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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001135A
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00:31 I'm in the north island of New Zealand. This small grave on a 00:37 lonely hillside about 150 km south of Auckland in the Waikato 00:43 region near Matamata marks the memorial site of a young Maury 00:48 girl whose death changed the course of New Zealand's history. 00:52 The arrival of muskets with European traders dramatically 00:57 changed the way Maury conducted intertribal warfare to settle 01:02 old scores or take revenge. Some Aotearoa Mayori chiefs soon 01:08 realized that muskets would give them enormous advantage in 01:12 warfare. These chiefs purchased large numbers of these weapons 01:17 and attacked their rivals with devastating effect. 01:21 The introduction of muskets changed Aotearoa, New Zealand 01:26 forever. The loss of life was immense and yet out of all this 01:32 hatred and violence comes a story of peace, hope and 01:39 forgiveness. This inspiring story will bring you hope and 01:42 and give you courage. 01:47 ♪ ♪ 02:08 The plague of war. It's a phenomenon that has cursed 02:12 humanity since the dawn of time. It's so destructive and horrible 02:18 and yet has there ever been time on planet earth when we've been 02:22 free of it? People try to solve disputes over land. People 02:27 wanting to lord it over others, people thirsting for power, 02:32 people seeking revenge. Whatever the reason the hideous 02:37 prospect of war rears its ugly head again and again in our 02:42 world. It doesn't have to be this way. Is war the only 02:46 solution to a crisis? Isn't there a better way to solve our 02:51 problems? There are cases in history where a better solution 02:56 to war has been found. Often these cases involve people 03:01 thinking far outside the square or where they make incredible 03:06 sacrifices, taking huge risks and most importantly battled 03:11 against the war in their own hearts. Today we're going to 03:18 look at one such example, but we're going to have to step back 03:21 in time a couple of centuries. By 1835 Christian missionaries 03:30 had been in Aotearoa, New Zealand for about 20 years. They 03:35 wanted to bring the uplifting effect of the gospel of Jesus 03:39 Christ to the Maury people living there and end the vicious 03:43 cycle of revenge and killing. The missionaries found the Maury 03:48 to be very intelligent and quick and keen to learn new things. 03:52 They also found that Maury were very adept at surviving in 03:58 Aotearoa, New Zealand. Using simple stone tools they could 04:03 fell large trees and from these make seaworthy vessels, canoes 04:08 called Waka. They would expertly navigate their boats 04:13 around the often turbulent waters of New Zealand. From the 04:17 flat bush they could make warm comfortable clothing, baskets, 04:22 snares for catching birds and nets for catching fish. They 04:27 possessed a great knowledge of the medicinal properties of the 04:30 many plants in Aotearoa, New Zealand. And Maury were masters 04:36 at obtaining food from the forests, rivers, and sea. But 04:42 when it came to negotiating the way through intertribal 04:45 difficulties or disagreements, Maury were bound by utu to 04:51 demand restitution or repayment. 04:53 For a child growing up under Utu it could be really difficult 05:00 They were hard times. They were anxious with anxiety not knowing 05:09 what's going to happen. Really difficult times. 05:16 But it was in its most extreme form, that of revenge, that utu 05:21 was most strongly practiced by some Maury chiefs. At this time 05:26 the passion and obsession to repay others for wrongdoing 05:30 escalated. There was no end in sight to this cycle of repayment 05:35 and revenge. The fighting was fierce and bloody. Multitudes 05:41 were killed. However in Aotearoa New Zealand the harsher aspect 05:48 of utu, revenge was turned on its heels by the message of 05:52 Jesus Christ. And that story begins with a little girl. 05:57 Traore was about 12 years old when missionaries, Elfred and 06:02 Charlotte Brown came to her iwi, her tribe, in April 1835. They 06:09 began a Christian mission amongst her people, the Nate Hawa in 06:14 Matamata. Traore attended this mission school. She also worked 06:19 in the Brown's household helping