The Tabernacle
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The Tabernacle "And beneath upon the hem of it 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: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. 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." The golden bells speak to us of the perfect speech, the wonderful words, of our Lord; the pomegranates, of the fruitfulness of His ministry on our behalf. The Jews of Jesus' day tried in vain "to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him" (Luke 11: 54). But the people "all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth" (Luke 4:22). And even the officers whom the Jews sent to take Hirn were compelled to admit, "Never man spake like this man" (John 7:46). The children of Israel could not see Aaron as he min- istered for them in the Holy Place, trimming the lamps of the golden candlestick, offering incense as he prayed for them, feeding upon the shewbread; but as they stood before the brazen altar, they could hear the tinkle of the golden bells; then they knew that their high priest was serving them. They could not hear this reassuring sound without, in the camp; possibly they could hear it but faintly, if at all, outside the court. But at the brazen altar they could hear, and know that their priest was ever min- istering to their spiritual needs. My Christian friend, we can not see with our physical eyes the Lord Jesus in the Most Holy Place, even heaven itself; but we hear His gracious Word, and we know that He is ministering for us before "the throne of grace."
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character, as our perfect Great High Priest; and it speaks to us of His "robe of righteousness"-His by right of His own divine Being; imparted to all who accept by faith His free gift of righteousness, through His shed blood. The Prophet Isaiah and the Apostle Paul wrote of this blessed truth when they said: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the gar- ments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61: 10). "The righteousness of God ... is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe ..." (Rom. 3:22). This gift of God's righteousness, as a garment, is unto all. "Whosoever will" may accept it, and be clothed, made :fit for heaven and God's holy Presence for all the endless ages. But this gift is "upon all them that believe," and upon them alone. God does not force us to accept His free gift of salvation. We must appropriate it by faith. It is as though a coat were on display in a shop window; it is "unto all." But that coat is "upon" only the man who takes it and wears it. Our Lord Himself has paid the price of the robe which He offers "unto all." It is for us only to receive it, as the gift of His grace. Could anything be more wonderful? More simple? Even a little child may understand. The beautiful blue robe of the ephod, which Aaron wore, was ornamented with golden bells and pomegran- ates, the latter embroidered in blue, purple, and scarlet. Let us read the God-given description as found in Exod. 28:33-35:
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