Significant Colors From The Tabernacle
And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, Exodus 25:3-4 (KJV)
God instructed Moses in how the tabernacle in the wilderness should be constructed. In His instructions, He used specific colors. These colors have significance and symbolism, and we’re going to look at each of them.
Gold
Gold speaks of God or deity. The ark of the covenant was made of wood covered in gold (Exodus 25:10-11). The ark was representative of God’s throne and His presence. The mercy seat, rested on top of the ark and was pure gold. We now have access to God’s throne and can come boldly to Him at any time (Hebrews 4:16, 10:19).
Silver
Silver represents redemption; the price of a soul (Leviticus 5:15, Exodus 30:11-16, Ephesians 1:7). We were slaves to sin and Christ bought us back. He redeemed us and purchased us with His own blood. Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, which some Bible teachers say was the price of a slave in those days. When we see silver, it reminds us that we’ve been set free.
Brass
Brass symbolizes judgment. The brazen altar was made of wood overlaid with bronze, or brass. The wood speaks of Jesus’ humanity and the brass represents the judgment He took. Sin was judged and Jesus took our punishment (Exodus 27:1-2, Numbers 21:9, John 3:14-15). Brass reminds us that our judgment was placed upon Jesus and we are free from guilt.
Blue
Blue speaks of heaven (Exodus 24:10, Ezekiel 1:26). The heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). When we look at the blue sky, we are seeing the first heaven, but it is picture of the third heaven, where God resides. Jesus came to earth from heaven to take us to heaven (John 14:3, I Corinthians 15:47).
Purple
Purple represents royalty, wealth & authority. Jesus is the King of kings. He is King, and we are the kings who rule with Him (Romans 5:17, Revelation 1:6). We are to reign as kings now in this life and beyond (Revelation 20:6). Purple reminds us of the majestic King who died to make us kings.
Red
Red, of course, speaks of the suffering of Christ and of His shed blood. It is the color of sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9:19-22). Jesus shed His blood as payment for sin, to wash sins away (Isaiah 1:18).
What do all these colors in the tabernacle have in common? They all point to Jesus and what He’s done for us. The Old Testament, even the colors mentioned, consistently pointed to the Messiah who would come and save mankind from the dominion of sin. The colors and construction of the Tabernacle were prophetic pictures. They tell the story of God coming down from heaven, taking our judgment by shedding His blood to redeem us and make us kings so we can rule forever with Christ. It’s all because of the sacrifice of Christ.
. There is more symbolism found in the tabernacle and in colors noted throughout Scripture. It makes for a rich study, and I encourage you to dig into it further.
