In order to have our hands filled with Christ, we need to be washed. Exodus 29:4 says, “And you shall bring Aaron and his sons near unto the door of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water.” What we need for the filling of our hands cannot be given to us if we are unclean. Therefore, we need to be cleansed, washed. One who is dirty cannot serve as a priest. For this reason, it was necessary for Aaron and his sons to be brought near to the door of the tent of meetings and washed with water.
The washing of Aaron and his sons with water signifies the washing away of the defilements of the earthly touch, with the water in the Word (Heb. 10:22; John 15:3; see Eph. 5:26). In John 15:3, the Lord Jesus says, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” In Ephesians 5:26 Paul says, “That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word.” For us, the water that washes us is the word of God. In chapters fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen of John we see the sanctification of the priests. In these chapters the Lord Jesus was sanctifying His disciples to be priests. That sanctification began with the washing of the word, for the Lord told them that they were clean because of His word. The same is true in principle with Ephesians 5:26. It is by the water in the word that we are sanctified and cleansed.
Verses 5 through 9 indicate that after Aaron and his sons were washed, they were clothed with the priestly garments. First Aaron was clothed with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate. Then he was girded with the band of the ephod. Following that, the turban was put upon his head, and upon the turban there was the holy crown, the golden plate. This holy crown was like a diadem; it was the blossom of his priestly garments. Once Aaron had been clothed in this way, his garments became upon him a complete and perfect expression full of beauty and glory.
If Aaron had stood near the tent of meeting clothed in his priestly garments for a long period of time, he may have said, “I’m hungry. Outwardly I am properly clothed. My nakedness is covered, and I am clothed with garments for beauty and glory. But I still need something to nourish me and fill my hunger.” This means that the priests needed the offerings in addition to the garments. The offerings were to be the priests’ food. In addition to being washed and clothed, the priests needed inward nourishment, inward strengthening.
As we consider the picture of the washing and clothing of the priests, we realize the crucial need of food. We know from previous messages that the priestly garments typify Christ. To study these garments is an excellent way to study the Person of Christ. Not even in the New Testament do we have such a clear, rich, and profound record of the details of Christ’s Person as that in Exodus concerning the priestly garments. But these garments were only for outward expression and beauty. They could not meet the inward need for nourishment.
The story of the prodigal son and his return home illustrates the need for both clothing and food. The prodigal son decided to return home because he was hungry and had nothing to eat. He did not come back in order to have a garment for outward expression and beauty. However, before feeding him, the father first clothed him. According to Luke 15:22, the father said to his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him.” As the robe was being placed upon him, the prodigal son may have said to himself, “I’m still hungry. The robe may be very important to my father, but it is not that important to me. I came back because I needed something to eat.” After telling the servants to put the best robe on his son, the father said, “And bring the fattened calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry” (Luke 15:23). What made the hungry one happy was not the clothing—it was the fatted calf.
If Aaron had been clothed and not fed, he surely would have been hungry. He may have said, “Outwardly, everything is fine, beautiful, and glorious. But what about my hunger? I’m still empty inside.” This picture of Aaron clothed with the priestly garments but still in need of food indicates that we need Christ to be our outward expression and glory and even the more to be our inward nourishment and strengthening. We need Him to be our food! For this reason, in Exodus 28 we have the clothing of the priests, and in chapter twenty-nine we have the food for the priests. If as children of God we are to be sanctified to be priests serving Him, we need both outward clothing and inward nourishment. This clothing and nourishment are the filling up of our emptiness.
Now we can understand what it means to have our emptiness filled with Christ. There is an inward emptiness and an outward emptiness. Outward emptiness is a matter of nakedness, and inward emptiness is a matter of hunger. To exist we must solve the problems of both outward nakedness and inward hunger. Thus, for the maintenance of human life, food and clothing are absolutely vital. These needs, along with lodging and transportation, are the basic aspects of our living. To earn a living means to earn what we need to guarantee that we have clothing, food, lodging, and transportation. In the Bible the emphasis is not on lodging and transportation; it is on clothing and food. When we have Christ as our clothing, we also have Him as our lodging, for our clothing is our lodging. Furthermore, we may say that the Spirit is our transportation. In this message, however, we are concerned with clothing and food. Outwardly we must have clothing, and inwardly we must have food.
Both the clothing and food we need are Christ. This also is illustrated by the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The best robe placed upon the returned prodigal is Christ, and the fatted calf also is Christ. The best robe is Christ as our clothing, and the fatted calf is Christ as our food. Praise the Lord that when we wear the best robe and enjoy the fatted calf, we are filled and sanctified! We are sanctified by God the Father to be His priests with Christ as the mark of our sanctification. The Christ who fills our emptiness is the One who separates us, who sets us apart from being common. Hallelujah, our emptiness is completely filled with Christ! No longer do we have nakedness outwardly or hunger inwardly. Our outward emptiness is filled with Christ as our clothing, and our inward emptiness is filled with Christ as our food.