In this study we will consider things which were written long ago for our
“learning” and “admonition.” We will deal with three primary things: truth,
custom and fashion. By truth I mean the Will of God. By custom I have
reference to a social habit that is deeply rooted in tradition. When I
speak of fashion, I have reference to any style that has gained wide-spread
acceptance in any given period.
There are many difficulties involved in a study of this type for several
reasons. Style is a thing that changes like the phases of the moon, but
truth never changes; and everything must fit within the framework of truth.
Styles and customs vary with different locales, but truth is universal.
Modesty is our subject. It involves many facets of our lives. Modesty and
a meek and quiet spirit begin with the heart. However, we will be
discussing clothing and the lack of clothing since this is where the
Biblical emphasis is placed. Modesty is to be a studied art among the
people of God. It is not something to be shunned
Clothing Through the Ages
Clothing has changed so much that even now we are not dressed as people were
20 years ago. All you have to do is get out an old photograph to see that
quite clearly. Rest assured, we certainly are not as people were 50 years
ago. Styles change and we accept those changes, therefore we cannot assume
that any one style of clothing is natural or inherent or universal.
Evidently then, resisting change of any kind is not what constitutes modesty
as such. Neither can we assume that resisting change in styles makes us
right.
We want to consider that which was from the beginning so we go back to the
Biblical principles regarding nakedness. The Bible teaches that nakedness
is both a shame and a symbol of shame. In the very beginning, God set
standards of dress and undress, modesty and immodesty. After Adam and Eve
had sinned, they knew they were naked and they hid themselves....which is
more than some today know and do!!
The Bible teaches that Adam and Eve “made themselves aprons.” The marginal
rendering says they made girdles; the Hebrew word is “CHAGORAH” indicating a
garment around the mid-section. But they still hid themselves from the
presence of God even after they had thusly “clothed” themselves. They still
felt uncomfortable about the situation.
They made garments to gird themselves about the mid-section but God was not
satisfied. The Bible says in Genesis 3:21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife
did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them.” He not only clothed
them but he clothed them modestly. It is not enough to be clothed; we must
be modestly clothed. Remember that with just their mid-sections girt about,
they were still naked in the sight of God. I would highly suspect that some
of the things people wear today also make them naked in the sight of
Almighty God.
We must realize that when God made them coats of skins and clothed them, it
was for concealing, not for revealing. One would highly suspect, too, that
those coats of skins did not do much for the figure, but it did clothe them
and that was God’s purpose. You will notice that God also made Adam a coat
of skin. Sometimes men and boys feel they may clad themselves in swim
trunks or cut off jeans and parade themselves in public and feel all is well
because they happen to be male. God made Adam a coat, too, and clothed his
nakedness.
In Genesis 9:20–25 we have another principle in regard to nakedness. Noah
“was drunken.” He was “uncovered.” He was “naked” the Bible says, and when
you get uncovered certainly that word is applicable. If you remember, his
sons, lest they see their father’s nakedness, put upon their shoulders a
garment and went backward and covered him. God is saying that any time
nakedness exists to any degree we need a covering–even with a father-son
relationship.
This can also be a symbolic matter. Isaiah 47 is prophesying the
destruction of Babylon and its desolation. I want you to notice what he has
to say–beginning with verse 1, “Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin
daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of
the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take
the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg,
uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered,
yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet
thee as a man.” God is simply saying to them that he was going to expose
them and their wickedness and uses this particular figure of gathering up
the garments to cross over a river. I would point this out... when the
thigh was exposed, God said their “nakedness” was uncovered. I think that
is worthy of note.
In Revelation 3:18 he exhorts, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in
the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.” It is possible
in God’s eyes to be clothed and still be naked. One does not have to be
“naked” in the sense the world uses it to be naked in the sense God uses
it. In Job 22:6 God said, “For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother
for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.” He has reference to
the fact that they were so thinly clad, so barely covered, that God said
they were naked. I would suspect that this is the same thing He has in mind
in James 2:15, “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily
food...” He is not referring to someone stark naked as we use the term
today; he is simply saying that if they are so thinly and poorly clad that
they are hardly able to cover their nakedness, help them.
In John 21:7 Peter had gone fishing and saw the Lord on the shore. The
Bible says “he girt his fisher’s coat unto him (for he was naked).” We
just assume that means what we call it today, but I’ll assure you that this
is not the case. He had taken off his outer coat but he was still clad in
an undercoat, a linen garment which fishermen of that time wore. However,
with that only, the Bible says he was “naked,” so he put on his outer coat
over his under coat. “Clothing” is not enough. It must be modest or
God-directed clothing.
