“And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” – Leviticus 18:25
The Bible uses strong words here—“the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” That’s not just a figure of speech. It’s a warning. A land can become so defiled by sin that it can’t hold onto the people living in it anymore. Just like a stomach rejects spoiled food, the land itself will reject a nation that turns against God.
There’s an old story about a farmer who had lived on his land for generations. His grandfather had tilled the soil, his father had built a strong home, and he planned to pass it down to his sons. But over time, things changed. The people around him stopped respecting the laws of God. They gave in to sin—especially sexual sin—and it became normal. The town leaders ignored it. The people laughed at the warnings. Then the land itself started to change. The crops grew weak. The rain stopped coming. Strange sickness spread through the land. And soon, those same people who thought they were secure found themselves packing up and leaving, forced out by something bigger than they understood.
It wasn’t bad luck. It wasn’t just nature. It was a spiritual law playing out in real time.
Leviticus 18:28 warns Israel that if they defile the land, it will vomit them out just like it did the nations before them:
“That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.”
And that’s exactly what happened. Israel didn’t listen. They fell into the same sins as the Canaanites, especially when it came to sexual sin and idolatry. And what was the result? God sent Babylon to take them captive. They lost their land, their homes, their freedom. The very thing God warned them about came true.
Not Every Sin Does This
Now, all sin is against God, but not every sin causes a land to spit out its people. There are categories of sin that bring a nation to this level of judgment. The sins listed in Leviticus 18—things like incest, adultery, homosexuality, and child sacrifice—were the sins that caused the land to reject the Canaanites before Israel got there. And when Israel followed those same sins, they were cast out too.
Sexual sin has a unique way of corrupting a nation from the inside out. It destroys the family, weakens the next generation, and leads people deeper into rebellion. It doesn’t stay personal—it spreads like a disease until the entire society is affected. And when it reaches a certain point, God steps in.
History Repeats Itself
This isn’t just something that happened in Bible times. You can see the same pattern throughout history.
• Rome was one of the greatest empires in history. It was strong, disciplined, and advanced. But as time went on, sexual immorality became normal. Marriage was broken, purity was mocked, and wickedness was celebrated. Eventually, Rome fell—not just because of invading armies, but because it had rotted from within.
• The Canaanites were powerful, but they gave themselves over to sin, especially perverse sexual practices tied to idol worship. God wiped them out and gave their land to Israel.
• Other nations have risen and fallen the same way—growing strong, then giving in to sin, then collapsing under their own weight.
What About Today?
America and many other nations are walking this same path. What was once unthinkable is now celebrated. Sexual sin is everywhere, and the world calls it progress. But God doesn’t change. If He removed nations in the past for these sins, why would today be any different?
The good news is, judgment isn’t always immediate. There’s time to repent. A nation can turn back, just like Nineveh did when Jonah preached to them. But if history shows us anything, it’s that when a land has had enough, it doesn’t wait. It vomits.
It’s not too late for us, but we better pay attention.
