S) "37 The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, 38 'Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. 39 It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, 40 so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.'"
Numbers 15:37-41 (NASB)
O) It's amazing to me how inept we are to remember. Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites are commanded various rituals to help them remember The LORD, but still they forget. It's interesting to me that God sees this weakness and puts into place practices like the one above. He wants us to overcome our deficiencies. He recognizes that we have trouble remembering His commandments, so He invents a solution for us. Over and over again, He sets us up to succeed. At the time of this command, there were only so many people who could read, and even fewer people had access to anything that was written. This verse serves as a great example of how blessed I am to be born when I was. Still, God provides a way for the people to remind themselves of what Moses is teaching them.
A) I could implement this exact set up. I could use some blue yarn and tie it to clothes, somehow. I mean, I don't wear robes, but I could fashion something to attach to my clothes. I could also wear specific jewelry. I could get a tattoo. There are a lot of physical applications I could explore to help me remember ordinances from The LORD. Ultimately, however, I have the Bible itself. It's not a bad idea to make use of some other form of reminder, but I think that, in terms of a physical reminder, nothing will ever top the actual Bible. So, then it becomes a matter of really keeping my Bible with me. Because of the digital age, with apps and web access, I have gotten away from the practice of physically carrying my Bible. I'm afraid that the prevalence of the digital Bible has taken it to a sort of "out of sight, out of mind" place, so that I'm not thinking of The Word at all, unless I'm actually reading it off of a screen. I think it's time for me to make better use of my Bible case, and start packing my actual Bible with me on a daily basis.
P) Father, I am so thankful for Your written Word. I feel like I treasure the Bible, but I want it to be more than feelings, more than intention. Let me be bold about carrying my Bible with me. Let it be a physical reminder of Your commands, even when I'm not reading it. Change my heart, so that I am manifestly valuing my Bible more and more with each passing day. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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