Good Morning.
Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them. (Numbers 15:38-39)
As was mentioned previously, the fringes that God’s people were to wear on their garments served as reminders of who they were and how they were to conduct their lives. More specifically, it was the cord of blue in the midst of the fringes that was to be the object of their focus.
In Hebrew, this blue cord is called t’chelet and is believed to be emblematic of the heavens, thus a connection to the Creator. That is interesting because, in the Hebrew text, the word translated as “it” — “you may look upon it (the blue cord) and remember — is אתו oto and is oftentimes translated as “him.” In other words, this could be translated as, “You shall look upon Him and remember.”
It is not a stretch to consider that the “Him” being referred to is the Almighty; in fact, rabbinical sources make the same connection. However, we will take it one step further and suggest that the Him is referring to the Messiah, the object and goal of all the commandments God gave to Israel. Paul verifies this when he said that, “Messiah is the end (goal) of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). Messiah is the One we are to gaze upon and be provoked to remember what God has commanded us to hear and do. Furthermore, He is the source of all that the Word of God conveys to us in order that we might have abundant life.
In that vein consider this: the fringes, including the blue cord (t’chelet) were to be placed upon the “corners” or “hems” of a garment. This would explain why the woman with the issue of blood reached out to touch the hem of His garment — she was reaching for the tzitzit (fringes) and, more specifically, the blue cord that He is represented by. In Hebrew, the word translated as “corner” or “hem” is more literally rendered as “wings.” In a sense, this woman was seeking to be healed by coming under the “shadow of His wings .”
This benefit is not for her alone because we are told that, as God’s people, we can do as she did; we can come under the wings of our Master and be made whole. When we set our gaze upon Him and press through whatever the circumstance we find ourselves in, we can take hold of His promises and receive the same healing virtue that flowed through her body 2000 years ago. It seems fitting to close with this passage from Malachi: “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings (corners).” (Malachi 4:2).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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