And the Lord Relented
Seek the LORD and Live • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsGod Cares for His People, Even in His Judgment of their Sins
Notes
Transcript
Reading: Amos 7:1-9
1 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.
2 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!”
3 The Lord relented concerning this: “It shall not be,” said the Lord.
4 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land.
5 Then I said, “O Lord God, please cease! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!”
6 The Lord relented concerning this: “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
7 This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.
8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;
9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Pray
Picture yourself standing before God’s throne in heaven. The scene itself must be breath-taking. Listen to how Isaiah describes it:
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
John also sets the scene for us in Revelation. After just delivering Christ’s words to the seven churches in modern-day Turkey, John’s vision thrusts him directly into the presence of God. He sees God seated on his throne - his appearance is like precious stones and he is surrounded by this rainbow that looked like an emerald.
Oh, the power of God on display! The flashes of lightening and thunder must have been exhilarating and terrifying at the same time! The sea of glass like crystal must have reflected the divine light all over the throne room!
And God is not the only being in this throne room - creatures hard to describe and even harder for us to picture constantly sing his praises. Surrounding God’s throne were 24 other thrones, each occupied by an elder clothed in white and wearing a golden crown. But they don’t wear those crowns long: soon they throw them all down at the feet of God while declaring his worthiness to receive all the glory, all the honor, and all the power.
Can we just for one moment picture ourselves right there before God’s throne?
When you pray, when you talk to God and listen to him in the sweet hour of prayer, think of being in that place, interacting with the God on that throne. When you feel the Spirit of God prompting you to take some course of action, remember that the same God who is prompting you is the God whom all those elders and creatures continually praise and worship. When you open the Word of God, find yourself in his heavenly temple, hearing the words on the page directly from his lips.
We don’t know for sure that Amos has any vision of God’s throne room - but make no mistake that Amos knew the nature of God. Even though he didn’t have the visions of Isaiah and John like we do, he still knew the “terrible majesty” of God. So when God shows him these visions, Amos is fully aware that God is able to do them, and that he is fully justified to do them.
Let’s look now at the visions God showed Amos.
1 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.
Look first at who is showing Amos this vision: it’s the Lord GOD. Lord is an old English word that means “master,” and GOD is YHWH, the “I AM” name of God. He is Master YHWH. This name is one of the prophets’ favorites - I counted about 282 times in 278 verses that God is called “Master YHWH.” Amos uses this name 6 times in these 9 verses.
What does that tell us? God is Master - he is the one in charge. When we assume his authority over our lives, we forget that ultimately he is on the throne. Sin is the inevitable result of having the wrong person on the throne of our hearts. If God is to be our salvation, he must be our Master YHWH. He alone must occupy the throne. He will not give his glory to another.
And the visions that Master YHWH shows his prophet are terrifying visions of judgment. The first here in verse 1 is a devastating plague of locusts. They arrive quickly, tearing up all vegetation within sight. Without warning and without any way of stopping them, these insects bring Israel to its knees.
Before moving on, picture that kind of devastation. If you have ever been in farm country, you know the picture of how massive farms must be. To feed so many people, you need tons of acreage and loads of crops. Imagine the vast areas of Nebraska or Iowa, wiped out in hours. Imagine the empty produce sections in stores across the land. Imagine the layoffs at food factories that make cereals, snacks, and frozen meals. There’s nothing growing - it’s all destroyed. Imagine the famine that results. This is a terrifying picture of judgment.
The second vision is no less horrible:
4 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land.
Again, note the name: “Master YHWH.” But this judgment is not locusts - it’s fire. The blaze starts abroad and sweeps through the Promised Land, charring everything in its wake.
One needs only turn on the news to see what an uncontrollable fire can do. This judgment, as well, is utterly devastating. No wonder Amos responds the way he does:
2 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!”
5 Then I said, “O Lord God, please cease! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!”
When you speak an imperative to someone, that is a command. “Go,” “Stay,” and “Clean up this mess” are all commands. Imperatives denote that you are in charge and that other person must obey. The words “forgive” in verse 2 and “cease” in verse 5 are both imperatives. But you don’t command God - he’s in charge! That’s why “please” is here. He doesn’t say “please;” that’s not there in the Hebrew. He is begging God to forgive. He is begging God to stop. It’s an entreaty, like the sinner in Jesus’ parable who goes to pray in the temple and beats his chest, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” He’s begging, entreating God for his mercy. So too is Amos, begging for God’s forgiveness, begging for God’s restraint.
And he points to Israel as “small.” There’s no way Israel (“Jacob”) can withstand such a total judgment. Like a small child that cannot fend for itself, we look at the culture around us and we too beg God for mercy. “God, please - I beg you! Forgive us! Withhold your wrath! How can we survive such a fate!”
You do pray for God to withhold judgment and give grace, right? We all need that grace.
What strikes me most is God’s response:
3 The Lord relented concerning this: “It shall not be,” said the Lord.
6 The Lord relented concerning this: “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
That word relented we will talk about in just a moment, but in both of these first two visions, God says, “This will not happen.” God grants the grace that Amos pleads for. When we stand before God and know his judgment is coming, we must intercede for our land. We have the promise that God will always do what is right, and we should entreaty God to give grace that we might glorify him by proclaiming truth and seeking to turn others to him. That’s part of why you’re still here. God didn’t save you just to have you; he saved you that you might proclaim him to others:
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Now let’s look at this phrase in verses 3 and 6: “the Lord relented.” This word may be translated “repented” in your version. It is almost exclusively used of God. The idea of repentance for us is different than for God. When we repent, it’s because we sinned and are turning away from that sin toward God. It is a recognition that we are wrong and we deserve punishment, we deserve death. We turn away from our sin and trust in the saving power of Jesus Christ, who lived a sinless life, died bearing our sin, was buried in a tomb and arose on the third day just as the Scriptures said. That’s man’s repentance.
God’s repentance has nothing to do with sin. He is perfect and holy - he does not sin. But sometimes, the method God uses to exercise his own glory changes. Sometimes, he judges sin in one way. Sometimes, he chooses another. In all his judgments, God is perfect.
Here’s what I think is going on: I think God is hearing the prayer of Amos. He is right to judge Israel for their sins, but this prophet is begging for mercy. He looks at his own people, his chosen Israel, with compassion and pity. Rather than judging them with locusts or with fire, God determines that he will turn from those methods and choose another way to judge their sins.
That other way is the third vision:
7 This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.
8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;
9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Make no mistake: God must judge sin. He will not let sin run ramped. He cannot. His purpose will be fulfilled and he will be glorified. But part of his purpose is us - we stand, pleading to God for our families, for our co-workers, for our community, for our nation, for our world. We take his name all around us, pleading to others for their repentance from sin and trust in Christ. That’s the role of the church. That’s how we see God relent.