The Spiritual Significance Of Colors In Scripture (The Color Blue) – Part 2
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Blue is peculiar to the priesthood
Up to this point we have seen blue only in conjunction with the colors purple and scarlet. We concluded our last study in chapter 35 of Exodus with the description of the men whom God uses to build His tabernacle. We saw that those who build God’s tabernacle are the same as those who comprise the tabernacle. Those whom God uses in the construction of His Tabernacle are “filled… with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
Exo 35:31 And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
Exo 35:32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
Exo 35:33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
These are gifts which God gives to those He uses to build His spiritual Tabernacle. God is not working with physical materials these days. All of these materials are now spiritual. We will see today that blue is associated with the things of God’s spirit and is therefore peculiar to God’s priesthood.
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
In the shadows of the Old Testament, we were told that those who were selected by God to build His Tabernacle were also gifted in working with ‘blue, purple and scarlet’ and in being capable of weaving these colors into the veil which we are told is Christ’s body:
Exo 35:35 Them hath he [God] filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work
Blue is associated with those who teach others
We saw last week that the men God chose to build His tabernacle were gifted in the ability to teach and to show to others how to do the things that were needed to accomplish the task of building God’s tabernacle:
Exo 35:30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
Exo 35:31 And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
Exo 35:32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
Exo 35:33 And in the cutting of stones, to set [ them], and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
Exo 35:34 And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
Exo 35:35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
What is the tabernacle
Those who are building today are building with the spiritual words and works of Jesus Christ. Is Christ the foundation of God’s temple? Of course, He is:
1Co 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, [ye are] God’s building.
1Co 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
“We are God’s husbandry” laboring to build for Him His tabernacle. At the same time “ye are God’s building.” In the same way Christ, too, is both the foundation of His Father’s Tabernacle, and He is that Tabernacle.
Exo 25:9 According to all that I shew thee, [after] the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
Exo 25:40 And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.
Christ is ‘the pattern, which was shown you in the mount.’
Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
The word translated ‘pattern’ in this verse, quoted out of Exodus, is the Greek word ‘tupos.’
Here is Strong’s definition of this word:
“G5179
τυπος
tupos
too’- pos
From G5180; a die (as struck), that is, (by implication) a stamp or scar; by analogy a shape, that is, a statue, (figuratively) style or resemblance; specifically a sampler (“type”), that is, a model (for imitation) or instance (for warning): – en- (ex-) ample, fashion, figure, form, manner, pattern, print.”
This is what we are told of Christ:
1Pe 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
What do we do as we follow in His steps? We show these things to others:
Rev 19:9 And he [the angel who is instructing John] saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Rev 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Who has “the testimony of Jesus Christ? That would be John himself:
Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Who does John symbolize? Again:
Rev 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
John is symbolic of those who comprise God’s “true tabernacle:”
Heb 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
Heb 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Heb 8:3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
Heb 8:4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
Blue is peculiar to “the heavenly things”
Christ has entered into the heavens, and the world does not know where He is:
Heb 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
Heb 9:20 Saying, This [is] the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
Heb 9:21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
So, where did Christ go when he was resurrected and ascended to His Father? Where is His Father? Where is Christ? Where is “heaven itself?”
Joh 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Apparently it is possible to both “come down from heaven” and to “be in heaven” at the same time.
Luk 21:27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
Christ is in “the clouds of the heavens.” So, where is He?
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Col 1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
That is right! Christ is even now in “the true tabernacle… which is… in you, the hope of glory.”
So, the tabernacle must be “according to the pattern” we have been given and according to the instructions we have been given. The words we have been given “are spirit and are life.” Spirit and life are not the words that come out of the hearts of false prophets who prophecy from their own hearts and say that they have matured beyond the words spoken by Christ in His Word, the Bible.
As we learned in our last study, the tabernacle of God is composed of ten curtains held together by blue loops and gold taches, both symbolizing the function of the spirit which brings us together as God’s church, which is His body:
Exo 36:11 And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the uttermost side of [another] curtain, in the coupling of the second.
Exo 36:12 Fifty loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which [was] in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another.
Exo 36:13 And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle.
1Co 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
1Co 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is [the] Christ.
So what is “the body?” What is “the tabernacle?” What is “the temple of God?” They are all one and the same thing. They are all where Christ and His Father dwell within each of His elect. What tells us the significance of the color blue is that when we see it in scripture, it is prominent. Blue comes first. When we see where blue is located and what is done by the things that are blue, then we know what its function is. Blue loops and gold taches hold together the tabernacle of God. Where else do we see the color blue?
The bindings of the gold rings of the ephod are with a lace of blue
Exo 28:28 And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.
Exo 28:29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.
Exo 28:30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.
Exo 39:21 And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses
The robe of the ephod is all of blue
Exo 28:31 And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue.
Exo 28:32 And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.
Exo 28:33 And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:
Exo 28:34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.
Exo 28:35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy [place] before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.Exo 39:22 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.
The gold plate of the mitre is to be on a blue lace
Exo 28:36 And thou shalt make a plate [of] pure gold, and grave upon it, [like] the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
Exo 28:37 And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be.
Exo 28:38 And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.
Where blue is used no expense is spared
Look at the details and the expense taken in the construction of the ephod. This ephod is part of the “cloths of service” of those who serve in the temple of God.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Clothing is works. Filthy clothing is filthy works. “Fine linen, clean and white” is the righteousness of Christ in His elect. The intricacies of the priestly “cloths of service” testify to how true is the fact that every hair of our heads is numbered, “specially of those that believe.”
