Numbers 15:39, commentary and pictures

God required a simple fringe with a ribbon of blue on the border of the garments, that looking upon it Israel would remember and do all His commandments and not follow their own heart and eyes into unfaithfulness, and that they would be distinguished and separated as His peculiar, holy people from the idolatrous nations around them. It kept continually before them in brief the ten commandments, their duty to love God supremely and their neighbor as themselves, and that He had miraculously delivered them from Egypt to serve Him in obedience to His holy law. The command was perverted when they departed from primitive purity and simplicity and made broad their phylacteries and enlarged the borders and added to the words specified, using outward display of devotion while heart and life were contrary to the law. The literal blue mark is not now required on garments, but the same requirement still calls God's people to come out from the world and forsake idolatrous practices, with simple, modest, healthful, distinctive dress that glorifies God and answers the same purpose of separating His commandment-keeping people as the ribbon of blue did. Not walking after one's own eyes and heart means turning from living to please self to honoring God and following the Redeemer, refusing to be led by sight and feeling into selfish gratification and worldly mingling, for the unsanctified heart and unguarded eyes lead away from God whether in indulgence, in business speculation, or in despising correction.

Fringe's Form and Purpose

God ordered a very simple arrangement of dress, a fringe with a ribbon of blue set in the border of the garments. The fringe bore a brief reminder of the law, with words embroidered on it expressing in short the ten commandments. Looking upon it was to bring to mind all the commandments of the LORD and to do them in obedience to the principles of His holy law. It was to recall that they were God's commandment-keeping people who keep the law of ten commandments, that He had wrought in a miraculous manner to bring them from Egyptian bondage to serve Him and to be a holy people unto Him for He is the Lord their God, and that they were to be holy unto God.

It was meant to keep continually before them their duty to love God supremely and their neighbor as themselves. They were not to seek after or serve their own heart and their own eyes, after which they used to go a whoring, for their hearts are unsanctified and their eyes lead them to depart from God and unite with the world to follow their own desires and sight. In this they were not to imitate the idolatrous nations, mingle with them, unite in their drunken feasts, or eat swine's flesh and luxurious food detrimental to health.

It was to distinguish and separate them from the idolatrous nations around them and to signify that they were God's peculiar people who acknowledged the Creator as their God and obeyed His ordinances and commandments, so as to preserve their peculiarity. An Israelite was known as such as soon as seen, for God through simple means distinguished him as His, so that all who looked upon them might say these are they whom God brought out of the land of Egypt. The command shows that the great God, the Maker of heaven and earth, condescended to the particulars of dress and specified the style Israel should wear, proving that dress comes under God's notice. The ribbon of blue itself had no direct influence on health, only as God would bless them by obedience, but it kept in memory the high claims of Jehovah.

Corrupted Into Outward Show

The blue ribbon was given as a simple reminder to obey, to keep continually before the mind the duty to love God supremely and the neighbor as oneself, not as a badge to display personal holiness. To make its outward signs larger while living against the law contradicted its very purpose. Enlarging the border or adding words while the life was contrary to God's law turned what was meant for remembrance into mere outward show.

The command was perverted when the people departed from primitive purity and simplicity until their works became directly contrary to the law of God. The farther they departed, the more particular they became to make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments. They added to the words God had specified for the ribbon of blue, which had expressed in short the ten commandments. By outward appearance they sought to express exalted devotion and sanctity, while their hearts and lives and works stood in the widest contrast and did not conform to the will and word of God.

Distinct Obedience Still Required

The literal blue mark itself is no longer required upon garments, though dress still comes under divine notice. The same command still calls God's people to come out from the world and forsake idolatrous practices and not to follow their own hearts or eyes, because they have to a great extent lost their peculiarity and have gradually patterned after the world and mingled with them until in many respects they have become like them, which is displeasing to God. They were not to imitate idolatrous nations, mingle with them, unite in drunken feasts, or eat swine's flesh and luxurious food detrimental to health, but to remain distinct as commandment-keeping people brought in a miraculous manner from Egyptian bondage to serve Him and be holy unto Him. Their dress in this age must still be distinct from that of the world, must glorify and honor God, and by a simple, modest, convenient and healthful style must be an example that rebukes the pride, vanity and extravagance of worldly, pleasure-loving professors and sets them apart from it. The simple, modest, convenient and healthful style advocated answers the same purpose now as the ribbon of blue did for Israel, preserving peculiarity and distinguishing a people who acknowledge the Creator as their God and obey His ordinances and commandments.

Reform in dress now answers the same purpose of distinguishing and separating God's commandment-keeping people from the world, and is essential to physical and mental health as well as to distinguish them as His peculiar people and peculiar treasure. It carries a cross that is needed as a test, so those who love the sacred truth that separates them from the world show separation by accepting it, while the proud and those who have no love for it show it by treating it with indifference or contempt. Indifference to God's light and choosing one's own course repeats Israel's disobedience, which remembered and obeyed God's commandments rather than following one's own desires and sight. Israel could have pleaded excuses against wearing the required ribbon of blue even more valid than excuses against wearing plain, healthful, distinctive dress now. The real reason for refusing such a God-required dress is that it is inconvenient and mortifies pride, and all excuses against it vanish when the style becomes fashionable.

Not walking after one's own eyes and heart means refusing to follow the sight of the eyes and the inclination of feelings into selfish gratification, turning square about from living to please self to honoring God and following the Redeemer instead. Jesus is an unfailing source of strength to overcome defects of character at once with no moment to lose, because delay risks losing heaven. To follow what the eyes desire is disobedience to God that only nominally acknowledges His instruction while resisting its conclusion and effect, and doing the will of God means remembering all the commandments of the LORD and doing them in obedience to the principles of His holy law. Counseling the erring that they may follow their own desire and human counsel and still be doing God's will concedes what God has forbidden and opposes His law. Unwise sympathy from relatives and friends that indulges feeling against God's law turns a soul in the wrong direction, stands directly in the way of God's purposes, leads the reproved to treat sin as a light matter and to despise correction, and withholds the reproof and correction that, if heeded, would lead to hearty confession, true humiliation and reformation, and forgiveness. The sight of the eyes can lead astray and must be guarded against continually, for being led by the eyes in business means seeing hoped-for incomes without seeing outgoes, thinking more conveniences are needed than the business will warrant, and making investments that eat up capital.