Are earrings sinful?

The question is rather odd - we might as well ask whether stones are sinful? How could possibly objects be sinful? But that's possibly not what we're trying to ask. So let's rephrase the question one more time:

Is wearing earrings a sin?

John in his letter says that God is love. Let the do's or don'ts be anything that is breaking the love, they are thus separating us from God - and isn't sin what's separating us from God?

God Is Love

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 1.John.4

Wasn't it the Good Samaritan who loved the neighbor, who loved the wounded one, the one who show the right kind of love towards the neighbor? Weren't there 2 other people bypassing the wounded, but the Samaritan was the one, who took care of the wounded? If someone falls into sin, isn't his good neighbor the one who takes care of him - and enemy the one who might even urge others to get in the midst of robbers - only to be beat and robbed?

Earrings in the bible

Anyone claiming there's no talk about earrings in the bible doesn't speak the truth. Earrings are mentioned in the bible in several places. Below are some of such pieces of the Scripture - but the coverage isn't complete.

Prior to the next chapter which tells us about Jacob, there was the defilement of Dinah: Genesis.34

35 God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau." 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone." 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem. Genesis.35

What happened before? Where did the earrings come from? Ambrose of Milan (337 - 397) mentioned in his work "Jacob and the happy life" the following, while discussing that Laban was a figure of Satan. Happy is he from who Satan finds nothing of his own! Or in Amborose's own words: "How happy is the man in whom the enemy has found nothing that he could call his own, and in whom the devil has come upon nothing that he would recognize as his own."

happy was Rachel, who concealed the false idols of the Gentiles and declared that their images were full of uncleanness. (Ambrose of Milan)

This declaration happened here ("unclean like a menstrual rag", compare to Leviticus 15:20):
35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched but found not the images. (Genesis 31:35, KJV)

What is sinful, is declared as unclean. If Rachel didn't declare the love into the items as unclean (she wouldn't have stolen them otherwise), wouldn't Laban have found them with ease? And what would've happened? Jabod said to Laban: "32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live". Sprititual death is upon the people who claim sinful life is just ok - or upon them who pervert the Law (that is spiritual) to fit their purposes! Laban - Satan finds the items of his own and Jacob, as a figure of Christ, declares "let him not live". Fitly are the sins first confessed (declared as unclean) and then buried under the tree, that is, the gospel is preached.

Moreover, one should notice that the "foreign gods that they had" (Gen.34) was not an ancient tradition of the time, but they're also referenced in the book of revelations:

20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. Revelation.9

Unto Abram the earrings were mentioned:

12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." Genesis.15

God told Moses:

...after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians." Exodus.3

[Easter!]

34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. Exodus.12

The israelites thus plundered the Egyptians. What happened then?

The Golden Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, "Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." 2 So Aaron said to them, "Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord." 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. Exodus.32

Weren't Moses told: "You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters." - but now the rings of gold were in the ears of the wives as well? From the "treasures of the Egyptians" a Golden Calf was made - which was followed by a wicked party.

Ambrose of Milan (340 - 397) in his Letters writes about the incidence in the following way:

We can neither excuse this great priest (Aaron), nor dare we
condemn him. It was not however unadvisedly that he
deprived the Jews of their rings and earrings ; for they who
designed sacrilege could have neither the seal of faith nor
ornaments of their ears. The patriarch Jacob too hid the
earrings along with the images of the strange gods, when
he hid them in Shechem, that no one might come to know
of the superstitions of the Gentiles. And he said well,
Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your
wifes ; not as leaving the men their earrings, but in order
to shew that they had them not. Fitly also are the ear-
rings taken from the women, that Eve may not again hear
the voice of the serpent.

Let us next read the aftermath of the incidence:

The Command to Leave Sinai

3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people." 4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, "Say to the people of Israel, 'You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.'" 6 Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Exodus.33

Lord said: "So now take off your ornaments". Now, it's very hard for anyone to defend earrings in the light of the bible. Did you also notice the wearing of earrings occured while the Lord was with them, until he "left"? The people together were like the bride, like the Bride of our Lord! For it's written:

Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: This is what the Lord says: I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. Jeremiah.2

The gold and the jewels plundered from the Egyptians were, in part, meant to be building material for the Tabernacle. In like manner, the real treasure is in heaven. Often old testament provides figures of the coming, of the lord Jesus. Where the israelites of old were once seen as the real bride of Christ, the time went pass: the real bridgeroom is no longer among the people with the old covenant. Unto Moses it was said about the jewelry: "You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters.", that's the innocent ones as we read from the Mark: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Mark.10:14). The innocent children did not play the whore with the jewelry as did the wifes! This is also what is said in the book of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel covers the above mentioned topics (departure from Egypt and the incidence at mount Sinai) in the following manner:

The Lord's Faithless Bride (Jerusalem)

