While the Lord instructed Moses about how to live in the land, He gave instructions about many areas of life. Regarding one issue, murder, the Lord said what happens when there is no punishment for a murderer’s crime, “murder pollutes the land” (Numbers 35:33). The unresolved act of murder, or any sin, is a pollutant to a nation.

Beyond the defilement of the land because of sin, the Lord also said something even more important, “You must not defile the land where you live, for I live there myself” (vs. 34). The real reason for justice was not primarily because of the crime of murder, though it has a horrible impact on the citizens of a nation. It was because the Lord lives in the land with His people.

The places in our nation where sin is increasing are where a defilement of our morals has taken place. Just as a pollutant runs unchecked and diminishes the quality of our physical environment, so it is when law and order are no longer present and enforced.

As we see a deep and profound breakdown in the moral fiber in some segments of our nation, something else is happening. A remnant is emerging to model and express the justice of God in places where moral corruption is happening without restraint.

None of this is a surprise to the Lord. He has a plan to reverse the process of pollution we see taking place. He has been planting seeds in the soil of our nation by the faithful acts of His people. When those seeds are called to blossom at His command, they will bring forth new life that will overcome the works of hell that have been assigned to further pollute our nation.

The Lord will do this because He wants to live in the remnant of faithful believers who are living within each nation. Faith the size of a mustard seed will release the kind of justice that has the power to restore broken people and a broken nation.