Sunday, August 7, 2022
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26-27 Don’t gamble on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,
pawning your house against a lucky chance.
The time will come when you have to pay up;
you’ll be left with nothing but the shirt on your back.
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28 Don’t stealthily move back the boundary lines
staked out long ago by your ancestors.
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29 Observe people who are good at their work—
skilled workers are always in demand and admired;
they don’t take a backseat to anyone.
-Proverbs 22:27-29 The Message
27 If you have nothing to pay,
why should your bed be taken from under you?
28 Do not move the ancient landmark
that your fathers have set.
29 Do you see a man skillful in his work?
He will stand before kings;
he will not stand before obscure men.
-Proverbs 22:27-29 ESV
Verse 28 study: Joshua 13-21, the land was divided, and boundaries were marked for each tribe. Moses warned people to not cheat neighbors by moving one of the landmarks to give themselves more land and their neighbor less when they reached the promised land.
Property Boundaries 14 “You shall not move your neighbor's landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess. -Deuteronomy 19:14. ESV
17 “‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor's landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ Deuteronomy 27:17 ESV
This is called “Gerrymandering,” changing political boundaries so that one or more groups of voters benefit and the other loses. It’s a modern form of moving boundary markers. This command is given against the background of God’s determination to defend the oppressed. So respect your boundaries, both behavioral and geographical.
Verse 29 study: A skillful person who works in speed comes from well-learned skills than taking shortcuts. The diligent is not the company of the obscure and insignificant.
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