what a mess I've made

private int[] separateColor(int color) {
    return new int[] {
            (color >> 16) & 0xFF,
            (color >> 8) & 0xFF,
            color & 0xFF
    };
}

private int combineColor(int[] rgb) {
    return (rgb[0] << 16) & 0xFF0000 | (rgb[1] << 8) & 0xFF00 | rgb[2] & 0xFF;
}

private int[] lerpArrays(float delta, int[] a1, int[] a2) {
    if (a1.length != a2.length)
        throw new RuntimeException("a1.length != a2.length");
    int[] a3 = new int[a1.length];
    for (int i = 0; i < a1.length; i++)
        a3[i] = MathHelper.floor(MathHelper.lerp(delta, a1[i], a2[i]));
    return a3;
}

private int lerpColors(float delta, int color1, int color2) {
    return combineColor(lerpArrays(delta, separateColor(color1), separateColor(color2)));
}