10 I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.

15 "But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his. 16 You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be. 17 You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. 18 And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. 19 Also my bread that I gave you- I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey-you set before them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God. Ezekiel.16

Above Ezekiel refers to Jerusalem, the Faithless Bride. Apostle Paul enlightens us about the Jerusalem:

Example of Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. Galatians.4

In similar manner the Law forbids wearing of earrings in Exodus.33:5 - in a kind and caring manner. Some people only consider clear and simple commands such as the 10 commandments. How many of them also understood the idea of Sarah and Hagar? See, Moses the Law has a lot more than the 10 commandments. Through the example of Hagar it's instructed to "Cast out the slave woman and her son", that is to no longer stay under the law but to hear the gospel instead and thus become a child of Sarah.

In the beginning we declared "God is love". Let's now think about in to which kind of love makeup/ornaments of gold refer to:

30 And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,
that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
that you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
Your lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
Jeremiah.4

The verse is interesting because it gives the understanding that the ornaments and makeup would NOT be for nothing IF the lovers didn't despise you - due to the use of the ornaments/makeup. The lovers are the neighboring countries, also known as "this world" distinguished from the kingdom of God; like seen in Ezekiel 16, and the use of ornaments/makeup would be thus used in the purpose of pleasuring them - not our brothers and sisters in faith. So is this a question of love of neighbors - like the Good Samaritan - or the love into this world?

In similar manner, do we wear earrings and makeup so that we'd be accepted in this world, meaning we try to please the world - or is it a sign of the good love of neighbors (Samaritan)? Or is it just breaking the love?

From the book of Hosea:

13 And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me , declares the Lord. Hosea.2

Apostle Paul advices us:

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans.2

How did the former believer women decorate themselves? Earrings/makeup should not be considered important - and in this world, they seem to be among the most important daily routines for many:

3 Do not let your adorning be external-the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear- 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 1.Peter.3

If someone starts to walk down the narrow path, repents, or in other words, starts to walk from Egypt towards the promised land, doesn't she take the treasures of the Egypt with her? Not so that one would be first required to give up such treasures (like following the law), or that the treasures would be completely blocking the way to the narrow path. Israeli people "stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward". It was no coincidence they left Egypt on Easter - wasn't it Easter when Jesus Christ died for all of our sins? Isn't it when one hears the gospel, the forgiveness of all sins, like the start of the journey towards the Promised land from Egypt? There's no earrings nor makeup in the world that can be blocking the power of gospel, keeping one in Egypt due to them! It's the Holy Spirit that will instruct you along the way, like God instructed Moses! The holy Spirit will instruct to give up the earrings at some point of time.

How to hear the right kind of gospel, as many people tend to read the Bible in different ways these days? Well, if one really wants, from all his heart, to hear the right kind of gospel, there's really no obstacles! If you read the Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch, you'll see that God sent a man (Philip) in true faith to talk to eunuch! God sent Ananias to Saul (later known as Apostle Paul). God has all the power to do anything! God has all the power to send you (a person in true faith) what you need!

The people of new Israel (as Ezekiel 36 refers) are still on their way to the Promised land. They're walking down the narrow path towards the promised land, heaven. They're still obedient to the God's advice given them at the Mount Horeb, they wear no earrings nor makeup - or any ornaments that could endanger the journey. Many were found dead, many lost their faith at the party with the Golden Calf. The people of new Israel probably don't even all know what exactly happened at Mount Horeb - but they're still aware of God's word through the Holy Spirit! Do you want to see these people? Let's have a look - what a beautiful look it is! How beautiful is the end!

"From Aram Balak has brought me,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:
'Come, curse Jacob for me,
and come, denounce Israel!'
How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
For from the top of the crags I see him,
from the hills I behold him;
behold, a people dwelling alone,
and not counting itself among the nations!
Who can count the dust of Jacob
or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
and let my end be like his!"
Numbers.23

Did you see many people? Did you notice those people believe God appoints the right wife/husband - so there's no need for excessive decoration such as earrings and makeup? Did you notice the people of new Israel do not use contraception/birth control as they believe God knows best the number of children a married couple should have? Strong is the God of Abraham, almighty is the God of Isaac! I was able to attend the annual "feast of tabernacles"; let's have a look. The large tent draws more than 4000 people at once. Can you count the dust of Jacob?

Here's a little youtube clip for more details:

John gives us a great warning of the love into this world:

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.16 For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life - is not from the Father but is from the world. 1.John.2

Even in the icon art the holy women do not have makeup nor earrings (google image search on St. Mary etc).
Did I say whether wearing earrings is a sin? No, I didn't. What if a little child wore earrings because her parents commanded so? Would she be obeying her parents by wearing the things - rather than committing sin? For you see, there's no list of rules but instead, there's freedom. It's the Holy Spirit that instructs people on the way.

