blood: for in Christ, and not in the law, is perfection (cf. Heb. 10:1 and 14).

P. You said it well.