Read Deuteronomy 22:8-12 at Bible Gateway.
Previously: deuteronomy 22:8-12, do not be unequally yoked
(Please review the teaching tools of scripture, especially the Hebrew paragraph divisions and chiastic structures. The paragraphs marked by an “s” at their close are weak paragraphs, which indicate a change of facet but not a change of theme or topic. The paragraphs marked by a “p” at their close are strong paragraphs, which indicate the completion of a theme or topic.)
Deu 22:8-12 is the second section explaining the seventh commandment, Do not commit adultery. The seventh commandment is explained in Deu 21:10-23:14, and this is my summary of it. The Hebrew paragraph divisions are:
Deu 22:8-9 {s} Preventing bloodguilt and defilement
Deu 22:10-11 {s} Prohibition of unlike mixtures
Deu 22:12 {s} You shall wear tzitzit on the four corners of your clothing
Today we are looking at an unusual command:
“You shall make tassels on the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself.” Deu 22:12
Tassels are tzitzit in Hebrew, and refers to braided and fringed cords:
Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “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, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.” Num 15:37-41
We learn from Numbers, that the purpose of the tassels or tzitzit, is to remind us of the commandments of the Lord so that we will not follow the harlotry to which our own heart and eyes are inclined. If adultery is intimacy outside of the marriage covenant, then harlotry is included in the definition of adultery. The tassels, however, not only remind us of the seventh commandment when we put on and put off our clothes, but all the commandments of the Lord.
Isn’t it interesting that throughout the Old Testament, God equates idolatry with harlotry. Being unfaithful to God is similar to being unfaithful to our spouse. In fact, the covenant God made with Israel at Mt Sinai is in the form of a Hebrew marriage covenant. This is why God calls Himself Israel’s husband, and she His wife:
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer 31:31-34
This is why the command concerning tzitzit is found in the middle of the explanation of, Do not commit adultery. God is saying, Do not be unfaithful to the spouse of your youth, and do not be unfaithful to Me. Remain in intimacy with Him, in worship of Him alone as God. We learn from the commandment concerning tzitzit, that God equates obedience, with faithfulness! In light of this understanding, we should take a fresh look at two Scriptures:
“But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.” Mal 4:2
“Wings” in Hebrew is kanaph, and also means, the corners of the garment. Hmmmm …
And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour. Mat 9:20-22
In the original language, it was the hem or more exactly, the fringe of His garment that the woman grasped – His tzitzit.
For further reading:
Tzitzit in the ancient world (tzitzit as the sign of authority)
Continued: deuteronomy 22:13-29, the sacredness of marital intimacy
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