Breeches  occurs in the Bible in Exodus 28:42 ; 39:28 ; Leviticus 6:10 ; 16:4 ; Ezekiel 44:18 . 

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Exodus 28:42   And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:

Exodus 28:42-43 is a single sentence that can be divided by punctuation as:

1. The linen breeches were to cover their nakedness from the loins to their knees ( unto (over) the thighs ). 
1. And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness;
2. from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:
2. All priests are to wear the linen breeches anywhere around the tabernacle or they would bear iniquity and God will have to kill them. 
1. All priests are to wear the linen breeches anywhere around the tabernacle . 
1. And they shall be upon Aaron,
2. and upon his sons,
3. when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation,
4. or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place;
2. If the priests don't wear the linen breeches then they will bear iniquity and God will have to kill them. 
1. that they bear not iniquity,
2. and die:
3. All priests are to wear the linen breeches to cover their nakedness while serving God or they would bear iniquity and God will have to kill them.  This is to be a never-ending Law of God. 
1. It shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him. 

This sentence is the conclusion of Exodus 28 which starts out And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him...even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.    This chapter describes Gods definition of the garments that they were to wear to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office ( 28:3).  Every sentence in this chapter starts with And except one that starts with It ( 28:7 ), one that starts with With ( 28:11 ) and one that starts with Foursquare ( 28:16 ).  Each of these three sentences give a further description of the item mentioned before these three sentences.  Therefore, these three are sub-sentences, making every major sentence in this chapter start with And , which makes the entire chapter a single description of the garments that God wanted His priests to wear when they served Him. 

Starting in Exodus 25 , God describes the tabernacle and items related to religious worship under the Mosaic Law.  This chapter (Exodus 28 ) is part of that section, making it part of the religious worship under the Mosaic Law.  That means that it does not directly apply to us under the New Testament but is still to be used for our admonition ( 1Corinthians 10:11 ).  In particular, the religious requirement for linen breeches does not apply.We can wear wool or polyester or other materials.  However the reason for this part of the Mosaic Law does apply to us.  Gods reason of cover their nakedness was part of the moral (personal relationship) part of the Mosaic Law.  In Acts 15:19-20 , 28-29 we are told parts of the Mosaic Law that we are to keep.  All of the things listed (as examples) are matters of our personal relationship with God.  For example, usually the only people that know about fornication are God and the people committing the fornication .  One part of the Mosaic Law that still applies under the New Testament is to avoid fornication .  In addition, to the verses in Acts 15 , Galatians 3:17 states a principal that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect .  Therefore, neither the coming of the Mosaic Law nor the passing of the religious part of the Mosaic Law can disannul personal modesty that God instituted in Genesis 3:21 .  As a result, we are still required to cover our nakedness and this verse does apply to us under the New Testament so far as it speaks about that concern. 

This required modesty was to be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him and this sentence says this was how they were to dress as priests while they ministered for God.  Since these instructions were so that they bear not iniquity, and die ; and (Hebrews 2:17-18 ; 3:1-2; 4:14-16 ; 5:1-14 ; 7:22-28 ; 8:1-7 ;) tells us that Christ is part of a better priesthood; and (Revelation 1:6 ; 5:10 ; 20:6) tells us that He has made us kings and priests unto God; this level of modesty is the minimum that we should have as priests unto God who are part of the priesthood created by Christ.  While many people know that Hebrews clearly teaches us that Christ is part of a better priesthood, it is easy to forget many of the details.  Reading the word of God is the simplest way to remind ourselves of details such as what it meant for Christ to be a priest.  He certainly did not act like Nadab and Abihu , whom the Lord had to kill because of iniquity that these garments  (especially the linen breeches ) was to help avoid.  Lots of people want to be called Christian , but that means ' Christ-like '.  Christ certainly didn't seek iniquity , and no true Christian would either.  Those who seek this iniquity may be saved, but their actions prove that they are not spiritually mature enough (at least in this area if not completely immature) to truly be acting ' Christ-like '.  Much more could be said on this subject using the truths of Hebrews and the fact that we will be expected to live by the same standards as Christ because we will be made priests unto God (Revelation 1:6 ; 5:10; 20:6 ).While I could go on, the reader is encouraged to pray for God to show then personally the truth and read these sections in Hebrews for themselves.  God expects His future kings and priests to act like their personal example, which is Christ.  While leaving Gods Word to deal with this subject, we will return to Exodus. 

