When I read the following verses from Ezekiel the other day I couldn’t help but think of a certain U.S. Presidential candidate.:
(3) “(Behold, you are wiser than Daniel!
There is no secret that can be
hidden from you!
(4) With your wisdom and your understanding
You have gained riches for yourself,
And gathered gold and silver into
your treasuries;
(5) By your great wisdom in trade you
have increased your riches,
And your heart is lifted up because
of your riches),”

Of course, the prophet Ezekiel is speaking somewhat sarcastically here in addressing the king of Tyre, especially in verse 3 when he says the king is wiser than Daniel and that no secret could be hidden from him. This is actually how the king of Tyre thought of himself because the latter part of verse 5 says, “And your heart is lifted up because of your riches.”

The king Tyre had some lofty thoughts concerning his own self-importance. In fact, verse 6 says he thought of himself as a god. Therein lies the scary part. A world leader who thinks he’s a god. Not a good scenario for a number of reasons. It’s doubtful if either of the two U.S. Presidential candidates consider themselves to be gods, at least not in the literal sense. Such notions are normally reserved for dictators in countries like say……….I don’t want to mention names here but North Korea comes to mind. Men with such extreme god complexes think nothing of steamrolling Christians and hanging them upside down on crosses while burning them alive.

Anyway, at least one of the candidates for U.S. president has managed to increase his riches through “wisdom in trade.” Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. The problem is when the “heart is lifted up because of your riches.” When a man’s heart is lofty he tends to think he can do things that most people wouldn’t dream of doing, such as grab and grope women with or without their permission.

But again I’m not prepared to say that increasing riches through wisdom in trade is bad in and of itself. Many people have done it. Mind you, I’m certainly not one of them. My heart may have been “lifted up” from time to time for other reasons but not because of my great wisdom in trade. Probably not because of my great wisdom in anything. Come to think of it I cannot presently think of any good reason for my heart to be lifted up. Nevertheless, I have the sneaky suspicion that it has been and that it might possibly be slightly elevated even now.

Humility is such a tricky thing. When you think you have it then you don’t really have it. I read that somewhere. Can’t remember where. Just somewhere.

In any case, when a nation has a leader who thinks he’s a god then that nation is headed for troubling times. At least that’s the way it was in Tyre. God had a promise for its king:
(7) ….”I will bring strangers against you,
The most terrible of nations;
And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom,
And defile your splendor.”
(8) They shall throw you down into the
Pit,
And you shall die the death of the
slain
In the midst of the seas.”

As far as I understand it, The “Pit” in question was that bottomless one talked about regularly in the book of Revelation . It’s where satan is currently headed and where he’ll be held for 1,000 years while Christ is ruling the earth from Jerusalem. But before the Pit, God promised to bring terrible nations against Tyre. We’re talking large scale military invasion here.

It may seem unfair for an entire nation to suffer because of the pride of its leader but that’s often how it is. Thousands and even millions of people can be affected by the decisions of one man, either for good or for bad. That’s the power of leadership. It’s why we need good leaders in high places.

Leading the nation of America is a high calling best reserved for one with a lowly heart. It’s doubtful if such can be found amongst the two present candidates. Perhaps it’s never been truly found amongst any candidate in any generation. Whatever the outcome of the upcoming election I find a recurring thought in my head that says: “We need to pray like never before.”

Strangers from terrible nations have already come against America to an extent. Could it get worse? Yes it can. Will it? I don’t know. But for what it’s worth, I’m praying about it. Perhaps we all should pray because if times get troubling for America it will likely have a ripple affect on the rest of us.