# John's the Baptist



## blhowes (Jan 10, 2012)

I was reading Matthew 3 and I was thinking about verse 4, wondering if there was a reason mention is made of what John wore and ate. 

Mat 3:4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 

There may be others I'm not aware of, but offhand I don't recall any other Bible character where mention is made of what the person wore and ate, all in the same verse. Is there something special to be learned about John by these details that are given about him? How out of the ordinary would it have been be for a person living back then to wear and eat those things? If it was unusual, why do you think John decided to wear and eat those things?


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## Herald (Jan 10, 2012)

Matthew Henry writes,

V. The garb in which he appeared, the figure he made, and the manner of his life, _v._ 4. They, who expected the Messiah as a temporal prince, would think that his forerunner must come in great pomp and splendour, that his equipage should be very magnificent and gay; but it proves quite contrary; he shall be _great in the sight of the Lord,_ but mean in the eyes of the world; and, as Christ himself, having _no form or comeliness;_ to intimate betimes, that the glory of Christ's kingdom was to be spiritual, and the subjects of it such as ordinarily were either _found_ by _it,_ or _made_ by it, poor and despised, who derived their honours, pleasures, and riches, from another world.
1. His _dress_ was _plain._ This same John had _his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins;_ he did not go in _long clothing,_ as the _scribes,_ or _soft clothing,_ as the courtiers, but in the clothing of a country husbandman; for he lived in a country place, and suited his _habit_ to his _habitation._ Note, It is good for us to accommodate ourselves to the place and condition which God, in his providence, has put us in. John appeared in this dress, (1.) To show that, like Jacob, he was a _plain man,_ and mortified to this world, and the delights and gaieties of it. _Behold an Israelite indeed!_ Those that are _lowly in heart_ should show it by a holy negligence and indifference in their attire; and not make the putting on of apparel their adorning, nor value others by their attire. (2.) To show that he was a _prophet,_ for prophets wore _rough garments,_ as mortified men (Zech. xiii. 4); and, especially, to show that he was the Elias promised; for particular notice is taken of Elias, that he was a _hairy man_ (which, some think, is meant of the hairy garments he wore), and that _he was girt with a girdle of leather about his loins,_ 2 Kings i. 8. John Baptist appears no way inferior to him in mortification; this therefore is _that_ Elias _that was to come._ (3.) To show that he was a man of resolution; his girdle was not _fine,_ such as were then commonly worn, but it was _strong,_ it was a _leathern girdle;_ and blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he comes, finds with _his loins girt,_ Luke xii. 35; 1 Pet. i. 13.
2. His _diet_ was _plain;_ his _meat_ was _locusts_ and _wild honey;_ not as if he never ate any thing else; but these he frequently fed upon, and made many meals of them, when he retired into solitary places, and continued long there for contemplation. _Locusts_ were a sort of flying insect, very good for food, and allowed as clean (Lev. xi. 22); they required little dressing, and were light, and easy of digestion, whence it is reckoned among the infirmities of old age, that the _grasshopper,_ or _locust,_ is then _a burden_ to the stomach, Eccl. xii. 5. _Wild honey_ was that which _Canaan_ flowed with, 1 Sam. xiv. 26. Either it was gathered immediately, as it fell in the dew, or rather, as it was found in the hollows of trees and rocks, where bees built, that were not, like those in hives, under the care and inspection of men. This intimates that he ate _sparingly,_ a little served his turn; a man would be long ere he filled his belly with locusts and wild honey: _John Baptist_ came _neither eating nor drinking_ (_ch._ xi. 18)-- not with the curiosity, formality, and familiarity that other people do. He was so entirely taken up with spiritual things, that he could seldom find time for a set meal. Now, (1.) This agreed with the doctrine he preached of _repentance,_ and _fruits meet for repentance._ Note, Those whose business it is to call others to mourn for sin, and to mortify it, ought themselves to live a serious life, a life of self-denial, mortification, and contempt of the world. John Baptist thus showed the deep sense he had of the badness of the time and place he lived in, which made the preaching of repentance needful; every day was a _fast-day_ with him. (2.) This agreed with his office as Christ's _forerunner;_ by this practice he showed that he knew what the _kingdom of heaven_ was, and had experienced the powers of it. Note, Those that are acquainted with divine and spiritual pleasures, cannot but look upon all the delights and ornaments of sense with a holy indifference; they know better things. By giving others this example he made way for Christ. Note, A conviction of the vanity of the world, and everything in it, is the best preparative for the entertainment of the kingdom of heaven in the heart. _Blessed are the poor in spirit._


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## blhowes (Jan 10, 2012)

Bill,
Thank-you.


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