Garments: July 2018
Table of Contents
Garments
Aaron and his sons were to have coats, girdles and bonnets made of fine linen (Ex. 28:40). They were also to wear linen breeches to cover their nakedness when they came into the tabernacle of the congregation. The fine linen speaks of practical righteousness, and so we can see that, typically, everything they wore was to be suited to the moral character of God. This moral glory shone out in perfection in Christ, the one who wore the “coat ... without seam, woven from the top throughout” (John 19:23).
Needless to say, the Lord Jesus, the blessed antitype, never needed anything to cover His nakedness, for He was ever and always perfect. Even His “inwards” were washed with water (Ex. 29:17). This shows us that His every motive, word and deed were always pleasing to God His Father. Furthermore, His outward life which the eye of man could see was surely spotless “fine linen.” This would remind us also that we, like Aaron’s sons, being priests, should seek to “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,” for holiness always becomes God’s house. If we fail, we should judge it at once, and particularly before we come into His presence as worshippers (1 Cor. 11:28).
G. H. Hayhoe
The Garments of the Believer
The word “garment” is used many times in the Word of God, and it has different typical meanings, depending on the context in which it is used. Sometimes, of course, it merely refers to clothing, as when the prophet Ahijah “had clad himself with a new garment” (1 Kings 11:29), or when Ezra says, “I rent my garment and my mantle” (Ezra 9:3). At other times, however, there is spiritual significance to the term. I would suggest that there are at least two main typical meanings to the word “garment” in the Word of God.
Natural Right
First of all, we find the word “garment” used to denote what was a man’s natural right or possession. Under the Mosaic law, it was unlawful to take away a man’s garment as a pledge without restoring it to him by nightfall. “If thou at all take thy neighbor’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: for that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep?” (Ex. 22:26-27). The garment was his—part of his rights as a man, and it could not be taken from him, even if he owed a debt.
I would suggest that there is at least one application of this principle in the New Testament, when the Lord Jesus says to His disciples, “He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one” (Luke 22:36). The disciples missed the typical meaning of the Lord’s words, for they simply supplied two literal swords already in their possession. But perhaps the typical meaning (which they would understand later) is that in order to have the sword of the Spirit, we may have to give up our natural rights in this world. After the Lord’s death and resurrection, the believers in Him would be a despised and rejected company, in a hostile world. They could no longer count on the hospitality and support of those to whom they preached; rather, they must supply their own wherewithal from resources which only the Lord could provide. More than this, they must be willing to give up their rights in order to reach souls, just as the Lord Jesus had given up His rights in order to reach out to a lost world.
Lifestyle
Second, and perhaps more obvious in Scripture, garments are used to denote our lifestyle and the circumstances in which we live and move. Thus, in Leviticus 13-14, we have leprosy in a person, in a garment and in a house. Medically, leprosy does not occur in either a garment or a house, and thus the instruction given must have a typical meaning for us. The instruction about leprosy in a garment is given in Leviticus 13:47-58. If the leprosy was clearly working and spreading, the garment must be burned, showing us that if our circumstances and lifestyle as believers promote sin in us, we must get rid of those things. However, if the leprosy was arrested, it was sufficient to wash the garment or perhaps take out that piece of the garment in which the leprosy was. All this is very important, for in the New Testament Paul could tell the Corinthians that “evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor. 15:33). Sinful associations in our work, education, homes and recreation will have a detrimental effect on our Christianity, and we must remove ourselves from them, or at least eliminate that part of our lifestyle. Our Lord Himself could tell His disciples that if their hand, foot or eye were to offend them, they needed to cut them off, or remove them, in order to enter into life. Nothing must be allowed to come between ourselves and the Lord.
Mixed Standards
Likewise, the Israelites were told not to wear a garment “of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together” (Deut. 22:11). Thus the believer is not to have mixed standards, which come from trying to mix divine and worldly principles in our lives down here. How much harm has been done by believers wishing to live for the Lord, yet at the same time accommodating themselves to the world in order to be comfortable and accepted! In a similar way, a believer can defile his garment (see Revelation 3:4) by mixing with the world and its evil.
Public Display
A garment may have the additional meaning of what characterizes us—our outward public display toward others. Thus Joseph had “a coat of many colors” (Gen. 37:3), while Achan coveted “a goodly Babylonish garment” (Josh. 7:21). Those who wanted to exhibit outwardly an attitude of humility and repentance wore sackcloth, as happened in Nineveh when Jonah preached to them (Jonah 3:5-8) or when Ahab humbled himself before the Lord (1 Kings 21:27).
