◄ Exodus 28:31 ►














Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Priests' Garments
Exodus 28:1-4
D. Young

I. OBSERVE HOW THE INDIVIDUAL IS HERE SUBORDINATED TO THE OFFICE. Jehovah tells Moses here, amid the solemnities of the mount, that his brother Aaron and Aaron's sons are to be taken for service in the priest's office; but no word is said concerning the characters of any of these men, not even Aaron himself. There is a demand that those who made the priestly garments should be wise-hearted, men with a spirit of wisdom which Jehovah himself would put into them; but nothing is said as to Aaron himself being wise-hearted. Nor is there any indication given beforehand of any personal fitness that he had for the office. We gather much as to the way in which God had been training Moses; but Aaron so far as we can see, seems to have been led by a way that he knew not. All the commandment to Moses is, "take to thee Aaron thy brother." He is indicated by a natural relation, and not by anything that suggests spiritual fitness. It is interesting to compare the utter absence of any reference here to personal character with the minute details of what constitutes fitness for bishop and deacon, as we find these details in the epistles to Timothy and Titus. In the old dispensation where there was but the shadow of good things to come, the trappings of the official and the ceremonies of the office were of more importance than the character of any individual holder. The purpose of Jehovah was best served, in proportion as the people, beholding Aaron, forgot that it was Aaron, and were chiefly impressed by the fact that they were looking on the appointed priest of the Most High.

II. OBSERVE WHAT WAS AIMED AT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PRIESTLY GARMENTS. They were to be for glory and for beauty. Not only different from the garments of the common people, but much more splendid. Gold was worked into the very substance of these garments; precious stones glittered upon them; and everything was done to make them beautiful and impressive. Nor was the splendour of these garments for a mere occasional revelation. Though not worn constantly, yet they had to be assumed for some part of every day; and thus all eyes were continually directed to symbols of the glory, beauty, and perfection which God was aiming to produce in the character of his people. There was as yet no finding of these things in human nature. The gold of human nature could not yet be purified from its debasing dross; but here for a symbol of the refined and perfected man, was gold, pure and bright, we may imagine, as ever came out of the furnace; and here were these precious stones, inestimably more precious since the tribal names were graven on them, and with the preciousness crowned when they took their place on the shoulders and breasts of the priest. Thus, whenever these stones flashed in the light, they spoke forth afresh the great truth, that this priest so gloriously attired, was the representative of the people before God; not a representative whom they had elected for themselves, and who would therefore go to God on a peradventure, but one who, because God himself had chosen him, could not fail to be acceptable. The principle underlying the direction to make these splendid garments is that which underlies the use of all trappings by government and authority. The outward shows of kingly state, the crown, the sceptre, the throne, the royal robes - these may not be impressive now as once they were; but they have been very serviceable once, and may still serve an important purpose, even though it be not easily perceived. It might make a difference in the administration of justice, if the garb of those who are the chief administrators were to differ nothing in public from what it is in private.

III. OBSERVE THAT TO SHOW FURTHER THE IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO THESE GARMENTS, GOD HIMSELF PROVIDED SKILL FOR THE MAKING OF THEM. Much skill might be needed, far more than could be guessed by the observer, to make these garments graceful and impressive. What was all the richness of the material unless there was also dextrous, tasteful, and sympathetic workmanship? The gold, and the blue, and the purple, and all the rest of the promising materials would have availed nothing in some hands to avert a clumsy and cumbrous result. The people provided all they could, and it was a great deal; but God had to provide the craftsmen in order to make full use of the people's gift. - Y.

Biblical Illustrator
The robe of the ephod.
Exodus 28:31-35
The robe of the ephod
T. Taylor, D. D.
The third peculiar garment of the high priest was the robe of the ephod (vers. 5, 31). On the skirts of which were fastened —

1. The pomegranates of blue silk, and purple, and scarlet round about. This fruit hath a most pleasant smell, sweet in itself, and sweetening other things round about it; and is full of precious juice and liquor.

