Jewelry,
beauty accessories and make-up/cosmetics are specifically for the purpose of ‘fixing up’,
making beautiful, accenting, drawing attention, alluring, enticing etc (there is absolutely no other reason to wear such things) as we can see from the Bible where the only references to such things were toward harlots and pagans.
The book of Ezekiel chapter 23 tells
us about harlots and their workings among which includes adornment, make-up or cosmetics.
Furthermore you sent for men to come from afar, to
whom a messenger was sent; and there they came. And you washed yourself
for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.
We learn about Jezebel the harlot:
Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of
it; and she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through
a window. 2 Kings 9:30
Just prior to that verse we see what sort of person
Jezebel was:
Now it happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, “Is
it peace, Jehu?” So he
answered, “What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her
witchcraft are so many?” (2 Kings
9:22)
We see in Jeremiah where making oneself fair with the
use of flashy clothing, jewelry and makeup/cosmetics is considered vanity:
And when you are plundered,
What will you do?
Though you clothe yourself with crimson,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you will make yourself fair;
Your lovers will despise you;
They will seek your life.
(Jeremiah 4:30)
We will now look at what God thinks of worldly adornment:
Moreover the Lord
saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with
stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go,
and making a tinkling with their feet:
Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts.
18 In
that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling
ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like
the moon,
The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
The rings, and nose jewels,
The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
And
it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be
stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair
baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning
instead of beauty. (Isaiah 3:16-24)
Notice in verse 18 that God will take away the 'bravery' of their tinkling ornaments. Bravery means:
H8597 tiph'ârâh tiph'ereth
tif-aw-raw', tif-eh'-reth
From H6286; ornament (abstractly or concretely, literally or figuratively): - beauty (-iful), bravery, comely, fair, glory (-ious), honour, majesty.
The root for tiph'ârâh tiph'ereth is:
H6286
pâ'ar
paw-ar'
A primitive root; to gleam, that is, (causatively) embellish; figuratively to boast; also to explain (that is, make clear) oneself; denominatively from H6288, to shake a tree: - beautify, boast self, go over the boughs, glorify (self), glory, vaunt self.
We see here that God is speaking in a negative way about the bravery (self boasting, self glorifying) of their ornaments.
And here we see the greatest example in Revelation of the whore being adorned in worldly ornaments:
So he carried me away
in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet
coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten
horns. And
the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with
gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand
full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth. (Revelation 17:3-5)
