Ancient Boundary Stones
As we talk about "New Normals" we also have to be cautious. In the midst of "out with the old and in with the new" there is the danger of "throwing out the baby with the bathwater."
Twice in Deuteronomy and twice in Proverbs we encounter the warning not to move ancient boundary stones. Now, while the primary reason for these injunctions is the protection of personal property, two of the four passages emphasise the idea that these boundaries were set up by their forefathers and predecessors and that they have deep roots and go back a while.
The passage in Deuteronomy (our passage for today) indicates that the boundaries were set by their predecessors as part of an inheritance they received from the Lord. So this boundary is both old and it's for something they received and did not earn.
While the primary context of these boundaries has to do with land, I think the principles of boundaries apply to other areas of life, like morals, ethics, relationships and values.
The reminder that their land was an inheritance is an important warning. Just as much as greedy land barons moved boundary stones on land they had received and not earned, I think we are sometimes too quick to discard rules, norms and values that we have received and not earned. We haven't been through the pain and complexity and the refining process that led to those norms and values being shaped and formed and we should be slow to change things we didn't help build.
I was involved in an important discussion this weekend about the way ahead in these challenging and changing times. The discussion managed, I think, to show great sensitivity to the reality of the changes, but also recognised the importance of remembering the core-values that should not change.
| Do not move your neighbour's boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess. (Deuteronomy19:14) |
