Exodus 39:1-21 NKJV
39 Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
2 He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. 3 And they beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads, to work it in with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, into artistic designs. 4 They made shoulder straps for it to couple it together; it was coupled together at its two edges. 5 And the intricately woven band of his ephod that was on it was of the same workmanship, woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
6 And they set onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold; they were engraved, as signets are engraved, with the names of the sons of Israel. 7 He put them on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
8 And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. 9 They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones: a row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald was the first row; 11 the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings. 14 There were twelve stones according to the names of the sons of Israel: according to their names, engraved like a signet, each one with its own name according to the twelve tribes. 15 And they made chains for the breastplate at the ends, like braided cords of pure gold. 16 They also made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. 17 And they put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. 18 The two ends of the two braided chains they fastened in the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front. 19 And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which was on the inward side of the ephod. 20 They made two other gold rings and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate would not come loose from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
As understood by Valerious Herberger (a 16th & 17th century Lutheran theologian), the precious twelve stones mentioned as part of the priestly garments in chapter 39 reflect the attributes of Christ. His descriptions of each stone and their unique reflection of Jesus reveals Herberger’s incredibly Christ-centered mindset. Unfortunately, they are too numerous and lengthy to list here — but supplied below is a display of his prayer based upon what each of the twelve stone’s power was known for and his re-focusing of them to be on Christ.
Let us pray: “O Lord Jesus Christ, be the precious stone of my salvation. I will wear You in the gold setting of my heart for as long as I live. I implore You, (1) dispel from me all the poison of sin; sharpen my mind, that I may know how I am to be saved; (2) cool the boiling waters of my conscience in every spiritual attack, that I may not despair; (3) grant me a clean, chaste heart; defend me from hell, and give me eternal life; (4) let Your consolation shine on the darkness of my affliction; guard me against the delight of sin and fear of the evil one; (5) grant me a devout heart and priestly disposition; (6) chase from me every wraith of the devil; deliver me from his terrible grasp; (7) gladden my heart, that my joy may be full (John 16:24); (8) quench the thirst of my soul with Your succulent consolation; (9) win for me the favor of Your heavenly Father ; (10) keep watch over me every hour, O Keeper of Israel (Ps. 121:4); be the most beautiful adornment of my soul, defend me against falls from which I cannot recover, have patience with my weakness, and after this present misery grant me the heavenly glory; (11) leave Your peace with me also as You did with Your holy apostles (John 14:27), that in peace I may live and pray and depart from hence; and (12) deliver me from every burden of my travail and defend me from spiritual shipwreck in my salvation. Be the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last (Rev. 22:13), the beginning and the ending of my eternal glory. Amen” (The Great Works of God, Part VI, translation Matthew Carver, pg. 581, Emmanuel Press).