November 2002

Christ:
The Landscape of Life

Part Forty

“LO and BEHOLD”

“Guarding our garments” (E)

       What is a garment in Scripture? The OT employs 12 Hebrew words to define this word: 155- “Amplitude, wide dress, robe, vine, goodly, mantle [like the one Elijah passed to Elisha when he was taken up in a fiery chariot; 2 Kgs 2:8-14], glory (145) splendor (142) “Expand, be great, honorable, magnificent, and become glorious [as Moses sang, “O Lord, Your Right Hand is become glorious in power! Your power, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces! In the greatness of Your Excellency, You overthrew those that rose up against You! You sent forth Your wrath and consumed them as stubble! With a blast of Your nostrils: the waters gathered together; the floods stood upright in a heap; and the depths congealed in the heart of the sea! The enemy said, ‘I will pursue; I will overtake; I will divide the spoil; My lust will be satisfied on them! I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them!’ But You blew Your wind and the sea covered them! They sank like lead in the mighty waters! Who, among the gods, is like You, O Lord? Who is like You- glorious in Holiness; fearful in praises, and doing wonders?!”Ex 15:6-11]
       899- “Covering, clothes, apparel, raiment, robe, vesture, wardrobe, lap [“as when Elisha returned to Gilgal during a famine. As the sons of prophets sat before him, he told his servant, ‘Put on the large pot and prepare pottage (stew) for these sons of prophets!’ One of his servants went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine from which he collected a lap full of wild gourds! He went back and sliced them into the pot of pottage! But those men had never seen gourds before and were afraid to eat them! They said, ‘O, man of God, there is death in the pot!’ Elisha told his servant, ‘Add meal (as a symbol of God’s healing power)’; so he put it in the pot. Then Elisha said, ‘Pour some for the people to eat’; and now there was no harm in the pot!”] Also rags [Isa 64:6, “All our righteousnesses are as filthy (5708 menstrual) rags!”]; (and negatively) pillage; deal treacherously [as Mal 2:10-11 says, “Don’t we all have ONE FATHER? Hasn’t ONE GOD CREATED US? Then why do we deal treacherously- each against his brother as we profane the Covenant of our fathers? Judah has dealt treacherously! An abomination has been done in Israel and Jerusalem as Judah has profaned the Holiness of the Lord that he loved, by marrying the daughter of a strange god! The Lord will cut off any man that does this!”] (898) “Wardrobe, vesture; use a garment to cover up, act covertly, offend, depart, deal unfaithfully, deceitfully, or treacherously; also a transgressor [Pr 13:15, “The way of a transgressor is hard!”] Then 3801- “Robe, cover, shirt, coat, (3802) “shoulder, upper end of arm where garments hang; to clothe, side-piece or shoulder-piece;corner, side, arm, lateral projection, undersetters [as used in constructing Solomon’s Forest of Lebanon House in 1 Kgs 7:30].
       3830/ 3831-“Vesture, apparel, raiment, vestment, be clothed [like when evil Haman sought to assassinate Mordecai and Esther, so “Mordecai humbly stood before the king’s gate, for none could enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth!” Es 4:2] From 3847, “Be arrayed [as later when Haman’s plot to murder the queen, and her spiritual advisor, Mordecai, was revealed and “The king sent for Haman and asked, ‘What should be done for the man that the king delights to honor?’ Haman (thinking the king was speaking of him) said, ‘One of the king’s most noble princes should array him in a royal robe worn by the king; and lead him on horseback through the open square! Then the king said to Haman, ‘Go quickly and do everything you have said to Mordecai, the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate! Do not omit anything you have here stipulated!”
4055 “An extent, height or stature [“In the war of Gath there was a man of great stature- with 6 fingers on each hand and 6 toes on each foot, a total of 24- for he descended from giants; who went against Israel so Jonathan, son of Shimei and brother of David, slew him!” 2 Sa 21:20]

Also a vesture (as measured), raiment, clothes, carpet, judgment, (4058) “to stretch, measure (by stretching a line), be extended; stretch self [as when “Elijah stretched himself three times over the boy’s dead body and cried to the Lord, ‘O Lord, my God, I pray You return the soul of this child! The Lord heard Elijah’s voice and restored the soul of the child so that he revived!”]
        4594“Vestment, armor, (5844) “To wrap, veil, roll; array self, put on covering, be clad, clothe, turn aside”; 7897“A dress (as put on), attire, (7896) “To place, array, bring, consider, lay up, let alone, look, make, mark, regard, set, show, take, be slain and to apply [as in Pr 22:17 the Lord says, “Humble yourself to hear My Wise words; apply your heart to My Knowledge!”] Also appoint [as in Gen 4:25 where “Adam knew (had conjugal relations with) his wife again who bore a third son and named him Seth saying, ‘God has appointed me another seed to replace Abel whom Cain slew. Then to Seth was also born a son whom he called Enos. From then men began to call upon the Name of the Lord!”
        8008- “Dress, clothes, raiment”; 8071- “Cover assuming the shape of the object beneath; mantle; clothing, raiment”; 8162- “Cloth of linen and wool that is carded and spun together and has divers colors”; 8509- “To encompass as a wrapper or a robe.”
        In the NT, Greek 2067 is used in Lk 24:4-8 where the women went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away and the body of Jesus was gone! “But suddenly two men appeared wearing dazzling garments! The women were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth. But the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the Living among the dead?’ He is not here; He is risen! For remember He told you in Galilee, ‘The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified; but on the third day, I will rise again!?’ And they remembered His Words!” And this is from 2066 used in Ac 10:30 when “Cornelius said, ‘Four days ago around the ninth hour, I was praying in my house when behold, I saw a man stood there in dazzling clothing! He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard; and your charity to the poor has been remembered in the sight of God!” This root is also used as apparel in Jas 2:3-4, “If you pay special respect to the one wearing splendid clothing saying, ‘Sit here in this seat of honor’; but then you tell the poor man, ‘You just stand there; or come sit on the floor at my feet’; aren’t you guilty of discrimination; and have made yourselves judges with evil thoughts and motives?!”
        Greek 2440 is otherwise used for garment in the NT; as in Jesus’ parable: “No man sews a piece of new cloth on an old garment, for that new patch will tear away from the garment, and make the original tear even worse!” Mt 9:16 Mt 9:20-21 uses this root, “A woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for 12 years, came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of His garment. For she thought, ‘If I can touch His garment, I will be healed!’ Then Jesus turned and seeing her He said, ‘Daughter, be of good comfort; your faith has made you whole!’ From that hour the woman was made whole!” In Jn 13:4-5, “Jesus rose from supper and laid aside His garments; then took a towel and girded Himself with it. He poured water in a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet; then dried them with the towel wrapped around Him.” Finally we see, “They crucified Jesus and parted His garments, then cast lots for them; that the prophet’s words might be fulfilled saying, ‘They parted My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture.”
        Consider the integral role garments have played in Biblical history. There is more to come in upcoming episodes; but for now, let us meditate on what we have seen so far.

[TO BE CONTINUED]