^{Deu. 19:14} “You shall not move your neighbor’s boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess.

Over the course of 25 year of marriage and numerous moves, especially while were still in the military and shortly thereafter, we purchased and sold

Not my plat….

multiple residences.  In the real estate transaction there was always a plat, or written/drawn record of the surveyed boundary markers that was filed in the local county courthouse.  With each purchase, I would go out and find the physical markers on the ground so that I knew exactly where the boundaries of my property were.  The markers would be metal spikes in the pavement, rebar driven into the ground and flags or PVC markers.

In ancient times, property markers might be a physical feature such as a huge well established tree or a large immovable rock, or the markers might be a pile of stones or a fence line.  While some were considerably less mobile than others, Scripture warns of moving markers that are established by the ancestors.

In Israel, there were a number of instructions from the Father about boundaries and land ownership.  Besides the important verse cited above prohibiting the theft of a neighbor’s property by moving markers, there were certain prohibitions against selling property to other tribes and even to other families within one’s own tribe/clan.  Only under certain rare conditions could property be transferred, and that by legal means with the elders at the gate.

All of this is not new information for me, or for most readers.  You are familiar with personal property boundaries and the particular significance in the Land of Israel.  In fact, we trumpet the fact that the Father gave the Land to Abraham and his descendants forever.  In doing so, we affirm an understanding that ultimately the Land belongs to Yehovah and He is the Authority that sets the bounds and keeps covenant.

In recent months, the father has taken me much further in this understanding and how it affects the rest of the planet and particularly Ephraim.  But, I am running ahead.

Paul, at the Aeropagus, said,

^{Acts 17:26} and He made from one every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷ that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

In doing so, he demonstrates the Jewish understanding of God’s creations of peoples and nations that are given certain times/seasons and certain boundaries.  These can in part be traced back to the post Noaich divisions of land, languages and peoples.  Applying the principle of Deuteronomy 19:14, we are not to move the boundaries of a people any more than we are to move a personal boundary.  In fact, we ought not even cross the boundary unless invited.  Consider,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. ^{John 10:1}

Certainly, this verse begins a passage concerning Yeshua as the door and gatekeeper, but the principle again applies to land, property rights and boundaries.  If someone walks across my land without permission or blessing, but against my wishes, they have become a thief or robber.  They take from my authority over the property.

Those in Christendom who understand Israel’s right to the Land recognize that those who seek to displace her are thieves and robbers (as well as murderers, etc).  But, have we considered our own violations, and the violations of our fathers, of these truths?

Here is where the real hard lesson begins.

To whom was the North American continent given?

Dr. Suuqiina speaking to the Second B’ney Yosef North America Summit

In the last year, I have been reading and studying some of Dr. Suuqiina’s works, chief of which is a book titled Warfare by Honor, The Restoration of Honor…  A Protocol Handbook.  Suuqiina, a Native American Inuit and former pastor turned Messianic, along with his wife, Qaumaniq, a Christian counselor with many years of experience, have written Warfare by Honor to introduce and teach a topic much needed in the restoration and healing of the Body.  In it he addresses many areas that American culture and the Church is oblivious to regarding protocol, boundaries and restored honor.  (We’ll review some of these in the near future as part of this series.)

Of major significance is the way in which our fathers and we ourselves have treated and viewed the First Nations, or indigenous peoples of North America.  Suuqiina makes the significant point that though we have violated physical boundaries and pushed them off of the land God gave them and onto reservations, God has never rescinded their spiritual authority over this land.

If Ephraim is to return by the way in which they went, then one issue we have to deal with is repairing the gates we broke down or

Native American Tribes Map available from manataka.org

climbed over in our wanderings.  Repenting of our sins against Native Americans is a first step in this process, but opens the door of recognition to the many other boundaries we have violated as the Church and as Americans.  Violations against African Americans, taken off of their land allotment and brought here as slaves, or violations our missionaries and military have committed against other nations and cultures the world over.

Truly, these are massive and complex topics, but I will seek to touch on some of the thoughts I have had as the Father has been leading me, and the leadership of B’ney Yosef North America, on a journey of repentance and reconciliation.  Please pray for us and for all of our eyes and hearts to be opened to this humbling journey that will honor our Father and restore our brothers.  Please pray also for me to be able to write and adequately express the many facets of this topic that I see touching on our restoration to Judah, another with whom we have acted dishonorably and with whom we need to repent.

Stay tuned for part two…