3, 4. In the case of the Jewish high priest, of what would the ‘symbol of dedication’ on his turban be a reminder?

³ In ancient Israel a priesthood was set up. Moses had carried out the specific instructions from Jehovah on making the distinctive garments for the high priest. Regarding the turban, it is written: “They made a rosette of pure gold as the symbol [sign] of their holy dedication and inscribed on it as the engraving on a seal, ‘Holy to the LORD’ [“Consecrated to Yahweh,” The Jerusalem Bible], and they fastened on it a violet braid to fix it on the turban at the top.”a​—Exodus 39:30, 31; 29:6; Leviticus 8:9, The New English Bible; New World Translation.

⁴ This ‘symbol of dedication’ would be a reminder to the high priest and to all observers that he had been “consecrated” or dedicated by God to a sacred service in behalf of a dedicated people. He and his fellow priests would take the lead in instructing the people and offering acceptable sin-atoning sacrifices, which would help them to live up to their dedication to God. This would contribute to the holy dedicated status of the nation, for they were warned that if they left Jehovah, he would, in turn, leave them and abandon them to their enemies.​—Deuteronomy 28:15, 25, 63.

5. Though today there is no Jew named Cohen who can identify himself as the Aaronic high priest, why is our case not hopeless?

⁵ The tragic history of the Israelites is filled with the calamities they suffered as a result of turning away from God’s commandments and their dedicated service to him. After the second destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70 C.E., the high priest with the symbol of dedication on his turban passed off the scene.