NOTES ON THE DIVINE PROLEGOMENON: GOD’S CALL FOR HIS MIGHTY MEN WHO SHALL SERVE DURING THE SECOND REIGN OF CEAESAR TRUMPUS BESTIUS I – (WITH VIDEO)

PROLEGOMENON. “‘Prefatory Remarks.’ Specifically: A formal essay or critical discussion serving to introduce and interpret an extended work.” DK. This is a massive topic merely being introduced here.

THEOLOGY

SCRIPTURE. “Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert …

And the Lord shall guide you continually and satisfy you in drought and in dry places and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of [buildings that have laid waste for] many generations; and you shall be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.” – ISAIAH 43:19; 58:11-12, AMPC

KEY TERM: “A NEW THING!” ‘Chadash’ [חֲדָשָׁה֙]: “From a root word meaning, ‘To rebuild, renew, or repair;’ the Hebrew word ‘chadash’ primarily means ‘newly fashioned,’ and is used to describe something that is fresh, renewed, or recently made. It can refer to new things, new moons, or new beginnings … ‘Chadash’ often signifies a renewal or a fresh start, whether it be a New Covenant, a New Heart, or a New Creation.”

J.R.R. TOLKIEN. “‘I wish it need not have happened in My Time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such Times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the Time that is Given Us.’” ― The Fellowship of the Ring, 1954; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘A new thing.’ Such a work as was never yet done in the world, even the Redemption of the world by the Messiah.

‘Now!’ Shortly, although it was not to be done till after some hundreds [or thousands] of years. For so the Scripture oft speaketh of things at a great distance of Time as if they were now at hand, as Haggai 2:6, James 5:9 Revelation 22:20, and elsewhere. Which it doth to correct our impatience, and to make us willing to wait ‘Till God’s Time Come.’ And to assure us that the mercy shall come as soon as ever it is fit for us, and we for it; and to make us sensible of the Inconsiderableness of Time, and all temporal things, in comparison of God, and of the Eternal things; upon which account it is said that: ‘A thousand years are in God’s sight but as one day’ (Psalm 90:4).

‘Shall ye not know it?’ Certainly, you Jews [and true followers of Messiah who are vigilant] shall know it by experience and shall find that I do not deceive you with vain hopes.‘I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.’ I will give you Direction and Provision in the Wilderness, where there is commonly no path, and where all necessaries are wanting. Which as it literally speaks of God’s conducting them in: ‘The Way from Babylon to Jerusalem, which lay through aGreat Desert.’ So it is mystically meant of those Spiritual Blessings which God in and through Christ will confer upon all His [Faithful] people, not the Jews only, but also the [Redeemed and Obedient] Gentiles, who in Prophetical Language are oft compared to the ‘Wilderness-[Dwellers],’ as Isaiah 35:1, and elsewhere.” – MATTHEW POOLE, English Annotations on the Holy Bible, 1685; edited

THE RIGHT STUFF

One of my favorite movies for a number of reasons is “The Right Stuff,” a 1983 American historical drama film written and directed by Philip Kaufman and based on the 1979 book of the same name by Tom Wolfe.

The film offers us a variety of Powerful Lessons: On raw courage, human frailty, and extraordinary ingenuity under enormous pressure. But beneath these obvious examples of nearly Super-human effort are a few details of which most of us are completely unaware, that offer us still more instruction about how to handle Perilous Circumstances.

“‘The Right Stuff was a box-office bomb,’ grossing about $21 million (domestically) against a $27 million budget. Despite this, it received widespread critical acclaim, and was nominated for eight Oscars at the 56th Academy Awards, four of which it won. The film was a huge success on the home video market. In 2013, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being: ‘Culturally, historically, [and] Aesthetically Significant.’ The film was ranked #19 on the American Film Institute’s most inspiring movies.” – EDITORS, Wikipedia, Nov. 20, 2024; edited

NOTE. We cannot escape the unavoidable LIFE LESSON here that despite what “The World Spirit” tellsus about what constitutes “Success” and “Failure,” there are more Universal Standards that must guide us toward what constitutes:

“The Right Stuff.”