This thought leads us on to further considerations about garments, when we come to the New Testament, where the garments of the believer are specifically mentioned. First of all, we have garments in which believers are said to be clothed, as a result of the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. When the prodigal son came home, his father commanded that they “bring forth the best robe, and put it on him” (Luke 15:22), while the overcomers in Revelation 3:5 are “clothed in white raiment.” Those who wear them are truly the Lord’s, for these are the garments of every true believer—our true standing before God. According to 2 Corinthians 5:21, we are made “the righteousness of God in Him.” This can never change, for it rests on the work of Christ and the value of His shed blood before God.
Making the Garment
However, Scripture also speaks of a garment which we make for ourselves. In Revelation 19:8, we read of the bride of Christ, “It was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and pure; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints” (JND). Here it is not a question of the righteousness of God in Christ, but rather the “righteousnesses of the saints.” It is the public display of what saints have done with their lives down here, for the garment in which the bride will be found at the marriage supper of the Lamb will be formed by what she has been for Christ during the time of His rejection. This is both a happy and yet a solemn thought. If we have spent our time down here in this world for ourselves and been involved with worldly things, there will not be much to show for it in that day. But every right thought and action will be part of that robe of fine linen. As another has put it, “All that the saints have done for Christ and in His name during the time of their sojourn on earth—all the sufferings, reproaches and insults they have endured, every cup of cold water given for His sake — will be remembered in this great day, and be found ‘unto praise and honor and glory.’ The smallest act that has Christ for its motive is a stitch in the garment that will adorn the church when at last it is presented to Christ without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.”
The Wedding Garment
When it is a question of our fitness to be in the Father’s house, the garment needed is the “wedding garment” (Matt. 22:11-12), supplied by our Lord as the result of His work on Calvary’s cross. When it is the display of the beauty of the bride at the marriage of the Lamb, we have the privilege of making a garment that is “bright and pure,” to meet the eye of our Bridegroom. What a precious privilege this is! But we have only our time down here to stitch that “wedding dress”; we cannot make it or add to it up there. It will be the result of what has transpired at the judgment seat of Christ for believers, when all that is not for Christ will have been burned up. Then only that which is “bright and pure” will remain. These latter two garments will endure for eternity: one which Christ has made for us, and one which we have the opportunity to make for ourselves in our Christian pathway.
W. J. Prost
Myrrh, Aloes, and Cassia
In Psalm 45:8, we have those beautiful words, spoken prophetically of our Lord Jesus in His pathway through this world: “All Thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made Thee glad.” The psalm brings before us prophetically the Lord Jesus in judgment and then exaltation, yet the verse we have just quoted shows us that for the Messiah, the pathway to the throne lay through the cross. The garments of our blessed Lord were characterized by each of the spices mentioned, and surely each one has a distinct and precious meaning for us.
Myrrh—Fragrance Through Suffering
There can be different meanings attached to these spices, but I would suggest that myrrh speaks of fragrance and beauty. Myrrh is obtained from a small thorny tree, but it is necessary continually to “wound” the tree by cutting deeply into the bark in order to have the sap “bleed” out. It then forms a gummy, fragrant resin which has been considered very valuable throughout the world’s history.
In Scripture it is mentioned as one of the components of the holy anointing oil (Ex. 30:23), and it was also one of the treasures offered to the Lord Jesus by the wise men who came from the East to worship Him (Matt. 2:11).
It was in suffering that this “odor of a sweet savor” came forth and ascended to God the Father. While this beautiful fragrance was doubtless exhibited throughout our Lord’s earthly pathway, it was most markedly seen in His sufferings on the cross. All that He suffered, not only from man, but especially during the hours of darkness, only served to bring out the beauty of that supreme sacrifice. The deeper the suffering, the greater the fragrance and beauty that issued from that blessed One.
Aloes—Fragrance in Bitterness
Second, we have aloes mentioned. This is an unusual spice, again extracted from the wood of a tree. It has the unusual characteristic of being bitter in taste, yet yielding a beautiful fragrance. It is mentioned a number of times in Scripture, particularly in connection with the burial of the Lord Jesus by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus.
Once again, we are reminded of the bitterness of the suffering our Lord endured. For the same reason, the Passover was to be eaten with bitter herbs. While the myrrh may represent the sweet savor of the burnt offering, the aloes brings before us the bitterness of the sin offering. Yet once again the suffering yielded the most beautiful fragrance, for the result of all that bitterness and suffering was to settle the whole matter of sin before a holy God and provide a way for the removal of sin, not only from those who believe, but eventually from the entire universe.
Cassia—Healing and Comfort
Finally, the Lord’s garments were permeated with cassia, a spice that is extracted from the twigs and bark of the cinnamon tree. While it has a strong and pleasant aroma, it was well recognized for thousands of years as having medicinal and healing properties. Many continue to use cassia oil today for this same purpose. It is likewise mentioned in Scripture a number of times and was a component of the holy anointing oil, along with myrrh.
