Tassels on garments were a direct command from God to the children of Israel, intended to serve as a visual reminder of His commandments and a call to holiness. This instruction is found in Numbers 15:38–40:
“Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments… and to put a blue thread in the tassels… and you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them…”
These tassels (called tzitzit in Hebrew) were not decorative. They were spiritual symbols tied to obedience and identity as God’s covenant people. The blue thread signified heaven and divine authority.
God explained their purpose further:
“And that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined… that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God.” (Numbers 15:39–40)
The tassels reminded Israel to avoid wandering from God’s ways. They served as a daily, physical reminder of their covenant with Him.
Pharisees later abused this practice, lengthening their tassels to appear more pious (Matthew 23:5), but the original intent was humility, not display.
The tassels were about remembering, obeying, and walking in holiness. They embodied visible discipleship and personal accountability under God’s law.