Defilement of the Land

 “Those who do any of these abhorrent things will be cut off from their people. Keep to what I tell you; don’t engage in any of the abhorrent acts that were practiced before you came. Don’t pollute yourselves with them. I am God, your God.” (Leviticus 18:29-30)

In the Bible, we are taught that our actions have effects on others, just as their actions have effects on us. In the account of Unlawful Sexual Relations, the defilement of the land was tackled. Leviticus 18:27 reads:

“For all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled”

The passage above talks about how the land being inherited by the Hebrew people had become defiled by the sinful acts of those who came before them. Although the passage refers specifically to unlawful sexual relations, it applies to all sins nonetheless.

The passage shows us that just as our ancestors’ actions affect the world we live in today, our own actions at the present can also affect the world that our sons and grandsons will inherit. If we want to create a world that works for everyone, we must not “defile our land” by living carelessly.