By Doug Redford
The Old Testament records how the Lord gave to his covenant people, the Israelites, a rather unique way to remember their responsibility to obey and remain faithful to him. He commanded Moses to have the people “make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord” (Numbers 15:38, 39, New International Version). This reminder would keep the people from “chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes” (v. 39). Moses gave a similar command later in Deuteronomy 22:12, though the reason for wearing the tassels is not given.
How could tassels keep people from straying from the Lord? The tassels were attached to the edge of a garment, thus close to the ground. Perhaps they were intended to remind the people that their feet were to walk in accordance with the Lord’s ways as opposed to using those feet to “chase” after their own sinful desires. Some Bible students suggest that the color blue symbolized royalty, a reminder of the Israelites’ status as a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6) who represented their King, the true God.
Outside of the two aforementioned passages, the tassels are not mentioned anywhere else in the Old Testament. We wonder how faithfully the Israelites obeyed this command. Given what happens later in Old Testament history with the people’s disobedience and God’s judgment coming upon them, we can assume that the tassels’ meaning faded from the people’s memory. Perhaps they even ceased wearing them. Sadly, the only other time tassels are mentioned in the Bible is in Matthew 23:5, where Jesus called attention to how the teachers of the law and the Pharisees used tassels only to impress onlookers with their degree of righteousness.
The New Testament says nothing about using an article of clothing to remind us of our responsibility to obey the Lord. Jesus did leave us with a means of remembrance through Communion to look at weekly and remind ourselves of our King who left heaven to come to earth and give his life at the cross for our sins. We are challenged, as Paul tells us, to “clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh” (Romans 13:14). That kind of clothing covers us from head to toe, impacting every part of our conduct, and is meant to be worn until we are clothed with the robes of the redeemed (Revelation 22:14).
Doug Redford has served in the preaching ministry, as an editor of adult Sunday school curriculum, and as a Bible college professor. Now retired, he continues to write and speak as opportunities arise.
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