I have been interested in politics as far back as I can remember and followed the 1952 Republican Convention that nominated Dwight Eisenhower for President. I have watched each Convention since. But, like many, I grow weary of all the raucous voices that seem non-stop and are only amplified in an election year.
In this season I sometimes think of a story out of the life of the celebrated conductor, Sir Michael Costa (1808-1884). Costa was born in Naples, Italy but found most of his fame in England. He was also a composer.
One day during a rehearsal involving hundreds of voices in the choir and brass and winds and strings in the orchestra, the piccolo player, apparently feeling his small instrument would not be missed, simply stopped playing. Instantly Costa’s arms went up and the music stopped. Sir Michael asked, “Where is the piccolo?” The master conductor had missed the little instrument.
The Master Conductor of the Universe hears every voice and I rather think He most clearly hears the quiet voice rising above the din. I Kings 19:11-12 reads, “The Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” God sometimes speaks in a whisper as He pursues His People. Do we hear Him in the midst of all the noise and answer with a soft voice? That is a refreshing idea in an angry nation, is it not?
A friend sent me an e-mail of an article by David Limbaugh, Rush’s younger brother. He is an attorney and an exceptionally articulate individual who is a strong Christian and a serious student of Scripture. He believes that the failure of the Republican leaders in Washington, D.C. and beyond are responsible for the rise of Donald Trump as they seem unconcerned by the massive problems facing the country. Their contempt for Trump is obvious and, indirectly, they also manifest disdain for the millions of Americans who voted for him in the Primaries.
Sensible Americans of every political stripe are angered by Obama’s radicalism and counted on a Republican House and Senate to stop the President’s agenda. Instead they surrendered to Obama. No wonder ordinary and hard working Americans now suspect that the Establishment of both Parties are deaf and blind to the concerns of the citizenry in favor of maintaining their power in the nation’s capital. This goes to the heart of Angelo Codevilla’s book, The Ruling Class. His thesis is that the representatives of both Parties in D.C. are more concerned with their own power and wealth than they are with the problems of the Country Class outside the Capital City.
Along comes independently wealthy Donald Trump who identifies the problem and calls for bold action to “Make America Great Again.” No wonder the citizenry responds his call for bold action. These are people who are sick of the divisions along racial and class lines exploited by Obama. They are proud of their nation and also sick of a leader who apologizes for our way of life and blames America for world problems.
Americans are stunned that a President seems intent on directing the nation in decline and engineering a degrading of the military. Charles Krauthammer has spoken to this and appealed to the ancient Greek statesman and orator, Demosthenes, who asked by the Athenian how they could stop the decline of their City State. He said, “The best answer I can give you is to stop what you are doing now.” Donald Trump, without apology, promises to stop what is happening now.
Obama is in favor of Socialism which is failing right now in South America and Europe as it has always failed. Trump without apology is a Capitalist. The President and Democrats reward laziness and punish work. Trump promises jobs. Obama and Hillary seek to destroy coal. Trump promises to put coal miners back to work.
Obama rewards Iran and punishes Israel. Trump promises to stand with our greatest ally, God’s Chosen. We saw in Orlando, FL, this past week the dangers of radical Islamic terrorism (which the President refuses even to name) in a terrible attack that killed 49 and placed that many and more in the hospital. If you follow the news you knew the predictable would follow. Did Obama and Hillary Clinton seem concerned about terrorism? Of course not. Their only thought was to get to a microphone first to call for gun control. Donald Trump pledges to protect the 2nd Amendment and said that if one of the victims at the Orlando Club had been armed perhaps far fewer would have died.
Republicans in the Establishment promised they would turn it around if we gave them the House. We did and Obama’s radical agenda went right on. Then we were told to give them the Senate and the President and his Party would be stopped. We did and the GOP surrendered. Now the Establishment seeks to blame talk radio (principally David Limbaugh’s brother Rush) for the revolt of the People and Donald Trump’s being the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party. In fact, GOP leaders need look no further than the nearest mirror for those responsible for the rise of Donald Trump.
I much appreciate David’s closing paragraph in his article titled “The Establishment Birthed Trump.” In face of all this, “Along comes Trump who gives voice to these legitimate grievances instead of calling people racist, selfish or hysterical. He emphasizes the urgency of these problems, and he denounces the status quo, the Establishment, Washington inertia and political correctness without an ounce of apology. People are dehydrated and he (Donald) is their Gatorade. Whether Trump can or will deliver on his promises is one thing, but the Establishment’s arrogant failure to acknowledge, let alone decry the horror of, the status quo is his lifeblood. If Trump is a monster, the Establishment is Dr. Frankenstein, so please spare us the lectures.” Amen!
God, in Biblical days and these days, often employs persons for His Purposes that surprise us. Ruth, a Moabite woman (Ruth 1:3) was the great-grandmother of King David and an ancestress of Jesus. (Mt 1:1,5) Another dramatic example is King Cyrus of Persia who is named by the great Prophet Isaiah as part of fulfilling God’s purposes for His People in returning them from the Babylonian Captivity with his edict in 538 B.C. In Isaiah 44:28 God says, “Cyrus is my shepherd. . .he will say of Jerusalem ‘let it be rebuilt’ and of the Temple, ‘Let the foundations be laid.’ ” Isaiah, inspired by the Almighty wrote this 150 years before it happened!
Another of the Great Prophets, Daniel, lived three years into Cyrus reign and personally brought the scroll of Isaiah to the King of Persia and referred to his being named as part of the Prophecy. The Jewish historian Josephus writes that Cyrus took this to heart and wished to fulfill what was written. Unlike Pharaoh, his heart was not hardened to the Children of Israel and their God and even wished to see Jerusalem and the Temple rebuilt. In short, the Lord employed a pagan King for His Purposes. This is God’s work and remarkable prophecy.
I think a more modern example is God’s raising up Mikael Gorbachev to be Ronald Reagan’s (following Harry Truman and John Kennedy as anti-communists back when the Democrats had real men as leaders) junior partner in the collapse of the Evil Empire. Our President Reagan was a man of faith and the senior partner in the Soviet downfall. There is some word that Gorbachev’s mother was a Baptist Christian but there is no sign that her son followed in the faith. It is pretty difficult to have a Christian as the head of a godless state. But Gorbachev resigned as Party Boss on Christmas Day 1991 and the flag of the Soviet Union flew over the Kremlin for the final time the next day. God again employed, as it were, a pagan King for His purposes.
I am not a big Donald Trump fan but do plan to vote for him. The GOP is a Party of prayer. The Democrats are not. Hillary is the same liar as her husband, Bill, and just as scandal ridden. I want to believe that another secular and worldly man, Donald Trump, may be God’s man for this time for American renewal as Cyrus and Gorbachev were for another time. And, unlike the men like Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, (a publication for which I have great respect) I do not believe it is a time for a Third Party venture. Neither do Mitt Romney nor Joe Lieberman nor others who have been approached to run by The Standard and turned it down. If God can employ King Cyrus and King Gorbachev, He can employ The Donald. We will visit this again.