Robert Murray McCheyne was a godly Scottish Presbyterian minister in the 19th century who died before his 30th birthday. But he famously said many times, “My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.” It became a motto for many ministers who understood that McCheyne knew that he was not able to save anyone but that he, through an ungodly example, could lead many astray. And that the church’s greatest need is the perfect righteousness of Christ, in whom our righteousness is found.
We need to understand that Aaron and the high priests that would follow him clearly knew the great danger that accompanied their calling. Some say the high priest had the most dangerous job in Israel. The people had already seen that coming into God’s presence without his permission could be fatal. The people and the priests were told not to even step foot on the bottom of Mt. Sinai when God appeared to Moses at the top, “lest the Lord break out against them.” They heard the cries of the Egyptians who lost their firstborn on that dark night of the final plague. They saw God swallow up his enemies in the Red Sea. Our God is an awesome God! And now the high priest was told to wear bells in the Holy place so its sound was heard when he went before the Lord, and when he came out, “so that he does not die.” The bells reminded him that he was dressed properly to come before the Lord. Matthew Henry compared it to the Lord’s story of the man who showed up at a wedding without a wedding garment. The king had him cast into outer darkness. Some believe the bells were also a sound the people listened for, knowing that as long as they heard the bells, the priest was ok. Even though they could not see him, they knew he was alive. Other say the priest wore the bells for God, as people going before a king in the near east always wore their best and were always announced before entering. It could be that God had all of these reasons in mind. But remember, it was only the High Priest who wore a robed fringed with symbolic pomegranates and golden bells. He was to wear everything God told him to wear in order to be qualified to stand before the Almighty on behalf of his people.
We have the better High Priest now. We have the final High Priest. Jesus Christ, sitting at the right hand of the Father, “always lives to make intercession for (us).” His blood pleads for you and for me and his sacrifice is final and forever. Aaron, meanwhile, could only wear the garments and perform the sacrifices as a flawed man, chosen by God to do the impossible.
What does it mean for us? Modesty is important but there is no dress code for those who want to appear before the Lord. We don’t have to wear bells when we pray or go to church. Imagine how distracting that would be. No, our Lord said it plainly: man looks on the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. We know we are broken and flawed people who struggle in many ways. A pastor named Clay Smith wrote this: “Charles Spurgeon, the barrel-chested preacher of grace, battled depression and chronic pain throughout his ministry, so much so that he was out of the pulpit more than a third of the time. Of his depression and pain, Spurgeon said to fellow pastors, “I’ve learned to kiss the waves that throw me against the Rock of Ages.” May we be able to say the same. May we remind ourselves every day, especially in the heat of a chronic battle with health or with besetting sin, God is for us. The Rock of Ages is with us. He sees our heart and he knows our struggles.
What rings in God’s ears are not bells on our clothing but the Son saying, “Father, this one is mine. He belongs to me. She belongs to me. I paid for their sin with my blood.”
J. Mark Fox 