BY JEB SMITH

“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” — Genesis 50:20

A common theme we see in Tolkien’s works, is that the God of Middle-earth, Eru, through the free peoples, uses and transforms the evil intentions of the Shadow  to gain an advantage for good rather than evil.

In Middle-earth, the elves and men were called the children of Ilúvatar, as in the Bible,

where men were called children of God. Both God and Eru inspire and aid their followers to act for good in the world in order to overthrow evil intentions. Eru said, “For he that attempteth [evil] shall

prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.”

The biblical account of Joseph in Egypt found in the book of Genesis is a great example. Joseph’s jealous brothers wanted to kill him but decided instead to sell him into slavery. Later, while a servant in Egypt, Joseph was falsely accused of rape and thrown in jail. Yet, God used the evil intentions of his brothers and a false accusation to bring Joseph into power in Egypt. Joseph was then able to save the lives of many Egyptians and Hebrews from starvation while bringing forgiveness and restoring fellowship with his father and brothers.

In Lord of the Rings, consider this sequence of events triggered by the evil intentions of the traitor Saruman. Knowing only that a  hobbit carries the ring, Saruman sends a band of Uruk-hai to capture the hobbits. They “succeed” in capturing Merry and Pippin. Still, this action sets in motion a series of events that lead to Saruman’s own destruction and are instrumental in the eventual victory of the free peoples over Sauron. Gandalf said it best, “Our enemies have contrived only to bring Merry and Pippin with marvelous speed, and in the nick of time, to Fangorn, where otherwise they would not have come at all.”

 If Saruman’s Uruk-hai had not captured Merry and Pippin, they would not have been in Fangorn at the right time to help motivate Treebeard and the Ents, who in turn attacked Isengard

at the right time after the Uruk army had moved on to Helm’s Deep.  If Saruman had not been defeated, Rohan would not have been able to ride to Minas Tirith and Gondor would have fallen, and the subsequent battle at the Black Gate would not have occurred. Sam and Frodo would not have been able to sneak through the land of Mordor to destroy the Ring, and Sauron would have reclaimed it and Middle-earth would have been lost. What seemed like a triumph of evil is turned about into the triumph of good.

Likewise, Sauron goes on the offensive too early in an attempt to destroy Minas Tirith before the king (Aragorn) can return. Yet, in doing so, he allowed Frodo to sneak into Mordor itself. And again, when Sauron moved on the free peoples’ army at the Black Gate to destroy them, what was meant for evil was used for good. He empties Mordor, and while his gaze is toward the battle, Sam and Frodo can sneak through Mordor and destroy the Ring. Sauron’s own evil  nature and intentions are used against him and cause his destruction.

This theme can be seen in many other actions in the Lord of the Rings. Upon the first reading of Fellowship of the Ring, many are stunned when Gandalf the Grey falls in battle with the demon Balrog, Durin’s Bane. However, his “fall” leads to his being “sent back” as the more powerful Gandalf the White. Likewise, Sméagol led the hobbits to a secret pass into Mordor, hoping that the giant spider Shelob would kill them and he would recover the ring. Yet this evil intention greatly aided the good, giving Frodo and Sam a path into Mordor that they would never have found themselves. With Sméagol’s assistance, the hobbits could traverse the marshes and avoid the impossible task of entering Mordor through the Black Gate. As Gandalf said to Pippin in Minas Tirith, “A traitor may betray himself and do good that he does not intend.”

After the bloody battle at Helm’s Deep, King Théoden’s men were disorganized, spread out over the Riddermark, and in great need of rest. Gondor called for aid, and the Rohirrim, short on time, were able to muster a large enough force to help relieve the siege of Minas Tirith. They honored their oath and alliance and rode to Gondor hoping to bring aid to the beleaguered city before it was too late.

On their way to help in battle, they found an army of orcs from Mordor guarding the main road, preventing their passage. The Wild Men showed the Rohirrim an unguarded path through the woods, allowing them to bypass the main road and avoid a battle. However, they were unsure if they could pass through undiscovered. If seen, their forces would be vulnerable to attack. Sauron unwittingly helped them. He had darkened the whole area around Minas Tirith with fog, enabling the horse lords to sneak by the orcs unnoticed. Éomer said, “Our enemies’ devices often serve us in his despite. The accursed darkness itself has been a cloak to us.”

