Redeeming the Land

Fall 1998
By Martha Lucia

From our last issue you will remember the Hebrew word shamar, has many meanings -
to hedge around something, to keep, to guard, to watch as a Watchman, as a Prophet,
to protect, to keep safe, to retain.

As watchmen, one area of our watch is over the land (Gen 1:15). After the curse was
spoken in Genesis 3, that thorns and thistles would grow, the sweat of our brow was
required to earn what God had previously provided. The Hebrew word for "curse,"
arar, means to bind with a spell, to hem in with obstacles, to render powerless, to resist,
to make infertile. A curse is the favor of God turned away from us and the removal of
his promise to uphold all things. Without Gods supporting hand we are lost and
undone. There is no hope, no future, and no help. But God has a redemptive plan.

Jesus came to undo the works of Satan, pay the price of redemption, and set in motion
Gods redemptive plan (Ephesians 1:7, Revelations 5:9, and 13:8). Gods original intent
was for man to keep the land. In this issue, we want to return to that principle and join
with God in redeeming the land. God is calling us to buy His fields as He did Jeremiah
in chapter 32 where God told Jeremiah to buy Hanameels field. Hanameel represented
Gods favor. Hanameels father, Shallum, represented recompense, reward.

We must know and understand this redemptive plan. Some of the meanings of
redemption include to preserve, to release, to deliver, to ransom, to rescue from loss, to
loosen something (i.e., a redemption price, atonement), to rouse from sleep, to take up,
to buy back, to avenge, to purchase, to be rescued from disease and death. Under the
old covenant, atonement (to ransom by substitution) had to be made by a blood
sacrifice. Disobedience of any part of the Law brought about the curses spoken in
Deuteronomy 27 & 28. But God had a plan. Jesus came to redeem us from the curse
of the law (Romans 5:10&11 and Galatians 3:12&13). God sent Jesus to be the author
and finisher of faith. Faith is required for man to please God, not the law.

When we fully understand Gods redemptive plan, we begin to see that Jesus bought
back the earth, the soul of man, and time, all of which had been sold out to the devil in
Genesis 3. Even though the redemptive price under the law has already been paid, we
must realize we are co-laborers with God in the execution of this plan. Im sure you
have heard it said that the year of the favor of the Lord has come as Jesus proclaimed
in Luke 4:18-19. I believe it is now the day of the vengeance of our God (Isaiah
63:4). Isaiah 34:8 says "For it is the day of the Lords vengeance (punishment,
retaliation, closely associated with rage and jealousy) and the year of recompenses
(meaning reward) for the controversy (judicial cause, contest) of Zion." God is going to
reward us as we press forward and establish His kingdom and execute the vengeance
and judgment of God (Psalm 149:6-9)

When God told Joshua, "Go in and possess the land that flows with milk (shepherds)
and honey (farmers)," they not only had to possess the land, but also redeem the
land. The act of possessing the land required invading the land with the purpose of
settling, becoming farmers and shepherds of the land, expelling the previous tenants,
and occupancy. The redeeming of the land required that the land be rescued from the
consequences of the previous tenants sin. The process of possessing and redeeming
the land called for altars to be built to God, destruction of all the false gods of the land,
pulling down the high places, and learning to farm and shepherd the flocks on the
land. They had to fill the land with the righteousness and justice of God (Jeremiah 4:2,
Jeremiah 22:33, and Micah 6:8). Without a proper judicial system, they would not be
able to maintain sovereignty over the land (Deuteronomy 16:20). Under the old
covenant this required justice alone, but under the new covenant the just shall live by
faith.

We, in America, have been given a land which flows with milk and honey, but we have
lost the concept of redemption. We must understand our right to redeem the land, our
souls, and the time before it is too late. "When the land has sinned and God
stretches out His hand to break its staff of bread and send famine on it and cut off
from it man and beast, even if Noah, Daniel and J ob were in it, they would save
only themselves." (Ezekiel 14:13, Jeremiah 7:16) When the cup of iniquity is full, it is
too late to intercede. Nothing will change Gods mind. God told Jeremiah, don't even
pray for those people (Jer. 7:16).

