Strolling along through Exodus 28, one comes to verse 15, which talks about the most ornate piece of clothing the High Priest wears: the “breastplate of judgment.” It contains four rows of precious stones. The first row has ruby, topaz, and emerald; the second has turqouise, sapphire, and diamond; the third row has jacinth, agate, and amethyst; the fourth has beryl, onyx, and jasper.
All of these stones appear elsewhere in Scripture and all references are made to their beauty, so naturally, through these gemstones, God wants to portray honor and respect. These aren’t just stones you toss out with the trash; these are some of the most desirable gems on earth.
The specific order of these stones is a matter of some debate. For instance, what exactly is the “first row”? Do we start from the top or the bottom? What tribe comes first?
At least one person argues for a Hebrew understanding of this order, which reads right to left instead of left to right, as we do in the West. This would place the first stone of the first row (ruby) at the top right position on the breastplate, not the top left as most pictures today would have it.
I’m not sure if we’ll really ever know what the order of the stones is, but the burning question from this passage is why it’s called a a breastplate of “judgment.” What “judging” is happening from these stones?
As it turns out, the stones are largely decorative. One stone represents one tribe, just like the names on the shoulders represent each tribal name as well. That’s the significance of these stones.
The judgment part happens inside the breastplate. If you continue on in the Text, you’ll come across two stones in particular: the Urim and the Thummim. One of these stones is white, another is black, and they are kept inside the breastplate as a means of determining the will of God.
These two stones actually carry quite a bit of weight, spiritually speaking. Moses instructed Joshua (once he assumes leadership) to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim to determine God’s will (Numbers 27:21). The same applies when the people came back from captivity (Nehemiah 7:65).
The Urim and Thummim may be seen as nothing more than a coin flip, but in the hand of God, they were a way for the people to know God’s will on a regular basis. What we see as chance, the High Priest saw as divine intervention.
Ironically, the reason it’s called the “breast plate of judgment” has almost nothing to do with the breastplate itself, but rather what was inside the breastplate. By keeping it close to his chest, the High Priest was able to keep God’s will close to his heart.
Just as we should.
