Daily Devotions
Amos
"The Lord GOD called for conflict by fire"
Text: Amos 7:4
THE SECOND VISION
The second vision was just as formidable as the first vision of locusts. Amos would once again need to play the role of an intercessor.
“Thus the Lord GOD showed me:
Behold, the Lord GOD called for conflict by fire, and
it consumed the great deep and devoured the territory.”
Amos 7:4
1. “Then the Lord GOD showed me”
a) Once again God revealed to Amos what He would do.
b) This was the second vision given to Amos.
2. What was the purpose of this prophetic vision
a) The following things may be noted.
i) It revealed the seriousness of the problem of sin in Israel.
ii) It was so serious that God was going to pronounce judgment on the land.
iii) A vision of a conflict by fire was shown to depict how God would judge the nation.
b) But there was also hope when God revealed His plans in a vision.
i) Hope lay in the response of Amos.
ii) Hope lay in the intercessory prayer that Amos could offer.
iii) God may yet hear the prayer of a fervent intercessor.
3. Great intercessors
a) Moses was a great intercessor.
b) Samuel was a great intercessor too.
c) So was Elijah.
Israel was spared time and again because of the intercessory prayers of these great servants of God. Would Amos be a great intercessor too?
4. “Conflict by fire”
a) Fire was a symbol of great devastation.
b) Conflagrations are huge fires that can devour acres and acres of land.
c) If this was the conflict that God would bring on Israel, then the land would truly be devastated.
Amos saw the vision that the Lord God had shown him. He understood its potential significance! He felt a great sense of need to intercede for Israel. And pray he did, with great fervour and the utmost sense of urgency!