It is God Who ultimately rules the affairs of men

By Jan Willem van der Hoeven

?Seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.? (Daniel 4:25b)

If one thing is clear in Daniel?s account of God?s holy dealings with Nebuchadnezzar, it is that ultimately, and in the final analysis, it is God who rules the affairs of nations. As it is written:

'This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men.' (Daniel 4:17)

So too writes the Psalmist:

For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another. (Psalms 75:6-7)

Jesus emphasized the same truth before the Roman ruler and governor, Pontius Pilate, when He said:

"You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above." (John 19:11)

It is therefore abundantly clear that the Lord, Who has all power in heaven and on earth, holds the key to who in the end will rule the affairs of any given nation, especially where it concerns His people Israel.

There is a deep lesson and truth in the story of Nebuchadnezzar: He who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. That truth still holds universally true.

As Jesus said:

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 14:11)

It is a very dangerous place for any person to be in. How much more so for a ruler who has been positioned by God to govern His own people to be at loggerheads with God in the fulfillment of that task?

By far the worst place for any earthly ruler to be in is one where he (or she) tries to know better than the God who positioned him (or her). For in the end it is He Who will take charge and put rulers down or humble them if they choose to remain on a collision course with God Almighty.

It is a wonderful assurance that ? as God once told a dear servant of His, David Wilkerson ? whatever calamities and disasters may happen on earth, in the final analysis God has everything under His control! This is the clear teaching of the Word of God, assuring all who truly believe and want to go with the Lord that He is in control and that He has all power in heaven and in the earth. It is for this very reason, precisely because this is so, that we, His children ? those who truly believe in Him and in His power ? can and should continually pray: ?Father, let Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory.?

May it be so, also in relation to the events now unfolding with God?s beloved people here in Israel. Amen!

An independent Muslim Palestinian State will spell the end of what then still will be left of tiny Israel. After the terrifying days of the Holocaust of God?s people, the Jews, this would be one of Satan?s greatest victories,.

Now that Hamas is increasingly becoming the dominant and most vicious Palestinian player, the division of Israel?s land and the subsequent establishment of a Palestinian Muslim State will give the world?s one billion Muslims an AL QAEDA-like entity through which they believe they can fulfill the dream of millions of their people: the final eradication of a Jewish State from their Muslim midst.

In His Mercy for His people God has therefore ? by the recent events in Israel ?for the time being at least stopped this terrible and existential danger to the Jewish state.

Had Sharon not been prevented from pursuing this course he would, as the very popular leader of the self-created Kadima party, almost certainly have raced along this road whose end is the demise of the Jewish state by way of a Muslim (Hamas-run) Palestinian state established on the historic, divinely promised, very heartland of Israel.

God, in His love and great mercy, has fired a warning shot across the bow of the Jewish nation through the recent momentous events in Israel.

For the time being, Ariel Sharon will not be able to return as prime minister of his people to further pursue his set course that would see the land divided for the establishment of such a terror-prone state.

On March 28, the Israeli people will have to go to the polls to vote for another leader to replace him.

One would very, very much hope that, out of the different candidates who will contend for this position, the Israeli people will be wise enough to choose a man who with the backbone and the courage to prevent the arising of such a mortal danger to what is left of our beloved Jewish people.

And yet, still a personal word about Mr. Ariel Sharon:

May God spare his life and restore health to him so that he may once again be that Ariel Sharon who, in his moving autobiography, ?Warrior,? wrote these words:

Over the next four years I managed to establish sixty-four settlements in Samaria and Judea, some of them hardly more than footholds, little collections of tents or huts, some of them more substantial. With no water or electricity at first, the settlers lived and worked in primitive conditions. The sight of these people washing their babies outside in the cold would bring shivers to my spine. But living near places like Shechem or Shiloh or Bethel, with their rich spiritual and historical associations, held a meaning for them that translated into joy as well as into utter determination.

In fact, my approach to the West Bank had not changed in the least over the years I had been thinking about it. And, controversial or not, I had made no secret of what it was. My two principles, as I said in interview after interview and debate after debate, were to protect our population centers and to insure the right of Jews to live in historical Israel. The settlement policy I proposed and carried out in my term as minister of agriculture was aimed solely at realizing these two principles.

But though each step I took in Judea and Samaria was approved and controlled by the government, I often found myself involved in exasperating complications. Decisions would be made in the cabinet, and I would move on them. But when the predictable public and press outcry materialized, I would occasionally find myself facing it alone.

I did not enjoy the media abuse any more than anyone else did. But I also firmly believed that the policies we were pursuing were vital to Israel?s future safety and security. Consequently I was willing to stand up to the controversy and invective that swirled around these issues.

May this Ariel Sharon soon return to all of us, I pray!

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