The books that became the Bible were originally written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. After years of study, I can now pick my way through the original Greek text but don’t accuse me of being fluent. Unlike my older brother, who sleep-talked in German in college (he was studying it then), I don’t dream in Greek and only use it when I’m fully awake exploring a theological point. So why would I wake up with a Greek word— Ekeinos—ringing in my ears? (I’ll explain below the phrase’s import.)
And why would Esther 4:14 pop into my head?
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this? (NAS, emphasis added)
Before we go on, please don’t think I’m one of those people who puts much stock in dream study. Even if I dream intensely, when I wake up, I’m aware that I dreamed, but within a very short time, it vanishes. I suspect many of you can identify with this. But this time, the memory was intense. On these rare occasions, I ask God to help me understand.
During the reign of King Saul, God told him to utterly destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:2ff). Saul disobeyed this order. The prophet Samuel had to kill King Agag of Amalek himself.
Fast forward a few hundred years. The Jews had been taken to captivity in Babylon and were later freed to return home to Judea. Some stayed and lived under Persian rule, which is where the story of Esther (and Purim) fit. The villain in this story was “Haman the Agagite.” He managed to get a royal decree to kill all the Jews on a set date. An Amalekite had survived the divinely decreed judgment, and his descendant saw an opportunity for revenge.
Jewish Queen Esther’s uncle Mordecai gets word to Esther of what’s coming. She hesitates to go to King Ahasuerus to plead for the Jews because walking in on him uninvited while he was engaged in royal business could cost her life. Mordecai answers in the verse I quoted above. She was put in her position “for a time such as this.” The Jews are saved, Haman’s neck gets stretched, and the last of the Agagites are eliminated.
(From here on I’m using the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew original, the Septuagint.) Two things stand out in this story. Esther’s uncle rhetorically asks her if “this” coming moment (τοῦτοj – near demonstrative pronoun) is her moment in history. evkei/noj is the far demonstrative – “that one,” not “this one.” And then it hit me.
Esther was looking forward to an immediate action she had to take in “this moment.” Donald Trump appears to have been brought to mind for “that” moment (looking back) when the bullet pierced his ear. Remembering that I am human and fallible, I submit that certain things make sense here.
First, there are only two possible explanations for Trump’s near miss: blind luck and divine providence. It wasn’t a staged event. There’s no way to disprove blind luck, but given the fact that his head had to be in a specific position in space for the exact 0.0002 seconds for the bullet to pass, the odds are probably too long to even estimate.*
But a God who is infinitely capable could foresee the proper movements and be certain to have the President move exactly where he needed to move exactly when he needed to move. Trump would almost certainly be unaware of the divine means at play in the moment. It is only after the fact that he can understand that he was saved from the Valley of the Shadow of Death in “that moment” by Almighty God. The virtually impossible (by human standards) protection makes it clear to those who have eyes to see that it was God’s hand on him in that moment.
The nattering nabobs of negativism on the Left poo-poo any suggestion that Trump is truly a Christian. But when Dr. Phil asked him if he would forgive those who had done such evil to him, 45 demonstrated a more sophisticated Christianity than many seminary professors. “I’d like to be able to.” Donald Trump understood that his forgiveness requires repentance on the part of the wrongdoer. Trump was willing and able to forgive, but true forgiveness would have to wait.
Being a Christian, loyal to YHWH, is somewhat different from being a Christian who has been protected by the divine hands in a way that offers no other answer. They’re both Christians, but the latter has a much deeper personal appreciation for the divine. We saw that in Trump’s acceptance speech. It seemed to say that he’s done with mean tweets. He’s now totally focused on the mission YHWH gave to the fallen elohim in Psalm 82.
2 How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah.
3 Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82:2-4 NAS)
The Swamp has set itself up as the ultimate authority over everything in everyone’s lives. Donald Trump is an existential threat to its evil. But this time, he’s not coming in as a roaring Lion. He’s coming as a servant of YHWH, fully committed to the divine mission of showing true justice to those who have been harmed. His task is to eliminate the Amalekites in government so that we can live free.
Donald Trump has already shown that what happens to him does not matter. Rather, it is what happens to us that animates him. He has literally pledged “his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor” to America. And, as John Wesley said,
“Until my work on this earth is done, I am immortal. But when my work for Christ is done … I go to be with Jesus.”
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*Do the math. His head is about eight inches from forehead to occiput. The bullet is traveling about 3,000 feet per second.
Todd Schowalter Productions.
Ted Noel MD is a retired physician who podcasts and posts on social media as DoctorTed and @vidzette. His “Doctor Ted’s Prescription” podcast is available on most podcast outlets. He is a great-grandfather, pilot, golfer, shooter, and “Papa fix” who is conversant in many scientific, legal, and political disciplines. His greatest skill is critical thinking.
Jesus Christ is King
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