Protecting Your Borders

Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.                        Deuteronomy 11: 18-23
Emily and I were working in the garden this week. It has taken a couple of weeks and a lot of hard work, but my garden looks pretty good now. As I was working I was thinking about putting wood posts around the garden. The spare little weeds here and there in the otherwise bare soil are easier to pluck out. What is harder to clear is the weeds and grass creeping in from the outside. This is because they are an extension of a larger bigger plant, mostly the rest of my yard. And they are well grounded and tougher to dig out. So I began to think that these posts would serve as my protection, as borders to protect my garden soil from outside intruders. As I was thinking about these posts I began to see my garden as me and you. And the rest of my yard as the rest of the world. As a child of God I have found out the hard way the damage that can be done, and the consequences to be paid when I have let my guard down and let the world in. And it doesn't just happen right away, it's bit by bit. Just like in my garden, one root at a time, a blade here and a leaf there and then BAM my garden has been taken over. That's how it happens with us too, in our hearts and minds. One thought at a time, one unforgiveness at a time, one inappropriate action or word at a time. It starts little by little and as sin takes hold, it becomes easier, and we become more and more calloused. Sometimes it may not seem like we are doing anything wrong, maybe you don't think you are outright sinning. Maybe it's an attitude you hold, or something you allow to take place in your home. Or maybe it's something you aren't taking a stand on that you should.

In Deuteronomy 11 God was speaking to the children of Israel before they went in to possess the land of Canaan. He commands them to keep His commandments, to love Him and serve Him with all their heart and soul. He reminds them of all the good things He will bless them with if they do, and the consequences if they don't. He tells them to lay up His words in their hearts, to bind them upon their hands and as a frontlet between their eyes. A frontlet was an "ornament or band worn on the forehead as a phylactery." A phylactery was a small leather box worn on the forehead and left arm containing small parchments with quotes from Hebrew scriptures and were "traditionally worn by Jewish men during morning worship, except on the Sabbath and holidays." (from www.thefreedictionary.com) He also told them to teach them to their children, to speak His words when at home, when they were out and about, when they went to bed, and when they got up. To write them upon the door posts of their homes and upon their gates. He has them surround themselves with His words to remind them of Him, to protect them from the influence of the world they were about to enter, the one He would conquer for them. God was giving them valuable advice as to how to "protect their borders." The bottom line to put it simple as God does in verse 22, we are to cleave to Him.

As I tended my garden, clearing the border, I was reminded not only of the necessity of protecting the borders of my mind and heart, but of those of my children. I am responsible for them, what they see and hear, what they do, where they go, and who they spend time with. I was reminded this week of something I should always be mindful of, how important it is "protecting the borders" for myself and my family.