Exodus 27:1-8 (ESV)

“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment, so that it may not tear. On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the LORD, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.”

Time out. So that he does not die? Why would he die? What is it about the bells that keeps him alive?

First, we know that it’s the sound – “and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the LORD, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.”

Second, we know that the sound must be heard both when he goes into the Holy Place and when he comes out. So, this doesn’t have anything to do with sneaking up on God (which would be impossible anyway). If that was the case, the sound would only be important when he goes into the Holy Place. Notice also that it says the Holy Place, not the Most Holy Place. So, basically the question is, “Why is it so important to God that golden bells tinkle when the priest enters or exits the Holy Place?”

Well, they add a dimension of sound to the priest’s visit – though that’s never specifically called out as important. The only other references to bells in scripture are Exodus 39 (which just repeats this description) and Zechariah 14:20 (which is unrelated). So, we aren’t told why God wants these bells. It’s His choice.

Still, the bells make sense in that they would make an unauthorized intruder stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone would be used to hearing the golden bells and someone approaching the Holy Place silently would be obviously out of place. That make it more difficult for someone to enter by accident or, God forbid, try to sneak in.

This provides yet another a layer of security.

As we’ll soon see, God can really light someone up (literally!) for disobeying His simple, easy to follow rules. Putting on the priestly garments isn’t half as much work as getting made up to go on television. None of the worship rules are challenging.

Come to think of it, the Ten Commandments aren’t all that challenging either. Yet we can’t seem to obey those simple, easy to follow rules.

That’s why we don’t need a teacher; we need a savior. Just as all these details about the Tabernacle and the worship practices serve to highlight the seriousness of our sin, the simplicity of the rules we can’t seem to follow highlights its stupidity. Our rescue from all that is a work of art.

“Praise God for the active obedience of Christ” — J. Gresham Machen

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies