When preparing to go before God, Jacob’s household washed, changed their garments, and gave what two things to Jacob? Genesis 35:2-4
Gen 35:2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
Gen 35:3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
Gen 35:4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
Note: When Jacob’s family was coming before God, He asked them to “change their garments.” When we become Christians shouldn’t there be a change in our garments too? What I find interesting is that in verse 4 the Bible calls their clothing and earrings “strange gods.” That reminds me of the 1st commandment.
What did the Lord command Israel to take off at Horeb?
Exo 33:5 For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.
Exo 33:6 And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.
Why did these people have earrings?
Judges 8:24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
Note: In case you didn’t know the Ishmaelites were a wicked pagan people. This being the reason why they had earrings because they were a pagan people.
When Jehu was coming to kill Jezebel what did she do when she heard the news?
2Ki 9:30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.
2Ki 9:31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
Note: Jezebel, written of in the Bible, was a harlot who killed many of God’s prophets, (1 Kings 18:4) caused Israel to worship the Sun god Baal, (1 Kings 16:30-32) and tried to kill Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-2). She was a very wicked woman who murdered countless saints and seduced many of God’s people into worshiping strange gods. When she found out Jehu was coming to kill her “she painted her face, and tired her head.” She hoped he would be blinded by lust, wanting her so much he would forgot all about killing her. He killed her anyways. To those whose taste in women aren’t perverted, the Jezebel hairstyle is excessive, and makeup is uncomely. My friend, the Bible certainly speaks on makeup and jewelry, and in the examples given they are not to be worn by God’s people. Dressing up in makeup and jewelry is an index of apostasy.
Hosea 2:13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.
Note: A common theme in the Bible when dealing with jewels and jewelry is when women put them on is when “she went after her lovers”; such as the story of Jezebel. Also the Bible describes the wearing of jewelry as “and forgat me, saith the LORD.” My pastor once told me that a common thing he noticed was when his female church members were going through some severe and serious spiritual struggles with the Lord was when they would began to put on makeup and jewelry again. He noticed a connection with this verse as it says we are forgetting God by putting on Jewels.
Revelation 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Note: She is described with bright, bold, and diverse colors. This harlot wears jewelry of all sorts. Everything she is wearing would cost a fortune to afford. You might ask, “Does that mean we should not wear expensive clothes anymore?” Yes. Now you can take this too far and buy old beat up and poor looking clothes. Remember “we are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor 5:20) and a kingdom that “is not of this world” (John 18:36). We are to look clean, healthy, and presentable in this life. But at the same time we are stewards of God’s money. God owns “the cattle upon a thousand hills.” (Ps. 50:10) In other words nothing we own really belongs to us, it belongs to God. That includes our money. He expects us to be economic with the talent of money he has entrusted to our care. If we spend extra money on more expensive clothing that may not even be more durable, but are simply “name brands” or “the fashion”, but not practical we use God’s money unwisely. The money saved could go to feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, or doing our part in furthering the gospel to the world. Other than wasting God’s talent of money on the things of this earth. Jesus gave a parable on this subject in Matthew 25:25-26. What I’m saying is: Be practical, search for ways you could save money and put it to better use for God’s service. Many blessings will come out of not spending extra money on costly clothing and jewelry like the woman of Revelation 17 has done.
Now let’s look at the simplicity of clothing worn by God’s true church which is represented by the woman in Revelation chapter 12.
Revelation 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Note: You don’t see jewels, make-up, complex apparel, or tattoos on her forehead. (Rev 17:5)
Jeremiah 4:30 “…though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair…”
Note: The Bible associates cosmetics and jewelry with the vain worldliness of the wicked.
Why is God so serious about dress?
Because you remind him of someone.
Ezekiel 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Note: Lucifer was covered with all the gems we want to cover ourselves with.
Eze 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Note: When God put jewelry on Lucifer he was perfect. He was the most beautiful creature God created. Lucifer didn’t have to take the gems from the ground and put them on himself like we do.
Eze 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Note: Because Lucifer thought he was beautiful he became vain and proud. Because of his beauty Lucifer began to feel exalted even to the point that he began to worship himself and wanted others to worship him. (Isaiah 14:12-14) Just like us when we wear certain clothes and expensive jewelry many of us start thinking more about ourselves throughout the day than we normally would. Not to mention how much time we spend looking in the mirror. There’s no easy way to say this, but women struggle with this more than men. But we have counsel in the Bible about beholding ourselves in the mirror. (James 1:22-25) Verse 25 gives us a 4 step process of receiving God’s blessing. The first step is to look “into the perfect law of liberty”. Which we know are the 10 commandments because they are an expression of God’s character. 2 Corinthians 3:18 gives us an important principle that whatever we are beholding we WILL become changed by. It’s no different than spending hours of our life staring at a mirror to get ready for the day or a big event. When you behold self self will come out and you will be changed. Not into the image of God, but into the imagine of the natural fleshly fallen state of humanity. (Romans 1:23-25)
What should a Christian adorn themselves with?
1Pe 3:3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
1Pe 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
Note: Adorn yourself with “the hidden man of the heart”. It is much more valuable to have a beautiful character on the inside then it is for all the beauty of make-up, jewels, and fashion because this is all very vain according to the Bible. But often in relationships people get these two mixed up. They let themselves be guided and geared by outward appearance and beauty or “lust at first sight”. Then afterwards they consider if at all the character of the individual. They are led by impulse and physical attraction rather than principal and the “hidden man of the heart” with characteristics such as “a meek and quiet spirit”. If this is “in the sight of God of great price” then how much more would this be in the sight of a Godly man? But the devil wants to flip the two around and misplace their correct position.
Isaiah 3:16 – 4:4 provides a very revealing list of worldly decorations which the Lord rebukes among the daughters of Zion. In verse 9 He says, “The shew of their countenance doth witness against them.” I would REALLY encourage you to take the time to read these verses in your personal journey to find your answers. As always don’t forget to pray before you do so.
What motive is behind the dress of the world?
Mat 23:5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments.
What does God’s grace teach us?
Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Why did Jesus give himself for us?
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
How did Paul indicate that it was with gladness that he gave up all things in order to have Christ?
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.
A true Christian will want not only to keep God’s explicit commandments, but also do those things he knows are what?
1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
Whatsoever is born of God does what?
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.