Commentary - Exodus 28:31-35

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Exodus, God is giving Moses the detailed instructions for the "for glory and for beauty" garments of the high priest. This is not merely about tailoring. This is divine architecture for a living, walking sanctuary. Aaron is to be a picture, a type, a walking sermon illustration of the greater High Priest to come, the Lord Jesus Christ. Every thread, every color, every piece of gold has a story to tell, and that story is a gospel story. Here we focus on the robe of the ephod, a striking blue garment that speaks of heaven, with its curious and wonderful hem of pomegranates and bells. This robe is not just clothing; it is a piece of theological furniture that Aaron wears, declaring truths about access to God, the nature of worship, and the life-and-death reality of approaching a holy God.

The central point is this: a sinful man cannot simply wander into the presence of a holy God. He must be clothed in a prescribed righteousness. The sound of the bells on Aaron's robe was a constant reminder of his movement, his life, before the Lord. It was an audible sign that the mediator was alive and well, performing his duties on behalf of the people. This is a shadow, and the substance is Christ. His life, His ministry, is the constant, pleasing sound in the Father's ears, and because He lives, we who are in Him will not die. The fruitfulness of the pomegranates and the testimony of the bells point to the perfect ministry of Jesus, who is both our fruitful sacrifice and our living intercessor.

Outline

Context In Exodus

We are in the heart of the giving of the law at Sinai. After the moral law (the Ten Commandments) and the civil law (the Book of the Covenant), God now turns to the ceremonial law. He is giving the blueprint for the Tabernacle, the place where His presence will dwell among His people. But a holy God cannot dwell with a sinful people without a mediator. Thus, God establishes the priesthood, with Aaron as the first high priest. This chapter, Exodus 28, is dedicated entirely to the priestly garments. These are not suggestions for liturgical fashion. They are divine commands, rich with typological significance. The garments set the priest apart, marking him as God's representative to the people and the people's representative to God. This particular passage, describing the robe of the ephod, comes after the instructions for the ephod and the breastplate, which bore the names of the tribes of Israel. The priest was literally carrying the people on his shoulders and over his heart. Now, he is clothed in a garment that speaks of the nature of his ministry before the Lord.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

31 “You shall make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue.

The instruction begins with the foundational garment that goes under the more intricate ephod. It is to be a solid color, and that color is blue. In the Scriptures, blue is the color of the heavens; it speaks of the divine, the celestial. Think of the pavement of sapphire stone under God's feet in Exodus 24:10. This robe, therefore, clothes the high priest in the color of heaven. He is a man of earth, but his office and his work are heavenly in nature. He is mediating between God in heaven and man on earth. This is a profound statement about the origin of true religion. It doesn't bubble up from the earth, from human ingenuity or spiritual aspiration. It comes down from heaven. Aaron is draped in the sky, you could say, a walking representation of the heavenly reality he serves. This points directly to Christ, the one who truly came down from heaven (John 3:13). His origin is not of this world, and the salvation He brings is a heavenly one.

32 There shall be an opening at its top in the middle of it; around the edge of its opening there shall be a binding of woven work, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it will not be torn.

Practical details in Scripture are never just practical. God is concerned with durability here, but the durability has a theological point. The opening for the head is to be reinforced, like armor, so that it cannot be torn. The office of the high priest is a durable, permanent institution. It is not to be rent or torn by the stresses of the ministry. When the high priest Caiaphas tore his robes at the trial of Jesus (Matt. 26:65), it was a profoundly ironic and symbolic act. He, representing a priesthood that was passing away, tore his garments, while the true High Priest, Jesus, stood before him, whose ministry and priesthood are eternal and can never be torn. The strength of this collar points to the unbreakable nature of Christ's priesthood. He is a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 7:17). His work is perfect and complete; it will not unravel or fail.