Returning to our sentence, we see that the linen breeches   were to be from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach .  In 2 Samuel we are told ...And Joab's..  girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins .  This means the loins is where you can fasten a belt holding a sword .  Anything not above the hips will not hold the weight of a sword as someone moves.  The phrase unto the thighs means over the entire thighs .  So this was at least from the waist to the bottom of the thighs , which includes where the thighs connect to the bone (about the middle of the knee).  Since the intention was to cover their nakedness , these linen breeches would have to be loose enough to not bind when they bent over nor so loose that people can see inside of them when the person was on a ladder over other peoples head.  That is, neither form fitting nor what is considered a split skirt.  Often I have been around religious people who believe they have to keep religious laws to please God.  There have been a few times that I've seen women wearing skin tight clothing that covered them from neck to wrists and from neck to knees and left them ' naked '.  One woman objected to being told that she had to wear under garments because the outline of them would be very obvious through the thin material that she insisted upon wearing.  Any time we find people being required to keep a religious law we will find some who will use all of their imagination to find ways to keep the letter of the law while completely voiding the spirit of it.  As we already saw, we are supposed to act like Gods future kings and priests  who are modeled after Christ.  2Corinthians 3:2-6 tells us Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.  And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.    Romans 2 and 7:6-25 teach a similar lesson that the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life .  We are Gods epistle of Christ that is known and read of all men .  As Gods future kings and priests , we need to consider what others ' read ' into our garments and what that says about Christ.  Instead of looking for the letter of the Law that is in in tables of stone , we need to acknowledge that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God .  We need to ask God to show us how our garments can lead to the spiritual death or life of ourselves and of others who follow us.  Garments that meets the letter of the Law while leaving us naked lifts up our flesh, which then seeks to kill our spirit and destroy our personal relationship with God.  No person can be truly spiritual while inciting fleshly lust and jealousy in others.  By the same token, when we dress and act this way while claiming to represent Christ and God we support the false religion that claims people can go to Heaven while living for the flesh and Hell if they just do some religious thing.  Therefore, the proper consideration of breeches is to cover our nakedness and not to impose some man[-made religious law upon others.  Breeches are to cover our nakedness from above the hip bones to at least the middle of the knee and are to be loose enough to not incite lust in others as we move but not so loose as to allow someone to see inside of them when we are above them upon a ladder.  (The priests supposedly had to climb a ladder while doing their job.)  But more than anything else, our breeches should be judged by a spiritual guidance from God as to how we are to represent Christ before men and our breeches are not to be judged by the letter of some religious law. 

We will see these points supported further by other verses.  There is one more point before moving on.  We need to be careful using the Websters 1828.  People tend to forget that it is a dictionary of the English language.  Therefore, it includes acceptable definitions for English words that are not proper definitions for the words according to Bible usage.  Also, it is not inerrant.  Therefore, the claims from it must be verified by checking the Bible before they are used to interpret Gods Bible.  The next paragraph explains where this exact error occurs in the Websters 1828 as related to breeches . 

According to Websters 1828, part of the definition of breeches is ' To wear the breeches is, in the wife, to usurp the authority of the husband.  '  Unlike other words in Websters 1828, like adulterer , this part of the definition does not include a Bible reference.  That is because it is a reference to a religious law that does not come directly from the Bible.  It is the ' interpretation ' of many religious people, but it is not, literally, from the Bible.  Further, this definition claims that ' the authority of the husband ' is in the breeches which comes from the priests' garments .  However, if we look at all of the garments worn by the Leviticus priests and study the occurrences of ephod , especially those after the Mosaic Law, we see that it was really the ephod which was seen as the symbol of the priests authority by people who lived at thee time of the Leviticus priests.  The breeches , as we are told in this sentence, were not for conveying authority but to cover their nakedness .  Thats even how the word is formed.  Breeches is related to breach .  They were intended to cover a breach in their proper representation of God.  Now I'm not arguing whether britches or ' trousers ' represent a mans ' authority '.  However, those words are not Biblical and the Biblical garment did not represent the priests ' authority ' but did cover their nakedness .  I understand that religious legalists make an issue about women wearing ' mens clothing '.  However, while there may not have been any ' britches ' or ' trousers ' that were womens clothing in 1828, there certainly are today.  ' trousers ' with the zipper in the back are not ' mens clothing '.  Neither are these knit things with no zipper that over-sized women seem to love to wear.  The truth is, if we honestly look at the definition of these breeches we find that narrow-legged, non-clinging coolots fits this definition and they definitely are womens clothing.  Gods Word said that the purpose of His breeches was to cover their nakedness .  Only a religious legalist would object to the spirit of this rule being applied to clothing worn by women.  If they want to argue about women wearing ' mens clothing ' when applying their opinion to the non-Biblical ' britches ' or ' trousers ', so be it.  However, that argument doesn't fit the Biblical word of breeches , especially when we include Gods stated purpose for the breeches . 

