The ephod and robe worn by Aaron, the high priest, typify Christ in His expression of God’s glory and beauty in all that He did and in His care for the redeemed saints, the constituents of His glorious church.
In Hebrew the word ephod means “to bind, fasten, gird, or link.” As a part of the garments of the high priest, the ephod was used for fastening, girding, securing, or connecting. Two shoulder plates and one breastplate were fastened to the ephod; hence, they were also fastened, linked, girded, to the high priest. This signifies that Christ as the High Priest has the fastening power, the tying strength, and the binding ability. He ties, fastens, and binds us to Himself.
Exodus 28:5-6 says, “They therefore shall take the gold and the blue and the purple and the scarlet strands and the fine linen, and they shall make the ephod of gold thread, of blue and purple and scarlet strands, and fine twined linen, the work of a skillful workman.” This shows that the ephod was made primarily of gold woven together with fine linen. Gold here denotes gold thread. Gold was first beaten into thin plates and then cut into thread to be woven into the fine linen. The gold becoming thread and woven together with the linen portrays the process of Christ in all His sufferings. Gold signifies Christ’s divinity, and fine linen signifies Christ’s humanity. The weaving together of the gold and linen in the ephod typifies the divinity and humanity of Christ being mingled and woven together. They also typify that the glory of His divine and human nature is expressed through the glory and beauty of His divine attributes being lived out through His human virtues.