JONAH’S KIND OF REPUTATION, OUR STUMBLING BLOCK
Jonah 4:3(KJV)
Before we start this cruise, let me tell you a very fascinating and pertinent
story – The story is about a well-known, respected, powerful and anointed man
of God, who has been used by God to wrought mighty miracles. Together with his
team they planned a crusade in one of the remotest village which is noted for
having a powerful witch doctor who has charmed and captivated the whole town
with his supernatural powers.
This witch doctor was feared and also well respected
in the community. However, the sudden news of the arrival of the man of God for
his planned crusade got to the attention of this witch doctor and he saw this
as chance to prove the superiority of his powers to everybody as well as
maintain his spiritual caliphate over the village.
As expected, the man of God and his team arrived at the village and
began to pray in preparation towards their impending crusade. His arrival and preparation
ushered in a spiritual battle between the man of God and his team on one hand and the witch
doctor on the other; having noticed that, the fasting and preparation of the man of God and his
team was having an adverse effect on his supposed powers; he then decide to
fight back by throwing charm at the man of God and his team.
However, after all his
effort to distract, frustrate and attack the man of God and his team yield no positive result, the witch doctor decide to go for higher power by consulting
a superior deity. After fortified himself by contacting this superior deity,
the witch doctor came back to the village some few days before the crusade. Again, his frustration and annoyance was escalated when his attacks on the man of God
and his team with his newly acquired superior powers proved futile.
He then
resorted to spreading rumors in the town regarding the genuineness of the man
of God and his team; he even went to the extent of spreading this lies in every
nook and cranny of the village, so as to frustrate the crusade and still
maintain his reputation as the person with the most powerful powers in the
village.
When he noticed that this plan has also failed, he decided to assassinate
the man of God on the day of the crusade. So he decided that when the man of God he mounts the platform to preach, he will position
himself at mountainous location by the crusade site. Having his diabolically planned this, the
witch doctor got his gun and gunpowder ready for this assignment.
On the day of the crusade, the whole village gathered at the crusade
ground to listen to the good news that man of God has for them. After much
prayers and singing, the man of God mounted the platform to preach and wrought
miracles as usual. Noticing this, the witch doctor also positioned himself
properly at his planned obsecure location to fire a bullet at the man of God.
Strangely,
some few minutes into his sermon, the cloud gathered and started threatening to
rain. Having noticed the threatening of the rain to this all important crusade,
the man of lifted his voice and commanded the rain to stop; however, on the contrary and
to the disappointment of the man of God, the heavens opened and poured out
heavy rain and brought the crusade to an abrupt end. The man of God felt let
down by God, and the fact that his reputation as one of the powerful preachers
has been dented.
Having felt let down by God and disgraced, he began to cry out
to God without any hope, he doubted the existence and fairness of God and he
eventually took to drinking. On one of his drinking spree, the man of God got himself
so drunk at a drinking spot in the village, and he finally met the witch doctor
in person at the drinking bar. To his surprise the witch doctor went down on
his knee in front of him and told him of all his attacks against them prior to
the crusade.
And the fact that he had actually planned to kill him when he mounts the platform to
preach; he told him how had gotten his gun and gunpowder ready to shoot him on the very day and how all of a sudden the torrential rain ruined his assassination attempts on
the man of God’s life. The witch doctor said he has now realized that the man
of God and his team serve a true God and want to also serve this God.
Just like how the renowned preacher ditched God, after having felt let
down by God when the rain ended his crusade, Jonah also refused to heed to the
instruction of God to go preach to the people of Nineveh. Jonah knew that when
he preach the judgement of God on Nineveh and they repent, God will forgive
them and that will put him in the bad spot as if he was a prophet of doom, he
knew that God’s ultimate reaction to the repentance of the people might dent
his so called reputation in the eyes of men according to the accounts in
Jonah 1:1-3(KJV) “ Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise,
go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is
come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of
the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he
paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish
from the presence of the LORD.” And Jonah (KJV) 4:1-4 (KJV) “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and
he was very angry.
And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was
yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful,
slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore
now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. Then said the LORD,
Doest thou well to be angry?” Jonah felt his reputation was dented when his
prophetic declaration that clearly outlined God’s impending judgement on the
town and the people of Nineveh never came to pass according to “
Jonah 3:3-10(KJV) “So
Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now
Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to
enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days,
and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and
proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the
least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his
throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
And he caused it to be proclaimed and published
through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither
man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink
water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto
God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that
is in their hands. Who can tell
if God will turn and repent,
and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their
works,that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that
he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”
Just like
the experience the man of God had in the village, Jonah felt let down by God in
the eyes of men. Many of us have also felt let down by God at some point in our
faith journey and this has made some of resist and still resisting the conviction
that God has place in your heart to carry out a particular assignment; we have
resolved not to submit to the will and direction of God because of our
reputation. We have come to assume that submitting to the will of God amount to
ridicule, attack, insult and sometimes threat on our lives.
But that is also how Jonah and the man of God in the story also felt. But one truth I come to believe in is that, faith in God, goes beyond our feelings - sometimes
we do not feel like God is there, but He is right beside us; sometimes we also do
not feel like God is fair, but he is very very very fair. I just want to end
here, and continue next week with the sub-topic -
“WHAT IS JONAH’S KIND OF REPUTATION”.
God
bless you for following us and reading this article. If you have any questions
or comments you can live it below, or you can also send me an email via- wisafawubo@gmail.com or send me a
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