Donald Trump commits the sin of King Saul

We know what happened to Saul, but what will happen to Trump?

Apr 07, 2026

If you haven’t read it, President Donald Trump threatened to “wipe out a whole civilization” because Iran won’t make a deal to end the war Trump started. The president wants Iran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, which the U.S. Navy, in the long tradition of mariners asked to undertake stupid, suicidal missions that will lose them their ships, replied to him, “Nope!” If the Strait of Hormuz could be opened purely by air power, it would be open. If U.S. forces could do it without the prospect of many body bags returning to Dover, Delaware, it would be done.

But any military planner knows that an army can’t take one half of a bridge, and you also can’t hold a narrow waterway without controlling the land on both sides of it. And if the waterway is mined, then no navy in the world is going in there (see Gallipoli).

So Trump has instead threatened to bomb Iran back into the stone age, and destroy its civilization. We all know this is not a serious threat, because Iran is the size of Alaska, and boasts large cities and a population of 90 million. Bombing their bridges, power plants, and infrastructure will not destroy it. It will make the people of Iran, at least 50 percent of whom view the U.S. intention to remove the Islamic Republic’s current regime as a positive, miserable. It will not strip the IRGC of any of its power, or make things easier for the people of Iran who have no weapons or power to overthrow that regime.

In fact, it will turn many hearts and minds against the U.S., and therefore give the regime more leverage. I don’t know what the president is thinking. But as Sun Tzu wrote, “never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” So the Iranians will let Trump try to make good (or bad) on his threat. It’s a roll of the dice whether the answer will be TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) or Armageddon.

But none of that matters to the topic I’m addressing today.

My wife and I have been enjoying the Amazon Prime series “House of David.” It’s mildly accurate to the biblical story of David, and well told. (An aside: I especially love Stephen Lang as Samuel. I’m amazed by his acting range. I even went back and watched “Avatar” to see him as Colonel Miles Quaritch: the two roles can’t be more different for one actor to play.) As we watch the series, we’ve been going back through the book 2 Samuel in the Old Testament. The story begins in 2 Samuel chapter 15 when Saul has just defeated the Amalekites, but did not obey the Lord’s instructions by letting their king, Agag, live.

But that wasn’t the sin that caused Samuel to tell Saul that the Lord has rejected him, and “torn the kingdom from him.” When confronted, Saul first got defensive, then he made excuses that he was afraid of the men, who wanted to keep some of the plunder from the Amalekites when God had instructed to destroy it all. Then he said he was sorry and that he had sinned.

But God saw his heart, because Samuel was told that Saul had constructed a monument in his own honor at Carmel. Saul had made himself a god, and the Lord rejected him as king.

Many American Christians believe that Donald Trump is called and anointed by God, like some version of King Cyrus, who freed the Israelites to rebuild Jerusalem. The President of the United States wields immense power, and Trump has pushed the limits of what a president can do. He initiated the war with Iran without any Congressional blessing, or even the support of his citizens. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad the U.S. is taking steps to destroy one of the most evil regimes on the planet, and I do hope we finish the job and win. I think many Americans agree with me. But the war was not started because of popular support. It was started because Donald Trump started it.

Now Trump wants to end it before the economic pain becomes too real to the regular folks who believe he’s anointed by God to destroy evildoers. That’s all good and fine, but when Trump makes threats to destroy an entire civilization because he’s not getting his way and it might cost him, politically, or in terms of exercising his raw power, because citizens don’t like $5 a gallon gas at the pump, or $4.00 for a gallon of milk, he’s not acting in the role of a man.

The kinds of threats Trump is throwing around, unless you think he’s not serious, in which case he’s giving the store to the enemy, are the things said when a leader takes on the powers of a god.

In the 1993 movie “Rudy” starring Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, and Ned Beatty, Father Cavanaugh, played by Robert Prosky, uttered this famous line: “There is a God, and you are not him.” I offer that line to our president, as the prophet Samuel said to Saul.

The President of the United States has tremendous power, but unless Donald Trump is willing to unleash the U.S. nuclear arsenal on Iran and truly eliminate its civilization, he is making statements in the guise of a god as if the enemy will comply. I have news for him. The Iranian regime has a god. They call him “Allah,” and they will die for him, or kill any number of civilians, children, their own families, or citizens of their country. They will kill Americans, Israelis, other Muslims, or anyone else in the name of their god.

The enemy gets a vote, and they are not going to listen to Trump speaking as a god. And the God I believe in will not put up with being mocked or given place below any man. Therefore, I see this happening. Iranian civilization will not be destroyed. The Strait of Hormuz will not open without a lot of bloodshed, American blood. Americans will see pain in economic and physical terms. And they will blame the one who spoke as a god.

Will Trump’s “kingdom” be torn from him? That’s not for me to say. But committing the sin of King Saul will get you the reward King Saul got. Being sorry for it won’t make things better. All those folks who believe Trump is Cyrus might regret their choice.

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