For such a time as this, conclusion

What an awesome study this has been! I hope you have been blessed by it; I have learned so much myself!
Today we are concluding our look at the book of Esther, and we'll focus on our main character . . .

With the help of her uncle, who was really a step-dad to her (wowser, that is a lesson right there, is it not? How many of us or our friends are step-parents.....what an awesome responsibility that is, and here is evidence that love and instruction can make a huge difference in young people's lives!) .....
I got off track there, didn't I?
(Grin)
OK, back to my thought -- with Mordecai's help, Esther understood that God had placed her in a position to make a difference. She was able to model extreme courage for those of us who could use an example when our faith is teetering on the edge of I-don't-think-I-can-do-that. Esther bravely did something that could have caused her own death.

I guess that one of the greatest lessons from this story is that God has placed EACH ONE OF US in positions where we can influence others for good. We are never, ever insignificant. He has put all of us where we can make a difference. We are in our families for a particular reason. We are in our neighborhoods for a specific reason. We are in our churches and schools for God's purposes. We are to be salt and light; we are to influence lives; we are to communicate Christ's love to our fellow employees where we work. No one else can do exactly the same job that we can do. There is a God-given purpose for our lives, and He placed us there for a very important reason. We might not see it now. But God never does things by accident!

We may grumble sometimes about our job. We may complain about our school, or mumble under our breath about things at church. Sometimes we should -- maybe there is something constructive that needs to happen after we complain!
So let's not carp so much that we miss out on opportunities to do His work. Behind each and every circumstance in our lives is a greater purpose than what we can see right now. Perhaps we are on a committee at school or at church. It's not easy to stand up and speak, but our input may be just what is needed! Maybe we are waiting at the oil change place, or at a doctor's office. Is there an opportunity to speak up for God when you hear or engage in a conversation?

Sometimes I think that God has placed us where we are, not simply to read a magazine while we wait, or listen to a conversation and not say a word for Him. Perhaps the people around us have been placed in our lives for such a time as this. Utter a silent prayer for guidance and then take a holy risk. Watch what God can do with our lives! Of course, we may not see the fruits of our risk-taking, at least not until heaven. We never know what long-term effect our words and prayers will have.

Did you notice something in this book?
Even though we can see evidence of God's presence behind the scenes, His name is not mentioned in the book of Esther. He is not visible, but He is working His will . . . . He brought Esther to Persia, and made her grow up to be a lovely and personable young woman who would win the "beauty pageant." He placed her as queen, and placed Mordecai in just the right spot to overhear the plot to assassinate the king. He may even have used Esther's cooking to keep the king up at night so he'd hear the story of Mordecai saving his life! And he made sure that Haman was in the palace at the right moment, so that Mordecai would be honored.

Perhaps we need to focus on looking for God's leading each day. If we expect to see Him at work in our lives, we will be surprised at how many times we will have the opportunity to serve Him! There are no "coincidences" with God, and our lives are filled with divine appointments, not accidents.

What does He have planned for you and for me, today?

For such a time as this, continuing

The book of Esther certainly has been an emotional roller-coaster ride, hasn't it?  We have met some people who have been good, some who've been bad, and one that was downright ugly! (Grin) Haman was a mess, wasn't he?

In the first part of the book, we saw a queen take a courageous stand. Vashti took a moral stand. Remember her part of the story? She knew that her morals would have been compromised if she had walked around in that room full of drunken men. She decided not to cross the line, because she felt like it was the wrong thing to do.

What about us? Do we need to take a moral stand in our relationships? Is there someone who is trying to get us to compromise? Maybe it's a compromise of sexual standards. Maybe it's integrity. Maybe it's a question of how we treat people. Don't give in. Take a stand! We must hold our ground . . . if we have already crossed the line, we can ask God for forgiveness and make a fresh commitment. It's never, ever too late for that. Perhaps we've been talking to ourselves and justifying our compromise, but deep inside the Spirit is telling us that we are doing wrong. We need to quit trying to fool ourselves and live in God's ways.

