The Foolishness of Moving Boundaries . . . Proverbs 23:10-11

Do not move the ancient boundary Or go into the fields of the fatherless, 11 For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.   Proverbs 23:10-11

There is something about the orphan, the fatherless in this world that moves God's heart.  Those who seek to bless the widow and the orphan God pronounces as blessed - while here we receive a warning - a dire warning against doing things that harm them.

The first thing we read is not move the ancient boundary.  What is this about?  In biblical times these were markings that helped people know where their fields ended and where others began.  People would move boundary stones when plowing their fields - so that they could steal land from their neighbors by doing so.  Here this is equated with going into the fields of the orphan - stealing from orphans for your own greed.  God reserved some of His strongest language for those who would do such things.  The heaviest curses were reserved for this kind of sin.  We are warned that the One who is the Redeemer for these orphans is strong - in this case strong enough to be considered omnipotent.  Only a fool would take on Someone with omnipotence.  This Strong One, Jehovah Himself, will take up the case of the orphan and will plead their case against your greed and godlessness.  The best wisdom from the Word of God is not to mess with orphans - unless you either are going to bless them - or face a fate that is sure and deadly.

But back to this boundary stone - how can we move boundary stones in our day?  With current technology involving GPS systems - that kind of sin is just about obsolete in our day.  But there are many kinds of boundary stones in life.  There are those related to land and agriculture.  But there are also boundary markers when it comes to morals and to theological matters.  Pity the man or men who decide they want to move things morally or theologically away from where God Himself has set those markers.  This is not really a new sin - because men have been doing it for years.  They also have been paying a horrible price for it as well.  Back in 1973 we, as a nation, decided to move an ancient boundary marker and declare open season on the unborn.  In 1967 we decided to move the boundary marker concerning prayer and bible reading in our schools.  The results have been disastrous.  In our current day our government is decided to remove the marker altogether concerning immorality, sexuality, and marriage.  It is truly unwise to move that boundary - as unwise as messing with orphans.  Yet men continue to do so - to their own destruction and the destruction of entire nations.  Just as a fool is the only one who would take on an omnipotent God in messing with orphans - so also it is only a fool who decides to stand against God Himself by moving the moral boundaries that God Himself has set.  We've done it . . . but then again we continue to pay for it every day.  The God of those boundaries is truly strong - and for every boundary we seek to push backward - there will be a price.  Are we willing to continue to pay it?