Ancient Boundaries

Proverbs 22:28

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

One of my favorite vacations as I was growing up was a visit to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I traveled with my parents up the coast starting at Morehead City across on a 2 hour ferry to the Outer Banks. I had such fond memories of visiting that area that I had always wanted to go back. A couple of years ago my wife and I were blessed to get to travel to Virginia Beach, so we decided to take our time and travel that route. As the days approached for our vacation in early September, there was a hint of Hurricane Irene foiling our plans. Sure enough, we were unable to take our intended route going, but all was clear coming back, so we traveled the one lone Highway 12 to visit the Lighthouse at Cape Hatteras. About 10 miles out we could see the silhouette of the light house. It was a perfect day. The hurricane had passed and there was nothing but blue skies and blue ocean with very little debris left from the storm.

We purchased tickets so we could walk to the top of the lighthouse and look out.  The photo at the top of this blog was one that I took that day. As we walked to the top, I wondered how many storms (like Irene) the lighthouse had endured and how many changes this country had seen since it was built. As we entered at the base, we saw two areas: one to the left and another to the right of the stairs that were set up as storm shelters, then there are spiral stairs going up as far as you could see. The present light house was built in 1870. At some point in the late 1930’s it became automated, but before then someone had to live next to the tower to keep it running properly. When I reached the top and looked out, I noticed that  the lighthouse now sat in a different location than it had when I was young. It had to be moved inland around 2,900 feet because over the years the ocean had eroded the beach to the point that it was beginning to compromise the foundation. If left in its original position next to the beach, it would have been impossible to maintain a solid foundation, then eventually it would have fallen and been destroyed.

Jeremiah 35:2

“Go to the Recabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

In Jeremiah, chapter 35 there is a story that is so interesting, it is hard to comprehend its significance. Jeremiah, the prophet, is told by God to go to the house of the descendants of Recab and bring them into one of the rooms of the temple and offer them wine. When Jeremiah obeyed God, the Recabites refused and were somewhat insulted that a prophet of God would ask them to drink wine. They had been commanded by their grandfather, Recab, to never drink wine. There were several other things that Recab had commanded: never build a house, never plant seed, or have a vineyard. As strange as this all seems, the purpose of their grandfather’s command was so they would not settle in with the ungodly people that lived in the land. His goal was that the Recabites stay pure in their beliefs of God and not defile themselves with sinful living.

This was not a lesson about alcohol consumption, this was a lesson about conviction. This lesson came in the final stages before the fall and disintegrating of the kingdom of Judah, and was one of God’s last warnings to that kingdom. The lesson was: if the people of Judah would listened and heed God’s law, like the descendants of Recab, then He would bless them. He then told Jeremiah to go bless the Recabites and tell them there would always be one of their descendants standing before God on this earth.

Song of Solomon 2:15

Catch for us the foxes,the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.

The kingdom of Judah was established based on the Law that Moses received from God on Mt Sinai. These laws were the foundation to one of the wealthiest and greatest kingdoms ever recorded. Then, like all kingdoms past and present, one generation letting go of something, making a small, seemingly inconsequential compromise, begins to change the overall structure. The final result becomes unrecognizable to the Law it was founded on. Every empire or kingdom on this earth has risen to a point and fallen because the last generation lost sight of its original purpose.

Isaiah 59:14

So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.

Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

Each generation and nation is faced with the problem of Truth. Truth is like the laws of physics.  It does not change just because it becomes politically incorrect. Nations, religions, and even some Christian movements have taken the truth of God’s laws and either discounted them or replaced them with their own. Before we move a fence or boundary, we should always consider why it was put there in the first place.

Exodus 15:26

…If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.

Can we live without God’s Laws? Yes, but we end up with man-made laws of fairness that punish the innocent while letting the criminal go free. We end up with dictators, political prisoners, and oppression of whatever belief system is not popular.

Can we live without God’s moral laws? Yes, but we end up having to contend with AIDS, venereal diseases and a bitter world of broken relationships.

Can we live without God’s dietary law? Yes, but we live with high blood pressure, gallbladder problems and the quicker breakdown of the body’s health.

Hans Christian Anderson wrote a short story called “The Emperors New Clothes.”   In this story the emperor has two weavers who promised him new invisible clothes, to be seen only by those who are qualified to see them, but as the emperor was “wearing” them a small child said “but he is not wearing any clothes”!  The child’s father scolded him, but then slowly the other subjects begin to repeat that the child was right. The emperor was embarrassed at first, but then he felt it was better to go on pretending than to admit he had been tricked.

Psalms 33:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord

The whole world crumbles around us and nations are working frantically to solve crises after crises. The basic foundations are eroding, families are splintered, pregnancy is treated like a disease, children are treated like a curse rather than a blessing, there is no reason to work, no reason to build wealth, no reason to pass on an inheritance.  The family unit has been replaced by government taking care of everything. World leaders think they have the answers at the top, but all the while they are allowing the systematic removal of the foundations of society. Ancient boundaries have been torn down and trampled. This world has “no clothes” but is too embarrassed to admit it, and just continues on the path to destruction with no repentance. Like the lighthouse, unless corrective measures are taken at the basic foundations, man’s world will fall and be destroyed.

The first time I read about the Recabites, I was in my early 20’s, trying to figure out for myself if God’s Word was true. So I challenged God in my mind by thinking, “okay God if the Bible is true and You are who You say You are, there should be proof that a descendant of the Recabites is still on the earth”.  One day while traveling through Atlanta, Georgia, I saw a huge billboard and I nearly ran off the road. It said “Recabites Construction Company” and gave an address and phone number.

Proverbs 18:10

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

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