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Is God against women wearing jewelry?
- Thread starter Holy999
- Start date
Holy999, below are several verses from the Bible that speak on the topic you raise. May I suggest that you open a Bible and read these verses including the verses around them so you get the context of what's being said. There is no better place to go than the Bible when looking for answers to a question.
1 Tim 2:9-10 I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
1 Pet 3:3-4 Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
Isaiah 3:16-24 Moreover, the Lord said, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud
And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes,
And go along with mincing steps
And tinkle the bangles on their feet,
Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs,
And the Lord will make their foreheads bare.”
In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, finger rings, nose rings, festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans and veils.
Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp;
Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth;
And branding instead of beauty.
Leviticus 19:28 You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.
Genesis 24:22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels in gold,
Genesis 24:47 Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists.
Song of Solomon 1:10 “Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, Your neck with strings of beads.”
1 Tim 2:9-10 I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
1 Pet 3:3-4 Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
Isaiah 3:16-24 Moreover, the Lord said, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud
And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes,
And go along with mincing steps
And tinkle the bangles on their feet,
Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs,
And the Lord will make their foreheads bare.”
In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, finger rings, nose rings, festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans and veils.
Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp;
Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth;
And branding instead of beauty.
Leviticus 19:28 You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.
Genesis 24:22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels in gold,
Genesis 24:47 Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists.
Song of Solomon 1:10 “Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, Your neck with strings of beads.”
dwb
Well-known
I believe this is the most appropriate verse to use as an example, with modest and decent being the key words. I'm not sure how the elaborate piercings of today would be received, those seem to be outlandish, but if not specifically noted only God can judge.
As we read all the scriptures available on this topic, we find that the underlying principle is that our inner beauty is far more important than outer beauty and should be our primary focus. Notice I said "our", not "women's". This was intentional. The principle applies to ALL of us.
This is clear if we view the entire context. Don't think that Paul is a misogynist, unloading on women. In fact, as we shall see, females are the last people he addresses. And when he does, he doesn't begin some new instruction to them but blends them right in to the principle he has given to the men.
Paul begins this second chapter of 1 Timothy speaking to everyone. He uses the word "men" in the Greek but without the definite article ("the"); therefore he is referring to people in general.
Starting in verse one, Paul lays out the underlying principle of what he is introducing, namely that God's desire is for all people to come to belief in Christ. And thus the purpose of this passage is that believers should be living and acting towards this purpose. Our actions should lead us to live quiet, peaceable lives. We first work toward this by praying for ALL in authority over us. (Remember "all" means ALL! Romans 13:1 is emphatic.) In this way we will have an atmosphere in which to safely and effectively proclaim the gospel.
Verses 5 through 7 are an aside as Paul explains his authority on this matter is from God. Then in verse 8 he turns his attention specifically to men. This is clear as in the original Greek he now places the definite article "the" before the word "men".
So we men are to pray from a place of holiness. Our inner hearts and our outward actions should be submitted to God (and God alone) and our dealings with others should, therefore be absolutely true and honest in all regards and at all levels. This is what gives power to our testimony of the very real saving and purifying gospel of Jesus Christ.
And then, notice, Paul adds four seemingly (in this context) unnecessary words-- "without wrath and doubting." See, the Holy Spirit knows us men inside and out. We, who by the gender God gave us, are called to be examples and to lead -- in society, the church, and our homes-- can often find ourselves dealing with both wrath and doubt. Wrath can easily arise in a man when he feels challenged; the testosterone tends to rise when the flesh governs our character. The deep desire of men is to be honored and respected. Discussions between individual men over how and where to go, what's the right way, what's the wrong way, who does what, and even what to do, can challenge that inner desire and, this, can easily turn into argument.
As to doubt, who of us is free from the niggling attacks of the enemy? That old serpent just loves to cast doubts into our minds. "Who are you? What makes you think you are right? Has God really spoken to you? Has He really called you? Can you really trust that friend, associate, wife? Maybe that's not God. What you're thinking doesn't make sense. You're going to ruin your family, your ministry, your church. You're a wreck."
Paul uses a very interesting Greek word in this verse: the word translated "without". The Greeks used the word to express complete separation. In other words, it didn't just mean the passive absence of something, it meant an active separation and abandonment of it. So when Paul says "without wrath and doubting," he is saying we should determinedly separate ourself from those things. Go into your attitude of prayer with holy hands having literally abandoned wrath and doubts.
