Today’s Message
Dr. Jana Jones McDowell
Today’s message is part of the ongoing series of ‘Seeing the Old Testament in the Gospel – and in our lives!’
It is also a brief preview of an upcoming book about the parallels between the lives of president Donald Trump and King David of Israel.
The Big Question: Is God really in control?
Some big questions have come about since the attempt on president Donald Trump’s life by an assassin on July 13th, 2024. The first being was God in control of the events that unfolded which resulted in Trump being only injured and not killed? Was it a miracle, which was divinely orchestrated?
Was it happenstance that at just the right second in time, president Trump cocked his head, ever-so-slightly to cause the bullet to strike his right ear instead of his forehead?
Did it just happen, or did our almighty Lord Divinely orchestrate these events as part of the unfolding of His Masterplan?
The second question, which has even deeper meaning and future impact on our nation, is what is the significance of the bullet striking and drawing blood from president Trump’s right ear?
For answers to these questions, and many more, we need to turn to God in prayer and turn to His Word, the Bible.
The Message: Looking at the Anointing Rituals in the Book of Leviticus – Applications to Current Events of Today as they apply to President Trump’s Assassination Attempt
Note from the author
This message today is written as I contemplate the monumental, life-changing events of the last few days.
Today is July 18, 2024.
Only a few days ago on July 13,th former president of the United States, Donald Trump, who is running again for president in the upcoming November election, was shot – a shot meant to kill.
While addressing a large audience attending a pre-election rally, president Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt.
Narrowly missing Trump’s temple, which would have killed him instantly, the bullet instead flew by its intended target.
However, In the process, it grazed his right ear. Blood from the piercing wound poured down his forehead. By the miracle of God it resulted in only minor injury to the president.
The iconic photo of president Trump during those first few moments of this horrific event says it all and puts things into meaningful perspective.
Standing tall just moments after the incident, blood running down his face from the injury from the bullet to his right ear, with the American flag waving proudly behind him, president Trump raised his right hand high.
With his fist clenched tight, Trump shouts with defiance and the roar of a lion to the crowd. Calling the American people to fight, Trump shouts out the words three times as he is ushered off the stage by first responders.
The American people – called to fight for unity and strength of our nation by president Trump just moments after an attempt on his life – just witnessed a miracle performed by God.
God divinely orchestrated his Masterplan for us once again, as He so often does throughout history, and will continue to do in the future.
These events provoke many questions to ponder and pray about – What else is symbolic about this historic event? Are there other details surrounding the event that we as Christians should take note of? In other words, what else is God trying to tell us?
The answers as always, can be found by turning back to the Bible, specifically the Book of Leviticus.
First, some context concerning the Book of Leviticus before we explore and dive into Scripture, the Word of God to find the Old Testament in the Gospel, and in our lives today.
Context
The Book of Leviticus is a difficult book for modern readers to grasp. Some simply see it as a book of useless, ancient laws and regulations imposed on people by a ‘fun-hating’ God.
Leviticus is actually much more than this.
Composed as Israel was preparing to become a settled ‘nation’ in a promised land by God, the Divine Lawgiver, the book of Leviticus contains practices that will produce a society, that functions ‘under God.’ It outlines for God’s people, His intended good society, a society that will be set apart from all others of the world of that time.
Codified on Mount Sinai as God spoke to Moses, the book of Leviticus is filled with ancient rituals and worship practices. These practices concern rituals around operations of the original Tabernacle as built by the Israelites during their Exodus from Egypt. Also described in Leviticus are practices concerning how people should live in God’s ideal society. They describe the backbone of how this society should function – the practices and the priesthood needed to produce this ideal ‘commonwealth’ under God. The Book of Leviticus is the original ‘constitution’ written by the Divine author, God, describing a nation formed under His auspices.
With deep unfolding of the Divine-human relationship as God intended, His main purpose in giving Leviticus to Moses and the people of the future nation of Israel was to sanctify His people and manifest His glory among them.
God was setting His people apart from the many people groups in the surrounding area of the promised land He was giving to His people. God, the one true God, was sanctifying His people from those who worshiped pagans and lesser gods.
The Book of Leviticus is the third book in the Hebrew Torah and the in the Greek translation, the Septuagint.
The original Hebrew origins are dated to the time of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt in the Exodus, as God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. Here God layed out His ritual and ethical commands to Moses, who He anointed to communicate His commands to the future Israelites. The Lord is described in “speaking to” Moses in Leviticus over 30 different times, clearly suggesting that Moses is the mediator between the Lord and Israel, and that Moses authored Leviticus.
