Clothing and garments are mentioned frequently throughout the Bible. What we wear and how we adorn ourselves often carries deeper significance beyond just covering our bodies. In scripture, clothes can represent spiritual truths, reflect inner attitudes, symbolize roles and social status, or foreshadow prophetic events. By exploring some of the passages related to apparel, we can gain insight into the symbolic meanings behind the fabrics.
Introduction
Clothing serves practical functions, but in the Bible it goes beyond the physical to communicate spiritual truths. From the animal skins worn by Adam and Eve after the Fall, to the holy garments prescribed for the priests, to Jesus’s seamless tunic, fabrics point us to the nature of sin, righteousness, redemption, and more.
Here are some key takeaways we’ll explore in this post:
- Clothing represents righteousness versus sin, obedience versus rebellion
- Specific garments symbolized priests and Levites’ holy calling and service
- Sackcloth and ashes demonstrated mourning, repentance, humility
- Fine white linen suggests righteousness, purity, glory, victory
- Clothes could reflect inner attitudes of pride or humility
- God “clothing” people represents His protection, care and favor
- Garments foreshadow Christ’s sacrifice on the cross
As we examine passages about apparel throughout the Old and New Testaments, we’ll see common themes emerge around holiness, repentance, righteousness, redemption and our spiritual condition. Clothing imagery contains rich symbolism that teaches us about our relationship with God.
Garments After the Fall
Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, they realized their nakedness and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves (Genesis 3:7). However, God rejected their man-made attempts to cover up, and instead He clothed them with garments of animal skin (Genesis 3:21).
This first clothing represents a separation from the pre-Fall state of innocence. Now aware of good and evil, nakedness became associated with shame and exposure of sin. Prior to sin, Adam and Eve could be naked without shame. But after disobedience entered the world, they required covering.
So God graciously provides them with adequate clothing, foreshadowing the later redemptive work of Christ’s sacrifice to “clothe” us in righteousness, replacing our feeble attempts at self-righteousness. The animal skins imply the necessity of blood sacrifice to deal with the consequences of sin.
Just as God rejected Adam’s fig leaves and clothed him properly, Isaiah 64:6 declares that all our own righteous acts are like “filthy rags” before a holy God. We can’t cover over our own sin through good behavior and moral living. We require the righteousness that Christ alone provides by taking our sin upon Himself on the cross. Only through Him can our shame be fully covered.
The Priestly Garments
In Exodus 28, God instructs Moses to make special garments to set apart Aaron and his sons for the holy priesthood. These sacred vestments visually distinguished the priests and conveyed spiritual meaning about their calling.
The priestly garments included:
- Blue, purple and scarlet yarn fabrics with fine linen
- An ephod (apron-like garment) with gold, blue, purple and scarlet yarn, held together by a woven band
- A breastpiece containing 12 gemstones representing the 12 tribes of Israel
- A robe worn underneath the ephod made of blue cloth
- A turban/hat
- A gold plate on the turban inscribed “Holiness to the Lord”
These ornate vestments represented the priests’ authority, carried symbolic meaning, and marked their special position ministering before God on behalf of the people. Clothing visibly set them apart, reflecting holiness, royalty, purpose and calling.
The specific materials and colors also conveyed meaning:
- Blue – Heaven, divinity
- Purple – Royalty
- Scarlet – Sacrifice, blood
- White linen – Purity
- Gold – Divine nature
Later in the New Testament, these fabrics point us to Christ as the fulfillment of the priestly office – the mediator between God and man, combining divinity, royalty, sacrifice and purity into one.
Clothing identified the priests and Levites for service in God’s house, reflecting their holy calling and special access to His presence.
Sackcloth and Ashes
In numerous Old Testament passages, sackcloth and ashes demonstrate mourning, grief, repentance and humility. Sitting in ashes and dressing in rough, uncomfortable sackcloth usually accompanied prayer, fasting and weeping over sin.
We see this clothing ritual during times of national disaster and judgment, personal repentance, and lamenting death:
- Jacob tore his clothes and put on sackcloth when he feared Joseph had died (Genesis 37:34)
- David and his men wept and fasted in sackcloth when the child Bathsheba bore became ill (2 Samuel 12:16)
- Esther called the Jews to fast in sackcloth and ashes when their people were threatened with genocide (Esther 4:1-3)
- Job repented in dust and ashes after God rebuked him (Job 42:6)
- The king of Nineveh wore sackcloth and sat in ashes after Jonah’s prophecy of judgment (Jonah 3:6)
- Daniel dressed in sackcloth and ashes as he pleaded with God to show mercy to Jerusalem (Daniel 9:3)
Wearing scratchy, uncomfortable sackcloth demonstrates a mournful, humble heart grieving over sin – personal or corporate. Ashes remind us of mortality and prompt repentance.
