"Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear. Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die." (Exodus 28:31-35)
I've inserted a drawing of what an artist believes the blue robe may have looked like. We can see the pomegranates and bells hanging along the hem of the robe.
The whole time the high priest went about his work, the sound of the bells could be heard. Scholars have a couple of primary theories regarding the purpose of the bells. First, the ringing of the bells was a continual reminder that he must maintain a solemn and reverent attitude. Most days of the year he performed the same type of duties and, as we all know, jobs that are fairly routine have a tendency to become mundane. When we perform the same tasks day in and day out they become such a habit that we're able to carry out our duties with our minds on other things. This is not to happen with Aaron or with any of the high priests to follow. The ringing of the bells will help him keep his focus on the tasks at hand in the proper state of mind.
Another purpose for the bells is that once a year the high priest had to go behind the inner curtain and sprinkle sacrificial blood on the mercy seat---the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. The whole time he was behind the curtain, the other priests could hear the bells ringing and this told them he was still alive and well. If the bells stopped ringing they'd know something was wrong and they could pull him out by the rope tied to his ankle. No one was allowed behind the curtain to carry him out. For any other person to enter in meant certain death because in a very real sense the presence of the Lord resided in those days on the mercy seat. All the citizens of Israel were to regard the inner room as the holiest place on earth. It was to be considered almost as holy as the Lord's throne room in heaven. To allow anyone entrance other than the high priest would have lowered the people's regard for this sacred space, and by extension this would have lowered their regard for the Lord. The inner room could not be considered a common or ordinary space; the people would have begun to think of the Lord as common and ordinary. They would have esteemed the Lord far less in their minds, they would have honored Him far less in their hearts, and they would have obeyed Him far less in their actions. This is why the inner room was to be regarded as so holy that only the one man of Israel appointed to enter it on the Day of Atonement could go behind the curtain and survive. But if this man should have a medical emergency while behind the curtain and pass out, or if he perished of natural causes while behind the curtain, or if he was struck dead for going into the Lord's presence while relishing sin in his heart or without properly consecrating himself first, the bells on his robe would stop ringing and the other priests could retrieve him by pulling on the rope attached to him.
"Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as a seal: Holy To The Lord. Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban." (Exodus 28:36-37) A headband will go around the high priest's forehead and the words "Holy To The Lord" will be engraved into it "as a seal". When we did our study on Revelation we found the Lord placing a seal upon the foreheads of those who came to faith in Christ during the Great Tribulation. We speculated what this seal might be and whether or not it was visible to anyone other than the Lord and the holy angels. If you've ever read the "Left Behind" book series, which is a fictionalized account of the events of the book of Revelation (a book series I highly recommend due to how accurately and thoughtfully and prayerfully it follows the Scriptures), you'll know that the authors chose to portray the seal as a mark that the Lord and the hosts of heaven could see and also as a mark that other believers could see. Believers were able to recognize each other by the mark but unbelievers were unable to see it. Whatever the seal of Revelation is, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it isn't a mark on the foreheads of believers that says "Holy To The Lord", for the Bible says that in the eyes of the Lord believers are "a kingdom of priests" (Exodus 19:6, Isaiah 61:6, 1 Peter 2:5, 1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 20:6) The Bible tells us that when we come to faith in Christ we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and I think it's quite possible that this seal marks us as "Holy To The Lord" and that we very well may bear these words across our foreheads (as a kingdom of priests to our Lord) just as the high priest of Israel bore these words.
Something about this idea blesses me very much this morning, to think that as I sit here in my weak mortal flesh that was made from the dust of the earth, and that as I work on this Bible study in my pajamas and house slippers and messy bed-head hairdo, the Lord looks down on me and sees something beautiful. He looks down on me and sees an eternal soul redeemed by the blood of His Son. He looks down on me and sees words emblazoned on my forehead that can never be changed or erased: "Holy To The Lord".
No comments:
Post a Comment