We see these instructions from the Lord to Moses that bells had to be placed on the robe of Aaron so that when he walked, all of God’s people would hear the bells ringing and would know that their high priest was to intercede for them to God. It was designed to attract the people’s attention to make them realize that a great blessing was to be done on their behalf by their high Priest. Prayers would be offered, atonement made for their sins, thanksgiving offered on their behalf, and blessings dispensed on them. So that the people would not worship Aaron the Lord instructed that he had to wear a gold plate inscribed “Holiness to the Lord”. Almost 1,600 years later the prophet Zechariah again spoke of these bells, and he saw them on horses being taken to different parts of the world, and he still saw that they were associated with the words “Holiness unto the Lord”; chapter 14:20. This was signaling that a universal High Priest was to come into the world for all people, and we know that came to pass when Jesus Christ become our High Priest forever. That is
why to-day, we sing the Hymn:
“The Gospel bells are ringing,
Over land from sea to sea;
Blessed news of free salvation,
Do they offer you and me.
For God so loved the world,
That His only Son He gave;
Whose’er believeth in Him Everlasting life shall have.”
When we hear the Church bells ringing out each Sunday and festivals it should also be to us a way to attract our attention, to alert us that our High Priest, Jesus Christ is about to once again intercede for us to offer our prayers, to offer atonement for our sins by the dispensation of Grace, to accept our thanksgiving offerings, and dispense to us many blessings. An extra blessing is also heralded by these bells tolling out, and this was seen by the Apostle John in Rev. 19, almost 500 years after Zechariah saw the horses, the Apostle saw the horse come forward with a faithful and true rider, and he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and his name is called “The Word of God.” We see that we also receive from answering the call sent forth by those bells, the opportunity to partake of the Word of God so we can shape our lives to that Word and not fear judgement by that
word. The Apostle saw also that a name was written in the vesture as in the beginning, but those words were “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” The next time we hear the bells ringing to attract our attention, let us all think a little longer on their meaning to us in our lives and to remember into whose presence we are being summoned.