First, let’s look at some of the scriptures relating to wearing ornaments of silver and gold. Then we will see if we can identify situations where wearing these ornaments is favorable and when it is not.
Old Testament:
Gen 24:22,30 “And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.”
Exodus 3:22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
Exodus 28 – describes the garments of the high priest, uses gold and precious stones. these are the Holy garments worn after the sacrifices were completed, also known as the garments of glory and beauty.
Ezekiel 16:9-17: Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD. But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so. Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them.
New Testament:
1 Peter 3:3-4: Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
Revelation 17:3,4: So, he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
If we look at the Old Testament scriptures, we see that ornaments were given to prospective brides, as Eleazar gave to Rebecca. Ornaments of gold and precious stones were also used in the high priest’s garments as described in Exodus 28. God also gave the nation of Israel spoil of the Egyptians at the exodus, but this was probably due to the need to have these precious items to construct the articles in the tabernacle. In Ezekiel, God is chastising Israel because He gave them the finest of the riches in the earth, and they polluted their gifts by making false gods with them, and then worshipped the images they made instead of the Creator.
In the New Testament, it seems that ornaments are not spoken of favorably. In 1Peter, we are advised that the ornaments God would like us to adorn are meekness and quietness, and NOT the wearing of gold. In Revelation, we see that the woman known as Babylon, the mother of harlots, was decked in gold and precious stones, and we know that Babylon is eventually destroyed.
So, what can we conclude based on Scripture? In the Old Testament, before the way to heaven was opened by our Lord Jesus, God rewarded those faithful to Him with the precious things of this earth. Remember Solomon – In 1 Kings 3, God offered Solomon anything he desired. Solomon desired “an understanding heart,” and God rewarded him with riches BECAUSE he did not desire riches. Also remember Job – he was blessed of God in temporal things, lost everything, and because he was faithful , God more than restored everything he had. Abraham was blessed with riches because of his faith in and obedience to God. In all three of these examples, these men did not desire riches, but rather desired to please God and the riches were added to them.
We believe that Rebekah and the high priest are pictures of things to come, and thus were adorned with these ornaments to picture things divine. For example, Rebekah would picture the bride of Christ, who will live and reign with Him in heaven. The high priest pictures The Christ (head and body) after all the earthly sacrifices are complete. This is a deep subject and tangential to the original question, but we mention it here to show the wearing of such ornaments can have deeper significance.
For the Christian, we see in the New Testament that displaying riches and ornaments is not desirable. One of the mainstays of the Christian faith is the sacrifice of our earthly lives and possessions for the opportunity to live and reign with Christ in Heaven. By placing value in earthly riches and adornments, it violates our commitment to sacrifice. Any riches that God would grant us on earth should automatically be sacrificed and used in God’s service, as exemplified by Barnabas in Acts 4:36-37. Christians have the opportunity to develop and grow the fruits of the spirit: peace, love, joy, etc., (Galatians 5:22-23), which is far more valuable than all the gold in the world.
To summarize, is it biblical to wear ornaments of gold and silver? Yes and no. The factor which seems more important than to wear or not wear, is WHY to wear or not wear. What is in your heart as you put on these ornaments, and is that heart sentiment one that is pleasing to God?
Additional Resource:
Christian Questions Podcast Episode #1240: Is It a Sin if I …? (Part I)
Examining whether how we dress and if gambling are sins
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes
