December 15, 2022

Passage Read: Numbers 12-15
Meditation Verses: 15:38-39

Thought

Tassels on the corner of garments was to be a reminder of all the commands of the Lord, that the people should obey them and not prostitute themselves by going after the lusts of their own hearts and eyes. To follow the lusts of our own hearts and eyes is the same as prostituting ourselves, to seek out another lover, rather than God. It makes the lusts of our flesh to be lord over us; it makes Satan to be lord over us. And the Lord expected tassels on the corners of each other's garments to remind us of all the Lord's commands. He wanted visual reminders, checks that would catch us before we gave into our lusts. There was no way the tassels could carry the commands of the Lord, but they were meant to trigger a memory, or cause someone to think twice before they sinned.

Application

Tassels would be helpful to the one wearing them, but even more to others around them. You don't normally notice your own clothing, unless you pass a mirror, but you notice other people's clothing. But depending on where they were located, they might fly out and about as a person moved around, and that might catch the attention of the wearer, and certainly of those around him. So tassels are a visual cue not only to the wearer, but to others in the community. It is a safeguard not just for the wearer, but for his neighbors. And it was to be a continual reminder of the Lord's commands, so that no one would give way to their flesh and sin against the Lord. It was love for neighbor just as it was love for self. And it communicates that idea, that we are to protect and encourage one another to walk in God's ways and not after the lusts of our hearts or eyes.