PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 163: LET’S GET BACK THE GLORY, Part 5
FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell
EPISODE 163 – LET’S GET BACK THE GLORY, Part 5
God wants us to dress femininely and like royalty. Did you know it is possible to femininely and yet not modestly? It is also possible to dress modestly and yet not femininely. How do we do it?
Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, From Our Home to Yours, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.
Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. Before I get onto our subject today, I want to remind you that we have three Above Rubies Family Camps coming up. I'll let you know where they are. If you are anywhere near, do try and see if you can organize everything to come.
These family camps are such a wonderful blessing. It's just so great, families getting together, having great fellowship. Not only the parents, but the children and the teens, and even the older children. Oh, they make such great friends. It's just so good.
I think it's so good, even for the children, and the young people. At our family retreat down in Panama. I think we have more young people than even parents and children. It's just so beautiful to see the young people fellowshipping together.
I have a little secret. Well, Colin and I, we actually met at a family camp so many years ago, away down in New Zealand. I believe that Christian family camps are a wonderful way where young people can meet other young people, and maybe their future husband, maybe their future wife. What greater place to meet someone who has the same convictions that you do?
So anyway, what's coming up?
We have one in Missouri, August 13-15. You can check it out on my webpage, AboveRubies.org. Go there, and you can check out all the information, and who you have to contact.
Then we have August 20-22 in California, up in the hills of San Diego. We've been having retreats there for many, many years.
Then we have another one coming up at the beginning of September, September 3-6 in Central Mississippi. That's Labor Day Weekend. So we're going to have the whole weekend. That will be so great. So if you're thinking of “What will we do for Labor Day weekend,” well, think about this Above Rubies Retreat in central Mississippi.
If you are living in any state around Mississippi, get in the car, come for a drive, and come and join us. It's going to be at the Timber Creek Camp, which is a beautiful lake. They've got everything there for children and young people, volleyball, and gaga ball, and canoeing, trails through the woods. Apparently, they have a wonderful Christian staff and cook scrumptious meals.
So look into those retreats. I just hope that I might get to see some of you at them. That would be so wonderful!
Now ladies, I am still continuing our series, “Let's Get Back the Glory.” We are currently talking about the subject of clothing. That's not the only subject in “Getting Back the Glory,” but we've talked about lots of other things.
Now, I'm talking about this, and I haven't finished yet. So I've got a few more things to share with you. Even then, I know I'm not going to exhaust everything that I could share. As I told you in one of my last podcasts. I found 23 different Hebrew words that are used for clothing in the Old Testament. Then I found 13 different Greek words that are used for clothing in the New Testament.
So God speaks a lot about clothing in His Word. God is so practical. I'm always amazed that anything we want to know about, we'll find it in the Word of God. Even what we have to do every day. We've got to clothe ourselves. Well, God speaks loads about it in His Word.
I'm not going to go through all these Hebrew and Greek words with you, but I'll just share a few more things.
Now last, time, when Allison Hartman was with me, and we talked together about this, and I read you that beautiful, beautiful passage from Ezekiel 16. Oh, such a beautiful passage! If you didn't hear last week's podcast, do go back, and listen to it again.
One of the phrases in that passage says that God, He says, “I will cover your nakedness.” It's a spiritual allegory, but God is using physical clothing in that passage to describe so much that He does spiritually. God often does that. It's first that which is natural, then that which is spiritual. They are tied up together. God uses the natural to help us to understand the spiritual.
And then what we have in the spiritual, we should have in the natural. So it all ties up together. And that word in the Hebrew where it says: “I will cover your nakedness,” I told you last time about how it means, “to cover your secret parts.” One translation says: “I covered your private parts.”
And we talked about how important it is that we do cover, we cover our private parts. We don't expose ourselves. We cover. That’s what clothing is all about. It's to cover. We cover amply. We don't clothe ourselves skimpily. No, most of the words in the New Testament, and in the Old, they all have slightly different meanings, but just about everyone means, “to fully clothe, to cover up.” It's used of the garments, and the raiment, and the clothes, all these clothes that really clothe you.
