"Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your fathers have set."
Proverbs 22:28 (NKJV)
Much of what we are witnessing in current events today is an ongoing battle between those who wish to change the laws of the land ( to remove the old landmarks which our ancestors have placed), and those whose desire it is to keep them in place. It is an argument that goes back to first man and first woman in the garden where God said that they could eat of anything that grew in the garden except for the fruit that grew on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that if we ate from it, it would kill us.
The word “landmark” needs some updating and definition. To quote Betty Miller from her daily devotional on the book of Proverbs; “Landmarks in Bible times were boundary markers. Sometimes these were rows of stones or double furrows so that people would have their property rights established for others to see. These were to keep people from infringing on the property rights of others. Certain other landmarks were used on roads to guide people so that they would not get lost. Sometimes these were large trees, or a pile of stones and a board marker.”
The tree in the Garden was a landmark, in fact the first landmark. It was not a law, that is, a legal rule that would call justice or punishment down on the transgressor. It was not meant to become a national custom or a unique cultural icon that set one nation or people apart from the rest. Rather, it was a warning sign meant to keep people from harming themselves, like the warning on a pack of cigarettes telling us that smoking tobacco causes cancer, or the skull and crossbones on rat poison warning us that ingesting the product is likely to cause death. If you eat the fruit off that particular tree, it will kill you.
Recently I had the opportunity to go camping in the Sequoia National Forest. Not only did the last thirty miles to the campsite seem like it was uphill both ways, but the road was so filled with
switchbacks and hairpin turns that twenty-four miles per hour was pretty much the fastest one could safely drive. I cannot adequately express my gratitude to whoever placed all the reflective warning signs before the curves, and the boundary markers all the way around the outer edges of those curves. All those markers were there to be obeyed, not to set me apart as a special person, or to heap guilt and punishment on my if I disobeyed them. They were there to warn me of danger! They were there to help me stay alive! Even so it was pretty touch and go a couple of times through no fault of the signs.
While writing this, I spent some time seeking out witty or revealing quotes about landmarks or boundary markers I found that there were still basically only two schools of thought regarding landmarks. There are those who want to remove them, or break through them. Those who see them as an obstacle to overcome on the way to self-fulfillment. A few examples are:
“Never set limits, go after your dreams, don't be afraid to push the boundaries. And laugh a lot - it's good for you.” … Paula Radcliff
“Beauty has no boundaries, no rules, no colors. Beauty is like a religion. You can include everything inside it.” … Alessandro Michele
“Look. Art knows no prejudice, art knows no boundaries, art doesn't really have judgement in it's purest form. So just go, just go.” ….KD. Lange
Out with the old same thing, and in with the new and different, not because it’s better, it’s just different. Even the people who say such things don’t really believe it to be true. What they really mean to say is to never set limits on your dreams unless your dreams are in direct disagreement with theirs. Beauty has no boundaries unless you are average looking and have a love of wearing coats made from animal pelts, and art has no boundaries unless your idea of art is fulfilled by cutting down forests and erecting skyscrapers which you find tremendously thrilling in design and use. That’s just not…what? Go ahead and say it: Within the Boundaries of what’s acceptable (to them).
On the other hand there are those who think that landmarks are a pretty good thing, especially the “old” landmarks.
“To me there's no creativity without boundaries. If you're gonna write a sonnet, it's 14 lines, so it's solving the problem within the container.” … Lorne Michaels (Creator of Saturday Night Live)
“Boundaries are to protect life, not to limit pleasures.” … Edwin Lewis Cole
“Pleasure without God, without the sacred boundaries, will actually leave you emptier than before. And this is biblical truth, this is experiential truth. The loneliest people in the world are amongst the wealthiest and most famous who found no boundaries within which to live.“ …Ravi Zacharias
Boundaries demand respect. Respect given is the foundation of trust. Trust is the very bedrock of faith and the Scriptures tell us that
“without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
Boundaries not only protect life, they enhance it. They not only keep us from going over the edge, they point the way to things of great beauty and value. While the old landmarks may be Ancient, if we keep them intact rather than tearing them down, we will find them to be truly timeless and relevant for our lives today.
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