Colors of the Bible

     I've been reading in Exodus about the furnishings in the Temple and the garments for the priests. It struck me that God was very specific about the colors he wanted used throughout the process. Exodus 26:1 notes, "Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker." The type of metal was also included as in verse 37, "Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold." 

    In Exodus 29:10-11, another color is introduced, but not specifically named, "Bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. Slaughter it in the LORD's presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting." What color do you think of in this scripture? Red, the color of blood, and the color of sacrifice is brought to mind. 

    These colors: red, blue, and yellow (gold) are called primary colors. These colors can symbolize sacrifice (blood red), royalty (blue in the temple and on the priests), and purity (gold as a gift at Jesus' birth, streets of gold in heaven, and the New Jerusalem as the city of gold). Then there are the secondary colors which are produced by mixing two primary colors: orange (red and yellow), purple (red and blue), and green (yellow and blue). Purple is mentioned several times in the colors used in the temple, thus thought of as royal in nature. Orange is similar to the metal bronze that was used for many of the temple instruments. Bronze is a sturdy, water-resistant alloy whereas gold is corrosion resistant, but a soft, malleable metal. Thus each metal was important for different reasons and purposes in the temple.

    Tertiary colors are formed by mixing a primary with a secondary color. Tertiary means third in importance, level, or rank and is used in geology, medicine, and chemistry as well as art. Six tertiary colors are red-orange, red-violet, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, and blue-violet. With the rainbow noted as the symbol of hope, a sign of God's covenant, in Genesis 9:13, God used a combination of primary and secondary colors to fill the blue sky. In school, I taught my students to remember the order of the colors of a rainbow using a mnemonic device, an acronym ROY G BIV: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violent.

    I've heard it said that heaven will have vibrant colors that we have never seen. Of course, everything about heaven will be more than we can imagine. God is creative and uses colors to bring joy and beauty to the earth. The rainbow is a reminder that light is all colors combined and darkness is the absence of light and color. Scarlet the color of sin may be our hue in this world, but one day we will be "white as snow" due to the shed blood of Jesus. Thank you Jesus!

Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us settle the matter," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; thought they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."