The word translated wrath is a word that doesn't speak of a sudden outburst, but of a deep-seated anger or resentment that has been building inside for a long time, nursed until it swells up on the outside. The word translated doubt refers to inner dialogue in which you dispute something within yourself, being double-minded ... the kind of person James refers to in James 1:7-8 as a man who should not expect to receive anything from God.
The bottom line is that men should adorn themselves inwardly with a deep, humble, godly spirit. This takes a lot more effort than an outward appearance.
Finally, after all of this, Paul begins to speak to the women--
Note that Paul is not saying women are in a different category, that their treatment should be different. He says "in like matter also." In other words, the same principle that applies to men applies to women. Then, as he did with men, he gets specific about things that women are prone to--
To break that down, to women (whose natural feminine desire is to be desired, to be wanted) he says adorn yourself modestly --the Greek word meaning respectably-- and so be adorned with reverence and with self-control. (In the original Greek, that last word "self-control" is the exact same word that Paul uses in 2 Timothy 1:7 when he tells Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. The word actually means self-discipline.) And then, back in our chapter, Paul says the real praiseworthy outward adornment of women is the good works they do out of that yielded, godly inner spirit.
So, in this ninth verse of our passage, the Holy Spirit is speaking through Paul to instruct women that the proper, god-pleasing adorning themselves is not an outward, flashy working to get attention, but a deep inner adornment that springs from a humble, godly reverence and expresses itself in good works. After all, as he concludes that tenth verse, he says it is fitting that if you profess godliness then good work should flow from it. (This actually is a wonderful scriptural truth that knows no gender: a godly spirit will always produce good works.)
God, through Paul, is not condemning wearing jewelry or plaiting hair, or wearing nice clothing. He is simply saying that that should not be your focus. A reverent, Christlike character should be the woman's focus, just as it should be the man's focus. The result will be that the individual testimonies of everyone will have real credibility, testifying to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result, God's desire for all to be saved will be brought closer to realization.
Too often, men and women try to take shortcuts around the hard daily work of inner surrender to Christ and try to develop polished "Christian" exteriors and present clever and careful outward testimonies that sound good but, in fact, lack real power to affect the listener. This is why so much personal evangelism is weak these days. If you want to win souls, then focus on the instructions in this passage.
Anyway, the rest of this chapter (verses 11 through 15) deals with specific order in the church and, briefly, in marriage. It has very little directly to do with the preceding verses, so I'll wrap this up here. I believe there is enough above for the Holy Spirit to use to shine light on this chapter.
I pray it helps someone.
This is clear if we view the entire context. Don't think that Paul is a misogynist, unloading on women. In fact, as we shall see, females are the last people he addresses. And when he does, he doesn't begin some new instruction to them but blends them right in to the principle he has given to the men.
Paul begins this second chapter of 1 Timothy speaking to everyone. He uses the word "men" in the Greek but without the definite article ("the"); therefore he is referring to people in general.
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
Starting in verse one, Paul lays out the underlying principle of what he is introducing, namely that God's desire is for all people to come to belief in Christ. And thus the purpose of this passage is that believers should be living and acting towards this purpose. Our actions should lead us to live quiet, peaceable lives. We first work toward this by praying for ALL in authority over us. (Remember "all" means ALL! Romans 13:1 is emphatic.) In this way we will have an atmosphere in which to safely and effectively proclaim the gospel.
Verses 5 through 7 are an aside as Paul explains his authority on this matter is from God. Then in verse 8 he turns his attention specifically to men. This is clear as in the original Greek he now places the definite article "the" before the word "men".
8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; (2 Timothy 2:8a)
Men, according to the Holy Spirit speaking through Paul, should be in an attitude of prayer wherever they may find themselves. This is even clearer in the Greek. And they should do so lifting up "holy hands". Holy hands? What are "holy hands"? The Holy Spirit again gives us the answer, this time through the pen of King David--
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. (Psalm 24:3-4)
So we men are to pray from a place of holiness. Our inner hearts and our outward actions should be submitted to God (and God alone) and our dealings with others should, therefore be absolutely true and honest in all regards and at all levels. This is what gives power to our testimony of the very real saving and purifying gospel of Jesus Christ.
