Proverbs 22:28 - "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set."
Revisionist history has polluted the truth of American History. The original Thanksgiving celebrated by the Pilgrims is one event that has been mis-taught for several decades.
The Scriptures tell us not to remove the ancient landmarks set by our forefathers.
In ancient times land was often marked and divided by stones or other physical landmarks. These boundaries were considered sacred. Removing or altering these landmarks was strictly forbidden, as doing so could lead to disputes over land ownership and create chaos within the community.
On a deeper level, this verse speaks to the broader concept of honoring the past and acknowledging the wisdom of our ancestors. It reminds us that we are not isolated individuals, but rather part of a larger community that is connected across generations. By respecting the traditions and values that have been passed down to us, we can gain a greater understanding of who we are and where we come from.
The symbolism of the "ancient landmark" in Prov 22:28, also holds spiritual significance. It can be seen as a metaphor for the foundational truths and principles which guide our Christian faith. Just as the physical landmarks provided a clear boundary for the land, in like manner these spiritual landmarks provide a clear boundary for our beliefs and values. By removing or disregarding these spiritual landmarks, we risk losing our moral and spiritual bearings.
The United States was founded by Christian people. Yes, they sought a place where they could freel practice their religion. Yet when you read the writings of those first settlers you find they wanted much more than that. They wanted a country from which they could spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Regardless of how modern historians view history through the lens of the times in which they live, our national Thanksgiving holiday has always been a celebration of thanks to Almighty God - the God of the Bible. Thanking God was the reason our Thanksgiving was holiday was instituted after a long history of celebrations giving thanks to God that stretch far back before the Revolutionary War & the US Constitution.
1541: days of thanksgiving to God in Palo Duro Canyon in what is now the State of Texas.
1564: a settlement of French Huguenots near what is present-day Jacksonville, FL, celebrated a day of thanksgiving to God on June 30th. Their leader, René de Laudonnière, recorded that:
“We sang a psalm of Thanksgiving unto God, beseeching Him that it would please Him
to continue His accustomed goodness towards us.”
1595: in St. Augustine, FL
1598: in El Paso, TX
1610: Jamestown, VA - After a hard winter called "the starving time" when only 60 out of a group of 409 survived the winter, the survivors prayed for help from God. Help arrived by a ship filled with food and supplies from England.
1619: On Dec 4th of that year, 38 colonists landed at a place they called Berkeley Hundred. Their charter included this statement:
"We ordain that the day of our ship's arrival...in the land of Virginia shall be
yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God."
The first Thanksgiving to which we look was a celebration of an answer by God to the prayers of the Pilgrims on a day they set aside a day to petition God for rain in the midst of a drought. They invited the Native Americans on that day. William Bradford, the governor of the Plymouth colony, wrote in his journal:
He (God) was pleased to give them a gracious & speedy answer (to their prayers for rain)...all the morning, and greatest part of the day, it was clear weather & very hot, and not a cloud or any sign of rain to be seen, yet toward evening it began to overcast, and shortly after to rain, with such sweet and gentle showers, as gave them cause of rejoicing, & blessing God. It came, without either wind, or thunder, or any violence, and by degree in yet abundance, as that the earth was thoroughly wet and soaked therewith. Which did so apparently revive & quicken the decayed corn & other fruits, as was wonderful to see, and made the Indians astonished to behold; and afterwards the Lord sent them such seasonable showers, with interchange of faire warm weather, as, through His blessing, caused a fruitful & liberal harvest, to their no small comfort and rejoicing."
That was a miraculous answer to prayer. Don't think it was not a miracle. The American Indians who lived there at that time were "astonished to behold" the rainfall in answer to the prayers of the Pilgrims. Those Native Americans knew their land and weather patterns. For them to be "astonished" tells us that they didn't expect the rain to come, especially in answer to the prayers of the Pilgrims.
It was because of this miracle that the Pilgrims set apart a day of thanksgiving to God at a later date, after the harvest that had been "revived & quickened" by the rainfall. That day of thanksgiving is the Thanksgiving feast to which we look.
There has been an ongoing attempt to re-write the history books to make it seem as if this holiday was in remembrance of the Pilgrims giving thanks to the American Indians for their help. That is a lie. It was a holiday specifically designated to give thanks to Almighty God for His help.
1778: New Hampshire
1784: Massachusetts & John Hancock - a Founding Father who certainly knew that there was no "separation of Church and State" as that phrase is defined today
1789: President George Washington, issed a proclamation when America celebrated its first Day of Thanksgiving to God under its new constitution
1794: Samuel Adams - Massachusetts
1789: George Washington issued the first federal Thanksgiving proclamation declaring in part:
“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor. . . . Now, therefore, I do appoint Thursday, the 26th day of November 1789 . . . that we may all unite to render unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection.”
1811: Massachusetts - Elbridge Gerry
1863: On October 3rd, In the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln officially proclaimed Thanksgiving as a holiday for the entire nation: "No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy... I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union."
1865: Abraham Lincoln, again - this time at the end of the Civil War - proclaimed a national holiday of Thanksgiving "to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens" to be celebrated on the last Thurs of November, each year.
That sounds religious to me. Yet it was supported & moved forward by o/er presidents.
1887 - Pres. Grover Cleveland
1909 - William H. Taft
1933 - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Yet celebrating the history of Thanksgiving is not our main goal. We certainly should do so for the sake of "not removing the ancient landmarks."
As Christians there is something more. Are we celebrating & thanking God for His blessings or are we celebrating the fact that the Pilgrims thanked God? If we are going to mimic their event we should give thanks unto God, not celebrate the fact that they gave thanks to God.
There's a big difference between giving thanks & having a thankful heart. Because we know that the Lord judges our hearts it's obvious that He cares more about thankfulness that flows from the inside rather than polite words of thanks that we wear like a cheap suit.
God does want us to give thanks. But does He want outward compliance or the expression of grateful hearts? Our hearts, of course.
#Col 3:12-17
Rather than hearing thankfulness as a command maybe we should understand it as an invitation; the natural state of a heart given over to obedience to Jesus.
America’s current course - marked by division, hatred & selfishness - is completely out of step with the example set by the participants of that first Thanksgiving in 1622. Today we need a modern miracle - a miracle that requires something we rarely see - human intentions to get along even though they are very diff from ea o/er.
The Pilgrims & American Indians had their share of big challenges to overcome. But they did so, which is an example for Americans today. If we are willing to learn, there are lessons for us in their example. If those two groups were able to sit down together at a table - despite differences in language, culture, beliefs, appearance & even basic tastes in food - then we can certainly do the same today with friends, family & those who may have different beliefs than ourselves - even if those beliefs are political.