2. Bells of gold between them round about, a golden bell and a pomegranate; the use of which was, that his sound might be heard round about when he went into the sanctuary and holy of holies. The whole garment signified the righteousness of Christ's human nature, which is —(1) Most sweet itself, having a most pleasant savour as the pomegranate.(2) Full of most precious juice and virtue, to qualify and abate the raging heat of God's displeasure, as the juice of pomegranates doth allay the burning heat of an ague that would shake the body to pieces.(3) Casts upon us a sweet savour being wrapped in it. For we, by nature, stinking in our sins and rottenness, are loathsome to the Lord; but once covered with this mantle, we are a sweet savour to God.

3. This garment hath a sweet sound, as of golden bells, which to hear were most delectable, because the garment of Christ's righteousness brings grace to us no otherwise than by the sound of the gospel. For faith, by which we put on Christ, is wrought by hearing the sweet sound and golden bell of the gospel. Whence some have thought, that by this part of the priest's attire, is shadowed the prophetical office of Christ. Sweet is the proclamation of the gospel of peace!

4. The use. That by these bells the priests must be heard when he goeth into the sanctuary; signifying the power of Christ, our High Priest's, perpetual intercession (being entered into the sanctuary of heaven) for His elect and chosen.

(T. Taylor, D. D.)

The blue robe
G. Rodgers.
The robe was of one piece, and was all of blue. This colour sets forth that which was pre-eminently heavenly in the character of Christ, and it reminds us of that perfect, seamless robe of Christ's righteousness, which is "unto all and upon all them that believe"(Romans 3:22). The bottom of this long robe was ornamented with golden bells and pomegranates. Here were sound and fruit, and as much fruit as sound. As he moved about in the court or in the tabernacle, every step sent forth a sweet golden sound from each of the many little bells hanging about his feet, and Aaron would seem to say by this sound, "I am ready to serve you, and to bless you." The pomegranates would often remind him that a priest must do more than make a sound; he must work as well as talk; he must produce both sound and fruit, and both must be good. These bells and pomegranates were about the feet — the walk of the high priest; reminding us of the loveliness of Christ's walk, and of the sweetness and pleasantness of His conversation. The sound of these bells would not be heard in the camp, and but faintly, if they could be heard at all, outside the court. To hear this sweet sound distinctly, a man must have come as far as to the brazen altar; but he could not come there without an offering. And as the first offering he was required to bring was a sin-offering, if a man stood at the altar of brass and listened to the sweet and joyful sound of the golden bells about the hem of the priest's blue robe, we are quite sure that he had come, first of all, as a sinner to be pardoned and saved. So now a man must feel himself a sinner, and in need of a sin-offering: he must come out from the world; must draw near to Him who is both the altar and the sacrifice; must lay his hand by faith on the head of Christ.

(G. Rodgers.)

The robe of the ephod
H. W. Soltau.
This robe embodied the colour of the heavens; it was all of blue. It seems to have typified the especial glory of the true High Priest, whose name is "Prince of Peace," the "Lord of Peace"; and who wears His princely robes as King of Righteousness, and King of Peace, upon the ground of having made full, perfect, and eternal peace through the blood of His cross. God, known as love, is the God of peace: and He has brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant. That title, "the Great Shepherd of the sheep," seems to sum up in one name the whole of the priesthood of Christ, as described in the Epistle to the Hebrews. He is the Great Shepherd; for He is King as well as Priest. He has royal power; a royal heart; royal glory; and His dominions are righteousness and peace; and He is the Shepherd, having proved His love and care for the sheep, in laying down His life for them; and all His priestly service on their behalf is conducted with the heart of a good Shepherd, who loves His own, and whose own the sheep are. This is, therefore, a princely, priestly, shepherd robe. It displays the love of God as seen in the gift of His Son and as manifested by the Son Himself, in laying down His life, and so making peace. It was a robe which covered the high priest from head to foot, and showed the great object of His priesthood, namely, to maintain, on the behalf of His own, that peace with God which He had procured at the cost of His own blood, and which the God of peace had sealed and established, by raising Him from the dead through the blood of the everlasting covenant. This robe was all of one piece, woven from the top throughout, and a provision was made by means of a binding of woven work round about the hole in the top of it, that it should not rend or be rent. Is not this very significant of the unchanging love of Christ?

(H. W. Soltau.)

A golden bell and a pomegranate
Golden bells
T. De Witt Talmage.
I am glad that the first use of bells was a religious use; and hereafter the gospel of God to me shall be a chime of bells; and whether I hear them in the garments of the high priest, or in the cathedral tower, they shall suggest to me the gladness, the warning, and the triumph of the gospel.