That doesn't mean it's easy! In fact, sometimes it can be awfully controversial. And it can definitely make us unpopular. Doing the right thing can have some unpleasant consequences in the short term. Look at Queen Vashti . . . she did the right thing, but she lost her position of royalty and power. No more influence. Probably not as much wealth. She was banished from the kingdom. If we take a moral stand in sexual matters, or in matters of finances or integrity, or in matters of how we treat other people, we may be made fun of. We may lose some "friends." We may be ridiculed. We may lose some wealth, too. It requires courage.

Is it worth it?
You bet it is!

Did we see someone else in the story take a stand? We sure did. Mordecai.
Mordecai was willing to take a spiritual stand. Mordecai was a man who was devoted to his faith, and to his God. He had surrendered his life to God, and he wasn't willing to worship, or bow down to, anyone or anything else. It wasn't an easy stand to take. Think about him, seeing Haman coming down the street, and all of the people bowing to him. Think about the courage that it took, to be the ONE person who didn't bow down!

It takes courage to be a Christian in today's world, too. It takes courage for some of us to go to church. It takes courage for us to check out this faith that we see in others. It takes courage to turn our lives over to Jesus . . . we must have the courage to admit that we are sinners. To admit that we need God.
Then it takes courage to face those sins, and that holy God, and ask Him to forgive us. And then, when we receive Him into our lives, it takes courage to follow Him.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

Do you and I have the courage of Mordecai? Will we stand up and be counted as a follower of Christ?

Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32)

Do the people around us even know that we are Christians? Let's be like Mordecai and speak up.

For such a time as this, continued

Last week, we saw that Mordecai heard about (and revealed to Esther) a plot against King Xerxes (or Ahasuerus) of Persia. The assasins were foiled, and life went on . . .and it's recorded for us beginning with chapter four of the book of Esther. Yes, life went on....
Except that the king was fearful for his life now. So he shakes up his government, big time! He promotes a really slimy politician to be his right-hand man. (Does this sound anything like the politics of today? Just sayin.....)
Haman is the new fellow's name, and he is known as an "Agagite." That didn't ring a bell with me, either. (Grin)
So, it turns out that an Agagite is an "Amelikite." Remember them? They were enemies of God's people way back in the book of Exodus. You can check it out in chapter 17. The history is this: Saul was ordered by God to completely destroy the Amelikites in I Samuel 15. He disobeyed, and let the king of the Amelikite people live. Because of that, Saul lost his kingdom. And about 700 years later, his sin is still causing trouble for God's people.

This Haman was such an obnoxious guy. He demanded that everyone bow down before him whenever he walked by. No, I don't mean a nod, or a slight bend at the waist for the sake of politeness. He literally wanted everyone to bow down -- and they all did, except for one courageous guy: Mordecai, Esther's uncle. Because Mordecai was a Jew, and because he followed his God faithfully, he was committed to only bowing before God. To him, the verses in Exodus really meant something!

                  You shall have no other gods before me . . . You shall not bow down 
                   to them or worship them.... (Exodus 20:3-5)

Well, the fact that Mordecai didn't bow to him really bothered ole Haman. Got under his skin something fierce. And when he found out that Mordecai was a Jew, it brought back all of the bad feelings from his heritage. He decided to devise a plan to destroy Mordecai and all of the Jews that were scattered around in the Persian empire. Haman bribed the king and persuaded him to sign a decree to destroy all of the Jews on a set day in the month we call February. Young and old, women, men, children. Mordecai hears of the plan and begins to mourn.

He stops eating. He weeps and wails, and puts dust on his head. He substitutes coarse sackcloth for his everyday clothes, as a symbol of death and decay. When Queen Esther hears about it, she sends a messenger to ask what in the world is going on . . . apparently she hadn't heard about the decree yet.

Wow.
What if we went home this evening and turned on the television, and the news anchor calmly said that on a certain day, all of the Christians in our country were to be killed.
How would we feel?
I have no doubt that Esther was upset about the decree. Mordecai pleads with her, to use her high position to take a stand, and to save her people.

                  Please go into the king's presence and beg for mercy and plead
                  with him for our people. (Esther 4:8)

Esther's first response was a fearful one. For one thing, no one knew that she was Jewish. For another, she knew what had happened when the former queen dared to go against the king. Plus, no one was allowed into his presence unless you had been summoned! In fact, unless you were summoned by him, and he pointed his scepter toward you, you could be put to death! Persian etiquette was no small or trivial matter, eh? Lastly, she told him, it had been about thirty days since she had seen the king.

