By Angelo Achuil
Dec 21, 2020(Nyamilepedia) – A certain man took his family to a far away country. He gave them a good land and showed them the way they should live to prosper and then left when they were of age. After some years, his twelve sons and daughters began breaking bad; stopped working and joined strange company. The once wonderful children turned into profanity, lying, stealing, fornication, prostitution, alcohol, drugs, violence or any imaginable crime they could get their hands on.
All of them just could not help stopping their wild living except only two of them – a middle sister and their youngest brother. They later have their younger brother betrayed and choked to death by other gangs because of his alleged constant annoyance – always condemning their actions and reporting them to their father. Upon hearing this, the father was heartbroken and had the remaining and only good daughter taken away from among them lest they have her killed also over her non-cooperation in their evil dealings.
No sooner their good sister was taken away and they were so happy thinking they would be free from rebuke and grief, a fight broke out between them and other gangs and many of the brothers were killed, some escaped into other lands and their properties taken away from them.
They knew not that the justice of innocent blood or any kind of justice on earth does not grow old and won’t rest “until it rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Amos 5:24
We know that the Bible is the ultimate of all books though there be many clamoring to be so. The Bible has a way of not only detailing out origin but also mapping out and predicting the end of all things from the very beginning. The main problem is that not enough people are reading or listening to it for either fear, lack of knowledge or sheer neglect assuming it’s unimportant.
The Bible has consistent history of defeating powerful forces who seek its demise and humiliate those claiming to be wise by challenging its prophecies or make them of none effect. “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent” 1Cor 1:19 because behind these words is one “who is able to bring low those who walk in pride” Dan 4:37. The Bible is the word of God incorruptible regardless of the failing and vice of mankind down the ages.
There are staggering evident of the bible as reliable as can be about life on earth – one such example is a dream God gave to a monarch called Nebuchadnezzar around 500 BC. The details are recorded in the Bible (Daniel 2: 1-49). The interpretation of the dream turned out to be one of the most detailed outlines of the world history (namely world powers) from over 2500 years ago until when Jesus shall return to earth as King (symbolized by stone). This is to clear all doubts that regardless of how crazy or chaotic world history flows, every person, every country history has its place in the greater scheme of things.
Many people in position of entrusted power tend to think that God is somehow not aware or at least not interested in the use of that conferred power but each always gets to know at his/her own pace “That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He will. And He sets up over it the lowest of men.” Dan 4:17
If there is anything Genesis 7; Gen 19; and 4 chapters of Jonah have common is that God’s mercy over sinful life has its limits before punishing it. What many people and especially world leaders seem not to know is that all people or towns living everywhere owe their existence to the just ones among them. Their lives continue due to the credit of the righteous people living among them despite the ignorant multitude taking life for granted – and the just always interceding for the greater population who each seems to think that their actions does not affect the rest. But God treat the earth as a classroom or a household and therefore very connected either for good or evil.
In other words, if there are good people whose daily deeds please God, however few (salt of the earth) they positively seasons the vile multitude as salt seasons tasteless food.
They who grieve and intercede day and night over foolery over their land serve as small flickers of light showing the way (light of the world) in thick darkness– God would allow more time for such people to learn from the good ones so as to repent and be the light themselves – see Gen 18:22-32
But if the just people are outnumbered by the unjust and righteousness totally trampled upon by the unrighteous ones, then it becomes senseless to allow more time for such situation to exist since repentance is no longer a possible expectation. (I heard a nice biblical exposition on this and couldn’t get enough of it).What remains then is only events of reproach for God will not accept eradication of righteousness from the earth. Mankind did not create the earth and must not be allowed to constantly frustrate God’s forbearance. God will do whatever he possibly can to spare his people but he also reserves the right to clean and start over again.
The story above of God and Abraham showed that God was not going to destroy the town of Sodom if least 10 righteous ones were to be found living among them. It later turned that only 4 and later minus 1 were righteous by God’s standard (see MT 7:12) and the town of Sodom, Gomorrah and their surrounding villages have to destroyed. But the good ones were preserved by his power. There is always a remnant as God always saves his own when punishing the disobedient!
The same happened earlier in Gen 6 – 7 when the whole world became bad by God’s standard, it was so bad that the world has to be cleaned by water and only 8 people were rescued out of thousands if not millions who did not deserve to exist. “To disobeying ones, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, an ark having been prepared, into which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.” 1 Pet 3:20 or “As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, in like manner to these, committing fornication, and going away after other flesh, laid down an example before-times, undergoing vengeance of everlasting fire.” Jude 1:7
In the later narrative of Jonah, son of Amittai centuries after Lot, similar predicament faced another booming foreign Assyrian capital of Nineveh. They were given about 40 days to turn around from their misdeeds or lose all they have and perish.
“And Jonah began to enter a day’s journey into the city. And he cried out and said, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overturned! (Jonah 3:4).
But unlike Sodomites who reviled Lot’s good example, the town of Nineveh counted the cost, heeded the message and measured up. They have heard about the kind of things God of Israel was capable of doing and were wise enough to act differently.
“And the men of Nineveh believed in God, and they called a fast and put on sack clothes, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.” (vs 5).
Any place or people anywhere on earth where there is right doing or actions, prosperity is inevitable for “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a shame to any people.” Prov 14:34. And by the same token, with wrong doing poverty and violence is inescapable as justice will fight back to survive. If South Sudan can turn to God and each stop his wrongdoing, we may escape more harms but if we refuse to learn our lesson and promote the just ones and their cause, we are then headed toward the prick. “If you will only obey me, you will eat the good things the land produces. But if you defy me, you are doomed to die. I, the LORD, have spoken.” Is 1:19-20
It is because of this no-nonsense position of the bible that many people put their trust in the bible and live within its parameters. The main objective is to side with God, enjoy good conscience and avoid his wrath which usually follow the spirit of disobedience or accursed things. There is this popular beliefs that “people are inherently good” and that since “God is love and will not destroy people” or make them go to hell. But that’s contrary to stories of decimation above and also based on Rom 3:23 orJn 3:36; these assertions are not only outrageous but also dangerous as they make people stay comfortable in their wrongdoing and frustrate all attempts for repentance which is precious in God’s eyes. “You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you” Prov 28:13
The author is a concerned citizen of South Sudan. He can be reached via: achuil7k@gmail.com.
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