I didn't have time last time to give you a few of the different Scriptures where that same word is used, so you get to understand it. Often, when we just read one Scripture, we don't get the full meaning until we look at other Scriptures, where maybe it's translated with a different word, or it's even talking about a different subject. But it gives us a further meaning.
So that word which means, “to cover our secret parts, to hide them,” it's used in Genesis 7:19: “And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole of heaven, were covered.” This is talking about the flood, of course. But it says that all the high hills, even the mountains under the whole of heaven were covered. That flood covered everything.
That's the same word that God uses when He covers our nakedness. He doesn't half cover us. He fully covers us.
Genesis 24:65: “When Rebekah saw Isaac, her future husband coming, she took her veil and covered herself.” Rebekah had been waiting for this man to come. She didn't even know who he would be. But when she saw him coming, she covered herself and went to him.
This is how a bride is meant to come to her husband, not exposed on her wedding day, with bare shoulders, and so much uncovered. It's amazing, brides are so uncovered today. But a bride is meant to go to her husband covered.
We go to Genesis 9:23: “When Noah's sons, Shem and Japheth found their father naked, they took a garment and laid it upon their shoulders and went backwards and covered the nakedness of their father.”
In Exodus 28:42: “And thou shalt make them linen breeches” (this was talking about the priests, the Levites) to cover their nakedness; from the loins, even unto the thighs.” That was an area of the body that God always wanted covered.
In Psalm 32:1: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” When God covers something, He doesn't partly cover. Oh, no, He completely covers it. So that gives us a little more understanding of that word.
NO. 5. GOD WANTS US TO DRESS FEMININELY
Now we're up to point number five. I have so many points. I think I have 12 points. Anyway, let's see how we go. But this is point number five. God wants us to dress femininely.
Deuteronomy 22:5: “The woman shall not wear that which pertains unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.”
God does not want male and female to be blurred. Nor does He want them to be mixed up. God is against transgender, even in clothing. God wants the woman to look like a woman in her clothing. He wants the man to look like a man in his clothing.
Now, does that mean that you are never allowed to wear pants again? Well, no, because when those words were written, both male and female wore long robes. That was mainly the kind of clothing they wore back in those days. They wore, usually, an undergarment, which was a tunic, maybe coming to, at least the knees, or so on. Sometimes it was a long tunic.
People would wear that around the home. But when they went out, they would always put on an outer garment. They didn't go out with just one garment. They went with an undergarment, which was a tunic. Then they would have an outer garment. Sometimes, if it was cold, they would even have a cloak over that.
But both men and women did wear those kinds of clothes. But there was a difference. There was a difference. The women wore more feminine clothing. The men, theirs were more rough and coarse and darker clothing. The women wore that which was more suitable to a woman, which was feminine.
This is the thing that we have to get at. We are women. We are female. We have been created feminine. Now, what does the word “feminine” mean? Well, I looked it up in the dictionary. But I didn't get time to look it up in the Webster's Dictionary, the 1828. I must do that. Perhaps I'll tell you next session what that dictionary says, because it usually has the fuller meaning of any dictionaries we have today.
Anyway, here are some modern dictionaries that I looked up. It means “having the quality or an appearance traditionally associated with women. For example, a feminine, frilled blouse.” Well, even a modern dictionary used that example.
Another one: “Characteristic of, or appropriate, or unique to women. For example, feminine beauty.”
Another one: “Belonging to the female sex, female.” Therefore, “female” means “opposite to male.” I think that's pretty straightforward, don't you? Female, opposite to male.
Therefore, when we dress, God wants us, as females, as His feminine creation, to dress opposite to males. OK? So I guess that means that in whatever society, whatever time in history we are living, we should dress differently than males so that we can see easily, “There is a woman!” We know by looking at her, she is a woman, but even by the way she is clothed, she is a woman.
Now, in our current society, men wear pants and shirts that they didn't back in Bible days, but they do today. So, what should we do? Well, the amazing thing is, that now the trend is that everybody wears pants and shirts. We do wear them differently, but it's so much like the male.
