~Old Testament Scenarios~
Amos
“And it came about,
when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land,
that I said, "Lord GOD, please pardon!
How can Jacob stand, For he is small?"
Amos 7:2 (NASB)
"Are We Willing?"
Do you picture this scene with the prophet Amos falling flat, prostrated on a country dirt floor? Or was he kneeling in the privacy of his own home? Had he gone as far as tearing his clothes while throwing dirt upon his head, as in the traditional way of outward mourning as he pleaded with God? We don't know the position his body took, but we know the humble position his heart was in. The compassion that Amos is reflecting is the heart of a shepherd for his sheep. Since Amos was a simple Shepherd from the small town Tekoa (10 miles south of Jerusalem), he was able to cry out to his Lord. His heart was filled with pity for the neighboring nation, the northern kingdom of Israel. God had called this sheep farmer to leave his home town in southern Judea and to intercede and prophecy to this disobedient nation that had become so prosperous under the reign of Jeroboam ll. Wow, did he want to go? Did he think about having to leave his sheep, maybe his family, for sure his earnings? Did he pretend he didn't "hear" God or see the visions God allowed him to see? Or did he immediately obey and go? I think we have our answer.
Israel had become a nation, a people who lacked in their devotions to God. They had become involved with idolatry, apathy, arrogance, and they had violated the rights of the poor by over taxing the people’s crops. Amos, knowing they would never be able to stand up to God's wrath, cries out to the leaders to repent and cries to God that Israel was small and to take pity on them. What kind of man cares and intercedes like this? A man (or woman) of God does this. So, is this challenging you? Do we really understand the heart of God? If we did, wouldn’t we be about His business more often than our own? Oh Jesus, help us to keep You first in our thoughts, hearts, and mind.
During 767-755BC, God had given Amos a vision of the judgment that was about to fall on Israel. Visions of locust, mildew, devouring of all the crops, fire, and being overthrown by the enemies. He prays and intercedes for the deliverance of these people. Amos knows that unless he goes and intercedes no will stand under the weight of the wrath that was about to fall on them. Amos pleads; he stands in complete humbleness knowing the mercy of the Lord. He believed in the name of Miquweh Yisrael, Hope of Israel. He knew the people may have been doing well as the peace in the land and their wealth made life easy. But they were spiritually bankrupt and didn't see their hunger and need for God. Thirty years later the Assyrians overtook Northern Israel and enslaved them.
What is the true posture of my heart? Does it make any difference if we "show" our concern if our hearts are not supporting our actions? 1 Corinthians 13:1 states, “If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” That challenges me enough to ask myself, do I really care about others, even those who chose to sin against God? Will I travel out of my comfort zone to plead for others? Doesn't God call each of us to love like this? But then, we will have to get out of our comfy “church-like cocoon” and move towards unbelievers
This is your day; God has given it to you. What will you do with it? Will you hear the call of Christ and move forward in action for the sake of others? This day, will you plead for the sake of the lost or the backslidden or for those that are being oppressed?
“Therefore He is able also to save forever
those who draw near to God through Him,
since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
Hebrews 7:25 (NASB)