33 You shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material, all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around:

Now we come to the hem of the garment, the very edge. God's attention to detail is remarkable. He cares about the fringes. Around this heavenly blue robe, there is to be a border of pomegranates and bells. The pomegranates are made of the same rich materials as the curtains of the tabernacle: blue, purple, and scarlet. These are royal colors, speaking of heaven (blue), kingship (purple), and blood sacrifice (scarlet). The pomegranate itself is a fruit bursting with seeds, a biblical symbol of life, abundance, and fruitfulness. The spies brought them back from the promised land as evidence of its bounty (Num. 13:23). So, the high priest walks with the promise of fruitful life hanging from his robe. This is a picture of the gospel. The ministry of the priest is to bring life and fruitfulness to the people of God. This points to Christ, who is the vine, and we are the branches. Abiding in Him, we bear much fruit (John 15:5). His priestly work is not barren; it produces a great harvest of souls.

34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe.

The pattern is specified: an alternation between sound and fruit, between testimony and life. A bell, then a pomegranate. A bell, then a pomegranate. The bells are made of pure gold, speaking of divinity and purity. Their purpose is to make a sound. This represents the testimony, the proclamation, the audible witness of the priest's ministry. Worship is not a silent affair. The gospel must be proclaimed. The truth must be spoken. But this testimony is not to be separated from fruitfulness. Sound without substance is just noise, a clanging cymbal as Paul would later say (1 Cor. 13:1). And fruitfulness without testimony is silent and hidden. The two must go together. The life of the Christian community (pomegranates) must be accompanied by the clear proclamation of the gospel (bells). This is what we see in the ministry of Christ. He taught with authority, and His life was one of perfect, fruitful obedience. His words and His works were in perfect harmony.

35 It shall be on Aaron when he ministers; and its sound shall be heard when he comes into the holy place before Yahweh and when he goes out, so that he will not die.

Here is the life-and-death punchline. The sound of the bells was not for ambiance. It was a safeguard. When Aaron entered the Holy Place, the heart of the Tabernacle, the bells would tinkle. The people outside, and more importantly, God inside, would hear his movements. This sound was evidence that he was alive, that he was accepted, and that he was ministering according to God's commands. Silence would mean death. If the priest were to be struck down for some impurity or disobedience, the bells would fall silent, and that would be a terrifying reality for the people he represented. This teaches us the profound holiness of God and the mortal danger of approaching Him improperly. But in the type, we see the antitype. Our High Priest, Jesus, has entered the true holy place, heaven itself. He is not silent. He "ever liveth to make intercession for" us (Heb. 7:25). The sound of His perpetual ministry before the Father is the guarantee of our life. Because He lives, we shall live also. His sound is always heard, His work is always accepted, and therefore, for all who are in Him, there is no condemnation. We will not die.

Application

First, we must be struck with the sheer attention to detail God requires for worship. We live in a casual age, an age that prizes authenticity over reverence, and spontaneity over order. But these chapters in Exodus remind us that approaching a holy God is a serious business. He sets the terms. We are not to come to Him in any old way we please, clothed in our own self-righteousness. We must be clothed in the righteousness He provides, which is the perfect righteousness of Christ.

Second, we should rejoice in the clarity of the gospel foreshadowed here. The high priest's garments are a rich tapestry of Christology. We see His heavenly origin in the blue robe, His enduring priesthood in the reinforced collar, His fruitful work in the pomegranates, and His living testimony in the golden bells. The Old Testament is not a dusty relic; it is a picture book that points us to Jesus on every page. We should learn to read it this way, seeing our Savior in the types and shadows.

Finally, the sound of the bells is a profound comfort. Aaron's bells meant that the mediator was alive and the people were safe. Our confidence is not in our own movements or our own spiritual vitality, but in the fact that our High Priest is alive and active before the throne of God. His intercession for us is constant. The sound of His advocacy never ceases. Because He is heard, we are heard. Because He lives, we are secure. This is the ground of our assurance. We are not in danger of spiritual death, because our representative, the Lord Jesus, has passed through the veil, and the sound of His life fills the courts of heaven.