The Closet
In the Bible,
a closet (tameion in Greek) is referred to
as a storehouse, a secret chamber, or a room for
privacy.
Jesus advised us to "enter our closet and shut the
door" and pray privately when he was teaching his
disciples that
secret giving and secret praying are rewarded
openly (Matthew 6:6).
This closet is wide open, however, and it contains
some very special garments.
Robes of silk and
purple
The writer of Proverbs gives us a picture of
the model, virtuous woman. This beautiful passage
in
Proverbs 31:10-31 is more than a poem, it is, in
the original Hebrew, an acrostic where each verse
begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew
alphabet.
10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is
far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in
her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days
of her life.
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh
willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth
her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and
giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her
maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with
the fruit of her hands she planteth a
vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and
strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:
her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her
hands hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea,
she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her
household: for all her household are clothed with
scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her
clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he
sitteth among the elders of the land.
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and
delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she
shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her
tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household,
and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou
excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a
woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be
praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her
own works praise her in the gates.
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garments
Sheep's skin
Heroes in Sheep's skin. The writer of
Hebrews gives us a rollcall of faithful saints
from the Old Testament, men and women who were
waiting for Jesus, their Redeemer. Many of these
heroes suffered for their faith: "They were
stoned, they were sawn asunder,
were tempted, were slain with the sword: they
wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins;
being destitute,
afflicted, tormented;" but yet the world was not
worthy of them (Hebrews 11:1-39).
Enemies in Sheep's skin. Jesus warns us to
beware of those who proclaim a gospel of false
peace, an easy way that
neglects God's true demands: "Watch out for false
prophets. They come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious
wolves (Matthew 7:15)." These
false leaders and their teaching pose a real
danger to believers. They are like hungry wolves
who disguise themselves
as sheep. We can detect these enemies by their
fruit: behavior flows from character, and in
Christian teaching character comes through being
born again rather than merely through
self-discipline. Our own efforts at changing human
nature are doomed to failure: "What a wretched man
I am!
Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
(Romans 7:24). By contrast, a person transformed
by God's spirit will
live, with the help of the Holy Spirt, according
to the traits of God's character.
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garments
Robes of fine, white
linen
The saints are depicted as a bride, dressed in
fine linen for her wedding to her groom, Jesus.
Revelation 19:8 explains that the fine linen
stands for the righteousous of the saints. Their
robes
are made white by washing in "the blood of the
Lamb (Revelation 7:14)."
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garments
Armor
The Christian's armor. The faithful are to
gird themselves for battle against the rulers,
authorities, powers of this dark world and the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms
(Ephesians 6:12-14).
Paul tells us what to wear:
the belt of truth
the breastplate of righteousness
your feet fitted with the readiness that comes
from the gospel of peace
the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil
one
the helmet of salvation
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
David's armor. David was asked to put on
King Saul's suit of armor before he faced Goliath
alone. But the armor was
too heavy for David; instead, he relied on God to
provide him with victory. You can read the story
of David here.
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garments
Sackcloth
Sackcloth was made of black goats' hair,
coarse, rough, and thick.
It was worn as a symbol of mourning. Jacob wore
sackcloth when he was told that his favorite son,
Joseph,
had been devoured by wild animals. Read the story
of Joseph here. When
Jonah
preached to the city of Nineveh, the King repented
and decreed that every subject and animal
should fast and wear sackcloth (Jonah 3:8). Read
the story of Jonah here.
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garments
Mantle
A mantle was a large over-garment and the most
famous one is the one worn by Elijah. It appears
to have been his
only garment, a strip of skin or leather binding
it to his loins. Elijah, the greatest of Israel's
prophets and
miracle-workers, was so full of the power of God
that his mantle seemed to also "have power."
Just before he was raptured (caught up) to heaven,
he led Elisha and 50 other men to the banks of the
Jordan River. He took off his mantle and smote it
against the water. The river parted and Elijah and
Elisha
crossed on dry ground. As he was lifted to heaven
in a whirlwind, his mantle fell off. Elisha took
the mantle, smote
the water and crossed the river on dry ground.
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garments
Coat
The most famous coat in the Bible is the coat
of many colors that Jacob gave to his favorite son
Joseph. Read about it here. Another child which
received a special coat was Samuel.
His mother, Hannah, brought him a coat made as a
miniature of the official priestly robe (1 Sam.
2:19)
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garments
Filthy rags
Our righteousness. We are all such sinful
beings that even our goodness is repugnant to God:
"But we are all as
an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)." Only the blood of
Jesus
can make us clean.
Jeremiah's rescue. Jeremiah was imprisoned
in a dungeon of mire. He was rescued when
Ebedmelech the Ethiopian tied
rotten rags into a rope and lifted him from the
dungeon (Jeremiah 38).
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garments
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