This is what the law also declares: (See the Judges.8 (NIV): "24 And he said, I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder. (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)" For you see, it was no custom for the Israelites.)

2 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: I am the Lord your God. 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. Leviticus.18

Dare to see what the Catholic church, around 400 AD though about this topic? Well, nothing has changed since then among the true Christians (personally don't know whether there's been living faith amongst the Catholics for a long long time, but the early church surely had), as St. Jerome (also other Church fathers have very similar thoughts) in his letters puts it this way:

Her very dress and outward appearance should remind her of Him to whom she is promised. Do not pierce her ears, or paint with white lead and rouge the cheeks that are consecrated to Christ. Do not load her neck with pearls and gold, do not weigh down her head with jewels, do not dye her hair red and thereby presage for her the fires of hell.

Spiritual meaning of the earrings

Martin Luther, in his work: Complete commentary on the first twenty-two Psalms (p.217)", declares:

This perversion of mind was prefigured in all the idols of old that were either engraven or molten: and this Moses has by no means obscurely intimated, Exod. xxxii. where, when he is going to describe the making of the golden calf, he says ' That Aaron, after he had received the ear-rings of the women at their hands, made or molted it into a calf, and fashioned it with a graving tool:' in which passage, the Hebrew has * with a pen :' intimating, that it should come to pass, that these ungodly teachers should change the words of God, (which are the ear-rings of believing souls, the true daughters of Israel, and their only ornament,) into forms of their own, so as to make them convey their own sentiments: and that the people also themselves should " heap to themselves teachers having itching ears/' and deceitful rulers, and should be turned unto fables, as Paul saith, 2 Tim. iv. 3. For Jeremiah, writing as it were a comment on Moses, says, chap. viii. 3, " Lo certainly in vain made he it : the pen of the scribes is vain :" and again also chap. ix. And Isaiah also, chap. xliv. gives us a full and particular description of the formation of an idol. And, Ezekiel xvi., Jerusalem is accused of having taken her ornaments of gold and silver which the Lord had given her, and made unto herself idols and images of men, and committed fornication with them.

For you see, the the earrings are an image (figure) of the words of God; And likewise, when God declares (Exodus.33) "So now take off your ornaments" he doesn't mean to forget about his words, but to take off the real earrings. For the believing souls, the words of God is still the real, but hidden, and the only ornament.

Indeed, the Christ's real bride is the true church here on earth, of which the Songs of Solomon beautifully describes (Martin Luther and Nicholas of Lyra have good commentaries on Songs of Solomon), and of which Rebecca was an image of. The real treasures are in heaven: "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6, NIV)"

The time is running out, the bride is soon ready for the marriage. You might ask that who are those:

18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather and come to you.
As surely as I live, declares the Lord,
you will wear them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride. Isaiah.49

That is you - that's you who wish to drink the water of life, and not only wish, but do so. Is it not the last moment when the bride puts on the ornaments before the ceremony? Weren't the ornaments put on Rebecca just before she got married? (Gen.24) When the bride is ready, the wedding ceremony is soon to be started. Christ's wedding starts when His bride, the true church, is ready. When God's words are fulfilled, the everlasting heavenly celebration starts and it has no end! But God wishes everyone to join the celebration. Thus, we say "come"!

17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let the one who hears say, "Come!" Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. Rev.22

Earrings as the figure of sin

Christ died for all of our sins on easter. The sins were not his own. In like manner, the Israelites plundered the Egyptians on easter - they took the earrings and the like that were not their own. Christ was innocent - whereas the earrings were commanded to put on the sons and the daughters, that is, on the (figure of the) innocent. Aaron the priest collected the earrings and thus the golden calf was formed. Similarly, if one piles up sin on top of sin, eventually a foreign god, and idol, is formed in place of the living God, the faith is lost and love into the world is in place. Moses broke the tables of law and the golden calf. Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, crushed the head of the serpent - so that the gospel may be preached; the golden calf is broken in pieces and is drank with water, that is, the living water, which is the gospel from a person with the Holy Spirit. This water cleanses the soul! This gospel breaks the ungodly life, the calf, and lets all the sins be forgiven - making the person walk in the light, makes the person a child of the living God. For you see, the earrings pierced the ears, but our transgressions pierced our Lord via the nails on the cross:

4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
Isaiah.53

and also it's written:

21 Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain. Deuteronomy.9

Slave to sin

Let's have a look at some interesting verses addressing piercing:

5 "But if the servant declares, 'I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,' 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Exodus.21

16 But if your servant says to you, "I do not want to leave you," because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant. Deuteronomy.15

4 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. Romans.7

22 For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord's freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ's slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. 1.Corinthians.7

We believers are of twofold nature. While we serve Christ we also are prone to sin. The Holy Spirit dwells in us, but sin always pollutes us. Thus we need the living water, gospel, the forgiveness of sins, so that our souls are cleansed from all stains and transgressions.