My own personal journey since 2016 would be marked as an absolute disaster by worldly measures, but by God’s Standards, perhaps not. Therefore, to identify from a Biblical Plumbline just what goes into the making of a man or woman with “The Right Stuff,” I turn to an excellent essay by TRAVIS SNODE, who with his wife, Terri, served as church planters to the United Kingdom from 2002-2022. Travis now serves as the General Director of Vision Baptist Missions, Inc., helping local churches train and send missionaries worldwide.

His piece, significantly, is titled: “Characteristics of Mighty Men,” published in his Blog on November 18, 2009 (edited). He carefully lists SEVEN MARKS of the Mighty Ones of God.

INTRODUCTION. “Every time I read about David and his Mighty Men, my heart is stirred. I love meditating on the kind of Loyalty, Bravery, and Courage of these men. I am so challenged by their ‘Commitment to God, the Kingdom, and one another.’ At times in the ministry, I feel like I am in the thick of battle, swinging my sword, seeing people attacked on every side, and needing the Power of God to help us get the victory. Today, I wanted to study the characteristics of these Mighty Men from 1 CHRONICLES 11. Notice with me, ‘The Mighty Men [of Old].’”

WERE COMMITTED TO A WORTHY LEADER (11:1-3). “After Saul died, all of Israel gathered themselves together unto David. David had already been doing the work of a leader and man of character long before he was given the position. ‘David was prepared in obscurity’ … [He] had already proven himself to be diligent, a good follower, loyal, committed to Christ, able to encourage himself in tough times, content, humble, brave, and a man of faith. 1 Chronicles 11:10 says, ‘The mighty men whom David had.’ They were David’s Mighty Men because he was a leader that men knew was: ‘Worthy to be followed.’”

WERE COMMITTED TO A CARING LEADER (11:2). “The Mighty Men followed David not only because he was brave and had the head of Goliath in his hand (1 Sam 17:54), but also because He was a man of Compassion and Love. The Bible says that the men who came to him were in distress, in debt, and discontented (1 Sam 22:2). David welcomed these men and turned them into a mighty fighting force. David was not a bully. He led Israel out and in according to 1 Chronicles 11:2. He led by example. He would feed the people and take care of them. The men followed David because he was a leader who helped rather than used people. He gave and did not take. The men would follow him to the ends of the earth because they knew he loved them and would help them in whatever way he could.”

LOVED A BIT OF FRIENDLY COMPETITION (11:6). “David set a challenge before them to see who could smite the Jebusites. Joab did and became the chief. There is nothing wrong with provoking one another to love and good works, provoking others to [proper] jealousy, and a spirit of friendly competition. It keeps us sharp and keen in our fight. We just have to make sure it does not become carnal competition motivated by pride and selfishness.”

WERE ALL LEADERS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT (11:10). “These men were not ‘yes men.’ They were all chiefs. That means they led other men. Just because you are following someone else does not make you a weakling. Sometimes, people think that a true leader never follows anyone. On the contrary, ‘Good Followship qualifies us for Good Leadership.’ When a person applies for leadership, it is important to find out if they have first learned to follow. David followed Saul (a very difficult, inconsistent, and mean leader) for probably over ten years before he became leader. The lessons he learned under Saul no doubt helped him immensely as a leader. So these Mighty Men learned to follow and to lead. They did not have to be pampered or babied; they showed initiative and diligence. They were self-starters, and others followed them.”

WERE COURAGEOUS (11:11). “Jashobeam lifted up his spear against three hundred men at one time! Abishai also killed 300 with his spear at one time (11:20). Benaiah killed two lionlike men of Moab (11:22). He also saw a lion in a pit on a snowy day and jumped down and killed him (11:22). Benaiah also killed an Egyptian who was nearly 8 feet tall and had a spear like a weaver’s beam. He went up to the Egyptian and took his spear and then killed him with his own spear. That is courage! Benaiah was a brave man, yet the Bible says he was nothing like the first three who were braver than him (11:25). ‘They were not afraid of being outnumbered. They had guts. They had the power of God. They did not quake at adversity and trouble. They faced it head-on!’”

