You Can Put A Square Peg In A Round Hole

(Kent Heaton)

Man has always found a way to get around the obstacles he finds in his way.  The barricade was built to prohibit traffic from using the side of the road as an access from one avenue to another.  Along with the post positioned to block the flow of cars, a mound of dirt was placed along the highway as a further deterrent.  After some weeks the work of the barricade was a failure as people began to drive around the mound of dirt and the post.  Those who traveled between the different avenues would not let a barricade keep them from what they desired.  They just built another road.

We were taught as young students that certain laws were in place that could not be changed.  One such law was trying to get a square peg in a round hole.  This was not possible as the shapes were different and the round hole would not fit the square peg and vice versa.  However, the industrial student would soon learn that if you made the round hole large enough, you could put the square peg through it.  The larger the hole, the larger the square peg could be driven through it.  Men can find a way to make anything fit their own desires and needs.

When Satan came to Eve in Genesis 3, he asked her:  “Has God indeed said?”  In other words, “Has God given you a square peg to work with?  Has God really said you can’t put that square peg through the round hole?”  Eve replied that God had limited the trees in the garden by forbidding the tree of knowledge of good and evil to be eaten from.  Satan’s reply was that Eve should simply make the hole large enough to allow her to do as she may desire.  When Eve looked at the fruit and saw that it was “good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.  She also gave to her husband, and he ate.”  (Genesis 3:6)  What Eve did was to make the law fit her desire. 

Throughout holy writ, men have taken the law of God and made it fit their own needs and desires.  Aaron knew that idol worship was displeasing to God but because of the people, he chose to compromise the law and make the golden calf.  (Genesis 32)   By giving allowance for the desires of the people, Aaron led the people to worship the calf, offering sacrifices to the idol and rejoicing in the works of their own hands.  (Acts 7:40,41)  How could he do what he did?  He just made the hole big enough to slip the square peg of idolatry into the acceptable mode of worship.

King Saul was told by God to “go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey … And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.”  (1 Samuel 15:3,7-9)  Saul took the law of God and expounded it to fit what he thought he should do and what he wanted.  When confronted by Samuel in 1 Samuel 15:13, Saul proclaims that he had performed the commandment of the Lord as directed by God.  Samuel denied this by the bleating of the animals and told Saul God had removed the kingdom from him.  Saul had made the hole large enough to fit the square peg.

As David walked upon the roof of the king’s house, he saw a woman washing herself.  After David inquired the identity of the woman, he had her brought to his palace and “he lay with her.”  When Bathsheba discovered she was pregnant, David sought ways to cover up his sin.  His efforts to use Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, as a cover for his sin failed and finally David had Uriah killed in battle.  Bathsheba became the wife of David and the act passed unnoticed in the eyes of men.  God had a different view of what David had done. (2 Samuel 11,12)  How did David “justify” his actions in his mind those many months following his adultery?  He knew that adultery was sinful and the penalty for what he did was death.  (Leviticus 20:10)  David made the law of God change to fit his own desires and needs.

We could talk of a myriad of examples throughout scripture that attest to the willingness of men to change the law of God to fit their own wishes, desires and wants.  The challenge for man has always been to find himself in complete obedience to the will of God.  Today the church is under attack from those who would seek to change the law of God to fit their own needs and wishes.  We find in many quarters the cry of those who are no longer satisfied with the basic rules of biblical interpretation.  The foundation of command, example and necessary inference is flawed and a new view of interpretation must be established.  This is nothing more than changing the model God has given for authority and making it fit their own will.  If they make the hole large enough, anything will fit their doctrine.

In the question of marriage and divorce, men have adopted philosophies that stand in stark contrast to the teaching of God.  To establish their teaching according to scripture, they make the hole large enough to fit what they want to believe and accept.  Words no longer mean what they have meant for centuries and conclusions drawn from these words can no longer be accepted as true.  Men are told to broaden the view of how these words are used and how they relate to the marriage question.  Foundational passages once held as pillars of truth on the subject of marriage are now enlarged to fit the teachings of those who would have every person under the sun in a lawful marriage regardless of their relationship with God. 

How does this happen?  Just make the hole as big as you want and you can drive a Mack truck through it.  Jesus said in Matthew 19:6, “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”  In other words, God made the hole just one size and man does not have right to change what God has ordained.  The illusion man has in changing the size of the hole will be made clear on the day of judgment.  He will say to God, “But ….” And God will say – “My son, you should not have tried to change my law.”  As the Psalmist wrote:  “Thy word is settled in heaven.”  (Psalm 119:89)

You can get a square peg through a round hole.  Men can change the law of God to fit their own needs and desires.  The organization of the church, its worship, the plan of salvation, the work of the church can all be changed (and have been changed) to fit the whims of men.  All that man has done is change the word of God to fit his will.  Jesus described the religious people of His day in Matthew 15:8,9:  “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”  (Matthew 15:8,9)  They worship and serve God in vain for their doctrines are not the holy words of God but their own commands based upon their own teaching.  They made the commandment of God of no effect by their tradition.  (Matthew 15:6)  The church today must stand firm upon the original plan of God as prescribed in His word and having done all, stand.  “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.”  (Proverbs 22:28)