"Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set" (Proverbs 22:28)
Have you ever noticed that you can tell exactly where the scene in a movie is taking place because of the landmarks the director includes in the opening shots? The Golden Gate Bridge, the Liberty Bell, Central Park, the Lincoln Memorial, the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, the Gateway Arch, Washington Monument, the Alamo, Niagara Falls and Old Faithful, just to name a few.
Then we have a score of city skylines, such as the Seattle Space Needle, Chicago’s Skyscrapers, New York’s Empire State Building and the Las Vegas Casinos. We also have Biblical landmarks such as the Tower of Babel, Golgotha Hill, the Eight Gates of Jerusalem, the Wailing Wall, Mt. Sinai and the Sea of Galilee.
In the context of the Bible, landmarks show ownership. In Canaan Land, a landmark showed each of the tribes where their land was located, and where the land of the sons of the head of each tribe was situated, and to the grandsons and so on down the line of descendants.
In our day and time, of course, there is also a spiritual application to landmarks. God gave us landmarks that we are not to move. The Bible is one Christian landmark that proclaims that God’s Word belongs to the children of God. Within the Bible there are also landmarks of our faith that God does not want us to move. The virgin birth of Jesus, the resurrection of Christ from the tomb, the inerrancy of the Bible and the second coming of Christ to name a few. Holiness, faithfulness and walking in the Truth are also some of them.
In the modern church, however, many heritage landmarks of our faith are removed. The cross is taken down from the sanctuary. The preacher no longer stands and proclaims God’s Word; but instead he sits on a stool and tells stories. The Christmas tree replaces the Nativity set during the holiday season. Some Christians are even forsaking the assembling together with other Believers because it is their only day off from work or because they had a bad experience in a church and never want to go through that again (Hebrews 10:25).
Christians no longer tithe, they just give God whatever change they happen to have on Sunday. Christian women dress provocatively just as the women of the world do. People work on Sunday rather than gathering to worship with other Believers. New Bible translations leave out important portions of Biblical truth. Some churches preach that everyone will eventually be reconciled to God, even Lucifer; forsaking the landmark truth that the only way to get to heaven is by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.
As Christians we are called to conduct our lives differently than the people in the world. We are called by the Lord to be separate and to come out from among them (2 Corinthians 6:17). Our actions, speech, values, attitude and character are different because we have the Holy Spirit residing and reigning in our spirit. There is also a landmark of being fishers of men, of giving people the opportunity to trust their life to Christ. When we win people to Christ, however, let’s not leave out any of the Lord’s landmarks when we disciple them.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, the princes of Judah moved the landmarks and upon them You poured out Your wrath like water (Hosea 5:10). Help us to be mindful of the important landmarks that You placed in Your Word for us to keep and to honor. Help us to watch the path of our feet, so that all of our ways will be established in Your ways. (Proverbs 4:26).
Thought for the Day:
“Come out from the world and be separate,” says the Lord, “and I will be a father to you, and you shall be my children.” - 2 Corinthians 6:17
