The Technicolor Gate to the Tabernacle

The Technicolor Gate to the Tabernacle. 

“Yahweh said to Moses, ‘I have singled out Bezalel of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God – with wisdom, understanding and expertise concerning every kind of craft and artisanry. He is a master of design, a master of every craft! He will have as his assistant Oholiab. Moreover, I have given special skill and wisdom to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make’…. Bezalel made the screen gateway to the courtyard of finely woven linen, and he decorated it with beautiful embroidery in blue, purple and scarlet thread. It was 30 feet long and its height was 7 and a half feet.” (Exodus 31:1-11 and 38:18).

Yahweh carefully ordered Moses to build the Tabernacle exactly to His specifications, for the Tabernacle was to be the portable dwelling Place of Yahweh as the Israelites traveled in the Sinai wilderness. Fortunately, Moses was gifted in taking dictation, and he didn’t miss a thing… building materials, colors, dimensions, purpose of the furniture, everything. It was clear from the start that there was to be only one entrance, one gate, to the Tabernacle, just one way to offer sacrifices for forgiveness and to approach the Presence of the Lord. The gate was in the exact center of the eastern wall of curtains, complete with bright vivid colors, so it wouldn’t be difficult to find. All the other curtains comprising the borders of the courtyard were pure white linen and the gate was in technicolor. So the contrast must have been breathtaking. The actual design of the curtain gate is unknown. Knowing that the designer was specially inspired by God means that it was certainly spectacular.

Any Israelite could enter through this gate and into the courtyard, but they were limited to the courtyard. To enter through the gate, one had to lift up the bottom of the curtain and lift it high enough to pass through. It is significant that one had to bow down low enough to stoop through the entrance. The attitude of humility was crucial, because once in the courtyard they were first to repent and have the priests offer a sacrifice. The first piece of furniture they would see once entering was the brazen altar, also known as the bronze altar or the altar for burnt offering. The brazen altar was a large, bronzed box, over 7 feet square and almost 5 feet high. It was hollow in the center so it could hold the bronze grate that would contain the firewood beneath and the sacrifice on top. These fires of sacrifice were to be kept burning at all times, 24/7. This altar for burnt sacrifices provided the opportunity for the Israelites to repent and receive forgiveness. It symbolized the judgement of the Lord.

The Tabernacle was designed and built with eternal imagery in mind, God’s mind. Everything about it suggested meanings that must have been beyond the Israelites. They understood enough to participate and honor the Tabernacle, but it’s clear that its full meaning could not be understood at that point. Rabbinic studies have compared the making of the Tabernacle with the creation of the universe. The universe began with an act of creation, and Jewish history began with creation of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was understood by the Jews as a sort of micro-cosmos representing the universe as a whole. It was an expression of Paradise regained, because once again the Lord God will dwell with mankind as He did in the Garden of Eden. “It has been taught that on the day the Tabernacle was inaugurated there was joy before the Holy One blessed be He, as on the day when heaven and earth was created.”  These ideas are expressed beautifully in Rabbi Sacks’ commentary on Exodus.

For Christians, God intended the Tabernacle that pointed to a future reality, the spiritual reality of Christ’s sacrifice. The Tabernacle was following a specific heavenly pattern that was fulfilled in the incarnation of Jesus. This earthly Tabernacle was an expression of principles that were founded in heaven. “So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not a part of this created world… The Tabernacle and everything in it were copies of things in heaven.” (Hebrews 9:11,23).

In the wilderness Tabernacle, everything had a spiritual meaning and a divine purpose. So it follows that the Lord had His reasons for demanding certain colors.

Blue. This brilliant blue continues to be called “the world’s most precious color” by the Jews. Probably any observant Jew walking the street could tell you why this biblical shade of blue is the most important color in Judaism… this blue looks like the sea, which reflects the blue sky, which reminds us of God in the blue heavens on His royal throne. This special blue dye was extracted from particular sea snails along the coasts. So this blue is a symbol of the deity and the importance of obeying the one true God. Yahweh was very specific about the importance of this particular blue in their walk with Him. “Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you must obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. I am Yahweh your God.” During the Middle Ages, when the Jews were not in their homeland, the blue dye process was lost. But now, since the creation of Israel in their land once again, these particular seas snails so plentiful along the Israeli coasts have been re-discovered and the sacred blue dye is being used once again in Israel and on the Jewish prayer shawls. This sacred blue continues to be referred to as the “biblical blue.”

Purple. This royal color is extracted from the same sea snail as the biblical blue. It is often called the Tyrian Purple or the Royal Purple. When this extract is kept indoors during processing into a dye, away from the sunlight, it will remain a vivid beautiful purple. But if the extract is left in the sunlight even for as little as two hours, the dye turns into the biblical blue. The purple represents the royal King of the universe, that He sits on His throne as Lord. Also vital is that this purple reminds everyone of the Lord’s words to Moses in Exodus 19:5-6: “Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you will be for me a kingdom of priests, a nation set apart.”

Scarlet. This brilliant red dye is once again an animal-based dye, and not a plant-based dye. The dyes coming from animals were brighter, more vivid, and were permanent. Dyes based on plants were short-lived and washed out rather quickly. The Lord wanted the colors to remain for all time. And here is the scarlet worm story: There was a small worm, or grub that the Israelites discovered when they were in the Sinai desert. This tiny worm the size of a pea is called the “shani”, which means scarlet red. This color is named after both the worm and the color it produces. As amazing as this story is, the history of the shani is completely true. When the female shani becomes pregnant, it climbs the nearest tree and buries itself into the bark so it is protected. The female will then give birth to its young, and the mother proceeds to die. During the birthing process and death, the female bleeds a bright red scarlet color, making the tree appear as if it’s bleeding. At the death of the mother shani, the newly birthed young feed on the dead mother until they are mature enough to crawl down the tree and live their lives. The dead mother’s body is still able to produce the bright red color when it is crushed during the dying process. The shani, the scarlet worm, continue to thrive in the Sinai desert to this day. It is astounding that Jesus on the Cross, when reciting Psalm 22, most probably continued to cry out the psalm after the first verse, and Jesus certainly recited verse 6: “I am a shani worm, and not a man!” Jesus knew the story of the shani, and He is declaring that He will offer His life, His blood sacrifice, to give birth to new lives around the world. Jesus Christ is our shani worm. And He continues to be our shani worm as we “feed on the Bread of life” during Eucharist. It is astounding that God put this all together in His wonderful mind.

Is there any doubt that the specific colors God selected for the curtained gate to the Tabernacle has deep significance? Those colors were used all through the Tabernacle on many other items as well. They were spiritually important… Royal Purple to represent the King of the universe and His kingdom of priests; Biblical Blue to point to God in heaven and the importance of obedience; Scarlet Red to remind everyone of the blood sacrifice of Christ as he gave birth to a whole new world of forgiveness and redemption.