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Exodus 39:28   And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen,

Starting in 37:1 we are told that Bezaleel (a Jew with the skill needed to make Tabernacle items) made the pieces for the religious worship according to Gods commandment to Moses.  He obviously did not personally do all of the work but supervised the work of others.  For example, Exodus 39:3 starts with And they did beat the gold into thin plates .  Also, 39:42 ends with so the children of Israel made all the work . 

Exodus 39:32 starts with Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished and the remainder of the chapter lists several finished items that the workmen brought to Moses and the chapter ends with ...and Moses blessed them .  Thus, the context of this verse is the telling about the children of Israel doling what God told them to do in Exodus 25 - 28 .  In particular, this verse says that they did what God told them to do in 28:42-43.  While 39:28-29 is a single sentence, there is no additional knowledge to be gained by dividing the sentence by punctuation. 

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Leviticus 6:10   And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. 

Leviticus 6:9-13 is the law of the burnt offering .  This verse tells us that the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches while he works on the altar after an offering was made.  He had to take up the ashes .  Back in 27:1 we were told that this altar was to be five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits .  As far as I know there is some argument about the length of a cubit , but 18 inches is the most common standard used.  That would make this altar 7.5 foot by 7.5 foot and 4.5 foot high.  Further, supposedly, the average Jew, especially of early days, was considerably shorter than the average American of today.  That means that in order to reach the ash in the middle of this altar, a Jew of average height would have to stand on something and lean over.  If they did the normal practice of tucking up their robe, and it came loose while they were working, and a wind came up, their nakedness could be discovered .  Back in Exodus 20:25-26 , God told Moses And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.  Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon .  God wanted His priests to avoid even the occasional accidental exposure.  Therefore, as part of the law of the burnt offering , God said that His priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches .  As we learn in Ezekiel 44:18 , the linen garment was made from linen so that he didn't sweat while working.  However, this particular linen garment was specified by God so that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon while working on Gods altar and bending over while standing on something.  This verse tells us that the priest was to put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches .  He was to wear his linen breeches to cover their nakedness as God told us in Exodus 28:42 . 

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Leviticus 16:4   He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. 

Leviticus 16:1 starts a new subject which continues through the end of the chapter and is different than the subject of Leviticus 15 and is different than the subject of Leviticus 17 .  Thus, Leviticus 16 completely covers this telling of the subject. 

Leviticus 16:1-2 says And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died; And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat .  This chapter ends with (Leviticus 16:33-34 ) And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.  And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year.  And he did as the LORD commanded Moses .  Thus, after God had to kill the two sons of Aaron for presumptuous sin when they perverted their position as priests, God instituted the Sabbath known as the Day of Atonement .  Leviticus 16:4 is part of the instructions for the Day of Atonement .  Twice in this chapter ( 16:2 , 13) God warns that the priest must do things exactly as God said so that the priest die not .  I imagine that God had Aarons attention when God told him ' mess up and I will kill you ' right after God killed his two sons and told him (as a dad) ' you're not allowed to morn the death of sinful disobedient sons when you refused to correct them after repeated warnings '.  Instead of allowing Aaron and his family to morn, God instituted the Day of Atonement so that the living could get right before God had to bring further judgment. 

In this verse, God told Aaron to put on his holy garments .  This was to remind Aaron that he represented God and was to act right in order to influence others to act right and stop their sinning.  Supposedly, earlier in our history, when the church had more influence upon society than society had upon the church, people kept special ' church clothes ' which they treated as holy garments .  When others saw them in their ' church clothes ', the others would be reminded of their own obligation to worship God and stop their sinning.As with earlier verses in this paper, this chapter and verse is part of the Religious Mosaic Law and does not apply to us directly under the New Testament.  However, it is still for our admonition (1Corinthians 10:11 ) and the spirit of this chapter is something that we can follow even while we do not follow the letter of the Law.  We still have an obligation before God to remind others of the God of the Bible and their responsibilities to Him and of their own coming judgment day. 

