Lapis Lazuli Blue

Just so you know, green is my favorite color. I had a lovely string of malachite beads that I used for my prayerful meditations. A friend who was going through a difficult divorce, needed some extra encouragement, and so I gave them to her, as green is her favorite color too. When looking for a replacement, I ran across a lapis lazuli one that captured my attention because of its intense blue color with flakes of gold. (Actually, pyrite or fool’s gold.) I also got some earrings, because now that my county no longer requires the wearing of face masks, I can wear earrings again. For all you guys, it’s because the ear straps would catch the back of the earring and pull it out of my earlobe, and I ended up losing it.

Then I came across this verse. “Who would hang earrings on a dog’s ear…” (Matt. 7:6 [TPT]) The footnote says that in the Aramaic says the word for “earrings” is almost identical for the word “holy.” Earrings are symbols of spiritual truths given to us by God. They give us beautiful “ears” to hear his voice and impart wisdom. The value of wisdom is not appreciated by those who have no “ears” to hear it.

That’s when it got exciting!

Lapis lazuli was popular in ancient Egypt. It was found on the funeral mask of Tutankhamen. In the early Christian tradition lapis lazuli was regarded as the stone of the Virgin Mary. There are many references to sapphires in the Bible, but most scholars agree that, since sapphire was not known before the Roman Empire, they most likely are references to lapis lazuli. The words used in the Latin Vulgate Bible when using this word are “quasi opus lapidis sapphirini”, the terms for lapis lazuli.

My prayer beads have a beautiful blue tassel on the end. The Lord commanded the Jews to add a blue cord (the color of lapis lazuli) to their tassels as a reminder to keep God’s law: “Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them.’” (Num. 15:37-39)

Moses, Aaron, two of Aaron’s sons, and the seventy elders of Israel went up Mount Sinai to worship God before he gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments set in stone. (Exodus 24) The Bible states they not only saw God but also noticed that under his feet was some sort of pavement made of lapis lazuli. Ezekiel 1 describes God’s throne being made of blue stone.

The Bible also tells us in Exodus 28:18 that the breastplate of the high priest Aaron was encrusted with 12 precious stones. The center gem in the second row is lapis lazuli, which represents the tribe of Dan.

This blue gem was one of several that God personally placed as ornamentation on Lucifer when he created him. (Ezek. 28:13) This stone, will soon be used to decorate one of the twelve foundations God will create for the New Jerusalem. (Rev. 21:19)

But the connection with blue continues. The ten curtains of the tabernacle were connected with loops of blue. (Ex. 26:5) The robe of the ephod of the High Priest was made all in blue. (Ex. 28:31) In addition, a blue lace cord was to tie together the ephod and the breastplate of the High Priest. (Ex. 28:27) There is also blue lace cord upon the headpiece of the High Priest. (Ex. 28:36)

Then in Numbers 4, a blue cloth was designated to cover the holy things in the tabernacle. These things were: the ark of the testimony, the table of showbread and its vessels, the candlestick and its vessels, the golden altar, and the instruments of mercy. The ark of the testimony is where they stored the lapis lazuli stones that the 10 commandments were written on. The ark of the testimony represented the presence of God with His people, and His power went with them wherever they took the ark.
Since the death and resurrection of Jesus, God no longer uses an ark of the testimony to dwell with His people. We are under a new testament, because He now dwells in us, and we take His presence and power with us wherever we go.

“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5 [NIV])

Which makes this next point a little more fun. I recently watched the Season 2 finale of The Chosen. Toward the end, Jesus is asking his mom and some women friends to help him pick the right colored sash to wear when he goes out to address the crowd to deliver the Sermon on the Mount. Guess what color they chose? Blue. If blue represents the color of the commandments God wrote, what better color for Jesus to wear as he was about to deliver a whole new set of commandments?

Once again, I am blown away by the goodness of God and what He has given to us in the Bible. It is truly a vast treasure. Just open it and you’ll find something amazing!

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