with various chores. About a 06:23 year earlier, in 1834, a man named William Kalinsa was living 06:30 Piea. He was a missionary printer and had produced a 06:34 thousand copies of what Maury called Te Ronwapi a Ruka, 06:39 the gospel 06:40 or good news according to Luke in the Bible. These books were 06:46 printed in the Maury language and circulated throughout the 06:49 top of the north island. A small stash of these had found their 06:54 way to Alfred and Charlotte's mission. At the mission, among 06:59 other things Elfred and Charlotte taught Tarore and 07:03 other Maury how to read and write and the books that Maury 07:07 learned to read from were portions of the Bible. Maury 07:11 were captivated by reading these books, the word of the great God 07:16 of the heavens. It was thrilling to them. In missions around New 07:21 Zealand large numbers of Maury applied themselves diligently to 07:26 the task and soon many were proficient at reading and 07:30 writing, they were reading the message of Jesus Christ and his 07:34 forgiveness and love for all humanity. The words in this book 07:39 challenged them and it changed many of them. By the late 1830s 07:43 a large number of Maury were connecting with Christianity. 07:48 One of these was Aranatiera, or chief, named Nakukuk, young 07:55 Traore's father. 07:57 All the changes in Nakuku's life were immense. His whole self 08:04 changed. You know, coming from the world that he knew and 08:09 understood we use the term Gadaffi which really means the 08:17 old ways, that path of resents. He would have been trained for 08:25 war. He was a warrior and his exposure to the gospel would 08:32 bring a real change to his life. 08:35 Things were beginning to move and change for the better as the 08:40 message of peace and forgiveness spread through this iwi, this 08:45 tribe. However at this early and vulnerable state of the mission 08:49 a chief from Tarore's iwi was murdered by a member of another 08:55 iwi in December 1835. Tensions between the Matamata people and 09:03 the enemy tribe erupted. Retributions followed and the 09:08 Nate Hawa stood helplessly by as the mission was plundered. In 09:14 the unstable environment Elfred Brown made the sad decision to 09:19 abandon the mission. As a new Christian Nakuku refused to 09:24 fight back. In his view, the Bible was his new weapon and he 09:29 made this clear in a bold speech when holding a Bible in his hand 09:33 he negotiated peace with an enemy. But with 20 or so 09:38 children of the mission something had to be done to 09:41 protect them from the violence that was breaking out. 09:44 Eventually Nakuku decided to take the children to Tilarana. A 09:52 mission helper named John Flat would come too. Flat had a horse 09:56 and together the small group began the 50 km trek to Tilarana 10:02 They had to cross the Taimai ranges and with so many children 10:07 the pace was slow. When they got about halfway they decided 10:12 to stop and camp overnight. It is understood that the camp 10:17 site was near here by the Wyhani falls, the highest waterfall in 10:22 the north island. In those days there was a bull rush shelter 10:27 there and this is where most of the traveling party would sleep. 10:30 John Flat slept outside a little distance from the hut. In the 10:35 evening the little group sat around their campfire. They read 10:39 the Bible and prayed together. They discussed the many new 10:43 things that were happening in their country. Soon the camp 10:47 settled down for the night and before long everyone was fast 10:52 asleep. Just before down, however, they were woken by the 10:57 loud barking of one of their dogs. Then they heard something 11:02 terrifying, shouting and the thundering sound of approaching 11:06 footsteps. Guessing that an enemy iwi, another tribe, had 11:10 found them, Nakuku commanded that the children flea into the 11:15 bush as quickly as they could. Carrying his young son on his 11:18 back he too fled into the forest The marauders were not 11:24 interested in the life of the European helper, John Flat. 11:27 but they were interested in his property. They plundered his 11:33 tent, even taking the clothes he was wearing and this gave Nakuku 11:37 and the others a few moments to flee. They escaped into the 11:42 surrounding bush. It was a mad panic with everyone running 11:46 