The Twelve Golden Chariots -By Pius Adesanmi

Pius Adesanmi

And King Irahub answered: “Great is thine faithfulness Jehovah Lord my God. I have obeyed thy command and destroyed all the riches of King Jona in the palace but I saved only the twelve golden chariots that I may travel in them to foreign lands; that I may see them daily and praise thee and offer sacrifices and burnt offerings to thee my Lord and God.”

And it came to pass that Jehovah heard the supplication of the people of Sodom and caused King Jona’s throne to be eaten by worms. King Jona, who was of the tribe of the fishermen to the south of the great river, had been raised to the throne by Jehovah so that his people may partake of the bounties of the throne which the tribe of the cattle rearers to the north of the great river hath considered a birth right.

And Jehovah had saith to the man called Jona, “thou hast found favour in mine sight and unto thee I have granted the throne of Sodom that your people may stop fishing and partake of the bounties of the black gold which they produce for the benefit of the other tribes in the land of Sodom. When thou sitteth on the throne in the city by the rock, I bid thee to cleanse the land of pestilence and abomination and corruption for great are the sins of the land of Sodom. The Sodomites have all sinned and fallen short of my glory.”

And the man called Jona did obeisance and fell on his face and saith unto Jehovah: “my Lord and my God, I have found favour with thee. Be it done to me according to thine will. I will take over the throne of the land of Sodom and bring forth righteousness to the land. I will rid the land of pestilence and abomination and corruption.”

And the man called Jona set forth for the city by the rock and came into the glory of the throne according to the will of Jehovah. And there was great rejoicing in the land. And King Jona brought forth all the warriors from among his people in the tribe of the fishermen to the south of the river and saith unto them: “lo, we have come into the inheritance of the throne of Sodom which the cattle rearers hath sustained for generations which our black gold. Jehovah has asked me to sit on this throne and drive pestilence and corruption away from the land of Sodom. I beseech thee, are the words of Jehovah right in thine eyes?”

And a great anger came upon the warriors from the tribe of the fishermen. And their leader, a fiery warrior named Asarius, rent his garment in anger and saith to King Jona: “for fifty years we have suffered the injustice of our taskmasters from the tribe of the cattle rearers in the north. Now that we have the throne of Sodom, it is not meet that we remain fishermen and cleaners of pestilence from the land. Make us fishers of shekels.” And all the warriors screamed in in support of Asarius their leader: “King Jona, makes us moneychangers!”

And King Jona’s wife, Queen Fakarius, beseeched the king to listen to the warriors. Whereupon King Jona said to the assembled warriors: “I have heard your wise words. I will cast aside the will of Jehovah and make thee fishers of shekels. I will make of thee moneychangers. But seeing as we do not have enough moneychangers in the land of Sodom, go forth and bring all the moneychangers in the land of Gomorrah to come and join thee and I will grant thee all the Temples in the land as thine inheritance”.

And there was great rejoicing in the palace. And they drank wine and slaughtered the fatted calf and made merry. And King Jona saith unto himself: “lo, King Eborius from the tribe of the merrymakers to the west hath only eight golden chariots for travel when he ruled this land. King Yaddie who came after him inherited the eight golden chariots and added one chariot unto it to make nine. Seeing that I must visit King Ahasuerus of Persia and all the other Kings of the earth, it is meet that I buy more golden chariots for travel”.

And King Jona brought the number of golden chariots in the palace to twelve. And there was hunger and corruption and pestilence in the land even as the moneychangers from Gomorrah moved to Sodom and took over all the temples and feasted with King Jona and Queen Fakarius.

And the anger of Jehovah was greatly kindled against King Jona. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the people to King Jona’s transgression and they yearned for an upright King. And there was a tall lean man called Irahub from the tribe of the cattle rearers to the north. Irahub was known all over the land of Sodom as a righteous man. And Jehovah caused him to go all over the land of Sodom, saying to the people: “see as King Jona alone rides twelve golden chariots for travel to other lands whereas you walk on thine feet and die of hunger. Make me King and I will change the ways of the palace of Sodom.”

And the people listened and Jehovah hearkened and sent worms to eat the throne of King Jona. And Irahub was crowned King of Sodom even as the disgraced King Jona went to congregate with wild beasts in the land of the Masai. And there was great rejoicing in the land of Sodom for there was much enthusiasm for the new King Irahub.

And days passed.

And nights passed.

And the twelve golden chariots remained in the palace.

And Jehovah came calling to see how King Irahub was faring. And Jehovah was moderately pleased with the beginnings of King Irahub for great was the destruction caused by the former King Jona. And Jehovah noticed that the Temple was cleaner for the moneychangers had been driven away. Some returned to the rivers of the south to become fishermen again. Some met with sickness and hurried to foreign lands to seek cure. Some beseeched the elders and invited them to disturb the land with peace. Some wailed. And Jehovah asked King Irahub: “I am pleased with thine imperfect beginnings but pray, what hast thou done with the obscene riches of the former King Jona in the palace?”

And King Irahub answered: “Great is thine faithfulness Jehovah Lord my God. I have obeyed thy command and destroyed all the riches of King Jona in the palace but I saved only the twelve golden chariots that I may travel in them to foreign lands; that I may see them daily and praise thee and offer sacrifices and burnt offerings to thee my Lord and God.”

And Jehovah saith unto King Irahub: “I have more delight in obedience than in sacrifices and burnt offerings. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Before the one hundredth hour of thine reign, thou shalt cast away the twelve golden chariots of King Jona and move around the world with more humble means according to the wish of thine people. Knowest thou not that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a King with twelve golden chariots to enter into my kingdom?”

And great sadness is come upon King Irahub for King Jona’s twelve chariots were beautiful. And as the one hundredth hour of the reign of King Irahub cometh, the people of Sodom held their breath in anticipation.

Will King Irahub sell the twelve golden chariots?