by Ron Halbrook
Synopsis: Instead of seeing how close we can get to danger, let us be pure in our dress and demeanor. This is a duty of male and female and is demanded of the young and those who are older.
Our clothes send a powerful, though often subtle, message about our maturity, character, and judgment. It is true that God looks on the inner man and is not deceived by our outward appearance, but He also teaches us that our outward appearance influences other people—for good or evil. God addresses this subject in the Bible from beginning to end.
The patriarchal age extended from Adam to Moses. What was God's will for modest dress in this first age of mankind?
God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in a world free of sin to live in fellowship with Him and with each other as husband and wife. In an environment free from sin, nakedness was no more a danger than it is now for innocent toddlers (Gen. 2:25). God warned man that sin would greatly endanger the human family, bringing death and destruction on many levels (Gen. 2:16-17).
Satan, the father of lies and master of deception, seduced Eve and Adam to sin by appealing to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (Gen. 3:6). Though God provided all that they needed for health and happiness, Satan convinced them that they were missing greater avenues of fulfillment forbidden by God's law. He artfully denied that any penalty would follow sin.
When Adam and Eve sinned, rather than experience new vistas of fulfillment, they shared the deep dark night of guilt, shame, and separation from God. Being now painfully conscious of temptation's power, they saw their nakedness as a grave danger and tried to cover it with aprons (Gen. 3:7). Aprons covered the loins, meaning the waist, hip, and upper thighs ("girdle, loin-covering" [BDB, 292]). This garment would be similar to a miniskirt or short shorts today.
God knew the apron was inadequate to cover the shame of nakedness. "Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin and clothed them" (Gen. 3:21, NKJV). The tunic was a garment "generally with sleeves, coming down to the knees, rarely to the ankles" (Gesenius, 420).
Modest clothing is not unique to the patriarchal age but reflects the inherent nature of males and females as God created them. Especially the male sexual nature is quickly and easily aroused by sight and touch. Though the female nature is more powerfully aroused by expressions of affection and attention to emotional needs, a woman is also influenced by sight. God's parameters of modest dress guard us from attracting the wrong kind of attention from the opposite sex.
God Himself established the principle of modest dress before the change of dispensations, and long before human customs and fashions developed. Fashion changes are not wrong within the parameters set by God from man's early history, but they are sinful when they violate those boundaries.
The Mosaic age reached from the Law of Moses to the reign of Christ. God's will given in the patriarchal age for modest dress did not change under Moses's Law.
With the giving of the Law, God protected the priests from exposing the shame of nakedness when ministering at the altar in the following way: "Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it" (Exod. 20:26, NKJV). Priests wore long flowing robes, which might have been opened by climbing steps, especially during windy times. Jewish writers say priests of fertility gods exposed their genitals to their idols. God prevented His priests from exposing "the lower parts of the body (their thighs, buttocks, and secret parts)" to worshipers and Himself (CCP, 253).
Furthermore, Exodus 28:42 instructed priests to wear under their robes "linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs" (Exod. 28:42, NKJV). This added protection makes it clear that exposing the thighs exposes nakedness.
Even the Gentiles recognized that exposing the thighs exposes the shame of nakedness. The fall of Babylon resulted in women accustomed to luxury being forced to lift high their skirts in crossing rivers as they were taken away as slaves. "Take millstones and grind flour; take off your veil. Lift up your skirts, bare your legs, and wade through the streams. Your nakedness will be exposed and your shame uncovered. . . ." (Isa. 47:2-3, NIV).
The gospel age began with Christ ruling on His throne in Acts 2 and will continue until He returns in final judgment. God's will for modest dress remains the same because human nature does not change.
A godly woman manifests a meek and quiet spirit by exercising care to dress modestly. This example is so powerful, some unbelieving husbands are convinced to obey the gospel partly by observing how careful, cautious, and conscientious his wife is in how she dresses. He cannot avoid observing her respect for God and man in her attitude, her speech, and her pattern of dress:
Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear (1 Pet. 3:1-6, NIV).
Verse 5 reminds us that godly women from the past and the present have followed the same principles of modesty and respect.
Just as men who lead in worship must be holy in character, women manifest holiness by dressing modestly for worship:
I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God (1 Tim. 2:8-10, NIV).
Men and women alike should remember that God set the parameters of modest dress when he covered Adam and Eve from their shoulders to their knees. The more flesh we expose in violation of those boundaries, the more we open the door to temptation and send the wrong message about our character. To be salt and light in this wicked world, we must avoid clothing that is too short, too low, too tight, too revealing, and too suggestive (Matt. 5:13-16). Common examples include miniskirts, shorts and skirts above the knees (when standing or sitting), low cut garments (front or back), backless and strapless attire, swimsuits in mixed company, tube-tops, tank-tops, exposing the midriff, abbreviated uniforms for sports and other performances (shorts above the knees, cheerleader and majorette attire, some flag or drill teams, ballet tutus, etc.), all sorts of tight and form-fitting attire (leotards, bicycle shorts, spandex, etc.), and many wedding dresses.
The more flesh we cover, and the looser the garment, the more we close the door to temptation.
Rather than conforming to the immodest dress fashions of the world, God's people must demonstrate the transforming power of His Holy Word in our daily lives (Rom. 12:1-2). Long ago, God called on His people to separate themselves from the ungodly lifestyle of the Roman Empire: "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities" (Rev. 18:4-5, KJV). We must heed the same warning today!
Rather than being ashamed or resentful toward God's teaching on modest dress, let us accept and apply it as a blessing and as part of our life of obedient faith in Him. We must always remember that loving and obeying Him "with all thy heart and with all thy soul" is "for thy good" (Deut. 10:12-13, KJV).
BDB = Brown, Francis, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs. Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977.
CCP = Patrick, Lowth, Arnald, Whitby, and Lowman. A Critical Commentary and Paraphrase on the Old and New Testament and the Apocrypha. Vol. 1. Ed. by J. R. Pitman . London: J. F. Dove, 1822. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/CriticalCommentaryParaphraseOntApocrypha.6vols.pitman.patrick.etc.1822/01.CritComPar.OT.NT.Apoc.v1.Gen.toDeut.Pitman.Patick.etc.1822./page/n273/mode/2up.
Gesenius, Wilhelm, and Samuel Prideaux Tregelles. Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2003.
