“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 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,[c] so that it may not tear. 33 On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. 35 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.
36 “You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37 And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. 38 It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
39 “You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.
40 “For Aaron’s sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them for glory and beauty. 41 And you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. 42 You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs; 43 and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him. (Exodus 28:31-43)
The Robe with Pomegranates and Bells (v. 31-35)
Next in the garments of the priest we have the description of the robe, called the robe of the ephod. This robe was to be made of all blue, the color of heaven. It was to have an opening for the head, with a woven binding around the opening so that it may not tear. It is interesting that verse 32 tells us the purpose for the woven binding around the opening is so that it may not tear. While this of course served a practical purpose of having sturdy clothes, there is more to it. That there is more to it than a practical purpose becomes clear when we put it together with a passage like Leviticus 10. In Leviticus 10, Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, offer up strange unauthorized fire before the LORD. As you know the story, the fire of the LORD then consumes them for their rebellion. As this was a sobering judgment for Israel, Moses tells Aaron right after this in Leviticus 10:6, “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the LORD has kindled.” So Moses essentially tells Aaron and the priests not to tear their clothes in mourning. It was a common practice in the ancient world, and in the Bible, for kings or rulers, or any person, to tear their clothes, or wear sackcloth and ashes in time of mourning. But Moses tells the priests not to do this. And, it wasn’t that they weren’t to be in distress over what had happened because he tells them and the whole congregation of Israel to bewail the burning that the LORD had kindled. So there was something about the priest’s garments that they weren’t to be torn.
Furthermore, we read in Leviticus 21, there are some laws about the holiness of the priests, and it says in Leviticus 21:10, “The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes.” So this informs us that it was part of the holiness of the priest to not tear his garments. So I would conclude that it was not only the preciousness of the materials used in the priest’s garments that typified the divine perfections and holiness of the Lord Jesus, our Great High Priest, but also the clothes were not to be torn and so signify the perfections and holiness of Christ.
So when Jesus is on trial before Caiaphas the high priest in Matthew 26, the high priest says to Jesus, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” And Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy!” So when the high priest tore his clothes, he was nowhere in Scripture authorized to do so, but some scholars say, it had become a tradition of the Jews to do so at the crime of blasphemy. And in so observing the commandments of men, he violated the law of God, delegitimized his authority, and essentially gives way, unwittingly, to the High Priesthood of Jesus, Who essentially puts quotes together from Daniel 7 and Psalm 110 in His response, which testify to the eternal priesthood of Christ.
You see, when the Christ came, when the Son of God was revealed, the Old Covenant gave way to the new, the old priesthood gave way to the priesthood of Christ. The apostate high priest tore his clothes, and then the temple of the curtain was torn in two. Thus, signifying the rending of the old, and the coming of the new.
Pomegranates
So not only was this robe not to tear, but, as we see in verse 33, around the hem of the robe was to be pomegranates made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarns with bells of gold between them. We are not told much about the purpose of the bells, although one practical purpose would be to hear the sound. Obviously as the priest moved around in his robe, the bells would ring, and if he were ministering in the holy places and the bells went quiet, then you would know if maybe he died in there or something. The other thing to remember is that the purpose of these garments as a whole was for beauty and for glory. Thus, the bells would give off a beautiful or glorious sound as the priest ministered in the tabernacle.
The other feature is the pomegranates that were made around the hem between the bells. Now you know that when we consider the imagery of things like this in the Bible it is important to consider how else we see such imagery in the Bible. So where else do we see pomegranates in the Bible? In the Bible, pomegranates were a lush and delicious fruit. The Song of Solomon speaks of pomegranates several times in the imagery of beauty and love. Solomon planted rows of pomegranate trees at his palace and upon the campus of the Temple. As a fruit, pomegranates are the beauty and glory of the pomegranate tree.
But also, in Deuteronomy 8, God speaks of the promised land He is bringing Israel to. We know that the promised land is described as a land flowing with milk and honey. But Deuteronomy 8:8 also says that it is a land of pomegranate trees. Also, when the spies go to spy out the Land of Canaan, we know that they brought back giant clusters of grapes. But Numbers 13:23 also says that they brought back some pomegranates as well. So Pomegranates were promised land food. In Numbers 20, as Israel is in the wilderness, they complain that they have been brought out of Egypt to a place with no pomegranate trees. But God WAS bringing them to a land of pomegranate trees, that unbelieving generation was just too fearful to face the giants in the land and have God’s promises. So the pomegranates around the hem of the priest’s robe was a reminder of God’s promise and a reminder of the land God was bringing them too while they wandered in the wilderness, a land rich with pomegranate trees.
Now, I have a theory here, and it is just a theory, so take it or leave it, but I think that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that Adam and Eve ate from was pomegranates. They prematurely took and ate the fruit God forbade them to eat, they were removed from the garden, but now, God is bringing them back to a better land, rich with pomegranates. This fits with the garden themes of the tabernacle and the priest’s garments. And being the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil strikes a similarity to the purposes of the Urim and Thummim, the manifestation and truth, the judgment represented there.
