Do Not Move the Ancient Boundary

“Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28).

This short proverb refers to instructions in the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 19:14; 27:17). Job gives us a reason why someone would want to move these boundary marks. “Some remove the landmarks; they seize and devour flocks” (Job 24:2).

These landmarks marked the boundary of someone's land. It was the area they possessed (Deuteronomy 19:14). If one were to move one of these boundaries, he might be able to claim something that was not his, thus cheating his neighbor (Deuteronomy 27:17). They were to be content with the area they had and not try to unlawfully go beyond it.

There is a spiritual application in this for us -- Do not go beyond what God has authorized.

God has given instructions in His word. We must confine ourselves to these instructions and what He has authorized. John wrote, “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 9).

The teaching of Christ -- the word of God -- is what we must confine ourselves to. If we go beyond this, we lose our fellowship with God.

There are many in the religious world who are not content with what God has said. They want to move the boundaries He has set. They want to do what God has not authorized. They don't want to do what He has instructed. They want to do things their way, not God's way.

Those under the Old Law were “cursed” for moving “his neighbor's boundary mark” (Deuteronomy 27:17). Under the new law, we will be “accursed” for changing the word of God (Galatians 1:6-9).

Let's be content to remain within the bounds of Scripture.