The Vagabond Spirit

I first learnt about this spirit some years ago from Langton Gatsi, a pastor from Zimbabwe.  He told about his experience as a young man growing up in an African village.  Asking God about the bad experiences happening to him and his extended family, even after his conversion, he perceived that God told him it was the vagabond spirit, given legal right to be there because of the shedding of innocent blood on the ground. 

He then meditated on this, and came to the realization that this spirit afflicts nearly all who live on the African continent:  Africa has so much gold, silver, other resources, but instead of her women walking around drenched in gold and diamonds, it is all given away to others!  All that wealth in the ground, and the nations mostly live in dire poverty. And so many of the men criss-cross the continent and find that nothing works out for them.

He asked the Lord for the solution, and God told him to repent all sin on the land and make a covenant of peace with Him, calling the earth as witness that his covenant of peace with God cancels out every record of wrong held against him and his family in the earth.  So he knelt down on the ground, even making sure his bare knees touched the earth, repented of the spilling of innocent blood, physically took the ground into his hands, and did as God said. He took a stone as reminder of what he had done.  His wife and children did the same.

The results were astounding.  The grass and vegetation around his home were lushly green and growing in abundance, while all around him nothing else even remotely looked the same!

I remember Eben Swart telling of a South African Christian man who knew nothing about farming and who broke the blood curses over his newly bought farm.  His crops were all flourishing physically right up unto the boundary fences, and right next to these the other crops of the neighbouring farms (of experienced farmers) were not doing well at all.

Can we base these things on Scripture?

Genesis 4:8-14  “8Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.  9Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. 11“Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12“When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.” 13Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is too great to bear! 14“Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Verse 16:” And Cain went away from the LORD's presence and lived in a land called "Wandering," which is east of Eden.”

These are the main verses that reveal the characteristics of the vagabond spirit.  Things to note from here are:

·         Cain already had a disrespect for God, as is revealed in his answer “am I my brother’s keeper?” This is an arrogant way to speak to anybody in authority over you, never mind your God!” Already the signs of rebellion seem to rear up in Cain, and rebellion is as witchcraft in God’s eyes.

·         Jealousy of his brother caused Cain to kill Abel.

·         Spilled blood calls out to God from the earth, asking vengeance, for God to punish the offender.

·         This shedding of innocent blood results in a curse on you from the earth itself.

·         It also gives the vagabond spirit legal ground to operate in your life.

Can what we do, affect the land?

Ps 107:33-34 “33He changes rivers into deserts, and springs of water into dry, thirsty land.34He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands, because of the wickedness of those who live there.”

Is 24:5-7 “The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan.”

Num 35:33 “"'Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.”

Our actions afflict the land.  This means that our forefathers before us could also have defiled the earth and we have to bear the consequences thereof, without even knowing about the sin that lead to this defilement. (2 Sam 21:1 “During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.")

Four things defile the land:

1.   Innocent bloodshed (abortion, war, assault and fighting, car accidents, mistreatment, etc)

2.   Immorality – Lev 18:1-30 (all sexual sins) - bloodletting

3.   Idolatry – Jer 3:9, Jer 16:18, Ez 20:7 – breaks God’s covenant with us.

4.   Broken covenants- Is 24:5-6 (disloyal severing of covenants, divorce, breach business contracts, or agreements, political and judicial injustice.)

Why these four?  Because they speak of covenant:  when blood is shed, a covenant results, because blood represents life. Why is blood important?  Lev 17:11 “Life is in the blood, and I have given you the blood of animals to sacrifice in place of your own.”  “Life” is “nephesh”, means soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion. 

Will a covenant of peace have an effect on the land?

Ez 34:24 “I will make a covenant of peace with my people and drive away the dangerous animals from the land. Then they will be able to camp safely in the wildest places and sleep in the woods without fear.” And  verse 27 – “And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit and the earth shall yield its increase….”

Apart from humbling yourself before God, turning from your wicked ways (2 Chron 7:14), make a covenant of peace with God and call upon the earth to witness it.  Go down on your hands and knees on your property, repent all your own sins, and the sins that you perceive from God that your forefathers did on this ground, make a covenant of peace with God, speak to the earth and confirm that your covenant of peace with God cancels out every record of wrong held against you and your family in the earth!

You see, the earth hears and writes (records) wrong deeds:

Jer 22:29,30 – “O earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord!  Thus says the Lord:  Write this man [Coniah] down as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days, for no man of his offspring shall succeed in sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah.”

Now if the earth witnesses against you, where do you go?  What our fathers did, what we do, is an open book in the earth, even if you change your name or move to a different place!

This is why in Num 5:11-31 a woman, suspected of adultery, is required to drink holy water in which  some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle was put, to determine her guilt or innocence. Earth records speak!  And these records need to be blocked out.

In some tribes in Africa, visitors are required to drink a glass of water with their hosts immediately upon arrival in their home, in which sand of the village has been put.  This signifies their becoming one with the host tribe.

