Exodus Chapter 28 Verses 6-12  

:6 “And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. 7 It shall have the two shoulder pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. 8 And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: 10 Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. 11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. 12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.” 

The ephod was the shoulder piece of the High Priests garments.  The shoulder is used throughout the scriptures as that part of the body associated with the carrying of burdens.  

“And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.” The ephod consisted of all five colors (gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen) indicating that the work being typified was the redemptive work of Jesus Christ who came to carry the burden of saving his people from their sins. 

“It shall have the two shoulder pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together.” In the ephod there were two shoulder pieces joined together.  This is typical of what Jesus said concerning himself as the Good Shepherd who came to save his sheep from their sins in John chapter 10: John 10:16 “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”  We are also told that the Lord’s people once consisted of twain (two) (Jews and Gentiles) but were joined together by the Lord’s work on the cross: Eph. 2:15 “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:”  We thus can conclude that Christ has carried the burden of his people, both among the Jews and among the Gentiles and that through his atoning sacrifice has joined them together as one.  

“And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.” Next, we are told that both the ephod and the curious girdle are made of the same materials, thus they are both associated with the covenant work of redemption of Jesus Christ.  More about the curious girdle will be explained later. 

“And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:” The engraving upon two onyx stones the names of the children of Israel testifies to us that the high priest was representing the entirety of the nation of Israel and carrying their burdens.  The onyx is a white stone.  White is associated with righteousness.  Neither, the children of Israel nor we are righteous by our own merits.  Therefore, we conclude that the high priest was to be bearing the burden in order to make the ones he represented righteous.  In type, our High Priest, Jesus Christ, bore the burden of the children of God, both Jew and Gentile, to obtain their righteous standing before God.   

The names were engraved before the High Priest went about doing his work.  This speaks to us of God’s sovereign choice in the election of his people.   

“Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.” In all there were twelve sons of the children of Israel after which were named the 12 tribes of Israel.  These twelve names represented the totality of the children of Israel.  Even when the number of the children of Israel multiplied to number in the millions, twelve still represented the entirety of Israel.  Twelve is used in the scriptures as a representative number.  Twelve represents the whole. 

“With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.”  The signet is a signature ring.  It was the ring usually associated with a king who would sign his name to authenticate that which he signed as being signed by him and carried his full authority.  That the names were engraved like the engravings of a signet, teaches us that the names engraved had the full authority and authentication of the king.  This is typical of God’s choice of a people: Eph. 1:4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” Moreover our names were written in a book: Rev. 21:27 “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.”   

The engraved stones were set in ouches of gold.  They were engraved in onyx stone and set in ouches of gold.  In type they were engraved in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and set in the work of the King of kings. 

“And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.”  This speaks to us of the duel work of the High Priest.  The High Priest bore the burden of the children of Israel and he interceded on their behalf by bearing their names before the LORD.  Typically this points to the work of Jesus Christ who bore our burdens before God and made us righteous with his imputed righteousness and stands at the right hand of God to ever make intercession for us.