Institution
And
Instruction
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."-Romans 1:20 (NASB Upd. Ed.)
In the midst of Paul's discourse railing against the detestable practices that were going on in Rome, Paul writes this very revealing statement that, while doing a very good job of advancing his line of reasoning, also very excellently, as if by superintention, stands alone as an axiomatic statement that provides its readers a look, as if through a kaleidoscope, of a great blessing with which we have been blessed.
God has blessed us with a chain of resounding symbols that reverberates throughout the Word He has spoken and throughout the world which He spoke into existence in the beginning.
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Institution at Ararat |
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Instruction at Sinai
Moving to another part of the Mosaic narrative, the children of Israel find themselves freed from the hard bondage of Egypt by the hand of God. After forty days on the mountain with the Lord, Moses is given by God the instructions for the means and methods of worshiping Him (Exodus 25ff.). It has been said by many that there is a scarlet thread that runs throughout the Word of God, and that is true, but more completely, Yahweh has blessed us with a superlative cord of three strands--of blue, and purple, and red--that are unmistakeably woven from Beresheath to Amen.
Symbol
of
Magnanimity:
Of Integrity,
Of Fidelity
And
Of Piety
Symbol of Integrity
"You shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set, and likewise you shall make them on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. You shall make fifty loops in the one curtain, and you shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite each other."-Exodus 26:4, 5 (NASB Upd. Ed.)
Yahweh is meticulous in His design and articulate beyond words in any language. Here we see the concept of integrity: holding together. These loops served only one purpose, namely, to hold. The tabernacle's unity was maintained by these loops' ability to be bound by the golden clasps and to stay sewn to these curtains to which they were sewn. Likewise, Yahweh demands and commands integrity.
Symbol of Fidelity
"You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue."-Exodus 28:31 (NASB Upd. Ed.)
Yahweh is faithful, and so He required His people, especially His High Priest, to be faithful as well. The one-piece robe was a symbol to all in Israel, and to all of us now, that we are to be "one-piece", that is, the same person everywhere--no duplicity. Moreover, we are to act as we speak, without guile. The high priest was to be faithful to be sure he was in right relationship with Yahweh, that all of his personal sacrifices were done before he did the service of worship on behalf of the people. Faithfulness is requisite.
Symbol of Piety
"..., and shall spread over it a cloth of pure blue, ...Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of blue...Then they shall take a blue cloth and cover...Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth...and they shall take all the utensils of service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth..."-Numbers 4:6b, 7a, 9a, 11a, 12a (NASB Upd. Ed.)
Yahweh tells His people to be holy, as He is holy. As God's people, we are His instruments of worship; just as these inanimate instruments are covered in blue, so also we are to be immersed in holiness: we must be holy.
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The Sky is Blue |
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Symbol
of
Majesty:
Of Position,
Of Prosperity
And
Of Power
Where blue connotes loyalty, purple, royalty.
Symbol of Position
The prophet Daniel was given a purple robe and gold chain when he was given the position of third greatest in all of Babylon for correctly interpreting the writing on the wall for Belshazzar, who had profaned Yahweh by partying with God's instruments of worship (see Daniel 5). Christians are similarly in the position of interpreting God's writing on the wall to a world that has no understanding.
Symbol of Prosperity
In Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of a rich man who lived like a king, wearing purple daily, while allowing Lazarus to suffer day by day. Christians are likewise blessed with unfathomable riches in Christ and are in the most wonderful position of sharing God's prosperity with those in spiritual poverty. Unlike the rich man, though, we should take every opportunity for the glory of God.
Symbol of Power
The power of God is the power of love. It is written in I John 4:8, "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." The Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father; this relationship of Love that is extant between them is also known as the third person of the Holy Trinity. Ordinarily 1+1=1 is an untrue mathematical statement, but not so within the Godhead. Just as blue is in red and red is in blue in the color purple, so it is that the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father in the Holy Spirit.
