Godly Wife Bible Study

Lesson 1 – Monday – Wash Day

The word “wife” appears 407 times in the KJV of the Holy Bible. The Hebrew word is 'ishshah.

Strong’s Concordance defines as:

1. Woman, wife, female

woman (opposite of man)

wife (woman married to a man)

female (of animals)

each, every (pronoun)

This is a pretty generic definition of the word, isn’t it? The first use of the word “wife” is in Gen 2:24 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” It is interesting to me that this is the scripture telling us that a wife is to become ONE flesh with her husband.

In the New Testament – the Greek – the word for wife is gynē.

Strong’s Concordance defines as:

1. A woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow

a wife

of a betrothed woman

These are the basic definitions of the translation for wife. They don’t really give us much information do they?

Our first lesson in this Godly Wife Bible Study is called “Monday – Wash Day”

As I have prayed about the direction to take this study in, I have felt the Lord impress on me that He wants this to be a practical, useable study that women can participate in and take back into their daily life and make honest changes. As a leader of this study I want to make sure that all will understand that I do not feel in the least that I am the perfect wife. Au’ contraire – I am the LEAST perfect wife, but that is what makes me study harder than most. When we recognize that we lack in an area, the Holy Spirit within us drives us to do better. At least that is what SHOULD be happening, so let us begin:

Monday – Wash Day – part 1

“Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” Psalms 51:2 and 3

Whenever we begin to prepare for something in our lives the first thing that most of us think to do is clean-up. When we rise in the morning, most of us take a shower (if we didn’t the night before), wash our face, brush our teeth, comb our hair, put on clean clothing, make the bed, etc. We all want to start with a clean slate. So as wives, who desire to walk in the Godly path that the Lord has set out for us, surely our first step is to be clean before the Lord.

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2^nd Corinthians 7:1

When I am expecting company I want to make sure our home is as pleasant as possible. Each room is examined and I determine which area needs the most attention and I attack it first. Yes, I say attack because it is a war! ;-) Dirt, mess and confusion are the enemy to me and cleanliness, order and comfort are my allies in making our home a place where people desire to visit. I want our home to be a place of rest and comfort and peace. I want to be that for my husband as well. Therefore my attention must be turned to removing those things that are detrimental to my end goal.

Our main goal for this study is not just a clean home, although this should be a definite outcome of the study because a clean household is one of the signs of a Godly wife. Our goal is to become a more Godly wife to our husbands. I am using the example of cleaning the home to illustrate how we must attack those things in our own life – our flesh, habits, heart, mind and emotions – that are not purified and therefore cannot be the tools for the Lord to use to bless our husbands. We must first clean those things out of our life that are hindering our accomplishing the tasks that the Lord has given us. Are you with me?

***Okay Sisters, now it is your turn. I need to hear from you. Please use the form below to send me your thoughts, scriptures and questions. I will begin posting your responses or at least as many as possible. This needs you in order to be a true discussion. Using the information I have shared in this section, let’s expound together. Is there something in your life that the Holy Spirit has revealed to you that must be cleaned out? What areas are the most difficult to change? Again, we are dealing with the idea of inward cleaning here.

Study: Very few people have a perfect upbringing. Mine wasn't either, but I always thought that I had gotten over the many road bumps that occured along the way. It took a couple years into my marriage to realize that that wasn't completely true. I think because I felt like I had no control over what happened to me in childhood I had a strong need to be in control of my adult life. Even society and my own public high school had taught me that women should step up and be in control. The only thing was I didn't realize how much my need to be in control was actually causing me to have a lack of trust in my husband. The Lord showed me that by always needing to feel in control I wasn't fully trusting my husband in any matter. I was always jumping in and making the decisions where he should have been or taking them away from him. How bad that must have felt for him to realize his wife didn't really trust him! I felt awful when I realized it. After much prayer I was able to sit down one day and forgive the wrongs I felt were done against me as a child. It was such an amazing experience! It felt as if a huge weight I didn't even realize I was carrying was suddenly lifted away. And it changed my relationship with my husband. I can't say I'm sorry I went through any of it though, because of what we go through in life we become who we are and I know I am a better momma to my own children because of my own childhood. Since that time I have worked very hard to be a better wife and as I studied further in the Word I've worked to become a more godly wife. Over the years the Lord has been kind and helped me recognize one area at a time that needs to be cleaned up or tidied a bit. All that He's shown me has also shown me how we manifest our inward discontent in outward expressions of that dissatisfaction. Mine was by hording things, just in case I might need them. I was a pack rat! As I've cleaned things out spiritually I have also been able to see where I needed to clean things out physically. Bit by bit thats been done and we have lived in a more comfortable home for several years now. Its all because the Lord showed me that I needed to just let go of grudges I didn't even realize I'd been holding. Am I perfect? Not by far.