In the last seven years, I have become more and more aware of what is happening to
the land of our nation. In the south, farm and cattle lands are being lost to banks or sold
to large conglomerates. In the north, wheat fields and farmlands are being lost to
banks. Now, even large corporations are folding. With all this land in the hands of the
banks. Now even large corporations are folding. What are the banks going to do with
all this land that has come into their hands? Whoever owns the land is the "landlord." I
recently read an alarming report stating many of the banks in America are controlled by
nations which are primarily Muslim. This alone should be enough to alert us, having
seen the affect the Islamic spirit has on the nations it controls. In many major cities in
America, Islam is the fastest growing religion. After America bombed Afghanistan and
Sudan, Osama Bin Laden, the Islamic leader, proclaimed they would retaliate against
Americans and Jews. These are not idle words and we need to take them
seriously. He also stated they would not turn over a Muslim to an infidel country. This
shows us what they intend to do and how they view us. Last February, Bin Laden
declared, "We, with Allahs help, call on every Muslim who believes in Allah and wishes
to be rewarded to comply with Allahs order to kill the Americans and plunder their
money wherever and whenever they find it." Only an interceding church can change
this. We have a choice to enter the battle in the spiritual realm or in the natural. Either
way the battle will be fought.

One of the things that happens when Gods laws are transgressed is that the ground
ceases to yield its strength (Genesis 4:12). The following comes from "Redeeming the
Land" by Gwen Shaw: "Crops fail through drought, flood, pestilence, hail, storms, until
the economy is ruined and the farmers lose their ability to produce and prosper. This
slows down or stops the food supply of the nation. The first sign of a curse on the nation
is what happens on the farms because they are the source of all the food supply. Few
Americans know that every six minutes another farm closes due to bankruptcy. In
Europe and Great Britain thousands of cattle and sheep, even the deer of the
Laplanders, have had to be destroyed because of the fallout from Chernobyl."

There are many reasons we can cite for these happenings such as idolatry, witchcraft,
blood guiltiness, perversion, etc. I believe God has shown me that the spirit of gambling
and chance, fueled by the Jezebel spirit, is a major cause of what is happening in the
land. The Amplified Bible says in Isaiah 55:1-2 "Wait and listen, every one who is
thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come,
buy priceless (spiritual) wine and milk without money and without price (simply for the
self-surrender that accepts the blessing). Why do you spend your money for that which
is not bread? And your earnings for what does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to Me,
and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (the profuseness of
spiritual joy)." Verse 10 in the same chapter promises rain that will water the earth and
make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the
eater. We see from this verse that God provides seed for us to sow, but if we waste or
gamble our seed, we wont have bread to eat. Gambling has many devastating results,
such as bankruptcy, suicide, increased loan sharking, the corruption of youth, divorce,
domestic violence, and neglect. The cost can be overwhelming to our society. In June
of 1998, David Wilkerson spoke in a prophetic word the following: "In the days to come,
literally hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose their homes. Why? Theyve
leveraged them with equity loans, so they could play the stock market and try to strike it
rich!" Have we put our trust and hope in systems, such as the stock market, insurance
companies, lotto, casinos, government welfare programs, etc.? Have we been
speculating with our money and properties with no predictable outcome, trusting in the
haphazard course of events? God is calling us to put our trust and hope in Him once
again and return to the basics of understanding how to execute His redemptive plan for
the earth.