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The P.U.R.P.L.E. is the Bottom Line |
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Symbol
of
a Miracle:
Of Sin,
Of Sacrifice
And
Of The Savior
Now we shall see in red the depiction of sin as dyed in the wool; in red the undyed Savior dying to undye us; and in red the Savior Himself.
Symbol of Sin
"'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the LORD, 'Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.'" -Isaiah 1:18 (NASB Upd. Ed.)
God gives us this vivid image of sin as dye on white wool, staining everyone it touches.
Symbol of Sacrifice
"...without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." -Hebrews 9:22b (NASB Upd. Ed.)
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." -2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB Upd. Ed.)
As we all know from experience, blood is red, and that is not by accident.
What the Lord speaks through Paul fits with what He speaks through Isaiah like hand and glove: He who was white as snow, and as wool, He who knew no sin, became sin, became as scarlet and red like crimson so that we who are stained with sin could be made clean and acceptable before God.
Red is the top line of every natural rainbow, and so it is that as God looks down on His redeemed, He sees them all through the Red.
Symbol of the Savior
On the cross, Jesus said, "ELOI ELOI LAMA SABACHTHANI?" In asking this question, our Savior was transmitting information to us all about Himself. This question is a direct quotation of Psalm 22, in which we read Christ speaking through David, "But I am a worm and not a man,..." (Ps. 22:6, NASB Upd. Ed.). This word we know as "worm" is the word "towla". It is used in a construction with the word "shahniy" (sounds like "shawnee") in the Exodus passages that is rendered in English as "scarlet" (though more accurate and telling in English might be "worm-red"). We know this creature today by the name cochineal.
We don't know how the red dyes were derived in Bible times, but we know how the cochineals are processed to render the dye today: the worm is ground into a fine powder and mixed with a liquid to create a dip into which linens and such are dipped to create the colorful articles. Similarly, God was pleased to crush Him, because He knew it meant that then as scarlet, we could be dipped into the Scarlet, and be made pure as the Wind-driven snow.
| The Sky Turns Red When a member of the scientific community is asked, "Why does the sky turn red at dusk and at dawn?" the answer is typically given that light from the sun passes through our atmosphere more closely to the horizon than usual, whereby all but the red portion of the light spectrum is filtered out, and thus our red skies. Again Science fails not for lack of effort, but for lack of ability. The sky turns red at dusk because "...the Son of Man was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40b, NASB Upd. Ed.); the sky turns red at dawn because "...He has risen, just as He said," (Matthew 28:6b, NASB Upd. Ed.). "...and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands," (Psalm 19:1b, NASB Upd. Ed.) |
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Christian:
Blue and
Purple
and Red
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It is written in Revelation 19:11, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war," (NASB Upd. Ed.). - Jesus Christ is the Blue. -
- Jesus Christ is the Purple. -
- Jesus Christ is the Red. - |
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(Satan unholily imitates God through Antichrist and Babylon (Revelation 17:3, 4), but without blue; he and they are untrue.)
Like Jesus, each one of us that names the name of Christ, each and every Christian, are the substance of the symbolic Blue and Purple and Red. We are resounding symbols of Him; we emulate Him, and the more we do so, the more He flows through us Pneumatically to a hurting, lost and dying world. Just as the threads were woven together in the hanging curtains of Tabernacle, so it is that God weaves us Christians together, many threads as one curtain, and many curtains as one Tabernacle, as one Church, and all according to Yahweh's pattern; we hang together, to His glory. He puts us together in ways we can only apprehend, not comprehend.
picture of center of Whirlpool Galaxy, our universe, taken by the Hubble telescope released June 1992
In the beginning the place where God met man was in the garden; in the end, "'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,...'" (Revelation 21:3b, NASB Upd. Ed.). In the meantime, the place where God meets man is within every human heart that is willing to be opened and allow Him in. If you are not a Christian, hear Him now, agree with Him that you are a sinner, desperately needing a Savior; believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior that is able to save you from your sin, because He died and rose again; and finally, commit your whole being, your whole life to Him. Let us pray.