Amos - The God Of Justice - Preach The Word

THE GOD OF JUSTICE
David Legge
Well, what did Amos do? He interceded, he went to God. When he saw this plague of
locusts in a vision, he cried out to the Lord, verse 2: ''O Lord GOD, forgive, I pray!
Oh, that Jacob may stand, for he is small!'. So the LORD relented concerning this. 'It
shall not be', said the LORD'. The role of the intercessor is intrinsic in deliverance. It is
essential in the issue of renewal and revival among God's people that there are those
who know, and persistently lay hold of God on behalf of the need. Like Queen Esther,
who interceded to King Ahasuerus of Persia on behalf of the Jews. Esther, who had
come into the kingdom for such a time as this. At times like these, times of
devastation, we need intercessors who are willing, upon peril of their life - 'If I perish,
I perish' - to go and touch the sceptre of the King on behalf of those who are about to
be slaughtered. History teaches us, not just Scripture but history, that whenever God
is going to revive His people, He moves a remnant to intercede and pray. We read in
the prophet Ezekiel 22 that in his day: 'I sought', God says, 'for a man among them
who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land' - you
see, the wall has broken down, the enemy is penetrating, but God is looking for
someone, a man or a woman, men or women, to stand in the gap that God should not
destroy the land. But God said in Ezekiel's time: 'I found none' - imagine that!
The work of intercession is essential for renewal and revival in the church. A great
biblical example of intercession is found in the patriarch Abraham. If you turn with me
to Genesis chapter 18, you will see where Abraham interceded for the wicked city of
Sodom. Genesis chapter 18, we'll not read it all, but we'll read from verse 20 down to
verse 26, Genesis 18 verse 20: 'And the LORD said, 'Because the outcry against
Sodom and Gomorrah is great'', remember we saw on Monday night that God takes
note what is happening in the nations of our world, ''The outcry against Sodom'', God
said, ''and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now
and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has
come to Me; and if not, I will know'. Then the men turned away from there and went
toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD'. If you read the book of
Jeremiah, you will see that that, in essence, is the role of the intercessor - they stand
before God. It is also the role of the prophet, standing before God to hear what God
has to say. Verse 23: 'And Abraham came near to God and said, Would You also
destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the
city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were
in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the
wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not
the Judge of all the earth do right?''. Do you see what he's doing? He is appealing to
the character of God, interceding for wicked people. He is appealing to God's justice.
Verse 26: 'So the LORD said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I
will spare all the place for their sakes'' - but you know the story, I hope. Abraham
didn't give up there. He then pleaded for the 45, and God said He would spare the
cities if there were 45 righteous. Then he appealed to the 40, then he appealed to God
for the 30, then he appealed for the 20, and then he appealed for the 10. He held
onto God for the people - that's an intercessor! A go-between.
We see it wonderfully in the patriarch Moses. We haven't got the time, but if you were
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