The Lord Relented
The Lord Relented
Monday
“This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, ‘O Lord GOD, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!’ The LORD relented concerning this: ‘It shall not be,’ said the LORD.”
— Amos 7:1-3 (ESV)
— Amos 7:1-3 (ESV)
Reflect:
The first thing we learn about God the Judge is that He shows His judgment before He sends it. The vision comes as a warning, not as a surprise attack. God forms the locusts in plain sight, and the prophet sees them coming while there is still time to plead.
Notice what the man of God does with the warning.
He does not argue that the nation is innocent. He does not defend Israel’s record or minimize her rebellion. He simply says, “O Lord GOD, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” That is the only argument a sinner ever has before a holy God — not our merit, but His mercy. Not our size, but His heart.
And God relents. The Hebrew word here does not mean God changed His mind the way a man changes his mind after discovering new information. It means God, in perfect consistency with His own character, responded to intercession with compassion. He was never obligated to spare Israel. He spared her because He is that kind of God.
Here is what should arrest us in this moment: the warnings you have received are themselves mercies. The conviction you felt last Sunday. The Scripture that would not leave you alone at 2 a.m. The friend who loved you enough to say the hard thing. Those are locusts forming in the sky where you can see them — and God is giving you time.
The first thing we learn about God the Judge is that He shows His judgment before He sends it. The vision comes as a warning, not as a surprise attack. God forms the locusts in plain sight, and the prophet sees them coming while there is still time to plead.
Notice what the man of God does with the warning.
He does not argue that the nation is innocent. He does not defend Israel’s record or minimize her rebellion. He simply says, “O Lord GOD, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” That is the only argument a sinner ever has before a holy God — not our merit, but His mercy. Not our size, but His heart.
And God relents. The Hebrew word here does not mean God changed His mind the way a man changes his mind after discovering new information. It means God, in perfect consistency with His own character, responded to intercession with compassion. He was never obligated to spare Israel. He spared her because He is that kind of God.
Here is what should arrest us in this moment: the warnings you have received are themselves mercies. The conviction you felt last Sunday. The Scripture that would not leave you alone at 2 a.m. The friend who loved you enough to say the hard thing. Those are locusts forming in the sky where you can see them — and God is giving you time.
Consider:
What warning has God already given you that you have been treating as an inconvenience rather than a kindness?
What warning has God already given you that you have been treating as an inconvenience rather than a kindness?
Pray:
Father, thank You that You warn before You judge. Teach me to hear Your warnings as love. Give me a heart that pleads for mercy rather than argues for innocence, and make me an intercessor for the people around me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Father, thank You that You warn before You judge. Teach me to hear Your warnings as love. Give me a heart that pleads for mercy rather than argues for innocence, and make me an intercessor for the people around me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Posted in God the Judge - Amos 7
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