"Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests--Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.
Exodus 28:1-3
These verses form the introduction to the divine instructions concerning the priesthood. They are extraordinarily rich in spiritual application and it will be profitable to study them with some care. We note first that it is not Moses who is chosen to minister in the holy place, but Aaron his brother. This does not, of course, mean that Moses was unworthy for such a task. It is differentiation of function that is stressed, and this is also seen in 3, which speaks of those appointed to make the garments. To each man his God-given task. This is a New Testament doctrine of the greatest and richest kind of significance, as we may see from 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12:3-8. We are all different from one another, and meant to be so, in function and service. It is not a question of superiority or inferiority. Each of us has different duties in the kingdom of God, and we must be intent on doing to the best of our ability what God has given us to do. The gifts that men have are gifts, and not to be taken pride in or used for personal advancement (this is the point about the phrase in 2, 'for glory and for beauty' - it is to show forth His glory and beauty, not ours), but for the good of the Body, His Church. Since this is so, it is both useless and dangerous for one member to covet another's place or gift, for in so doing he is both trespassing beyond bounds, and at the same time neglecting his own. To see things in this light is to come to a true assessment of one's importance - we all have a part to play, and only a part, and if God has appointed us not only a small, but also an unobtrusive, part, we must content ourselves with it, and realise that only in glad acceptance of it will true happiness and peace - and wholeness - ever be found.