Hang By The Thread

References: Numbers 15:37-41, Mark 5:25-34; Romans 13:14

God commanded Israel to “make threads on the corners of their garments” so they “may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them.” In the context of their time, the corner of a person's garment represented his identity. It is a visual and physical symbol of who he is and what he stands for. By wearing threads, Israel was identifying themselves to belong as the people of God who would honour the covenant, keep His laws, and be holy to Him.

When the woman with the issue of blood reached out to Jesus, she touched the hem (the very threads commanded in the Torah) on the corner of His garment. Previously, I always thought she reached for the hem because it was the most accessible, as if she could not get close enough to touch anything else, let alone talk to Him in her condition. But, as I thought about the context more, I began to wonder if what she did was far more intentional.

For twelve years, she had been ceremonially unclean, cut off from Temple worship and isolated from community. Instead of following the “harlotry” of her own heart and eyes, she turned her heart and eyes toward Jesus. In reaching for the threads, she was reaching out to the living embodiment of everything they represented, now made flesh before her: God's covenant, the perfect Law, and holiness. She was not only seeking physical healing; she was longing for restoration and to belong again to what Jesus embodied.

When she admitted to being the one who touched his threads, he called her “daughter” - a term of inclusion and belonging. She is no longer an outcast but someone who belongs to God and now part of the covenant community through faith, not the law.

While there are no outward garments I am commanded to wear presently as a reminder, He has called me to “clothe myself with the Lord Jesus Christ” by identifying and embodying His character. Once a visible reminder, the threads are now written on my heart by the Holy Spirit. He reminds me of who I am and what I stand for. In the cares and distractions of life, when my own heart and eyes are tempted to waywardness, I can intentionally turn them to trust in Jesus, who is not only healing, but restoration of my true identity.

If you are hanging by a thread

Hang by the thread of His robe

One day, you will hear Your Savior say

Daughter, your faith has made you well