How do I clean? I start at the top and work to the bottom. I learned along time ago that if I start with the hardest dirtiest job first, the one I want to do the least, then when its finished I enjoy the rest of my work so much more and it all seems easier, so thats where I begin. The job I dislike the most is the one I tackle first. As to scriptures, one that I keep posted in our home is: Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord; that walketh in His ways. Psalm 128:1 I keep it posted because it reminds me everyday to examine myself. Am I walking in His ways today? Or the ways of the world?

Name: Shellie

Part 2 –

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1

How do you clean your home? What is your method of attack? As I said before, my first step is to find the worst room and go from there. My worst room is ALWAYS the kitchen. We cook constantly, whether canning, general preparation, meals for guests coming or just from midnight munchies. Our kitchen is literally the HEART of our home. So this is where I begin – the heart. My heart needs continually to be examined every day and I need to pay close attention to not allowing it to be cluttered with the things that would cause it to be heavy and despairing.

“The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

James 4:8

As women, we are given to strong emotions. Our emotions can truly be our worst enemy. Of course, we all see the heart as the seat of our emotions, right? I believe this is one of the main reasons we are the weaker vessel – yes, physically we are weaker than men but honestly, don’t you feel that your emotions can keep you in a state of turmoil if allowed to have their way. A recent study has shown that women retain emotional connections 10 to 15% more than men, even years later. For instance, in remembering and event of the past, women will feel the emotions of the moment much more than men will. Men will, if they remember at all, recall the facts of the event, but women will feel the event all over again. In the same sense we tend to remember all the hurts of the past and instead of dealing with them immediately they are kept within us and periodically we have them pop-up in our thoughts and they build one upon the other until we are unable to think clearly. It reminds me of when something has spilled in the oven and I do not take the time to clean it up right then, but the next time I cut the oven on to cook something, before I realize it the house fills with smoke and the smell is so bad that everyone says, “What is wrong in there???” Our emotions become so consuming that eventually everyone knows that something is not right. It is much easier to clean up as we go! When we don’t then it is a lot harder to really get things deep down clean.

As wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, nieces, granddaughters, friends we must truly examine those areas of our heart where hurt and sin are hiding. Shine the Light of the Word in those dark spaces and clean them out. It may take more than just a little effort – it may take days of working on the area before you begin to see the effort paying off, but one thing is for sure – you cannot be used for the intended purpose of the Lord if you are covered with filth and stain inside.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9

Wash Day, part 2

Study: "Hi Angie, One thing that I learned when I was working as a janitor was that things were kept quite clean if they were dealt with every day. The hardest part was getting them good and clean in the first place, but once they were clean, just a daily wipedown would keep them that way. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we need God to do a BIG cleaning in our hearts at first, and then we need to go to him every single day thereafter to keep it clean or else it will get pretty dirty again. I know that when I get "sloppy" in my walk with Christ, things start to snowball on me and before I know it I've got a big mess going on again. Maybe you or someone can add to my idea...I'm not so good with wording my thoughts sometimes."

Name: Lisa

Hi Lisa - I think you are absoutely correct. We need to truly seek the Lord and give ourselves over completely to His Will and ask Him to show us each area where we are still lacking. It takes time for Him to reveal these things but as He does we need to honestly and completely confess our sin and then make the necessary changes. Once we "clean" these areas then we must daily commit our way to Him and examine ourselves regularly to make sure that we are not harboring old ways, old patterns, old habits and old sins. Our first effort is to confess to Him that we have failed.

Proverbs 16:2 - All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Luke 9:23 - And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Monday – Wash Day – Part 3 - Taking Out the Trash

In every cleaning job there is an element of garbage that is left over that must be removed. Whether you are cleaning a bathroom or scrubbing a kitchen floor there is always something unsavory left after the work is done. So in this part of our study, let’s deal with the trash that we have discovered in the cleaning of our hearts, minds, emotions and spirit.

In the comments above, Le-Teisha spoke of those feelings of not being good enough and that has kept her bound up and unable to really have the freedom to enjoy the blessings that the Lord has given her. Shellie, so beautifully shared how she has had to go step by step and rid herself of those things that caused hurt and resentment to be manifest. Ellen reminded us that in order to make room for the Holy Spirit we must remove those hindrances that bring us down. I think in each of these examples we see the truth of taking out the trash. But how? How do we get rid of all that hinders us and keeps us from becoming clean inwardly so that we can be the Godly wives we desire to be?

