Ex 28:36, "You shall also make a plate of pure gold and shall engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, 'Holy to the Lord.' 
When we read the descriptions of the garments for the priests, we are often amazed at the precision and the specifications that are so detailed in their requirements. The materials to be used and the colors required bespeak such depth of commitment and perfection in the manufacture and the wearing of the items in order to come into the presence of the Lord God Almighty. Even the decorative details were spelled out with precision so as to be honoring and holy unto the Lord, as we are told in verse 35, And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers; and its tinkling may be heard when he enters and leaves the holy place before the Lord, that he may not die. 
There was a necessity that everything was done as holy unto the Lord. Nothing was left to personal interpretation or to chance or to happenstance. The every detail was to be dealt with as was honoring and holy unto the Lord and in complete line with His guidelines and stipulations. It was to be reckoned by the entire nation as Holy to the Lord because they were dealing with the Lord God Almighty, Jehovah, the I Am.
As we will read later in this book, in Ex 39:30, the weavers and the metal workers and did exactly as the Lord required. Ex 39:30, And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and inscribed it like the engravings of a signet, "Holy to the Lord." The key to this passage is the descriptive statement of the fact that it was a holy crown placed upon the head of the high priest. This was not the crown of lordship, as of a king or sovereign ruler. It was the crown of holiness which indicated that the servant was going before the Lord, representing the people unto God, and then bringing His Word back to the people in such an honored manner as to be the very voice of God’s sovereignty and power. 
We will again get the pictorial image of this spelled out for us in the ordination and anointing of Aaron as described in Lev 8:9, He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed the golden plate, the holy crown, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. This was not unlike the anointing that would take place in future time when the oil was poured upon the human king that the people demanded. However, at this juncture in history, the high priest wore the crown of holiness, not for his own power or control or dominion, but as representative of God’s Sovereignty over His people. 
God was recognized as the King of the nation and the high priest, with the crown that declared the holiness to the Lord, was the one who represented that subjection of the people under the dominion of the Lord God Almighty. This meant that the people accepted the dominion of God as their King and brought before the Lord, through the crowned high priest, their acknowledgement of the judgment that God would pronounce upon them through the order of the priesthood of Aaron. Because the high priest was crowned with the holiness of God, he was ordained to speak for the people in seeking the forgiveness of their transgressions throughout the year and to receive the righteous judgment that would be upon those who so transgressed against the Lord.
The civil matters were handled by the appointed magistrates and rulers under the orders so set up by Moses. But the matters of the sins of the peoples were dealt with through the priestly order in the bringing of the sacrifices and the offerings and the alms before God with hands that were not entangled with the minutiae of government. That is why, even after a human king was installed over the nation, there was a separation from the officials of government and the priestly order. The king was forbidden from serving as priest, and vice-versa, until the advent of the Perfect One, the True King and High Priest, Who is also The Perfect Sacrificial Lamb, Our Lord and Savior.
As such, the priests were required, not only to attire themselves in full accordance with the guidelines given to them, in order to fulfill their proper role within the structure of their ordained ministry, but they were to conduct themselves, at all times, as those representatives of God to the people. They were to prepare themselves in line with the every detail of their priesthood and perform the functions of their office strictly in accordance with what God required of them. To not do so and to take upon themselves their own devices and methods, outside of that which was strictly demanded and required by God, was to flaunt themselves as superior to God and to bring something unholy into the presence of His Holiness. 
We see the distressing consequences of that vile impugning of God’s holiness and righteousness detailed for us in Lev 10:1-3. Lev 10:1-3. Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the Lord spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.'" So Aaron, therefore, kept silent. 
Note how God saw that disrespectful behavior and action of those priests. 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.' They did not treat God as holy, apparently just seeing what they were doing as a job to be done, and not as what was required in holy service to the Lord God Almighty. They thought they knew better than God and that nothing would befall them because of their choice to do their own thing in the Lord’s presence. But the severity of how serious God was to be treated and respected is seen in the fact that they did not follow the stipulated course of action which showed that God was holy and was to be honored. They were consumed by the holy fire of the Most Holy God as an example to all the people that they served the Lord God Almighty and None other.
