Ancient Boundary Stones

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

-Proverbs 22:28

An ancient boundary stone was similar to a fence. It was to show what belonged to the landowner and what was beyond legal limits when it came to trespassing. To move a boundary stone was to steal a man's real property as well as his ancestral heritage. Exodus 20 lays out God's Ten Commandments. These Ten Commandments are the ultimate boundary stones for our lives. Before God gives us all the commandments He says in Exodus 20:2, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." It is vital that the Ten Commandments are looked at as a plan to stay out of slavery to sin and wickedness. Not just the Ten Commandments, but all God's commandments throughout His Word are given to us as a blessing so that we may experience freedom from bondage. Thinking of ancient boundary stones, I think about property lines now. Property lines can't just freely be moved by anyone so that it fits our desires of how our yard looks or whatever. Ancient boundary stones were not able to be freely moved to fit neighbor's lifestyles and desires. God's commandments are the same way. We can't just move the lines God has drawn for us to fit our selfishness better.  Moving ancient stones and God's commandments would come with punishment and ultimately bondage. Bondage and sin go hand in hand. All bondage begins with sin and all bondage promotes sin. That does not mean that all bondage will definitely create sin but bondage highly intensifies the pull towards sin. 

I have been reflecting a lot on the bondage in my own life in my family. There are so many chains because of the lack of relationships with the Lord. So many of these chains come from a generational cycle of bondage and sin. At one point someone decides to move the ancient boundary stone to abide by his or her own set of rules and desires. This leads to bondage of self which leads to sin. Sin leads to more bondage. When bonded more deeply, there is more sin. More sin=even deeper bondage. Deeper bondage=more sin. You get the idea. This cycle is vicious and applies to generational bondage and generational sin. Alcoholism is not an issue in my family line at all but I will use it as an example. Within a family line with alcoholism, one person had to start drinking heavily many generations ago. After a time of drunkenness, he or she decides that he or she does not need to necessarily follow God's commandment because why would God be against a feeling that he or she enjoys? He or she continues to experience a drunken state and goes deeper and deeper into this bondage. Then, he or she starts a family and has children that are constantly influenced and are shown that drunkenness is acceptable and desirable. The children experiment with this lifestyle and become bonded. The children have children that get involved with this lifestyle and also become bonded and at this point, it most likely would be so normal to them to see most family members in the same bondage. This is a vicious cycle and it will not stop until someone has enough courage to move back the ancient boundary stone God ordained. Before I started writing this post as I read through this chapter, God pierced my heart with this truth. I heard a faint whisper that said, "Cara, look at the blessings I have given you and the strength that I have given you to turn away so easily from many sins and bondage your family faces. There is a reason for this. I am giving you the privilege of depending on Me to have that courage to move back the boundary stones. What are you going to do with this privilege?" The ancient cycles within my own family need breaking just as badly as any cycle of bondage. I have tried to break them on my own strength but in reality, they have only bent a little and can never fully break without God. How do I expect things to be rebuilt and restored without being fully broken? God doesn't ordinarily rebuild things that are not broken. I see so much truth in that right now in my life. God is literally breaking so many areas of my life but I am seeing restoration like crazy. There is peace within this brokenness that is so precious and humbling as God's strength is revealed. God is FOR us. We were not given God's commands to enslave us, but to set us free and keep us free. God's jealousy is even for us. God already knows all other "gods" and idols are nothing. They cannot offer salvation and only take away attention from the one true God. God is jealous for His children that they can experience freedom and peace unimaginable. Some may be confused by God's jealously. Godly jealousy is being jealous FOR someone, not OF someone.

God desires to bless us. God desires to bless me. God wants to heal my family line and heal me from the generational bondage. He is trying to give me the privilege of being the one with His courage to move back boundary stones that have been taken away from where God wants them to be. It is so often that I almost force God to hold back His blessing because I turn away from His giving hand to other "gods" and idols. My sinful heart can tend to desire earthly, material blessings. As I search for these blessings I am completely ignoring God's giving hand right in front of me as if I push God's hand back into him because it is not the exact things that my flesh desires at the time. That's a hard picture to imagine. God is a giving God and wants to bless you as well. Are you also forcing Him to hold back His blessings in a sense?