GARMENTS OF SALVATION

 

Robe of Righteousness by Phil McKay

 

In speaking of the physical restoration of Zion in the last days, Isaiah used the marriage figure to depict the covenant between the Lord and His people. Zion is a “bride” adorned with pearls who awaits her “husband”, Jesus Christ. It’s a beautiful depiction of the joy awaiting the saints of the latter-days (see The Old Testament Student Manual Book 2, p 207):

 

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10)

 

A prophet who used the imagery of the ‘garments of salvation’ on a more personal level is Nephi of the Book of Mormon. Nephi leaves me breathless when I read his lamentation over his humanity and his pleading that the “gates of hell be shut continually before him” so that he may have a broken heart and a contrite spirit and “walk in the path of the low valley….” (2 Nephi 4:32). What makes it heart rending is that Nephi was an incredibly righteous man. Anyone who laments over their humanity though, which diverts one’s course of righteousness, would relate to Nephi’s heartfelt remorse for his sins and imperfections.

 

What he said next, however, is what tugs at my heart. Nephi was an ardent admirer of Isaiah and he referred to him simply as ‘the prophet’. He quoted Isaiah’s reference to ‘the robe of righteousness’ in the very next verse and he did so with great meaning and reason:

 

"Oh Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! ......Oh Lord, I have trusted in thee and I will trust in thee forever.........I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God."    (2 Nephi 4:33,35)

 

And this is the reason why Nephi appealed to God for His ‘robe of righteousness’. Lehi, his father was a successful and rich merchant and the family lived on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Living and trading so close to the desert means the family would have been accustomed to Bedouin’s way of life. Nephi would have been very familiar with the significance of ‘the robe’:

 

"In Arabic culture, when a person is running away, he runs to the tent of any great sheikh he can find. He goes in and kneels down before the sheikh and says, 'I am thy suppliant'. The sheikh is then obligated to put his caftan over his katef which is the same as shoulder - to put the hem of his garment over his shoulder and say, 'Ahlan wa-sahlan wa-marhaban'. This is your tent, this is your family'....He says, 'We'll make a place for you'. Then the lord or the chief is under obligation to defend you against the enemies that are chasing you. You are now under his protection, and he will protect you."  - Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 1. (Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies), p. 252

 

The significance of ‘the robe’ was well known throughout the ancient Near East. Cast your mind back to Jesus’ time when the woman from Capernaum who had suffered for 12 years with 'an issue of blood' understood this concept too. She had spent everything she had on treatments that had been fruitless and had brought her no relief from her chronic condition. Then there came a ray of hope. She had heard of Jesus whom many proclaimed to be the Messiah who spoke with authority and when He spoke people were healed.

 

The possibility of a healing worked in her to the point of complete faith that this man was her only hope. When she pressed through the crowds, however, she did not pat the Messiah on His back, she descended to the hem of his robe for the point of contact to release her faith for a miracle in her life. The touch needed, the robe crucial, for attached to the robe of His garment were tassels which represented the word of God (Numbers 15:37-41) and the authority of Yeshua whose divinity she was acknowledging.

 

One would think this sacred act of faith is sufficient for a faith promoting story but this story teaches us about more than faith on behalf of this woman. This story teaches us about the protective nature of the Lord's robe of righteousness. According to the Levitical law it was forbidden for this woman to be in public for she was considered socially unclean (Lev. 15:25). The Saviour knew that she was healed when she touched His robe and she knew that she was healed but nobody else would have known had He not made her faith known to the gathered crowd. How else could she have proved her healing to those who would have to proclaim her socially clean? The Saviour knew this and announced her cleanliness amidst many witnesses. That’s protection of His robe of righteousness.

