Good Morning.
Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. (Leviticus 18:24-25)
The land that God brought Israel into was a land that He said flowed with milk and honey. It was the land that He promised to Abraham and his seed as an inheritance and one that is now referred to as the Holy Land. That being said, it was also a land that was saturated with innocent blood shed by those who worshiped the god, Molech. It was a land contaminated with the sins and abominations addressed in this and other chapters in the Torah which, consequently, led to the expulsion of the Canaanites from the land. Therefore, because the land “vomits out its inhabitants,” Israel was being warned not to “commit any of these abominable customs” (Leviticus 18:30).
The customs He refers to were and are perverse, abominable and, in some cases, unnatural. We might even say that they are things that make Him sick to His stomach. I say that because, these things apparently sicken the land, and at a certain point, are rejected and those responsible are removed from the land. So again, the point was to alert His people not to replicate these abominable things “lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you” (Leviticus 18:28).
This concept brings to mind what the Messiah told the congregation of Laodicea. Remember these people saw themselves in one way but Yeshua saw them in a totally different light. He described them as being “lukewarm” — being neither cold or hot but a mixture of the two. In other words, mingling what was holy and clean with what was profane and unclean. Then He said this: “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:16). We might say, that being lukewarm makes Him sick to His stomach.
Consequently, it is crucial that we heed the words spoken to those of Laodicea, as well as the words spoken to the children of Israel — “Don’t do what the nations do because it won’t end well for you.” Our God is a jealous God and will not long tolerate our flirtation with the gods or ways of this world. This behavior is so bothersome to Him that it, apparently, turns His stomach. So let’s remember this today — we can’t be a light to the world if we are acting like the world. Let us adhere to His Word and to His ways that we might be whole and blameless before Him, and consequently, live peaceably and prosperously in the land He has given to us.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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