By M. U. Adikwu
Disappointments of the Prophets
The prophets of God were another disappointed group. Many were disappointed both with God and with men. Their major disappointment with God was because they knew that the power of God was awesome and as such, He should protect them from all dangers. God never did
that. On the other hand, they knew what could become of the earth if only they could convince men to follow God. All their cries were never hearkened to.
One thing about disappointment is that there must be “something” one has seen and yet unable to accomplish or get it. The prophets saw the awesome power of God. They saw what beauty could become of the earth. They saw what peace would accrue to the earth if only men followed God.
These were never to be, and has never been. Even God threatening curses upon the earth as shown Deuteronomy in 12 and 28 never changed the behavior of men. There were pockets of men in what may be called a revival that may seem to completely follow God in every generation, yet there were deviants among them. Sometimes it was just a man or two among the entire nation that were revived. This is the same in all generations.
Why it is in the nature of man to desire to disobey God, may be difficult to know, but I simply want to say that it is the nature of evil acquired during the fall of Adam. This nature is always rebellious against God since He is the overall definition of anything good. All that God wants us to be does not better His life or enhance His being God. It is all for the benefit of man, yet man behaves as if it will add something to God. We try to make God a politician so that we can vote for Him. This is horrible.
Moses could “see’ the Promised Land afar off. He could see the beauty of the land with its condiments. He could see the peace and authority the Israelites would enjoy if they settled down in the Promised Land. The Israelites saw differently. They knew only the acts of God
while Moses knew the way of God (Acts 103:7). Since they did not have the same vision with Moses it was almost practically impossible for him to lead them to the Promised Land.
All they were interested in was what God could give them now and not any future. They needed good food, enjoyment, e.t.c. and as such always remembered the cucumbers of Egypt! They were ready to be slaves if only that could be the source of their food. They could only remember what they ate.
Many of us today are like them. We prefer to be in bondage instead of being under God and have freedom. In some part of third world country beggars in the street usually inflict some form of disease upon themselves so as to be able to use that as a reason for begging. You know in the Bible; Jesus would often ask such beggars if they wanted to receive healing so as not to remove their source of livelihood. You also know the story about Paul and Silas in the Bible. They healed a lady possessed with the spirit of divination or future (fortune-)-telling, (Acts 16:16-24).
It became their source of persecution and imprisonment. The lady who was healed used her sickness (her demon possession) as a source of income for her masters. The Book of Deuteronomy was a kind of a reminder and a plea (the valedictory lecture of Moses) to Israelites so that they should not return to Egypt. I am sure at this point Moses was utterly disappointed with the Israelites.
Under Moses they knew nothing about sickness and diseases because the Bible recorded that none among them was feeble. Their clothes and sandals did not wear out.
Was Deuteronomy just a valedictory lecture? I think it was a valedictory lecture from a disappointed man to an “impossible generation” much less difficult than our own. If Phinehas, the son of Aaron, were alive now, I wonder how many people he will thrust through with his javelin (Numbers 25: 6-8). A generation that does not decipher sin from holiness can make any man to be disappointed.
Today many blame the pastors of the church. Some accuse them of obeying the slogan, “if you cannot beat them, join them.” Actually, many pastors have been caught in the web of sin because we live in a generation where sin is celebrated. I think the anointing that one needs now to live a sin-free life must be something more than what our fathers-in-the-faith had. In his own valedictory speech, Joshua could only tell the people of Israel,
“Choose this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and mine house we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15)
I also see this as a sentence of frustration from Joshua. I thank God that in his time, there was a “flood” that separated them from the gods that they served beyond the river. In our generation, there is no flood that can separate us from sin. Sin seems to be knocking on every
door, with pornographic pictures, nude women, etc. at every corner of the street. Joshua and the Israelites had a choice. No wonder, Jesus said, the time for His return has to be shortened for the sake of the elect.
Back to the issue of disappointments of the prophets; one man that was thoroughly disappointed was Saul. Saul was loved by Samuel particularly as he was chosen by God after the Israelites demanded for a king. Yet Saul misbehaved. One of the greatest things the world is suffering from today is bad leadership. The societies that are suffering from hunger, disease, war, etc., are largely due to bad leadership.