1Corinthians 5:7 “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:”

Don’t you find it amazing how our flesh can demand another person’s perfection, yet we want others to understand our imperfections and love us anyway. This is an area that we all must recognize – the most unreasonable aspect of our relations with others. It is so hard to forgive when someone hurts us and yet we desperately want them to understand when we hurt them that we didn’t mean it. This is part of the “trash” – the emotional trash that needs to be thrown out of our hearts and minds.

There is an old saying “The Golden Rule” that we are taught in childhood – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Easier said than done, because so often we don’t mean to do things do we? We don’t mean to hurt those we love. We don’t mean to expect more of them than they are able to give. We don’t mean to be unforgiving. And of course, how could they ever get mad at us when, if they loved us, they would have known that the ugly behavior was not what we meant. Ah ha! There is the rub. We demand a greater, almost supernatural ability for understanding and forgiving from others and yet we still want to be able to make mistakes ourselves and even more so they have to understand yet again. Am I painting this picture clearly enough?

It is time for us to relinquish the right to hold on to hurts, disappointments and pain that we have carried. We need to let go of all those things that we hold onto, thinking that they are ammunition for the future. These things are the garbage that begins to rot our thoughts and causes us to never be able to trust God and trust others.

Lesson: All Three

Study: Angie, thank you for this study! I am grateful that the Lord has placed it on your heart to share your study with us. The Lord truly did guide me to your website and this study. My husband is away on business this week and I don't know why but yesterday I was overwhelmed by all of these jealous, negative thoughts. I have alot of trust and abandonment issues from my childhood and as a result of a very abusive first marriage. I had those thought like Le-Teisha of never being good enough, always trying to please everyone but not quite feeling like I measured up. Feeling not worthy of love. In my marriage now I have truly sought the Lord's guidance and direction on how to be a submissive grateful wife. I loved what you wrote about the "trash" that needs to be thrown it. It was such a reminder to me of the trash from my past. I am a new creation in Christ and I need to always remember that. Your words and the words of the other women in the study really helped to encourage me to turn my attitude around and just be still and be grateful for the work that the Lord has done in my life and in my marriage. As Lisa said, I think I was getting "sloppy" in my walk with God and what happened was when Mark was away those old fears crept in. I was able to call Mark last night and just tell him how much I really appreciate all that he does for our family and be truly heartfelt and grateful that the Lord has blessed me with such a wonderful husband. And this morning I woke him up with a cheerful spirit and told him to just have a blessed day. I feel so renewed and I am so thankful. You are right Angie, it is time to let go of the hurts and dump out the dirty water that I have been carrying around. I thank you so much for this reminder. There is so much more I could write but for now I will just say have a blessed day today and thank you! :)

Name: Donna

Tuesday – Laundry Day

All right, time for Tuesday. This is the second day of our work week and as wives, let’s see what would be included in our Godly Wife’s Laundry day. Already I can see many opportunities to explore here. The obvious focus of the laundry is clothing but let’s narrow this down and begin with our spiritual garments.

Using the Strong’s Concordance we find the

Hebrew words (Old Testament) for Garment

“Beged” – 0899 – used for garment (107 times), clothes 69, cloth 13, raiment 12, apparel 4, robe 4, wardrobe 2, very 2, clothing 1, lap 1, rags 1, vestures 1

1) treachery, deceit

2) garment, clothing (used indiscriminately)

“Addehreth” – H155 – used for mantle (5 times), garment 4, glory 1, goodly 1, robe 1

1) glory, cloak

a) glory, splendour, magnificence (of a vine, shepherds)

) mantle, cloak made of fur or fine material

1) prophet's garment

“Simlah” – 08071 – used for raiment (11 times), clothes 6, garment 6, apparel 2, cloth 2, clothing 2

1) wrapper, mantle, covering garment, garments, clothes, raiment, a cloth

Greek Words (New Testament) for Garment

“Himation” – 2440 - used for garment 30, raiment 12, clothes 12, cloke 2, robe 2, vesture 2, apparel 1

1) a garment (of any sort)

a) garments, i.e. the cloak or mantle and the tunic

2) the upper garment, the cloak or mantle

“Endyma” – 1742 - used for raiment 5, garment 2, clothing 1

1) garment, raiment, cloak, an outer garment

“Chitōn” - 5509 – used for coat 9, garment 1, clothes 1

1) a tunic, an undergarment, usually worn next to the skin, a garment, a vestment

I believe that this will give us enough of an idea to work with as we study our spiritual and physical garments. Again let us remember that while we are studying particularly the role of a Godly Wife, which is our direct relationship to our husband, this must begin with our direct relationship to Father God and the Lord Jesus Christ. No earthly relationship can ever function properly unless we have a correct relationship – a true relationship with the God of the Universe. It would be like making sure we file our fingernails and yet we skip eating for a year. Not gonna work, my friend.

