Living in the Land

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

LIVE IN THE LAND

Prov 22:28

28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.

NIV

Well our property lines are pretty well set, having been surveyed and recorded with the local government as legal lots. So it would be difficult for us to move the markers as they are deep stakes set in the ground. Of course during the time of Solomon the farmer or land owner marked their property with stones, perhaps even with markings on them to signify his name and the name of the name of the neighboring farmer. A shared landmark as it were. It would be possible for a one of the farmers or land owners to move the stone over even a few feet to increase the size of his lot. What this appears to imply is the first settlers of the land established their landmarks and respected the others land, but generation after generation may have started to want more then what they had and started moving the stones. But how does this have anything to do with us.

Jer 6:16

16 This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

NIV

We could relate this to our walk with the Lord. Standing in the crossroads of religion. It might be wise not to bring any new dogmas, rites, ceremonies, into religion that has not be established by our forefathers, who would be the writers within the scriptures. This would also apply to the author of those writers, the Spirit. We should not move the benchmark of the sacred writings, the Holy Scriptures, even in the worship of God. It is possible some churches have attempted to move those ancient ways, those ancient truths in order to advance their own agendas to further their own cause. Is the worship of God intended to include laser light shows with mist machines? Have we moved the stones too far to increase our own land, our own idea of worship? Have we made worship into a show for men, rather than a worship of God? Have we built structures or overtaken old ones that do not even appear to be a house of worship, so to attract more people? Is that acceptable or have we moved the ancient boundaries? Did not God instruct Solomon to build a temple worthy enough to be a place to signify God dwelling with his people? Yes the veil has been torn, to give us access to the Holy of Holies. Do our churches look at all like the Holy of Holies?  Have we brought new theologies into the gospel? Have we added anything to Jesus? Have we added lists of do’s and don’ts to the gospel? Have we added good deeds to the gospel? Have we subtracted anything from the ancient ways? Have we taken things away so as to not offend or make the walk with God more palatable to men? Have we moved the benchmark God has established?  The ancient way says we are saved by faith. Is there anything else? Sure being saved means we follow Jesus and that implies we will need to serve him in some way, being a part of the body of Christ, doing something, not just being a church attender. But we cannot add anything to the gospel message nor can we subtract anything from it.  It is by faith and faith alone in Jesus that we are saved. Nothing else can be added to that. We cannot move that truth at all, not even one ten thousandth of an inch. Once we have been saved, we are born a new creation. The old self has died and we have been born again. We cannot live as the old man, we must live as the new man. We cannot change that fact, we cannot move that truth to suit our own idea of life. Facts are facts and they cannot be changed. Let us not try to move the benchmark to increase our own land in any way. The truth has been established and we should live within the land of truth God has given to us.