Clothing of the Old Testament
Men in Old Testament times were dressed in tunics. There was an inner
tunic, a tunic coat, a girdle, a cloak, headdress, shoes or sandals. By an
“inner tunic” I mean a short, shirt-like garment of varying lengths. By a
“tunic coat” I mean and a shirt-like garment usually expressed as being long
sleeved and extending usually to the ankles. By a “girdle” I mean just
that... something to gird their flowing robe to themselves in times of work
or in times when they wanted to move along more rapidly... such as was worn
by Elijah and John the Baptist. Then on the outer side was a “cloak” or
mantle or robe. I am persuaded this is what the Bible refers to when it
speaks of Joseph’s coat of many colors, or Samuel’s coat which Hannah made
for him, or the “best robe” which the father commanded to be brought to the
prodigal son, Luke 15:22.
There was a definite distinction between the clothing of men and women in
that time. The law forbade men and women wearing the same things. There
were feminine articles which bore a similar name, but they were very
different in embossing, embroidery and needlework.
In contrast, there was also the clothing worn by the vain daughters of
Israel. He speaks of their fine linen, their festive robes and ankle
chains, their nose jewels, pendants and bracelets. He calls them “vain
daughters” with all of this garb.
The clothing of the Hebrews was graceful, modest and exceedingly
significant. It told who and what they were. The Lord’s people in Old
Testament times had a real urge to do what God wanted them to do and to
represent Him correctly.
Clothing of the New Testament
Through the centuries there was very little change. In New Testament times
I still detect very little change. Listen to the similarity: the linen
shirt or undergarment, the tunic, the linen or leather girdle about the
waist, the outer garment of John 19:23, the leather sandals and the turban.
Probably the major warning in the New Testament is against overdress. That
sounds like an odd thing in our time, but Peter warns against over doing the
outward adorning in 1 Peter 3. Modesty is stressed more under this age than
any age of all time.
What Is Modesty?
Let’s look at the words modest, modesty, shamefaced, and sobriety. The word
modest literally means “orderly, well arranged, decent.” This is as it is
used in1 Tim. 2:9 and 3:2. It is an ordering of the whole life. Now we’ll
go all the way back to archaic readings. The word modest means “lacking in
vanity, not bold, not self-asserting, retiring in manner, moderate,
observing conventional standards of dress and manners, free from coarseness
and indecency, not showy.” The word modesty means “freedom from coarseness
or indelicacy, a regard for sobriety in dress, speech, and conduct; shyness,
silent, reserved.” The word shamefacedness in 1 Tim. 2:9 means “a sense of
shame, modesty.” In some translations, shamefacedness is translated
shamefastness, “a client and serious air, reverence and respect, modesty and
seriousness.” When he talks about shamefacedness, it literally means
“modesty which is fast or rooted in the very soul of man.” So this is what
he is wanting, something that is rooted in, and grounded in shamefastness....behaving
according to a standard that is proper or decent or pure.
The words sobriety means literally “soundness of mind; sound judgment.” We
should have an inner self-government, a system of checks and balances. We
need to have a constant rein on the passions and desires of this fleshly
body. We need to have this inner barrier erected against whatever may be
opposed to modesty, shamefacedness and sobriety.
Now, why all this? Listen to the passage in 1 Timothy 2:9,10, “In like
manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with
shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or
costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good
works.” People should know what we are or what we profess to be by the way
we dress and the way we do things. Do not expect the world to carry around
a spiritual x-ray to check you out on the inside to see what you are. God
said that they have a perfect right to look at you on the outside and draw
their conclusions. Our clothing will show our shamefacedness or lack of
it. This will rule out clothing which exposes or causes unwholesome
thoughts.
Clothing may be non-verbal but it gives some very powerful, consistent,
accurate representations of what we really are. Clothing is symbolic of the
moral standard of any given culture. Pick a culture, whatever it may be,
and you can determine a great deal about their moral standard by their
clothing or a lack of it. This is based on three sayings (1) the degree of
exposure, (2) manner of concealment, (3) and emphasis. In the face of this,
some people will still insisted that there is no relationship between dress
and morals....that we are fine people regardless of what our manner of dress
may say, male or female. I have never tried to defend David; I think David
absolutely sinned, but Bathsheba should not have been bathing in full view
of the king’s court, and she very well knew it! There IS a connection
between dress and morals and what ensues. We might as well face it.
[This is the first part of brother McKamie’s study on Modesty. Lord
willing, we will carry the conclusion of this study next month. This study
may be found in tract form. You may order copies of this and other tracts
from brother George A. Hogland, P. O. Box 1018, Lubbock, TX 79401].
