Remove not the ancient landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless
Behind this warning stands an old boundary stone in a field and an orphan with no one to speak for him. It ties together two crimes that look very different: quiet fraud and open seizure. The line that follows names the one Person who takes the orphan's case.
The word describes an object, not an idea.
Anything, such as a stone or a stake, that marked the boundary of a tribe, or of a man's possession. The law forbade moving such a marker. Deuteronomy 19:14; Job 24:2; Proverbs 22:28; Proverbs 23:10.
One commentator explains why this law cut so deep in Israel.
Second, the law against removing landmarks comes in here, no doubt, as people commonly see, because the land was their life and kept them alive. They were to be a nation of farmers. Each man would work the soil of that good land for himself. That is a much-needed lesson about what God wants His people to be spiritually now.
The verse names a sly method and a brazen one. William Kelly puts both under one warning, and answers who defends the orphan.
Heartless dishonesty toward anyone brings a far more serious warning, and most of all toward the fatherless. It does not matter whether it is sly, like moving the ancient landmark, or bold and open, like walking into the fields of the fatherless. If they have no father, they need no lawyer any more than they need to take the law into their own hands. Their Kinsman, their Redeemer, is strong; He will plead their cause against the crook, high or low.
This is the second time the book says it. L M Grant reads the landmark as more than soil.
The book has already told us not to remove the ancient landmark (v. 10). Truth is as ancient as creation. If we move truth out of its proper place of dignity, how can others find their way? In this verse, entering the fields of the fatherless plainly means taking over an orphan's property. This kind of oppression will certainly bring on the displeasure of the mighty Redeemer. He pleads the cause of the fatherless, and He will not spare the oppressor from punishment.
Israel's boundaries were not human arrangements. Another writer carries that into the present day.
These landmarks were sacred things for Israel. The Lord's own will decided how their land was marked out, so meddling with it was a transgression. Israel, God's earthly people, had landmarks. God's heavenly people also has landmarks of the heavenly realm: the blessed doctrines of the Word of God. These make up the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. And how people remove these landmarks in our day! How true it is, "Some remove the landmarks" — the things our fathers cherished, believed and trusted in. Those who trust reason, those who trust ceremony, and those who follow delusions do it constantly, and so they destroy the foundation on which everything rests.
God's greatness and His care for the orphan belong together.
Here Moses speaks not merely of God's doings and dealings and ways, but of Himself, of what He is. He is high over all, the great, the mighty and the terrible. But He has a heart for the widow and the fatherless. They are helpless, stripped of every earthly and natural support: the poor grieving, broken-hearted widow, and the orphan left all alone. God thinks of them and cares for them in a very special way; they have a claim on His loving heart and mighty hand.
The next line calls Him their Redeemer. One Hebrew word holds three ideas at once.
The same Hebrew word means kinsman, redeemer, and avenger.
Scripture names this Redeemer elsewhere, and calls Him strong.
The Kinsman-Redeemer (Goel) of Israel and Judah is "strong; the LORD of hosts is His name" (Jeremiah 50:34). He is the "Mighty One of Jacob" (Isaiah 49:26; Isaiah 60:16).
- Landmark. A stone or stake marked where one family's land ended. The land was their life, so moving it attacked their living.
- Landmark of truth. Writers also read the marker as the doctrines handed down. Shift those, and others can no longer find their way.
- Fatherless. The crime can be sly or open. Either way God names the victim who cannot fight back: the orphan, stripped of every natural support.
- Redeemer. The Hebrew word joins kinsman, redeemer and avenger; the orphan has no father, so he needs no lawyer.
- Strong. He pleads their cause and will not spare the oppressor, high or low.
for their redeemer is mighty; he will plead their cause against thee.
The verse gives the reason for the warning just before it: leave the old boundary stone alone, and stay out of an orphan's field. The orphan cannot fight back — but Someone else will.
The warning names two offences that look very different. One is crafty and hidden; the other is bold and open. Commentators treat them as one sin, and the victim's helplessness is what makes the warning so heavy.
Heartless dishonesty toward anyone brings a far more serious warning, and toward the fatherless most of all. It makes no difference which form it takes. It may be the crafty move of shifting the ancient landmark. It may be the open boldness of walking into the fields of the fatherless. If they have no father, they need no lawyer any more than they need to take the law into their own hands. Their Kinsman, their Redeemer, is strong; He will plead their cause against the rogue, high or low.
An "ancient landmark" was a stone or stake marking where one family's land ended and the next began. Moving it was theft, and worse than theft. The neighbours had not drawn those boundaries.
No one was to meddle with the landmarks. Each family's portion was to stay intact, along the boundary lines set up by people long ago. The LORD had given the land to Israel. More than that, He had assigned to each tribe and each family their proper portion. He marked it off with perfect precision, and showed it by landmarks so plain that there could be no confusion, no clashing of interests, no interference with one another, no ground for lawsuit or dispute about property... Each one held his land as a tenant under the God of Israel, who knew all about his small holding. Every tenant had the comfort of knowing this: the eye of the gracious and Almighty Landlord was on his bit of land, and His hand over it to protect it from every intruder.
The Hebrew word behind "Redeemer" here is goel. One word held three roles at once.
The same Hebrew word means kinsman, redeemer, and avenger.
The proverb also calls this Redeemer strong. Scripture gives that same title to Israel's Kinsman-Redeemer.
The Kinsman-Redeemer (Goel) of Israel and Judah is "strong; the LORD of hosts is His name" (Jer. 50:34). He is the "Mighty One of Jacob" (Isa. 49:26; Isa. 60:16). And when "the year of His redeemed" has come, He will appear, "marching in the greatness of His strength," "mighty to save."
Someone who preys on an orphan counts on no one answering for the child. But God's own character stands against that.
He is high over all — the great, the mighty, the One to be feared. But He has a heart for the widow and the fatherless. They are helpless people, stripped of every earthly and natural support: the poor, grieving, broken-hearted widow, and the orphan left all alone. God thinks of them and cares for them in a very special way; they have a claim on His loving heart and mighty hand. "Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation" (older translations read "a Judge of the widow").
"He will plead their cause against you" is not only comfort for the victim. It is a summons served on the thief.
In this verse, entering the fields of the fatherless clearly means taking possession of an orphan's property. This kind of oppression will bring down the displeasure of the mighty Redeemer. He pleads the cause of the fatherless, and He will not hold back from punishing the oppressor.
Commentators also apply the landmark law beyond land.
While Israel, God's earthly people, had landmarks, God's heavenly people also has landmarks... the blessed doctrines of the Word of God, which make up the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. And how man removes these landmarks in our day! How true it is, "Some remove the landmarks" — the things our fathers cherished, believed and trusted in.
- The boundary — God assigned each family's portion, so moving a landmark robs the neighbour and overrules the Landlord.
- The victim — the thief picks the fatherless because no one will answer for him.
- The Redeemer — goel means kinsman, redeemer and avenger. The orphan's nearest relative is God Himself.
- The strength — He is strong, so He cannot lose the case He takes up. The orphan needs no lawyer and no revenge.
- The verdict — He pleads the cause "against you". He does not spare the oppressor. What God has set — in land or in truth — is not ours to move.