"You shall not move your neighbor's boundary marker, which your ancestors have set, in your inheritance, which you will inherit in the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you to possess" (Deut. 19:14). The land was eventually divided by lot, and boundary markers were set up. The moving of such a boundary marker was not allowed by the faithful God, who gave the children of Israel the good land to possess. To move a boundary marker was to change God's ordination.
All the foregoing statutes and judgments show that our God is careful and detailed. They also reveal that in caring for His people He is loving, holy, righteous, and just.
The six points covered in this message can be arranged in three pairs. The first pair is the supply of the Levitical priests and the whole tribe of Levi and the prohibitions against certain evil practices. The first item shows us that God and His people, including the serving ones, are one large family. In this family God the Father is the source. He gave the good land to His children, who then had to work the land. Eventually, they reaped a harvest, which was to be enjoyed both by God and by all the people. They were to bring a portion of the produce to the serving ones, and the serving ones were to offer a portion of what they received to God. In this way, God and His serving ones shared the tithes and lived together.
God has a large family, and the entire family, including God, the One who has given the good land, is involved with the good land. The good land is a type of the all-inclusive Christ. God lives on the produce of this land. If we do not labor on the good land, there will not be any food for God. God's food is the produce of the good land, and this produce comes through our labor. If we do not labor on Christ as the good land and experience Christ, how can Christ be God's food? We need to labor on Christ and experience Christ. Then Christ will be the produce not only for our satisfaction but also for God's satisfaction.
The evil things prohibited in 18:9-14 indicate that there is another family, a family that is full of such devilish and demonic things as divination, soothsaying, sorcery, and witchcraft. Fallen human beings, having lost God, turn to these evil things for the sake of security, longevity, peace, and well-being. We have nothing to do with these things, for God Himself is our inheritance, security, and future. He is everything to us, including our amusement and entertainment. But those who have lost God as their enjoyment are in darkness and, turning from God to another source, practice the evil, demonic things forbidden by God.
The second pair includes the Prophet who was to be raised up by God and the false prophet. The Triune God embodied in Christ as the Spirit is not only our portion and our enjoyment but also our Prophet. As our Prophet, He speaks God's word to us. Our future is in Him.
For the third pair, we have the word concerning the cities of refuge and the word concerning the moving of the neighbor's boundary marker. On the one hand, we have a word indicating that Christ is our city of refuge, that He is the place into which we can escape. On the other hand, we have a warning about greed. Those who are greedy may want to change God's ordination by moving their neighbor's boundary marker. In order to get something more for themselves, they invade the land belonging to others. This is abominable in the eyes of God. Instead of being greedy and invading another's portion, we should learn to be contented with our Christ. As long as we have the portion God has ordained, we should be satisfied. Let us all enjoy Christ and be satisfied with Him.