Intercession Instead of Judgment

This morning I felt led to read from Amos, which could be helpful to spend some time reflecting upon.  Here are the verses - Amos 7:1-8 NIV:

[1] "This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king's share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. 

[2] When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small! ” 

[3] So the Lord relented. “This will not happen,” the Lord said. 

[4] This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. 

[5] Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small! ” 

[6] So the Lord relented. “This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said. 

[7] This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. [8] And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos? ” 

“A plumb line, ” I replied. 

Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer."

I have always loved this combining of prophecy, visions and intercession.  It appears to me that Lord was inviting Amos into a place of intimacy, a place where He showed Amos what He could, what He might have planned, in part to see how Amos responded.  Amos could have thanked God that He wasn't a sinner like the rest of Jacob, and called down the judgment good and hard, thinking that was God's heart, but instead Amos cried for mercy!  

This reminded me of the time when Abraham was pleading for mercy for Sodom found in Genesis 18:22-32 NIV:

[22] "The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. [23] Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? [24] What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? [25] Far be it from you to do such a thing---to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 

[26] The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake. ” 

[27] Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, [28] what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?” 

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.” 

[29] Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?” 

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.” 

[30] Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” 

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 

[31] Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” 

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.” 

[32] Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” 

He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” 

Both of these instances we find men interceding to God for the sake of those who appeared under God's judgment, and we find God seeming to encourage this.  I believe this is because God is, in part, testing their heart, seeing if their heart resembles His.  When God revealed Himself to Moses this is how He described Himself, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, [7] maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7 NIV).  While judgment and justice are found in God, He sees Himself first and foremost as compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.  

Is God looking for a people today that represent Him and that are willing to press into Him for His mercy and compassion?  

In the chapter before in Genesis, God says something to Moses that is significant - Exodus 33:19 NIV: And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."  

Sometimes in our fervor, we can embrace words of judgment, and join in calling down judgment on those sinful people and nations, but I think this is dangerous ground.  We don't understand God's mind, and heart, but we can glimpse them, and these two instances, at least, show us a God who is welcoming  someone to call out His mercy and compassion, not His judgment!  

What would the Church look like if instead of joining in agreement with the judgments that are being proclaimed in our day, we instead rose up an intercessory cry for mercy and compassion?  What would happen if the Body of Christ sought out places that were seemingly under God's judgment and went and lived there that there might be righteous people found there (taking a different approach to the negotiations of Abraham)?  What if the Church become known for our cries for mercy and compassion, or become known for our identification with and mercy and compassion towards the lost and sinners? 

We know that God didn't sit in judgment of the world, instead He came to the world, interceded for us and saved us! (John 3:16-17).  Oh that the Church would embrace that same heart for intercession, running in a standing in the gap (Ezek 22:30), rather than standing afar and calling down judgment!  I am reminded of a couple of verses from Paul's letter to the Romans 8:33-34 NIV:

[33] "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. [34] Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died---more than that, who was raised to life---is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

Amen and Amen!  Let us join with Him in interceding for our world!