Mordecai told her that she needed to "step up to the plate." He made a very convincing argument:

he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14)

Wow!
He's telling her, don't think that you will escape death when the killing happens . . you will be wiped out just like every other Jew in the kingdom because you are one of God's chosen people. And, he says, if  you don't do something, Esther, God will send someone else. Esther, you aren't indispensable, for God will accomplish His purpose. Mordecai is reminding her that God's plans will still move forward, but she could miss out on the opportunity to serve God and enjoy the blessings that come from that service. Besides, he says, God put you here for a reason -- for such a time as this!

Esther's courage picks up and her faith is encouraged. She knows that she cannot do this alone, so she calls on all of the Jews in Susa to pray and fast for three days. Then she tells Mordecai that she will go to the king. She is risking her life for her people -- "if I perish, I perish."

Did you see what happened here? The winner of the Persian beauty pageant just became a courageous woman of God!

We'll continue with Esther next time . . . stay tuned!

For such a time as this, part III

(Just a note here for everyone's enjoyment. I had more than one person who commented and left lovely feedback, but I couldn't express my thanks personally, because their settings were on no-reply. If you would like to check your own, like I did, simply google search "edit blogger profile" and then on your profile page, click to "show my email address." It won't show for the world, don't worry about that. It will show for the blogger to be able to respond to you. IMPORTANT: Go all the way down to the bottom and save! All should be well.)

So far in our story, we have a new queen for Xerxes, and we've watched as a new holiday has been declared, in Esther's honor.
Our verses have told us that Mordecai was a very dedicated uncle. He was concerned for Esther's welfare, and every day walked in a courtyard area that allowed him to know what was going on in the harem, and in the palace. The relationship between Mordecai and Esther seems to be a close one; he cared for her, and she truly valued and followed his advice.
Perhaps she always made sure she was visible from the courtyard, and he could see her, and know that she was well. Perhaps one or two of her attendants were trusted with carrying messages. They didn't have emails or texts, but they managed to stay close and communicate with each other. How important that is, in any relationship!
 Let's see what happens next:

When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 20 But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.
21 During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 22 But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. 23 And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king. (Esther 2:19-23)

Wow!
Mordecai must have had some role in the leadership of the people. It says that he "sat" at the gate, and we've discussed before that means a role in judging disputes and giving counsel to the people.

So, while he's on the job, he overhears two hot-heads who are mad at the king. They're talking about their plan to kill Xerxes! Mordecai listens carefully to the two would-be assassins, and gets all the details. When he is sure that he has all of the particulars, he makes certain to tell Queen Esther -- on one of his visits to the courtyard.
Esther tells the king about the plot, and gives the credit to her uncle Mordecai. The trembling nobles are brought in, and all of the plan is laid bare. Once the investigation is finished, and the report is found to be true, the two officials are killed.
And keep this in mind . . . it says that this was recorded in the book of annals.
Hmmm.
It doesn't say that King Xerxes rewarded the man who saved his life. Just that it all was in the book now. Sure seems like he should have thanked Mordecai, don't you think? He should have felt that it was his duty to acknowledge that his life had been saved, and show some gratitude!

Have there been times in our lives when we have been overlooked? That we've contributed mightily but been un-thanked? When significant things happen, and we're not on the receiving end of some gratitude, how do we react?
Do we become irritated? Resentful? Spiteful?
Do we remain gracious? Calm? Showing the fruits of the Spirit?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. (Galations 5:22-23a)

It seems that Mordecai simply continued being himself, and didn't get bent out of shape. And we'll see what happens, when we continue in Esther next week!

For such a time as this

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Last time, we read our first chapter in the book of Esther, and we saw that Queen Vashti was deposed, because she wouldn't cooperate with her tipsy husband by parading about for all of his buddies to look at her . . . that made her disposable. And deposable. But I digress.
That leaves us with a king with a kingdom, but no queen.
Now what?
Well, let's read in chapter 2:

Later when King Xerxes’ fury had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. 2 Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. 3 Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. 4 Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.5 Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, 6 who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah.7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.8 When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. 9 She pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem.10 Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. 11 Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.12 Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. 13 And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.
15 When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. 16 She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.

