pastor’s Message
Outer Garments (Cloak or Robe)
by Pastor LeeThis month, I will continue our discussion of clothing from the Bible. In the time of the Bible, there were not as many clothes as there are today. There were only undergarments and outer garments. Undergarments were mainly worn when working near the house or going out to nearby places. However, when traveling far, outer garments were worn. Outer garments were mainly made of wool, unlike undergarments made of linen. This outer garment protected from the heat and rain during the day on long trips, and at night, it served as a kind of sleeping bag for sleeping outdoors. In other words, the outer garment was worn and covered like a blanket.
Therefore, the outer garment was not something to wear, but something to cover. Exodus 22:26-27 shows that this outer garment served as a blanket to cover oneself at night, because if a pawned outer garment was not returned, one could easily lose one’s life due to the cold. Acts 7 deals with Stephen’s speech and his death. Act 7:58 says, “Dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.” Here, clothes refer to outer garments.
So, what does the outer garment mean here? Also, what does the expression “laying their clothes at his feet” mean? In fact, Saul did not directly stone Stephen to death. However, he was clearly an accomplice or bystander at the scene of the crime. If we understand the symbolic meaning of laying his outer garment under someone’s feet, we can determine whether Saul was a mere bystander in the death of Stephen, or an active participant or instigator.
As I mentioned above, people had only one outer garment. This garment symbolized social authority. In Roman times, there was a coming-of-age ceremony when a boy grew up and debuted as an adult. At this time, they took off the outer garment they had worn as a boy and changed into the outer garment of an adult. In this way, by putting on the outer garment, they were given a new identity and authority. Paul described the change of Christians who were given a new identity through faith in Jesus Christ as putting on new clothes. Colossians 3:9-10. "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."
In 1 Samuel, there is a story about Hannah giving Samuel to the Lord, who was born in answer to her prayer, to the tabernacle in Shiloh, where the house of God was. Every time she went up to Shiloh for the annual sacrifice, she made a little robe and took it to Samuel. During his ministry as a prophet, Samuel always wore the robe his mother had made for him, and the people could recognize him just by the shape of this robe. After Samuel died and an all-out war with the Philistines was imminent, Saul went to the medium in Endor in a desperate situation. Saul, who summoned Samuel’s spirit through the medium, immediately recognized him and bowed down to him just by the robe that Samuel usually wore. This was because Samuel’s robe contained his authority as a prophet.
Then, when we understand the meaning of outer garments in the Bible and the special meaning of laying one’s cloak at someone else’s feet, we can easily resolve our curiosity about Saul’s role in relation to the first martyr, Stephen. Laying their outer garments at Saul’s feet was not simply about entrusting their outer garments to Saul. It meant completely entrusting their authority to others and submitting to them. At a time when the Roman Empire had taken away their right to execute the death penalty, they would have been concerned about the problems that would arise if they stoned Stephen to death.
For this reason, the crowd would have waited for Saul’s approval by laying their outer garments at Saul’s feet and Saul would have voted in favor of allowing their actions. (Acts 26:10) When we see that the crowd laid their outer garments at Saul’s feet before killing Stephen, we can see that Saul was not just a mere accomplice in the death of Stephen, but an active participant and instigator.
Shalom!
by Pastor LeeThis month, I will continue our discussion of clothing from the Bible. In the time of the Bible, there were not as many clothes as there are today. There were only undergarments and outer garments. Undergarments were mainly worn when working near the house or going out to nearby places. However, when traveling far, outer garments were worn. Outer garments were mainly made of wool, unlike undergarments made of linen. This outer garment protected from the heat and rain during the day on long trips, and at night, it served as a kind of sleeping bag for sleeping outdoors. In other words, the outer garment was worn and covered like a blanket.
Therefore, the outer garment was not something to wear, but something to cover. Exodus 22:26-27 shows that this outer garment served as a blanket to cover oneself at night, because if a pawned outer garment was not returned, one could easily lose one’s life due to the cold. Acts 7 deals with Stephen’s speech and his death. Act 7:58 says, “Dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.” Here, clothes refer to outer garments.
So, what does the outer garment mean here? Also, what does the expression “laying their clothes at his feet” mean? In fact, Saul did not directly stone Stephen to death. However, he was clearly an accomplice or bystander at the scene of the crime. If we understand the symbolic meaning of laying his outer garment under someone’s feet, we can determine whether Saul was a mere bystander in the death of Stephen, or an active participant or instigator.
As I mentioned above, people had only one outer garment. This garment symbolized social authority. In Roman times, there was a coming-of-age ceremony when a boy grew up and debuted as an adult. At this time, they took off the outer garment they had worn as a boy and changed into the outer garment of an adult. In this way, by putting on the outer garment, they were given a new identity and authority. Paul described the change of Christians who were given a new identity through faith in Jesus Christ as putting on new clothes. Colossians 3:9-10. "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."
In 1 Samuel, there is a story about Hannah giving Samuel to the Lord, who was born in answer to her prayer, to the tabernacle in Shiloh, where the house of God was. Every time she went up to Shiloh for the annual sacrifice, she made a little robe and took it to Samuel. During his ministry as a prophet, Samuel always wore the robe his mother had made for him, and the people could recognize him just by the shape of this robe. After Samuel died and an all-out war with the Philistines was imminent, Saul went to the medium in Endor in a desperate situation. Saul, who summoned Samuel’s spirit through the medium, immediately recognized him and bowed down to him just by the robe that Samuel usually wore. This was because Samuel’s robe contained his authority as a prophet.
Then, when we understand the meaning of outer garments in the Bible and the special meaning of laying one’s cloak at someone else’s feet, we can easily resolve our curiosity about Saul’s role in relation to the first martyr, Stephen. Laying their outer garments at Saul’s feet was not simply about entrusting their outer garments to Saul. It meant completely entrusting their authority to others and submitting to them. At a time when the Roman Empire had taken away their right to execute the death penalty, they would have been concerned about the problems that would arise if they stoned Stephen to death.
For this reason, the crowd would have waited for Saul’s approval by laying their outer garments at Saul’s feet and Saul would have voted in favor of allowing their actions. (Acts 26:10) When we see that the crowd laid their outer garments at Saul’s feet before killing Stephen, we can see that Saul was not just a mere accomplice in the death of Stephen, but an active participant and instigator.
Shalom!