I would suggest that cassia speaks of healing and comfort, and it is mentioned last as being the result of the sufferings typified by myrrh and aloes. If there was to be any healing of the sorrow and heartache that sin had brought into this world, our Lord’s suffering had to take place. This healing and comfort is now available to the believer in a spiritual way, for although the believer may still suffer bodily, even now he is released from the bondage of his sins and also from the bondage of his cares. When the Lord comes, the believer too will enjoy a changed body, no more to suffer from the effects of sin. In a coming day the whole of creation will be freed from “the bondage of corruption” and be brought into “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21).
The Burial of Jesus
We have already mentioned the burial of the Lord Jesus, when two wealthy men, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus, came forward and gave the Lord Jesus a rich man’s burial. “He was with the rich in His death” (Isa. 53:9 JND). It is recorded that they brought “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight” (John 19:39). This was an amazing amount of such spices, at an enormous cost, but God would have it that way. When once the work of atonement was finished, God the Father never allowed wicked hands to touch the body of His Son again. He must be accorded the honor that was due to Him.
But some have wondered why the cassia is left out. If it is clearly mentioned as pervading His garments, why should it not be present at His burial? I would suggest that there is a most precious truth here. Without the resurrection, there could be no salvation and no healing and comfort. Precious as was His work on the cross, it would not have sufficed to take away sin, had He remained in the grave. It is in resurrection that we have the cassia, perhaps best described in John 20:17: “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.” The cassia is not specifically named, but the result is clear. We are brought into favor and into relationship, not only with God, but with God as our Father. Never had this relationship existed before, for while God was always, in one sense, “one God and Father of all” (Eph. 4:6), yet He had never before been known to man as Father, in the intimate sense of that relationship. It is indeed a relationship from which healing and comfort flow.
Our Lord’s work on the cross—and its results both Godward and manward—is beyond our understanding. However, by using fragrant and expensive spices, God has illustrated to us something of the value of His beloved Son and His work for us.
W. J. Prost
Fig Leaves
An old man who had recently been saved was asked, “How long have you known the Lord?” His answer was, “About three weeks, but I have been for forty years sewing fig leaves together.”
There is a good deal expressed in those few words, for thousands are still occupied in the same useless business of sewing fig leaves together. Those who seek to save their souls by means of rites and ceremonies, ordinances and church-going, or who are building their eternal salvation upon prayers, fastings and giving to charities are merely sewing fig leaves together. All these things may be very good in their right place, but they are no foundation on which to build for eternity.
In the third chapter of Genesis we see man’s first attempt to sew fig leaves together—the very earliest illustration of all human effort to cover the sinner’s moral and spiritual nakedness.
No sooner had man eaten the forbidden fruit than his eyes were opened, and he found out that he was naked. He became possessed of a conscience of good and evil. Up to this, Adam and Eve knew only good, but now all was changed.
Works
How then did they meet their new condition? “They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons” (Gen. 3:7). It was their work, not God’s, and this stamped its character. It was impossible that the work of a ruined creature could ever lift him out of the ruin into which he had fallen. Hence we find that when “they heard the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden in the cool of the day, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God, amongst the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:8). They dared not trust their fig-leaf apron, for it did not even satisfy themselves. How then could it screen them from the searching gaze of a righteous God? Adam and Eve had overlooked the one vital thing, which was humbly to acknowledge their guilty condition before God and to admit that death and judgment were their due.
Coats of Skins
“The Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Gen. 3:9-10). The apron was of no use; indeed, Adam completely ignored it. Thus it is ever; all human efforts prove valueless, when the testing time comes. Nothing will stand but God’s own work. In order to possess true, solid, divine peace, the soul must be resting simply on that which is entirely of God. Of this latter we have the earliest figure in the coats of skin which the Lord God made for Adam and his wife. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). That was grace. To faith, those coats of skins are lovely, for they speak of God’s free provision for sinners in the death of Christ, “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29).
There was this significant difference between the apron and the coat: God never set a single stitch in the former, and man never set a single stitch in the latter. The apron was wholly of man and could not avail; the coat was wholly of God and therefore must avail.
Aprons of Fig Leaves
Sad to say, Christendom is studded from one end to the other with the manufacturing of fig-leaf aprons. Those aprons may do well enough until the voice of God must be heard, and their utter worthlessness will be found out when it is too late. “I heard Thy voice ... and I was afraid, because I was naked” (Gen. 3:10).
On which are we trusting—man’s apron or God’s coat? Eternal consequences hang on our answer to this great question. It will be unspeakably awful to find out, when it is too late, that we have been building on human rubbish, instead of building upon the Rock of ages. “He that believeth on Him shall not be confounded” (1 Peter 2:6).
