God’s Ancient Landmarks

Proverbs 22:28 and 23:10 wisely warn about moving ancient landmarks that mark property boundaries. To move those landmarks would be to infringe upon or steal someone else’ property or rights. Moving those landmarks would also result in some harsh consequences.

Everything in creation reflects something of the unseen realm of eternity and the unseen realms of creation to some degree. God told Moses to make on earth what he saw that God showed him exists in “heaven”.

The Wise and Eternal King Jesus has landmarks set up for human flourishing. There are just places we should not go or wander into. There are landmarks we should not trespass.

From the beginning the Lord told our parents to NOT eat from a certain tree. To bypass that landmark rule was to wander into a place where death awaited. So, to preserve human flourishing, the Lord gave a law, a command, a landmark for our good and joy and life.

God gave Israel ten words, ten commandments, the Decalogue that framed good boundaries for human flourishing. From these ten words we get a host of landmarks that are there to protect our well-being and frame human flourishing.

God has graciously given us a host of these glorious landmarks explicitly written in his word.

God has also built some landmarks, some laws into creation that are there for us to discover. One example is gravity. Gravity is a law, a landmark, that when violated results in either the hurt or death of the one violating this gracious boundary designed to keep us well.

I’m convinced that the created world is full of such glorious landmarks we are not to attempt to move or trespass, but rather are to obeyed for us to flourish.

Proverbs 25:2 is perhaps my favorite Proverb. It is God’s glory to conceal some things, and it is a king’s glory to search them out. Ecclesiastes seems to be Solomon’s attempt at discovering some of these limits. It’s more than that, but it is some of that.

When we cross these ancient landmarks, these eternally hard-wired boundaries, God’s design is that we will experience some beating that is not for our flourishing and we will learn to get back inside what is good for us.

When I decided to pull a Rambo as a kid and jump from almost the top of a pine tree in order to catch myself and slow myself down like Rambo did when he jumped from that cliff in “First Blood”, I discovered the law of gravity is indeed real, and that my attempt to violate that ancient, created landmark resulted in some broken bones. I never did that again. Lesson learned.

Here’s where I’m going.

Psalm 119:67 (ESV) 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.

Psalm 119:71 (ESV) 71 It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.

Psalm 119:96 (ESV) 96 I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

Since becoming a follower of Jesus, I’ve wrestled with what I see in the Old Testament happening to folks who violate God’s laws either written or hard-wired into creation and the consequences as punishment considering the fact they were God’s people.

Granted, they did not yet have the full benefit of the cross accounted to them although the Lord would apply it to them because of their faith (See Romans 3:21-26), the cross seems to not bypass consequences.

I’ve wrestled with my understanding of the justifying work of the cross and what happens when as God’s people we get consequences of crossing ancient landmarks. I know that’s a me problem, but that is a problem I somehow inherited. I assumed that if I’m in Christ and my sin is not counted against me past, present, and future, then somehow there should be some mediating factor that keeps me from a deserved beating if I cross a line God created for my good.

What I’ve come to understand through the Word and by experience is that justification keeps me in the family and counted as “not guilty” and completely loved and accepted as a child of God, but the cross does not rescue me from being afflicted when I violate an eternal statute, an ancient landmark, the Lord set up for my flourishing.

If as a Christian I determine to not discipline my appetite, then I will receive the affliction of poor health, and hopefully learn to stop going astray and learn the statute of disciplined consumption. I’m no less a child of God and I’m found not guilty, however, I’ve crossed a boundary for my good and will not be rescued from the consequences of crossing that boundary set up for my good. I must learn from the beating to correct my actions and get into God’s designed boundary for flourishing.

Then I think how restrictive! But what the Lord designed for us was to discover the paradox that within his ancient landmarks is an entire world that is exceedingly broad! God’s perfect law which is so narrow once lived within leads to such wide-open joy that it’s hard to fathom.

C.S. Lewis captured this paradox in “The Last Battle” when at the end the only way of escape from the darkness and evil was the narrow door into the hut which would surely end in their death, and once they entered that narrow landmark of escape from evil, they discovered they had entered Aslan’s Country. They were free! So, they ran and enjoyed and continued to exclaim, “Further up and further in!” Through their death by being constrained to enter a narrow door they discovered life and freedom.

The narrow door that looked like death was actually a narrow entry into an exceedingly broad joy and freedom.

So what? Lean on the cross. Lean into the justifying work of Jesus in our place for our sin. Delight in knowing our status as sons and daughters of God once applied through faith will never be taken away. And learn from the consequences of crossing ancient landmarks the freedom of staying in the narrow way of following Jesus. Know that God won’t keep me from the beating of violating his designed landmarks, but he will let that beating and affliction teach us to keep his statutes and be able to say with the Psalmist, “It was good that I was afflicted because now I keep your statutes.”

So, if you are in Christ and keep running into beatings there are some things to learn.

1. It might be a heavenly contest to challenge your faithfulness, glorify the Lord, and grow you up in the faith. See Job.
2. You are doing God’s work and encountering the fight with unseen evil forces, and you must armor up to stay in the fight. We indeed do not merely wrestle against flesh and blood in the fight of the kingdom of God. See Ephesians 6.
3. It might be that you are stumbling upon some ancient landmark and hoping the cross of Jesus and his justifying work will allow you to stay on the wrong side of that landmark and everything be ok. In that case, the Lord will continue to let you take a beating until you learn to get within his boundary for flourishing and only then discover that in that restriction is true freedom found. Repent, learn the lesson, and get back on the right side of that ancient landmark and you’ll find things will settle out.

Maybe this will help you. It’s been a journey for me to get here. Maybe you can learn with me those landmarks and together we will stay on the flourishing side as we enjoy the security of knowing we are still sons and daughters of God and Father is letting us grow up and learn to walk in his ways.