Saul, the son of Kish was a man that Samuel loved particularly as he was the one that anointed him as king of Israel. He was like his spiritual son. Moreover, not only did he anoint him as king, he was available to advise him and lead him in a godly path. Yet Saul fell to the utter disappointment of Samuel. One painful thing about the fall of Saul was that he was occupying a position that he did not even qualify for.
He was a Benjamite. I am sure he never prayed or nursed the ambition for any office like that. Only the tribe of Judah actually has the privilege of producing Israeli kings. In fact, Israel had never had a king before him. These are enough reasons for Samuel to pray and weep for Saul. It was God, Himself, who spoke to Samuel saying,
“How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided for myself a king among his sons” (1 Samuel 16:1).
I am sure God did this to tell Samuel that He was not going back on the issue of Saul. He was rejected and remained rejected. You can imagine that not only Samuel was disappointed with Saul, but God was also disappointed with him.
One other disappointment I want to quickly state about the story of Samuel in the Bible was that, God did not tell him to anoint one of his sons. God was looking for a godly man, yet that could not be found in the house of the spiritual leader of Israel to replace Saul. In fact, what
even brought Saul to the throne was that the Israelites sought for a godly king in Samuel’s house but could find none (1 Samuel 8:1-5).
For men who concentrate on the work of God at the expense of one’s family, this should ring a bell. After the era of Samuel, many people who came to the throne of Israel were very ungodly. A godly family should try as much as possible to produce seed that could replace them.
Was the issue of disappointments better with the later prophets? The answer is simply No! Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc., had their own share. The burden of disappointment was so much upon Jeremiah that he had to write his book of Lamentations. Isaiah must have seen himself as a failure when God had to advertise his job.
“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8).
This shows that God was dissatisfied with him. Isaiah must also have been disappointed when he heard that he was not performing satisfactorily on his job. Many of us are like him-filled with many activities for God yet not according to set pattern. Isaiah was not idle. He was a
prophet in Uzziah’s house until he died.
Until the “Uzziahs” in our life also die, we may never be free to do the Master’s will. Remember that after the death of Uzziah, Isaiah became a fiery preacher to a troublesome nation. He could remind them thus:
“Hear you oh house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men; but will you weary my God also?” (Isaiah 7:13).
This is a sign of complete disappointment. It seems that he knew that God was even getting tired of the nation of Israel. The story was not different for Jeremiah. Men have given him the name of the weeping prophet! Who will not weep when a nation turns its back on God? Will he not weep when he realizes the danger that faces the un-regenerated here and the hereafter? When one sees the wars, natural disasters and other calamities that are befalling our generation, all because we have turned our backs on God, who will not weep? When we hear of earthquakes that kill thousands, who will not weep? When we hear of the AIDS pandemic that has depopulated some parts of the world, who will not weep?
Jeremiah was weeping for the Israelites because he saw afar off what their leaders could not see. If there is any genuine prophet of God, today, he should be weeping all day long! Three-year olds are being raped and murdered. There are street killers in every corner. Assassins have multiplied even in regions of the world once thought to be peaceful. The entire earth is simply currently a war zone. We hear of nuclear pile-ups here and there. There is the issue of global warning ascribed largely to green houses that are unfriendly to the ozone layer. I also ascribe it to the age of the earth. The earth is aging! Creation is groaning (Romans 8: 21, 22). Yes, every aspect of creation is expected to be subjected to corruption until it is delivered (Romans 8:21). And no deliverance will come until the sons of God are delivered. With the increase in sin on the surface of the earth, deliverance is pushed further away. We should therefore, not only weep but also groan.
In fact, our generation is similar to that of Elijah. After a hot battle with the prophets of Baal, he had to declare that he was the only prophet in the land. It took the Almighty God Himself to let him know that there were 7000 prophets who had not bowed their knees to Baal (1 Kings
19). I therefore say with trembling that genuine Christianity is almost extinct from our land. There is now no difference between the sacred and the profane. There is no difference in the character and manner of Christians and the world. Let us raise our voices to God and cry for mercy for our generation.
Adikwu writes from Abuja, Nigeria, and can be reached on +2348034378988, adikwu@yahoo.com