C. H. Mackintosh (adapted)
The Day of Atonement
Leviticus 16 is a precious chapter, whether we regard it historically in connection with Israel or in its typical character as shadowing forth the atoning work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The great theme of the chapter is Christ and His work, but Aaron’s garments claim our attention. The linen garments signify holiness and purity. It is no question here of outward display; rather, these garments set forth in figure Christ come to take up the question of sin; all in Him is in perfect moral accord with the purity and holiness of the throne of God. Although we know Him now in the garments of glory and beauty (see Ex. 28), “crowned with glory and honor,” yet this could only be as the result of what is prefigured in the holy linen garments and the work connected with them. The Holy Spirit unfolds these things for us in Hebrews 9. We see Him there wearing the holy linen garments, as the antitype of Aaron in the work of atonement (vss. 11-12).
Then in verse 24 of the same chapter we see Him as He now appears in the presence of God for us, in the robes of glory and beauty. The work of propitiation and cleansing being past, Aaron put off the holy linen garments, washed his flesh in water, and proceeded to offer the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people, significant of the divine acceptance of the work of that day. Our Lord no longer wears the linen garments which He wore, figuratively, when He took up the question of sin, once and for all. The work being done, He now appears for us in those garments of glory and beauty, as He undertakes His work of intercession for us. Everything concerning the garments of glory and beauty (Ex. 28) speaks of an accomplished redemption and a redeemed people, but also of those who need the constant intercessory work of their Great High Priest, as they walk through a defiling world.
J. McBroom (adapted)
The High Priest's Garments of Glory and Beauty
The people of Israel were possessed of a magnificent ritual, and because Israel’s ritual pointed to Christ, the smallest details are given. Let us look at Exodus 28, which describes the priests’ robes, as the chapter following describes the ceremonies connected with the consecration of Aaron and his sons for the priestly office. Aaron and his sons typify Christ and Christians. The priesthood of Aaron’s sons depended upon the priesthood of their father as ours depends upon that of the Lord Jesus. They were priests by divine call (Heb. 5:4). Christ’s call is found in Psalm 110:4; ours in 1 Peter 2:5.
The Ephod
The ephod is described first, as being the principal priestly vestment, and stood for all that the priesthood represented. Every detail speaks of priestly grace. “They shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.” The gold speaks of the divine in our Lord and was interwoven with the blue and other colors, for the union of the human and the divine in His person is one of the holiest mysteries of our faith. In all His ways and words, this marvelous union shines forth. Blue is the heavenly color. “The second man is the Lord from heaven” (1 Cor. 15:47). He who thus condescended to become human had subsisted from eternity in uncreated glory above.
Purple is the royal color. The Son of God has kingly rights and inherits Joseph’s rights as his legal heir (Matt. 1). Scarlet speaks of earthly glory (Rev. 17:3; 2 Sam. 1:24). It is not enough that Christ should be glorified on high; God will see to it that He is also glorified below in His own time. The fine twined linen testifies to His perfect spotlessness. Though born of a human mother, He did not inherit any moral taint from her. He was emphatically “that holy thing” (Luke 1:35). He only of all who have ever walked the earth could say to His critics, “Which of you convinceth Me of sin?” (John 8:46).
The Girdle of the Ephod
The curious girdle of the ephod was made of the same materials as the ephod itself (vs. 8) and is the emblem of service—compare Luke 12:37; 17:8. The thought is overwhelming that our Lord Jesus could possibly constitute Himself the servant of His people, but it is true, so wonderful is His grace. Like the Hebrew servant of Exodus 21, He had purposed to be servant forever. Accordingly, He ministers on our behalf in the heavenly sanctuary during our earthly pilgrimage, while Luke 12:37 tells us that in a coming day He will make us sit down to meat and come forth and serve us.
The Shoulder Pieces
We have next the shoulder pieces (vss. 9-13), on which were two onyx stones, with the names of Israel’s tribes engraved upon them, six on each stone. The shoulder is the place of power. Hence the good Shepherd lays His once-lost sheep on His shoulders and brings it home rejoicing (Luke 15:5). The names were cut into the stones “with the work of an engraver in stone, like the engraving of a signet” (vs. 11) and then “set in ouches of gold.” The eternal security of every believer is typified in this, and none can “pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
The Breastplate
The people’s names were on the breastplate also, for in Christ power and love combine for the blessing of His people. We read in Exodus 28:29: “Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart.” The changeless love of Christ is our solace and joy. John 13:1 is as true for us as for the disciples of long ago: “Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.”
In the breastplate God would also show us His tender interest in each individual believer. In the shoulder-pieces six names were engraved on each stone; in the breastplate each name had a stone to itself. Each individual saint, however poor and lowly, has his own place in the divine affections.
What a lovely picture is suggested by the high priest of Israel bearing the names of the people of God upon his shoulder and heart in the divine presence continually! Yet how soon everything failed in the hands of man! The garments of glory and beauty appear never to have been worn in the presence of God after the calamitous circumstances of the day of consecration (Lev. 10). From that point the holiest was closed to the priesthood, save on the annual Day of Atonement, and on that day Aaron was to draw near in white linen garments (Lev. 16:1-4). What immense comfort it is for our hearts to know that there can be no such failure in our Lord Jesus Christ!
