God through the prophet Isaiah had a lot to say about judgment. And in chapter 3, He spoke directly to the women of Isaiah’s day. He warned them that judgment would come in the areas that were so important to them. What did that mean?

But God didn’t send Isaiah to His people out of meanness. He sent him to warn them so they could repent and turn from evil and going their own way because God cannot be just, holy, and righteous and not judge evil. Something our nation, as a whole, needs to understand.

So, what does all this have to do with tattoos and t-shirts? And what words of encouragement did Isaiah include in his warnings?

Today’s Readings:

Isaiah 3 & 4
Psalm 105.7-22
Proverbs 24.26-27
1 Corinthians 15.1-28

Judgment, Tattoos & T-Shirts

Isaiah 3 & 4:

The Righteous & God’s Judgment

God had sent Isaiah to warn the nation of Israel of coming judgment and the consequences of that judgment.

In today’s passage, He spoke directly to the women. But first, let’s look at God’s encouragement to those who were faithful to Him. Chapter 3.10-11:

10 “Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them,
For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
For the reward of his hands shall be given him.

Matthew Henry in his commentary says:

Some good people might fear that they should be involved in that ruin, and therefore God bids the prophets comfort them against those fears: “Whatever becomes of the unrighteous nation, let the righteous man know that he shall not be lost in the crowd of sinners. The Judge of all the earth will not slay the righteous with the wicked (Genesis 18:25) no, assure him, in God’s name, that it shall be well with him … and he shall be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger. He shall have divine supports and comforts, which shall abound as afflictions abound, and so it shall be well with him.” When the whole stay of bread is taken away, yet in the day of famine the righteous shall be satisfied … they kept themselves pure from the common iniquity, and therefore the common calamity is not the same thing to them that it is to others. They brought no fuel to the flame, and therefore are not themselves fuel for it.

Divine Supports & Comforts

Dr. Henry was a Puritan pastor who lived from 1662-1714 so the language is a little foreign to modern-day readers but the depth of his understanding makes it worth the effort to visit his commentary. It’s free and you can access it by clicking the link above.

Let’s look a little closer at his comments on this passage:

He shall be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger. He shall have divine supports and comforts, which shall abound as afflictions abound, and so it shall be well with him.

The phrase “divine supports and comforts” is key. It’s not that God’s people are not affected by calamity or that we don’t experience hardships but God gives us the grace and help we need in the midst of them.

Think about Daniel and his three friends. They were taken away as captives as part of God’s judgment on Israel’s sin and idolatry. But God gave them favor with those in authority. He, also, gave them wisdom and protected them from being forced to go against their consciences (Dan. 1). Later He intervened when they were condemned to death for refusing to worship idols instead of the One True God (Dan. 3, 6).

Before his life was over Daniel had served three kings, had been used to interpret dreams, had interceded for his people, and had impacted the kings and kingdoms he served.

When Times Are Tough

When the whole stay of bread is taken away, yet in the day of famine the righteous shall be satisfied …

Just as He feeds the birds of the air, God can sustain his children in the worst economic times.

… they kept themselves pure from the common iniquity, and therefore the common calamity is not the same thing to them that it is to others. They brought no fuel to the flame, and therefore are not themselves fuel for it.

Or as Paul said in Galatians, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6.7).

What a loving Heavenly Father we serve. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13.5), to meet our needs (Matt. 6.25-34) to limit our trials (1 Cor. 10.13), and to give us wisdom (Jas. 1.5) and grace (Heb. 4.16) even in difficult times.

And now on to our main subject.

To the Women of Zion

God had been speaking in general terms, but now He begins to address the women, in particular. Chapter 3.16-24:

16 The LORD says,
“The women of Zion are haughty,
walking along with outstretched necks,
flirting with their eyes,
tripping along with mincing steps,
with ornaments jingling on their ankles.
17 Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;
the LORD will make their scalps bald.”
18 In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery, the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, 19 the earrings and bracelets and veils, 20 the headdresses and ankle chains and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, 21 the signet rings and nose rings, 22 the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses 23 and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls.
24 Instead of fragrance there will be a stench;
instead of a sash, a rope;
instead of well-dressed hair, baldness;
instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;
instead of beauty, branding.

Their priorities were apparently very wrong. Rather than being focused on being the wives, mothers, and single women He had called them to be, they were focused on how they looked and drawing attention to themselves.

Tattoos, T-Shirts & Piercings

Does that mean it’s wrong to dress attractively, to wear “jingling” bracelets or anklets, or your favorite perfume? I believe the question goes to the motives of the heart.

Of course, we’re first and foremost to cultivate the inner beauty Peter talked about (1 Pet. 3.3-6). He called it a quiet and gentle spirit and went on to describe other godly attitudes.

Certainly, there are some types of clothing and ways of wearing them that are clearly wrong. We need to be careful not to cause our brothers in Christ to stumble.