Why is it, why is it, I'm just asking myself, I'm asking you, why is it that the more humanistic, the more we have turned away from God's ways, the more now in society, and not only secular society, but the Christian society. . . In fact, you don't really see much difference between secular and Christian in clothing. Pretty well everybody dresses the same.
And mainly today, it's jeans and top, or some kind of pants and top. Some people will make it look very, very feminine, and that's beautiful. OK, you can wear pants and a beautiful feminine blouse and look very feminine. But more and more and more, we're getting away from femininity.
What do we have today with most young people? Or not even young people. I've seen loads of older people doing this too. They’re just wearing their jeans. Jeans are not feminine. Guys wear jeans. It doesn't really show much difference.
Sorry, ladies, I'm really coming against culture, aren't I? I'm being counterculture. I'm not here saying you can't do this. I mean, people are free, free to do what you like. But, but why don't we want to be feminine? Why? We must ask ourselves that question because this is who God created us. We are His feminine creation. He wants us to reveal our femininity to the world. He wants us to glory in it. We glory in our clothing. Our clothing shows who we are.
So, so many, yes, even Christians today, I know some who hardly own a dress. They just wear their pants and top, or jeans and top. And that's their uniform. They really would have grown up with this. Maybe that's what their mother wore. That's what everybody's wearing around. We so gravitate to society and what everybody else is doing.
But can I ask you, lovely ladies, to ask yourself the question? “Why do I not want to be feminine? Why don't I wear more feminine clothes?” This is what the Bible wants. He does not want us to dress like a man. He does not want men to dress like a woman.
Imagine! Imagine if men, I mean, oh, goodness me. I have a friend, and sadly she's no longer married to this man. But he was a cross-dresser. And he would come out to her, in her living room, all dressed up in women's clothes! He had a problem! And there are a number of men like that.
It is disgusting. I mean, it is an abomination when you see a man trying to dress like a woman. Of course, we have these people now, these transgenders, who want to change their whole sex, that's totally anti-God. It's even anti-God to dress like a woman if you're a man.
So, why is it, that so many women dress like men? Now, do I wear pants? Yes, out in the garden. I mean, if I've got to get out there in that garden, and I'm down on my knees, and I'm digging, and I'm in the mud. I'm just getting my old pants on.
I don't ride horses now, but when I was young, I used to ride horses. My father was a great dog trainer, horse trainer, and broke in horses. I was blessed to have a beautiful thoroughbred trotter. I used to ride this beautiful horse. I always rode with pants on. I didn't ever learn to ride sidesaddle as they did in earlier days from me. The ladies would have to learn sidesaddle. Of course, I always pants, although I haven't ridden horses for years.
If I'm going hiking, well, I'm going to put some pants on. So there are places where I will wear pants. But I don't like to wear them in my normal day around the home, or especially when I go out. Especially when I go to worship and to church. I want to bring glory to God and who He created me to be.
I remember one time, oh goodness me (your husband, I guess he's so used to pants, women wearing pants, because it’s just society, that he accepts it). My husband, he doesn't have a problem with other people, but he just never liked me wearing pants. Well, he doesn't mind when I'm hiking, gardening, doing all those kinds of things.
But he doesn't like me to wear pants around, or to wear jeans. In fact, I've never worn a pair of jeans in my life! Because my husband just, oh, he wouldn't be able to stand my doing it. That's just him. OK.
But one time, this is quite a number of years ago, I was flying back from New Zealand, because we come from New Zealand. We would go back frequently to see family. I would go back to minister there. And I was flying back, this long, long trip when you fly back from New Zealand, or fly to New Zealand. By the time you leave to the time you get there, you've been flying and stopping and waiting for about 30 plus hours or so.
I thought, “Oh, I'll just wear these pants, they're so comfortable. I'll just wear them on the journey.” Anyway, I arrived here in the States and my husband was there waiting to meet me. And I'll never forget (this may sound so strange to you, because even men today, they're just so used to women wearing their pants everywhere), but my husband didn't say anything. But I saw him look, and I saw the disappointment in his eyes. He knew that I knew that he didn't really like me wearing them. But I'd done it. He never said anything, but I knew. I felt his disappointment. And so I didn't do it again.
