Articles
Blue Tassels
Have you ever seen an orthodox Jew? You would know if you had. They stick out. Their clothes. Their beards. Their hair. Their hats. No one else looks quite like them. That was the way it was supposed to be under the Old Law. Law-abiding Israelites were immediately recognizable. One distinguishing feature is that they all had blue tassels (or chords) on every corner of their garments (Num. 15:38).
While it is true that God wanted His people to be different than the rest of the world, that was not the intent behind the tassels. They were permanent reminders rather than signs of distinction. “It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God” (Num. 15:39-40). Every time an Israelite looked at their own cord dangling in the wind or swirling around them as they walked, the person was to remember God’s word in contrast to their own heart.
As Christians, we have not been instructed to wear blue tassels, but what they represented to the Israelites should still be very important to us. God’s laws should be in our heart and mind (Heb. 8:10) and we should always be mindful that our own ways and our own hearts are not to be trusted or followed. This is a message warned against and frequently repeated in God’s word.
“Trust in the Lord and do not lean on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5)
“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9)
The book of Judges records the immoral corruption that follows when everyone “does what is right in their own eyes” (Judg. 21:25). It wasn’t pretty.
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” (Mt. 15:19)
“He who trusts in his own heart is a fool. But he who walks wisely will be delivered” (Prov. 28:26).
Would we be wise to trust our hearts—to seek inward guidance for moral direction? The world answers, “Obviously yes! Listen to your heart. Do what you feel is right.” God’s answer is very different. Listen to Him and not yourself. He knows what is right. Your heart, on the other hand, will deceive you and ultimately destroy you.
With the world saying one thing and God saying the other, don’t we find ourselves in a similar situation as the Israelites—needing constant reminders not to listen to ourselves but instead to obey God?
What serves as your reminder? What is your blue tassel? For some, perhaps it is the Lord’s Supper that serves as a weekly reminder to follow Jesus and not our fleshly desires. For others, maybe it is setting aside time to read the Bible every day. Maybe it’s time of meditation. Or maybe framing quotes from the Bible and prominently displaying them in our homes. Whatever your reminder is, it is crucial that we never forget the main lesson. “Remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes” (Num. 15:39).
