So, we've been talking about Israel being “God's timepiece.” Prophecy is being fulfilled that will count down to the return of Christ and the nation of Israel will be in the center of it. So last week we talked about how Abraham purchased a burial site for his wife Sarah which is now considered a sacred site .
So, I want to talk about the land's special connection to God, how the land becomes defiled, what are the effects of the defilement on the land and what we can do to assist in God’s healing of the land.
Reality of the Land - in the beginning the land was good. God saw all that He had made and said that everything was good ! What God meant was that the land was pure, it was undefiled, it reflected the attributes of God in His holiness and His design.
Reaction of the land to sin - We realize early in the Bible that there is a physical reaction of the land to the sin of mankind, the land became defiled. Directly after the sin of Adam and Eve, God said that the ground was now cursed. There is a curse placed upon the ground, God said, because of your sin.
Genesis 3:17 Then to Adam He ( Lord) said…. “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you….
Response of the Land – God told His people that land was going to respond negatively if they persist in committing the sin of those who were there before them – it would vomit them out …and it did vomit them out – Israel went into captivity in 722 B.C. and Judah followed in 605 BC.
Leviticus 18:26 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations…28 lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you.
Redemption is coming to the land - it seems like there are changes happening in our world environmentally…. that that will continue up until the day that He returns. In Matthew 24 - the Lord said that there will be earthquakes, pestilences and famines…. All of creation is looking for redemption.
Romans 8:19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse….. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Remedy for the Land? It's the same remedy as God gave to Solomon back 1000 B.C. That if God shuts up the heavens and there is no rain, because of the disobedience of My people that…
2 Chronicles 7:14 If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Join us in person on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. or via livestream by going to https://www.firstbaptistsudbury.com and clicking on livestream for “The Land is Mine!”
Blessings,
Kevin
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