Each year I read my Bible through.
Usually I use a Bible I have never used and read all the notes and commentary as well as the Bible text.
This year I am reading the Bible through and skipping the italicized words. These words are not in the original language and were added by the translators to help the flow of the text. They are east to spot because they are a different type.
While reading through Exodus this week I have noticed when the animals are mentioned the goats never say skins. It just says goats. The text reads ram skins, and badger skins, but when it comes to goats it only says goats. It caught my attention.
I have no idea if I know the answer or if it is even important, but here is my thought.
Is it possible this was the only thing worth using on a goat? If so, there would be no reason to add the word skin. Hebrew being a compact language with no vowels was conservative with adjectives so the translators added them to help the English reader.
If my simple thought is feasible, it would mean the parts of other animals had use. Therefore the text identifies when it is referring to that part of a ram or badger. But when speaking of a goat there was no need to mention the skin for nothing else about the animal was usable. Nothing inside the goat was good for anything. It’s only value was it’s skin.
The analogy I drew was that there are people like that. They are empty and hollow inside. All they have to offer our world is the skin everyone sees. So they have to try and improve it with cosmetics (make-up), and jewelry, and artificial means. This draws attention to the only thing they have to offer, the outside, which can be seen by the everyday person.
This is not the way a follower of Christ lives. The good stuff, if you please, is on the inside. We do not flaunt the skin, but rather realize we have much more to offer our world than an artificial appearance. It is the primary reason the New Testament teaches us to avoid the artificial on the outer man and let the inner man shine though.
It is the fruit of the spirit that God wants the world to see. When you put honesty and loyalty and sincerity up against lipstick and rouge and eye liner it is easy to see why the person who is empty inside needs to glamorize the skin. They are a goat, and it is all they have to offer the world.
A true child of God has much more to offer the world than just their skin. They offer love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
It is hard for the light of Christ to shine through when your skin is painted with the artificial elements of the world. Our command is let your light so shine before men. There is nothing more beautiful to man and to God than a Christian woman adorned with godliness and holiness. She stands out, people notice her purity. You see her light glowing through, and Christ is magnified and lifted up.
When a person paints the skin, adorns the skin, it is a notice of what is lacking inside. It is all they have to offer our world.
Thanks for reading today…….
Expository Series
First Pentecostal Church of Puget Sound
Savecom
KennethBow's Blog 
What an awesome thought! I love your insight and appreciate you sharing it with the world!
Goats are pretty good eating but are aggravating to have. They are browsers, which means they prefer broadleaf to grass: I.e. poison ivy (yeah!), fruit trees, rose bushes, garden plants (NO!). Thanks for the thought. That is very interesting. I have wondered about the spiritual significance of goats as they are pushy, will defend themselves better than sheep, which provides the sheep some safety when pastured together but push the sheep away from anything they have a hankering for.
You’ve got me thinking too, of other things with this post. I thought of the men’s skin decorating, coloring inks, and piercings, or tanning sprays. And I know this is not just a male thing; that thousands of more women are heavily into this. They call it art. Artwork on skin. But they don’t actually frame & hang themselves in a gallery or a museum.. I tell you with this ever changing world we live in today, the same thought is just as applicable to the masculinity & holiness of a male, whether they are a husband, son or in leadership. I like this post: Just empty skins just on display, or godly holy vessels filled with the Holy Ghost & for God’s use. Thank you for you ministry & service to God.
Very keen insight.
Thank you for sharing
I don’t agree with your post. We can “adorne” the skin in many ways. We can dress modestly yet still be cold and hollow inside. How do you show people love if all you do is judge them because they wear makeup and jewellery? That isn’t showing love. How will a person come to Christ if they are judged at first sight? But have you ever considered that maybe some people only have to offer the clothes they put on their bodies? Maybe they hide their emptiness and sinful souls with their long skirts and makeup free faces and suits and ties?? It makes no sense how this thought even came from this part of the Bible.
Sounds like you are the one judging :))
Is that what you think? I’m not. I am open minded. 🙂
Correct me if I’m wrong, because no where does it say your appearance determains your salvation… your message is very misleading.
Would you please comment as to why people who were naked were always “clothed and in their right mind” after they encountered Jesus? It seems their appearance changed when they became acquainted with Jesus.
Out of the hundreds of stories in the Bible, I can only think of one where someone was naked and then “clothed and in their right mind after meeting Jesus”…are there more? If so, please enlighten me because I surely must have forgotten. That being said, you are going to preach soon in Liberal, KS, where everyone is going to “look okay” (according to your article) but there is a child molester among them. I think Jesus cares more about that than someone wearing make-up, but for the past thirty years, all the modestly clothed folks with no make-up surrounding him have just ignored that and continued to worship Jesus…including him. What have you to say about that?
I would like to say thank you for reading my blog. It is certainly not the best one and for you to take time and read and then respond makes me thankful. My response is that both the inside of the cup and the outside of the cup need to be clean according to Jesus. One blog does not represent the entire mantra of Jesus. It usually focuses on one point. That does not nullify other points, it just highlights that particular point. You have applied my blog to a real life situation I am not aware of so I cannot make good comparisons. My best answer is if I use that rationale I could not preach at the church in Corinth, for they had many problems in their church. Churches, all churches are filled with people. Where there are people there are issues, just like Corinth. Personally I do not want to emphasize one issue over another. I believe people have to dress and look like what the Bible teaches, and they also have to clean up sin in their life. This is also Biblical. I concur to be right on the outside and wrong on the inside is not acceptable according to Jesus. The opposite is also true. To be right on the inside and wrong on the outside is also wrong. The trap many fall into is comparing their issues to another’s. My goal in my life is to compare my life to the teachings of Jesus and adhere to his commandments. The only control I have is over myself. I will let others throw the first stone at the woman taken in the act of adultery. I am going to try and be right on the inside and on the outside. I will not place values or condemnation on one being more important than the other.