Laundry day – we have covered wash day – if you followed our beginning lesson/discussion then hopefully you have taken the steps necessary to cleanse yourself before the Lord, within yourself, and before your husband. That has to happen first. Now let’s see what our clothing is for, how we should care for it and what it reveals about us.

Obviously clothing was established as a covering for our body. The first clothing was prepared by the Lord Himself for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It was necessary because of their sin and the realization that they had of their own nakedness. Genesis 3:21 “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

Before this there was such innocence in both Adam and Eve that they felt no shame or disgrace in being nude. But once they stepped out of the will of God and disobeyed Him, sin took over and brought shame. Contrary to what modern folks seem to think, we are to cover our bodies and not expose ourselves to the view of others. One thing I think is interesting to note here is that there weren’t any other people on the earth at that time. At least it is not until later that we are told about the birth of their first child so the only ones that would see their nakedness was themselves and God and the animals.

Let’s dig a little deeper spiritually into this, Sisters. I am pondering now about this situation of there being no one else there but the Lord and Adam and Eve. They hid themselves from the Lord, certainly because they were ashamed of their disobedience but when the Lord asked why they hid, they said it was because they were naked. So it was their complete exposure that made them hide. There were no seasons on the earth before their sin so, as far as we know, it was never cold or hot, stormy or windy – just perfection. Otherwise they would have need garments before this point for protection.

They knew their guilt. They knew their sin immediately – so the automatic response was HIDE. “Don’t allow yourself to be seen. Seek out a dark place where no one can see the truth. Don’t permit anyone to see the truth, not even the very one that loves you the most.” And why – was God angry? Did he attack them the minute he saw them? Did He utterly destroy them? Ah hah! Are you following my thoughts here. Were there consequences and punishment? Of course, but did he utterly reject them and leave them hopeless? Did His love for them end? Definitely not!

Jesus Christ is the Head of all that call themselves Christian, whether you are a woman, man or child. The Husband is also the Head of the Wife. We will exhibit much of the same feelings, responses and motivations in our relationship to God as we do with our husband and vice-versa. Children also have the same with their parents, then God. Do you see what I am getting to here? Let’s equate what Adam and Eve did with what we as wives do. The basic question I suppose, in light of this is, are we hiding from our husband?

(Now, I am not talking about a woman who is being beaten and abused. There are much different issues at play in that type of marriage and they need to be handled in an entirely different context. If that is your situation, then please contact me immediately and I will do all I can to get you some help. angeliakay@mindspring.com )

Many of us, through the past, have suffered wounds that cause us to withdraw. We talked about much of that in our “Wash Day” Lessons. Hopefully, you have studied that and are now at a different place, preparing for a healthy relationship. But once we are clean and healed, we still want to guard against future events that might hurt us. God has provided us with our new “garments”. I am going to stop here because I want to hear from you. Let’s discuss this so far and then we will examine what type of garments we need.

Lesson: Tuesday - Laundry Day

Study:

Hiya Angie! I think I'm following your train of thought. Do you mean, that we women won't give up all of our fleshly secrets? We're holding back from really connecting with our husbands? I think we're taught to keep secrets. We're supposed to share some things just with other gal pals...in the "real world". I know that I've shared hurts and feelings with my Lyle, and even though he might not truly understand where I'm coming from, it sure made me feel better and feel closer to him. I also know that when I'm totally open and honest with God, I act differently (more open and connected) with my husband! Did I get the answer right? lol Thanks for this "study".

Name: Cath

Hey Cath - Excellent point!! There is really no right or wrong answer. It is more about seeing what the spirit reveals to us as we study. I think you have hit on a very important issue. You are so correct - we are taught to keep secrets - from childhood. I know in my own life there are things that I was either afraid for my husband to know or things that I just felt so insecure about that I didn't want anyone to know. But I do feel that when we begin to trust our husband then he begins to feel respected - which of course, is #1 on the hit parade with men. I sent out a little survey to some husbands I know to be Godly men before I began this study and almost every one responded that they desire "RESPECT" above anything else from their wives.

I think men realize when they are being kept in the dark more than we give them credit for. But to trust your husband in all areas speaks volumes. You wrote "I also know that when I'm totally open and honest with God, I act differently (more open and connected) with my husband!" Yes, Indeed!!!