Exo 39:1 And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy [place], and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 39:2 And he made the ephod [of] gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
Exo 39:3 And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut [it into] wires, to work [it] in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, [with] cunning work.
Exo 39:4 They made shoulder pieces for it, to couple [it] together: by the two edges was it coupled together.
Exo 39:5 And the curious girdle of his ephod, that [was] upon it, [was] of the same, according to the work thereof; [of] gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 39:6 And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel.
Exo 39:7 And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, [that they should be] stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 39:8 And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; [of] gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
Exo 39:9 It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span [was] the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, [being] doubled.
Exo 39:10 And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this [was] the first row.
Exo 39:11 And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
Exo 39:12 And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
Exo 39:13 And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: [they were] inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings.
Exo 39:14 And the stones [were] according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, [like] the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes.
Exo 39:15 And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, [of] wreathen work [of] pure gold.
Exo 39:16 And they made two ouches [of] gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate.
Exo 39:17 And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.
Exo 39:18 And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it.
Exo 39:19 And they made two rings of gold, and put [them] on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of it, which [was] on the side of the ephod inward.
Exo 39:20 And they made two [other] golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the [other] coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.
Exo 39:21 And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 39:22 And he made the robe of the ephod [of] woven work, all [of] blue.
Let’s go back to the blue lace holding the rings of the blue-robed ephod.
Exo 39:21 And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 39:22 And he made the robe of the ephod [of] woven work, all [of] blue.
Exo 39:23 And [there was] an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon [Definition: a coat of mail or corselet], [with] a band round about the hole, that it should not rend.
Exo 39:24 And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet, [and] twined [linen].
Exo 39:25 And they made bells [of] pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;
Exo 39:26 A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister [in]; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 39:27 And they made coats [of] fine linen [of] woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,
Exo 39:28 And a mitre [of] fine linen, and goodly bonnets [of] fine linen, and linen breeches [of] fine twined linen,
Exo 39:29 And a girdle [of] fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, [of] needlework; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 39:30 And they made the plate of the holy crown [of] pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, [like to] the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
Exo 39:31 And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 39:32 Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.
Everything inside the tabernacle is to be covered with “a cloth of blue”
Num 4:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 4:2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,
Num 4:3 From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
Num 4:4 This [shall be] the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, [about] the most holy things:
Num 4:5 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it:
Num 4:6 And shall put thereon the covering of badgers’ skins, and shall spread over [it] a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.
Num 4:7 And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon:
Num 4:8 And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put in the staves thereof.
Num 4:9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:
Num 4:10 And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put [it] upon a bar.
Num 4:11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue , and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:
Num 4:12 And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put [them] in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put [them] on a bar:
Num 4:13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:
Num 4:14 And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, [even] the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers’ skins, and put to the staves of it.
Num 4:15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear [it]: but they shall not touch [any] holy thing, lest they die. These [things are] the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
Moses and Aaron were both of the family of the Kohathites. So Korah and all of those working closest to Moses and Aaron were to be those of their own family who were closest to them. And yet they were not allowed to even touch the holy things.
This is all concerned with doctrine:
Heb 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For [it is] a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein .
Heb 13:10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
Blue is the color of rulership
Est 8:15 And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.
The negative application of blue
The blue of Egypt is not the blue which represents the rulership of the spirit over the flesh. The blue of Egypt is the rulership of the flesh in those who claim to be God’s rulers but are not:
Jer 10:8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
Jer 10:9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.
Eze 27:7 Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee.
So blue, too, has a negative application and is, as with all things pertaining to God and righteousness, counterfeited by the Adversary.
We have seen that the color blue is used many times in conjunction with the colors purple and scarlet, and this combination of colors covers all of the curtains of the tabernacle. When this is the case, blue is almost always mentioned first, followed by purple and scarlet is last. We have seen that blue is peculiar to the tabernacle. We saw that it is blue that is used to hold the tabernacle together and to make it “one tabernacle.” We have seen that blue is used time and again to “bind together” God’s tabernacle, the gold plate on the mitre, the breastplate to the ephod, etc. We have seen that blue is peculiar to the vessels of service and the implements of service of the tabernacle, which are stored all on blue cloths while in transit. We saw that those who work with blue are teachers, and finally we have been shown that blue has to do with the priesthood and rulership.
Knowing what is the true tabernacle and the true priesthood tells those with eyes to see and ears to hear, that when we see the color blue, we are talking about the things of the spirit and of heavenly things, of “the heavens themselves.” Blue refers to what is in the hearts and minds of God’s elect.
[Here is the next study in this series.]
Other related posts
- The Spiritual Significance of Colors in Scripture - Green, Part 3 (October 31, 2015)
- The Spiritual Significance of Colors in Scripture (The Color Blue) - Part 1 (May 13, 2007)
- The Spiritual Significance Of Colors In Scripture (The Color Blue) - Part 2 (May 13, 2007)
- Revelation 4:6-7 – Part 7, 16 Characteristics (March 8, 2024)
- Exodus 26:19-37 Instructions About the Construction of the Tabernacle - Part 2 (October 31, 2022)
- Exo 39:1-43 The Making of Priestly Garments (February 27, 2023)
- "Journey Through the Kingdom to God's Throne" - Part 5: Beyond the Veil: Entering the Most Holy Place (December 3, 2024)