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Simple Biblical Guidelines
for Clothing
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Deuteronomy 22:5
Deuteronomy
22:5,
"The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither
shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination
unto the LORD thy God."
Many people become very argumentative about that
verse. Questions abound such as "is it ok for a wife to wear the
husbands coat if it's cold outside?", "What about the way they dress in
China, or Saudi Arabia, or in Scotland where men wear kilts?" Such
questions should be very easily answered, but today's society has once
again "strained at a gnat" over this.
Stop and meditate for a moment on God's Law.
Does God really care whether or not a wife wears her husband's coat to
keep warm? Does he care if she puts on a pair of socks that belong
to her husband to keep her feet warm? Is that what you think this
verse is prohibiting? If it is, then I submit to you and tell you
very plainly that you hold a legalistic view of God much like the
Pharisees did. I promise you, if YOU were freezing cold and a
man (or a woman if you are a man) offered you his (or her) winter parka in
order to save your life, you would take it. To do otherwise is
foolishness.
The problem that existed then among heathen nations
is the same problem that exists today. People among pagan cultures
were having a problem retaining their sexual identity.
This loss of the sexual identity is oftentimes
responsible for some of the deviations that take place in later life (such
as homosexuality), which can lead to an enormous amount of heartache,
mental agony, mental illness, and perhaps even suicide.
Again, God never gave man a law that was bad for
man. What, then, is the meaning of this verse? God simply
says, in this case, that a woman is not to try to look like a man and a
man is not to try to look like a woman, because we wish to attain this
concept of identity between the sexes. This is the underlying meaning of
this law and it is consistent with the teachings of Paul in 1 Corinthians
chapter 11 concerning hair. Paul said of men's hair:
1 Corinthians
11:14
"Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have
long hair, it is a shame unto him?"
This law is
simple enough to understand and there should be no question that a MAN
SHOULD UNQUESTIONABLY LOOK LIKE A MAN AND A WOMAN SHOULD UNQUESTIONABLY
LOOK LIKE A WOMAN. This was and is God's intent.
Let's
continue with Deuteronomy 22: verses 6-7
Deuteronomy
22:6-7,
"If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree,
or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting
upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the
young: But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to
thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy
days."
This passage seems to say that God is going to
shorten your days if you interfere with this law. Is this the way
you read it?
The passage is giving a law to protect man.
THINK. If you see a mother with her young, what happens if you
destroy both? You have then taken future generations. If you
take the mother, the young will likely die and it won't be long before you
don't have ANY birds left. Is this not a passage to protect man?
Sure it is. If you have chickens and you like eggs, what happens if you kill the
chicken to have a meal? This is the same principle of law that God
placed in this passage. This is a law concerning the preservation of
natural resources. Is this law binding today? Of course it is.
Destroy the food SOURCE (the mother) and what happens? You
eventually run out of food! Yes, this law is binding upon us today.
Deuteronomy
22:8,
"When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement
for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall
from thence."
This is just
being responsible for your property and protection of people that come
upon your property. It is applicable, it has meaning, it has relevance to
us living today. (By the way, a battlement is a railing around your
house that would keep people from falling). Imagine going to a
10 story hotel with open balconies and providing no railing around the
balcony.
Deuteronomy 22:9-11,
"Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds:
lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy
vineyard, be defiled. Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.
Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen
together."
Now, the principle here is expressed elsewhere in
scripture: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" 2
Corinthians 6:14). A "yoke" is something fixed together on the neck of
oxen for the purpose of binding them so that they might draw the plow. The
reason God forbids and ox and an ass to be yoked together is because they
would plow in different directions.
This is the reason why God commanded us to be
separate from unbelievers, and why Jesus commanded us to be yoked to Him
(Matthew 11:29-30). If we do His will, He will guide our steps. If we do
our own will, we will pull in different directions. In other words, there
can be such differences between the pulling of two men (or animals) in
whatever it is they are being called to do, that we really should not try
to work them together, or harness them together, or bind them together.
Now to the second part that becomes an issue of
argument:
Deuteronomy
22:11, "Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and
linen together."
This says we should not have two different fabrics,
one vegetable and one animal, come upon our flesh. This is symbolic
in meaning and should be understood that Unequal things should not be
mixed together, such as believers and unbelievers. The command, however
let's us know that it is very unwise to mix animal (woollen) material and
vegetable (linen) material together. Why would God give such a
command? Not only is this an example to us to NOT be unequally yoked, it
is a command that preserves and prolongs the life of your clothing!
When looking at God's Law, do not ask, "Must I keep
this law today?" Instead, ask, "What does this Law mean?"
We could continue in Deuteronomy 22 and throughout
the passage, we would see that the intent and meanings are ALL intended
for the Good of man and DO apply today.
Since this study is concerning clothing, let's
continue with that thought.
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