The Turban and its Plate (v. 36-39)
The next garment of the priest is the turban as described in verse 36-39. On the front of the turban they were to fasten a plate of gold which was engraved with the words, “Holy to the LORD.” This plate of gold was to be fastened on with a blue cord. Then verse 38 says this, “It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.” So Aaron would bear any guilt from the gifts of the people on his forehead, that they would be accepted before the LORD. So again we have the idea of a representative, the High Priest in this case, bearing the guilt of the people on himself, and through his representation of them, they are accepted before the LORD. Here we are reminded of the necessity of the Holy One bearing our guilt, in order to be brought before the LORD and accepted by God. Whatever these gifts were that Israel brought, it shows us that even our best works are tainted with sin, even our best works cannot stand or be accepted by God in themselves. They need to be sanctified and done through Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, who alone bears our guilt that we may be accepted before God.
Isaiah 53:11 says that the Christ will “make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” This Christological prophecy of old was played out in type as the High Priest bore the guilt of the people. Hebrews 9:28 says that Christ was offered once “to bear the sins of many.” It wasn’t all the Levitical priests who wore this turban with “Holy to the Lord” on their foreheads, it was one priest. One priest bore the sins of many as it were. So Christ, the one and only Great High Priest bore the sins of many. He is able to save not one, not two, not just a few, but many. There is not one man in all the world who could bear his own sins before God, let alone the sins of one, two, or many others; save, for the God-Man, the Holy One of Israel who is able to bear the sins of many.
1 Peter 2:24 says, “He [Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” How personal of a Savior is Jesus Christ, that He bore our sins in His body. Not just sin in general, not just sin in the abstract, but OUR sins. Specific sins. Named sins. Your lying, your pride, your immorality, your evil thoughts, your gossip, your sinful anger, your lust, your sloth, your arrogance, Christ bore them. And He did not bear them upon a plate of gold, or with some instrument, but in His very body. Personally, He bore them. A body was needed to truly bear the sins of the flesh, so Christ put on a body to personally bear the specific sins of specific people, a great many people. And He did, as 1 Peter says, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. That we might be “Holy to the Lord.” And that we might be healed by His wounds. He put on a body to be wounded so that we might be healed. What a personal savior. Do you love Him? Do you trust Him? Do you know Him? Is He your great High Priest?
In verse 39, the priest’s coat was made of fine linen, the turban was made of fine linen, and there was a sash embroidered with needlework. This is part of what the apostle John sees when He sees the revelation of Jesus Christ. Revelation 1:13, “and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.” This is our Great High Priest, clothed with a robe and sash. Has Jesus Christ been revealed to you? Do you see Him in faith as your great High Priest, risen to intercede for you? Or do you barely know Him? Is He distant, or fearful, or impersonal to you? When you see Him in faith like John, you fall down at His feet, you bow before Him, you submit yourself to Him. You’re a little disciple whom this Majestic and Holy One loves. When you know Him, you want to die to sin and live to righteousness. You don’t want to stray, you don’t want to do those sins anymore, you want to be with Him. You want to be like Him.
Covering for Nakedness (v. 40-43)
Finally, in verse 40-43, there is brief mention of Aaron’s sons, who were priests. They also had coats, sashes, and caps for glory and for beauty. It speaks of their anointing and consecration, which we’ll look more at in coming weeks, Lord willing. But it also says in verse 42 that they were to have linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. We’ve talked about the garden themes here in the tabernacle and the priest’s garments, and this is what we see here as well. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they needed covering for their nakedness. In God’s grace He clothed them. And here as Aaron and His sons minister in a heavenly garden themed holy sanctuary, their nakedness is covered by these provisions from God, lest they bear guilt and die.
One of the great themes that we see here that underlines all the priest’s garments is that God is clothing and covering His people so that He might dwell with them and that they might be brought near to Him. So God covers us His people in Christ and His robes of righteousness, so that He might dwell with us and so that we might be brought near to Him. And when God clothes His people, He does so beautifully. The priest’s garments were for glory and beauty. One of the things glory does is cover. A covering is glory. But the coverings God gives is beautiful. The beauty of the priest’s garments reflect the beauty and the perfections of the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. And since we are clothed by Jesus Christ Himself, we are clothed with His beauty and perfections, as a bride adorned for her husband. Isaiah 61:10, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Oh how this is something to praise God for. It is something to rejoice for. Just as Isaiah said, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God!” If you have been covered in Christ, if He has clothed you with His robe of righteousness, then you rejoice in Him, because you know your sin, you know the death and the wrath that you deserve, you know that you are nothing without Him, and so your very soul, deep within you, exults in your God, because He is beautiful and He is glorious in all His perfections, and He has covered you with the same.
Conclusion
Our great High Priest has covered us in His garments and made us all priests unto God in the New Covenant, so that you might offer up to Him right worship. So that as His priests you might greatly rejoice in the LORD, and your soul would exult in YOUR God, as you offer a sacrifice of praise. To be a priest unto God requires Holy garments. To go before the Lord and offer right worship requires Holy garments. And as a Christian, God has provided those for you and covered you in them, so that you might praise Him. And this reality in Christ is the answer to the Psalmist’s prayer in Psalm 132:8-9 which says, “Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy.” Christ has arisen, has sat down at the right hand of God, clothed his priests, so let His saints shout for joy! So you need to think deeply about how you enter worship and the significance of what you do when you sing God’s praise in the assembly of the saints, and when you go before the LORD in family worship, or private devotion.
Are you wearing the right garments? Have you been clothed by His robes? Have you put on Christ? As Galatians 3:27 says, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Our priestly garments are not made of fine twined linen, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. Our garments are made of something more precious. Our garments are made of grace. Christ is what we put on. Have you been baptized into Christ? Romans 13:14, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
So go, as priests unto God, having been baptized into Christ, and putting on Christ, and live holy to the LORD.
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