The second vision Amos saw

This passage also begins with a set phrase: “The Lord God showed me.” The second vision the Lord showed Amos was a burning fire. (1) A fierce fire is spreading, threatening to dry up the water sources and wither the crops of the farmland. For the northern kingdom, this is a crisis of survival. The burning fire symbolizes the Assyrian invasion. (2) Here too, just as in the time of the locust plague in the previous vision, Amos desperately intercedes and prays that the judgment will be stopped: “Lord God, please stop! How can Jacob stand? For he is small.” (3) Again, God accepts Amos’s prayer and withdraws the approaching threat. As it says, “The Lord relented of this. ‘This too shall not be,’ said the Lord God.”

The power of intercessory prayer

Since God is different from humans, He does not regret or change His mind. When expressions such as “God regretted” or “God relented” appear in the Bible, they indicate that God has determined to withdraw the judgment He was about to bring if certain conditions are met. A representative example of intercessory prayer in the Old Testament is Moses’ intercession for the people of Israel (Ex. 32). In it, Moses prays as follows: “Turn from Your burning anger and relent of doing harm to Your people” (Ex. 32:12). God heard this prayer. The highest example of intercessory prayer in the New Testament is the Lord Jesus’ prayer on the cross. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:24). Through this prayer, we have been forgiven. And even now, the Lord Jesus is interceding for us. “Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:34). As those whose sins have been forgiven, let us also be made into vessels who offer intercessory prayer. The Lord is waiting for an intercessor to appear.