The Hebrew name for Leviticus is ‘wayyiqra’ meaning ‘and he called.’ The root word of ‘Lev’ can also be traced to the Hebrew meaning of ‘from the heart.’
Historians have noted that the entire content of Leviticus was given less than a month after the construction of the Tabernacle in which its building was specified to Moses (written in Exodus 25-40). Experts therefore place the date for the book of Leviticus somewhere between the 15th and 13th Century B.C., depending on when one dates the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
As a continuation of the relationships between God and his people as given in the book of Exodus, Leviticus assumes that the Israelites are sinful and impure. It describes to the people of how to deal with this sin and impurity so that the Holy Lord can dwell in the people’s midst. Clearly, the people of Israel must properly address their sin and impurity and strive for personal and national holiness, setting them apart from other pagan societies. These societies included those who surrounded them in the past, and will in the future in their quest to settle God’s Promised Land. Examples of such societies include Egypt governed by Pharaoh, where they had been held in affliction and slavery for the last 400 years, and those societies to which they would face in the Promised Land of Canaan such as the Amorites and Moabites.
God promised to deliver His people from affliction to His Promised Land, His land of ‘rest.’
However, the people must accept that He is the one true God to be worshiped, and be obedient to His word. The people must atone for their sins and follow His commands. In Leviticus, God is giving the people direction to atone for their sins – a gracious act by a Holy God in which their sins and impurities can be dealt with so that He may come into their presence.
The Book of Leviticus is concerned with what it means to be the ‘holy’ people of a Holy God, providing instruction for conduct in private, and as members as a body of God’s people. It details methods of atonement for sin in which sacrifices and rituals are to be administered as God’s gracious provision for His people’s sins – their disobedience and falling short of holiness of a Holy God.
Even though the Book of Leviticus has ancient origins, it has relevance to us today contrary to what many people think.
Yes, it needed amendments over time but these were, and will be done by God on His timeline. Amendments can be seen as we draw parallels to the New Testament and fulfilling God’s prophecy of the New Covenant. Of course, parallels can be drawn first to Jesus, as He is God’s gracious gift and provision of a New Covenant given to us as His people. We, God’s people, who are without a doubt sinful and who fall short of a Holy God – what we have been doing since antiquity!
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the culmination of the salvation history specified in Leviticus in which Christ has fulfilled the goals of the various sin and peace offerings. These offerings included continual sacrificial offerings such as the shedding of blood and death of animal sacrifices, the role of the priests as mediators between God and His people, temple worship, and the Holy feasts.
By no means should we count the teachings in Leviticus as obsolete – they are the word of God and had meaning then and have meaning to us today. We should remember that Jesus said He came to uphold the law and teachings of God, not make them obsolete. As long as we as believers today and in the future continue to bear our sinful nature, which we will do until we die, the atoning grace of God through Jesus Christ does not make Leviticus irrelevant to New Testament believers.
Principles can still be learned and applied from Old Testament books such as Leviticus to our lives today.
For instance, the offerings and rituals from Leviticus can be applied to what Jesus accomplished on the Cross, and through the institution of the Lord’s Supper, serving as a constant reminder to us of the life and work of Jesus Christ. These reminders challenge us as believers in today’s society to see and live out the Gospel through the words and teachings of the Old Testament. These teachings are foreshadows of the universal blessing that Jesus Christ’s redemptive work ushered in to us as Christians. The ultimate fulfillment and application to our lives being to apply these teachings to our lives today as Christians, so that we too can be set apart from this fallen world in which we live.
The Message Through Leviticus
This brings us to the message ~ the message set forth in Leviticus as it applies to atonement and anointing of purity – of the setting a part of a nation established ‘under God,’ a nation who needs to atone for its sin and change direction. A nation that needs to repent and turn from sin and lean into God, as it was once established to do. Our nation, the United States of America.
Today we will draw parallels from the book of Leviticus to our nation today and also to the nation of Israel as it emerged from darkness into the era of David being anointed King of Israel.
Context: As I started this message I mentioned it was written as I contemplated the events of the last few days. Just a few days ago on July 13th former president of the United States, Donald Trump, who is running once again for president in the upcoming November election, was shot – a shot meant to kill. Narrowing missing his forehead, the bullet instead flew by its intended target. In the process however it grazed his right ear.
These are all significant events especially if you go back to Scripture – the Bible – God’s Word.