Jesus, in John 8, when asked His opinion about whether the woman who had been caught in the very act of adultery should be stoned, stooped down twice to write on the ground with His finger.  Could He have written down the records the earth held about the spectators?  Could He actually have instructed the earth to cancel the woman’s records?

How can the earth hear, even write?

Spiritually, the earth is alive, a living organism:

The earth has a face:  Gen 1:29, Num 12:3, Job 37:12, Ps 104:30, Luke 21:35, and many other verses.

The earth has a mouth:  Gen 4:11, Ex 15:12, Num 16:30, 32, 34;  26:10, Deut 11:6, Ps 75:8, 106:17, Is 44:23, Rev 12:16

The earth can hear: Deut 32:1, Micah 1:2

The earth has a heart: Matt 12:40

The earth teaches: Job 12:8

The earth gives birth: Is 26:19

The earth discloses bloodshed:  Is 26:21

The earth holds captives: Jonah 2:6

The earth withholds its crops: Haggai 1:10

The earth vomits out people: Lev 18:28, 20:22

 Set your records right!

Although the earth belongs to God (Gen 8:21), man has delegated authority over it. (Ps 115:16) And therefore, God’s curse on the ground can be reversed – 2 Chron 7:14  “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

By the blood of Jesus we can pray for the place where we live to be cleansed of blood guilt.

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)”

Because Christ became our curse, His blood can reverse the curse:

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)

An interesting thing mentioned by Langton:  All contracts made on earth are also recorded in heaven. So if the title deeds of the property you have taken possession of does not match the title deeds held in heaven, no prayers for favour on this property will work for you.  This was spoken of in relation to the farmers of Zimbabwe whose farms were dispossessed…..

What is the difference between homeless people and people afflicted by the vagabond spirit?

A homeless person actually has nowhere to stay, and if given a home, will go there.  Whereas the vagabond person has a home/family base to return to, they just choose not to.

Symptoms of a person under control of this spirit:

1.    They are always moving and running from place to place and never find peace or rest. They do not want stability – moving from husband to husband, house to house, country to country, wife to wife, church to church, job to job…Job 12:24 “He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.” These are people who engage in useless pursuits, ending in a financial desert, their rebellion leaves them financially dry. “You will never farm the land again” - joblessness leaves them begging. They often live in poverty.

2.    They are always living in constant sorrow brought about by loneliness and barrenness. Nothing they do bears fruit. “…It won’t produce anything for you…”  They start things and never finish.

3.    They are not willing to establish roots in a healthy environment - not in the Word, or church, or group of believes.  Not a perfect environment, but a healthy environment.  No parental or governmental authority in their lives. “From now on, you’ll be without a home…”

4.    They are always causing chaos wherever they go.  No order in their lives, and when disorder reigns, it leads to chaos.  They then run away from one chaos situation, only to end up in another one.

5.    They are OK living with no purpose in life. 

6.    They are constantly running away from problems and situations instead of dealing with them.

7.    They are always breaking promises and commitments for no reason.

8.    They always sabotage relationships that could help them.  Ace manipulators, will feign love to get what they want.

9.    They are always living in a fantasy world to avoid facing reality; have their own mindset and beliefs; brainwashed to think a certain way; will believe lies instead of truths if it fits into their framework of thinking.

10.  They believe that everybody is against them. They are constantly dealing with frustration and failure – lose jobs for no reason, get thrown out of homes, in short:  there is a curse operating in their lives!

 What opened the door?

Either they, or the people who lived on the land before them, are guilty of one or more of:

·         Spilling innocent blood, like abortions, rape (and all other immorality), murder, human sacrifices, war, assault and fighting, car accidents, mistreatment, etc

·         Idolatry (all occultic activities, worshipping false gods)

·         Broken covenants

·         Rejection (Cain’s offer was rejected by God)

·         Jealousy (Cain was jealous of his brother)

·         Rebellion (Not doing things God’s way) Ps 107:10-11 “Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery.  They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High.” The soul stays hungry and thirsty, leading to despair and depression.

·         Alcohol and drug addiction

·         These sins coming through the bloodlines

How to get rid of this spirit:

1.    Repent earnestly of all known sin as in the above.

2.    Ask God to reveal previous shedding of blood/sin on the land and stand in the gap for these (repent as if you had done it).

3.    Establish a covenant of peace with God, calling the earth to witness it.

4.    Get delivered of this vagabond spirit, and all its related demons:  depression, rebellion, jealousy, rejection, poverty…

5.    Accept that the blood of Jesus cleansed you! His blood has broken every curse over you and your property!

6.    Now be transformed - renew your mind – and change your old ways of living!

Sources:  Eben Swart(Prayer Course 1), Arthur Burke (Sonship), Terry Somerville, Fernando Perez, Langton Gatsi.

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