Ps 106:23
So
he declared he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between
the LORD and the people. He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy
them.
What Moses did here, was to intercede for his nation, to
“stand in the gap” as it is often referred to. The Hebrew word for gap means a
breach in the wall, where the defensive protection has broken down and the
enemy can enter in. God heeded the intercessory pleas of one man and spared
His nation.
The effect of one man interceding on behalf of a whole
nation is extremely powerful. Earlier in Israel’s history, when the sins of her
people were so great and numerous that God could no longer avoid pouring out
His wrath upon the nation, He looked for just one righteous man to plead
the cause of this wayward nation:
Ex 22:30 “I looked for someone who might
rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone
to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I
found no one.”
God then destroyed the nation and the temple and sent the
people into captivity. The point I want to stress here is that God was not
looking for a thousand praying men, only one.
We find our ultimate Intercessor in our Lord Jesus
Christ, Who is interceding for us day and night, standing in the gap between us
and God (Rom 8:34). Undeserved grace indeed!
The following poem (unknown author) really touched my
heart. Listen to God speaking to us:
Give me a man of God, one man/ Whose faith is master of
his mind/ And I will right ten thousand wrongs/ And bless the name of all
mankind./ Give me a man of God, one man,/ Whose tongue is touched with heaven’s
fire,/ And I will flame the darkest hearts/ With high resolve and pure desire./
Give me a man of God, one man,/ One mighty prophet of the Lord,/ And I will
give you peace on earth/ Bought with prayer and not a sword./ Give me a man of
God, one man,/ True to the vision that he sees/ And I will build your broken
shrines/ And bring the nations to their knees./ One man.
Points to ponder:
Who has God placed in our world for us to be an advocate for? Most assuredly
our family. But what about that difficult neighbour; that casual acquaintance
from the tennis club; that co-worker who is spreading all kinds of lies about
you at work; that person standing in front of you in the grocery check-out
line? God has planned for certain people to cross our paths in some way or
other, purely so that we can intercede for their deepest needs - that only He
can meet. It might just be that no one else in their lives will ever pray for
them. Are you prepared to fight for them? Are you the one?
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