People sometimes add hedges that go beyond the rules we follow or hold ourselves to. The type of hedges I am referring to are self-imposed rules that are over and above clear-cut rules that we choose to follow. For example; an alcoholic wants to stop drinking (his rule) so he won't even go into a bar (his hedge). Hedges are usually created to put an extra buffer between a person and the rule. Another example might be when a teenager is told to be home by 11:00, so they tell their friends that they have to be home by 10:30 as a buffer (a hedge). Not that I would expect any teenager to do that... 🤣.

This type of hedge began with Eve in the Garden of Eden. Yahweh (God) told Adam "From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat." (See Genesis 2:16-17). When the serpent enticed Eve, her response was "You shall not eat from it or touch it." (If you want to see why I use the name Yahweh see my article The Sacred Name, Part 1 - Name Replacement.) 

Did Eve believe what she told the serpent? Did Adam tell her they were not allowed to touch the forbidden fruit? I don't know, it's not spelled out in the Bible. But either Adam or Eve added this hedge. To act upon a hedge knowingly to prevent yourself from doing what is forbidden is fine, maybe even encouraged. The problem is when the hedge is declared to be "law".

The church I grew up in had its own hedges. One of those hedges was that dancing was a sin. And as I discussed in a previous article - Pray the Gray, David danced and his dancing was clearly not a sin based on the Biblical account (See 2 Samuel 6:12-23 to read the story). It is my estimation that the reason that the church said dancing is a sin was to keep unmarried people from dancing inappropriately with each other. But to declare this hedge as "law" is a very slippery slope.

Jewish people (and many others) celebrate the weekly Sabbath. The text of Exodus 20:9-10 spells out what Yahweh wants His people to do... Rest from work.

Exodus 20:9-10
For six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of Yahweh your God; [on it] you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you.

The Jewish Rabbis over the years have put hedge upon hedge regarding the Sabbath. I am certainly not mocking the idea of  figuring out what a person's personal rules are to keeping any command. However, when all is said and done, the Original command to rest from your work turned into a complex and at times convoluted network of rules.

For example... here is a list of restrictions for keeping The Shabbat Laws on Chabad.org

• writing, erasing, and tearing;
• business transactions;
• driving or riding in cars or other vehicles;
• shopping;
• using the telephone;
• turning on or off anything which uses electricity, including lights, radios, television, computer, air-conditioners and alarm clocks;
• cooking, baking or kindling a fire;
• gardening and grass-mowing;
• doing laundry;

"Lights which will be needed on Shabbat are turned on before Shabbat. Automatic timers may be used for lights and some appliances as long as they have been set before Shabbat. The refrigerator may be used, but again, we have to ensure that it's use does not engender any of the forbidden Shabbat activities. Thus, the fridge light should be disconnected before Shabbat by unscrewing the bulb slightly and a freezer whose fan is activated when the door is opened may not be used."

No matter how you look at it, rules like this turn a day of peace and rest into a burden. Scripture says to rest from your work. Is writing work? Unless you're an author, no. What if you are doing a Bible study, you can't even take notes? Does that sound like something our Creator would say? I don't think so. What about having to unscrew the lightbulb in your refrigerator before the Sabbath begins to keep the light from coming on when you open the refrigerator? Really? I am definitely not saying this to make fun of anyone, just pointing out that too many times we (people) make hedges and then turn them into laws (i.e. turn blessings into burdens).

I had a (non-Jewish) friend visit a synagogue on a Sabbath. The people around him hinted about the temperature being too warm so that he would adjust the air conditioning. They couldn't do it because of their rules. But they didn't have a problem with him doing it for them. They called him a "Sabbath Goy (non-Jewish)".  The Sabbath was not meant to be a burden... even to the people who work for us. Just the opposite. It was to be a day of rest from work and time off to spend with Yahweh. I personally think that adjusting the air conditioning gets way out in the weeds.

Yeshua (Jesus) said that the Pharisee's traditions broke the laws of Yahweh. In Matthew 15:3 Yeshua said, "Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" Traditions are fine as long as you realize they are traditions (or hedges) as long as those traditions do not go against the original laws.

My point in this article is not to pick on or belittle any particular person or group of people. I just wanted you, the reader, to be aware that if you want to add a "hedge" to help you keep a law (or rule), just remember you are adding a hedge. Traditions can be beautiful and helpful things, but they do not carry the same weight as a law given by Yahweh. 

Side note:  Be careful to not put a stumbling block in front of any other person.  This applies to creating hedges and forcing others to keep them, judging people for their hedges, and being belligerent to the members of a community that has hedges that do not go against Scripture.

Thank you for reading.

images are public domain from pixabay.com.)

All scripture quotations taken from the NASB©.
Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.