But other questions might be harder to discern. For example, while wearing jewelry is not wrong, the jewelry worn in Isaiah’s time seems designed to attract attention. It says they walked with minced steps—probably seductively. The passage goes on to talk about their clothing, their accessories, and their perfumes. And said they would be judged in each of those areas.

Today we might include things like tattoos, t-shirts, and piercings.

Tattoos

Let’s start with tattoos. The only passage that speaks directly about tattoos is found in Leviticus 19.28:

You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am the LORD.

This apparently had to do with pagan religious practices. According to The MacArthur Daily Bible, some pagans would make deep cuts in their faces out of respect for the dead and as offerings to the gods. The tattoos may have included the names of those gods.

Tattoos would clearly be wrong if they were part of some pagan religious activity. But while some people may have strong convictions about them (this is less true today than even a few years ago) and I don’t discount their reasons. In fact, the Bible teaches that if we believe something is wrong, it would be for us. More about that in a minute.

But Scripture does not forbid them in any general sense, any more than having our ears pierced or getting cosmetic tattoos like eyebrows, etc.

When I’m asked about tattoos, I often respond with several questions of my own:

Where do you plan to get the tattoo?
Who will place it there?
What is your purpose for getting a tattoo on that part of your body?
Who will see it?

Ladies, let’s be honest. If you have a tattoo peeking out of the front of your blouse or above the waistband of your pants, where is it leading the eyes and the thoughts of the men who see it?

It gets back to two issues. What is your motive for placing it there? And could it be a stumbling block to your brothers in Christ (and therefore not biblically loving)? The same could be said of piercings and other things.

T-Shirts & Other Clothing

When it comes to clothing, we might ask ourselves some questions, as well. What is being exposed? Are parts of your body being exposed—either because something is short, low cut, or form-fitting—that should be reserved for your husband or future husband?

With t-shirts, what is the message written on them? Do they contain sexual innuendo? Are they suggestive?

And you men reading this—are you looking at things that either belong to another man or will be another man’s in the future? That young girl or woman is someone else’s daughter, wife, or future wife. Job said he made a covenant with his eyes not to look at a virgin (Job 31.1). He made a commitment to stay pure in this area.

While women have responsibilities before God concerning these things, how a woman dresses does not excuse sinful behavior on the part of men.

The Issue of Conscience

There is also the issue of conscience. James 4.17 says:

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

And Romans 14.23 says:

But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

If you’re uncomfortable wearing something, don’t violate your conscience. If you believe something is sinful and are willing to wear it or do it anyway, it is a sin.

But we need to be very careful not to legalistically impose our standards on others when there is not a clear command in Scripture. This doesn’t mean we never judge the biblically sinful actions of others, but where there is freedom in Christ, we need to respect that.

So, as we evaluate our lives, our dress, and our ways of conducting ourselves, let’s ask ourselves honest heart-probing questions. If we judge ourselves honestly and seek to live righteously before Him, we won’t come under the judgment of God (1 Cor. 10.31). Then even as our nation moves farther from God and His truth, almost assuring itself of His judgment, we can trust that it will go well with us (Is. 3.10).

Today’s Other Readings:

Psalm 105.7-22:

God’s Hand in History

This psalm recounts much of the history of the nation of Israel, clearly showing God to be the author of it all. He doesn’t just know everything that will happen; He is the Guiding Hand behind all of history. That includes world events, national events, and the events of our individual lives.

Proverbs 24.26-27:

Buy Now-Pay Later

Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house (v. 27).

Completely ignoring this principle, we have become a “buy now—pay later” society. We don’t want to wait for anything. We have been consumed with “keeping up with the Jones” and having everything our hearts desire. This has led to enormous amounts of debt and, at least part of, the financial woes we suffer individually and as a nation. This is another example of the law of sowing and reaping at work. We all prove the Bible to be true, either positively or negatively.

1 Corinthians 15.1-28:

The Least of the Apostles

In this chapter, Paul is talking about all the eyewitness accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. After he had listed all those who saw Him during the 40 days following His resurrection, he said:

Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God (vv. 8-9).

Considering he would write much of the New Testament, that was quite a statement!

Later in his ministry, he called himself the “least of all saints” (Eph. 3.8), and later still, “the worst sinner in the world” (1 Tim. 1.15). So what happened? Did Paul, the great apostle, become a bigger and bigger sinner? No, but he became more and more sensitive to his own sin and his need for God’s grace!

Coming Up:

In the coming days, we will talk about how we can pull sin and judgment down on ourselves, what the Bible says about mediums and wizards, reasons the world hates us, and how we justify not obeying God’s Word.

I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them. You might also like to check out our YouTube channel.

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And if you don’t already have a copy, you might want to purchase a copy of my eBook, 10 Benefits of Keeping a Spiritual Journal. It’s available on Kindle or in paperback (the paperback has 31 days of blank journaling pages with prompts to help you get started).

Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥

Note about this post:

I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer. 

A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”

I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.

Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)

I sometimes LINKUP with these blogs.