We've been sold as slaves to sin. However we do not serve sin, we do not stay in our sins but instead, we put sin away. Accepting sin is what leads to spiritual death. If sin becomes our master, then the devil itself leads us, not Christ.

"When the doors to the street are closed" (Ecclesiastes 12, NIV) the master cannot come and use the awl to pierce the ears. For a person in unbelief, it might be the old age when the understanding has gone, or that no invitation from God is in place anymore or the world just ends, or the door is closed like Noah's ark was closed. What or who is the door? Christ said: "I am the Door" (John 10:9, KJV).

So we have the half a shekel earring/nosering/forehead (depending on the translation) jewel that Rebecca had. This spiritual jewel is the faith acceptable to God. (Well, show me a physical instrument that is at the same time an earring, nose-ring and a forehead jewel - I doubt you can show me such a thing!) Thus, we're Christ's slaves and such earrings weighting half a shekel are in heaven. But at the same time we've been sold as slaves to sin, so the piercings in our ears might occasionally carry spiritual weights that stretch the earlobes unnecessarily. Eventually the weight could become so heavy that the earlobe no longer can hold it but it rips the ear instead - whereas the earring in heaven disappears as well, drops down like a falling star. This may be understood as one loosing his faith, forced away from the promised land into a foreign country, like a king from the east captivating the soul that has become dead in spirit, whereas the one piercing the nose is not a servant of Abraham:

11 So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. (2.Chronicles 33:11, NIV)

Thus we say: "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us," (Hebrews.12:1, KJV) While being sold as slaves to sin, we're redeemed by Christ. Aaron could not destroy sin with the law, but water was needed to clease the souls.

Still doubtful? Obedient ear or opened ears is the key. Remember: "17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." (Romans.10) It's God who prepares such an ear. This ear may get the spiritual earring, the faith, from hearing the message. Christ's servant pierces the ears into the truth (the door which is Lord Jesus), and the word of God pierces the whole soul and heart via the ear - through hearing (not by reading) the living gospel. Find the translation for the first:

6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.

6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire -
but my ears you have opened -
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. (Psalm 40, NIV)

And so it gets meaningful. Remember the twofoldness: "So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." (Romans.7, NIV)

Conclusion

Origen (Homilies on Genesis and Exodus) writes:

Next the text says, "And all the men to whom it seemed good in their understanding received from their wives and brought jewels and earrings and rings and hairpins and bracelets". (Exod. 35:22) Here, therefore, the women offer earrings to the Lord because they are wise women. For the text says wise women came and made whatever things were necessary for the garments of the high priest. But those women who offered their earrings to make a calf were foolish, who "turned away their hearing from the truth and turned to fables and impiety", and therefore, offered their earrings to make the head of a calf.

and in different place:

The Egyptian sickness, therefore, is "to love the world and those things which are in the world."

Putting away your sins yields in a great treasure in heaven. To repent, to receive the adornments in heaven, to put away the Egyptian sickness, it requires the living water from the well, whereby prefiguratively the servant of Abraham was waiting before Rebecca arrived. How is the repentance possible? Read this page carefully especially at its end: law in the heart.

Where is your earrings? Real things feeding the lust here on earth or spiritual ones in heaven decorating the garments of the high priest, Jesus Christ?

For you see, the earring (nose-ring, forehead jewel) given to Rebecca weighted half a shekel, being such a spiritual temple-tax that is the image of personal faith (bracelets = good deeds that follow the faith: and in this particular order, faith first, then good deeds), from the house of Abraham. More of the half a shekel may be read here, written by Ambrose of Milan a long ago. But the earrings of lust, the real things here on earth are the ones from which the golden calf is built. Our high priest is in heaven, and likewise it's written "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven".

What about necklaces, bracelets and trousers? I see nothing wrong with necklaces when worn in moderation and in meek spirit - for one may hang a key or some other useful tool on it. Bracelets? Do you really need them? Earrings? No. Be the bride of Christ, not the the bride of the king of this world (devil). To enter Bethel (House of God), like Jacob did with his people, or in like manner, to enter the promised land (which is a figure of heaven but also a figure of the kingdom of God, where Solomon was a forefigure of Christ), you can read from the bible that it was necessary to give up the earrings; "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us." Rouge? Any reason to hide the natural flush? Did God create the natural flush in vain? Clothes you need especially when living up north. However, it's dangerous to provide rules, for you see, Esther had to wear lots of jewelry because she was a queen, but see her true spirit: "16: Thou knowest my necessity: for I abhor the sign of my high estate, which is upon mine head in the days wherein I shew myself, and that I abhor it as a menstruous rag, and that I wear it not when I am private by myself." (Esther Apocrypha, Ch.14). What really matters is the spirit: the Holy Spirit instructs God's children on their journey.