1. These gospel bells, like those that adorned the high priest's robe, are golden bells. Other bells are made of coarser materials — zinc, and lead, and tin, and copper; but these gospel bells are bells of gold. There is one bell in Europe that cost three hundred thousand dollars. It was at vast expense that metallic voices were given to the towers of York, and Vienna, and Oxford. But all the wealth of heaven was thrown into this gospel bell. No angel can count its value. Eternity cannot demonstrate its cost. When the bell of the Russian Kremlin was being fused, the lords came and threw their gold into the molten mass; but when this Gospel bell was to be constructed, the kings of heaven, the hierarchs of eternity, threw into it their crowns and their sceptres. It is a golden bell. Do you believe it? Hear it ring! "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." "Him hath God exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel, and forgiveness of sins."

2. I remark, further, that these gospel bells, like those around the high priest's garment, are bells of invitation. When the Jews heard the clash of those bells in the hem of the priest's robe they knew it was an invitation to worship. That is the meaning of every church tower from San Francisco to New York, and from London to St. Petersburgh. It is, "Come — come."

3. I remark, further, that the gospel bells, like those on the high priest's robe, are bells of warning. When the Jews heard the clash and ring of these bells, it was a warning for them to worship, lest their God be offended. On Bell Rock, in the German Ocean, there is a lighthouse, and there are two bells, that every half-minute ring out through the fog, through the darkness, through the storm, and over the sea. Beware! Beware! The helmsman on the ship, hearing the warning, turns the wheel and steers off. It is a startling thing, at midnight, to hear the heavy clang of a fire bell, if you live in the third ward, and the tongue of the bell strike one, two, three! If a city is besieged, and the flash of the musketry is seen on the hill-tops, and the cavalry horses are dashing up and down, and the batteries are being unlimbered, all the bells of the city call, to arms! to arms! So this gospel bell is a bell of alarm.

4. I remark, further, that the bells on the high priest's robe were bells of joy. When the Jews heard the chiming of those bells on the priest's robe, it announced to them the possibility of pardon for their sins, and of deliverance. "Behold! I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all people." There have been bells rung on days of victory. The bell of London rang after Waterloo. The bells in many of our cities rang after the settlement of our national strife. The great bells of York, and Oxford, and Vienna, at some time, have sounded the victory.

5. These gospel bells, of which I speak, are bells of triumph. Aye! they are ringing now: "All flesh shall see the salvation of God." "And He shall reign for ever and for ever!" The Bishop of Malta, in superstition, had all the bells of the city rung, in the hope that the storm that was raging in the city might be quieted. That was superstition: but I think it is faith in God that leads us to believe that the ringing of these gospel bells will yet silence all the storms of this world's sin, and all the storms of this world's trouble. Oh! when Jesus, our Great High Priest, in full robes shall enter into His glory, the bells on the hem of His garments will ring with the music of an eternal merriment.

6. But we shall have no share in that joy unless now we listen to the gospel tiding. There is a bell on the other side of the waters, weighing two hundred and eight thousand pounds; and it takes twenty-four men to ring it. But to bring out all the sweetness of this gospel bell would take all the consecrated spirits of earth — seraphim and archangel. Who in this august assembly will listen? Who will listen now? In New England they have what they call a passing bell; that is, when some one dies in a village, word is sent to the sexton, and he sounds the bell just as often as the man lived years: and when the sound is in the tower, the people are solemn, and they say, "Some one is dead — who is it?" For us the passing bell will soon sound. Gone from the family. Gone from the church. Gone from the last opportunity of salvation.

(T. De Witt Talmage.)

Lessons
T. Taylor, D. D.
As the priests must have in their skirts both bells and pomegranates: so must every evangelical minister.

1. The bells allow them not to be dumb dogs (Isaiah 56:10), but the sound of the law and gospel must clearly sound in their mouths, to be heard afar off.

2. These bells must be of gold, to put ministers in mind that their doctrine be pure; not corrupt, not savouring of popish liberty, or self-respect.

3. They must never come into the congregation without these bells; for ministers must still be furnished with some sound matter of instruction and edification. How is it then that many come into the congregation and never bring bells? Many are afraid lest the sound of their bells should be heard too much, and that it would disgrace them to be counted diligent preachers. And many scorn others that their bells sound so often.

