“And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. 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.”
-Numbers 15:39-41
The children of Israel were instructed by God through Moses to attach white tassels with blue threads to their garments. These tassels were reminders to them, to be faithful to the God who had saved them. After all, God who alone knows our hearts, told them that their hearts and eyes were inclined to harlotry (v. 39), and thus they were often forgetful of God. Some have speculated that the blue and white colors reminded them of the sky, and thus the God of heaven. We really don’t know the significance of the colors, but God tells them the purpose of these tassels: it is that they ‘remember…and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God.’ (v.40) He then tells them of how He saved them out of the land of Egypt, and the inference is that He did so that they would serve Him. (v. 41. See also Exodus 20:1-3)
While we are not under the same administration as Israel of old, what was true of them is true of us. We come into this world with sin natures (Gen. 6:5, Romans 3:10), and are thus prone to wander from God and latch on to idols, which is spiritual harlotry. Yes, Christians to a degree struggle with and must fight against this today. (See Romans 7:15; Gal.5:17) Were it not for the grace of God and His abiding Holy Spirit in those of us who believe, we would stray from the faith (1 Cor. 15:15; I Jn. 3:9; Ps. 51) Even this side of the cross we need reminders of what God has done for us, and why He has done them. So how can we continually remember the great ‘Exodus’ that God has accomplished for us, through our passover, the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 5:7), bringing us out of the house of bondage, that we might glorify Him in our spirits and bodies, remembering that we are not our own; we’ve been bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19,20)?
The primary means for us to remember is His holy word. ‘Sanctify them by your truth, your word is the truth.’ (Jn. 17:17) (The tassels of Numbers 15 were to prompt their minds to the commandments.) A steady diet of the word, attended by prayer, will keep in our hearts and minds what God has done for us, and what He thus expects from us.
The sacraments are great pictures of God’s redemption as well. Baptism pictures the cleansing power of the blood of Christ, which washes away all of our sin, and of course the Lord’s Supper is a blessed ordinance that Christ has given to us, so that we might ‘remember’ Him. Historically, Reformed Christians have always understood that the preaching of the word gives meaning to the sacraments, so baptism and the Lord’s Supper are never to be administered without it. Yet, God communicates His grace to us through them, and through them requires our obedience as we ‘remember’ Him. (1 Cor. 11:24)
So before you approach the Lord’s table next, do some self examination. “Am I seeking to obey the Lord my God?’ ‘Am I different than the unbelieving world around me?’ ‘Is that difference marked by a desire to follow Christ by following His word, in my thinking and actions?’ If not, simply repent, confess your sins (I Jn. 1:9), and He will forgive you. And then approach the table with joyful thanksgiving. We may not wear tassels today, but we have God’s holy word and His sacraments, which remind us ‘to be holy, for He, the Lord our God is Holy.’