God’s Providence in the First Thanksgiving

I grew up attending a Christian school which strongly emphasized Thanksgiving. As primary students, we dressed up like Pilgrims and Indians each November, celebrated in our classrooms with our own feast, learned poetry about the special event, and memorized Bible verses of thanks to God for His goodness in our lives. I’m so thankful for that heritage.

As a homeschool mom, it was important to me to pass that knowledge along to my children. I did the best I could at the time, helping my little ones make handprint turkeys with lists of blessings. We, too, discussed the history of the first Thanksgiving and memorized the predictable Bible passages.

But recently, I began to delve a little more deeply into the celebrated day. I found the account retold by historian Michael Medved in his book, The American Miracle, to be especially intriguing. So, sharing from my own knowledge passed down from my faithful, godly teachers, as well as from this newly discovered book, let’s turn our attention to the neglected holiday, Thanksgiving.

Mr. Medved picks up the story from the very beginning of the American project. Not a moment too soon, nor a second too late, God ordained that an explorer would discover the vast, unsettled territory of the Americas. A pastor, Leonard Woolsey Bacon, wrote of the timing of Columbus’s discovery of the New World:

“If the discovery of America had been achieved four centuries or even a single century earlier, the Christianity to be transplanted to the western world would have been that of the church of Europe at its lowest stage of decadence. The period closing with the fifteenth century was that of the dense darkness that goes before the dawn.”

Interestingly, there were at least 3 earlier failed attempts to establish a settlement on the eastern coast of the primitive, new land. All three ended in disaster for the brave souls who crossed the Atlantic, though the details elude us. But this emphasizes the fact that the particular timing of the Pilgrims’ immigration was important to bring the pure Word of God to this land. And as the Pilgrims landed near Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a month later than expected and almost 250 miles north of their intended destination, they must have imagined that their fate was to become just as mysterious and fatal as their predecessors. Yet buoyed by their unwavering faith in the Almighty and His providential plan for them, the men began to search for a suitable place to settle. After enduring cold, storms, injury, Indian attack, and near starvation, the winds blew their small exploration to a suitable spot. Several things made it ideal, both to the view of those who were walking by faith and to those of us with the benefit of hindsight.

First, the harbor was safe for landing. It was not rocky, excessively windy, or shallow. Second, immediately upon leaving the shore, the land rose in elevation, providing an excellent area to build fortifications for safety and protection. Third, an abundant water supply was found throughout the area. And last, and certainly of vital importance, buried caches of dried corn were found, thus providing food to keep the Pilgrims alive during their first winter in the New World.

The discovery of this perfect piece of land had even more significance than the settlers initially realized. Because they had been blown off course and settled out of Sir Walter Raleigh’s claimed territory, they were able to establish their own colony “without interference from either colonial planners back home (in England) or rival communities in the vicinity.” (The American Miracle, p.32)

Medved goes on to say of the Pilgrims’ foundation: “Cold, hungry, and desperate,…they concluded that a higher power had brought them to precisely the right place…Their experience indicated that it was the Lord’s work, not their own choices, that guided their path to precisely the right place at precisely the right time.” (The American Miracle, p. 39)

Another element of clear providence in the Pilgrims’ experience was the appearance of Squanto. The Patuxet man was the sole survivor of his tribe; the others had all died during a plague of illness. But Squanto was not affected because he was not physically in his village when the disease struck. He had been kidnapped by an English trapper in 1605, when he was but 12 years old. The Englishman took Squanto to London, where he lived for nine years as a slave for Ferdinando Georges, who had designs to establish his own colony in the Americas, and used Squanto to answer his questions about the territory.

After those nine, long years, Squanto had learned the English language and customs. But he still desired to go back to his home. He arranged to travel back across the Atlantic with Captain John Smith. Near the end of this journey, he was again taken captive, this time by one of the sailors on the boat. After two more months at sea, Squanto found himself on the slave block in Malaga, Spain. However, he was purchased (at a reduced rate) by a group of Spanish monks, who cared for several of the displaced Indians. While they treated their bodily wounds, they also taught the Natives of the Bible and God. Although it was after the Catholic tradition, such knowledge would certainly become useful for this lonely man.

He expressed his strong desire to return to his homeland, and the monks agreed to help him. They took him to England, where he lived and worked with a merchant for a few years, while earning money to purchase his 4th trip across the ocean. Finally, he sailed back to the place of his birth, only to discover that his tribe had been decimated, and there was no “home” to which he could return.

This sad history culminated only six months prior to the Pilgrims’ landing. When the foreigners did arrive, they were not so foreign to Squanto, who had lately spent more than a dozen years in Europe. Imagine the surprise of the settlers upon meeting a Native man who not only spoke their language and understood parts of their Bible, but was willing to help them. Squanto negotiated peace between Massasoit, chief the Wampanoag Tribe, and the Pilgrims, which lasted for more than 50 years.

And Squanto’s knowledge probably kept the new settlers alive during their first winter in the hostile New England territory. He chose to make his home again on his ancestral grounds, precisely where the Pilgrims were establishing their colony. He aided them by showing them where to find immediate food sources, such as the eels that lived on the bottoms of the local streams and the fish that ran in the rivers. And he taught the newcomers the now infamous way to grow corn: 5 kernels and 3 fish placed in a mound, which encouraged a great harvest.

Squanto became friend, mentor, negotiator, and protector to the Pilgrims. But what a journey Squanto had endured in order to be available for such an important task! He was perhaps the only man in the world with knowledge of the land, its resources, the English language, and even the Bible. William Bradford declared Squanto a “special instrument sent of God for their good, beyond their expectation.” (The American Miracle, p. 45)

That first Thanksgiving, which we so irreverently celebrate with football, turkey, and enough other delicacies to make us sick for a week, was actually a two-fold holiday. First, it was a meal to honor the promised peace between the white man and the Wampanoag. More importantly, it was a celebration of praise to God for His protection, provision, and obvious providence in bringing the Pilgrims safely to this new land. And that settlement would influence our not-yet- founded nation for generations to come.

The Pilgrims’ basic worldview, according to author Nick Bunker (Making Haste from Babylon, 2010), “has influenced Americans ever since” they came to her shores. And that belief is that everything in the world and in life follows “a plan, laid down by God before the beginning of the world.”

Surely, that is the theme that drives us today. God has a plan for my life and for yours, for our country, and for the world. We often think and act as if we no longer believe this, but if we are Bible-believing people, then we must amend our ways.

Is God still in control, just as He was when He blew the Mayflower north to the land which He ordained for the Pilgrims’ settlement? Yes, He is.

Is God still in control, just as He was when He took an Indian boy out of his village, across the ocean, and prepared Him to help those same settlers? Yes, He is.

Then why do we act as though He is not in control? Not aware of the sin and the suffering, nor aware of the election and the consequences it will have on our future. Not aware that the freedoms our nation has enjoyed for nearly 250 years are all but gone.

Oh, He is aware, my friends. And He is active on our behalf.

Perhaps He is not handling things the way we had hoped or thought He would.

But we can trust Him to be God, and to do what is best for us, for our country, and for our world.

He will do what is for our good and for His glory.

So on this Thanksgiving Day, will you trust Him and thank Him and praise Him for that?

*Many thanks and much credit to Mr. Michael Medved for his work and writing, The American Miracle.