All Powerful / King of All, Faithful, Learning To Pray Effectively, Protector / Deliverer, Seeking God

Arise, O Lord!

We live in a fallen world. It is filled with sin and rebellion against God. There will be many times when we need help and deliverance from our heavenly Father. Let us turn to Him wholeheartedly and call out for His help. He is sufficient to handle any situation, no matter how dire it seems.

However, we should also take note… David highlights some important concepts to expecting God to answer our prayers. He has a just cause and he has dedicated himself to God and living according to God’s ways. David also expresses confidence… faith in the Lord as his deliverer. He even concludes indicating he is satisfied or content with the Lord, who has not yet addressed the prayer request. We should not necessarily expect God to answer our prayers if we live in disobedience and rebellion to Him… at least not until we genuinely and wholeheartedly repent from that rebellion and submit to Him.

As you read, do not simply study, but also adapt this and consider using it as a guide for your own personal prayer.

Psalm 17

Prayer for Protection against Oppressors.

A Prayer of David.

1Hear a just cause, O LORD, give heed to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips.

2Let my judgment come forth from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look with equity.

3You have tried my heart;
You have visited me by night;
You have tested me and You find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

4As for the deeds of men, by the word of Your lips
I have kept from the paths of the violent.

5My steps have held fast to Your paths.
My feet have not slipped.

6I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.

7Wondrously show Your lovingkindness,
O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.

8Keep me as the apple of the eye;
Hide me in the shadow of Your wings

9From the wicked who despoil me,
My deadly enemies who surround me.

10They have closed their unfeeling heart,
With their mouth they speak proudly.

11They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They set their eyes to cast us down to the ground.

12He is like a lion that is eager to tear,
And as a young lion lurking in hiding places.

13Arise, O LORD, confront him, bring him low;
Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword,

14From men with Your hand, O LORD,
From men of the world, whose portion is in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And leave their abundance to their babes.

15As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;
I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Courage / Fear, Faith / Trusting God, Protector / Deliverer, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God, Strong in Our Weakness, Wise

For God to Act Through Us, We Must Take Action

It is easy to reflect on the victory over Haman and miss some key threads that may be very applicable in our lives. Some look at Esther and see only how she and Mordecai took action to stop Haman. Others see only where God brought about the victory but discount the efforts and risk and planning taken by Esther and Mordecai.  In truth, we should recognize it was both.

Esther 7

Esther’s Plea

      1Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen. 2And the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine at the banquet, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” 3Then Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request; 4for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the annoyance to the king.” 5Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?” 6Esther said, “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.

Haman Is Hanged

      7The king arose in his anger from drinking wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king. 8Now when the king returned from the palace garden into the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even assault the queen with me in the house?” As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king said, “Behold indeed, the gallows standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai who spoke good on behalf of the king!” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” 10So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.

God’s hand can be seen throughout the book of Esther, ultimately climaxing in part in chapter 7. Reflecting back through the first six chapters, we can see how God arranged for Esther to be queen and be in position for a time like this to save her people. We can see God’s hand in the timing for which the king’s sleepless night led to him wanting to honor Mordecai, just when Haman was going to kill him. We can see the irony of Haman building gallows that he himself would hang from.

However, we also can reflect on the actions of Mordecai and Esther. Mordecai foiled a plot to kill the king. Esther gained the favor of the king and some of his key officials. Mordecai saw the opportunity for Esther to act. Esther fasted and prayed and invited others to do so along with her. She then risked her life by going into the king. When she did go into the king, she was not just blunt and clumsy in the approach. She was patient and clever.

This historical record is a great reminder that we are not simply to pray and then do nothing in most cases, though there may be some exceptions. We are to look to God but also to seek how we should act, even at personal risk.

Take a few minutes to prayerfully reflect and ask God to show you any areas in which He wants you to take more risk or action to address a situation. Perhaps He has placed you in a key role or position for such a time as this, as He did with Esther.   God may open a door for us to find victory, but we must walk through that door.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Knowing, All Powerful / King of All, Protector / Deliverer, Strong in Our Weakness

God Works Behind the Scenes in Ways We Don’t Even See

God intervening in His own timing can be fun to watch for His people, but it must be frustrating to those who oppose them. In the record of Esther 6, only Haman really experienced the full irony of God’s timing. He was not amused. He had plans to kill Mordecai. He was having gallows built. That very preceding night, God saw to it that the king could not sleep and that led to wanting to honor Mordecai. The timing was perfect to foil Haman’s desire to kill Mordecai that day.

