It is very hard to imagine any act of
nature that would be greater than a worldwide flood that occurred in the time
of Noah. The details of the story are in
the Bible (Genesis chapters 7-9). I recommend that all Bible students read the
story of Noah. The Lord wants us to know what happened and how it happened, and
relating this to our daily walk with Him, especially this COVID-19 pandemic
era.
Then God remembered Noah and every
living thing and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a
wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided (Genesis 8:1). At the due time, God sent a wind that blew
across the whole earth and caused the floodwaters to begin to recede. This
tells us about God’s authority over the forces of nature, over COVID-19, over
Ebola, over smallpox, over our finances, our families, our health, over time
and seasons. He is God above all.
Prophet TB Joshua, of the Synagogue,
Church of All Nations (SCOAN), prophesied recently on COVID-19, especially that
the pandemic would end from March 27, 2020. At this very moment, this date he
gave with the prophecy, is getting some section of the media confused and
thinking that the prophet may not be right after all. But when we read Noah's
experience with the flood, when God remembered him, and when eventually Noah
finally stepped out to the dry ground, Prophet TB Joshua may be correct.
Whenever Prophet TB Joshua is making a prophecy, we encourage that people
should always remember that at those times, he won't be Mr TB Joshua. So let us
always seek God's interpretations for our circumstances and believe His
prophets. We need the knowledge the prophets of God would provide us in this
Dark Age when people are desperate and more interested in averting economic
ruin rather than believing and obeying God's word. People of the world prefer
swallow solution/prescriptions that have worse side effects than their original
problem. This is why panic, fear and shortcuts become normal actions for many.
We don't know much about Noah's
emotions this period he was alone in the ark but the Bible described him as a
man of faith (Hebrew 11:7). With instruction from God, Noah built the ark by
faith, went in by faith, endured the ark quarantine time for over a whole year
by faith, and came out of the ark courageously by faith. God's true prophets
would speak to us in parables. The press may be critical about the prophet, but
they should appreciate him in order to get the best out of him, and building a
strong relationship with him. In Noah's day, the community probably ignored and
mocked him. But one day Noah went into the ark with his extended family and
animals. Seven days after the rain started and rained for 40 days and 40
nights. The point to note here is that it took some 150 days for the flood to
abate after God remembered Noah. Hence we mustn't lose the significant lesson
from Prophet TB Joshua's prophecy that our flood has started to abate but may
need longer time for us to get out of the ark, like in Noah's days. God may not
want us to know the exact day so that we can continue to trust and obey Him. If
we know that day the Lord of the vineyard will come, then where is the
necessity for faith?
We should learn from the story of
Noah that when affliction has done its appointed work, when COVID-19 may have
run its appointed period, it will be removed from us. Whether it be sickness or
ill fortune or bad circumstances or hateful opposition or even truly bad
weather, when God’s purposes have been served, the hard times will go away. So
Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. All the
animals and all the creatures (Genesis 8:18-19). But Noah came out gradually,
using the Raven test, the Dove test, and eventually, God ordered him out. The
rains have stopped but if we come out of the ark too soon we could still be
washed away with the floods. Noah was patient and gradual in his approach,
depending on instructions from God, and so should we. Stay safe in your homes
and ready, like Noah, to build an altar of sacrifice and worship to God at the
end.
Prof. R. A. Ipinyomi, University of
Ilorin, Nigeria.
Amen!
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