The Lord stipulated this again for all the nation in Lev 19:1-4, in the declaration of how the people were to see themselves and to be seen by all the other nations of the world. Lev 19:1-4, Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 'Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the Lord your God. 'Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am the Lord your God. 
	What is very interesting in this command of reverence from God to the people is the fact that they were to be holy as He is Holy. Because He is the Altogether Holy One, the people Whom He was leading and saving and protecting and guarding were to be characterized by His Holiness in the midst of all the realms of earth. They were to take His holiness as their holiness and honor Him in the manner in which they conducted themselves in the Promised Land He was giving them.
	Also, please note how there is a familial emphasis in this decree. As He is the Heavenly Father, so were they to honor their earthly parentage that He gave to them. They were to honor their fathers and mothers, echoing the commandment which is the only one with a promise, as we have already discussed at length. The honoring of father and mother is an honoring of the Heavenly Father. Then, after that decree is the one to not turn to other gods of this realm. This is a hierarchy which reinforces the familial relationship which comprises the very essence of, not only the eternal Godhead, but the focal aspect of how God created mankind. We are born into families, the product of the created relationship in the very heart and plan and purpose of God. 
	As recorded later in Ezekiel 43:10-12, the entire structure of the Lord, built according to the law of the Lord required absolute holiness, as evidenced in the attire of the priests as we have seen. It went far, far beyond just the outer wear, into the very depths of the heart of the people. Ezek 43:10-12, "As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the plan. "And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the house, its structure, its exits, its entrances, all its designs, all its statutes, and all its laws. And write it in their sight, so that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes, and do them. "This is the law of the house: its entire area on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. 
	The prophet Zechariah, in Zech 14:20+21, emphasized how there can be nothing unholy in the presence of the people of God, including their attitudes and their demeanors with regard to the surrounding vileness of the nations of wickedness. Zech 14:20+21. In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, "HOLY TO THE LORD." And the cooking pots in the Lord's house will be like the bowls before the altar. And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day.   
The mighty essence of God expressed in His Holiness is seen in His creative manifestation as highlighted by the Psalmist as we can read together in Ps 93, if you would please open to it. Ps 93. The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Thy throne is established from of old; Thou art from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their pounding waves. More than the sounds of many waters, Than the mighty breakers of the sea, The Lord on high is mighty. Thy testimonies are fully confirmed; Holiness befits Thy house, O Lord, forevermore. 
	Not only do we have the demonstration of His power to create and establish, but we are also given the full measure of the fact that His holiness is presented in His house. This brings again to the forefront the truth of His familial relationship as established with us in His Only Begotten Son, the Word by Whom everything came into being.
	Please turn to the Gospel of John, Chapter 1, verses 1-14 for the full emphasis of this fact. Let us read together these verses in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. John 1:1-14, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light. There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 
	Note that the holiness of God, the light that shines in the darkness to enlighten everyone who will look upon Christ and receive Him into their hearts, manifests and brings those recipients into the familial relationship as children of God. This can only be in place in the hearts of mankind as they are covered by the holiness of Jesus Christ. Nothing unholy can be in the immediate presence of the Lord God Almighty. It can only be through Christ, that we can stand before the Throne of God and not be utterly consumed by the brilliance and magnificence and perfection of His Holiness.
	 This is only in place in the complete fulfillment of the plan and purpose of God in Our Lord Jesus Christ. As He made Himself the only means by which the very holiness of God can be our covering for all of eternity, so can we know and relish and enjoy the perfect and living relationship, Creator with His creation, that will show forth the fact that we are the Children of God. We are clothed in His righteousness and His holiness for all of eternity. We are “Holy to the Lord”, not in some forced and ritualistic mannerism and culture, but in our very hearts of desiring to please Him at all times because we now love to honor and to reverence and to bring glory to Him. So be it.
"You shall also make a plate of pure gold and shall engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, 'Holy to the Lord.' Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Neh 9:5b+6. "Arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever! O may Thy glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise! "Thou alone art the Lord. Thou hast made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. Thou dost give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before Thee. Amen.