This fulfilled the prophesy of Elijah: “Dogs [shall] eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field . . . so that they shall not say, ‘This is Jezebel’” (2 Kings 9:36-37). The Bible compares a woman who is physically beautiful but spiritually lacking to a fine jewel in the snout of a pig (Proverbs 11:22). This is the kind of woman Jezebel was, and I fear her type is fast becoming fashionable today. Our heavy eye makeup and all-but-nude styles of dress give that impression.
Eight Inches of Material Speaking of clothes, that is one of my favorite subjects. I love pretty clothes and am an absolute sucker for a fabric sale. I constantly buy stacks of lovely material I just can’t pass up and then run myself to death trying to find time to sew it all. At this moment there is an eight-inch stack of material on the floor beside my sewing machine. That material will become a Sunday suit and white shirt for Wesley; a pair of jeans, two western shirts, and one knit shirt for Billy; a yellow brocade dress and white blouse for Nancy. That leaves one piece I have no idea what I will do with. One reason I sew is because selecting clothes has become quite a problem for me as a Christian. Finding apparel that fits right, is somewhat in style, and yet is modest can be like trying to find the recipe I put away three years ago because I knew I would need it someday. Skirts range from too short to ridiculous. A swim suit big enough to cover the bare necessities is as rare as a winged horse. To make matters worse, some people scramble Scripture into the situation. Because Deuteronomy 22:5 says, “The woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God.” some claim a woman should not wear pants.
Does the Lord care if His daughters wear pants? Let’s consider this Scripture more closely. In the first place, it should be noted that the command does not mention pants. It reads that she should not wear “that which pertains to a man.” At the time this rule was given there was no such thing as what we now call pants. Both men and women wore skirts. Each had his own style but they were skirts just the same. There are many feminine pantsuits on the market that could not by any stretch of the imagination be considered masculine. Such garments are at times more modest and practical than a dress. The most direct instruction the Bible gives concerning a woman’s dress is found in 1 Timothy 2:9-19: “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not . . . with expensive clothes.” (NIV) A Christian woman should dress modestly. Clothes that are modest and reasonable in one setting are unacceptable in another. A swim suit may be practical when one is in the process of swimming but the same suit on the same woman becomes outrageous when she is stretched out on a towel joking with her neighbor’s husband. A pair of skin-tight blue jeans may be fine for gardening but quite improper and unbecoming to wear in public.
From Bargain Basement to the White House? A Christian woman should dress with decency and propriety. This depends on the situation just as modesty does. We moved last winter and changed our membership to a new church. In our former church it was common to see grown women attend church in floor-length dresses. At the church we now attend, a floorlength dress would be very conspicuous. Propriety is involved in the warning about “expensive clothes” too.
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