 

Another wonderful example. In the country of the Gadarenes there was a man who was beset by a legion of devils who lived in tombs and cried night and day, cutting himself with stones (Mark 5:1-5). The Gospel of Luke tells us this man wore no clothes (Luke 8:27). In scripture, to be naked is to have your sins, vulnerabilities and weaknesses exposed. When all Jewish men wore robes and prayer shawls with tassels which reminded them of God, the legions of devils residing in this man must have wanted his nakedness exposed to signify lack of God's protection from his sins.

 

The idea of having our sins and vulnerabilities enfolded in the Saviour's robes, which can offer us protection from the same, is seen when John the Baptist rebuked the Pharisses and Sadduccees, warning them: "If ye receive not me, ye receive not him of whom I am sent to bear record; and for your sins ye have no cloak" (JST Matthew 3:34). The possessed man was not only freed from devil possession but was given protection from his sins by His robe of righteousness as he sat, fully clothed, in his right mind, at the feet of the Saviour (Luke 8:35).

 

The robe of righteousness exists for the spiritually astute of this day also. We might not have visual reminders of God’s protection, but it is there for the asking every time we kneel in prayer before His throne…..

THE ROBE OF HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

Robe of Righteousness by Phil Mckay

“It was the custom for one fleeing for his life in the desert to seek protection in the tent of a great sheik, crying out, “Ana dakhiluka”, meaning ‘I am thy suppliant’, whereupon the host would place the hem of his robe over the guest's shoulder and declare him under his protection.

“In one instance in the Book of Mormon, we see Nephi fleeing from an evil enemy that is pursuing him. In great danger, he prays the Lord to give him an open road in the low way, to block his pursuers, and to make them stumble. He comes to the Lord as a suppliant: ‘O Lord wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! (2 Nephi 4:33).

“In reply, according to the ancient custom, the Master would place the hem of his robe protectively over the kneeling man’s shoulder (kafata). This puts him under the Lord’s protection from all enemies. They embrace in a close hug, as Arab chiefs still do: the Lord makes a place for him (see Alma 5:24) and invites him to sit down beside him – they are at-one.

“This is the imagery of the Atonement – the embrace. ‘The Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of His love! (2 Nephi 1:15).

-          Hugh Nibley, “The Atonement of Jesus Christ, Part 1” Ensign July 1990

 

Your saving grace

Has lifted me to Your cross

Becoming my mortal weakness’ greatest foe.

I now walk with You

In paths I dare not walk alone;

In the valley of shadow of death,

I rejoice to be Your own. 

-      Cathryne Allen 

OVERCOMING WEAKNESSES

 

Desire is everything. Let me clarify that. Righteous desire is everything. I am sure most of us have at one time or another been perplexed by the Saviour’s commandment to ‘be perfect’ and maybe we have even dealt with feelings of hopelessness in regards to this commandment. There are two things to understand when we think of ‘perfection’ though. The first is understanding our mortal weakness, and the second is understanding the path to rising above it. 

 

According to the Bible Dictionary, weakness is the primary condition of mortality and a state of being in this fallen world. It is unavoidable because mortality means weakness. Weakness means being human. The weakness of mortality is manifest in individual weaknesses and frailties that each person has.  In Ether 12:27, Christ told Moroni: "If men come unto me I will show unto them their 'weakness'. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble...."  Notice the word of 'weakness' is singular here. This is the condition of being weak. What the Saviour is referring to here is the weakness of mortality, not our individual weaknesses, of which He speaks in the latter part of the scripture when He says: "...for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them". The weak things He speaks of are in reference to individual 'weaknesses'. 

The latter part of this scripture is where the hope of freedom lies. Herein lies the importance of recognising our weak condition of mortality and thereby acknowledging that we cannot rise above it without the divine power. This is the conviction which propelled us to accept Christ as our Saviour in the beginning. The weakness of mortality was given to us to bring us to the source of all power, that source being Christ. Discovering this truth in mortality is like stepping back in time behind the veil. Unless we understand on a deeper level that we need the Saviour to enlarge our capacity, we will not be able to overcome our mortal shortcomings and navigate our mortal journey successfully long term. 