4. To the bells, ministers must join pomegranates: with the wholesome word, join good works and holy life. He carries the bell, a minister whose life is agreeable with the holy doctrine (Matthew 5:19). He that keepeth the commandments, and teacheth others so to do, shall be great in the kingdom of God. John Baptist had both bells (being a burning light in himself), and pomegranates; being a shining light unto others. And as the pomegranates smelled sweet; so must ministers labour to leave a sweet smell behind them everywhere.

(T. Taylor, D. D.)

The church-going bells
G. L. Foster.
In considering the usefulness of church bells, it may be proper to say: First, that they render a worthy claim for their existence in promoting the temporal welfare of communities where their voice is heard. But, secondly, the worth of a bell is perhaps still more evident when we consider its use for religious purposes. The ways of its usefulness, when calling the people together for worship, are easily seen.

I. IT CALLS ATTENTION TO THE CLAIMS OF GOD FOR LOVE AND SERVICE. NOTHING IS MORE MANIFEST THAN THAT MEN ARE APT TO BECOME CARELESS IN RESPECT TO THESE CLAIMS.

II. IT IS USEFUL IN PROMOTING A LARGER ATTENDANCE UPON THE SERVICES OF THE SANCTUARY, THAN WOULD BE SECURED BUT FOR ITS INFLUENCE.

III. ADDED TO AN INCREASE OF ATTENDANTS, THE BELL PRONOTES PUNCTUALITY.

IV. THE BELL IS USEFUL IN THE INFLUENCE IT HAS IN PREPARING THE MIND OF THOSE WHO OBEY ITS CALL FOR WORSHIP.

V. THE BELL IS USEFUL BECAUSE OF THE SACRED ASSOCIATIONS CONNECTED WITH ITS SOUND, AND THE HALLOWED MEMORIES ITS NOTES INSPIRE.

(G. L. Foster.)

The dumb bell
Mr. Gatty, in his book on "Bells," gives the following anecdote, on the credit of Cardinal Baronius: "When Charles II., king of France, A.D. 615, was at Sens, in Burgundy, he heard a bell in the church of St. Stephen, the sound of which pleased him so much that he ordered it to be transported to Paris. The Bishop of Sens, however, was greatly displeased at this, and the bell so sympathized with him that it turned dumb on the road and lost all its sound. When the king heard of this he commanded that the bell should be carried back to its old quarters, when, strange to relate, as it approached the town, it recovered its original tone, and began to ring so as to be heard at Sens, whilst yet about four leagues distant from it." The true preacher grows silent if forced to any other service than his Lord's. If he attempts to speak on any other topic than that which concerns his Lord and the gospel, he misses his former force; he is not at home, he is glad to end his speech and sit down. Our bell is dumb if it does not ring out for Jesus. The world would soon dismiss us if it had hired us to be its orator, for our heart is elsewhere, and only upon the one dear, familiar theme can be eloquent.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

People
Aaron, Abihu, Eleazar, Israelites, Ithamar, Moses, Nadab, Shoham
Places
Mount Sinai
Topics
Blue, Cloak, Cloth, Completely, Entirely, Ephod, Goes, Hast, Robe, Upper
Outline
1. Aaron and his sons are set apart for the priest's office
2. Holy garments are appointed
6. The ephod and girdle
15. The breast-plate with twelve precious stones
30. The Urim and Thummim
31. The robe of the ephod, with pomegranates and bells
36. The plate of the mitre
39. The embroidered coat
40. The garments for Aaron's sons

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 28:31

     5258   cloth

Exodus 28:1-43

     1065   God, holiness of

Exodus 28:31-34

     5177   robes

Exodus 28:31-35

     4450   fruit

Library
Three Inscriptions with one Meaning
'Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it ... HOLINESS TO THE LORD.'--EXODUS xxviii. 36. 'In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD.'--ZECH. xiv. 20. 'His name shall be in their foreheads.'--REV. xxii. 4. You will have perceived my purpose in putting these three widely separated texts together. They all speak of inscriptions, and they are all obviously connected with each other. The first of them comes from the ancient times of the institution …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Names on Aaron's Breastplate
Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord, upon his two shoulders, for a memorial.... And Aaron shall bear the names of the Children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the Holy Place.'--EXODUS xxviii. 12,29. Every part of the elaborately prescribed dress of the high priest was significant. But the significance of the whole was concentrated in the inscription upon his mitre, 'Holiness to the Lord,' and in those others upon his breastplate and his shoulder. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Ninth Day. Holiness and Mediation.
And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.'--Ex. xxviii. 36, 38. God's house was to be the dwelling-place of His Holiness, the place where He was to reveal Himself; as the Holy One, not to be approached but with …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