Perhaps a key lesson for us is to trust in God, even when we don’t see what He is doing for us. He may often be working behind the scenes in ways we don’t see or understand.

Esther 6

The King Plans to Honor Mordecai

      1During that night the king could not sleep so he gave an order to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. 2It was found written what Mordecai had reported concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who were doorkeepers, that they had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3The king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” Then the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace in order to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared for him. 5The king’s servants said to him, “Behold, Haman is standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” 6So Haman came in and the king said to him, “What is to be done for the man whom the king desires to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?” 7Then Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king desires to honor, 8let them bring a royal robe which the king has worn, and the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed; 9and let the robe and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble princes and let them array the man whom the king desires to honor and lead him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.’”

Haman Must Honor Mordecai

      10Then the king said to Haman, “Take quickly the robes and the horse as you have said, and do so for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate; do not fall short in anything of all that you have said.” 11So Haman took the robe and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.”

      12Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried home, mourning, with his head covered. 13Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him.”

      14While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hastily brought Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

If Haman thought the events in Chapter 6 were bad, he was really going to be surprised at the second banquet with Esther and the king.

We can reflect on this part of the story of Esther, and really the whole historical account, and see God at work behind the scenes. So, too, we should trust that God may be doing likewise in our lives. He may be involved working things out that we don’t even know or understand. Sometimes, we may never know how He arranged something, like Mordecai in today’s reading. He did not know that Haman wanted to kill him. He ends up having Haman honor him on behalf of the king.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for all the times You are working on our behalf, and we do not even know it.  Help us to find peace in serving You and living according to Your ways. Help us to increase in trust and faith in You. Please protect Your people from those who would come against us and against You. Amen.

Take a few minutes and pray for some of our brothers and sisters in faith who may be in other countries or places facing extreme hardship. Pray that God would intervene on their behalf and protect them. We may often overlook praying for them, focusing on our own lives and things close to us.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Father / Yahweh, Holy Spirit / Ruach HaKodesh, Jesus Christ / Yeshua

YHWH Reveals Himself Through the Holy Trinity

Many struggle to fully understand how one God has chosen to reveal Himself to us in the persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Some even fall away from true faith over their lack of understanding in this issue or hesitate to follow Yeshua because of it. Others may simply dismiss it. Blessed are those who accept it on faith and those who study God’s word to gain a clearer understanding of it. Whatever your understanding, scripture is clear… Yahweh reveals Himself to us in three key relationships… that of Yahweh the Father, Yeshua the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:16-18 16After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Matthew 28:18-19 18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Take note of the importance of the Holy Trinity by its explicit mention by God in both the beginning of Jesus’ public earthly ministry at baptism and the end after He has died and been raised from the dead. The fact that God finds it important to express Himself to us in this way is undeniable. He does not shy away from it. It is front and center and important.

We could do well to conduct a detailed Bible study on each aspect of the trinity, and I encourage you to do so as you read through the Bible and study. I encourage you also to prayerfully ask God to reveal Himself clearly to you. For the purposes of today’s devotion, I will summarize at a high level.

Let me first begin with a simple example that may help remove some of the mystery, and then we will explore Biblical insights into the persons of the Trinity through which God reveals Himself to His people.

Try not to get hung up on someone revealing themselves through three persons. It seems impossible at first but consider even God’s humble people. I am a servant of God. So too am I a husband and a father. Further, I am a neighbor and a citizen of a city and a nation. I am an employee and also a leader. I am a son and a brother. I could go on. I am one person, but through many different roles I reveal myself in different relationships with people I meet. I am the same person, yet the way I act to my children is different in some ways to the way I act to my employer. Each relationship is consistent with the person being revealed, but each may show a different aspect or part of that person. So it is likewise with God.

Also allow for the fact that there may be nothing else exactly like it we can relate to. God is supernatural. Thy physical may help us understand Him, but may not be a perfect match.

God the Father, Yahweh

God the Father is the Creator, the Alpha and Omega… beginning and the end, He is our Father, our Provider, our Protector. He is sovereign. Respect and honor who God is. Take a few moments and be still before God. Contemplate the character of God:

  • The Great I Am
  • Creator of All
  • All Knowing (omniscient)
  • All Powerful (omnipotent)
  • Present In All Places At All Times (omnipresent)
  • The Beginning and the End (Alpha and Omega)

God’s name is to be separated from the world. To do this, we must separate from the world and focus on God. Focus on the Old Testament names for God.

