Blue

Second-last post in the series "All the colours of the Rainbow"
We all have had the blues, right? Funny how blue in the English language is associated with feeling depressed or "down", when blue skies imply sunshine and a happy day.
Being of German descent, I cannot resist giving the meaning for being blue in German: drunk. The Afrikaans combines the two states into "dronkverdriet" (drunken depression), but does not associate that state of affairs with being blue.

There is a German kiddies song that goes:

Blau, blau, blau sind alle

   meine Kleider,

Blau, blau, blau ist alles, was ich hab.

Darum lieb ich alles, was so blau ist,

Weil mein Schatz ein Seemann,

   Seemann ist. 

Blue, blue, blue are all

   my clothes

Blue, blue, blue is all that I have

So I love anything that's blue

because my love is a sailor,

   a sailor.

On a more serious note: the sky above is blue, and sometimes the lakes and rivers reflect the blueness to then also be drawn / photographed as blue. (Case in point - pictures taken from deviantart profile: alexandru1988 - go to his profile for some awe inspiring work)

In the Bible, blue and scarlet are often used in conjunction. I have discussed this already in the post on scarlet and actually noticed that scarlet, purple and blue are mentioned as one and the same colour, or at least quite close to each other in shade and intensity. I think, that there is quite a difference between what we would call indigo (purplish blue - think denim) and blue and scarlet (reddish), but in biblical times the shades probably depended on the kinds of dye and the concentration used in the solution. Also, perhaps how much the fabric was "bleached" in the sun or eventually worn - time fades the colours and leaves a redder tint rather than a blue one.

The point remains though, that scarlet, blue and indigo (purple) are all royal colours and were extremely expensive. In the references given you will see that blue and scarlet are mentioned in the garments of the priests as well, setting them apart from the rest of the population. Mostly fine linen was used to be dyed in these colours, making the priestly garments even more expensive.

Finally, as Christians, we are called to be a "royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9) and in that sense set apart for service to God, showing by our dress that we belong to him by not conforming to the world. This does not mean we are to be dressed in scarlet and indigo, but that we show by our differences that we belong to someone else.

Dirty Laundry

Intrigued?

No?

Well, let me get right down to it. When have you ever heard of someone washing clothes in blood to make them white? Quite the opposite is true, if you have ever tried it. (No, I do not recommend it!) There is a spiritual truth, however that states that: although we are as scarlet, we will be as white as snow.

This brings me to the colour Scarlet, more often than not mentioned in connection with Purple in the Bible.
Scarlet as per wikipedia
Purple as per wikipedia

Both colours were derived from expensive processes, with purple being the most expensive. In Biblical times dealers in purple cloth were wealthy merchants, because only kings wore this fine cloth. The dye itself was manufactured from the mucus-secretion of the hypobranchial gland of a marine snail known as the Murex brandaris or the spiny dye-murex.



Just as an aside - the Biblical woman Proverbs 31 is a dealer in purple cloth. That means she was one wealthy woman. No wonder her husband was present at the city gates.

The fact that our spiritual "Clothes" are described as scarlet means that they are deyed and beyond bleaching. Has anyone ever tried doing that? Red is the most diffucult colour to get out of anything and too much bleach will turn anything yellow - ahh well.

So, there is an easier way. By accepting the sacrifice (blood) of Jesus, our dirty laundry will be washed as white as snow.