As Christians we are familiar with the need to appropriate God’s grace in areas of our individual lives. For instance, "if we confess our sin , He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin..." etc This is a provision for an individuals liberty in Christ. But as we prayed for revival in our community we realized there were corporate sins we needed to deal with before we could receive God’s blessing. Some were sins we didn’t personally commit, but our "brethren" or "forefathers" did. We are part of the body of Christ.

Daniel, a holy prophet of God, sought deliverance from captivity for himself and all Israel. He confessed his own sins, Israel's sins, and his forefathers sins by saying "WE HAVE SINNED". God heard Daniel's prayer on Israel's behalf when he identified with the whole disobedient nation and its history. Since the old testament is speaking in types and patterns, we as Christians have applied this approach to our present situation. By the grace of the blood of Jesus we ask for cleansing and freedom from the undealtwith sin of our families, churches, and nation. We did this as the church of Campbell River at the Tidemark theatre in 1994. This is commonly call "IDENTIFICATIONAL REPENTANCE" I notice that church splits ceased at that point and much healing and unity has developed since then.

Now it seems God is leading the intercessors to consider that just as every Christian is part of a body of people, we also have a place. Corporate sin inhibits corporate revival. Likewise the bible says a place can become defiled by sin, particularly bloodshed. Therefore we need to appropriate God’s grace for the place we live... the Land. Bloodshed is a very significant issue in the Old Testament.

Nu 35:33 You shall not thus pollute the land in which you live; for blood pollutes the land, and no expiation can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of him who shed it. (RSV)

Here the expiation for the land was capital punishment. When the land was not redeemed from this blood-guilt a curse actually destroyed the people from off the land.

Le 18:24 "Do not defile yourselves by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am casting out before you defiled themselves; 25 and the land became defiled, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 27 (for all of these abominations the men of the land did, who were before you, so that the land became defiled); 28 lest the land vomit you out, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. (RSV)

One example is when Cain was cursed from the land because of Abels blood.

Genesis 4:10 And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

Blood is important because the life is in the blood

Le 17:11 For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul. (AV)

The word "Life" is nephesh {neh’-fesh}

translated in the AV as: soul 475, life 117, person 29, mind 15, heart 15, creature 9,

body 8, himself 8, yourselves 6, dead 5, will 4, desire 4, man 3,

themselves 3, any 3, appetite 2, misc 47; 753

It means 1) soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being,

desire, emotion, passion

1a) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the

God breathed life into man, this life is in mans blood. This is why Abels blood cried out from the ground, and Cain was cursed. An animals blood does not cry out from the ground because its life is not God breathed. Human bloodshed not only effects the place where it falls but also hinders the relationship of the residents to God.

To put it more explicitly, God hears the blood shed in Campbell River over the centuries. Without the church interceding (as Abraham did for Sodom!) the darkness will accumulating over the land.

A very telling incident of this concerns King David and the murders committed by Saul.

2Sa 21:1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, [It is] for Saul, and for [his] bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites. (AV) 3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD? (AV)

David turned over the Sons of Saul for execution in accordance with the law.. Here are the results.

2Sa 21:14 ....And after that God heeded supplications for the land. (RSV)

How interesting that the Canadian Government and other institutions are now dealing with historic violations and sins. They are responding to a spiritual reality, but don't know it. Their only remedy is the law, the cry is for "Justice and judgement. As Christian we are the only people with the remedy of Grace. The Blood of Jesus.

David followed the law of God to cleanse the land of bloodguilt.

Heb 9:22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (RSV)

These things are a shadow and a type of Christ and His atonement.

Heb 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy Place yearly with blood not his own 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (RSV)