While sackcloth shows grief and repentance externally, God cares most about the inward condition of our hearts. In Isaiah 58, God rebukes Israel for false fasting and pretense. They dressed the part in sackcloth, but continued exploiting workers and quarreling – missing the point entirely.
Outward appearance should reflect an inward spiritual reality. Clothing means little without a repentant heart.
White Linen Garments
At key events in scripture, white garments symbolize righteousness, purity, glory, victory, celebration and holiness. The color white represents cleansing from sin or overcoming tribulation.
In Revelation, white clothes depict the saints victorious over the beast, redeemed by Christ’s blood:
“They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14)
At the transfiguration, Jesus’s clothes shine radiantly white as He speaks with Moses and Elijah in glory (Mark 9:3).
Angels at Jesus’s resurrection and ascension wear gleaming white clothes (Luke 24:4, Acts 1:10), indicating His sinless perfection and triumph over death.
The armies of heaven wear pure white linen at the second coming of Christ (Revelation 19:14).
And believers who overcome will walk with Jesus dressed in white symbolic of purity and joy (Revelation 3:4-5).
Fine linen represents righteousness in the parable of the wedding banquet. The king provides wedding garments, but casts out a man improperly dressed, illustrating salvation’s necessity (Matthew 22:11-13).
White garments throughout scripture connect physical clothing to the spiritual reality of righteousness, celebration and God’s presence.
Clothing and Pride vs. Humility
At times, scripture comments on clothing to contrast pride and humility. Outward appearance can reflect the inner condition of our hearts.
God rebuked the haughty daughters of Zion for wearing fashionable clothes and fancy jewelry to flaunt wealth and attract attention (Isaiah 3:16-24). Their focus on external beauty revealed hearts drifting from the fear of the Lord.
Proverbs 31 describes the excellent wife clothed in strength and dignity, not defined by externals. A gentle and quiet spirit has great worth in God’s sight, not showy apparel (1 Peter 3:3-4).
Jesus criticized the religious leaders for flaunting their fancy prayer tassels and phylacteries to appear pious (Matthew 23:5). But outward religious garb means nothing without genuine love for God.
Sometimes people dress nicely outward of cultural expectations, not wrong motives. But clothing can expose inward pride, so our hearts require guarding.
As 1 Samuel 16:7 states, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Our clothes should reflect humility, modesty and true spiritual condition, not gratify pride.
God’s “Clothing” Imagery
Frequently in the Psalms and elsewhere, being “clothed” represents God’s protection, favor, and care for His people.
The Psalms describe how God:
- Covers us with His feathers and is our refuge (Psalm 91:4)
- Wraps us in a robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10)
- Hides us in the shadow of His wings (Psalm 17:8)
- Is our strength and clothing, our armor (Psalm 18:32-36)
This clothing metaphor conveys God shielding, defending, and caring for us. It pictures confidence, safety and security in God’s presence. As a father clothes his children, God’s protective love surrounds us.
We see this elsewhere too:
- Job describes God clothing him in splendor and dignity (Job 40:10)
- God clothes the grass of the field in splendor (Luke 12:27-28), so will clothe us even more.
- Solomon describes the Lord clothing us when we commit our works to Him (Proverbs 16:3)
God’s act of clothing represents His provision, care, dignity and blessings over our lives. We can find refuge, protection and worth in Him.
The Seamless Tunic of Christ
At Christ’s crucifixion, the soldiers divide Jesus’s clothes and cast lots for His seamless tunic (John 19:23-24). This fulfills David’s prophecy in Psalm 22 about the treatment of the Messiah. But why does scripture draw attention to this specific detail?
Some commentators suggest the seamless robe represents:
- Christ’s heavenly origin and divine nature, perfectly unified, while the divided garments reflect His earthly ministry
- The unity of the church under Christ
Others propose the seamlessness illustrates:
- Jesus lived a flawless life, holy and unbroken before God
- He fulfilled scripture and His messianic office as one complete work of redemption
This attention to clothing highlights the perfect righteousness and flawless obedience of Christ to fulfill the Father’s will. At the cross, He accomplished salvation as one unified act of redemption, through God incarnate in human flesh.
Even in appearance, Jesus fulfills the prophecies exactly – down to the details of His clothing at crucifixion. God weaves all circumstances together to redeem us through Christ’s seamless righteousness.
Conclusion
What we wear speaks volumes beyond simply covering our bodies. Clothing imagery in scripture overflows with spiritual significance, reminding us of God’s holiness, glory, care and presence.
From the animal skins after the Fall to the fine linen in Revelation, our apparel represents our inner condition and relationship with God. Clothes mirror our obedience or rebellion, righteousness or sin, humility or pride.
As we clothe ourselves each day, may we remember the deeper spiritual meanings behind the fabrics. Our hearts desperately require the covering only Christ provides. By clothing ourselves in Him, we can walk confidently in purity, purpose and steadfast love of the Father.