In fact, now you know, this happens quite often, except since this plandemic's been around, we haven't been flying so much. Usually I'm flying quite a lot, going to speak at Above Rubies retreats. Just weekends away, and I come home, and my husband is always there, waiting for me.
I have to admit, after being married for 58 years, it's still so exciting to be walking up, with all the travelers, and knowing my husband is going to be waiting there (I think the most handsome man in the whole of the world and he is waiting for me to come) and he's watching, and he's looking.
I know he's going to see this woman is not like everybody else. Maybe I'm the only one who's not arriving with jeans and tops, or pants and tops. And I'm wearing, because I love to now to wear something lovely when I'm going to meet him. So I'm wearing a dress, or wearing a skirt, or wearing something lovely, so that when he sees me, he's going to be so excited. And we're always so excited to see one another, even after a weekend.
So that's just my little experience. I'm not putting anything on anybody. But I do feel we should ask questions. And I believe, in this day of transgender, we should be more than ever, we as women should seek to show our femininity. We should be feminine in who we are, and we should clothe ourselves femininely. This is basic. This is foundational.
YOU CAN BE FEMININE AND YET NOT MODEST,
YOU CAN BE MODEST AND YET NOT FEMININE!
I believe that we are a hindrance really to what God wants. He wants such distinction between male and female. But here's a little point: you can be feminine, and not modest. And ladies, did you know, you can be modest, and not feminine?
God actually wants us to be both. Sometimes I'll see a beautiful dress. Oh, it's so gorgeous! And it's beautifully feminine. And then I look, and, oh, but the person wearing it is showing cleavage. I mean, this beautiful, feminine dress is spoiled because the person is exposing themselves. They're not fully clothing their secret, their private parts.
But then on the other hand, there are sections of Christian society who do wear very modest clothing. Oh, they believe in modesty, but really, they're not very feminine at all. Their clothes are dark colors. They look like sacks. There was that trend, you don't see it so often now, where so many women. . . You'd often see it amongst the homeschooling movement. They'd wear these denim jumpers. They were just like a sack. They covered everything inside. But they were just so boring and so unfeminine.
There is a balance. We have to seek to find clothes that are feminine, and that are modest. It's not always easy to find them in the shops these days. But you know what, ladies, you can find them on the internet! It's unbelievable how many beautiful, beautiful dresses that there are, out there on the Internet. Oh, I love it!
Every single time I see my lovely granddaughter, Meadow, she is always in a beautiful dress. Oh! She loves to dress femininely. I'll say, “Oh, Meadow! Where did you get that dress! It's so beautiful!
“Oh, on the Internet,” she’ll answer.
And even her mother, Pearl, she has so many beautiful dresses, too. She'll come to church in a lovely, gorgeous dress, just beautiful!
“Pearlie, where did you get that dress!”
“Oh, on the internet.”
So I thought, “Oh, goodness, I'd better start looking myself!”
It's amazing, I've j seen so many beautiful dresses that are maybe, three-quarter length. Some are long. You don't have to wear long dresses all the time. Even three-quarter are lovely. I think dresses should be at least to the knee, or below the knee, because it's not just what they look like when you're standing, but when you sit and when you bend over.
Even when you sit, you need a dress of considerable length to cover you. Of course, even learning to sit correctly. Oh, I think it's because of so many women wearing pants and jeans that they have forgotten how to sit. And they even begin to sit like a man!
I've seen young people today, sitting with their legs crossed, not like a woman crosses her legs but her leg, with one leg crossed right over, like men sit. That is so unfeminine. It is so like a man. And it's so sad to see beautiful young girls and women actually sitting like a man! Well, if they're dressing like a man, they're going to start sitting like a man!