Edwards -- Spiritual Light
Jonathan Edwards, the New England divine and metaphysician, was born at East Windsor, Connecticut, in 1703. He was graduated early from Yale College, where he had given much attention to philosophy, became tutor of his college, and at nineteen began to preach. His voice and manner did not lend themselves readily to pulpit oratory, but his clear, logical, and intense presentation of the truth produced a profound and permanent effect upon his hearers. He wrote what were considered the most important …
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3

That the Ruler Should be Pure in Thought.
The ruler should always be pure in thought, inasmuch as no impurity ought to pollute him who has undertaken the office of wiping away the stains of pollution in the hearts of others also; for the hand that would cleanse from dirt must needs be clean, lest, being itself sordid with clinging mire, it soil whatever it touches all the more. For on this account it is said through the prophet, Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord (Isai. lii. 11). For they bear the vessels of the Lord who undertake, …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Sanctification
'For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.' I Thess 4:4. The word sanctification signifies to consecrate and set apart to a holy use: thus they are sanctified persons who are separated from the world, and set apart for God's service. Sanctification has a privative and a positive part. I. A privative part, which lies in the purging out of sin. Sin is compared to leaven, which sours; and to leprosy, which defiles. Sanctification purges out the old leaven.' I Cor 5:5. Though it takes not …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

That the Ruler Should be Always Chief in Action.
The ruler should always be chief in action, that by his living he may point out the way of life to those that are put under him, and that the flock, which follows the voice and manners of the shepherd, may learn how to walk better through example than through words. For he who is required by the necessity of his position to speak the highest things is compelled by the same necessity to exhibit the highest things. For that voice more readily penetrates the hearer's heart, which the speaker's life …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Thirtieth Lesson. An Holy Priesthood;'
An holy priesthood;' Or, The Ministry of Intercession. An holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.'--I Peter ii. 5. Ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord.'--Isaiah lxi. 6. THE Spirit of the Lord God is upon me: because the Lord hath anointed me.' These are the words of Jesus in Isaiah. As the fruit of His work all redeemed ones are priests, fellow-partakers with Him of His anointing with the Spirit as High Priest. Like the precious ointment upon …
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer

That the Ruler Should be Discreet in Keeping Silence, Profitable in Speech.
The ruler should be discreet in keeping silence, profitable in speech; lest he either utter what ought to be suppressed or suppress what he ought to utter. For, as incautious speaking leads into error, so indiscreet silence leaves in error those who might have been instructed. For often improvident rulers, fearing to lose human favour, shrink timidly from speaking freely the things that are right; and, according to the voice of the Truth (Joh. x. 12), serve unto the custody of the flock by no means …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Text: Romans 13, 8-10. 8 Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; love therefore is the fulfilment of the law. CHRISTIAN LOVE AND THE COMMAND TO LOVE. 1. This, like the two …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

The Covenant of Grace
Q-20: DID GOD LEAVE ALL MANKIND TO PERISH 1N THE ESTATE OF SIN AND MISERY? A: No! He entered into a covenant of grace to deliver the elect out of that state, and to bring them into a state of grace by a Redeemer. 'I will make an everlasting covenant with you.' Isa 55:5. Man being by his fall plunged into a labyrinth of misery, and having no way left to recover himself, God was pleased to enter into a new covenant with him, and to restore him to life by a Redeemer. The great proposition I shall go …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Earliest Christian Preaching
1. THUS far we have confined ourselves to the words of Jesus. The divine necessity of His death, indicated in the Old Testament and forming the basis of all His teaching regarding it, is the primary truth; the nature of that necessity begins to be revealed as the death is set in relation to the ransoming of many, and to the institution of a new covenant -- that is, a new religion, having as its fundamental blessing the forgiveness of sins. I do not think this view of our Lord's mind as to His own …
James Denney—The Death of Christ

Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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