Nakedness As A Form Of Symbolic Expression In The Old Testament
By Ian B. JohnsonPersonal Nakedness As A Symbol, As Illustrated By Samuel, Saul, David, Isaiah, And Micah
A symbol of complete openness
to God in service — 1 Samuel 19.19-24, KJ21:
And it was told Saul, saying, "Behold, David is at Naiaoth in Ramah." And Saul sent messengers to take David; and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. And when it was told to Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu; and he asked and said, "Where are Samuel and David?" And one said, "Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah." And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stripped off his clothes also and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
From this, it would appear that
Samuel and his company of prophets were meeting together naked at this
time and that, as first David and then Saul joined the prophetic band,
the Spirit of God moved them to likewise strip naked. While it is never
stated exactly why the Spirit moved the company of the prophets to remove
their clothes to prophesy on this occasion, it is clear that it was the
Holy Spirit's leading and that God never as a result reproved them (or
David or Saul, for that matter) for the sin of nakedness. As is explained
in several other articles in this series, one of the functions of clothing
is to demarcate a sphere of personal privacy within which we can at least
feel (albeit incorrectly) that our sinful nature is hidden from other people
and from God. Therefore, it might be speculated that the Spirit moved the
company of the prophets to nakedness on this occasion and that David and
Saul joined them in this state to dramatize for the benefit of Saul or
of David the truth that they could hide nothing from God and His prophets,
not even their bodies. But since God never says why He moved the prophets
to do this, only speculation is possible. What is clear is that the Holy
Spirit moved these men to prophesy naked and God never reproved them for
it.
A symbol of coming judgment
—
Isaiah 20.2-5, KJ21:
At the same time spoke the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot." And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And the Lord said, "As My servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years as a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and of Egypt their glory.
Here, God told His prophet to
go about naked and barefoot for three years as a sign of what the Assyrians
were going to do to Egypt and Ethiopia, the world powers Judah was relying
upon to save them. Moreover, as ancient armies really did publicly parade
columns of their captives literally totally naked both to break their wills
(through shame to the point of hopelessness) and as a demonstration of
the complete control they had over them, it is not to be imagined that
either Isaiah or the Egyptian and Ethiopian captives his demonstration
symbolized actually were wearing some clothes. They were naked. Of course,
after the people of Judah actually saw the Assyrians marching past them
drawing the leaders and armies of Egypt and Ethiopia behind them naked
and in chains, they would certainly no longer look to these powers for
assistance. But God used Isaiah's illustration to warn Judah against relying
upon these powers while it was still possible for them to repent of this
misplaced reliance, trust God and avoid the harm that would otherwise come
upon them.
God never reproved Isaiah
for going naked as commanded to illustrate His lesson for His people.
As a symbol of mourning
—
Micah 1.8-9, KJ21:
Therefore I will wail and howl; I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the dragons and a mourning as the owls. For her wound is incurable; for it has come unto Judah; he has come unto the gate of My people, even to Jerusalem.
Here, God is speaking, saying
that, as a part of His mourning for Samaria and for Judah, He will go stripped
and naked. The language is obviously figurative as applied to God, but
it shows the existence of a custom which permitted nakedness as a sign
of mourning, a custom which God certainly doesn't disapprove in this passage.
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