Modest attire is one of the hardest struggles that a Godly lady faces.  There is a very delicate line a lady must walk to avoid drawing attention to herself while still showing her God-given beauty and countenance.  Sadly, the standards of dress we see today, even in churches, are horrible.  Women today seem to have lost even the very basic sense of what is modest and decent.

As you learned from the definition of the word modest, there are many aspects to being modest.  Today, it seems that the primary idea of modesty has to do with dress(we will see more about other aspects later in this study).  It is true that how a lady dresses will say a lot about her.  For certain aspects of attire, there are some clear Biblical standards.  In other cases, the Biblical standards are less clear and the believer is required to develop certain preferences.  First, we will deal with the clear Biblical standards.

Gen 2:24-25  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.(25) And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

In this passage, we see the beginning of the first family in the creation.  Adam and Eve were the first husband and wife, they were naked together and they were not ashamed.  This passage is often referred to when explaining the physical relationship between a husband and his wife.  However, that is not necessarily the only context here.  At this point, they were not ashamed because they had not sinned.  They did not know what shame was and they did not understand the concept of nakedness.  They had not partaken of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  We simply cannot understand what it would be like to live without a sin nature or without the knowledge of "good and evil."  It is not possible for us to comprehend.  However, this is the state Adam and Eve were in at this point.  They had no thought or comprehension of good and evil, of sin or of right and wrong.

Gen 3:1-6  Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (2) And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: (3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.(4) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (5) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.(6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

To begin, lets parse, or take apart, this passage.  In verse one, we see the serpant.  Today, we know snakes as a sly, subtle animal.  It is able to sneak up on its prey and quikly strike.  Sometimes, a snake's strike seems to come from nowhere.  Likewise, the devil is a subtle creature.  The devil sneaks up on us and decieves us with lies and half-truths. That is just how it all begins here.  The devil lies to Eve by telling a partial truth.  Eve answers the devil explaining that they can eat of every tree except one.  She adds that they cannot even touch that tree.  Now, here, she is adding to God's command.  God never told them they could not touch anything.  In fact, they were the keepers of the garden.  How could they keep the garden if there were trees they could not touch.  Satan's reply is an outright lie. In Genesis 2:17, the Lord commanded them that they would surely die if they ate of the tree of knowledge.  The devil went on to add that their eyes would be opened and they would be like gods knowing good and evil.  At this point, it was only God and the angels who knew good and evil.  Adam and Eve did not. Eve believed the lies of the devil, at the fruit and fed it to Adam.  Their eyes were opened, and they did now see good and evil.  They did not sin by being naked.  This was how God created them.  However, now that they could see good and evil, they realized that there was shame in being naked.  Consider the next verse:

Gen 3:7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

As soon as they ate this fruit, there eyes were opened and they realized they were naked.  Later, we will see that God compares nakedness to an open shame.  They realized this fact before God inspired the first letter of the Word of God to be penned.  Once they realized they were naked, and ashamed, they attempted to make coverings for themselves.  They sewed together fig leaves to make themselves aprons.  In all likelyhood, these aprons covered the "vitals," but were they sufficient?  Merriam-Webster's online disctionary defines an apron, in this context, as a garment tied around the waist.  By any definition, an apron would never be considered to cover one's nakedness. 

Gen 3:21  Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Again, Merriam-Webster's online dictionary gives us a defintion to consider for the word coat: an outer garment worn on the upper body and varying in length and style according to fashion and use.  Clearly, a coat coveres the upper body and extends below the waist to different lengths.  We can assume that whatever God made, it covered whatever God defined as naked.  So, how does God define naked? 

What Does God Think of Nakedness?

Isa 47:3  Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.

In this passage, God is clearly equating nakedness and shame.  God is saying that their nakedness shall be uncovered and their shame revealed.  In other words, God is saying that revealing your nakedness is revealing your shame.  So, what is nakedness? How does God define nakedness? Before we answer that question, ask yourself this:  Regardless ofwhat the standard turns out to be, do you want to walk around life naked? 

Nakedness Defined

Exo 28:42  And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:

In Exodus, God is giving instructions as to how to dress to the priests.  The point is not that we should dress like a Hebrew priest.  Rather, the point here is to see that God is defining what to cover in order to cover one's nakedness.  This passage speaks of linen breeches.  Breeches are a garment worn by men – today, we call them trousers or pants.  God is instructing the priests to cover their nakedness with a garment that extends "from the loins even unto the thighs." 

Isa 47:2-3 Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. (3) Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.

We just looked at Isaiah 47:3, and how revealing ones nakedness also reveals their shame.  Isaiah 47:2 defines what nakedness is by saying, "...make bare the leg, uncover the thigh ... thy nakedness shall be uncovered..."  What is the Lord saying here?  He is telling us what nakedness is: uncovering the thigh.   

If we take God's Word as our absolute standard, would a skirt that only covers part of the thigh be revealing your nakedness?  What about a pair of shorts that do not completely cover the thigh?  Are you walking around naked?