Should Christians
wear jewelry?
QUESTION: In Exodus 33:5,6, God told the
Israelites that they should put off their ornaments, due to the abuse of
it. Does it now mean that Christians should never again wear ornaments?
ANSWER: Exodus
33:4-6 says, “And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned:
and no man did put on him his ornaments. For the LORD had said unto Moses,
Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up
into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy
ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the
children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.”
After Joseph died, the Egyptians made the Israelites to serve them
in hard bondage.
Exodus 1:8-14 says, “Now there arose up a new king over
Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the
people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on,
let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that,
when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight
against us, and so get them up out of the land.
Therefore they did set over them
taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh
treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the
more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of
Israel.
And the Egyptians made the children of
Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard
bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field:
all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.”
Treating Israel in this cruel fashion was not right. They were
treating Israel like their slaves; and, obviously, with minimum provisions for
their labor.
God stepped in, and began to free His people from the land of Egypt.
Just before the last plague hit, God told the Israelites to borrow jewels
from the Egyptians when they left. This was God’s righteous decree for
Egypt’s “payback” and “restitution,” for Israel’s forced labor to
them.
Exodus 3:19-22 says, “And I am sure that the king of Egypt
will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my
hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof:
and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favour in
the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye
shall not go empty: But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of
her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and
raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye
shall spoil the Egyptians.”
This instruction, “ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters,” did
not mean that the women were to cause their children to “wear” all of that
jewelry—but to help them “carry” all of that jewelry away.
The word “upon” means to, “give, heap up, hold, place,
preserve, convey, appoint” (Strong’s Concordance H-7760).
The women made the
mistake of causing their children to “wear” all of that jewelry out of
Egypt.
We know that was the case, from Exodus 32:1-3, “And when the people
saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered
themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which
shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of
the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
And Aaron said unto them, Break off the
golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your
daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden
earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.”
Those women did not have their children help them “carry” the
jewelry out of Egypt, in the sense that God meant; but had them “wear” it out
of the country.
There is only one place in Scripture where we see people
getting their ears pierced—and it stood for “lifelong slavery” for both men and
women.
Deuteronomy 15:12-17 says, “And if thy brother,
an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years;
then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when
thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away
empty: Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy
floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath
blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.
And thou shalt remember that thou wast a
bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I
command thee this thing to day. And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I
will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he
is well with thee; Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his
ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy
maidservant thou shalt do likewise.”
This shows us that neither men, nor women, had the practice of
having their ears pierced in the Old Testament—or this “sign” of piercing the
ear to show that they were lifelong slaves, would have meant nothing.
If it was a common practice of people in that day, then no one
would have thought a thing about a man or a woman walking around with a pierced
ear.
It may be that Israel had violated this principle of God when they
left Egypt, because Aaron told them to “Break off the golden earrings, which
are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring
them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were
in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.”
It is interesting that they had to “break them off” to remove the earrings out of their ears.
The Bible clearly says that the pierced
ear is a sign of lifelong slavery—God says it.
No Christian women or men ever got the idea to
pierce their ears from reading the Bible—they got that idea from the
world. They are “slaves” to this world and its fashions.
So this is what caused the scene of Exodus 33:5-6, “For the LORD had said
unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I
will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore
now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And
the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount
Horeb.”
Another interesting passage is Genesis 35:2-4, “Then Jacob said unto
his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that
are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us
arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who
answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I
went.
And they gave unto Jacob all the strange
gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid
them under the oak which was by Shechem.”
What is there about jewelry, that it becomes such a “god” to
people?
Note this article that a medical doctor wrote, over 100 years
ago, about piercing the ears:
“And thus it happens that mothers, who would otherwise
protect their little ones from every harm and pain, will not shrink from
subjecting them to an unnecessary, inexcusable, and painful procedure, only to
adorn them with the coveted jewel. This explains why such a barbaric
custom as that of piercing the ears could have survived to our present times.” (Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Max Thorner, January
26, 1994).
Even that medical doctor realized the truth that, for many women,
the pierced earring is “the coveted jewel,” an “idol” to them that
they cannot
give up.
What is God’s instructions in the New Testament in regard to
jewelry?
1 Peter 3:1-5 says, “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to
your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the
word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your
chaste conversation coupled with fear.
Whose adorning let it not be that
outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on
of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is
not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the
sight of God of great price.
For after this manner in the old time
the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in
subjection unto their own husbands.”
First, nothing has changed from the Old Testament, to the New
Testament, in God’s instruction about jewelry.
An “Old Testament” example is used to instruct “New Testament”
women.
1 Peter 3:5-6 says, “For after this manner in the old time
the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in
subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham,
calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not
afraid with any amazement.”
Second, this is not teaching that it is wrong to wear “any”
jewelry.
If that was the teaching, then it would also to be teaching us to
not wear any clothes.
1 Peter 3:3 says, “Whose adorning let it not be that
outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on
of apparel.” It is not teaching that it is wrong to wear “any” jewelry;
nor is it teaching that it is wrong to put “anything” in your hair; or it would
also be teaching that it is wrong to wear “any” clothes.
It is teaching “moderation.” It is teaching that none of these things should be a “major
attraction”—not the jewelry; not the hair; and not the clothes.
The word “adorn” means, “to enhance the appearance of,
especially with beautiful objects; to enliven or decorate” (Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary).
It goes on to say, “adorn implies an enhancing by something
beautiful in itself.”
The word “ornament” means, “a useful accessory; something that
lends grace or beauty” (Merriam-Webster’s
11th Collegiate Dictionary).
Now look at the whole passage again.
1 Peter 3:1-6 says, “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to
your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the
word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste
conversation coupled with fear.
Whose adorning let it
not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of
wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the
hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the
ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of
great price.
For after this manner in the old time
the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves,
being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham,
calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not
afraid with any amazement.”
What it is teaching is that a woman should not be trying to
“enhance her beauty” by jewelry (which attracts people to her outward flesh);
but to “enhance her beauty” by holiness (which attracts people to
spiritual things, and to her husband).
What is the teaching? It is not forbidding the wearing
of “any” jewelry; but if jewelry is worn, it should not be the “focal
point” of a woman’s appearance.
In regard to pierced jewelry, there is no Scriptural justification
for wearing it..
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“You
Are My All In All”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyJANxKdVzg BobFittsgensecboy
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HillsongKidsNinety7keys
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Nicole NordemanLSwe1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC617kE1maU
NicoleNordemanWorshipVideo
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GaitherVEVO
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NathalieGrantCharizTirza
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh9rS4l2-TY
alltofiredup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKviF34-Sqs InstrumentalPraise
lyrics
You are
my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord, to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Taking my sin, my cross, my shame
Rising again I bless Your name
You are my all in all
When I fall down You pick me up
When I am dry You fill my cup
You are my all in all
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Oh my
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord, to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Taking my sin, my cross, my shame
Rising again I bless Your name
You are my all in all
When I fall down You pick me up
When I am dry You fill my cup
You are my all in all
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Oh my
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
http://www.libertygospeltracts.com/question/prequest/piercedjewelry.htm
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