And then, notice, Paul adds four seemingly (in this context) unnecessary words-- "without wrath and doubting." See, the Holy Spirit knows us men inside and out. We, who by the gender God gave us, are called to be examples and to lead -- in society, the church, and our homes-- can often find ourselves dealing with both wrath and doubt. Wrath can easily arise in a man when he feels challenged; the testosterone tends to rise when the flesh governs our character. The deep desire of men is to be honored and respected. Discussions between individual men over how and where to go, what's the right way, what's the wrong way, who does what, and even what to do, can challenge that inner desire and, this, can easily turn into argument.
As to doubt, who of us is free from the niggling attacks of the enemy? That old serpent just loves to cast doubts into our minds. "Who are you? What makes you think you are right? Has God really spoken to you? Has He really called you? Can you really trust that friend, associate, wife? Maybe that's not God. What you're thinking doesn't make sense. You're going to ruin your family, your ministry, your church. You're a wreck."
Paul uses a very interesting Greek word in this verse: the word translated "without". The Greeks used the word to express complete separation. In other words, it didn't just mean the passive absence of something, it meant an active separation and abandonment of it. So when Paul says "without wrath and doubting," he is saying we should determinedly separate ourself from those things. Go into your attitude of prayer with holy hands having literally abandoned wrath and doubts.
The word translated wrath is a word that doesn't speak of a sudden outburst, but of a deep-seated anger or resentment that has been building inside for a long time, nursed until it swells up on the outside. The word translated doubt refers to inner dialogue in which you dispute something within yourself, being double-minded ... the kind of person James refers to in James 1:7-8 as a man who should not expect to receive anything from God.
The bottom line is that men should adorn themselves inwardly with a deep, humble, godly spirit. This takes a lot more effort than an outward appearance.
Finally, after all of this, Paul begins to speak to the women--
9 in like manner also ...
Note that Paul is not saying women are in a different category, that their treatment should be different. He says "in like matter also." In other words, the same principle that applies to men applies to women. Then, as he did with men, he gets specific about things that women are prone to--
9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. (1 Timothy 2:9-10)
To break that down, to women (whose natural feminine desire is to be desired, to be wanted) he says adorn yourself modestly --the Greek word meaning respectably-- and so be adorned with reverence and with self-control. (In the original Greek, that last word "self-control" is the exact same word that Paul uses in 2 Timothy 1:7 when he tells Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. The word actually means self-discipline.) And then, back in our chapter, Paul says the real praiseworthy outward adornment of women is the good works they do out of that yielded, godly inner spirit.
So, in this ninth verse of our passage, the Holy Spirit is speaking through Paul to instruct women that the proper, god-pleasing adorning themselves is not an outward, flashy working to get attention, but a deep inner adornment that springs from a humble, godly reverence and expresses itself in good works. After all, as he concludes that tenth verse, he says it is fitting that if you profess godliness then good work should flow from it. (This actually is a wonderful scriptural truth that knows no gender: a godly spirit will always produce good works.)
God, through Paul, is not condemning wearing jewelry or plaiting hair, or wearing nice clothing. He is simply saying that that should not be your focus. A reverent, Christlike character should be the woman's focus, just as it should be the man's focus. The result will be that the individual testimonies of everyone will have real credibility, testifying to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result, God's desire for all to be saved will be brought closer to realization.
Too often, men and women try to take shortcuts around the hard daily work of inner surrender to Christ and try to develop polished "Christian" exteriors and present clever and careful outward testimonies that sound good but, in fact, lack real power to affect the listener. This is why so much personal evangelism is weak these days. If you want to win souls, then focus on the instructions in this passage.
Anyway, the rest of this chapter (verses 11 through 15) deals with specific order in the church and, briefly, in marriage. It has very little directly to do with the preceding verses, so I'll wrap this up here. I believe there is enough above for the Holy Spirit to use to shine light on this chapter.
I pray it helps someone.
Siddhi Koli
Registered
Yes, I think God opposes. I removed my gold earrings and put on a gold cross necklace.
Proverbs 31:30
King James Version
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
Proverbs 31:30
King James Version
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