Lesson: Tues. Laundry Day

Study: Mine is not so much keeping anything from my husband but rather wanting something my way. What I mean is that we discuss everything. I've shared more with him than with anyone else ever in my life, almost to a fault. I can't ever surprise him with anything because I end up telling on myself, I'm that honest with him. :) I can't stand feeling like I'm keeping anything from him. But when it comes to bigger issues he is always open to what I think about things though ultimately he makes the final decisions. Most of the time I am glad its that way and I do not get upset if he does something different from the way I would have wanted it done or how I would have liked to see things happen.Often his choice is different. However, once in a while there will be an issue that I feel a bit more passionate about and even though I don't argue with him if he chooses another way inside I struggle with those feelings of "my way is better". When that happens I pray over it and take time to force myself to think it all out, what the proper order is in our family, and remind myself that I really do like that he is the one to have the final say and make those decisions. I can't ask him to make all the hard decisions (keeping the responsibility off my shoulders) and then expect him to also give me my way just when ever I want that too. I can't pout around because I didn't get my way, or try to guilt him for doing something different. That would not be supporting my husband. It wouldn't be respecting my husband and it sure wouldn't make him feel like I trust him very much. I am so thankful for a husband who is willing to stand up and take on his rightful place as a husband as God ordained it to be. I do not want a husband, as so many in the world are right now, who cows to what ever his wife decides is the thing to do and lets himself be bossed around by her. My husband takes a lot of flack at work from the guys he works with because of our conservative beliefs, but they do think the way our relationship works is pretty neat too. Its these same men who are the ones who turn to him for advice when they are having problems in their own homes. I am proud to know that my husband is a godly example to other men who don't know or understand the headship order yet. Lord willing, one day they and their wives will.

Name: Shellie

Amen!! You go girl!! Seriously, Shellie - You hit so many good points here. "I can't ask him to make all the hard decisions (keeping the responsibility off my shoulders) and then expect him to also give me my way just when ever I want that too." This hits the bull'ss eye for so many situaitons. We say we want a strong Godly husband who will be the priest of our home and be responsible but then when his decision doesn't line up with our goals then WHAM! "Wait now, Honey, we need to talk!" Ladies, let's expound!

Tuesday – Laundry - Part 2

Some really good discussion so far on this topic, please feel free to comment on any previous points, but let’s move ahead and talk about what garments we need to have as women of God and as Godly Wives. As I study the Word and use the word “garment” as my beginning I find that obviously, as already stated, the garment was to cover our nakedness as in the case of Adam and Eve, but it also was a sign of wealth or position or gender.

In Deuteronomy 22:5 it says “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth 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.” In reading 6 other versions/translations of the Holy Bible, the point is the same in all of them. A woman should wear clothing of a woman and men should wear clothing of men and it is disgraceful before the Lord to not do so. Of course, our family adheres to this strictly – we, women do not wear pants or any other clothing made for men or in the fashion of manly attire. Paul does not wear women’s garments or colors that would be considered feminine, such as: pastels. I did find it an interesting point that most men would never consider wearing a skirt or dress or even pastel colors but women daily wear pants and t-shirts and many other items that are masculine. It really makes the point about women trying to take on the roll of men in authority, position and even strength. How telling and how tragic. Have you ever heard the saying “Who wears the pants in the family?” Think about that ladies!!

An argument that I have heard from women is “Well, my pants are made for women. They are sized differently and the waist is cut differently and they are sold in the women’s department at the stores.” Honestly, I am not going to spend much time arguing this point because it is an immature and illogical argument. If they sold rancid meat in our grocery store meat counter, would we buy that as well? I think not. Stores sell what people want. They have no sense of moral code or biblical doctrine. As Christians, our decisions should be based on the Holy Scripture and not on what Wal-Mart or J.C. Penney has decided is right for the season.

The other argument that I have heard is that some women feel that they cannot do their chores, modestly, in a dress. Sorry, this doesn’t work, either. Unless your chores include climbing a ladder on a tower everyday and hence someone will see up your dress, there is nothing you can do that cannot be done in an appropriate length dress. And as to the tower climbing, wear some leggings underneath. Several of our daughters have had to work in the secular workplace for a time and in each and every case – even when the uniform was pants, the girls were given permission to wear long skirts instead. So, there is really no reason why any woman HAS to wear pants. It is a choice that is made to either obey the scripture or not.

Lesson: Wearing of Pants

Study: Hiya Angie. I'm really confused on this one. Every biblical movie I've seen shows both men and women wearing those long robe/type garments. Was that really the case? Lyle says that pants were a "war invention". Soooo, what would have been the difference in men's and women's garments back then? I solidly understand what you're saying in regards to today's pants vs. dresses dilemma. Help me to understand exactly what they meant!!!

