Count, Count, Weigh, Divide - Page 6
© Michael Martinez
The warnings for Sauron may not have been quite so direct. In fact, he may not have received any warnings. He is more like the drunken king of Babylon, confident in his power and secure behind the walls of his fortress. But while he revels in his wealth and power, his enemies are burrowing under his fortress.
It is left to Aragorn to warn Sauron that, mene mene tekel upharsin, your kingdom (on Middle-earth) has been numbered (reached the end of its days) and weighed in the balance (has no further worth in the overall scheme of things) and has been divided (between your slaves and your enemies). Gandalf implies as much to the lords of the west when he says that Sauron is studying the signs.
The signs are very real signs. Can it be anything other than an act of divine providence that Merry just happens to be in the right place at the right time to help Eowyn defeat the Lord of the Nazgul? Now, that may raise the question of whether Bombadil was Iluvatar. In fact, Tolkien says that Iluvatar did not manifest himself in Ea (Time and Space). But as Iluvatar could make his will known to some servants (such as Manwe) and through others (such as Aragorn), it follows that he could give Tom (whatever he is) a helping hand in choosing swords for the Hobbits.
In a way, the incident with the Barrow-wight is a portent. The Hobbits are captured by one of Sauron's creatures and are almost dispatched according to his purpose, but instead an outside power intervenes and provides the Hobbits with the means of destroying Sauron's chief captain, the Lord of the Nazgul. Why, exactly, did Frodo awaken in time to summon Bombadil? Was it the Ring which wished to preserve him, or was a higher power acting to ensure that the Ring did not fall into Sauron's hands again?
The incident at Weathertop could serve as another portent. Frodo foolishly put on the One Ring, and that act was a result of the influence of both the Ring and the Nazgul who were present. But somewhere Frodo found the strength to lunge out at the Lord of the Nazgul, as well as the presence of mind (if one may call it that) to yell out the name of Elbereth. "More deadly to him was the name of Elbereth," Aragorn tells Frodo's companions soon after the encounter. How could Frodo have known that? He could not have.
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