What a plan! What's not to like, as far as the king is concerned? He sits in his palace and lovely young virgins are rounded up and prettied up and brought to him, one by one, so that he can choose the next queen! I find that a little bit disturbing. But that's not the point here. . . Hadassah (Esther) is following the advice of her uncle, Mordecai, and relying on the guidance of the chief eunuch, Hegai. She's not revealed her nationality, because Mordecai insisted that she keep that quiet.

Can we put ourselves in her slippers for a moment? Taken to the palace, given beauty treatments and wonderful food, but always the thought in her head -- one night soon she will go to the king and submit to him sexually, and perhaps be chosen as the new queen. Esther must overcome those negative thoughts. She is hoping for a positive outcome. Scholars have suggested that she won the heart of the eunuch in charge of the harem, with her lovely looks and personality. Surely that looks like what happened -- Hegai gave her the best of everything, seven attendants, and a special place in the harem!

If this was (as it seemed to be) a beauty pageant, I reckon Esther would have won the "Miss Congeniality" award, for the passage notes that everyone liked her! Ah, but what about the embittered king, who was looking for love?
The verses say that Xerxes loved her more than any of the others -- he fell head over heels for her. He placed a royal crown on her head, and declared her to be the new queen. What's more, he established a new holiday with a banquet named for her!

This is not the end of the story, though.
So far, it reads a bit like a fairy tale. But I promise you, there are nuggets of truth for us to learn. Tune in tomorrow!

For such a time as this . . .

A drunken king and his tipsy advisors.
A trophy wife.
A new queen.
Palace intrigue.
Sounds more like a soap opera, doesn't it? Or a Shakespearean play?

Nope, it's the book of Esther. No, I'm not kidding! There's going to be a lot for us to learn from this lady of the Bible!
First, let's lay the foundation; let's look at the background, in chapter one of the book of Esther:

This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush: 2 At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, 3 and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.4 For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. 5 When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa. 6 The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones.7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality.8 By the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.9 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.10 On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine,he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas— 11 to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.
13 Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times14 and were closest to the king—Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memukan, the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom.15 “According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?” he asked. “She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her.”16 Then Memukan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. 17 For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’ 18 This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord.
19 “Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed,that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.20 Then when the king’s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.”21 The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memukan proposed. 22 He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be ruler over his own household, using his native tongue.

Oy. Do you think that these men would have decreed these things if they hadn't been sozzled?
I wonder. Sure, women's place was definitely different from today, but to depose a queen? And make a new law? Just because they think they have been "dissed" in today's vernacular?

Let's dive in!
We're introduced here to an opulent palace where a lavish celebration is taking place. Whether it was a different part of the palace, or a separate building, the ladies were partying with Queen Vashti, and the men were lifting glasses with King Xerxes at his party. This is the culmination of a six month exhibition of all the wealth and power of the kingdom of Persia.
The wine is flowing freely -- too freely, perhaps. Maybe the men had a separate party because they had dancing girls, and more. I don't know for sure. But at some point, the king decided he wanted to show off his pretty wife. He sent his servants (eunuchs) to tell her to put on her best duds and her biggest crown and parade around for all these men to look at. Well, Queen Vashti didn't want a bunch of drunks ogling her, so she sent a message back to Xerxes: "No!"

To put it bluntly, he was steamed. Livid. Furious. And to make it all worse, embarrassed, since everyone had heard him give the command, and then they heard the eunuchs report when they returned. His pride was hurt.

His nobles were worried. What if their wives heard that the queen had refused the king his request? Would they disrespect their husbands, too?

So, still angry, and still inebriated, the king confers with his nobles and asks, "What should I do? This woman has embarrassed me!" And his tipsy nobles offered him some pretty drastic advice! Kind of like the queen in Alice in Wonderland, who keeps shouting "Off with his/her head!" as a solution to everything. (Grin)  Their advice? Throw her out! Find another one! And make a new law so that our wives don't try it, too!

Ahhh, me. So he says, "Make it so." Or something similar.
And that is how the story of Esther begins.
Join us next time when we continue our study!