October 26, 2025 - Numbers 15:39 - "The Fringe of Blue and the Glory of Christ"

Numbers 15:39

"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:"

The LORD speaks through His Word to call His people to remembrance. Here in Numbers 15:39 we read of that ribbon of blue placed on the fringe of Israel’s garments. It was not for show, nor for merit, but for remembrance—a constant reminder that they were not their own. The LORD had said, “I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God.” Every time they looked upon that fringe, they were to remember Whose they were and what He had done for them.

Those who are the LORDs are not to seek their own, because they are not their own. They have been chosen in electing grace by God the Father, purchased by the redeeming blood of God the Son at the cross, and called by the regenerating power of God the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:4, 7, 13, 14). That fringe of blue, that heavenly color, was God’s own mark upon His people. It spoke of divine distinction—a people set apart unto Himself. It was a type, a picture of Grace, and of Christ Himself Who fulfilled all righteousness for His people. “Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it” (Isaiah 45:8).

To seek after one’s own heart, to follow one’s own way, is spiritual adultery. The LORD calls it “going a-whoring.” Harsh language, yes—but true. To follow after self-will, dead works religion is to turn away from the LORD Himself as the only Way of salvation. And that is why we need constant reminders. The believer, looking upon that fringe, was to remember that he belonged not to earth, but to the God of heaven. Thus, the blue typifies Christ’s heavenly nature — His Deity.

Christ, the true Israelite and perfect Fulfiller of all the law, was marked not merely by outward sign but by inward reality: "The Second Man is the Lord from heaven.” — 1 Corinthians 15:47. As the robe of blue on the high priest typified Christ’s divine nature, so the blue ribbon on every Israelite spoke of union with the heavenly Man, a reminder that their life and obedience were by HIS life and obedience imputed to their account, and the only reason they were accepted, was in Him Who is the Beloved of the Father (Ephesians 1:6).

The Gospel writers record a significant moment that ties directly to this command: “And, behold, a woman… came behind him, and touched the hem (border) of his garment.” — Matthew 9:20. The “hem” (kraspedon in Greek) is the same as the fringe of Numbers 15. The woman touched the very symbol of divine holiness and heavenly virtue — that border of blue — and virtue (power) flowed from Christ. This shows that in Christ, the tekeleth (Hebrew for "ribbon" or "thread") finds its living fulfillment: the divine grace that Israel could only look upon symbolically became personally accessible in the incarnate Son of God.

When the LORD Jesus Christ came, He fulfilled every type and shadow of the law. If this fringe was a reminder of obedience and holiness, He alone perfectly fulfilled it. He is the true heavenly blue, the Righteousness from above, the One in Whom all the commandments of God are remembered and done. He alone sought not His own heart or His own will, but the will of the Father. And in that perfect obedience, He became the Righteousness of His people.

Our righteousness is not in our own garment, but that of Christ's righteousness imputed to us upon completion of His work on the cross. That is the robe of Righteousness that covers every elect child of God. The fringe of blue is but a picture of His grace manifested in the lives of His redeemed. The believer’s hope is not in his works, not in his remembrance, not in his obedience—but in Christ’s obedience unto death (Romans 5:19).

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” That is the meaning of the fringe. We belong to Him Who purchased us with His own blood. The fringe of blue—grace from above—reminds us to glorify God in all that we are and all that we do. And as Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:1–2, the Spirit stirs up our “pure minds by way of remembrance.” The grace of God, like that ribbon of blue, is never given to make us boastful or proud. It is given to humble us—to remind us that we are a purchased people, that we have been redeemed not with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ.

So, as the ribbon of blue circled the garments of Israel, so does the Gospel of Christ circle our hearts. Let it remind us not to seek after our own heart or our own eyes, but to set our affection on things above, "where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). For when we look to Him—He Who died, rose again, and sat down having finished the work—our hearts are turned from idols, our affections fixed on the LORD Jesus Christ, and our walk adorned with His grace.

The fringe of blue speaks peace to every elect, redeemed, and called child of God: Remember Whose you are. Remember Him Who brought you out, Who bought you with a price, Who clothed you in His righteousness. And as we look upon Christ, the heavenly blue of all our Hope, may we ever flee from our own way and rest in Him alone.

^"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).