During times of widespread apostasy, the prophets described the condition of the Promised Land in an intriguing way. They told God’s people that the land was polluted. This pollution was due to sexual fornication, the shedding of innocent blood, and the worship of idols (Cf. Ps. 106:38, Jer. 3:1-2, Eze. 36:18, Am. 7:17).Â
The promise to Israel in Leviticus 26:3-6 is described in terms of the land yielding bountifully, of fertile families, fields, and flocks. But if they were draw off into various perversions the land would be polluted by these wicked acts. Until they repented in true humility the sky would be iron, the earth would be brass (Lev. 26:19).
In our nation, fornication abounds, unborn infants are sacrificed to gods of corporate profits and career advancement, and the innocent are slain. Pornography consumes young men’s years of virility. Abortion accommodates young women’s years of fertility. We’ve polluted the land.
A polluted land must be cleansed. But, it can’t be scrubbed clean by laws, protests, or additional Supreme Court justices. The weeds of chaos in our nation are the fruits of polluting the land with seeds of sodomy, lust, envy, murder, infanticide, and insatiable greed. The stain is too dark for us to cleanse.
The only remedy is found here, in this Gospel we proclaim here. Forsake your sins. Quit demeaning your husband. Quit neglecting your wife. Stop disobeying your parents. Don’t steal from your employer or your clients by slacking at your job. Stop snarking on social media.
Flee your sin. Come to the fountain of Jesus’ blood. The old Gospel songs were quite right when they sang about being washed in the blood. It’s only by His shed blood that our land might be cleansed of all our sins, both individual and corporate. The pollution of the land can only be purged by a new creation work, and only Christ has such regenerative power.
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