I grew up wearing homemade clothing. My mother was a master seamstress and I was always proud of the things she made me. We certainly could not have afforded for any of us to be so well-dressed if not for her great talent. She even made dress pants and a sports coat or two for my father. Nothing was obviously homemade; she was that good.
If you do any research into the history of clothing manufacture, you will find that until the last half of the nineteenth century almost everyone wore homemade clothing. If they were rich, they had their clothes made by professional seamstresses or tailors, but the rest of the world simply made things themselves. Then on November 7, 1850, Isaac Singer ran the first advertisement for his sewing machine, which would be patented the next year. Suddenly the ready-made clothing industry took off. The machines were too expensive for the average family then, but soon enough, due to sewing machines, undershirts and pantaloons were not too expensive to purchase ready-made.
The Bible talks a lot about clothing. In Genesis we read about the first clothing ever—fig leaves, which God soon replaced with animal skins. Even in that, God foreshadowed our need for atonement (covering), for it took the blood of animals to make a suitable covering for Adam and Eve's bodies.
God continues the implied metaphor in several passages.
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isa 61:10).
And now arise, O LORD God, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints rejoice in your goodness (2Chr 6:41).
Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean (Isa 52:1).
Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy (Ps 132:16).
And from there we move on to the New Covenant of His Son.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires (Rom 13:14).
For as many of you as have been baptized have put on Christ (Gal 3:27), or as the Christian Standard puts it, For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment.
And don't for a minute think you are wearing tacky homemade clothing. You are wearing clothes designed by God, covered completely with His Son through a ritual that represents His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6). Wear it like you would the most expensive dress you ever bought, caring for it lovingly, trying your best not to soil it. You know that old saying, "Clothes make the man?" Act like the person who should be wearing those holy garments. You might find it easier to be good when you realize the price paid for the "clothes" you have on.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the LORD to glorify Him (Isa 61:1-3).
Dene Ward
If you do any research into the history of clothing manufacture, you will find that until the last half of the nineteenth century almost everyone wore homemade clothing. If they were rich, they had their clothes made by professional seamstresses or tailors, but the rest of the world simply made things themselves. Then on November 7, 1850, Isaac Singer ran the first advertisement for his sewing machine, which would be patented the next year. Suddenly the ready-made clothing industry took off. The machines were too expensive for the average family then, but soon enough, due to sewing machines, undershirts and pantaloons were not too expensive to purchase ready-made.
The Bible talks a lot about clothing. In Genesis we read about the first clothing ever—fig leaves, which God soon replaced with animal skins. Even in that, God foreshadowed our need for atonement (covering), for it took the blood of animals to make a suitable covering for Adam and Eve's bodies.
God continues the implied metaphor in several passages.
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isa 61:10).
And now arise, O LORD God, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints rejoice in your goodness (2Chr 6:41).
Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean (Isa 52:1).
Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy (Ps 132:16).
And from there we move on to the New Covenant of His Son.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires (Rom 13:14).
For as many of you as have been baptized have put on Christ (Gal 3:27), or as the Christian Standard puts it, For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment.
And don't for a minute think you are wearing tacky homemade clothing. You are wearing clothes designed by God, covered completely with His Son through a ritual that represents His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6). Wear it like you would the most expensive dress you ever bought, caring for it lovingly, trying your best not to soil it. You know that old saying, "Clothes make the man?" Act like the person who should be wearing those holy garments. You might find it easier to be good when you realize the price paid for the "clothes" you have on.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the LORD to glorify Him (Isa 61:1-3).
Dene Ward
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