 

Here is the crux of the matter. It is one thing to know that we ‘should’ and another having a desire to do it. It is difficult to WANT to give up your weaknesses because they usually come with pay offs. None of us indulge in weaknesses that don’t give us something in return. It is my testimony that the more you yield your heart to God on consistent basis, you will develop this desire. Once this desire gets planted in your heart, it becomes so much easier to become the person you want to be and should be and came here to be. Then it becomes easier to hand over all your stumbling blocks. The more stumbling blocks that you remove from your path to righteousness, with the Saviour’s help, the more you will rise to higher ground where an elated state of being exists. When you come to this higher ground you will come to understand what the love of God is because you will be filled with it. I assure you this is the place you want to be. The weaknesses with all their pay offs do not compare with this state of being EVER.

 

“…….bridle all your passions that ye may be filled with love…..”

Alma 38:12

 

A river of peace floods my mortal being.

I struggle to contain such a merciful gift;

With grace You enlarge the sparse capacity of my heart

And righteousness moves within me as the waves of the sea;

I love You more dearly

I serve you more freely

I become what I alone could never be. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Robe of Righteousness by Phil McKay)

 

A CALL TO RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

I think it is safe to say that most of us are by now looking forward to the Millenium. I also think the day will come all too soon when we will be begging for it. 

I remember reading years ago a dedicatory prayer of one of the American temples, offered by Elder Featherstone, in which he said that the day will come when the only place the saints will feel peace will be within the walls of the holy temples. He also said that we will long to be able to bring our children to the temple to escape the world. Imagine the desperation……

Right now the adversary reigns supreme. Why? Because the world is giving him the power. The only power he can have is the power that we give him. Seeing he has no body, he operates through us who do. He has taken possession of the minds of many who are in power to be able to control the rest of us. Hence the Lord’s warning in the scriptures about ‘the conspiring men of the last days’ (D&C 89:4). 

One of my favourite passages of scripture in Isaiah are the ones that describe Satan’s eventual fall. Isaiah says he will be reduced to such nothingness that people will look upon him and ask: “Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?” (Isaiah 14:12-20). We, as the body of the House of Israel, have an amazing responsibility. Mormon expressed it well when he said: “….for we have a labour to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness….” (Moroni 9:6). The conquering will result in the binding of Satan for a whole one thousand years. 

When the Saviour comes and all the telestial people are destroyed, there will be no one left who will heed Satan’s call, he will no longer have anyone who will give him any power and will therefore be ‘bound’. He will lose all power……but until then it is our responsibility to build ourselves, firstly by being aware of his tactics:

 

HIS THREE DOCTRINES:

1.     There is no punishment for sin;

2.     There is nothing after death;

3.     He does not exist.

HIS THREE LIES:

1.     Just once won’t hurt;

2.     No one will know;

3.     Everybody is doing it.

HIS VALUE SYSTEM:

1.     Selfishness;

2.     Self-indulgence;

3.     Immediate gratification.

HIS SALES TECHNIQUES:

1.     Pacifying;

2.     Flattering;

3.     Lulling.

HIS GOAL:

1.     To steal our spiritual identity;

2.     To kill our faith in God;

3.     To destroy our commitment to Christ.

 

Our only recourse to fight this foe is in Him who has already overcome and paved the way for the rest of us. By the virtue of our discipleship, we can have access to His power to overcome the enemy of all righteousness that we may meet Him at His appearing clothed in robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10; 2 Nephi 9:14; D&C 29:12;109:76), with clean hands and pure hearts worthy to be sanctified and exalted to our rightful place…..

Grant me power God

For purity of my thoughts

The cleanliness of my lips

The righteous paths I need to walk;

Grand me power to crush each tempter’s snare

That my hands may be clean

The hem of Thy robe to touch

When I kneel before Thy throne

To enter the splendour of my celestial home.

 

- Cathryne Allen 

(Art: The Robe of Righteousness by Phil McKay)