Name: Cath

Hi Cath -

In Biblical times there were definite distinctions between men's and women's garments. While to us it appears that they just threw a big sheet over themselves, there were clearly accepted standards and rules of dress. It was about length, fittedness (is that a word?) and design. Women's garments and men's garments were different in their length, the way they were held onto the body (belts, straps, etc) and their undergarments were different. In a rain storm all of us - men, women and children might throw on a big yellow rain poncho but that is simply a generic garment. What was worn regularly in day to day activities is where we see the difference.

The men obviously did not wear pants like we see on the modern man - these were not developed until the middle ages and began as pantaloons (where the word pants comes from) and then progressed to "trousers" which came from the term "truss" meaning trussing up.

I found this on a Google search. It was a secular site (One for Polo clothing)and had nothing to do with Biblical thought so I felt it was interesting.

"Can we talk about ladies bloomers? They were pants invented by Elizabeth Smith Miller and consisted of a short skirt with baggy trousers gathered at the ankles. This masculine article of clothing appealed to Amelia Jenks Bloomer of Homer, New York who adopted and popularized the style as kind of rebellion about 1850. They were embraced by the first women's liberation troops and sports-minded ladies who rode the bicycle craze of the 1890's." Even this person recognized that it was worn as a form of rebellion.

I do believe that it is a universally accepted standard that dresses are a woman's garment and pants are a man's. Even under the auspices of cultural guidelines there are few places on the planet where pants would be considered feminine while a dress would be considered masculine.

Hope that helps some and was not overkill!! Do a google search on biblical clothing for men and women and you will come up with a lot of information.

Lesson: Wearing the pants

Study: Okay Angie, I googled biblical clothing and here's what I found. Even though both sexes wore similar garments, there was a distinct difference. Women's garments were made of finer quality and had some broidery/fancy/colourful stitching. And here's the big point...their garments were made to be MODEST AND NOT SHOW THE FIGURE! As I was putting my own jeans on this morning, I took a good long look at why I do the things I do. I wear jeans because...I've always worn jeans...it wasn't a conscious decision on my part at all. They aren't exactly comfortable, it's very difficult to purchase a pair that fits, they do show off every bump/hump/lump (can you tell I'm over 40? lol) and they are for the most part expensive and not well-made these days. And yes, when I'm wearing pants, I usually feel much stronger/bolder. There is a distinct correlation between how I FEEL and what I WEAR. I'm sure how I feel then becomes how I act. Hooboy! Okay, so that should also mean that all women's wear (dresses) should be looked at. I'm sure a woman wearing a revealing dress must feel very provocative...therefore acts that way, etc. The key is modest and non-revealing. Sorry for rambling, but I'm thinking that the whole clothing issue isn't the "be all and end all", but it is part and parcel of the whole Godly Wife. Get one part right and aligned, then you add another piece and another. So thank you again for your study. When people "know better" they can "do better". How very sad that there aren't more women like yourself willing to step up to the plate to show other women the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth! Whoa! I just had another "moment"...you are showing me and then I can then show others too!!! I love this stuff!!!!!!

Name: Cath

Lesson: Tuesday Laundry Day

Study: Angie,

I am feeling very confused. I was raised to be the wrong kind of girl. My mother tried to encourage us to be very provocative, very worldly, and to get the attention of men. I did not want to live like that so I wore men's clothing to feel safe and strong and not like a whore. I felt that I was modest I was completely covered and I felt brave and strong. I felt that I could take care of myself. I feel very vonurable in women's clothing. I have been trying to make over my wardrobe and cover daily and to be more modest female. But with the terrible things from my past that I am dealing with right now I have reverted back to wearing men's clothing. I feel brused emotionally. I am greving for my losses. I feel weak and I need to find some way for my modest clothing to help me feel right, not something that is not me yet. I am sewing new dresses and converting my overalls to jumpers but I think that I am scared and I don't know of what. Am I making any sence? In Service to Christ dolly

Name: Dolly

Dearest Dolly,

I appreciate your being open and honest and sharing with me about your past. Let me begin with sharing a scripture with you - 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Your testimony of your upbringing certainly shows where the fear originated in your life, but once you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you are equipped to end that spirit of fear that torments you. It did not come from God as this scripture shows us - it came from the devil and you must flee from it. The best way to defeat the devil is to live for Christ and to follow His Word and His teachings. You can see in the scripture from this lesson that dressing like a man or in men's clothing is an abomination to the Lord and as a born again Christian you need to stop doing it. It is difficult to change something so ingrained in your life, I know, but you are powerful through the blood of Christ and you can overcome the fear of the evil one through obedience and praise. But you must diligently make the changes and submit each and every day to the Lord Jesus and He will strengthen you. Wearing a headcovering is a very difficult task for most of us and it takes everything we have when we first begin, to go out in public and actually have people see us. But I can attest to the fact that over time, it is no longer difficult or even embarrassing. My flesh, my pride and my past caused me to feel those negative things and thankfully, at least in this area, I now have the victory over Satan's lies and am not hindered by them. You must do the same. Do you believe the scriptures to be true? Do you believe they are to be obeyed? If you answered yes, then trust the Lord and step out. God will not leave you forsaken in this.