The Urim and Thummim
In the breastplate, among the names of the children of Israel, was placed the Urim and the Thummim. The words mean “the lights and the perfections.” What it was exactly, Scripture does not say. It is mentioned altogether seven times in the Scripture; in two of the passages the Urim only is named, and in one (Deut. 33:8) the order is reversed and given as “Thy Thummim and Thy Urim.” It evidently gave the answer of Jehovah concerning matters that were referred to Him by the priest. It is because the breastplate contained this instrument by which divine decisions were given that it is called “the breastplate of judgment.”
It is God’s delight to make known Himself and His will to those who desire this blessed knowledge. The Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate of the high priest were the pledge that Israel never need be in darkness about any matter. Today, with the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, the completed Word of God in our hands, and a glorified Christ interesting Himself in us, there need be no obscurity in our minds concerning the smallest detail of our pathway. Where the eye is single and the heart is true, the path becomes clear.
The Robe of the Ephod
“The robe of the ephod” was made wholly of blue (Ex. 28:31), emphasizing that ours is a heavenly Priest. “Such a High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens” (Heb. 7:26). We are the brethren of Christ and partakers of the heavenly calling; heavenly people need a heavenly priest. A priest of Aaron’s order is of no use to us, for his priesthood was exercised in an earthly sanctuary on behalf of an earthly people. The feeblest Christian stands on higher ground than Israel ever knew.
Around the hem of the blue robe were golden bells and pomegranates, which speak of testimony and fruit. When Jesus ascended to God, the Holy Spirit came forth and set the golden bells of gospel testimony ringing in this dark world. The bells also sounded when Aaron came out from the divine presence, for in like manner a fresh sound will be heard when the Lord Jesus comes again. A new testimony will be commenced in the earth, and abundance of fruit will be gathered by means of it. Israel, not the church, will be God’s witness in that day, for “out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:3).
The Holy Crown
We come now to the plate of pure gold, with its inscription, “Holiness to the Lord” (Ex. 28:36). This was fastened to the forefront of Aaron’s mitre by a blue lace, and it is twice called “the holy crown” (Ex. 39:30; Lev. 8:9). He whose brow was once encircled with the crown of thorns is now “crowned with glory and honor” (Heb. 2:9). The golden plate was put upon his forehead, “that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord” (vs. 38). Such is our infirmity that, even with the purest of motives, we are utterly unable to render spiritual sacrifices to God in perfection. Our comfort lies in the fact that all our offerings come before God through the hands of the perfectly holy One in His presence.
Aaron’s Son’s Robes
Aaron’s sons’ robes, though of linen, are said to be “for glory and for beauty” (Ex. 28:40-43; Ex. 39:27-29). Aaron’s sons typify Christians, viewed, not as members of Christ’s body, but as belonging to the priestly family of which Christ is the Head. Every detail of the sons’ robes as well as of the robes of their father speaks of Christ. What have we then in this picture but every Christian so completely covered with the perfections of Christ that the holy eye of God sees upon us nothing but Christ when we draw near in faith before Him!
W. W. Fereday (adapted)
Woolen and Linen
All through Scripture we may trace a people of mixed principles, as we say, who wear garments of woolen and linen (Deut. 22:11), contrary to the call of God and the pure ordinances of His house. Lot, for example, was associated with the call of God. Like Abram, he left Mesopotamia, came with Abram into Canaan, and was a righteous man. Abram betrayed the way of nature, again and again recovering himself, but if Abram’s garment was soiled now and again, it was not “a garment of divers sorts.” Lot’s garment, however, was “woolen and linen,” for he was untrue to the call of God. He became a citizen when he ought to have been only a sojourner, and he was a man of mixed principles all his days, while Abram all his days was true to the call of God. And, what is full of meaning, we observe, that after he had become a man of mixed principles, he and Abraham had no communion. Abraham will run to his help in the day when his principles were bringing him into jeopardy, but there is no communion between them. And this is no uncommon case to this day.
David and Jonathan
It was so with David. Nature prevailed in him at times, but he was never a man of mixed principles. He was true to the call of God, but it was not so with his friend Jonathan; he acted nobly and graciously at times, but still he was not the separated man. He was a man of faith, but he was not where the call of God would have had him, for Saul’s court was a defiled place then. Jonathan was lovely individually, and he never personally gave David anything but joy, but still his position was not true to the call of God in that day.
In this our day there is, like Jonathan, many a saint, dear to one’s heart and outshining in personal graces, who is found apart from the place where the energy of the Spirit, according to the rule of the dispensation, works. Noble and generous deeds are done by them individually, but their connection is their dishonor, as it was Jonathan’s. His presence did not make Saul’s camp or court other than it was. Likewise, the only impression we have of Lot in Sodom is that of a tainted Lot, not of a sanctified Sodom.
