Tassels

Numbers 15 ends with something that appears out of place. God instructs the Israelites to tie tassels to the four corners of their garments with a blue cord woven into them. These tassels are to remind the Israelites of the laws of their God.

Numbers 15:37–41 (ESV) The LORD said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD your God.”

While this command may seem random for Numbers 15, it is not. The Israelites had just followed through on God's commands for the Sabbath breaker. They were to stone him to death. However, looking closer look at the event we see the text mentions something worth noting. Upon finding the man breaking the Sabbath, it reads the following:

Numbers 15:34 (ESV) They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him.

Note that. The problem here is they didn't know what to do to the man when they should have known. Three times in Exodus (31:14,15; 35:2), Israel is instructed concerning the law of the Sabbath. It is a holy day and to be honored and revered for all generations. God was clear on this issue for Israel repeatedly. They shouldn't have had to wait for the judgment upon the man. They should have followed the law. 

So what do we take from this? 

First, this is the reason for the tassels. The giving and receiving of the law is one thing, the remembering and doing of the law is another. Israel was to have a constant reminder on their person as to what God required. They needed to keep His Word in mind. 

Second, the tassels on the garment were to be part of what they wore on themselves. They were to know always that their lives were covered by God's Word and not the World's ways. Israel was to stand out by following the voice of God alone. 

Third, the Israelites were not just learning what God required, they were being prepared to receive the Gospel. Sin destroys people. Ultimately, knowing the law only increases our knowledge of sin and how far we are from God (Romans 5:20). By remembering what God required, Israel was both gained insight into the kind of life that flourishes as well as learning how hard and indeed, impossible keeping the law really is. They would have known how serious sin was - death for the Sabbath breaker, for instance. They would have lived daily with the knowledge that God was holy and they were not. They would have known they needed a savior. Someone to do what they could not. 

The tassels of a New Testament Christian are prayer, church attendance, the breaking of bread and hearing the proclaimed Gospel of what God has done. When we keep these practices present and foremost in our lives, we prepare our hearts and train our lives to live in response to the great grace that abounded far more than all our sin.