Mat Staver: Netanyahu Re-election a Modern-Day Miracle
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel have seen what many would say is a modern-day, Old Testament-type of miracle.
In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat is told that a formidable enemy is coming against him. He stands before the people and cries out to God. Jehoshaphat declares that they are “powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (verse 12). God replies with “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed by this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s” (verse 15).
The next morning the people went to the battlefield only to find that the enemy had destroyed themselves. Not one was left alive. The only thing left to do was to collect the spoils—which took three days.
On Tuesday evening, as Americans went to bed, the national news declared that the exit polls in Israel’s parliamentary elections showed that the Prime Minister had finished in a virtual tie with his main opponent, Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog.
People around the world had been praying for weeks, and this news pressed them to pray even more fervently as the final votes came in.
The next morning the news was staggering. After counting 99 percent of the votes, the Prime Minister was leading by 5 mandates—29 to 24. Benjamin Netanyahu had won an unprecedented fourth term, in the words of even some liberal media pundits, the victory was “decisive.”
This is a huge victory. Against all odds with almost the entire world against Prime Minister Netanyahu, the people of Israel have shown how they truly feel and whom they want as their leader. Voter turnout was around 72 percent, the highest in 15 years.
A former adviser to Prime Minister Netanyahu and a close friend said, “God has listened to our prayers and blessed us with a leader to help us through the challenging times that lie ahead.”
The Prime Minister is now going to need for his friends and allies to stand by him and to continue to pray as never before. He must now work with other parties to form a coalition in the next 28 days of what seemingly will be 66 seats in the Knesset—comfortably over the 61 seats necessary to form a government.
It is obvious that people of Israel were not taken in by the slick, modern media tricks and ploys of Twitter, Facebook and the like, that was being touted to them by the Left. They chose to believe that “new” would not necessarily be “better”—and that “old” is not necessarily “outdated” and bad.
Netanyahu told supporters at his election night headquarters, “Against all odds, we achieved a great victory for the Likud. I am proud of the people of Israel, who in the moment of truth knew how to distinguish between what is important and what is peripheral, and to insist on what is important.”
This news should energize and encourage us in America as we look toward the presidential election next year. We must not despair or capitulate to the liberal media’s biased opinion. We must follow the admonition of Nehemiah in Nehemiah 4:14—”Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your home.”
It is time to rebuild the spiritual walls in America with a trowel in one hand, and a sword in the other.
As we rejoice with Prime Minister Netanyahu and the people of Israel, we must also resolve to humble ourselves, pray, seek the face of God, and turn from our wicked ways—firmly believing that He WILL in turn hear from heaven … forgive our sins … and heal our land.
Matt Barber is founder and editor-in chief of barbwire.com. He is an author, columnist, cultural analyst and an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. Having retired as an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer, Matt has taken his fight from the ring to the culture war. (Follow Matt on Twitter: @jmattbarber).