God the Son, Yeshua

The word of God became flesh in the person of Yeshua and dwelt among us. He showed us how to live in relationship with God the Father and our fellow man. He suffered and died and was raised from the dead so our wrongs could be forgiven.

John 1:1-5 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:14-18 14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

John 14:6-11 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

7“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

8Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11“Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.

God The Holy Spirit, Ruach Chodesh

The Holy Spirit is a helper that God sends for each of us who believe in Him through the person of Jesus Christ and submit our lives to Him. The Spirit represents God living inside of each believer to help comfort, counsel, teach, and guide us.

John 14:16-26 16“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

18“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19“After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. 20“In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” 22Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24“He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

25“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

Embrace God’s word and allow God to more fully reveal Himself to you through each of these relationships He has chosen… God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help me to more fully understand the mystery of how you reveal yourself, three persons in one. You are one God, but You reveal Yourself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let me not reject the truth because I do not fully understand it, but rather help me to accept Your word and continue to grow in understanding. Help me not to redefine Your word to fit my understanding, but rather redefine my understanding based on Your word.  Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Fasting, Interceding for Others, Learning To Pray Effectively, Pride, Protector / Deliverer, Seeking God, Wise

Prayer, Fasting, and Thoughtful Planning

As we continue to read in Esther, we pick up in chapter 5. Haman has previously set about a plan to destroy the Jews in Persia. Esther risks her life to come before the king uninvited in order to try to save her people. She and the Jews of Susa have prayed and fasted for three days. Still, she has a plan for how to surface the request to save the Jews. She plans two banquets and includes Haman in them. This is interesting and there could be interesting study in why she might have chosen this path instead of just talking privately to the king.

However, a key point to focus on here today is much simpler. Having prayed and fasted, and having asked others to do so with her, she still is thoughtful about how she proceeds. She is clever and subtle at first, not just laying it out there bluntly to the king. She gains his favor. Of course, do not overlook that God is at work in response to the prayer and fasting that is helping her be successful as well. There is much to be learned that we can apply in our own lives.

Esther 5

Esther Plans a Banquet

      1Now it came about on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace in front of the king’s rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room, opposite the entrance to the palace. 2When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter. 3Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you.” 4Esther said, “If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”

      5Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly that we may do as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared. 6As they drank their wine at the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” 7So Esther replied, “My petition and my request is: 8if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and do what I request, may the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king says.”

Haman’s Pride

      9Then Haman went out that day glad and pleased of heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate and that he did not stand up or tremble before him, Haman was filled with anger against Mordecai. 10Haman controlled himself, however, went to his house and sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11Then Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, and the number of his sons, and every instance where the king had magnified him and how he had promoted him above the princes and servants of the king. 12Haman also said, “Even Esther the queen let no one but me come with the king to the banquet which she had prepared; and tomorrow also I am invited by her with the king. 13“Yet all of this does not satisfy me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” 14Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows fifty cubits high made and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go joyfully with the king to the banquet.” And the advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.

When we face difficult situations, and we come before God in fasting and prayer, we can also still be thoughtful in how we approach any situation to try to get the best outcome. Don’t underestimate, however, that part of why the plan is working so well is because God is at work. Esther has taken personal risk and is carefully engaging the king, but she did so after first engaging God to help!

As a side note, we also see Haman’s pride on display, which leads him to construct gallows for Mordecai. (Spoiler alert: Mordecai is not the one who will hang on them.)

What situations do you have in your life that require you to overcome significant challenges? Are you praying and fasting to seek the LORD? If you are praying and fasting, are you also planning thoughtfully how to proceed?

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You that we can approach You in prayer and fasting to seek Your help. Thank You for examples in scripture that can help guide us in how we should live. Thank You for having mercy and forgiveness for Your people and redeeming us through Yeshua. Please help us to defeat the plans of the enemy and to protect Your people still today. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Church / Body of Christ, Courage / Fear, Fasting, Interceding for Others, Learning To Pray Effectively, Persecution / Glorifying God, Protector / Deliverer, Seeking God, Strong in Our Weakness, Wickedness / Evil

For Such a Time as This

Sometimes the choices we are forced to make may seem like being put between a rock and a hard place. There appears to be no good choice.  This certainly applies to Esther in the record we find in chapter 4. Haman plans to kill all the Jews and she has to decide if she will risk her life to try to stop him. Ultimately, she has to answer the question, “Has she been put in this position by God for such a time as this?”

