Sep 17 – Isaiah 41, Isaiah 42 Galatians 3:10-25 Proverbs 22:28-29, Proverbs 23:1-9
Prov 22:8
Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.
What does this mean? It seems like a very strange thing – yet it’s repeated twice. First, it’s not about having to keep around things that your father is rather attached to… It’s not about keeping things that have passed their usefulness, or throwing away something that is broken.
It’s not about changing customs or changing institutions. It’ snot about having to keep the pews and rogan in place.
Of course…
Land in Israel was a very important thing – it was divided up and given out. It was a serious thing – the land was yours – it couldn’t be taken from you. But to move the landmark is to move the boundary – it’s to encroach on someone else’s territory. And you were not supposed to do that.
This is actually forbidden again in Proverbs and in Deuteronomy – which makes you think it must have happened on several occasions.
You don’t push yourself into someone else’s rights. You are not try and swindle someone out of what is rightfully theirs. It’s selfish – placing your needs above someone else. It’s sly – not taking land directly but subtly moving the barriers.
Now that’s harder to apply to life today – but it comes down to putting your wants over someone else and letting someone else lose out so you gain. That’s not right and not good – living in Christ is putting others first, not secretly trying to get one over them.
