HOLINESS TO THE LORD Part 2 The Bells & The Pomegranates

Holiness:Noun, Belongs to God, Beautiful (five verses), Remembered with joy. Ps 47:8 the throne of his holiness; Jer 31:23 mountain of holiness.

Isa 63:15 the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory:

Isa 63:18 people of thy holiness, Jer 23:9 the words of his holiness

Isa 35:8 The way of holiness

Consider the bells on the robe of the ephod of the of the high priest.

Exodus 28:30-35 golden bells and pomegranates, his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh . out, that he die not.

·        Bell or bells are seen in only five verses in the Bible, four of which in these verses. The sound of the bells is the sound of the high priest.

·        The people would not see the high priest within the walls of the court of the tabernacle; the bells announced when he entered behind the first veil to go before the LORD on their behalf and when he came out.

·        They knew of the holy crown that proclaimed HOLINESS TO THE LORD. The people were reminded of the LORD’s holiness and should have rejoiced when they heard the sound of the bells because their daysman was betwixt them and the LORD.

·        Remember Psalm 30:4 and Psalm 97:12

·        To the people the bells of the robe of the ephod were bells of Remembrance of the LORD’s Holiness.

Also on the hem of the robe were pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet.

 The Pomegranates: Pomegranates were desired fruit. Red in color

·        In Matthew 7, Luke 6, John 15 Jesus used fruit as a picture judging witness of man. Matthew 7:20 says “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (false prophets)”.

·        Numbers 13:23 pomegranates were mentioned with the fruit of the land of promise. Numbers 20:5

·        Haggai 2:19 with Zechariah 8:12 The pomegranate tree among other trees and seed that will grow again when the LORD will bless the nation of Israel.

·        Joel 1:12 The pomegranate tree is mentioned with other trees as dried up when joy is withered away from the sons of men. (Judah)

·        Pomegranates were used to decorate Solomon’s house and the temple 1Kings 7; 2Chronicles 3:16; 4:13

·        Pomegranates are tied to beauty in Song of Solomon 4:3, 6:11, 7;12

·        They are tied to God’s blessing and His chastisement based upon the obedience of the people.

Consider how this is seen in the colors seen the pomegranates

 (Blue = deity, purple = royalty, scarlet = sin, red = blood)

·        a blue (deity) pomegranate, a bell, a purple (royalty) pomegranate, a bell, a scarlet (sin) pomegranate, a bell, a blue (deity) pomegranate

The beauty of the service of the high priest could be seen in the pomegranates. The high priest as the daysman betwixt the Lord and the people was between the Lord’s blessing and cursing

The bells announced the high priest, the daysman was at work.

·        Between the sin of the people and LORD God was the work of the daysman. Between the LORD as the true king of Israel and the sin of the people was the work of the daysman.

Once the high priest was in the holy place behind the first veil the bells were heard by only him and the LORD. He was reminded that he was to be HOLINESS TO THE LORD. To the LORD it was a sweet sound knowing the high priest was dedicated to his sacred office.

 Along with the miter and holy crown (HOLINESS TO THE LORD) the garments of the high priest included the breastplate of judgment with the Urim and the Thummim (Exodus 28:30). The Urim and the Thummim were somehow used by the LORD to him give guidance to make proper judgment on behalf of the people.

·        Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.

The sound of the bells reminded the high priest of his burden that he was to have for the people. He was to be continually ministering on their behalf before the LORD. The bells also reminded him that he was accountable to the LORD for what he did and how he did it. He was to be HOLINESS TO THE LORD. They brought LORD’s holiness  into his remembrance.

     To the LORD it was a sweet sound knowing the high priest was dedicated to his sacred office. When serving on behalf of the people the high priest had to be dressed in all the garments of his office. Entering the tent to perform the duties of the high priest without the bells brought certain death. Without the bells His HOLINESS could be forgotten.

Only HOLINESS TO THE LORD could stand before the Lord God Almighty on behalf of the sinful people.

The robe of the ephod with the bells and the pomegranates was also blue in color. The LORD God must be seen above all. He must be first in the eyes of the people and be first in the mind of the high priest.

In all this we must see the man Christ Jesus,

·        Hebrews 8:1 & 1Timothy 2:5 Our high priest our daysman the man Christ Jesus

·        Jesus Christ is Holiness * Jesus Christ is God * Jesus Christ is king

·        He was made to sin and made to a curse for us. Only HOILNESS TO THE LORD could bear these upon the cross and raise from the dead.