Last weekend, Donald J. Trump, the forty-fifth President of the U.S. spoke at a scaled down annual convention of political conservatives. Known as CPAC (Conservative Political Action Committee), the one-time president had received warm welcomes there before. Last weekend was no exception as candidate Trump was in fine form. Could this man really lead us? Is he a prophet? The hammer of God?
If you expected that a leopard can readily change its spots (Jeremiah 13:23), you were likely disappointed. Mr. Trump launched into his “me, me, me” mode, including proudful boasts (e.g., “At the end of the day, anyone else will be intimidated, bought off, blackmailed, or ripped to shreds. I alone will never retreat”) lies and misrepresentations (“. . .I won the second election, I won it by a lot . . .”) and insults to specific people by name. In his speech he noted:
When we started this journey, a journey like there has never been before, there’s never been anything like this. We had a Republican Party that was ruled by freaks, neocons, globalists, open border zealots, and fools. But we are never going back to the party of Paul Ryan, Karl Rove, and Jeb Bush.”
Elsewhere in the speech he pronounced: “People are tired of RINOs and globalists. They want to see America first.”
But what does God want? Does He prefer America first over every other nation? Does He want to build walls and close doors to suffering people? Is DJT God’s right hand man of the hour? Someone who will lead the church and the country, a role model we should all look up to?
“If DJT wins the race for the White House, he will claim victory. If he loses the race for the White House, he will claim victory. It will be January 6th all over again.”
Liberals and moderate conservatives are once again fooling themselves. They see glimmers of hope for next year’s presidential election, even though President Joe Biden seems hardly competitive or competent given his current state of health. Right of center Republicans are again predicting that Trump will not be their party’s nominee, but they are in a state of angst and hardly persuasive. Nor can you be persuasive if you are not vocal, and they are neither. Some evangelicals are being coy and holding their endorsements (for now.) The candidate is once again enmeshed in legal problems. However, all of this will once again pass and DJT will be center stage (again.) Moderate Republicans will (again) vote for Trump as the lesser of two evils. Evangelicals will “hold their noses” like they did in 2016 and 2020 and vote dutifully for Mr. Trump a third time. “After all, we’re not voting for Pope” they will tell us. In fact, how many churches and synagogues would want a leader like DJT to preside over their congregation? You would think that preserving the integrity of the Presidency of the U.S. is at least as important as the integrity of a backwater parish. If DJT wins the race for the White House in 2026, he predictably will claim victory. If he loses the race for the White House, he predictably will claim victory. It very well may be January 6th all over again; rioters smashing their way into the Capitol building, tearing doors off their hinges, trampling beaten and mortally injured police officers in the process, a mockery made of our Constitution, perhaps even worse the second time around. Where is the justice in that?!
Two individuals in history have been known as “The Hammer of God.” They are Judah Maccabee and Charles Martel.
The title “Maccabee” was given to Judah the son of Mattityahu Bar Hashmonay. (Judas Maccabeus is another way of saying Judah Maccabee.) The word “Maccabee” comes from the Aramaic word “Maqaba” and means “The Hammer.” . . . Judah Maccabee fought against the tyrannical Seleucid Greeks beginning in the year 167 BC. Centuries later, after defeating a massive Moslem army in central France, Charles the son of Pepin was called “Martel,” meaning “The Hammer” in Latin. Charles the Hammer beat back an invasion of Europe by the Muslim Empire in October 732 AD. Charles Martel defeated the Moslems at the Battle of Tours (also known as the Battle of Poitiers.)
Both Maccabeus and Martel are historical heroes but for different reasons. Mr. Trump is neither. He is neither a Judah Maccabus, nor a Charles Martel. He isn’t even a hero.
In summing up his speech to CPAC, Mr. Trump announced:
In 2016, I declared I am your voice. Today, I add I am your warrior, I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution. I am your retribution. Not going to let this happen. Not going to let it happen. I will totally obliterate the deep state.”
Who speaks that way? “I am your retribution” (vengeance?) I thought vengeance was the Lord’s (Romans 12:19ff.). Trump is our justice? I thought it was the U.S. Constitution, our laws and our court system?
We need healing in this land, not payback. We need humility, not pride and arrogance. We need to care for others and not just ourselves. We need to acknowledge our sins before God and ask for forgiveness. Is there not a single candidate for President that understands this?
I encourage everyone to vote next year. Vote like your life depended on it, because it may very well depend on it.