A Soiled Garment
There are, however, “things that differ,” and the soul exercised of God is to distinguish them. There is a soiled garment, which is, however, at the same time, not a mixed garment, a garment of “divers sorts,” of “woolen and linen.” Our way under the Spirit is to keep our garments undefiled, but a garment with a thread now and again of another sort is not to be mistaken for one whose texture is made on the very principle of “woolen and linen.” The garments upon Lot and Jonathan were made of divers sorts, of woolen and linen. But look at Jacob, in contrast. It is true that his schemes and calculations greatly disfigure several periods of his life, while his building of a house at Succoth and his buying of a piece of ground at Shechem were things untrue to the pilgrim life. But Jacob is not to be put with Lot; his life was not formed by Succoth and Shechem, though we thus see him there; rather, he was a stranger with God, in the earth. And at the end of his pilgrimage, when he was in Egypt, we have many a beautiful witness of the recovered state of his soul.
Mixtures
Likewise, the days of Ahab king of Israel were fruitful in illustrations of this kind. There were in those days an Elijah, a Micaiah, a Jehoshaphat and an Obadiah, and all these in the midst of the foulest departure from the ways of God. But all these are not to be classed together. To use the language of “woolen and linen” or “garments of divers sorts,” I might say, there was no mistaking the cloth of Elijah and Micaiah. The leathern girdle of the one and the prison bands of the other tell us what men they were and show their complete separation. But Obadiah was not Elijah, and again, neither was Jehoshaphat a Micaiah.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, was a separate man, but a man who, at times, is found in defiling connection. He was of Jacob’s generation, though he may be more faulty than Jacob. Vanity betrayed him again and again, as worldly policy betrayed Jacob. Jehoshaphat joined affinity with Ahab and acted there in terrible inconsistency with the sanctity and separation of the house of David. But though all this is so, his life was not one of mixed principles. Very noble deeds were done by his hands, very dear affections were breathed by his spirit, and the Lord owned him. But, like Jacob, and to a more painful extent, he was betrayed into connections which make his testimony an imperfect thing. It was not merely a soiled garment, but a garment the texture of which was scarcely discernible, so shamefully do the “divers sorts” appear in it at times.
Obadiah’s Garment
But the garment which Obadiah wore cannot be mistaken; the “divers sorts,” of woolen and linen, are to be seen in it from head to foot. It was not merely that he was betrayed at times; his whole life evinces a man of mixed principles. He had respect to the afflictions of the prophets, hiding them in caves from the persecution, and feeding them there, but all the while he was the adviser, the companion, and the minister of Ahab, in whose kingdom the iniquity was practiced. His was not the leathern girdle of Elijah, and when they come together, this difference is expressed most strikingly. Obadiah seeks to conciliate the mind of Elijah. He reminds him of what he had done for the persecuted prophets of God in the day of their trouble and tells him that he fears the Lord, but Elijah moves slowly and coldly towards him. All this is painful between two saints of God, but it is a common thing, and much more commonly felt than expressed.
Abraham and Lot
There could be no blending of the spirits of Abraham and Lot after Lot went the way of Sodom. Abraham rescued Lot from king Chedorlaomer, but this was no meeting of saints; they could not blend. So was it, in a far more vivid expression, in Elijah and Obadiah. They meet in an evil day, Obadiah searching for water in the day when the Lord, through Elijah, was giving the land neither rain nor dew. There is effort on the part of Obadiah, and reserve with Elijah. Obadiah calls Elijah his lord, but Elijah reminds him that Ahab is his lord. We are not to be serving the world behind another’s back and then, when we come together, assume that we meet as saints. But Elijah acted in character, faithful to his brother now as he had been to his Lord before.
We may well ask ourselves whether we have been in the heavenlies or in Ahab’s court? Have we been making provision for the flesh or desiring the things of Christ? Obadiah was governor over Ahab’s house; how could such a one as Elijah be comfortable or at ease with him? The garment of divers sorts, of woolen and of linen, ill-matched the leathern girdle of a separated, suffering witness of Christ. In contrast, the poor widow of Zarephath enjoyed the full flow of Elijah’s sympathies, and that humble homestead presented a scene which had its spring and its reward with God.
J. G. Bellett (adapted)
The Ribband of Blue
Let me say a word on the Lord’s instituting a blue ribband to be worn by the Israelites on the fringe of their garments. Every Christian would realize that this conveys a divine lesson.