Through the influence of Sauron long ago, the oathbreakers had defied Isildur and refused his summons during the war against Sauron. Legolas found it strange and wonderful that Sauron’s earlier actions, that prevented help coming to Isildur, allowed Isildur’s heir, Aragorn, to call the army of the dead to fulfill their oath at a more urgent time. Legolas said, “With its own weapons was it worsted.”

Take Counsel

“Plans are established by counsel;By wise counsel wage war.” — Proverbs 20:18

The information we consume today is incredibly biased and one-sided. That bias might be “left” or “right,” but it is almost always consumed in a bubble with a particular worldview behind it and allowed to go uncontested. Churches across America have broken into various sects preaching their diverse interpretations and understanding of scripture. Schools and universities propagate a secular state-centered education, while private schools and universities do the same from their own points of view. During the Catholic Middle Ages, theologians and philosophers had to show they understood counterarguments to their position and cite leading proponents of the opposing views. Further, they had to present the best cases against their position. Whether the topic was secular or religious, their form of consuming information was really an ongoing debate. Today, if we do present a “counter,” it is often a strawman to knock down the opposing views.

The great Catholic Church Councils are an excellent example of the Medieval and Biblical mindset. Councils played a vital role in the history of the Catholic Church’s development of doctrine. For example, Catholics would argue that, as in Acts 15, believers did not split up and come up with their own varying interpretations. Instead, they gathered in council so all positions could be heard and debated. “Lean not on your own understanding,” but be led by the Holy Spirit to all truth (Pr. 3:5, 18.17, 27.7 Jn 16.13). Likewise, in Middle-earth, the free peoples held many councils that decided which actions should be taken. These councils and their decisions ultimately determined Middle-earth’s fate.

The Noldor elves and the Valar, angelic beings who assisted Eru  in the creation, often joined together in great councils in the First Age. Manwë, Lord of Arda, uppermost in the Valar hierarchy, appears to be a pope-like figure. He called councils together, led and mediated during the councils, asked for guidance from Eru, and declared his decision after debate among the Valar. In Beren and Lúthien, we read that Manwë sought Eru Ilúvatar and declared, “This is the counsel of Ilúvatar in my heart.” Manwë always governed under the guidance of Ilúvatar and sought counsel in his innermost thought, where “the will of Ilúvatar was revealed.” The pope is called the vicar of Christ, likewise, Manwë is called a “vicegerent of Ilúvatar.”

The Valar hierarchy was for the benefit of the children of Eru(elves and men), and their powers were delegated by Eru. The children of Ilúvatar sought Eru via the Valar much as Catholics do via the church hierarchy, which is there for their benefit and counsel as revealed through God. In contrast to Manwë, who sought Eru and counsel, Morgoth went into the void, and “being alone, he had begun to conceive thoughts of his own unlike those of his brethren.”His isolation would eventually lead to discord in the music of creation and to the fall.

In the Third Age, Elrond’s council, the Last Debate, the White Council, and the Entmoot were influential councils that helped decide the correct actions to pursue to bring about victory for the free peoples. The White Council helped decide how to counter Dol Guldur’s necromancer, and the Entmoot led to the Ents’ assault on Isengard, a vitally key action in the defeat of Saruman. The wise free peoples were willing to listen to and debate differing views. They took counsel and advice (Prv 15:22, 12:15) in order to gain the wisdom that would help them determine the best possible option to take on important decisions.

In The Hobbit, Gandalf brought the dwarves to Rivendell to seek the wisdom of Elrond to aid them in their quest. He sent Frodo there with the ring for the same reason.

“Happy is the man who finds wisdom,And the man who gains understanding; For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.” (Prv 3:13–15)

King Alfred of Wessex wrote, “Consider what punishments would come upon us if we, ourselves, neither loved wisdom nor allowed other people to obtain it.”Wisdom is central to a ruler’s correct decisions. Wisdom is a Christian virtue, and according to Alfred, to not love it would be to be Christian “only in name,” not in actions. In 796 AD Alcuin of York wrote to Charlemagne “every page of the sacred scripture urges us to acquire wisdom. For nothing is more honorable, nothing so ensures a happy life…further, nothing is more essential to the people’s government, nothing better for the guidance of life towards upright character, than the grace which wisdom gives, and the glory of education and the power of learning.”

Many of the Middle-earth saving decisions were made through wise counsel, and the blunders and self-defeating decisions were made by those who would not accept outside advice. Sauron and Melkor received no counsel other than their own desires.

