As Peter continued to give
instructions to the “wives”, he told them their husbands
would be “won” by their “pure” manner of living. While
the husbands “behold” their “chaste” ways
“coupled with fear”, the wives would be bearing witness of
their relationship with Jesus Christ. In chapter three and verse
three of his letter, Peter shared with the wives concerning their
“outward adorning” where we read:
Whose adorning let it
not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair,
and of wearing of
gold, or of putting on of apparel;
The verse begins, “Whose
adorning let it not be that outward adorning of
plaiting the hair,...” Peter
began with the words, “Whose
adorning” which refers
to “the wives' apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution,
order, government, ornament and decoration” “let it not
be” which in Greek is “estō
ou estō” which means
“not allowing or permitting” “that outward” or
“from without or external” “adorning of plaiting”
or “interweaving, braiding or making an elaborate gathering of
one's hair into knots” “the hair”
which refers to “the hair of the head”. Peter's instruction was
for the wives not to place extreme value upon the ornamentation and
decoration of their hair.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and
of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;”
Peter added, “and of wearing”
which means “putting on or around the head or body” “of
gold” which refers to “gold
coins and ornaments which have been smelted and worked upon”, “or
of putting on” which means
“investment with clothing” “of apparel”
or “garments, apparel, cloaks, mantles, tunic, raiment and
vestures”. In addition to not interweaving and making elaborate
gathering of their hair, wives were not to “adorn”
themselves with “gold”
items or elaborate clothing.
When
we consider these words of Peter, it may help us to understand what
was going on in the church at this time. Wives were paying
particularly extensive attention to their “external” looks. They
often came to church with their hair luxuriantly braided and were
dressed in the finest of clothing and jewelry as though the more
glamorous they were adorned, the more valuable or spiritual they were
supposed to be. This drew extensive attention to the wives, and
therefore Peter wrote to them concerning their “outward
adorning”. Perhaps there are
those reading these words who are challenged by Peter and if so, let
us allow him to complete his thoughts in the verses to come, and may
the Lord show us any area where we place greater value than we
should.
Next
time Peter shares about the “hidden
man of the heart”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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