But there is a way for a woman to sit. You can sit with your legs crossed properly, or you can sit with your legs together sideways. Have a look at the Queen. See how she sits. I mean, that is total etiquette. We should learn ourselves, and teach our daughters, how we are to sit. That's part of being feminine also. So, lovely ladies, yes, let's get with it, shall we?
I love Philippians 1:9-10: “That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ.” The word “excellent” there is diaphero and it means “to differ, to be better, to differ from, to be more excellent, to be of more value.”
Well, let's look at some other places where that same word is used. In Matthew 6:26, Jesus is talking about how He feeds the birds of the air and looks after them. And then He says: “Are you not much better than they?” That's the same word, “excellent.”
In Matthew 10:31, Jesus was telling the people how not one sparrow falls to the ground without Him knowing. And then He says: “And you are of more value than many sparrows.” That same word. You see that same word, “excellent, more excellent,”
I think it relates even to clothing. We should, why do we just stick to whatever everybody else is doing? There is a more excellent way. The more excellent way is the more feminine way because it's who God created us to be.
I wonder, is anyone bold enough, courageous enough, to stand out a little bit, and dress more femininely more often? Maybe just start trying it a little bit. Maybe when you go out, perhaps order a couple of lovely dresses. Wear them when you go out. I think your husband will be so happy to see you in them. Actually, it will be quite a change.
Now in Matthew 12:11-12 Jesus tells the parable of a shepherd having one sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, and how he won't leave it there. But he goes and rescues it and lifts it out. And then Jesus said: “How much then is a man better than a sheep?”
1 Corinthians 15:41: “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star from another star in glory.” And ladies, we are meant to differ from man in the way we clothe ourselves. We are to be different. So, there it is.
NO. 6. GOD WANTS US TO DRESS MODESTLY
Number six, God wants us to dress modestly. We read in 1 Timothy 2:9-10: “A woman should dress herself modestly and prudently.” We talked about that in the last point, didn't we, how that, yes, modesty is important, but we want to cover it with femininity. And remember, once again, we don't just have femininity without modesty. They're twins. That means they “to go together.”
NO. 7. GOD WANTS US TO DRESS LIKE ROYALTY
Number seven: God wants us to dress like royalty. Why? Because we belong to Him! And He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We belong to a royal kingdom. In that beautiful passage in Ezekiel 16, where God gives His allegory about clothing us, it's talking about us spiritually. But it says here, in the New Living Translation, in verse 13: “You looked like a queen, and so you were.”
In the ESV, it says: “You grew exceedingly beautiful, and advanced to royalty.”
Yes, in Psalm 45:2, it talks there about the bride being brought to the king, dressed like royalty. So we should keep that in mind. As I close this session, remember, we are to be queens and princesses. We need to teach our children that they are princesses. They belong to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That also helps us to up our standards a little bit.
OK, time is gone, and I've still got some more things to share, so we'll carry on next session, if you can take it! Do you think you can come in for another session? Still some interesting things to talk about.
“Dear Father, we thank You for Your Word. Thank You, Lord, that it teaches us the way. Thank You that You created us female. Lord God, help us to be who You created us to be. Help us to live how You want us to live. Help us, Lord God, to clothe ourselves how You want us to clothe ourselves as women. Teach us what it means to dress femininely.
Lord God, we pray that You will help us to be those who are not totally taken up by the spirit of this world, but You will help us to be living how You want us to be, even in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation. We ask it in the Name of Jesus. Amen.”
Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.abovwerubies.org
Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Would you like to email Darlene and thank her so much for faithfully and freely transcribing these podcasts every week for your benefit?
SUGGESIONS FOR DRESSES FROM MY GRANDDAUGHTER, MEADOW HALL
Ivy City Co (they have a nursing-friendly category) - https://ivycityco.com/
Jessakae - https://jessakae.com/
Maternity & Nursing-friendly clothing - nothingfitsbut.com
These brands have modest dresses to offer, but not all of their dresses are modest.
More Modest Clothing Websites for you to check out:
- https://www.onelovedbabe.com
- https://www.shopemeryrose.com
- https://www.neeseesdresses.com
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