33 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:

34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.

35 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 only decoration mentioned for the robe is that it would have a hem of pomegranates and golden bells.

The pomegranates were to be of the same scarlet, purple, and blue that was used on the ephod, and also on the walls and gate of the tabernacle. This would suggest that the pomegranates were balls of linen thread as well. Historically, the pomegranate has been seen as a symbol of progeny and prosperity, given its multitude of juicy seeds. This is not the first time that the fruit of the branch was depicted in the tabernacle either. A few chapters back we heard how the candlestick would incorporate the image of almonds in its design.

As for the bells, this would create a constant jingling wherever the priest went. Many scholars have noted that this would allow the common Israelite to witness with their ears the rituals that they were not allowed to witness with their eyes. When the priest passed into the holy place the people could still follow the performance of his duties by the jingling of his bells.

There is also the question of why verse 35 states that the priest would die if he did not wear the bells. Some have said this simply means he would be struck down if he dared to approach the holy places without his proper adornment, and that the ringing of the bells was a representation of all the proper clothes being worn.

This may be, but my first instinct when reading this verse was that the ringing would announce the priest’s approach before passing through the curtain into the Lord’s presence. Of course, one cannot assume that the omniscient God would be startled by the unheralded arrival of the priest, so it couldn’t be that God was reacting out of shock. Perhaps, though, the ringing of the bells represents the voice of prayer, and the threat given here demonstrates that spiritual acclimation must precede physical presence. If the priest was not already in regular communion with God from without by the ringing of his prayers, then there was no way that he would be worthy to tolerate God’s presence when he approached in the flesh. So, too, we will only survive the encounter with God on judgment day if we have been acclimating to Him all of our earthly lives with our prayers from beyond the veil.