The South African elections of 2009 are almost at its end. Citizens voted on 22 April, and the IEC has announced that the final results will be made available at 17:00 today.
What has so far transpired is surprising and at the same time not surprising. What is surprising is that the ANC almost got the ⅔ majority it was hoping for. By late yesterday, the ANC had around 66.8%. However, with more voting districts reporting in, the ANC has now slipped by a fraction down to 65.9%. This is according to the results from the Independent Electoral Commission at 15:32 today. These results most likely are the final results.
What has surprised many Christians, especially those involved with Christian political parties such as the ACDP and the CDA, is the absolute dismal performance of these parties in these elections. The ACDP, at this point, has only 0.81% of the national vote. That is half, percentage wise (1.6%), of what they had in 2004 at the last national elections. In physical votes, the ACDP is still 108,000 votes short of the 250,272 they made in 2004.
If we look at the 1.6% of 2004, and we extrapolate to the number of voters this year (so far counted) at more than 2,000,000 more, then the ACDP should have had 281,794 votes in these elections if they simply held their ground. Which of course means that the ACDP is 139,136 votes from breaking even. But, I suppose, this can be expected when party leaders make statements way before the elections to the effect that the ANC would not get 50% of the vote! How did he think he knew that? When Christian politicians make baseless statements like that, how can the electorate take their political parties seriously?
The ACDP and the CDA for that matter, must be very saddened by the results of these elections. The reasons for this result must be myriad, but I am more and more convinced that of the millions so-called Christians in this country, a majority are Christians in name only! The ballot papers don't lie! "They speak with forked tongue!" On the one hand they say that this and that and the next thing are morally wrong, and then promptly vote for parties that stand exactly for those moral sins. But, this must be left for another post.
One thing that is forgotten by Christians in times like these is that God is sovereign over this earth and his plans and decrees will stand. Not voters, nor the ANC, run this country! God remains on His throne, and He still is the ultimately sovereign ruler over all the earth!
Did these election results catch God off guard? Not in the least! God "made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place. (Ac 17:26)" The ANC, and indeed the nation of South Africa will exist only as long as God determined. God "makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. (Job 12:23)"
"(10) The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. (11) The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. (Psa 33:10-11)"
We must not forget, God used a donkey to speak to Balaam. He also used the evil king Cyrus to release the Israelites from their bondage. Surely, if the Lord used a donkey and the evil king Cyrus, He could still use Jacob Zuma to accomplish His purposes? Whether the ANC believes it will rule forever or not, at the appointed time, God will bring the ANC and its evil to a very abrupt end. Only God's counsel will stand!
All of this makes me think of when Moses went to speak to Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Who will dispute that God was sovereign during the saga of the exodus from Egypt? During the rounds of Moses' "negotiations" with Pharaoh, this Egyptian did not want the Israelites to go. Hey, that would cause economic collapse, and what do you know, the Egyptians would then have to do all their work themselves!
Now, why is it that Pharaoh did not want to let the Israelites go? God hardened Pharaoh's heart! Several times the Bible tells us that God hardened Pharaoh's or the Egyptians' hearts (Ex 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:20; 14:4, 17). It is quite startling that God accomplished His work by hardening the heart of the Egyptians.
God was sovereign then, and He is sovereign now. We must not think for one moment that God is no longer on His throne. Evil may not be ultimately destroyed today, or even tomorrow, but in the end there can only be one, and that is Jesus Christ!
We must not think for a moment that an election in which so many people, some professing to be Christians, would vote for evil, can derail God and that He no longer cares. In God's eternal decree, He is busy working out His plans that will lead to the end of time and this world as we know it!
We must NOT rely on politics and be amazed when politics fail! Only Jesus Christ stands true, and His rule has no end!
"(11) Then I saw heaven opened, and behold,
a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and
True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. (12) His
eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems,
and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. (13) He is
clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called
is The Word of God. (14) And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine
linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. (15)
From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down
the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will
tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the
Almighty. (16) On his robe and on his thigh he has a
name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
(Rev 19:11-16)"
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