Esther 4

Esther Learns of Haman’s Plot

      1When Mordecai learned all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city and wailed loudly and bitterly. 2He went as far as the king’s gate, for no one was to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. 3In each and every province where the command and decree of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing; and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.

      4Then Esther’s maidens and her eunuchs came and told her, and the queen writhed in great anguish. And she sent garments to clothe Mordecai that he might remove his sackcloth from him, but he did not accept them. 5Then Esther summoned Hathach from the king’s eunuchs, whom the king had appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6So Hathach went out to Mordecai to the city square in front of the king’s gate. 7Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict which had been issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show Esther and inform her, and to order her to go in to the king to implore his favor and to plead with him for her people.

      9Hathach came back and related Mordecai’s words to Esther. 10Then Esther spoke to Hathach and ordered him to reply to Mordecai: 11“All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court who is not summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days.” 12They related Esther’s words to Mordecai.

      13Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. 14“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

Esther Plans to Intercede

      15Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16“Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.” 17So Mordecai went away and did just as Esther had commanded him.

Even as Esther plans to take action, she turns to the LORD. She calls for a three day fast for herself and all the Jews in Susa. She is drawing near to Yahweh and seeking His favor and help. This is a good approach for us as well. Esther chose to risk her life to save her people. We should be asking ourselves, “What am I able to influence given what position(s) I am in today?” “Does God want me to take certain action that may seem difficult for me but could be why He has placed me in this position?”

I think it is also worth highlighting a few other thoughts. When the Jews heard about the decree, they responded with fasting and mourning. We often overlook the value of fasting today. Additionally, take note of Mordecai’s faith, expressed in verse 14,  that the Jews will be rescued by God one way or another. I appreciate that faith. That is another area in which we sometimes fall short today.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for the Bible which leads and guides us and inspires us in our desire to walk closely with You. Please protect Your people around the world today from persecution. Raise up righteous leaders and prepare Your people to listen, repent of their wicked ways, and draw near to You. Defeat the plans of those who wish to come against Your people. Kindle in us an appropriate desire for fasting and prayer as a way to draw near to You and ask for Your help. Amen. 

 Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Courage / Fear, Faith / Trusting God, Persecution / Glorifying God, Pride, Purposeful / Intentional, Wickedness / Evil

Stand Strong for God, Even When the World Comes Against You

Sometimes those who are of the world will come against God’s people because we refuse to conform to their ways. It may be a pride issue, or simply resentment because we are different. Many are not comfortable tolerating others who have a different belief system and are living for God. It seems especially difficult when it results in highly visible differences in how we behave, as in the case with Haman and Mordecai.

Esther 3

Haman’s Plot against the Jews

      1After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the princes who were with him. 2All the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage. 3Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why are you transgressing the king’s command?” 4Now it was when they had spoken daily to him and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage. 6But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

      7In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Pur, that is the lot, was cast before Haman from day to day and from month to month, until the twelfth month, that is the month Adar. 8Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. 9“If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry on the king’s business, to put into the king’s treasuries.” 10Then the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11The king said to Haman, “The silver is yours, and the people also, to do with them as you please.”

      12Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province and to the princes of each people, each province according to its script, each people according to its language, being written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder. 14A copy of the edict to be issued as law in every province was published to all the peoples so that they should be ready for this day. 15The couriers went out impelled by the king’s command while the decree was issued at the citadel in Susa; and while the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in confusion.

Of course, not all those who come against God’s people are going to try to execute all of us. However, do not fool yourself. There are still places in this world today that are very aggressive against those who follow Yeshua including persecution up to and including death. In countries like the United States, we more often see attempts to use the legal system and lawsuits to try to force us to turn away from our beliefs. To a lesser, but still powerful extent, social media and corporations and government and school systems all tend to be heavily biased against those who would visibly live our lives for God and follow His instructions.

We should stand firm in our faith and what we believe is right. We should seek the LORD to help protect and guide us.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help Your people stand strong in the face of opposition and persecution. Please protect us and bless us. Help us to thrive even among the godless culture in which we live. Open the eyes of the spiritually blind that they may see the truth around them and change their lives to live for You according to Your instructions. Amen.

 Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

All Knowing, His Timing Not Ours, His Ways Are Not Our Ways

God Uses Events in Our Lives in Ways We Can’t Anticipate

Sometimes we experience chapters in our lives that seem not to fit in with the flow of everything else we are experiencing. We do not realize how God is preparing something to be used later for His purposes. While the whole book of Esther fits in this category as a whole, there is also a smaller example within toward the end of chapter 2. Mordecai uncovers a plot to kill the king and foils it, but ultimately gets no reward or attention at the time. Truth be told, he could easily have been angry with the king given how he collected Esther, whom Mordecai was raising, into a harem with many other young women. We see later, in Esther 6, that God is using this situation to protect Mordecai and really frustrate Haman at the same time. Of course, Mordecai could have no idea how that situation would come back to benefit himself later. That was not his motivation, but clearly once again God was at work.

Esther 2:20-23

Mordecai Saves the King

      21In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s officials from those who guarded the door, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22But the plot became known to Mordecai and he told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai’s name. 23Now when the plot was investigated and found to be so, they were both hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the Book of the Chronicles in the king’s presence.

Esther 6:1-9

     1During that night the king could not sleep so he gave an order to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. 2It was found written what Mordecai had reported concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who were doorkeepers, that they had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3The king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” Then the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace in order to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared for him. 5The king’s servants said to him, “Behold, Haman is standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” 6So Haman came in and the king said to him, “What is to be done for the man whom the king desires to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?” 7Then Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king desires to honor, 8let them bring a royal robe which the king has worn, and the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed; 9and let the robe and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble princes and let them array the man whom the king desires to honor and lead him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.’”

Sometimes we will experience chapters in our lives that may not make sense at the time. We may be tempted to dismiss them as just random parts of life. God can and does use these situations at times to bring about blessing for us or to bring about His plans. I have personally experienced times like these where I learned a certain skill and then not too long later was able to use it to greater glory for God. To use a very simple example, I recall troubleshooting electrical outlets and switches in my house to learn how to solve a problem I had. It had never come up for me before. Not a few months went by before I had the chance to help a widow by a quick fix on her bathroom with the same exact problem. I think it is awesome to watch God work!

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help us to trust You at all times. Help us to recognize when You are at work in our lives. Thank You for preparing us and leading us through the events that may seem random to us at first but are actually part of how You are preparing us for something in the future! May the glory be to Your name and not our own. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Knowing, All Powerful / King of All, Faith / Trusting God, Humility, Protector / Deliverer

Looking Deeper into Esther’s Story – Grace and Composure

If you really stop and consider what Esther experienced in the process by which she became queen, it is quite fascinating. At a high level, it may sound like a very positive experience. She wins a beauty contest and becomes queen and then is in position to save her people and God gets the glory. This is all true, but it is more complex than that, and understanding that can help us in considering how God may be at work in our lives.

As you read through the historical account in Esther 2, reflect on what it may have been like from her perspective. I don’t believe she had much choice in participating in the king’s round up. However, she maintained composure and wisely sought and heeded advice from others, such as Mordecai and Hegai. She gained favor among people, and not just the king. She likely had a very pleasing personality to go along with her beauty. This attitude she seems to have maintained throughout a very challenging series of events that must have seemed intimidating at times.

Esther 2:1-19

Vashti’s Successor Sought

      1After these things when the anger of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2Then the king’s attendants, who served him, said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king. 3“Let the king appoint overseers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every beautiful young virgin to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let their cosmetics be given them. 4“Then let the young lady who pleases the king be queen in place of Vashti.” And the matter pleased the king, and he did accordingly.

      5Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, 6who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled. 7He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful of form and face, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

Esther Finds Favor

      8So it came about when the command and decree of the king were heard and many young ladies were gathered to the citadel of Susa into the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s palace into the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. 9Now the young lady pleased him and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and food, gave her seven choice maids from the king’s palace and transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem. 10Esther did not make known her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had instructed her that she should not make them known. 11Every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and how she fared.

      12Now when the turn of each young lady came to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women— 13the young lady would go in to the king in this way: anything that she desired was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14In the evening she would go in and in the morning she would return to the second harem, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not again go in to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

      15Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, came to go in to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus to his royal palace in the tenth month which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

Esther Becomes Queen

      17The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18Then the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his princes and his servants; he also made a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts according to the king’s bounty.

      19When the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 20Esther had not yet made known her kindred or her people, even as Mordecai had commanded her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her as she had done when under his care.

