Exodus 28: Pomegranates, Bells, and the High Priest

Exo 28:33  And beneath upon the hem of it [the robe for the high priest] thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:
Exo 28:34  A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.
Exo 28:35  And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and 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.

I was taught that every detail in the Bible is important, and it is true. I was also taught that the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, speaks of Jesus in some way, even if it is not immediately obvious. This also is true.

Used by permission

One time, as I was reading the passage above, I wondered about the pomegranates and the bells. What did they represent? The bells I thought I understood, but why pomegranates? And why were they on the hem of the high priest's robe? Other people have wondered this before me, but I did not try to research my question by reading other people's answers. I asked God. I meditated on this for some time, thinking about the pomegranate fruit: a globe shape with a tough rind which surrounds hundreds of seeds. Each seed is covered with a little red juice, the seeds are in groups, and each group is both held together and separated from other groups by a flexible membrane. One day, God showed me the mystery of the pomegranate: The seeds represent individual Christians, covered by Jesus' blood. They are gathered into local churches, where they cling to and support one another. Each local church is part of the whole body of Christ, and the body is held together by the Holy Spirit.

I was awed by this revelation, and still am. What a wonderful picture God painted for us, and how marvelous that each high priest, as he performed intercession for the people of Israel on the Day of Atonement, was wearing a reminder of the Church which was to come! God is great!

But I dismissed the bells, and didn't ask God about them. I assumed I knew: I thought they must represent giving praise to God. Well, that may be true, but there is another beautiful picture here, which God showed me much later. Let me explain:

Verse 35 above says, "And it [the robe] shall be upon Aaron to minister: and 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."

The High Priest [Aaron] was to wear this robe as he went into the Holy Place. Leviticus 16 records the regulations regarding this. If these rules were not correctly followed, he would die. And since he could only go in alone, the bells on his robe told those outside that the priest was alive and performing his duties before God.

How can the golden bells tell us something about Jesus? First, we must realize that gold, in scripture, represents divinity, and that the word translated 'bell' means something struck. So the golden bells represent Jesus, the Son of God, who was stricken for our sins and iniquities. Wow!

But wait, there's more: the bells were also a signal that the high priest was alive. With this thought, we can see that the bells represent the Spirit of God witnessing to Christians and seekers that Jesus, although He is not walking in a body on the earth, is ALIVE in Heaven performing his priestly duty of intercession before God for everyone who will come to Him. Wow!!

But wait, there's more: because we, as believers, are the Temple, and the Holy Spirit resides in us (1 Cor 3:16), the bells also represent each one of us, witnessing to the world that Jesus is ALIVE, and is standing before God making intercession for all who come to Him. Wow!!!

So in these three verses in the Old Testament, we find a picture of the church, and of  Jesus' death and resurrection. I want to say WOW!!!! How about you?

Easter or Firstfruits?

Spring is here! I’m so glad! Warmer temperatures, rain instead of snow and ice, sunshine, flowers—what a blessing! Spring is also the season when we make a point of remembering that Jesus died and was raised again that we might be saved from the penalty of our sins. We call this time of remembrance “Easter.”

“Easter.” That’s a strange name when you think about it. What does the word “Easter” have to do with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior? And for that matter, what do colored eggs and rabbits have to do with it, either? And who decides when we are supposed to celebrate it?

There are answers to these questions, answers that may bother you. They bothered me.

The Bible is very clear that Jesus was crucified on Passover: Matthew 26:17 says, for example “Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” (NKJV) Matthew goes on to tell of the last supper and the events leading up to the crucifixion. Mark and Luke tell essentially the same story. Passover can occur on any day of the week, but it always occurs on the 14th of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish year, which is in spring. Why do we not celebrate Passover?

The answer is that, since the Nicene Council of 325 AD, the church has, in general, sought to distance itself from anything Jewish. Constantine, who led the council, called Jews "adversaries," "depraved," and "innately mad," and their way "evil." The Council declared it improper to follow their customs in regard to this celebration or to have anything in common with them. Constantine said this of the people whom God chose and from whom we have the Bible and Jesus our Savior. In order to accomplish this misguided goal, the Council decided on a formula by which the date for remembering the resurrection would be found, and they phrased it in such a way that the celebration would not fall on Passover even by accident. Does that sound wrong to you? It does to me.

What about that word, “easter?” My dictionary gives its etymology (that is, the roots of the word) as--A. Sax eastre, from another A.Sax. word that sounds a lot like easter, which was from the Old High German Ostara, a goddess of light or spring… Hmm, a name of a goddess is what we apply to the celebration of the resurrection of our Savior? I did a Google search of Ostara and found information shared by pagans and witches about celebrating spring, new growth, and fertility; about colored eggs and reproducing rabbits. It was more than I wanted to know!

God says in His word, in Exodus 23:13, “And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.” (NKJV) And Joshua 23:7, the second part of the verse, says “… You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, [that is, the gods of the nations around them] nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them.” (NKJV)

I don’t know about you, but I must, from now on, refrain from speaking the name of that false god of spring. I repent that I have sinned in speaking it for years, and in teaching my children to speak it. I am thankful that God is faithful, when I repent, to forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.

So what shall I call this wonderful time when I celebrate that Jesus my Lord triumphed over death and rose from the grave? Passover? Well, I could, but Passover is when He died, not when He arose. Resurrection Day? My mother called it Resurrection Day…that might work.

Does God name the day? Yes, He does. He established the feast of Firstfruits. It was celebrated the day after the Sabbath after Passover, the first day of the week, which we call Sunday. In 1 Cor 15:20-23 we read: “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” (NKJV) So Jesus rose from the dead on the feast of Firstfruits, and He is the firstfruits of those who sleep. Firstfruits. I like it. With God’s help, I will use it.

Exodus 34:1-4 Stone Hewing

Exo 34:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. 2  And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. 3  And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.
Exo 34:4  And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

Eze 11:19  And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 


Have you ever wondered why Moses had to cut the stones himself for God to re-write the Ten Commandments? God had done the whole job the first time, why didn't He do it all again? Well, I have wondered this, and I asked God why. This is what He showed me: The stone tablets represent our hearts. They have become hard, like stone, through sin. And the only way we can become right with Him is if we bring our hard hearts to Him in humility, admitting our sin. It is hard work, like chiseling stone, but it is the only way. Then, when we turn to Him in this way, He graciously gives us hearts of flesh instead of stone, and writes His law on our hearts, as He promised He would.

Exodus 20:24-25 Altar Building

Exo 20:24  An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. 25  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.


In verse 24 God instructs Moses to make an altar of earth. The Hebrew word translated "earth" is from the root adam which means "to show blood, be red, ruddy." Adam is also the root of the word translated "man" in Genesis. So when Paul, in Romans 12:1, says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." he is telling them, in essence, to make themselves into an altar of earth, to sacrifice their self-centeredness to God. And God, in Exodus, promises to bless them if they do.

Then in verse 25 God speaks of an altar of stone. The Hebrew word here is eben, which is nearly identical with the word for son, ben. This is an allusion to Jesus the Son (ben) of God, who is often represented by a stone or rock in Scripture. God is saying to us that if we trust in Jesus but try to change Him at all, chipping some off because we don't like it, or adding our work to His, then we have polluted it. We cannot be saved by our own work, but only by the work Jesus did during His death, burial, and resurrection.

Exodus 4:19-20 Take Them and Go

Exo 4:19  And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.
20  And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

This prefigures Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returning to Israel from Egypt:

Mat 2:19  But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20  Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
21  And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.