THE CHILDREN'S CLOTHING
It will ever be a wonder to us that the Lord Jesus, as a babe, was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger - where men made no room for Him the beasts must do so. The swathing or winding with a cloth band showed the confined condition into which He had come. You will remember too that, in burial, His body was bound up in linen. Also during His lifetime He spoke of being "straightened", or 'pressed in spirit'. Although the Lord was never hindered in showing grace where it was needed, He always felt deeply the great sacrifice before Him. As a stranger in the world He had made, He spent the first night on earth in the outbuildings of an inn: in the last night He was in a "guestchamber", which is the same word as 'inn'.
In the Scriptures clothing is often used as an outward sign of what is true of persons in an unseen way. Cain and Abel when children must have heard about and probably seen the coats of skin made by God for their naked and frightened parents. Abel learned the need of being covered in a way that was pleasing to God as well as a protection from judgment. Thus when older he brought an offering from the firstlings of small cattle. The garments and the sacrifice were a type, at the dawn of human life, of the worth and work of Jesus - glorifying God and meeting the needs of sinners. The history of Cain is a warning because he ignored the very first lesson and thus started on the broad way which seemed pleasant but was really the path to eternal loss.
For forty years in the desert the garments and sandals of the Israelites never became old, nor their feet sore. As the children grew up and clothes were passed down the family there could be no grumbling since everything was always new! This was by a miracle of God's power but was also a sign of His purpose. He accepts us as believers "in the Beloved" and this keeps our eye on the true Christian standard. It is a little like a soldier saluting the flag to remind him to serve king and country with honour. The foot not swelling means that for the Christian there is always divine power in the Holy Spirit to behave in a way pleasing to the Lord. Do you "walk in newness of life"?
J.C.Evershed
36