Facing Conflict & Opposition: Fight or Flight?

“Fight or Flight?

 Are They the Only Solutions When Facing Conflict—Insights from Ezra and Nehemiah”

Sabbath School Bible Study

October 27, 2019

Larry R. Evans

INTRODUCTION

Which of the following is true?

1.    Being a Christian is difficult.

2.    Being a Christian is easy.

Is the answer an “either/or?”  Can it be both?  Stay tuned and I think you will see that both are true today just as it was true in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

In our study today, we will review a serious conflict that God’s people faced soon after they returned home. They had just spent 70 years in a pagan city called Babylon. Some stood firm while others compromised their faith. Regardless, when they left Babylon, they went with a very specific assignment. They were to begin rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem.  However, if they were to achieve success, they would have to do it together.  No one would be able to shirk off challenges by simply saying, “Your end of the boat is sinking!”  They were in it together. Together they had to face opposition. Individual differences no doubt existed but together they had to agree on one purpose. 

How we handle conflict is critical if we are to accomplish God’s mission. Apathy, in times of a crisis should not be an option. Ellen White says it is a sin. Note how she addresses indifference in times of a crisis:

If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God. (3T 280)

In our study today, Nehemiah and Ezra reveal key insights for our personal lives as well as being part of the corporate church.

Conflict is part of life whether it be in society or the church. Conflict can be beneficial.  It can help society, or the church become aware of its purpose. An organization with no conflict at all can easily become frivolous with no purpose. Refinement of purpose is important, and it may take time for adjustments to be made. So, the presence of conflict is not evil in itself. There are different levels of conflict. The degree of conflict is determined by the objectives involved. Speed Leas in his book, Moving Your Church Through Conflict,identifies five levels of conflict.

 

        Levels of Conflict

There is a kind of conflict, however, that is destructive. Destructive conflict can be led by someone referred to as an “antagonist.” In his book, Antagonists in the Church, Kenneth Haugk describes the behavior employed by antagonists as:

·     Nonsubstantive Evidence

·     Initiate Trouble

·     Never Satisfied

·     Attack with the Implicit Goal to Control

·     Tearing Down Rather than Building Up

With these principles in mind, let’s review the experience of God’s people as they arrived in broken-down Jerusalem!  Our Bible study for today is a case study of conflict level #5, an intractable conflict. They find themselves in this situation with a group of antagonists with sinister motives. [Caution: be very careful calling someone an antagonist especially in the early stages of a conflict! Sometimes the tares and wheat need time to reveal themselves (Matt. 13:24-30).] 

OPPOSITION & CONFLICT BEGIN

(Ezra 4:1-5)

The Offer to Help.

God moved upon the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia, making it possible for God’s people in Babylon to leave in order to begin the rebuilding of a temple for their God (Ezra 1). What is amazing is that even much of what had been taken from the temple was given to them as part of reinstating their worship—5,400 articles of gold and silver!

They had barely gotten started when “the enemies of Judah and Benjamin” came to offer their help. They said,

“Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”Ezra 4:2

Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of heads of the families of Israel answered by saying, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God.” (4:3)

Was this response really necessary?  Didn’t this just invite conflict? Why not enlarge the work force and get the job done faster! Ummm, maybe we should ask a few questions before we draw a conclusion—an important principle with any attempt at conflict management!        2 Kings 17:24-41 provides some helpful insights. These people were imported from other nations into Samaria after the northern kingdom had been deported. The king of Assyria had sent priests to be teachers of those remaining in the land. Their teaching resulted in teaching the religion of Canaanite gods.  Zerubbabel and company well remembered that it was religious compromise that ultimately led their forefathers to be exiled to Babylon for 70 years. They determined they would not compromise. Conflict was inevitable. Remember what we had noted earlier,

Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God.

Timely Counsel Sent by God

Do you remember the characteristics of an “antagonist”? In this case, their objective is clearly stated in 4:4:  They sought to (1) discourage the people of Judah, and (2) to make them afraid to go on building. Their approach became clear and they used whatever means necessary including the force of “bribery” (4:5) along with,  

·     Nonsubstantive Evidence

·     Their Initiative to Create Trouble

This is exactly what was taking place in Ezra 4:6-24!