WERE DEPENDENT ON GOD (11:14). “They were fighting against the Philistines. The people fled, but David and Eleazar ‘set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines.’ I am not sure if they got back-to-back and began to fight their way out or what, but they were doing some serious fighting. The verse does not stop there; it says, ‘The Lord saved them by a great deliverance.’ They were not Rambo’s going it alone in their own strength. They were dependent upon the power and strength of God to win the battle. Being a Mighty Man means our might and power comes from God not our arrogance, experience, or strength.

WERE EXTREMELY LOYAL [TO A VIRTUOUS LEADER] (11:15-19). “David and his men were holed up in a fort. The Philistines were surrounding Bethlehem. David mentioned in passing that he wished he could have a drink of water from Bethlehem. Three Mighty Men heard it and broke through a garrison of Philistines and brought back a drink of water for David. They loved David and would do anything for him; and David loved them and would do anything for them. That is the kind of loyalty they had. No one talked bad about the other men. ‘Theirs was fierce loyalty.’ Uriah the Hittel in verse 41 would not even go home to his wife while his fellow-soldiers were in the battlefield! (2 Samuel 11:11).”

LAST THOUGHTS

Now then, to the obvious, painful point: If we now apply all this to our Evangelical Pastors today, beloved, and what do we find? ‘How many of our Leaders display all seven of these characteristics’ – Seven? Five? Three perhaps? Or just one?

SLOUCHING TOWARD GOMORRAH. Here I am reminded once again of ‘Abraham’s Classic Argument with Jehovah in his failed attempt to spare Sodom.’ I purposely cite the entire passage for its enormous importance and relevance to the Current Church Crisis in America under the darkening shadow of a Second Trump Presidency.

“And Abraham came near and said, ‘Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ So the Lord said, ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.’

Then Abraham answered and said, ‘Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?’ So He said, ‘If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.’

And he spoke to Him yet again and said, ‘Suppose there should be forty found there?’ So He said, ‘I will not do it for the sake of forty.’

Then he said, ‘Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?’ So He said, ‘I will not do it if I find thirty there.’

And he said, ‘Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?’ So He said, ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.’

Then he said, ‘Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.’

So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.” – GENESIS 18:23-33, NKJV

BRUTAL AMERICAN REALITY. Beloved, without hyperbole or a biased sense of estimation having been trained at the doctoral level in statistical analysis, I present the Current State of Christian Leadership in America.

Neither can I find even Ten Shepherds (Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists) leading a major congregation in our land who I can commend to you to follow. ‘Nor even five, nor three, nor even one!’ Though I could mention a name here or there, I cannot hear their sustained Call for Church-Wide Repentance leading us to a desperately needed Repudiation of Trump Christian Nationalism.

I tell you with God listening: ‘I cannot find even ONE, beloved!’

CODA. So is it left upon us “Lower Magistrates” – A reference to a Christian Theory that teaches that lower-ranking civil or clerical authorities have the Right and Duty to resist unjust laws from higher authorities.

Or more candidly and lovingly to what the late former Franciscan priest BRENNAN MANNING (1990) defined as: “Christian Ragamuffins:”

Those unknown, imperfect, “bedraggled, beat-up, and burnt-out” followers of Messiah “who have grown weary and discouraged along the way.” But who nonetheless courageously: “Press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus!” (Philippians 3:14).

And upon reflection, dear friends: Is not that just like our King: ‘To choose the foolish things to put to shame the wise, the weak things to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things and the things which are despised He chooses, to bring to nothing the things which are, that no flesh should glory in His presence’ (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

I tell you, beloved: We could have no greater Honor than to serve Him in this way in these Days of Darkness. ‘Therefore rejoice!’ He has called each of us for such a Time as this, yet He shall not let us fight on our own. Oh, no! ‘But we shall overcome him, that is, Antichrist, by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony, and we will not love our lives even to the death!’ (Revelation 12:11).

SELAH.

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/9YM7D0Mkgc0