Aaron's Breastplate

The Breastplate of Aaron (Judaism/Christianity) Exodus 28

Breastplate of Judgement

The High Priest of the ancient Israelites, Aaron, was commanded to wear a sacred breastplate set with 12 specific gemstones. The breast plate, a nine inch square piece of fabric, is worn over the high priests heart, symbolizing  that he carries all of Israel with him into the presence of God, acting as a mediator for entire nation.
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Exodus 28 gives instruction from the Creator to Moses for crafting the sacred priestly vestments for Aaron and his sons, who served as priests. The vestments included the ephod, breastplate, robe, tunic, turban, and sash are made with gold, blue, purple and crimson yard and fine linen. 

These handcrafted garments of beauty serves to give the Creator glory and honor. 

The intricate and costly design of the garments emphasize the holiness of the priests and the seriousness of their service in the Creators presence. 


Before we talk about the Breastplate itself, I want to talk about crafting sacred objects. While crafting sacred objects there is a plan, a structure, a reason for that particular object. A Sacred object is sacred is Aarons Breast plate or as simple as my pendant.
My pendant is a sodalite - mental clarity stone. I call it my archangel Michael stone. A Mother Mary pendant. When I travel, I either carry the necklace or wear it. I have put a lot of energy into this pendant to keep me safe while traveling. 


Exodus

 “Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. 2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor. 3 Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest. 4 These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. 5 Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.

The Breastpiece

15 “Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions—the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 16 It is to be square—a span[a] long and a span wide—and folded double. 17 Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 18 the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 19 the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; 20 the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper.[b] Mount them in gold filigree settings. 21 There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
22 “For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 23 Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece. 24 Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 25 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 26 Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 27 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. 28 The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.
29 “Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord. 30 Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.

The stones highlight the unity of the diverse tribes as a single nation. Each stone was engraved with the name of one of the 12 tribes of Israel, representing the spiritual body of the entire nation. The tribes are named after Jacobs sons 

1st Row
Rueban - Sardis/Carnelian - A stone of Gods Glory, righteousness, & the Creators eternal kingdom
Simeon  -  Chrysolite - Divine Radiance & Glory 
Levi -  Beryl - Sea Green - Connection with heavenly qualities

2nd Row
Judah -  Turquoise - Divine Beauty & Protection
Issachar -  Lapis Lazuli - Symbol of Divine
Rebullan -  Emerald - Life, Purity, The Creators eternal nature

3rd Row 
Dan -  Jacinth - Zircon? a red/Blue or deep purple - Divine authority, holiness, eternal glory of the Creators Kingdom
Naphtali - Agate - the Creators diverse creation, strength, stability, divine communication
Gad -  Amethyst - Completeness of the Creators divine plan

4th Row
Asher -  Topaz - immeasurable value of true knowledge & understanding 
Joseph  -  Onyx - Beauty of Gods creation and divine craftsmanship
Benjamin -  Jasper  - The Creators Glory, purity and perfection

The spiritual virtues for these stone is from the Old Testament. I made sure to look up each stone in biblical terms. That way you can see the ancient people were already starting to give virtues to stones. I would have loved to see one of the original breastplates, the descriptions sound very beautiful. 

Have a beautiful week! Stay safe! Keep your heart open and aligned with the energy of LOVE!
Auriel Grace

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