·     Character attack (“rebellious”-- v.12)

·     Engendered fear of financial loss (“no more taxes”--v.13)

·     Accusation of lack of loyalty (“the king dishonored”—v.14)

·     Pejorative interpretation of history (“In these records”—v.15) 

It would nice if God’s people always acted with courage and always made God’s mission a matter of personal valor.  Such was not the case. In the face of local opposition and conflict the building stopped. (4:1-5) until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

But the true prophets of God were not silenced. Zerubbabel, the Bible says, had the support of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (5:1) so he “set to work to rebuild the house of God.” 

The Arrival of Nehemiah

When Nehemiah arrived on the scene, he faced both external and internal opposition to all that God was directing him to do. Externallythe opposition grew and included other Arabs, Ammonites, and people from Ashdod who plotted to attack the builders (Neh. 4:7-9,11).  To meet this Nehemiah posted guards and prayed for God’s help.

But Nehemiah also faced internal problems.  Wealthy Jews were mistreating the poor by charging high interest (5:1-13).  Jews had married foreigners who worshiped other gods (9:1-2). Many were not tithing or keeping the Sabbath holy (10:31-39, 13:10-22). To meet these challenges required firm commitment to God and to the mission God had given them. It took both boldness and compassion. Nehemiah demonstrated both. He refused to be discouraged or intimidated by internal difficulties or external threats against him. He consistently depended on God for wisdom and for blessing his work.

The Resistance of Nehemiah & the Emergence of “Fake News”

If you listen to today’s news, you’d almost think that “fake news” is a new phenomenon.  Not true. It has been with the human race ever since Eve met Satan in the Garden.  

An all but a forced attempt to get Nehemiah to leave his work is seen in Nehemiah chapter 6.  Four times the antagonists sent messages telling him to “Come and let us meet together in one of the villages” (v.2). When that didn’t work an “email” was sent accusing Nehemiah and the others of “plotting to revolt” and setting up “a king in Judah.” Totally fake news—an attempt to put evil motives on what they were doing! Nehemiah responded candidly, “you are just making it up out of your head” (8). Has that ever happened to you?  It certainly has to me.  How did Nehemiah respond?  “They are just trying to frighten us” (v.8) and by implying we are not competent and that they are the expert builders with all the required wisdom.  And what happened?

“So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.” (v.15)

When that happened, what was the response by those who had opposed them?

And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.(Neh 6:16)

With them drawing such a conclusion, it does help us pull the curtain back and see what the unspoken issue at stake in this conflict.  It wasn’t the reputation of Nehemiah nor the competency of his people.  It was promoted that way but something much more serious was underlying the efforts to undermine Nehemiah’s leadership.  The reputation of God and His competency!  To draw that conclusion at the outset would not have been wise.  Following God’s “directives” is critical, however.  

CONCLUSION

We began our study today by asking a question:

Which of the following is true?

1.    Being a Christian is difficult.

2.    Being a Christian is easy.

The illustration of rebuilding the Jerusalem wall was certainly difficult!  Opposition and conflict are not fun.  There is something about hindsight, however, that helps in time to put difficulties in perspective.  Such a perspective leads us to saying, “If only I would have known; if only I would have trusted; things would have been much easier.

Some very wise counsel was given to us decades ago,

By study of the Scriptures and earnest prayer seek to obtain clear conceptions of your duty, and then faithfully perform it. It is essential that you cultivate faithfulness in little things, and in so doing you will acquire habits of integrity in greater responsibilities.The little incidents of everyday life often pass without our notice, but it is these things that shape the character. Every event of life is great for good or for evil. The mind needs to be trained by daily tests, that it may acquire power to stand in any difficult position.In the days of trial and of peril you will need to be fortified to stand firmly for the right, independent of every opposing influence. (Ellen White in 4T 561)

Indeed, it takes individual strength linked with the strength of others.  As pointed out earlier, no one is able “to shirk off challenges by simply saying, ‘Your end of the boat is sinking!’” and thencast the blame on others.   

“In every crisis His people may confidently declare, ‘If God be for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31.’” Prophets and Kings, p. 645.