THAT’S STRANGE!

THAT’S STRANGE!

Zeph 1:8

8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

          You won’t find the word “weird” anywhere in Scripture but the word “strange” is found 76 times in 73 verses. It’s basic meaning is “foreign” and not bizarre. That’s too bad because I was hoping to find some biblical commentary on our culture which, at times, can be both strange and bizarre. But my search did reveal some interesting things!

          Dr. Barnes, in his notes, said that the Jews were identified with a broad blue band upon their clothing. This broad blue band was a constant reminder that they, as a nation of people, belonged to God.

Num 15:38

38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:

                As the children of Israel began to copy the clothing of their neighbors they also began to abandon their association and connection with God. It may be a stretch to say that there are “holy” clothes but there is at least a hint. “A later example of the adoption of foreign styles is found in the Hellenistic period, when Jason, the high priest, forced the nobility of Jerusalem to wear a broad-brimmed hat associated with the Greek god Hermes (2 Macc 3:12).” (from IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, Copyright © 2000 by John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews and Mark W. Chavalas. Published by InterVarsity Press. All rights reserved.)

This broad brimmed hat is known to the Greeks as a petasos. The earliest petasoi are believed to have been made in either Thessaly or Crete. Crete is a plausible place of origin because the art of making felt from wool developed on the island. The petasos was also given different names in many Greek regions, a factor that may have contributed to confusion about the hat’s origins. Different styles of the hat featured brims that curved either up or down. Chin straps eventually were added, allowing the hat to hang freely from the wearer’s neck when not needed. Perhaps the hat identified the wearer as a menial worker or a slave.

I’ve heard – and participated in – arguments all my life that there are certain fashions that are simply not “Christian.” Fashions that are outlandish or immodest were to be avoided. It seems that we all have an internal sense of propriety about such things and, in fact, when we were teens we intentionally wore outlandish fashions to mark our rebellion from authority. Could it be that God has given us that internal sense of propriety deep inside? I only know that scattered throughout the Bible are interesting references to proper and improper clothing.

Gen 35:2-3

2 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:

3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; (Bethel means “house of God”) 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.

Dear Lord, when others look at me, let them see Jesus. AMEN