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I know it doesn't bear thinking about, although some authors have written plays about it, including of all people, Noel Coward. But what if Nazi Germany's army had crossed the Channel in 1940, and conquered Great Britain and Ireland (Yes, Ireland was part of this map of conquest and Nazi resettlement planning.) We know what the Nazis intended for they had made detailed printed plans to deport all the males between 18 and 55 by force to be slave labour in different parts of their master race's empire. Aryan women were to be used as breeding stock for the Nazi population machine.
Well, imagine that it had happened, and you found yourself in some ghastly European slave camp, as slave labour. It would be all you knew. You'd been there all your life. In fact, let's imagine that you were a third or fourth generation prisoner. You would be desperate to know, especially as the Nazi empire began to crumble, who you were, why were you here, who were your forebears, what did it mean to be British, what did the old British Empire stand for, why did it fall. Among your people was a team of scholars who set down your national and family history from the year dot. Now you wouldn't expect a detailed account of everything, that would take a library as big as the British Museum to contain. You would want the salient points, the main features, the greatness, the grandeur and the reasons why your nation fell to the enemy.
Imagine what that story would be like. Think of some of the ingredients. The loud lessons of history, the mistakes our leaders made. The way power corrupts the most well-meaning of people. Well that was the task the Chronicler under took when he (and possibly his team) produced the Books of Chronicles aided also by the Memoirs of Nehemiah and Ezra.
It's no surprise that he never mentions the nation of Israel, only Judah. Israel was the Kingdom which split from Judah after Solomon died, with its Capitol at Samaria. It made golden calves its Gods, and thus was not considered worthy of recalling its story.Therefore the Books of Chronicles tell the story of the rebirth of the people of Judah (and Benjamin) - THE JEWS. Had they learned the lessons from their own history? If we had been deported and eventually returned to Britain, would we have learned the lessons, or just gone back to where we were before? Those early returnees needed to be told that they were making the same mistakes all over again. Haggai 1:9
You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. "Why?", declares the Lord Almighty, "Because of my house which remains in ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house."
A Prayer:
Lord, bring your ancient people to know their true Messiah - whose name is Jesus and give all Jesus followers a loving compassion for the Jews.
Now read Haggai Chapter 1.
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