The Lord Jesus has the strength to bear us as the onyx stones. This strength comes from His divinity mingled with His humanity and having the expression of God, of man, and of the Lord’s heavenliness, kingship, and redemption. We are held to the Lord Jesus by such a marvelous expression. If there were not such an expression in this universe, there would be nothing that could either bear us or fasten us to Christ. The only thing in the universe that can hold us and also fasten us to Christ is the very expression of Christ portrayed by the ephod made of gold, linen, blue, purple, and scarlet. I want to emphasize the fact that this is the expression of Christ as both God and man with His heavenliness, kingship, and redemption.
Day by day we eat food and are nourished by it. However, most of us do not know what are the riches in the food that nourish us, strengthen us, supply us with what we need, and even kill the germs within us. We only know that food is necessary to maintain life. Therefore, we eat it and enjoy it. However, dietitians have made a scientific study of food and know much about its ingredients. They not only eat food and enjoy it; they also understand something of its constituents. We may use this as a simple illustration of the fact that we may have the experience of being fastened to Christ and held by Him without realizing what is contained within His fastening strength and power.
What constitutes Christ’s strength to fasten us to Himself, to bear us, and to uphold us? We find the answer to this question by considering the picture in Exodus 28. According to the typology of the ephod, Christ’s fastening strength, bearing power, and linking ability are all derived from His expression as God and man with His heavenliness, kingship, and redemption. Just as the materials and colors used to make the ephod were woven together, all these aspects of Christ’s expression are mingled together. They are woven into one strong garment that can bear the two onyx stones and fasten them to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod worn by the high priest.
Deep within I have a heavy burden concerning the significance of the ephod with the shoulder-pieces, onyx stones, settings, and golden cords. However, I simply do not have the words to utter what is in me. There are no human words adequate to describe the picture of the ephod in Exodus 28. However, I believe that if we consider this picture, especially if we pray-read these verses and have fellowship over them, we shall be able to realize something that is beyond our ability to describe in words. We shall see a wonderful picture of the Lord Jesus. Then we shall say, “O Lord Jesus, You are so beautiful and precious. Lord, what a treasure You are! You are the very God and a real man woven together. Lord Jesus, You are heavenly, You are kingly, and You are the redeeming One. Lord, I am fastened to You and borne by You. How I praise You, Lord!”
When we are attached to the Lord like stones attached to the ephod, we become an added beauty to His expression, and His expression becomes our beauty in which we are held. Consider the garments worn by the high priest. If the onyx stones were removed, the beauty of the ephod would be diminished. Here there is a mutual beautification: the Lord is our beauty, and we are a beauty added to His expression. If we realize this, we shall thank the Lord that we can be part of the beauty of His expression.
Furthermore, if the onyx stones were simply fastened to the ephod without being placed in beautiful golden settings, they would be short of beauty. This indicates that the golden filigree settings become the beauty of the onyx stones. Therefore, here we have a mutual beauty. The onyx stones become the beauty of the ephod, and the ephod with the golden settings becomes the beauty of the onyx stones. This means that the stones and the ephod beautify each other.
Speaking of the onyx stones on which were inscribed the names of the sons of Israel, 28:12 says, “Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial.” This indicates that the onyx stones became a memorial in the sight of God. Of what were these stones a memorial? They were a memorial of the church set in Christ, a memorial of Christ holding the church, God’s redeemed people. This memorial will last for eternity. We shall be fastened to Christ, and Christ will hold us in the presence of God as an eternal memorial. Today we can experience this and enjoy it.
Concerning these matters, I do not have the utterance to say more. I trust that the Holy Spirit will speak to you concerning this. May we all be encouraged to ponder this portion of the Word by pray-reading and by fellowship.