With much love and prayers -

Angie

Lesson: Laundry day, Both days so far

Study: Hi Angie

I've been mulling over this study ever since you posted it, and it seems to me that the first day (Monday) had to do with an inward cleansing, which is a personal thing between yourself and God, and then the second day has to do with the outside life, or how that inward cleansing should start to show on the outside too (that's sanctification I do believe).

A verse, or section of verses rather, which have been running through my head over this subject have been those from First Peter when he talks of the humble, serving nature of Christ and then says that wives should "likewise" take this same attitude towards their husbands. Her general attitude of submission, and love, and modesty is her adornment. I do believe that her inward, or spiritual modesty should be reflected by her outward, or physical appearance as well. Another interesting thing about these verses is that it is used in regards to one of the ways that the LORD uses a wife to help a non-Christian husband.

This is how I've been led to meditate on this topic for the last little while anyway.

Name: Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Beautifully written - Yes. You have reached into the meat here. Your observation "Her general attitude of submission, and love, and modesty is her adornment." really leads us into the next aspect of Laundry Day.

Thanks -

Lesson: Laundry Day Both

Study: Angie, thank you again for this study! I am learning so much and just really feeling a part of this work of the Lord. Here's my question/problem. I have been really doing my internal laundry for quite some time now. I was literally changed by God over the past 3 years or so, especially this last year. My husband has seen the changes in me and is thrilled and has actually started to embrace a more Christian attitude and lifestyle. I have talked to him about dressing more modestly and he is just not on board. He says he's flattered when other men look at me when I dress in something fitted that shows off my figure. And for me, someone with a checkered past, who has been cleansed by the Lord and really wants to live a Godly life, this is very hard for me lately. I have tried to just wear big sweaters with my jeans, etc. but he won't have me wearing loose clothes or long dresses as I'd like. I've been able to buy a few to go to church and wear occassionally but that's it. Last night we watched Inherit the Land and I commented on the true beauty and peace of the women that were shown in the film and he agreed. So for now, please keep me in prayer as I continue to submit to my husband but pray for a change in his heart.

Name: Donna

Dear Donna,

Bless your heart!! I am so encouraged to hear how the Lord is working in your life. I will keep you on our prayer list and am confident that the Lord will hear the cry of your heart and bring a change in your husband's. Allow me to share a little testimony of my own. When we began to make our changes - we began to wear dresses only, then headcoverings and then long plain dresses, etc. One thing that tortured me was my hair. I had been frosting my hair since I was 14 years old. I was called "Blondie" by some of the guys in school and everyone knew me by my shiny blonde hair. It was one of those things that I really felt convicted of when the Lord revealed this new path to us. The problem was - Paul LOVED my hair. He loved it being blonde. His argument was that it was for him and since I wore my hair under a covering no one could really see it except for the hairline. He wanted me to continue coloring my hair. It still tortured me.

Paul was speaking at the funeral of a dear friend and while there a young teenage girl, who wanted to mock me and my plain appearance, said that I was a hypocrit because I wore all the plain things but still colored my hair. Oh, the sting of it was brutal, but I knew that the Lord knew my heart. In that moment, Paul looked at me and he knew. He knew from the sorrow in my eyes that I was ashamed and I had no way to respond because I was being obedient to him. When we left - we were in Florida and had a 12 hour ride to get home - but when we got in the car and buckled up, he turned to me and apologized and asked me to not color my hair anymore. Talk about relief!

So I said all that to say this, God knows your heart. Talk to him about what is in the depth of your heart and how it makes you feel to be an object for men to stare at. Obey him but do what you can to be as modest as possible. Your Father in heaven changed the heart of a Pharoah and he can change your husband's heart too. Know that we are praying in agreement with you!

Angie

Lesson: Laundry Part 2

Study: I think there has to be something instinctive about this too. Call it a God given feeling maybe whether people want to recognize it as that or not. We all have instincts of whats right and whats wrong. What I mean is, have you ever noticed that some basic things tend to show which gender its for? Take the public bathroom in any store or restaurant for instance. The ladies room is always symbolized by a figure in a dress. In the baby dept. boys things tend to be blue or green, girls things pink or yellow. Boys things tend to have puppies or some such, girls have flowers, lace or ruffles. Even bigger kids clothes, even if the style blends with boys fashions they try to make it 'look' like its a girls outfit by color.

