Cease, I Beseech You Amos 7:5

As Amos the prophet continued to share concerning the judgments against the people of Israel, he told them not only would the LORD “raise up grasshoppers” but also “contend by fire” against them. The “grasshoppers” or “locusts” would devour their crops, and the “supernatural fire” or drought would devastate them. In chapter seven and verse five of his prophesy, Amos make another appeal to the LORD to “cease” from His pending judgment where we read:

Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech you: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

The verse begins, “Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech you:” Amos began with the words, “Then said I” which means “Amos uttered, proclaimed and declared”, “O Lord GOD” which refers to “the title spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence who is the divine ruler and judge”, “cease” or “stop, desist, forego, leave off and undone, and to forbear”, “I beseech you” which means “Amos implored, asked and begged God”. After considering the pronouncement that “the Lord GOD” “called to contend by fire” or “drought” which would “devour the great deep”, Amos begged the LORD to “forego” and “leave off” the judgment He determined upon “Jacob”.

The verse goes on to say, “by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.” Amos continued, “by whom shall Jacob” which means “heel holder or supplanter” and was “the son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham and father of the twelve patriarchs of the tribes of Israel” “arise” which means “rise or stand up to become powerful”? “for he is small” which means “young, insignificant and unimportant”? Once again Amos made the appeal to God to seek how Israel would ever recover from destruction because of its size.

When we consider these words of Amos, we admire Amos' appeals to God. Though the LORD pronounced great judgment upon Israel, Amos asked Him to “forgive” and “cease” from His determined punishment. Amos' prayer becomes not only a model of intercessory prayer for us, but also a deeper look into the process of appealing to the LORD. God wants to hear our prayers, and He is waiting to respond to them as we come to Him in Jesus' name. Jesus came to give us access to our Holy God, and without Him, none of us could come “boldly unto the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16). May we learn from Amos' prayer, and may the LORD God remind us that He is waiting to hear our appeals to Him.

Next time we see the LORD promise “this also shall not be”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.