Bells In Worship

Bells have long been employed in worship. In contemporary use one can find large bells used for calling to worship, carillons or chimes, small Sanctus bells used during liturgy, and handbells, which are covered in the next article. Bells appear in the instructions for the furnishing of the priest, Aaron, in the tabernacle: Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die. (Exod. 28:33-35) Unauthorized entry into the holiest portions of the tabernacle carried the promise of death to the intruder. The bells, then, were a sign to the Lord that it was the consecrated priest who was entering the Holy Place. In the only other mention of bells in Scripture, Zechariah prophesied that at…