Saruman “withdrew to Isengard and took counsel with none save himself.” Gandalf said, “Alas for Saruman: it [the palantir, the seeing stone, that misled him] was his downfall…fool: to keep it secret, for his own profit. No word did he ever speak of it to any council.”Boromir rejected the decision of the council of Elrond; instead, he wanted to use the ring of power for Gondor, but he kept his desire and temptation to himself. Before trying to take the ring from Frodo, Boromir said, “Where there are so many, all speech becomes a debate without end.” As Boromir talks about keeping the ring and not destroying it, Frodo responds, “Were you not at the council?”

Boromir did not agree with the decision to destroy the ring and did not take counsel from those with greater understanding and wisdom. Boromir could only think of his own desires. “The ring would give me power of command. How I would drive the hosts of Mordor, and all men would flock to my banner.” His talk dwelt on walls and weapons and the mustering of men, great alliances, glorious victories, Mordor cast down, and he himself becoming a mighty king.

Thus, we saw Boromir’s rejection of wise counsel lead him further down into the shadows. He began to desire power, became corrupted, and began to trust man’s weapons and great alliances rather than God. Boromir lived out Proverbs 18:1, which reads, “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.”

In contrast, Frodo listened to “the warning of his heart” (That small voice that God uses 1 Kgs 19:12; Prv 3:5) and the wise counsel of Rivendell. Frodo would not put his trust in men, as Boromir did. His heart warned him “Against—well, if it must be said, against trust in the strength and truth of Men.” Frodo seemed to speak out of Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

The great and wise elf lords Elrond and Cirdan the Shipwright advised Isildur of Gondor to destroy the Ring when it was in his possession, but Isildur would not heed their advice. In rejecting wisdom, Isildur set in motion the events that caused such devastation, pain and misery for those that came after him.

In the Elder Days, the fall of the Noldor elves and their decision to leave the Valar and paradise was in part because “Fëanor would not wait for the council, where all words would be heard by all and answered.” Instead, “Fëanor was driven by the fire of his own heart only…he asked no aid and sought the counsel of none that dwelt in Aman.” Proverbs 27:6 said, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend. But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” So when the elf lord Fëanor led the Noldor out of Aman, he attempted to recruit the Teleri, the sea elves. But Olwë, their king, responded to Fëanor according to Proverbs 27:5–6, trying to prevent the folly that Fëanor was leading the elves into. Olwë answered…it may be the part of a friend to rebuke a friend’s folly.” But Fëanor would not listen and instead attacked the sea elves leading to the first bloodshed by elves.

Unlike Olwë, who was a faithful friend to Fëanor and lost many of his people’s lives for it by giving him wise but unwelcome advice, Sauron gave flattery as sweet as honey to Númenórean king Ar-Pharazôn, which led to his pride and belief in invisibility; this led directly to his downfall as Sauron had planned. Ar-Pharazôn would listen only to lies, not wisdom, as he “took no council of Valar or Lords.”

Saruman the White often used flattery to deceive others. A company of the riders of Rohan had followed their king Théoden to Isengard after its destruction by the Ents. They listened as the wizard spoke, and he enthralled them. He seemed wise beyond their understanding and entirely reasonable. When he spoke to Théoden, “It seemed to them that Gandalf had never spoken so fair and fittingly to their lord.” Some riders went so far as to cheer Saruman and desire an alliance, but his cunning speech deceived not all. Éomer called him a “liar with honey on his forked tongue.”

In contrast Gandalf always gave his friends wise advice though not always welcome. So much so that at the Council of Elrond when an older Bilbo offered to take the Ring to Mordor, Gandalf advised him not to do so and instead finish his book and enjoy Rivendell. Bilbo replied to Gandalf, “I have never known you to give me pleasant advice before. As all your unpleasant advice has been good, I wonder if this advice is not bad.” Later, when Pippin saw the resurrected Gandalf for the first time, the hobbit recalled their interaction. “Gandalf, I said…did he say hullo, Pippin! This is a pleasant surprise? No, indeed! He said, ‘Get up, you tom-fool of a Took! Where, in the name of wonder, in all this ruin is Treebeard? I want him quick.’” Gandalf was not one for flattery or telling others what they wanted to hear.

This article is adapted from The Road Goes Ever On and On: A New Perspective on J. R. R. Tolkien and Middle-earth by Jeb Smith.