Surrounded By The Word

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.” (Nu 15:38-40 AV)

Israel had been given the land of Canaan.  Abraham’s covenant with God guaranteed them this land.  Upon approaching Jericho and the promised land, they buckled under what seemed to them as impossible odds.  Twelve spies, one from each tribe, spied out the land.  Ten of them reported taking the land was too great a risk.  Israel believed the ten bad spies and rejected Joshua and Caleb.  They did not believe that God could defeat the giants in the land.  So, the LORD rejected that generation and doomed them to wander in the wilderness for forty years until that generation died off.  They attempted to take the land, but God was not in it.  Therefore, they failed.  Upon this hard lesson and the consequent future they had, God gave them this instruction.  They were to sew fringes on the borders of their garments.  This ribbon of blue was to be the bottom fringe of robes and sleeves and neck.  This was to remind them they were to walk, act, and think the law of God.  What a picture.  Looking at their feet, they would see their steps surrounded by the law.  When their gaze went to the hands, they would see their actions surrounded by the law.

Uniforms serve several purposes.  They identify members of a team.  Uniforms also give the team member a constant reminder of identity.  But there is another purpose they serve.  They are a constant reminder of loyalty.  That is, they constantly remind the team member for whom he or she is committed.  In our little league days, it was not uncommon for one team to be too short of players to field a team.  Sometimes, their opponent would supply players so a game could commence.  If one baseball team had seven players and the other had ten, the larger team would loan one or two of their players so a game could start.  When they did this, traded players had to wear their opponent’s uniform.  They had to wear the opponent's shirt and hat.  Why?  Because when one is out in the field, he may forget who is he playing for.  His loyalty was switched, and it was time to be committed for a new team.  Something physical changed as a reminder of a new found loyalty.

We are commanded to walk in obedience to the word of God.  Sometimes, we need a reminder.  One wonders what that might be.  Perhaps a simply addition or accessory to what we are wearing.  Perhaps bible verses posted in areas we would frequent.  Maybe there are other ways in which we could remind ourselves to walk in obedience to God’s word.  The picture of the fringe is a beautiful one.  The feet of the Hebrew were surrounded by the fringe.  Whether they went forward, backward, to the right or left; their feet would be encompassed by the fringe.  No matter what their hand was doing, they would be surrounded by the blue fringe.  Our lives should be encompassed by the commandments and standards of the word of God.  Biblical principles should surround every choice and action.  What a beautiful picture of our walk in obedience and faith towards our precious Savior, Jesus Christ.