Blue Cords

March 18

Numbers 15

Psalm 35:9-16

Proverbs 8:17-19

Mark 14:27-42

Blue Cords

“Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.  And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of Yahweh, so as to do them and not follow 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,  I am Yahweh your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh your God.’” 

Numbers 15:37-41 LSB

This is an interesting instruction God gave to Moses.  It is clearly an instruction for the Israelites and not one that we are bound by today.  But it’s worth examining and determining if it is something that might be helpful to us.  The context of the instruction is important.  It was given right after a discussion about intentional and unintentional sins, the death penalty for someone who deliberately broke the Sabbath and right before the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. 

Our nature as human beings is inclined toward sin.  Intentionally or unintentionally we are guilty of acting in ways that are not pleasing to God.  And like the rebellious Levite priests, we too easily succumb to the temptation of pride that can lead to rebellion.  The purpose of this law was to remind them that they were flawed and incapable of righteousness without God’s help.  It was a continual reminder to follow God’s commandments and not follow their own sinful desires.  The presence of a blue cord on the corner of a plain garment was a reminder of the dark side of human nature that we instinctively try to cover up and ignore.  A desire to be holy and follow God is aided by the reminder of our sinful nature that requires God’s assistance to resist and our discipline to obey.  It was a healthy dose of humility for them and one that might be helpful to us as well. 

            Later in Israel’s history, the Pharisees and scribes wore the tassels on the corners of their garments to show off that they were “righteous.”  Instead of being a reminder to remain humble, it was a source of pride.  This missed the whole point.  It was supposed to be on the corner of the garment around the hem so that they saw it, not others.  An idea that is similar to this is found in the art of cultures around the world.  In Islamic art, the artist often leaves a tiny flaw in their painting, tapestry or other work of art to indicate that only God is perfect and nothing made by human hands can be flawless.  The same practice can be found in Native American artwork, Japanese architecture and art, Indian and Pakistani embroidery, and even many of the Catholic cathedrals in Europe.  This is evidence of the universal awareness that only God is perfect and humanity is flawed and sinful.  Since we do not wear the same garments every day, it is more difficult for us to tie a blue cord to the hem of our clothes as a reminder, but perhaps it would be useful to tie one to something you see every day like a key chain, a purse, your steering wheel,  or your makeup mirror as a reminder of our propensity to sin and the need to rely on God, follow His commands and not our own desires.  Again this is not a law we are required to follow, just a suggestion that might be helpful in keeping us humble.