As to the general meaning of the color “blue,” which we often find in this book of Numbers, there cannot be any doubt about it. It is the color of heaven and the appropriate witness of a heavenly character. White is used commonly for the representation of purity, as crimson or scarlet speaks of the world’s glory; the ribband of blue being the heavenly color, the thought is of immense practical importance. The Lord would have His people, even in the commonest things of daily life, to present the constant testimony before their own, as well as others’ eyes, that they belong to heaven. We shall find this to have a very influential effect on the soul. It is not enough for us that we should simply abstain from that which is evil, or that we should cultivate godliness. No person born of God could deny our obligation to holiness, or that the children of God are bound to abstain even from the appearance of evil. But supposing all this, and that each wore his garment ever so undefiled, would this be the ribband of blue? Does it not mean the reminding our souls from day to day of the place to which we belong?
Heavenly Ways
The outward raiment was used to set forth that which is displayed before people—our character and ways. What God, as I believe, shows us by the blue on the fringe, is the intermingling in the most ordinary ways of daily life the constant token that we are heavenly, and not merely that we shall be there by and by. If we, as it were, put heaven off, making it purely a hope for the future, would not this be for the Israelite, to avoid wearing this ribband of blue? But the effect of our souls taking in the truth which this type teaches is that, while we are on earth, surrounded by difficulties, heaven is before our eyes and hearts. Otherwise we shall be acting simply as earthly men— godly perhaps, and kind and truthful; but totally short of all that is God’s will concerning us. Even to serve Christ, blessed as it is, is not the same thing as being heavenly. In many cases all this is true in saints of God, where the blue ribband is forgotten.
What answers to the type, according to the power of the New Testament is the truth we have in Colossians 3. We are there addressed as those who belong to heaven, but of course still upon earth, which gives rise to all the difficulties of the path of faith. There will be no difficulty in walking rightly when we are in heaven; but the fight and victory are by faith now. We are so apt to judge by the feelings of our hearts, and so be easily led away. And what can strengthen us against ourselves? Let us listen to what the Lord says here: “It shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them” (Num. 15:38). Is it not remarkable that the blue fringe should be used of God as an incentive to obedience?
Heavenly Walk
The very fact that our souls begin each day with this memorial before us is no small thing. How crucial to remember that we belong to heaven! “If therefore ye have been raised with the Christ, seek the things which are above, where the Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God: have your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth” (Col 3:1-2 JND). Were this before us, there is nothing, small or great, that the Christian would not do according to God: there would be a felt link with heaven, and not merely a matter of necessity or of character, which is below a Christian. Of course a Christian will be honest and godly, but if I make character or necessity the reason why I do a thing, I am not walking as a Christian at all, but like many a man who is the enemy of God and His Son. Doing it as a matter of duty does not lift you above self and present things. I may look at the Lord simply as one strengthening me in my daily duty, and this is quite true; but it is not the full measure of the truth. It is not the ribband of blue. But if my eyes are raised from the earth, and fixed on Christ in heaven—if I remind myself that my present association is with Christ in heaven, and that God looks for me to walk worthily of Christ now above myself, in this we find the great truth that answers to the figure. And this the Lord here connects with remembering all His commandments and doing them and walking holily. He had brought them out of Egypt that they might thus walk according to Him, and that they might be His people and He their God. How often, alas! we walk merely “as men.” But if we do not rise above that standard, we are not walking according to that witness of heavenly things which the Lord set forth in type to Israel. We shall find that the power of being heavenly, is according to the measure in which our souls enter into Christ there. It is not a question of correcting this or that, or of beginning one thing and another, but of heavenly things in Christ separating our hearts from things on earth. When we look from heaven, as consciously of it, and work from heaven downwards, earthly things soon dwindle, and the praise of their disappearance returns not to ourselves in any way, but to Christ. Thus He Himself has all the glory, whatever good thing there may be wrought by the Spirit among the children of God.
Bible Treasury (adapted)
Leprosy in a Garment
We would like to look briefly at the question of leprosy in a garment, as presented in Leviticus 13:47-59.
The garment or skin suggests to the us the idea of a man’s circumstances or habits. This is a deeply practical point. We are to watch against the working of evil in our ways just as carefully as against evil in ourselves. The same patient investigation is observable with respect to a garment as in the case of a person. “The priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up it that hath the plague seven days” (vs. 50). There must be no indifference and no carelessness. Evil may creep into our habits and circumstances in numberless ways, and hence the moment we perceive anything of a suspicious nature, it must be submitted to a calm, patient process of priestly investigation. It must be shut up seven days in order that it may have full time to develop itself.
The Judgment of Evil
“And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean. He shall therefore burn that garment” (vss. 51-52). The wrong habit must be given up the moment I discover it. If I find myself in a thoroughly wrong position, I must abandon it. The burning of the garment expresses the act of judgment upon evil, whether in a man’s habits or circumstances. There must be no trifling with evil. In certain cases the garment was to be washed, which expresses the action of the Word of God upon a man’s habits. “Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more” (vs. 54). There is to be patient waiting in order to ascertain the effect of the Word. “And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed ... .thou shalt burn it in the fire” (vs. 55). When there is anything radically and irremediably bad in one’s position or habits, the whole thing is to be given up. “And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment” (vs. 56). The Word may produce such an effect, that the wrong features in a man’s character, or the wrong points in his position, are given up, and the evil gotten rid of. But if the evil continues, the whole thing must be condemned and set aside.
