a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, in the skirts of the cloak round about.
The hem of the high priest's blue robe carried a bell, then a fruit, then a bell, then a fruit, all the way round. Why that pattern, and why gold? Commentators read it as a picture of what goes with Christ's priestly service, and with ours.
The two ornaments carry settled meanings across the commentary. The bells give sound; the pomegranate, packed with seed, gives fruit.
The Hebrew word for bell comes from a word meaning "to strike." The bells were on Aaron's robes, "a bell and a pomegranate." Testimony and fruit were to mark all his goings, as they should go with the Christian's walk, through his attachment to Christ.
The colour of the robe says where our High Priest is now.
The blue robe of the ephod expresses the entirely heavenly character of our High Priest. He has gone into heaven; He is beyond the range of mortal sight. But by the power of the Holy Spirit there is divine testimony that He is alive in the presence of God. And not only testimony, but fruit as well. "A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate." Such is the beautiful order. Jesus always lives to make intercession for us. True testimony to that great truth always goes hand in hand with fruitfulness in His service.
The order in the verse matters, and so does the metal.
The pomegranate flower is bell-shaped and golden-crimson. Its fruit is full of seeds, an emblem of great productiveness. The bell and the fruit alternated, and that was the divine order. First, melodious sound; next, fruitfulness. The sound of the high priest's steps was always to be heard as he approached the Lord. The music of the robe announced his way, and his steps were full of fruit. The bells being golden implies a sound that is divinely glorious. The steps of Israel's high priest in the sanctuary pointed forward to our High Priest's footsteps in heaven itself.
Aaron's bells rang as he went in and as he came out. Applied to Christ, that marks two moments — one past, one still ahead.
The bells and pomegranates speak of testimony and fruit. The high priest's sound had to be heard when he went in. We know what happened when Jesus went in to God. The Holy Spirit came forth, and set the golden bells of Gospel testimony ringing in this dark world. We hear their joyful sound in Acts 2. The fruit quickly appeared, three thousand souls being blessed on the first day. God be praised, the bells are still ringing, and the fruit is still being gathered. The sweet story of the Gospel has reached our ears, and we are some of the fruit produced for God. The bells also sounded when Aaron came out from the divine presence. In the same way a fresh sound will ring out when the Lord Jesus comes again. A new testimony will start on the earth, and plenty of fruit — a new crop — will be gathered through it. Israel, not the Church, will be God's witness in that day.
Another writer traces where the testimony and the fruit come from.
The fruits and testimony of the Spirit — the bells and the pomegranates — attach to this character of Christ, pictured here in the high priest. It is from Christ in His heavenly character that they flow; they are attached to the hem of His garment here below.
Because bell and fruit alternate, the two come in equal numbers. One writer turns that count into a test.
Our fruit should bear the character of Christ and be worthy of Him. It should also match our testimony, just as the pomegranates matched the golden bells in number. One often finds Christians with more bells than pomegranates — more words than fruit!
How much a believer feeds on Christ sets the limit of what he can say for Him.
The pomegranate was the fruit of the land. The measure of my testimony as a Christian — the sound — is equal to the fruit I am feeding on. It is equal to my communion. Never more, never less. Only as I feed on Christ will Christ be heard and the sound come from me.
The same writer names the two ways the pair gets pulled apart in practice.
Suppose I give out something in the assembly that is not God's present word for His people. Even if it is true, I am separating the golden bell and the pomegranate. My present testimony is not based on the measure of communion I enjoyed in the past. That too would be separating the golden bell and the pomegranate. No — it is the fruit of the land enjoyed now, and to this alone the golden bell belongs.
- Pair — The bell is testimony, the pomegranate is fruit; the hem never carries one without the other.
- Order — Sound comes first, then fruitfulness; the gold says the sound is a divinely glorious one.
- Source — Both hang from the robe of a heavenly High Priest, and flow from Him.
- Ring — When Christ went in, the gospel bells began to sound, and three thousand were the first fruit; they will ring again when He comes out.
- Ratio — The bells and the fruit were equal in number. More words than fruit tears the pair apart.