In the last ten years, we have seen a tremendous rise in the number of gambling
casinos and lotteries. What has our response been? Have we fallen for the "get rich"
scheme, one of the biggest lies around? Statistically, the odds of winning a lottery are
80 million to one. Thirty-five billion dollars has been poured into this "chance" of
winning. There are an estimated 8 to 13 million compulsive gamblers in our nation. Of
these, approximately one fourth are addicted to the lottery. One of the luring statements
found on many lottery machines is "because of you many bright students are going to
school." What portion of this lottery money is actually going to the schools? According
to a National Geographic article, due to a drought in Maryland the corn crops of the area
farmers dried up. The cascading effect of this resulted in a dairy farmer in the area
without feed for his cattle, forcing him to sell them at auction. The herdsman made the
remark "might as well go to Las Vegas and gamble your money, s to be a small farmer
these days." On August 13, 1998, in an ABC World News tonight feature story "Why are
the farmers in America in trouble?" it was stated, "Farmers are the founders of
civilization." Scenes from Minot and Fairmount, North Dakota were shown. In Minot,
the low livestock market prices are pushing them to devastation. They feel their only
choice is to let the dollar make the decision. By doing this, they are auctioning off their
future. With drought, insects, floods, prices down, or no over seas demand, even in a
bumper crop year it can be bad. From Fairmount, President Clinton announced the
release of 5.5 billion dollars to help them through the fall harvest. But what then? What
happened to believing God? Arent His promises yes and amen?

Joshua had to believe and trust God in order to cross the Jordan to possess and
redeem the promise land. God told Joshua to be strong and courageous and not let the
law depart from him. He was to meditate on it day and night, observing and doing all
that was written, for then his way would be prosperous and he would have good
success. The step of faith required of the Israelites to reach the promise land would
either lead to death or the supernatural. Once they crossed the Jordan, something
phenomenal took place. The Angel of the Lord appeared with the sword in his hand.
Joshua bowed down in worship, as it was clear this angel was a theophany, for angels
did not receive mans worship. The captain of the Lord of hosts said, "take off your
shoes, for you are standing on Holy ground." According to the custom of the day, which
is found in Ruth 4:7, Joshua knew when the shoe was removed, it meant redemption,
change and confirmation. At this point, the Lord of all the earth had come to lay out his
plan of redemption for the land, to change the Lordship over the land, and to confirm
the way to Joshua. God would be with him throughout each step.

We must learn to be good stewards of the land. One of the best examples is Isaac
(Genesis 26). While there was a famine in the land, God appeared to Isaac and said
"Do not go down into Egypt, stay in this land and I will bless you." Isaac had a choice:
he could sow in the land where there was a famine and be obedient to God, or he could
move to Egypt where outwardly it appeared he would find food for his
family. Obedience to God is always the best answer, regardless of the outward
appearance of things. Isaac chose to obey and as a result, the Lord gave him 100
times the grain he had sown! Isaac grew and became great, but he had to dig the wells
his father Abraham had once dug which had been stopped up by the enemy. He said in
Genesis 26:22 "For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the
land." The same call to fruitfulness is for us today. "Well" in Hebrew figuratively means
to make plain, to declare, to explain. As we unstop some wells on our land, we need to
make plain and declare Gods Word to the enemy and dig out the stones the enemy has
used to cause desolation. The word is our shovel and the word of our testimony is the
force to unstop what the enemy has used to stop the blessings of the Lord from
flowing. We need to be like Shammah in 2 Samuel 23:11 & 12 saying, "devil this is my
field and you are not taking it." In Jeremiah 29:7, God says seek the peace of the city
where you are, pray for that city and in that you will have peace. Wherever God has
placed you, pray and seek Him for that city or territory. Dont be looking for a way out,
give God a way in through prayer.

In 2 Kings 2:19-22, Elisha did not look for a way out when the men of the city came to
him saying the water was bad and of inferior quality and the ground was
barren. Through entering into a salt covenant with God, he opened the way for God to
bring healing to the waters and break the curse of barrenness off the land. Again in 2
Kings 3, as the kings of Israel, Judah and Edom joined together against the Moabites,
they found no water for their men or cattle. Outwardly, the king of Israel felt the Lord
was going to deliver them into the hands of their enemy, the Moabites. But God had a
plan. Elisha, was called upon to inquire of the Lord. Jehoshaphat knew the word of the
Lord was within Elisha and the Lord directed through Elisha ditches be dug in the
valleys. The Lord went on to say "you will not see wind, nor rain, yet the valley shall be
full of water for man and cattle to drink." Not only did the water quench their thirst, but it
was the means by which they won the battle against the Moabites. As the Moabites
prepared to war against the kings, the sun shone upon the water causing the Moabites
to see the water as red as blood. Thinking the kings had turned on themselves and a
great spoil awaited their arrival, they walked into the trap the Lord had set. Although
Israel did not complete the job (2 Kings 3:27), God had a redemptive plan. God help us
to finish the job of bringing your redemption, change and confirmation to the land.

