Borders by Elhanan ben-Avraham Dec 19, 2018 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. – Deuteronomy 32:8
And God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. – Genesis 1:4
We are all created with borders. Our borders are covered with skin equipped with sensors to perceive any unwanted intruder. Beneath that skin is a complex immigration system, vetting all that would immigrate into our closed system. It is comprised of specialists in border security trained to discern if the would-be immigrant is beneficial or detrimental to our bodies. If indeed a foreign intruder with bad intentions succeeds in breaking through the guardians, troops are immediately called in to defeat the threat before damage is caused. It is called the immune system.
Our created systems are formed to produce families, and those to dwell safely in housing protecting them from the elements and unwanted intrusions. Families are formed into societies with laws for mutual protection and survival. A healthy society grows into a nation of laws ordering the boundaries of behavior, and a military force protecting its borders from unwanted intrusion detrimental to its interests and survival. Thus is the natural positive dynamic for a healthy relation between different individuals and differing nations, who may thus trade for mutual benefit and cultural exchange in safety and security.
When the immune system in a body breaks down, all are welcome in without discriminating discernment, which is the fatal disease called AIDS. It is the same for a nation when border security and immigration breaks down. Without a fixed standard of measurement all things become equal and the same – there is no right or wrong, beneficial or detrimental, good or evil- and chaos soon occurs and runs rampant, destroying both individuals and nations. Borders and boundaries and laws are a vital necessity for the benefit of both healthy individuals and nations.
In what is called the navel (tabor) of the Land of Israel is Jerusalem, and at the center of Jerusalem stood the temple of YHVH, constructed after the heavenly pattern shown to Moses. That universal pattern could be the picture of Everyman. Its structure and courts are designed with clearly defined boundaries, defining who may enter, and who may not to each area. Though the entire area is holy for all, borders are ordered for each where smaller numbers may enter for each service rendered therein, until in the Holy of Holies only the High Priest was permitted entry. At that most holy inner sanctum, where God would take up residence to communicate with humankind, is also our own most inner being, where only those few deemed most worthy of trust are allowed to enter and share intimacy.
Yes, borders and boundaries and laws are a vital necessity for the benefit of both healthy individuals and nations, and Heaven itself, as our Creator is a divider, separating light from dark, holy from profane, good from evil, and time from eternity.