And it shall be on Aaron for service; that his sound may be heard when he goeth into the sanctuary before Jehovah, and when he cometh out, that he may not die.
Golden bells hung around the hem of Aaron's blue robe, and their sound kept him alive as he went in and came out. Commentators read this as a picture of Christ's priesthood, and ask what sound came from Him — and what sound comes from us.
The robe that carried the bells was all blue. Writers link that colour to the Priest Aaron pictured.
The robe of the ephod was all of blue. Blue is a sign of what is heavenly. It pictures the heavenly character of the Priest, and it may also picture the place where He carries out His work — or rather, that His character suited the place. Hebrews speaks of Him in this way, not only as holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, but also as exalted above the heavens (Heb. 7:26).
A golden bell alternated with an embroidered pomegranate all round the hem, in matching numbers.
In the Word the pomegranate seems to be the image of fruit borne for God. The hem of the high priest's garment was trimmed with bells and pomegranates alternately (Ex. 28:31-35). The bells represent the testimony, the pomegranates the fruit. The pomegranates were "of blue, purple, and scarlet" — heavenly fruit, fruit matching the dignity of the Lord and His royal dignity as Messiah. Our fruit should bear the character of Christ and be worthy of Him. It should also match our testimony, just as the pomegranates were the same in number as the golden bells. One often finds Christians with more bells than pomegranates, more words than fruit!
The verse names two moments: going in, and coming out. Writers tie the first to the ascension of Jesus. (Older translations read "his sound," not "its sound.")
"His sound shall be heard when he goes in." We know what happened when Jesus went in to God. The Holy Spirit came forth, and set the golden bells of gospel testimony ringing in this dark world. We hear their joyful sound in Acts 2. The fruit quickly appeared, three thousand souls being blessed on the first day. God be praised, the bells are still ringing, and the fruit is still being gathered. The sweet story of the gospel has reached our ears, and we are some of the fruit produced for God.
The second sound is still future, and writers tie it to a different people.
The bells give their sound when the high priest goes in and when he comes out. When Christ went into the presence of God, what a mighty effect the Spirit produced! The church comes under that now. When Christ returns the Spirit will be poured out once more on all flesh. Israel will then be brought into the blessed position of bearing fruit in testimony for God.
The warning hangs on the sound. One writer traces the reason back to the Priest Aaron pictured.
The sound of the bells was to be heard when he went in and when he came out, so that "he does not die." The pomegranates especially speak of fruitfulness, since they are full of seeds that promise plenty of fruit. So the fruitfulness of the Lord Jesus in His High Priestly work is more than we can measure... On the other hand, His sound is wonderfully sweet music, for His words are the words of His Father (John 12:48-50). His words therefore are absolutely essential to His High Priesthood. Any high priest lacking in this would die if he went into the sanctuary, for he would not be rightly representing the Lord Jesus.
Believers have a priestly service too, and the pairing on the hem becomes a measure for us.
The measure of my testimony as a Christian (the sound) is equal to the fruit which I am feeding on; it is equal to my communion. Never more, never less. Only as I feed on Christ will Christ be heard, and the sound come from me; only in this way can I fulfil my priestly service.
One writer draws a lesson from the order of the two on the hem:
In verse 33 of our chapter the pomegranates come first in order, then the bells are mentioned. In the next verse the bell comes first, and then the pomegranate. Why this difference? In life the fruitfulness must come first, before there can be true testimony. Those who testify but do not practise what they teach are like a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
- Robe — Aaron wears it to minister, and its blue marks out a Priest whose character and place are heavenly.
- Pair — each golden bell sits beside a pomegranate: testimony next to fruit, in equal number. Many Christians have more words than fruit.
- Going in — when Christ entered God's presence the bells sounded. The Spirit came, the gospel rang out, and the fruit came at once — three thousand souls on the first day.
- Coming out — a second sound will ring when He returns, and Israel will become the fruit-bearing witness for God.
- Life — the priest's life hung on that sound. Our own testimony can only be as large as the fruit we feed on.