“This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. The report they sent him read as follows:
To King Darius:
Cordial greetings.
The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.
We questioned the elders and asked them, ‘Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?’ We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.
This is the answer they gave us:
‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.”
That’s not the whole of our exiles’ answer, but let’s stop there.
First, oh my. “The king should know that we went to…the temple of the great God.” I love that this is coming from non-Jewish mouths. They know who He is. They’ve heard of Him. He has made sure of this.
Second, don’t you love their answer to who authorized the rebuilding? We are servants of the God of heaven and earth.
Yes.
When He is the One authorizing what is being built, little else needs to be said.
But more is said, and likely not just for the Trans-Euphrates officials: Remembering. Bringing back to mind the reason the original temple was destroyed and the people taken captive.
But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.
Remembering is a consistent theme in God’s Word. This week at our small group we took the time to think through conflicts of 2015. We will never be rid of conflict in this life, but we can learn and grow…if we remember.
We intentionally brought to mind things He taught us in conflict. We journaled and shared and worshiped the God Who meets us in the difficult.
How about you? How will you keep conflict lessons at the forefront this year?
It might just keep us from captivity.