May 13 – The Covering Garment

“But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father.” (Genesis 9:23)

Let us thank God for faithful believers and ministers like Shem and Japheth. They had a garment on their shoulders—a garment that could cover their father’s nakedness. In the same way, the garment of love covers even a multitude of sins.

Look at the shoulders of our beloved Lord. See the drops of crimson blood, filled with His overflowing love. That very blood becomes a covering robe, hiding all our sins from view.

Jesus never exposes our sins to shame us. No matter how sinful we’ve been, He covers our sins with His own garment of righteousness. He does it so tenderly, seeking to protect our name rather than disgrace it.

But contrast this with Ham and his son Canaan, who did not cover Noah’s nakedness but instead exposed it. Because of this, they came under a curse from the Lord. Even today, we see people who go around spreading the faults of others, trying to shame the children of God.

Why? Because their hearts lack divine love. They do not have a burden to intercede for those who have fallen. They do not reflect the nature of Christ. But Scripture says, “Love covers all sins.” (Proverbs 10:12)

How beautiful was the character of Joseph! When he found that Mary was with child, he, being a just man, did not want to make her a public example, but thought to put her away secretly (Matthew 1:19). He had no desire to shame her or bring her into public disgrace.

Once, a pastor found some moral failings in the life of another minister of God. He was stirred in his spirit and even wrote a detailed article about it, intending to expose him. But that night, the Lord appeared to him in a vision and asked, “My son, if your own daughter fell into such a relationship and made a mistake, would you quietly cover it, or would you expose it to the entire world?”. Those words pierced his heart and made him realize his own error.

Dear children of God, the righteous cover the faults of others. They do not spread them around. They weep in prayer, they intercede, and they seek restoration.

Verse for further meditation: “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” (Romans 2:1)