Are You Moving the Landmarks? (Proverbs 22:28)
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Proverbs 22:28
Do not move the ancient landmark
that your fathers have set.
At first glance, that sounds irrelevant — who’s going around moving landmarks? But, considering we saw a similar verse yesterday, it must’ve been pretty relevant. To refresh your mind, in ancient Israel, those stones marked property boundaries. Shifting one, even just a little, was essentially stealing land. And as commentator Bruce Waltke notes, it was often done slowly — maybe just half an inch each year — until over time you’ve stolen acres.
That’s not just about land. That’s about life. Because isn’t that how moral and spiritual drift usually works? Rarely do we wake up and say, ‘Today I’ll destroy my marriage,’ or ‘Today I’ll abandon my faith.’ No — it’s inch by inch. A small rationalization with money, a quiet bitterness left unchecked, a habit we excuse.
There’s an old fable about an axe-head that begged the trees for just one sliver of wood so it could make a handle. The trees gave it, and before long the axe had cut them all down. That’s what sin does. It asks for little concessions, and in the end, it consumes us.
But here’s the deeper question: why do we keep moving the landmarks? Why do we shift the boundaries God has given us? Partly because we think freedom means making our own rules. But Proverbs is warning us: when we redraw the lines to suit ourselves, we don’t end up freer. We end up enslaved.
The good news is this: while we keep shifting, God does not.
His promises, His grace, His truth remain fixed. And through Jesus — the One who was cast outside the boundaries for us on the cross — we are brought back home.
So maybe today ask yourself:
where might I be moving the landmark, even just a little?
And then, don’t just resolve to hold the line harder. Rest in the One who holds you steady.
Let’s pray.
