Wednesday

Related Verses
Exo. 28:33-34
33 And you shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet strands, 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, on the hem of the robe all around.

1 Kings 7:18-20
18 So he made the pillars; and there were two rows around the one network, to cover the capitals that were at the top of the pomegranates. And he did the same for the second capital.
19 And the capitals that were at the top of the pillars in the portico were of lily work, four cubits high.
20 So then the capitals that were on the two pillars were above and close to the bulge that was beside the network. And there were two hundred pomegranates, in rows around both capitals.

Phil. 1:20-21
20 According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I will be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death.
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Related Reading
Exodus 28:33 speaks of pomegranates and bells, and verse 34, of “a golden bell and a pomegranate.” When the garment was being made, the pomegranates came before the bells. But in function, the bells come before the pomegranates.

The skirts are a sign of fullness, and the fullness of Christ is the church. Therefore, the pomegranates and bells on the skirts must be matters related to the church.

The pomegranates were made of linen signifying humanity, and the bells were made of gold signifying divinity…In the church life we always have humanity and divinity. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1441-1442)

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If you see a ripe pomegranate with its seeds, you will receive an impression that a pomegranate is full of life. In the Bible pomegranates signify the fullness of life. The church should be full of life in her humanity. This is the significance of pomegranates made of linen.

Fullness of life is expressed in the church’s humanity, but the voice of warning is expressed in the church’s divinity, as signified by the golden bells. The proper speaking of the church always comes from her divinity…Such a sound is pleasant and gentle, for it comes not from a steel bell but from a golden one.

I can testify that throughout the years in the church life, I have been warned a number of times by the speaking of young brothers and sisters…It seems that I hear the sounding of a little golden bell warning me not to walk carelessly.

When we all express the fullness of Christ as life in our humanity, there will be among us many golden bells. Then there will be God’s speaking, God’s voice expressed through the divinity of the church. In each of us there is a certain amount of divinity. From this element of divinity a sound comes out in a small scale, like the ringing of a little bell…It is difficult to tell which comes first, the sounding of the bells or the expression of the fullness of life. Both are in the church as the long train of Christ.

In the church we are not under human control…However, we all are controlled by the pomegranates and the bells…The signs [of the proper church life] are the pomegranates and bells.

The pomegranates and the bells were placed alternately, a bell and a pomegranate (Exo. 28:34). This indicates that the divine voice is interrelated with the divine life…If in the church life we have bells without pomegranates, there will be gossip and criticism, not the ringing of golden bells. But if pomegranates are placed alternately with bells, gossip and criticism will disappear, and instead there will be a proper, divine sound.

We need to grow in life and eventually blossom in life. Then we shall become pomegranates…This growth in life will influence others and cause gossip and criticism to be replaced by the proper sounding of little golden bells. If this is the experience of a certain brother, he may come to the meeting to testify of how he has been dealt with by the Lord in a particular matter. Through his speaking others may be warned, for they shall hear the sound of golden bells placed alternately with pomegranates.

By experience…we understand the significance of the typology of the long robe with pomegranates and bells. First we see that the pomegranates and bells are attached to the skirts of the long robe. This indicates that they are related to the church life…Whatever we speak in the church must be of divine origin, of the divine source. At the same time, we need the fullness of life expressed in linen, in humanity. Therefore, in the church we have the beauty of life expressed in our humanity and the divine sounding from the golden bells. These are signs of the proper church life. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1442-1444)

Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msg. 130