Clerical Dress
Aaron and his sons are still centre stage in terms of priesthood but there is an inevitable incongruity between then (in the wilderness) and now (reconstruction), and robes (clerical dress) are one factor. For us, what follows is more important for the questions it raises than the detail provided.
First, what took them down this road? One possibility is they wanted priests and temple rituals like many middle-eastern temples, and if they were to pull rank with kings they needed similar prestige and adornment. So to what extent do we allow other faiths, cultural or secular factors to influence our choice of leaders, how we relate to them, what do we expect of them, and with what consequences?
Second, underlying priesthood is an ancient understanding of holiness as contagious, closely allied to the concept of ‘clean and unclean’. Yahweh is ‘holy’ and contact with Yahweh (human being or object) becomes holy and requires special treatment. Paramount to this is the Most Holy Place. Only the priest can enter and even he requires special clothing which by association also becomes holy. How much this concept held sway in post-exilic Judaism is unclear but these chapters certainly suggest that it is never far from the subconscious. Has anything like this filtered down to us, and if so where?
Third, do these verses have anything to say to us about clerical dress in today’s world? Yes or no according to your churchmanship, but two thoughts worth pondering. One, ephod and breastplate were very much the normal garb, different only in the quality of the material and the costly adornments. Two, dress intended to honour the office nearly always ends up honouring the wearer and though originally the appointed dress may have meaning relating to the job in hand (as some jobs require protective clothing) it is usually unlikely to be discontinued when the circumstances change, and once the original intention is past its sell-by date may even be fortified by other more questionable arguments,
But then if we were starting from scratch where would we begin?