helter skelter for cover. But the enemy had muskets and shots 11:51 were fired. John Flat stood in shock as one of the children 11:58 fell to the ground and then he watched in horror as the enemy 12:02 took parts of the child's body including her heart for their 12:06 ritual ceremony. And then as suddenly as they had come they 12:12 were gone. Eventually Nakuku and the children returned to the 12:20 camp where the chief found that the disfigured body of the child 12:24 He was devastated. It was his child, his beloved daughter, 12:30 Tarore. With great sadness he picked up her body. With the 12:36 traumatized group he carried her back to Matamata. What thoughts 12:42 must have tortured the mind of the newly converted Nakuku. 12:46 What was to become of his daughter? Was she forever lost? 12:51 Would he see her in heaven? When they arrived the question 12:57 was on everyone's lips. Would Nakuku now demand utu, would he 13:03 seek revenge? Surely he must give up on his missionary ways 13:07 forget Christianity and avenge the murder of his daughter. 13:14 Cries for utu and revenge simmered in the hearts of some. 13:17 But at the funeral the next day Nakuku made known his decision. 13:22 His profound speech was recorded by the missionary, 13:26 Elfred Brown. 13:28 There lies my child. She has been murdered as payment for 13:34 yobanunger. But do not rise to seek payment for her. God will 13:40 do that. Let this be the finish of the war with the enemy. 13:44 Now let peace be made. Him village teach us to come to 13:47 you. They 13:50 came and now you are driving them away. You are fine for my 13:55 girl, I am fine for you, for myself, for all of us. Perhaps 14:00 this murder is a sign of God's anger towards us for our sins. 14:05 Turn to him, believe, or you will all perish. 14:12 Tarore was buried and in the strength of his new found belief 14:16 in Christ Nakuku bravely continued to reject the cry for 14:21 utu, for revenge that clamored in his mind. This memorial grave 14:27 site has been erected to remember the story and the 14:30 wonderful forgiveness of Nakuku. But the story doesn't end here. 14:36 Meanwhile the enemy chief, the man who had killed Tarore, 14:41 returned to his path, his fortified village. 14:45 Among the things this tribal 14:47 chief had plundered from the camp site at Wyhani falls was 14:52 Nakuku' s copy of Te Aronapaia Ruka, the Bible book of Luke the 14:58 book that Tarore had learned to read from. He couldn't read. He 15:02 didn't know what it contained. But somehow he sensed a value in 15:07 this strange little book and wondered what it was all about. 15:12 He didn't discard the book, but kept it deciding he would wait 15:16 until he could find someone who could explain its mystery to him 15:20 It was only a matter of time before the puzzle would be 15:24 solved for him. Slavery was not uncommon among Maury but with 15:29 the calming effect of the gospel this practice gradually 15:33 decreased. By the 1830s slavery was losing its hold. Maury 15:39 captives were being released as missionaries lived and worked 15:42 with Maury tribes. They taught Maury about the love of God and 15:47 the respect God wants for people to give each other. Amazingly 15:52 freed captives would sometimes remain with their former captors 15:56 They would stay so that they could learn from the 15:59 missionaries the new art of reading and writing. At this 16:04 time many Maury became missionaries in their own right. 16:07 Many people believe it was one of these educated freed slaves 16:13 who unraveled the mystery of the little book to Tarore's killer. 16:18 When Tarore's killer came upon one of these educated freed 16:23 slaves, he asked him to read out the words from his little book. 16:27 At first, it must have sounded all very strange but he listened 16:33 with great interest. As he heard more the words played on his 16:39 mind. He sensed a freshness and beauty in them. It was as if a 16:44 whole new world was opening up to him. 16:46 If you do good only to those who do good to you why should you 16:52 receive a blessing. Even sinners do that. Now love your enemies 16:58 and do good to them. 17:00 The words opened his mind to a whole new concept and dream out 17:05 of himself. What a contrast they provided to utu. He began to see 17:11 himself in an altogether different light and as he 17:15 pondered these words, he became more and more restless. 