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No expense was spared in making the high priest’s garments. Made of the finest materials and threads dyed with the richest of colors, they must have been very impressive to the eye. The colors of the priestly garments also had a theme: The “gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen” in the garments (Ex. 28:5) matched the furniture and fittings found in the tabernacle and temple fabric (ch. 26; 27:9–19; 2 Chron. 2:7).
Although we are not told why these specific colors were chosen, there are clues in other parts of the Bible as to their significance. The golden threads of the priestly garment remind us of the furniture within the tabernacle’s innermost room (Ex. 25) and therefore of God’s holy presence. Israelites fixed tassels with a blue cord to their garments to help them remember God’s commandments (Num. 15:37–41). Purple is representative of royalty and reminds us that the priest was appointed by the sovereign God. Scarlet is the color of blood. It is also associated with sin (Isa. 1:18) and atonement, for the high priest took the blood of the sacrifices and sprinkled it on the mercy seat to atone for Israel’s sins (Lev. 16). The bright white of bleached fine linen tells of purity (Isa. 1:18), righteousness (Rev. 19:8), and blessings that come from God (Ezek. 16:8–14).
The colors told of the Levitical priests’ office and their high calling to faithfully serve God in Israel. They also anticipated the ultimate fulfillment of priestly service by a Great High Priest from a different line, “after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:4; Heb. 7:15–28)—namely, Jesus Christ. We can think of how the same colors tell us of Christ’s priestly work. Gold—Christ brings us into God’s holy presence; blue—He kept God’s commands and fulfills God’s covenant with us; purple—He is the Most High King as well as the Great High Priest; scarlet—He shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins; white—His righteousness, sinlessness, and provision of blessing.
We also find personal applications from the priestly colors because through faith in Christ, “you are . . . a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9) and a temple within which God’s Holy Spirit dwells (1 Cor. 3:16). The colorful priestly threads are woven into Christian life through faithful words, works, and character. The priestly colors are a helpful way to remember our relationship with God through Christ. Gold—entering God’s holy presence through Christ; purple—belonging to the King of kings; blue—remembrance of His commands; scarlet—sins washed away by the Savior’s blood; white—blessings from God through the gospel: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isa. 1:18), coupled with “the righteous deeds of the saints” (Rev. 19:8). That is the blessing of a life in keeping with the righteousness that has been counted to us through faith in Christ.