In Numbers 15: 37-41, the Lord is talking to Moses about what to tell the Israelites. In this little passage he talks about putting tassels on their garments. Here, see for yourselves:
“Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.”
There are several reasons why I love this snippet of Scripture.
1) It makes me want to find something to serve as my very own “tassel.” Like post-it notes, which I already have plastered all across my room and bathroom mirror. Just little reminders every day, you know? I encourage y’all to find your own “tassels” and use them in daily life.
2) The Lord is giving his people an easy way to actually remember his commands and to follow them. He doesn’t just dish out commands and say, ‘Deal with it yourself,’ he offers a way to be reminded of them and live in obedience.
3) He is clearly showing that he has our best interest at heart. The word “prostitute,” whether a noun or a verb, just sounds bad. In this case, it means to offer up oneself for unworthy purposes. We don’t wanna do that! So the Lord is telling us how NOT to! He says that by going after “the lusts of your own hearts and eyes” we won’t be pursuing the life he has for us. He’s being the wonderful, loving Father he is and protecting us.
4) The word consecrated. LOVE IT. It means to be declared sacred, to be set apart, and/or to be devoted or dedicated to a certain purpose. He’s telling us how to be set apart for him and live a life devoted to HIS purpose, not our own.
5) At the end, he reminds his people that HE is THEIR God. He’s the one who’s gotten them this far, and he isn’t going to forsake them. HE is SOVEREIGN.
More to come soon…
-Alexa
Something else I find interesting: the later Jews used the tassles just to show how great they were, and I think of wearing tassles as bad now. Apparently it's not! We should always try to stay true to God's word, and not think we're better than other people because we think we're 'more holy' or something.
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