17:19 He felt an awful sense of guilt for what he'd done to Tarore. 17:23 In time Tarore's killer learned that Jesus had paid the penalty 17:29 and would take the payment for his wrong doing. His part would 17:34 be to trust and believe that Jesus would do this for him and 17:38 from there he could grow into a better man. Bright new 17:43 impulses sprung up in his heart. He longed to engage with this 17:47 new God who was so loving, kind and selfless. But again he 17:53 became ashamed when he thought of what he'd done to Tarore. 17:56 What would this new God want him to do? Maybe he could make some 18:02 small gesture to her father. He knew that Nakuku had become a 18:07 Christian. After all, he had a missionary with him at Wyhali 18:11 Falls didn't he. As he pieced this together an idea drifted 18:16 into his mind. One day Nakuku received an unusual request at 18:23 the Christian village where he was living. The enemy chief, the 18:27 one who had killed his daughter sent a message asking if he 18:31 could join this Christian village. The message of Jesus 18:35 had worked a wonderful reformation in the heart of 18:39 Nakuku. Forgiveness was the only way forward. There was only one 18:45 answer that Nakuku could give. He invited his daughter's killer 18:50 to come to his village. Soon the day came when the two men faced 18:55 each other. Watu could sense forgiveness in the expression of 19:00 Nakuku. Then the noble chief extended his hand toward his 19:04 daughter's killer. Looking to the love of Jesus who had 19:08 forgiven his sins, Nakuku forgave the man who had so 19:13 brutally taken the life of his young daughter. And before long 19:18 this man too, this murderer, gave his heart to Jesus and was 19:23 baptized. Sometime after this Nakuku visited his old enemy to 19:30 encourage him in his new faith. The forgiveness and 19:34 reconciliation had not faded. Together they two men knelt 19:39 before God expressing the joy of release from utu. They relished 19:45 in the peace and freedom they had found by following in the 19:48 footsteps of the Lord Jesus. And what's more, the peace and 19:53 forgiveness brought through the gospel has been enduring. 19:57 To this day, over 180 years later, the two iwis, the two 20:04 tribes remain at peace. However there is even more to this 20:09 incredible and moving story. Nkuku's book of Luke hadn't 20:14 quite finished its work yet. The gospel of Jesus was reaching and 20:19 permeating more and more tribes across Aotearoa, New Zealand. 20:24 The revenge and killing were significantly decreasing and 20:29 more and more Maury captives were being released. One of 20:33 these freed captives was a man named Arapaho who was returning 20:38 to his fauno, his extended family, in Wellington. He too 20:42 had learned how to read and write from missionaries in the 20:45 far north while he was captive among the Naputu. As he passed 20:50 through Carpati, he came upon two young men who were closely 20:54 related to each other. Their names were Katu and Matanatufifu 21:00 of the Nate Toarangatera and Nate Rocawa people. They started 21:06 talking to each other and Arapaho told them about the work 21:10 that the missionaries were doing and the message they were 21:12 sharing. The cousins were intrigued by this message of 21:16 forgiveness and peace. Then when Arapaho told them that his 21:21 captors had released him and that captives were being 21:24 released all throughout the north island, the two men could 21:27 really see that something very different and new was happening 21:31 in their country. They became more and more interested in what 21:35 Arapaho was saying and wanted to learn more about his religion 21:40 and way of life that was more powerful than utu. They asked 21:45 Arepaho to teach them and he gladly obliged. He began to read 21:51 to them about the life and teachings of a very special man 21:55 who lived in Israel 1800 years earlier. Like Maury all over the 22:01 country Katu and Tufifu were thrilled at being able to learn 22:05 to read and write. Listen to the words of Katu which he would 22:09 later write: 22:11 We learned every day, every night. We did not lie down to 22:15 sleep. We sat at night in the hut all around the fire in the 22:20 middle. Fifi had a part of the book and I had a part. Sometimes 22:24 we went to sleep upon the book then wake up and read again. 