First, as God is sovereign, there is no such thing as coincidences. The bullet fired by the assassin just did not happen to miss its target of president Trump’s head.
We cannot and as believers, we will not simply explain the workings of God, the miracles He does, as a coincidence.
God meant for Donald Trump to survive. God stepped in, putt His Divine ‘foot down’ and took a firm stance against evil.
Apparently, it is part of God’s Masterplan for the United States, founded under God, to once again return to be the nation that our founding fathers and our Father in Heaven intended it to be.
As Donald Trump says, he wants to be instrumental in Making America Great Once Again. A nation can only be ‘great’ and prosper if founded and operates under the auspices of the Divine creator, God the Father. Without God at the center of our very existence, we will become undone, both as a nation and as individuals.
Second, it is Biblically relevant that Donald Trump was shot in his right ear. You probably at this point are asking how the bullet which did not result in death, but only grazed his right ear, possibly be Biblically relevant?
Go back to the events of that horrific, historic day. Looking at the now iconic photo of president Trump seconds after the shot rang past its target and hit his ear again one indeed sees that it must be relevant.
With blood streaming from his right ear down his cheek, president Trump was seen being hauled off the platform he was standing on while delivering his campaign address under the backdrop of the American flag waving proudly in the background. Even making the snapshot, which will go down in history. even more iconic is that president Trump is seen raising his fist in strength and defiance against the forces of evil and shouting for the American people to fight. With the voice of a lion, president Trump shouts out the words ‘fight’ as he was being rushed off the stage, not once, but three times.
First, Trump’s declaration to the American people, made in the ‘voice of a lion’ as was described by his son at the RNC in his speech on Wednesday night, can be paralleled to many things that will be brought out in future book chapters.
The lion, as specified by Jacob in his paternal blessing on his deathbed to his son Jacob (named Israel by God), is the symbolic icon of the tribe of Judah. As King David is in the lineage of Judah and is of the lineage of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, this is very meaningful to Christians. Drawing parallels to the prophecy that the future king of Israel and the Messiah was to come from the lineage of Judah, our Christian minds are awakened with interest.
Looking back into the Old Testament, parallels can be drawn to David’s reign over Israel, as he was anointed king by the LORD, God. As part of God’s Masterplan and salvation history, King David brought the nation of Israel out from the darkness and evil from where it had plunged under King Saul’s reign. Saul in his disobedience and rebellion to God had not put God first and the center of the nation of Israel’s existence as God had intended. David, anointed by God to be king turned Israel back to God.
David, the gangly, ruddy, most-unlikely-choice of the Israelite people, but the one who God sought and anointed, restored God’s people to once again be a nation who flourished ‘under God.’ David made Israel ‘great again.’ Parallels to president Trump can of course be drawn and will be explored in more detail in a future book.
Second, we must consider not just the content of the triumphant cry shouted out by Trump after his assassination attempt to the American people, but how it was communicated. Yes, Trump called for the American people to fight as he raised his right arm in defiance of evil, but also don’t overlook the number of times he proclaimed it. Trump shouted out ‘fight’ for all of the audience of America and of the world – he shouted it three times.
The number three, and don’t miss this fellow believers, as you well know has tremendous significance throughout the Bible. The Holy Trinity, the number of days after Jesus’ crucifixion before His resurrection, the number of days that Abraham journeyed to the place where he offered up his son Isaac to the LORD, as you see the list of why the number 3 is relevant goes on. The fact that Trump shouted out the words ‘fight’ three times at that moment in time, just moments after an assassins bullet pierced his right ear instead of his brain, was not a coincidence. The very fact that Trump was not laying in a lifeless puddle of brains and blood itself was not a coincidence, but a Divine act, a miracle performed by our sovereign God. The words and actions that God surrounded this miracle with were also very symbolic and significant – used for His Glory. We, after all, the United States of America was founded under the Glory of God!
And finally, for the highlight of the symbolism of the events surrounding the assassination attempt of Trump as they tie to the Old Testament. Let’s turn to Scripture.
First, let’s consider a Psalm 20, a psalm of David as he was anointed by God to be the future king of Israel. As David did, the one considered to be the unlikely choice for king, let us as David did, place our confidence in God alone as the one who saves His anointed and is the final cause of our success as a nation ‘under God’. This is our prayer for the nation as we move forward today, our prayer for the people, and for our nation’s future leaders, our nation ‘founded under God.’
“Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His Holy Heaven with the saving might of His right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD, our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.”
