Matthew 6:29

29 but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

Matthew 6:29 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 6:29

And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory,
&c.] This is a certain truth, to be affirmed in the strongest manner, and to be believed, that not only men and kings too in general; but even particularly Solomon, the richest and most magnificent of all the kings of Israel, whose grandeur, and glory, exceeded all the princes of the earth; that even he, not in his common dress, but when "in his glory", and in "all" his glory, when arrayed with his royal and richest robes, with his crown on his head, and when seated on his throne,

was not arrayed like one of these
lilies, or flowers of the field: for the glory and beauty of his garments were purely from art, but their's by nature; which can never be equalled by art. This phrase, "Solomon in all his glory", is the same which the Jewish doctors, in their writings, express by (wtevb hmlv) , "Solomon in his hour" F7: that is as their commentators explain it F8, (wtwklm teb) , "in the time of his reign"; for they say he was first a king, and then a private person. Now, not whilst he was a private person, but when a king, in the height of his grandeur and magnificence, and when dressed out in the most splendid manner, he was exceeded in array by a single lily: or the sense is, in his royal apparel. For as the same doctors say,

``what is a man's "glory?" It is his clothing that is his outward glory; and again, garments are the glory of a man F9.''


FOOTNOTES:

F7 Misn. Bava Metzia, c. 7. sect. 1. T. Bab. ib. fol. 49. 1. & 83. 1. & 86. 2.
F8 Jarchi & Bartenora in ib.
F9 Tzeror Hammor, fol. 95. 1. & 99. 4. & 110. 4.

Matthew 6:29 In-Context

27 "Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch?
28 All this time and money wasted on fashion - do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop,
29 but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
30 "If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers - most of which are never even seen - don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?
31 What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.