Exodus 28:31-35
31 “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue.
32 There shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear.
33 And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around:
34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around.
35 And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord and when he comes out, that he may not die.
Bell ringers, dispatched by the Salvation Army, are a familiar sight to yuletide shoppers. Their chipper smiles, their oscillating appendages yielding peels of music, their trusty red kettles ready to swallow up loose change, are all charming tokens of goodwill and cheer and charity.
The tradition began in 1891 when Joseph McFee committed to provide hot soup for the homeless on Christmas. He put a large kettle out and rang the bell saying “Keep the pot boiling!” so that passers-by would shed some loose change to stoke the warm hospitality.
Over the decades some have added more fuel to the fire than others. Some of the more notable donations include: Kruger Rand gold bullion, a ⅓-carat diamond ring (sad for some would-be fiancée, but good for the homeless), a check for half a million dollars, five golden rings (from an anonymous donor with a poetic flare), and several gold teeth. Yup. Teeth.
Way before their bathroom policy misfire, Target had missed the mark of public opinion with one of their least popular gestures: they banned bell ringers from their 1,834 stores. They felt that making an exception to their “no solicitation” policy was unethical, so they opted out of supporting the homeless.
After enduring an annual maelstrom of bad PR for three Decembers, the department store made a magnanimous mea culpa move by publicly announcing a donation of $1 million. Impressive, right? A grand gesture indeed. Except for this: it didn’t come close to recouping what the policy had cost the charity. One million dollars was a mere drop in the kettle compared to the $9 million per year the Salvation Army usually cleared from their Target bell ringers—a mere $26 million shy of fair.
Bells dates back to 2000 BC when the Chinese made bells out of Pottery and later began to be made out of metal.
Bells where originally were considered art and usually for the rich had them and could afford them. They were eventually made smaller and they started to put designs on them.
They were used for different religions and ad for communicating long distance like a dinner bell.
These are the different kind of bells:
- Multipurpose Bell
- Taco Bell
- Alexandra Bell
- Liberty Bell
- Hand Bells
- Sleigh Bells
- Dinner Bell
Of course most of us remember them from the movie "It's A Wonderful Life" "every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings".
In this Chapter we are talking about the bells that were worn by the High Priest while entering the Holy of Holies.
Around the hem of his robe was blue, purple, and scarlet pomegranates.
Blue is the color of divinity or Heavens.
Purple is the color of royalty ( He is the King of Kings)
Scarlet is the color of sin or the blood and life. (He took all of the sins of the world.)
Pomegranates - represent fruitfulness, abundance, and the richness of life.
At the bottom of his garment he has a fruit and a bell. A bell, a fruit, a bell, a fruit, a bell, a fruit, what is this. It is the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, gift of the Holy Spirit, fruit of the Holy Spirit, gift of the Holy Spirit. They are working together in harmony and God hears the bells and He hears good news and glade tidings.
While the High Priest was in the Tabernacle in the Holy of Holies the bells would make noise so that the other priest would know that he was still alive. If they stopped they knew they were dead and could pull him out. So if they heard the bells outside of the Holy of Holies then it was good news that they were still in the grace and presence of God.
The Holy of Holies was so special and so off-limits to sinners that if the high priest didn't follow protocol perfectly God would strike him dead for profaning the holy place
The high priest had to go through a cleansing with a ritual bath, a consecrating sacrifice, and a pure heart.
Whenever you hear a bell it should remind you of the good news that our Great High Priest "Jesus" paid the ultimate sacrifice .
Hebrews 4:15-16
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
We should ring the bells of Gods Words this Christmas. Celebrate that Jesus is alive and that we are accepted by God and praise God for the good news. Jesus is alive!