Psalm 20: 6-8 Trust in the Name of the LORD Our God
We know that David was anointed as King under the directions from God specified in Leviticus. What is symbolic and pointed is how the events unfolding around Trump’s assassination attempt parallels the anointing rituals as is laid out in God’s word in the Book of Leviticus.
Back to the question of how did the shooting that injured and drew blood from Trump’s right ear parallel the teachings in the Old Testament.
Leviticus 8:
We are taken to the courtyard of the newly constructed Tabernacle. Moses has been instructed by God to fulfill his commands of the priestly ordination of Aaron and his sons.
Moses has been told by God that Aaron and his sons, along with their garments and the Tabernacle altar will be consecrated by the offerings of a bull, two rams and the anointing oil. This ritual symbolizes the absolute command of the Lord and the complete loyalty of Moses. The entire congregation of ‘Israel’ was present, and all were assembled at the entrance of the tent of the meeting.
After the bull (the sin offering) and the first ram (the burnt offering), was presented by Moses on the altar for purification of the priesthood and of the altar, the second ram was brought forth (Lev 8:18-24).
The second ram, known as the ram of ordination, was then sacrificed and;
“Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.”
Leviticus 8:23
The symbolism of the ritual specified in Leviticus is paramount to understanding of current events of today. The first ram’s sacrifice bears the nature of the peace offering, purifying the altar and the priests in general. The second ram is for the sacrifice of installation – placing the blood of the ram on the right ear and extremities of the priests symbolizes total dedication and purification. The entire ritual is symbolic of the bond between the LORD and the priests, Aaron and his sons.
As the iconic picture of president Trump looms in our minds we can draw parallels between the horrific event of his shooting to the beautiful ritual symbolizing the bond between the Lord and his anointed as written in the Bible.
There are no coincidences in our lives as we consider the sovereignty of our Lord, our God! President Trump was indeed anointed by God as we, as believers, turn back to Scripture. Through reading the word of God it is made crystal clear to us – as believers we truly have eyes to see, and ears to hear. In obedience to the Lord, we read His word, take it to heart and apply it to our lives. Clearly, the Lord has a plan to save our country and once again have us united under Him, our God!
However, we as Americans must take responsibility. God is giving us a chance to repent from sin, turn from evil and lean into Him for guidance and direction once again. The Lord is calling us as His people to
“For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.”
Leviticus 11:44
How does this apply to us, as believers and as Americans?
The Lord, who is Himself Holy, is calling His people to consecrate themselves, to dedicate themselves to holiness (Hebrew: qaddesh) and to practice a godly, holy lifestyle. This personal and national consecration, in which we imitate as imagers God’s own character, is a response to God’s gracious initiative and His gift of redemption given to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. We as believers, as a nation founded under God are privileged to be given this gift. This is our responsibility as Christians and as Americans. As Apostle Peter reiterates Leviticus in the New Testament,
“Do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.”
1 Peter 1:14
Parallels can again be drawn connecting the service of president Trump to that of David. As David, the most unlikely son of Jesse, was told by God in His words to the prophet Samuel to be the anointed king of future Israel, America has also been told that Trump is God’s choice of our next president.
David was chosen as God’s servant to lead his people out of the darkness and gloom of ungodliness and disobedience and back into the light of the Lord. David was called to make the nation of Israel a nation ‘under God’ as it was originally meant to be. David trusted in the Lord and is known for his heart for God and for shepherding his nation of Israel with caring, strength under the guidance and direction of God.
We as Christians should not question if God is truly in control. We can see from current events that He is in complete control. God has not only orchestrated His sovereign events throughout history, but is doing so in today’s world and will in the future. God has set His Masterplan, and He will see it come to fruition on His timeline. God has called for us to prepare for events and trials that present to us in today’s world and in the future through acceptance of, and having faith and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. God has also called us to prepare ourselves through knowing His promises and prophecies through study of His word, the Bible, and by being obedient to His Word through direction of His Holy Spirit within us.
As Americans, we need to unite in prayer as a nation under God. We need to ask God for forgiveness of sin, repent and turn back to God. This in part can be accomplished through a leader who has the signs of being chosen by God to take on this seemingly overwhelming task. President Trump’s anointing shows all the signs of being the Lord’s doing – with this in mind, we should rejoice and support him and his administration through prayer and uniting behind him as a nation who serves and reveres God.
We, as Christians, should lift up president Trump in prayer, standing with him and his new administration, trusting in God as a unified nation.
A nation who was once was, and always will be, founded ‘under God!’