Good Habits
There is a richness of practical instruction in all this. We must look well to the position which we occupy, the circumstances in which we stand, the habits we adopt, the character we wear. There is special need of watchfulness. Every suspicious symptom and trait must be carefully guarded, lest it should prove in the sequel to be a spreading leprosy whereby we ourselves and others may be defiled. We may be placed in a position to which there are attached certain wrong things, which can be given up without entirely abandoning the position, and on the other hand we may find ourselves in a situation in which it is impossible to “abide with God.” Where the eye is single the path will be plain. Where the one desire of the heart is to enjoy the divine presence, we shall easily discover those things which tend to deprive us of that unspeakable blessing.
May our hearts be tender and sensitive! May we cultivate a deeper, closer walk with God; and may we carefully guard against every form of defilement, whether in person, in habit, or in association!
C. H. Mackintosh (adapted)
The Lamb's Wife makes Herself Ready
In Revelation 19:7 we read, “His wife has made herself ready.” Although this comment refers to the church, in this connection the term bride would not be an appropriate one. Now there are two sorts of fitness, and the church is the subject of both. First, God in the exercise of His sovereign grace makes us fit for heavenly glory, as we read, “Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet [fit] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12). Second, believers have to make themselves ready before they enter on their eternal glory. Our lives have to be reviewed at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). The light of the throne will examine every moment of our lives, discovering the hidden, and bringing out the true character of act, word and service. The enigmas of life will be explained, unsolved problems cleared up, and all mistakes and misunderstandings rectified. This, and more, is the application of the judgment seat of Christ to the heavenly saints and precedes the marriage. “His wife has made herself ready.” The light of the throne has done its blessed work, bringing out into bold relief the whole story of her history on earth.
What would it be if in glory we remembered one incident of a painful kind which had not been set right? The thought would be intolerable. But all will come out at the judgment seat as a matter between each saint and God. Nor must this be understood as signifying judicial judgment, for all that has been settled on the cross. We appear before the judgment seat of Christ crowned and glorified, “raised in glory” (1 Cor. 15:43), to have the light of the throne cast upon the past. We shall then pass from this review and judgment seat with its searching light into the loved presence of the Lamb as His bride and wife forever.
Bridal Robes
“It was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and pure; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints” (Rev. 19:8 JND). The harlot was gorgeously arrayed, but her pomp, splendor and ornaments were claimed as a matter of right. With the bride it is different; she is arrayed as a matter of grace, for “it was given to her.” Undoubtedly there are rewards for service done, as Matthew 25:14-23 clearly shows. “God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love” (Heb. 6:10). It might be well for us to forget, but He never will.
There is, however, another side to this question which should always be borne in mind, namely, the sovereignty of God. His right it is to give or withhold. Many an eminent servant of God has made shipwreck of true life and service by neglect of the great balancing truth—God is sovereign. The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 shows the grace of God in rewards, while the parable of the householder in Matthew 20 is a demonstration of the sovereignty of God in giving to all alike, irrespective of toil or length of service.
The garments of pure linen in which the angels are arrayed—those who hold the vials of judgment (Rev. 15:6)—express the righteous character of their mission—it is a mission of judgment. The pure and lustrous fine linen of the Lamb’s wife is her righteousness, or “righteous acts,” done on earth. But she claims no merit, for these righteous acts were wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit in her. The gaudy colors in which the harlot is arrayed present a sharp contrast to the pure, white and bright linen of the bride. Her garments speak of her practical character. She can now enter on the enjoyment of eternal companionship and union of the closest nature (that of wife) with her husband, the Lamb. Her deeds on earth have been appraised at their true value in heaven. She is arrayed in them, or, in the expressive words of our text, “has made herself ready.” She passes from the judgment seat of Christ to the marriage, and from thence to her place in the kingdom.
W. Scott (adapted)
Beautiful Garments
“Put on thy beautiful garments” (Isa. 52:1).
He would have us wear beautiful garments,
No matter how dull the day;
No matter how long or lonesome,
Or toilsome may seem the way.
He would have us wear beautiful garments,
Those which we have through grace,
The robe of a tranquil spirit,
The calm of a peaceful face.
The charm of a gentle manner,
The luster of heaven-lit eyes,
That robe of such sacred splendor,
The spirit of sacrifice.
These, these and yet other garments,
All beautiful, bright and fair,
We may, by His grace, adorn us,
And unto His glory wear.
J. D. Smith