Everybody needs this coverage—even men.
by Sarah MacDonald—
As the rough wind blew her around, she placed her hand on her head, assuring herself that she was covered. Her hijab needed to stay in place. People didn’t understand the significance. What was the significance? She wasn’t completely sure. She knew that for some reason it had to do with submission, but now she wondered, what was the real purpose? She plucked a weed as she thought, then jumped suddenly as she heard a girl's voice behind her ask what she was doing.
She was not in the mood to talk to anyone. She wanted her questions answered! Politely she told the girl she was busy but received a little booklet from her before she walked away. Tossing it aside for the moment she went back to her work, not wanting to be bothered anymore.
But this nagging feeling was in her stomach. She had to take a break, and as she did, she pondered this covering question while looking at her beautiful garden. What was she doing with her life? As she thought, it struck her that it was almost time to pray. How could she pray in a position like this, though? She felt dirty, having been in the garden for a few hours.
So, she grabbed the booklet, went inside, washed her hands, and got on her knees. Something was wrong though. She couldn’t shake this feeling in her stomach, and, even after she washed her hands, she didn’t feel clean somehow. Though she was covered, she didn’t feel right.
She sat up, and, instead of praying like she normally would, she raised her hands and asked God to help her understand. As she brought her hands back down, she noticed that booklet she was given. Why not see if that had any answers?
She opened the book, and she couldn’t believe what she saw there.
It took her back to the Garden, the place where original sin took place. Adam and Eve were perfect, but then they sinned against God, the completely holy One, causing sin and death on all humanity. Something stuck out to her that she never would have thought of before. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, what did they do about it at first? They covered themselves with leaves. But they soon learned that it wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t acceptable to God. The only acceptable sacrifice to God Almighty was the shedding of blood through the killing of an innocent animal. Only that would cover their nakedness and their shameful sin of disobedience. So that is what He did—He killed an animal himself to cover them with its skins.
Next was an explanation of the holiness of God. God is perfect, holy, without sin, completely righteous, pure, and completely just in all ways. When Prophet Isaiah was in the presence of the holy God, all he could do was hide and shout that he was unclean in His holy presence. The glory, the weight, of the holy One was on his shoulders, and it was a traumatic experience. He couldn’t handle the glory of the Lord. Even the angels covered themselves in the presence of the holy One!
But wait! This didn’t make any sense to her! She wasn’t unclean like Isaiah, was she? She wasn’t responsible for imparting sin to all of humanity, was she? She was submissive! She was veiled, covered! Wasn’t that enough?
No, it wasn’t. As she read on, she was confronted with the holy Law of God.
As the prophet Moses was going up to the mountain to receive the holy Law of God, he veiled himself. Why? Because he was in the presence of the holy God. We are veiled in our understanding of the holiness of God because of our sin. As the Law convicted her character, see how the Law convicts you.
How many times have you coveted something that didn’t belong to you? How many lies have you told in your life? Have you ever stolen anything, even something small when you were young? Have you stolen time from your boss, or downloaded illegal music etc.? How many times do you look with lust in a day? Jesus says that’s as bad as committing adultery in your heart! How many ill thoughts have you had towards your family, your co-workers, your friends? Gossip and judgmental thoughts and hatred in your heart – Jesus counts this as murder. How many times did you dishonor your parents as a child? Is your relationship with them well with your soul? If not, you are in disobedience to God Himself.
Do you honor God with your time? Do you set aside time for Him? How much time to you waste in a day? Did you know that you will give an account for every moment that you spend on earth? How many times do you use the Name of God irreverently? Do you read the Bible a mind open to Scriptural truth? Do you pray all the time and do so in a way that’s honoring to God, talking to the One who gave His life for you?
How many idols are in your life? How many idle words do you speak on an everyday basis? What do you spend your time on? You are not loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength for any second of every day. You are constantly in sin.
Can you really say that you’re willing to stand before God without a veil, in His holiness?
She didn’t know what to do with herself! She was guilty! Her head was covered, but she was exposed and shameful. Her hands were “clean”, but she was dirty! God hates all this sin! They are in direct opposition to who He is! She was worse than those who seemed to be more sinful than her because they didn’t act pious. She knew she was guilty now, too, and deserved the judgment.
There had to be a solution! She knew there was nothing she could do on her own, though. Nothing. She could pray all day, she could fast for weeks, she could give all she had to the poor, but nothing would ever remove her sin. There was no acceptable covering! She couldn’t “outweigh” the scales. Because God is perfect and holy and just, He cannot let sin into Heaven, because that would corrupt Heaven. She deserved Hell, and she deserved to be under the judgment of God.
As she sat and wept, she couldn’t believe what she read next.
She was taken back to a garden, the garden of Gethsemane. There she read of Jesus, in agony before His death on the cross.
Jesus alone lived a sinless life, He kept the Law completely. He served as our second Adam, accomplishing what Adam didn’t. He died and rose again, accomplishing perfect salvation for His people. That is the Gospel. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn from the top to the bottom. This veil contained the holy, eternal, Law of God behind it. This Law is the standard of absolute holiness, the eternal nature of the Lord. The veil being torn was the fulfillment of prophecy, the fulfillment that shows us that Jesus Christ kept the Law of God completely, breaking down the barrier between God and man forever.
Jesus Christ not only atoned (covered) the sin of the people, but He completely removed it! He was more acceptable than a covering, and accomplished the salvation of His people, completely removing their sins, through His blood sacrifice.
This made so much sense to her. She understood the significance of the covering now, and it was more amazing than she could have ever imagined! As she thought of her own garden, her own dirty hands, and her own lack of submission, she now understood that she could never work enough to atone for her sin. It was all through Christ and His sacrifice alone. The covering of her head only served as a symbol of the submission that she knew she could have through Christ and His drawing her to Himself.
Everything hinges on the sacrifice of Christ and His resurrection from the dead. Your eternal soul hinges on what you do with Jesus Christ, and whether you submit to His Lordship or not. He commands repentance, for you to turn from your sins and turn to Him in faith alone as the substitutionary sacrifice in your place. If you feel the weight of your sin through the holiness of the Lord and His overwhelming glory, turn to Christ alone, no matter the cost. ...Are you covered?
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” – Jude 24-25