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37 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
38 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:
39 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:
40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.
41 I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.
Numbers 15:37-41
12 Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.I was under immediate conviction of the validity and importance of this statute. God has provided His perfect way to show our religious devotion. We are to look upon the tzitzit and remember His law.
Deuteronomy 22:12
This statute is still not honored by most who believe in the statutes. It is interesting you don't even find this mentioned in most discussions or books about the statutes. I suspect traces of anti-Semitism still exist.
The word translated as fringes in Numbers is tsiytsith.
fringe, tassel, lock
The word translated as ribband in Numbers is pathiyl.
cord, thread (twisted)
The word translated as fringes in Deuteronomy is gĕdil.
twisted threads, tassels
The translation of border or hem from the Greek is kraspedon.
1) the extremity or prominent part of a thing, edge, skirt, marginThe New Testament clearly indicates the Messiah obeyed all of Moses law and wore the tzitzit.a) the fringe of a garment
b) in the NT a little appendage hanging down from the edge of the mantle or cloak, made of twisted wool
c) a tassel, tuft: the Jews had such appendages attached to their mantles to remind them of the law
20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
Matthew 9:20
36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.
Matthew 14:36
56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.
Mark 6:56
44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.The Messiah spoke against the practice of making the tassels long. I prefer to refer to my tzitzit simply as tassels.
Luke 8:44
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
Matthew 23:5
I adopted the wearing of tassels on September 2, 2004. Some may label me fanatic or weird. I am not ashamed to follow the law of God.
38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Mark 8:38
41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
Acts 5:41
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16
There are many extensive and varied Jewish traditions for the
tzitzit.
I am not interested in following the traditions of men, but it is valuable to be aware of them.
I initially made a simple adaptation of the traditions in my own practice.
A model of a showy traditional long tzitzit is seen in the image to the right.
I later simplified the tassel even more and made it shorter after carefully considering the criticism of Matthew 23:5 concerning making the tasssels long to be seen of men.
I take four pieces of white yarn and one of blue yarn a foot long each. I knot them all together in the middle, fold it in half and knot them all together again. This makes a 1 inch loop with ten 3-4 inch strings hanging from it. These ten strings symbolize the Ten Commandments to me. The two blue threads symbolize the two great laws on which the Ten Commandments are based.
I then tie little knots in the ten ends so they don't unravel. I make four of them as the Bible says. I loop the top of the tassel through my belt loops. One on each side and the others quarter way around to the front. This is a simple adaptation of the four corners of the garment for modern clothing styles. They are easily transferred when I put on a clean pair of pants. If I wear something without a belt, I use a safety pin to attach the tassels.
Here is a life-size picture of a completed tassel so you can visualize what I am describing.
Here is a picture of my modest short tassels so you can see how they look.
Jews do not believe this statute applies to women. The Bible does not say it is only for men. Each person must make their own decision about following the command of God.
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Galatians 3:7
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:29
4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Revelation 7:4
Opposition even comes from individuals who believe in the keeping of statutes. They point out a solitary quote from Ellen White which appears to dismiss the statute.
The children of Israel, after they were brought out of Egypt, were commanded to have a simple ribbon of blue in the border of their garments, to distinguish them from the nations around them, and to signify that they were God's peculiar people. The people of God are not now required to have a special mark placed upon their garments. But in the New Testament we are often referred to ancient Israel for examples. If God gave such definite directions to his ancient people in regard to their dress, will not the dress of his people in this age come under his notice? Should there not be in their dress a distinction from that of the world? Should not the people of God, who are his peculiar treasure, seek even in their dress to glorify God? And should they not be examples in point of dress, and by their simple style rebuke the pride, vanity, and extravagance of worldly, pleasure-loving professors? God requires this of his people. Pride is rebuked in his word. {HR, February 1, 1872 par. 4}This one quote is repeated in numerous places.
The Health Reformer February 1, 1872
Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, January 23, 1900, paragraph 4
S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 1 (1953), page 1114, paragraph 1
Selected Messages Book 2 (1958), page 473, paragraph 3
Our High Calling (1961), page 271, paragraph 2
I believe it is quite obvious from the context that Ellen is not intending to pronounce a teaching on statute keeping or the particular statute. My reading sees a curious contradiction with her statement which points to following the example of Israel. My view is that Ellen was a prophet of the Three Angels' Messages which made great strides in presenting the seventh day Sabbath and other messages to the world. It is not appropriate to try to extract explicit teachings concerning the statutes of the Third Elijah Message or the Fourth Angel's Message from her work.
Those who believe in the observance of the yearly sabbaths have reacted the most negatively. It is as if they will accept something they can do privately, but not something that publically marks them as believers. A person who chooses to follow all the statutes, including the wearing of the tassels, attracts the focus of many critics. Even the most devoted followers and teachers of the Third Elijah Message have warned me of the danger of prejudice against the truth of the message caused by the wearing of the tassels.
I can almost hear Satan cackle to himself. "The Sunday-keepers ignore just one little commandment". "The feast-keepers ignore just one little statute". How does the Messiah feel when we choose to dismiss one of His requirements?
Remember! Keeping the law of the Messiah does not save you. Belief in the Messiah saves you. Ignoring the law of the Messiah means you do not practice what you believe.
The Messiah was an Israelite. The Messiah observed and obeyed all scripture. He was our perfect example.
21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
I Peter 2:21
15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.Did the Messiah command something which was impossible?
John 13:15
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:48
Closely associated with the Tzitzit in Jewish practice are the Kippah, Tefillin and the Mezuzah. I have received comments inquiring and joking about my adopting those practices. It is important to note that these practices are not statutes. These practices are part of the "oral" tradition of the Mishnah and the Talmud. The wearing of the Kippah was apparently not even adopted until about the 2nd century.
I am a student, follower, and teacher of God's Law. I am an Israelite and a Hebrew by practice and belief. I am not Jewish which is a cultural tradition. I do not promote Judaism as a religion. I am not a Messianic which is a confused mixture of Jewish tradition, Judaism, and Christian religion. I do not wear a kippah, it is a Jewish tradition. I do wear tassels, they are a command of God.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.It is my desire to practice a primitive godliness, which is not burdened with cultural baggage.
Matthew 5:19
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