Demise Of Apartheid

Apartheid, the old South Africa's system of racial segregation, had been the Government's official policy for more than thirty years. 1994 has seen its final demise, following elections last April in which for the first time people were eligible to vote regardless of race.

We read in Psalm 103:6, "The LORD executeth righteous acts, and judgements for all that are oppressed". Oppression was the hallmark of apartheid. A minority of five million white people denied basic rights to more than twenty million blacks, most of whom bad to live in squalid housing, without electricity or adequate water supply, and their children were at the best given only a very limited education. By contrast the standard of living among the white population was in general extremely good.

Job 35:9 records Elihu's comment on reaction to oppression in his day:

"By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; they cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty". That comment comes from ancient times, but was very relevant to the South African scene under the apartheid regime. There were of course strident political outcries, both within South Africa and farther afield. So much so that South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth in protest against criticisms of its racial segregation policy. More importantly, we believe, there was much crying to God to intervene. There are many God-fearing believers in South Africa, both black and white. Their prayers over many years have not gone unheeded. In His own time and way God has worked to remove the oppressive regime and substitute a Government of National Unity, headed by President Nelson Mandela. That he should emerge to this position is a dramatic personal triumph against the background of his twenty-seven years' imprisonment for opposition to apartheid. Yet another example of the truth that "God is Judge: He putteth down one, and lifteth up another" (Ps. 75:7).

Great difficulties were encountered during the final phase of preparation towards the election last April. Extreme white elements of Boer descent did all they could to hinder progress, some of them finally resorting to violence and terrorism. The Incatha Freedom Party, based on the Zulu area of Natal, stood aloof in bitter criticism of its main rival. Henry Kissinger and Lord Carrington, two of the world's most skilled diplomats, were called in to help resolve the differences; but they could find no basis of negotiation, and concluded the two parties were irreconcilable. It is a matter for special thanksgiving that South Africa was saved from the danger of a major civil war between supporters of the old order and the great number who were committed to political change.

In retrospect it seems ironic to recall that apartheid was defended on scriptural grounds by some church groups in South Africa. Not that this misinterpretation of Scripture originated with apartheid. It had been argued long before to justify the subordination of the African to other races. The argument was based on Genesis 9:25-30:

And he [Noah] said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren . Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.

In this passage Canaan, one of the sons of Ham, was first put under a

curse and then placed in subordination to both Shem and Japheth. The inference was drawn from these statements that because Africans were descendants of Ham they were to be perpetually regarded as subordinate to the descendants of Shem and Japheth.

However, it was Canaan who was cursed, not Ham his father. The descendants of Canaan were the people who inhabited the land named after them, before it was invaded by the Israelites under Joshua's leadership. These peoples were virtually destroyed, so the curse should not be applied to others. It is relevant also to point Out that Canaan was only one of Ham's sons. He was also the father of Cush, Mizraim and Put. From Cush came Nimrod, who established the kingdom of Babel (Gen. 10:8-12), just one branch of Ham's descendants who were by no means in servitude to others.

It is generally recognized of course that a long and difficult road lies ahead for the new South Africa, but with racial equality officially recognized and basic freedoms confirmed, millions now face the future with a new hope.

unknown | Oct 1994
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