Deu 19:14 | KingComments | STEP | This verse is not about caring for one’s own inheritance, but about that of one’s neighbor. This means that everyone recognizes and respects the right of the other to his or her inheritance. They have to make sure that everyone can fully enjoy their inheritance. Someone like Ahab doesn’t care about that. He deprives Naboth of his inheritance ( ). Every brother and every sister has his and her own inheritance. That is first and foremost to be enjoyed by oneself in fellowship with God. As it is an inheritance in the land, the enjoyment is shared with others who also have an inheritance there. That is how we can all benefit from each other. It is therefore important to ensure that the neighbor is not deprived of his inheritance. It is a loss for all if one’s inheritance is reduced. If one member suffers loss, all members suffer loss: “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it” ( ). A spiritual class does not exist in God’s Word. The blessing of God does not come to us through only one channel. The exercise of the gifts is for the benefit of all. In the church therefore must be given the opportunity to do so. To restrict the neighbor’s boundary by moving his boundary mark is a great evil ( ; ; ; ; ). It means a restriction of his life in the land and thus a reduction of the joy over his inheritance. He who is guilty of it wrongs his neighbor. In a spiritual sense, it can happen when we make a fellow believer dependent on ourselves and do not teach him to live his life independently with the Lord. This can be done by manipulating the other person, bringing him to a behavior that he does not dare to decide without our permission. Also in a practical sense, boundaries set by God can be ignored. With regard to sexuality and marriage, it is important to observe the boundaries set by God. In 1 Thessalonians 4 those boundaries are given: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; [that is,] that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; [and] that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is [the] avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned [you]. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects [this] is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you” ( ). Here it is clearly stated that one’s own body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord ( ). It is equally clear that a given person has no right to the wife of his fellow brother. The Christian community fully upholds this boundary. The boundary of sexual intercourse lies around the marriage of that one man with that one woman. To violate that is to commit great injustice against his brother that the Lord will not let go unpunished.

‏ Deuteronomy 19:14

Do Not Move the Boundary Marks

This verse is not about caring for one’s own inheritance, but about that of one’s neighbor. This means that everyone recognizes and respects the right of the other to his or her inheritance. They have to make sure that everyone can fully enjoy their inheritance. Someone like Ahab doesn’t care about that. He deprives Naboth of his inheritance (1Kgs 21:1-15).

Every brother and every sister has his and her own inheritance. That is first and foremost to be enjoyed by oneself in fellowship with God. As it is an inheritance in the land, the enjoyment is shared with others who also have an inheritance there. That is how we can all benefit from each other. It is therefore important to ensure that the neighbor is not deprived of his inheritance. It is a loss for all if one’s inheritance is reduced. If one member suffers loss, all members suffer loss: “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it” (1Cor 12:26a).

A spiritual class does not exist in God’s Word. The blessing of God does not come to us through only one channel. The exercise of the gifts is for the benefit of all. In the church therefore must be given the opportunity to do so.

To restrict the neighbor’s boundary by moving his boundary mark is a great evil (Hos 5:10; Pro 22:28; Deu 27:17; Job 24:2; Pro 23:10). It means a restriction of his life in the land and thus a reduction of the joy over his inheritance. He who is guilty of it wrongs his neighbor. In a spiritual sense, it can happen when we make a fellow believer dependent on ourselves and do not teach him to live his life independently with the Lord. This can be done by manipulating the other person, bringing him to a behavior that he does not dare to decide without our permission.

Also in a practical sense, boundaries set by God can be ignored. With regard to sexuality and marriage, it is important to observe the boundaries set by God. In 1 Thessalonians 4 those boundaries are given: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; [that is,] that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; [and] that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is [the] avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned [you]. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects [this] is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you” (1Thes 4:3-8).

Here it is clearly stated that one’s own body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord (1Cor 6:13). It is equally clear that a given person has no right to the wife of his fellow brother. The Christian community fully upholds this boundary. The boundary of sexual intercourse lies around the marriage of that one man with that one woman. To violate that is to commit great injustice against his brother that the Lord will not let go unpunished.