#31

Part 1 of The Wardrobe

“I will give you treasures of darkness and hidden riches of the Secret Place, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who calls you by your name, am the God of Israel.”  Isaiah 45:3

“Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor…”  Ruth 3:3a 

Do you ever feel like Cinderella?  I am not referring to the “rags to riches happily-ever-after” feeling.  I am wondering if you have ever been invited to go somewhere, or you have made up your mind to go somewhere special, and you open up your closet door…and you just stand there, looking and looking and looking.  I know that we women do it almost every day.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, is what we want to wear.  I do not know about you, but I can literally spend many priceless minutes every day just peering into my closet, or trying on ten different outfits before I am satisfied with what I am wearing for the day.  Oh, and if it is a special event, I can almost have a meltdown. 

Cinderella was invited to go to the King’s Ball.  Can you just imagine for a minute how she must have felt?  Excited, nervous, and “Oh no!  What will I wear?”  After all, Cinderella was a pauper, just a poor little servant girl.  Her dresses were woven from rags, and her wardrobe simply would not do for a night at the King’s Palace.

Now imagine how Ruth must have felt.  Naomi is instructing her to “put on your best clothes” and return back to the home of the Master of the fields she has been serving as a poor servant girl.  Naomi had a plan for their future, and all Ruth could do is trust her.  She did not understand the traditions of Naomi’s people, but we already know that she loved Naomi enough to leave her family and cleave to what she saw in Naomi:  the God of hope.  She could not possibly know what this meant for her future, but I am sure she could tell by the excitement and authority in which Naomi was giving the instruction, this was a huge opportunity.  She probably spent countless hours that night going through her threadbare garments, possibly mending the “best of the worst”, and of course, washing and perfuming herself.  She was preparing herself for a night at the King’s Palace.

Well, good news for us!  We don’t have to worry about what we are going to wear as we enter the King’s presence, that it is not good enough, or that it is put together with rags.  Once we make the decision to pass through the East Gate, declaring Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have a Master Tailor who will fit us with the proper clothing, and we become dressed in the finest:  we are fully clothed in His righteousness, draped in a cloak of authority, and the King, Himself, bejewels us by placing His signet ring on our hand. 

Righteousness:  free from guilt or sin.
Cloak:  a loose outer garment that envelops or conceals.
Signet Ring:  a seal used officially, typically in Royalty, to give personal authority (to a document in lieu of a signature).  (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary)

Clothed in His Righteousness:
“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.  The Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you, Satan!  The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you!  Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?’  Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel.  The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’  Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.’  Then I said, ‘Put a clean turban on his head.’  So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.  The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua:  ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says, ‘If you will walk in My ways and keep My requirements, then you will govern My house and have charge of My courts, and I will give you a place among those standing here.’”  Zechariah 3:1-7

Cloaked in His Authority:
“Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it.  The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.  When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?’  ‘Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,’ Elisha replied…He (Elisha) picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.  Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it.  ‘Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ he asked.  When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.  The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, ‘The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.’  And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.”  (2 Kings 2:8-15)

He places His Signet Ring on our hand:
 “There are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing:  a lion, mighty among the beasts, who retreats before nothing; a strutting rooster, a he-goat, and a king with his army around him.”  (Proverbs 30:29-31)

Think about the strutting rooster:  oh, he is a cocky thing alright…cocky?  Or confident in who he is?  Think about the he-goat:  he can be stubborn to the point of no return…stubborn?  Or confident in who he is?  Think about the king, surrounded by his army:  he can be proud and tenacious…Proud?  Tenacious?  Or confident in who he is and the army of protection around him?  Think about the lion:  the boldest, strongest, most courageous creature in the universe; the King of the Jungle; he never retreats, even when surrounded by enemies, he meets them head-on; even when he is at rest, he rests in confidence… 

“…the Righteous are as bold as a lion.”  (Proverbs 28:1b)  The Word of God calls us, His Righteous people, the boldness of a lion.  When He places the signet ring on our hand, He expects us to use it with the personal authority of stately bearing in which He has entrusted us, and to be confident in who we are. 

We are clothed in His Righteousness…we are cloaked in His authority…we wear the signet ring and all the Royal garments to prove we are sons and daughters of the Most High King.  He gives us all authority, confidence, tenacity, boldness, and pride to walk in His Royalty. 

Will we try to crawl back into the dirty clothes?  Or will be wear the rich garments He has chosen for us?  I want to be bold, I want to be confident, I want to strike water and it divide, I want to inherit a double portion of His Spirit, I want to move with stately bearing, I want to meet my enemies head-on, I want to walk in His ways and keep His requirements -  I’m dressing for the King’s Ball…a night with the King…no dirty clothes for me – I want to look my best!

(More on the Wardrobe in Part 32.)