People in authority either give spirits the right to rule over a land or they can rid the land
of their evil dominion. Some of the ways satan attacks people include: damaging
reputations, bringing reproach and confusion, stirring up jealousies, competition and
greed, sending the spirit of rebellion against leadership, causing sickness and death,
speaking lying and slanderous statements, encouraging compromise, immoral conduct,
false doctrine and idolatry, and gaining control. All of these are characteristics of the
Jezebel spirit. Jezebels desire is to gain control over the land. If this spirit has
unlimited control of the land, then it can control the people and ultimately decide what is
in their best interest (1 Kings 21). God has prepared for us three anointings we need to
step into this year: the anointing to destroy the yoke, the anointing to spoil, and the
anointing to bring down the high places. When we do not bring down the high places,
we give the ruling spirits a legal right to return because their "root" or their "base of
operation" is still in the land (I Kings 15:8-14).

Isaiah 35 says, "The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose, strengthen the weak
hands and confirm the feeble knees, say to the fearful, fear not: behold your God will
come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save
you. Then the lame man will leap and the tongue of the dumb sing and the ears of the
deaf hear." Could it be that the redemption of the land is tied to the restoration of the
apostle (2 Cor. 12:12)? Waters will break out in the wilderness and stream in the
desert! God is waiting on a people who will step into the supernatural with Him and
redeem what was stolen. "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole
earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect
(wholeheartedly) toward Him." (2 Chon.16:9)

Isaiah 61:4-7, "and they shall build the old waste places, they shall raise up the former
desolation and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations
for your share you shall have a twofold recompense; instead of dishonor and reproach,
your people shall rejoice in their portion; therefore, in their land they shall possess
double what they had forfeited, everlasting joy shall be theirs."

May God raise up some Josephs and Daniels for the preservation of what has already
gone into the hands of the Babylonian system and some intercessors to see that what
is left does not fall to that system. (Jer. 27:18)

It is time for us to recognize the devastating activities of these spirits which have
targeted our land. We must join God in the process of redeeming the land, changing
the Lordship over the land, and listening for Gods confirmation along the way. As we
join together and go forth to do warfare in our areas, we will see victory for Gods
word says, "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever."
(Psalm 37:29). The Lord will again bless our land and it will yield its strength (Psalm
85:12). For He has given us our land for heritage (Psalm 136:21) and the nations of the
world for our inheritance (Psalm 2:8). For the scepter of the wicked shall not rule over
the land allotted to the righteous (Psalm 125:3).

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

From a reader in Florida, "I was very impressed with the fact Alaska is one of the targets
of Russia. For the past two years, I have been interceding for Juneau, Alaska and
Fargo, N.D."

A reader in Washington state writes, "Praise God, what an answer to prayer. I have
written in my book STOP THE ATTACK, how important it is for prophets and
intercessors to link up, and share the word of the Lord, because we all see in part and
prophesy in part. We need to get all the parts together and see the whole picture!!!
What a great plan you have. Having ministered prophetically in Portland, Oregon, and
discerning the spiritual climate in the far north countries, I agree totally that we need to
pray and produce a spiritual change in the atmosphere there. When I was there I could
discern the same highly controlling, fear producing, demonic spirit that had ruled over
Russia, was trying to push its way in on the North West states, Oregon and
Washington."

"I have read your newsletter and find it indeed a warning. The Lord is calling the
apostles, prophets and watchman in the local areas. The church across our nation
needs to come together in unity, with one voice and one mind and one spirit, said a
reader from Oklahoma.

From Colorado, "That was really potent."

We have not included the names this time, but would like to in the future. If it is
acceptable to you when you write, please give us permission to use your name.

RESOURCES
"Redeeming the Land" by Gwen Shaw available through Engeltal Press, P.O. Box 447,
Jasper, AR 72641.