Another thing I have found interesting is how most the women I've met who came to covering were convicted to switch to wearing only dresses before ever being convicted to cover. Its kind of like the Lord was preparing each one in baby steps until they were strong enough to bear up against the odd looks and stares that would come with covering. We don't just start off strong so that we can withstand anything that comes at us. We build up spiritual strength slowly. Feeding on the milk, moving up to the meat. As we grow spiritually, more is expected of us. We can't stay in kindergarten forever, we move up grade by grade, gaining more responsibility along the way. Once we have learned the truth it is harder to turn back to the way we used to do things before we knew it.

Name: Shellie

Shellie - I think you are hitting on a key here. The Lord does walk us in "do-able" steps and gives us chewable bites to get us going. I have great concern when folks jump too quickly -before they have time to study and develop their beliefs. Now, I have to add that some folks are so far back that they need a jumpstart to get going - those folks have to take major steps quickly. But for most of us, we need to walk step by step.

And I agree with what you said about even the world recognizes that there is a difference and it shows in their nuances in clothing and such. The key being "nuances". For the Christian is should be a marked difference and not just a little pink label on the Levi's instead of a brown one. ;-)

Angie

Tuesday - Laundry Day - Modest, Shamefaced and Sober

All right, let’s move on in our discussion of the GARMENTS/CLOTHING of a Godly woman. As I read through the scriptures I can see, especially in the Old Testament, how meticulous the Lord was about the items that were worn by the priests in the temple. God was so specific about each and every item that it makes me realize the importance of dress. We have already gone over the way the Lord made clothing for Adam and Eve –He did not make their clothing from leaves and plant material (as Adam and Eve had tried to do), but from skins of animals – which of course, was the beginning of the blood sacrifice to cover sin. I think it is apparent that when humans try to choose their clothing they are generally going with their flesh and what their flesh wants. But again how can we see all of the specifics of the Old Testament and assume that clothing does not matter to the Lord.

I’m not sure why the modern church seems to think that Godly women can still follow the fads and fashions of the modern world and even ignore modesty and it makes no difference to God. I want to address the issue of modesty and fashion. As we are doing this Bible study I feel like an important point is to address some of the statements that are made in favor of following after the fashion of the world. Let’s look at the scripture first: 1Timothy 2:9 “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But which becometh women professing godliness with good works.” Well! Doesn’t this give us an incredible picture? If we believe the Word of God - the Holy Bible to be in errant, then how can this scripture be ignored so often. I would venture to say it is one of the most often ignored scriptures in the entire Bible.

As I said earlier let’s begin with modesty. What constitutes modesty? Do the runways of Paris’ Fashion Week determine modesty? Ha! Or perhaps the corporate big shots for Walmart? Or perhaps the pastor’s wife? It makes you wonder doesn’t it? Wouldn’t it be nice if all of the pastor’s wives wore modest, Godly apparel to be a good example for the ladies of their church? I have to admit that some do, but sadly many don’t. Let’s define modesty:

Using the Strong’s Concordance:

Modest- 2887 - kosmios

1) well arranged, seemly, modest

Using several modern dictionaries:

marked by simplicity
humble; unpretentious; unassuming; simple; limited
decent
neither bold nor self-assertive
intended to avoid attracting sexual interest

I think these definitions really do give us a fairly good picture of what we are looking for here. (Please note number 5 from the modern dictionaries section and no, this was not from a Biblical dictionary but from a secular one. Interesting.) There are so many topics that we could take off on at the moment - rabbit trails really, but I want to stick to the main point. When we began our move toward a plain lifestyle, we wondered whether or not simple clothing was all that mattered. Actually we did try to just wear dresses that were fairly modest and unassuming. I had a wide assortment of simple jumpers and tee shirts for underneath. These seemed to cover, not expose the shape, and couldn’t have been more inexpensive to make. So they appeared to follow what I was after. Until one day when I went to the local bakery store. We had already started wearing headcoverings which will be discussed as part of this Bible study, and I had on a nice simple denim jumper with the long sleeve tee shirt underneath. As I went to the check-out counter, the lady looked at me very peculiar and said, “You wear the same clothing as everybody else but what is that thing on your head?” I was stunned. Not about her question on the headcovering, but more on her saying that I wore the same clothing as everybody else. Here are thought I had really made a change and made an evident statement in my modest jumper and simple shirt that I was different.

I was modest in the technical sense, but I was not modest in the Godly sense that I was after. The Holy Spirit had really convicted me that as a born again, Bible believing cr