God brought Esther through a series of events for which none of us would likely volunteer ourselves or our daughters. She had no choice in what she experienced other than how she would handle it personally. She managed it very effectively maintaining her composure, humility, and I would have to assume a cheerful disposition. (I assume a cheerful disposition because it is very hard to find favor with people when you are a grump or pouting.)

God may similarly bring us through circumstances we don’t want, but we will have the choice on how we act in those circumstances. We may not even know how He plans to use the circumstances we experience while we are going through them. He does not always tell us in advance and show us the map of His plans. We do well to learn to trust Him and conduct ourselves with grace and composure in all circumstances.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, help us a Your people to trust in You in all circumstances. Help us to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of representing You. Encourage us in tough times. Thanks and praise to You that You can use even strange or difficult circumstances in our lives to bring about Your purposes. Amen.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Knowing, All Powerful / King of All, Peace / Rest

God Is Never Surprised or Unable to Accomplish His Will

God can make a way to accomplish His will, even using situations that are completely independent of His people. As we will read in Esther as we progress, there was a crisis looming for the Jewish people in which Haman was going to destroy them. God chose to put Esther, a young Jewish girl in place as queen of Persia so that she could be used to save His people at the right time.

For that to come to pass, Queen Vashti had to be removed as queen. We read in Esther 1 about the circumstances by which that took place.

Esther 1

The Banquets of the King

      1Now it took place in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, 2in those days as King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in Susa, 3in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his princes and attendants, the army officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of his provinces being in his presence. 4And he displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty for many days, 180 days.

      5When these days were completed, the king gave a banquet lasting seven days for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa, from the greatest to the least, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace. 6There were hangings of fine white and violet linen held by cords of fine purple linen on silver rings and marble columns, and couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and precious stones. 7Drinks were served in golden vessels of various kinds, and the royal wine was plentiful according to the king’s bounty. 8The drinking was done according to the law, there was no compulsion, for so the king had given orders to each official of his household that he should do according to the desires of each person. 9Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus.

Queen Vashti’s Refusal

      10On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown in order to display her beauty to the people and the princes, for she was beautiful. 12But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. Then the king became very angry and his wrath burned within him.

      13Then the king said to the wise men who understood the times—for it was the custom of the king so to speak before all who knew law and justice 14and were close to him: Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media who had access to the king’s presence and sat in the first place in the kingdom— 15“According to law, what is to be done with Queen Vashti, because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?” 16In the presence of the king and the princes, Memucan said, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also all the princes and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17“For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women causing them to look with contempt on their husbands by saying, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in to his presence, but she did not come.’ 18“This day the ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s conduct will speak in the same way to all the king’s princes, and there will be plenty of contempt and anger. 19“If it pleases the king, let a royal edict be issued by him and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti may no longer come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to another who is more worthy than she. 20“When the king’s edict which he will make is heard throughout all his kingdom, great as it is, then all women will give honor to their husbands, great and small.”

      21This word pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. 22So he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, to each province according to its script and to every people according to their language, that every man should be the master in his own house and the one who speaks in the language of his own people.

There are a number of different questions we could explore in this chapter, but one that comes up quite often is “Why did Queen Vashti refuse the king, knowing the likely consequences?”

The king and the men he was entertaining had been feasting and drinking for seven days. The only reference as to why he was calling her is to her beauty. You can be sure it is very unlikely the king had any noble purposes in mind. It was most likely that she would be humiliated in some way while being asked to entertain a bunch of drunk men.

Ultimately, however, we can return to the over-arching context of the book of Esther. The queen had to be removed to put Esther in place before Haman’s plot unfolded. God was putting Esther in place for His own purposes and thus had to remove Vashti in some way. If God wants to influence the hearts and minds and actions of the king of Persia and possibly the queen, He is certainly capable of doing so. One could also consider the king and his advisors over-reacted by our standards in their response, but that may have been typical for their culture and time or God may have hardened their hearts as He did Pharoah at the time He delivered the Israelites out of Egypt.

One last observation is that the author of the book may not have been Jewish and that this seems to be written more as an historical account of these events without the mention of God or explicitly pointing out how He was working in the background of the events. This has a different tone and feel than other historical books of the Bible which tend to call out more explicitly God as He is working through the lives of the Jewish people.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for working in the lives of Your people, even when we do not see it or understand it. Help us to be brave and focused on honoring You and helping one another, even when it comes at some personal risk to ourselves. Help us to have peace and comfort knowing that You are never surprised. You are never unable to address any situation. We can trust in You! Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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