Amos 7:1-5: a reflection

1Thus the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s harvest. 2When they finished eating the grass of the land, then I said, “Lord GOD, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.” 3The LORD relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” says the LORD. 4Thus the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land. 5Then I said, “Lord GOD, stop, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”

When the prophet Amos is shown visions of coming judgment on his people, he does not simply accept them; he intercedes, pleading with God for mercy, and God relents. Lord GOD, forgive, I beg you, Amos cries; how could Jacob stand? For he is small. He appeals not to the people's merit, which was lacking, but to their weakness and smallness, their inability to stand under such judgment; and on this ground he pleads for mercy. And the LORD relented concerning this: It shall not be, says the LORD. Amos's intercession, appealing to the smallness and weakness of those he pleaded for, moved God to relent. This shows something moving about intercession and about God: that we can plead for the weak by appealing to their very weakness, their inability to stand, rather than to any merit; and that God is ready to relent in mercy. Amos pleaded for the small and weak, and God relented. To intercede for the weak by appealing to their weakness, and to find God ready to relent, is the grace shown here. God relents when his people are pleaded for in their smallness.

Notice the ground of Amos's plea, and God's response. Amos does not appeal to the people's righteousness, which was not there; he appeals to their weakness: how could Jacob stand, for he is small. He pleads for them precisely on the ground of their inability to bear the judgment, their smallness before it. And God relents: it shall not be. This tells us two things. First, that intercession can appeal not to merit but to weakness, pleading for others on the ground of their very inability to stand, their need of mercy rather than their deserving of it. And second, that God is ready to relent, to show mercy in response to such intercession. Amos pleaded twice, appealing to the smallness of his people, and God relented. This is a striking picture of a God who hears intercession and relents in mercy, and of a prophet who pleads for the weak on the ground of their weakness. To plead for others in their weakness, and to trust that God is ready to relent, is the grace of intercession Amos shows. God is moved by pleas for the weak; he relents in mercy.

That is worth taking to heart, for we can intercede for the weak by appealing to their weakness, and God is ready to relent in mercy. When we plead for others under trouble or judgment, we can feel we have no ground to stand on, no merit to appeal to; but Amos pleaded for his people on the ground of their very weakness, their smallness before the judgment, and God relented. Intercession can appeal not to merit but to weakness and need; and God is ready to relent in mercy. Do not think you must plead the merit of those you intercede for; appeal, as Amos did, to their weakness and need, and trust that God is ready to relent. Intercede for the weak by appealing to their weakness and need rather than their merit, trusting that God is ready to relent in mercy, as Amos pleaded, how could Jacob stand, for he is small, and the LORD relented; for intercession can appeal not to the deserving of those we plead for but to their inability to stand, their smallness and need of mercy, and God is moved by such pleas, ready to relent in mercy, so that when we plead for others in their weakness we do not plead in vain but appeal to a God who hears intercession and relents, showing mercy to the small and weak who are pleaded for.

Lord, when the prophet Amos is shown visions of coming judgment on his people, he does not simply accept them; he intercedes, pleading with you for mercy, and you relent. Lord GOD, forgive, I beg you, Amos cries; how could Jacob stand? For he is small. He appeals not to the people's merit, which was lacking, but to their weakness and smallness, their inability to stand under such judgment; and on this ground he pleads for mercy. And you relented concerning this: It shall not be, says the LORD. Amos's intercession, appealing to the smallness and weakness of those he pleaded for, moved you to relent. Show me the ground of Amos's plea, and your response. Amos does not appeal to the people's righteousness, which was not there; he appeals to their weakness: how could Jacob stand, for he is small. He pleads for them precisely on the ground of their inability to bear the judgment. And you relent: it shall not be. This tells me two things. First, that intercession can appeal not to merit but to weakness, pleading for others on the ground of their need of mercy rather than their deserving of it. And second, that you are ready to relent, to show mercy in response to such intercession. Take that to my heart, for I can intercede for the weak by appealing to their weakness, and you are ready to relent in mercy. When I plead for others under trouble, I can feel I have no ground to stand on, no merit to appeal to; but Amos pleaded on the ground of their very weakness, and you relented. Keep me from thinking I must plead the merit of those I intercede for; help me appeal, Lord, as Amos did, to their weakness and need, trusting that you are ready to relent in mercy, as you relented when Amos pleaded, how could Jacob stand, for he is small.