Aaron was instructed to wash before putting on his holy garments .  This is a type of spiritual cleansing that we each should do before attempting to represent the God of the Bible.  In 16:6 we read And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house .  Without going into all of the verses, Aaron was warned to correct these two sons who died.  Their brothers, who were also priests, would have known of their sin and should have warned them and brought their sin before the entire congregation when they refused to stop.  The failure of Aaron and his sons to warn the sinful was sin on their own part and required a sin offering for their own cleansing before they could properly represent God.  They were not allowed to morn these sinful disobedient relatives because they had to deal with their own sin in the matter which caused this judgment. 

We should spiritually cleanse ourselves before putting on garments to act as priests and represent God.  We should also warn those around us to stop their own sinning so that God doesn't bring a great tragedy upon America and then tell His people they are not allowed to morn the destruction of a sinful nation.  Since those who expect Christ to make them kings and priests unto God are to act that way every day, this is just one more reminder to have a time in the morning to get with God and confess sin while preparing for the day of representing God and trying to turn our own friends and city and state and country back towards the righteousness of the God of the Bible. 

Returning to our verse, we can divide it by punctuation as:

1. There were specific items which constituted holy garments . 
1. He shall put on the holy linen coat,
2. and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh,
3. and shall be girded with a linen girdle,
4. and with the linen mitre shall he be attired:
2. The holy garments were to be respected and treated special. 
1. these are holy garments;
3. The priest was to wash before putting on the holy garments . 
1. therefore shall he wash his flesh in water,
2. and so put them on.. 

The main purpose for dividing this sentence is to show that 'the main purpose for dividing this sentence is to show that holy garments is equivalent to the list of items in the first part off the sentence.  Also, the priest was to wash before putting them on and treat them with reverence.  Thus we are taught, spiritually, to cleanse ourselves and prepare to worship our God.  The cleansing is to remind us of our natural sinful state and the holy garments are to remind us that this is a special position reserved for only a few even among Gods people. 

The linen breeches were part of the holy garments .  The holy garments are found in Exodus 28:2 , 4 ; 29:29; 31:10 ; 35:19, 21 ; 39:1 , 41 ; 40:13; Leviticus 16:4 , 23-24 , 32 ; Isaiah 52:1 ; Ezekiel 42:14 ; 44:19.  When we look at these verses, we find that God specified exactly how they were to be made and how and when they were to be used and not used.  We also learn that the people who made them had to have their heart stirred him up .  God doesn't want people working for Him whose heart is not in the task. 

God did not want anyone who was uncircumcised or unclean touching them, especially anyone who was uncircumcised of the heart or unclean of the heart .  In addition, God did not want His priests wearing these holy garments when they were not performing their office of priesthood.  In general, God wanted His priests to separate the holy from the profane in all areas.  They were to keep the holy garments exclusively for when they were doing the specific tasks that God told them to use the holy garments for.  The spirit of this lesson, which applies to us under the new Testament is that we are not to be involved in profane activities while representing God.  For example, we aren't to go witnessing in a bar or anyplace that will make people think that they can serve God while also involved in sin.  We also shouldn't try to represent our God while we are engaged in questionable actions or dress.  In all ways, we are to keep the holy holy and do everything to avoid mixing the holy with the profane . 

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Ezekiel 44:18   They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat. 

Starting in Ezekiel 40:1 we have a vision that goes until the end of the book of Ezekiel.  This vision probably was used when the Children of Israel returned from Babylon, but many aspects in it make it clear that it will see the complete fulfillment in the 1,000 years reign of Christ.  The simple interpretation of this verse is that during the 1,000 years reign of Christ the priests will fulfill their role as God intended when He gave the Law to Moses.  At that time, we will see all of the prior verses in this study fulfilled as God intended.  Having given that interpretation, we must look at the further qualifications and limits which apply to this verse. 

The They of this verse are the priests because 44:15 starts with But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok and everything from that point builds from there.  So, we see that the They of this verse is very limited in that it only allows someone who is one of the Levites and is also one of the sons of Zadok .  Further (without looking up the verse), we know that Gods priests served only while they were within a certain age range.  Going on, 44:9 tells us Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel .  Again, without going into all of the verses of this doctrine, these priests had to be saved ( circumcised in heart ) and maintaining their personal relationship with God ( No stranger ) and following the Laws and wishes of God exactly ( circumcised in flesh ) when it comes to religious matters.  That means that these priests would not only find out what is the exact letter of the Law when it comes to their linen breeches that were part of their holy garments for serving God, but they would also make sure that they kept the spirit of the Law. 

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