Horror in Libya

Just after Egypt has quieted (on the surface, at least), Libya became a nightmarish killing field over the weekend, as its dictator and his sons turned their military allies against civilian demonstrators. The Libyan air force dropped bombs on the crowds, and the Libyan navy shelled private citizens from offshore!

The Libyan people are attempting to overthrow Muammar al-Gadhafi, who has run the country into the ground for over four decades. Victor Davis Hanson wrote of Gadhafi’s legacy in a Feb. 21, 2011, editorial for National Review Online:

“It was like no other country I have ever visited: wet garbage and sewage in the streets; an oil-exporter with massive pot-holes and no asphalt to fix them; almost every room, office, or hallway in Tripoli with peeling paint, exposed wiring, and something broken; the airport a disaster; almost every human action a possible violation of some government statute. …

“In sum, Gaddafi seems to have managed to destroy almost everything he touched: infrastructure, normal human interaction, the energy industry, the media—every aspect of life bore his destructive handprint.”

Selfish rulers, suffering citizens

Gadhafi’s rule illustrates Christ’s summary statement about human government at its worst: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them” (Matthew 20:25). His observation was not a contrast between Israelite and other nations. Rather, Jesus was talking about the nature common to all human beings. Indeed, biblical history tells of Israelite and Jewish rulers, who acted just like the gentile rulers Jesus spoke of.

Instead of serving the people over whom they ruled, those in power used their authority to selfish advantage. Human rulers at their worst indulge their every whim and gather wealth to themselves at the expense of their people.

That causes people to hate government. Like molten lava trapped beneath the surface of the earth, their hatred is a latent force that will explode when an opportunity to vent presents itself.

Oil production interrupted temporarily

Oil wealth, including the largest deposits in North Africa, provides Libya with its income. There are two centers of production. One is in the region of Tripoli, where Gadhafi is based. The other is on the opposite side of the country, the Benghazi area. While the Western press is reporting that Benghazi is “under the control of the protesters,” it is, in fact, controlled by Muslim tribal leaders.

The two regions are separated by 600 miles of open desert, so it will not be a simple matter for either side to defeat the other. Civil war is a strong possibility. And it could last for a long time.

The crisis has already begun to drive up oil prices (Libya produces 24 percent of Italy’s total oil consumption, as well as 10 percent of France’s and 6 percent of Germany’s). But both factions will want to continue to generate income, so both will continue to market oil. It’s in the interest of both sides to calm the situation, so that the technical workers of the oil fields will return to the country.

The people lose

The people obviously have good reason to throw off the dictator’s hands. But revolutions are not spontaneously organized. “Spontaneously organized” is an oxymoron when you stop to think about it.

With the widespread unrest throughout the Arab nations of North Africa and the Middle East, it is difficult to know who or what forces stirred the Libyan people to attempt to overthrow their dictator. Some say that Iranian agents, attempting to take advantage of the instability in these nations, are seeking to push them toward becoming Islamic states. These would be Shiites. There might also be Sunni agents stirring things behind the scenes in order to gain power for their branch of Islam.

Whichever faction wins the current confrontation, the people are likely to lose—again. Why? Because power will simply switch hands. And because what Christ said is true. Even the best-intentioned human rulers usually do a terrible job of governing.

There is more going on here than meets the eye. The Bible prophesies a specific configuration of these nations at the end of the age. Islamist forces will continue to work in the Arab nations of North Africa and the Middle East to move those nations into that prophesied alignment.

The Kingdom of God

The only hope for good government, government that is truly “for the people,” is the Kingdom of God. That was the core of Christ’s message, “the gospel of the kingdom.” The word gospel means “good news.” And it is a real government, not an ethereal or philosophical concept in the hearts of people.

The Kingdom of God is the true hope for the people in these troubled nations.