22:30 With a passionate thirst they absorbed the words of the book. 22:34 And what book was it? It was the book of Luke from the Bible. And 22:39 incredibly it had the name Nakuku handwritten on the inside 22:45 cover. It's not known how but somehow Nakuku's Bible, the same 22:51 book from which Tarore had learned to read had found its 22:55 way down to these two men at Carpati. Christianity brought an 23:02 honorable alternative to utu that had been directing Maury 23:07 for so long. Incredibly the words of scripture enabled many 23:13 Maury to put the harsher aspects of utu behind them and 23:17 move forward, forgiving their enemies and believing in the 23:22 promises of the Bible. The old chief from Carpati, Teroparihaw 23:27 could see the changes for the better were happening all across 23:32 the country. The old traditional way was being given over to a 23:37 new way. Before long even he asked for missionaries to come 23:42 and live with his tribe and then he had this large church built. 23:48 Through the power of the bible and the gospel of Jesus to 23:52 change lives Teroparihaw's terrifying raids on the south 23:56 island were at an end. The dawn of a new way was opening for 24:02 the indigenous people throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand and it 24:07 started with a young Maury girl whose small white grave is found 24:11 on a lonely hillside hear Matamata. The heart of this 24:15 child became the incentive for peace and forgiveness. At her 24:20 funeral the father prayed that vengeance would belong to God. 24:24 Nakuku never gave up hoping divine justice. The vengeance of 24:30 God was the repentance and transformation of his daughter's 24:36 murderer and her story has become a symbol of peace and 24:40 hope forever. If you'd like to experience the peace, hope and 24:45 forgiveness that changed the lives of the Maury warriors and 24:50 brought them true happiness, why not ask for it now as we pray? 24:55 Our loving heavenly Father, we see in the Aotearoa, New Zealand 25:03 story what humanity can develop into without your word impacting 25:08 on our various cultures. But we thank you that we have in this 25:12 country's story such graphic evidence of the goodness of your 25:17 word and the peace it brings. We see the contrast between 25:21 man's ways and your ways. Your way heals, it restores, it 25:28 brings peace. Bless our hearts and help us to remember the 25:33 absolute importance of following your ways instead of our own, 25:38 in Jesus' name, Amen. 25:44 If you're battling with the challenges of life and would 25:47 like to experience the peace, hope and forgiveness that 25:51 changed the lives of the mighty Maury warriors and brought them 25:54 true happiness, then I'd like to recommend a free gift we have 25:58 for all our viewers today. It's the inspiring booklet Forgiving 26:03 the Unforgivable. This book is our gift to you and is 26:08 absolutely free. There are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:12 So please make sure you take this opportunity to receive the 26:17 gift we have for you today. Here's the information you need: 26:21 Phone or text us at 0436333555 or visit our website www.tij.tv 26:34 to request today's free offer and we'll send it to you totally 26:40 free of charge and with no obligation. So don't delay. Call 26:44 or text 0436333555 in Australia or 0204222042 in New 26:55 Zealand to request today's offer Write to us at: 27:17 Don't delay. Call or text us now If you have enjoyed today's 27:25 journey to Aotearoa, New Zealand and our reflections on the power 27:31 of God's love, then be sure to join us again next week when we 27:35 will share another of life's journey's together. Until next 27:39 week remember the ultimate destination of life's journey. 27:43 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. And God will wipe away 27:48 every tear from their eyes and there shall be no more death nor 27:52 sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former 27:56 things have passed away. 28:00 ♪Bless those who curse you pray for those who hurt you♪ 28:05 ♪do unto others as you'd have done to you. Love your enemies, put♪ 28:15 ♪aside your anger. Do this and live. Be captain of your soul |
Revised 2020-10-19