Posted on 11/17/2001 6:23:08 PM PST by Ironword
“After the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia statesman John Page wrote to Thomas Jefferson: ``We know the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Do you not think an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm?”
WHEN in his Inaugural Address President Bush spoke the poetic “angel rides in the whirlwind” phrase, drawn from a letter written to Thomas Jefferson by John Page following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I thought it was a verse of scripture that I had somehow missed or forgotten. Indeed, though he spoke this phrase twice, I didn’t later bother to locate the text of the phrase in the Bible.
Upon seeing the phrase recently recalled again in a brief piece written by a well-known commentator, I broke out a concordance and began searching for either a direct or similar text in the Bible.
There is none that I can find.
Some who have previously commented on this phrase have claimed that Page’s inspiration was the manifestation of the Almighty (i.e., theophany) as He led the Israelites out from the land of Egypt. However, while it may have been Page’s inspiration (and that is not certain), it is not exegetically accurate, as the Almighty was present in the “pillar of cloud by day” and in the “pillar of fire by night” -- there was no whirlwind in the desert, neither a storm.
With two exceptions, “whirlwind” when appearing in scripture (i.e., the Old Testament, as the word never occurs in the New Testament) is associated with providential judgment, as in the following (Nahum I:2,3):
2 God is jealous and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. 3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
The two exceptions to the use of “whirlwind” as a portent of judgment are when Elijah is carried up “into heaven by a whirlwind,” and when “the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind” following Job’s trials. Here, regarding the communication to Job, it is the Almighty directly speaking out from the whirlwind (i.e., another theophany), and not an angel (i.e., a divine messenger) sent to speak on His behalf.
Angels are occasionally the instruments of the Almighty’s judgments -- for example, the “destroying angel” or the various angels discussed in the Apocalypse (Book of Revelation).
What Page was likely trying to communicate to Jefferson was the perception of a providential hand guiding the events that ultimately led to the creation of the United States of America. With this perception I would completely agree, yet not with its expression in the context of an angel riding in a whirlwind and directing a storm, which connotes the execution of judgment.
Yet what was the president trying to communicate with this phrase? Probably, the thought that a providential hand had guided the contentious presidential election of 2000, along with an allusion to the contentious presidential election between Jefferson and John Adams. I would agree that a providential hand guided the election of 2000, for God is sovereign over the affairs of mankind, but would not agree that the potential unsettling of our typically routine transfer of power was a pouring out of gracious blessings from heaven upon a righteous nation.
It is a peculiar phrase, one of unknown origin that does not on its face suggest blessing; rather, a providentially directed whirlwind of judgment or chastisement.
What think ye?
Just one of those "never mind" moments!!
According to the artists . . . .
Well, there definitely was plenty of that during the Revolutionary War -- witness, for instance, the providential fog that settled at the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, which allowed Washington and the army to escape across the East River. Even the Brits saw the hand of God in that.
A ten-dollar word, that :-)
Probably not.
At the start of the Civil War, both Jefferson and Lincoln called for a day of fasting and prayer, implying confession of sin and humility before God. It seems all we've had thus far from all quarters since 9/11 has been calls for prayer to the self god of material and emotional comforts.
It may be -- but that powerful text is a statement of divine judgment upon the wicked (specifically, backslidden Israelites who had made idols and worshipped them in word and deed).
Return To Paradise
The natural man has his needs
physically he plants his seeds
concerned for his daily bread
and a place to rest his head
The evil man plants his seeds
whence he goes, grows naught but weeds
the food upon which he does feast
is that which is below the beast
The soul of man is deep within
struggling to overcome the sins
of the evil and natural man
and return to Eden, the promised land
The Spirit of man yearns to sing
of Celestial splendor with the King
and return with Him, to Paradise
where there is no fear, where no Soul cries
Copyright © 1996 By John J. Lindsay. All Rights Reserved
October 20, 1981
P.S. My belief is the reason I do not live in fear.
Saturday, January 27, 2001
Dear Call Box: At the end of George W. Bush's inaugural address he said, "This story goes on. And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm." Can you tell me to what this refers? -- M.G.
Dear M.G. You're not the only person curious about the phrase. Bush included a number of religious references in his speech. However, this one produced some discussion. Former presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan, in a Wall Street Journal column, wrote that the phrase was "opaque."
Here are a few clues:
A book titled Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution was written by Benson Bobrick a few years ago. The title came from a letter written by John Page, a Virginia statesman, to Thomas Jefferson two weeks after the Declaration of Independence was adopted: "God preserve the United States. We know the Race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Do you not think an Angel rides in the Whirlwind and directs this Storm?"
The "race to the swift" phrase is a quote from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. The origin of the "angel in the whirlwind" phrase is less clear. While there are plenty of references to angels and whirlwinds in the Bible, we could not find the exact phrase. Bartlett's quotations includes this reference from Joseph Addison in 1704, "And, please the Almighty's orders to perform, rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm."
Bobrick, interviewed by phone from his Vermont home, said he did not understand the connection between "angel in the whirlwind" and Bush's inaugural address, since there is no national crisis taking place today to compare with the creation of a new nation in 1776.
We called the White House press office and asked for an explanation but have not received a return call. Columnist Noonan summed up the theme of the inaugural address as: "God is here and asks us to do good."
This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/012701/met_5228145.html.
I think he stated, in broad conceptual terms, the highest principles of his vision for his new role as President. (To make our country more just and generous, to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.)
Then he described his view that the goal is larger than one man's role (This work continues. This story goes on.)
And lastly, he disclosed his view that God's work was being carried out ( And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.)
At the time I just thought to myself that it was about time a Republican got a decent speech writer.
Anyway, after returning to our hotel and finaly being able to watch the inauguration and hear the speach on TV, my wife became very exited about the phrase An Angel Rides in the Whirlwind . So much so that she decided to make up a big poster with the phrase for the Right to Life March on the following Monday. As the husband and (definetly) the physically stronger of the two of us, I was required to carry it. Felt a little silly, since I had never heard the phrase before and really had no good a answer to other marchers questions as to the meaning of my banner.
So I am standing there with my big poster An Angel Rides in the Whirlwind feeling as I mentioned a little silly (such are at times the duties of a husband of an activist), wishing my wife was strong enough to carry it herself. Bob Dornan, my long time hero and idol was the the keynote speaker at the march and lo and behold, his speach was centered around and conluded with indeed ... An Angel Rides in the Whirlwind
Needless to say I was quite proud to carry the poster for the rest of the day. And, yes indeed, let us all hope and pray that God will guide and lead our country and our President through this whirlwind of a time
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