Friday slowdown

Do we sometimes feel weary?

Just tired of our "well doing?"

We have the best future to look forward to, that anyone can imagine!

Oh well, I'm tired and so weary
But I must go alone
Till the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yes
Well the morning's so bright
And the lamp is alight
And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me

Well the bear will be gentle
And the wolves will be tame
And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes
And the beasts from the wild
Shall be lit by a child
And I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me

I love the old hymns as well as the new songs. I thought this was a precious song, and wanted to share it with you all.

Blessings to all, and a pleasant weekend . . .

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

{Special note to "ckrut" who commented . . . thank you for stopping by! I wanted to reply directly, but your settings are on no-reply. I'm glad you are studying with us! If you would like to receive a reply, you can change your settings so that it will show, or you can leave your address for me like this one: name(at)gmailorother(dot)com} Hugs!

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!

Prayer requests

Have you felt lately like you are in the refiner's fire?

But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; (Malachi 3:2-3a)

We all go through times like that.

And it's hard.

In fact, it's more than hard. It's extremely difficult. It's depressing. Exhausting. Sometimes lonely.

I've been there. Please accept my word for it -- it will come to an end. You will come to the end of the hard times. You will survive.

That doesn't make it any easier, does it?

One thing that can help is to let others pray for you.  Let others come alongside and help to carry that burden.

You may be thinking that there's no solution to the problems you face. Maybe not, in human terms. But don't count the Lord out -- He is all-powerful, and all-knowing. He understands you, right where you are. And your weakness is His chance to show you what He can do.

"And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' And they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'" (Zechariah 13:8b-9)

Here's one of His precious promises:

For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins. You made men ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water, Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.(Psalm 66:10-12)

He sees and He hears . . . pray and let others pray with you. Leave a comment with your request; if it is too personal to share, tell us to pray with you about an unspoken request.
You may be going through fire and water, but He WILL bring you into a place of abundance!

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!

Friday slowdown

This song seems to fit this week's study. Perhaps we can substitute "sister" for the word brother? (Grin) It certainly shares a message of coming alongside, of helping and supporting each other.

Ramblers in the wilderness we can’t find what we need
We get a little restless from the searching
Get a little worn down in between
Like a bull chasing the matador is the man left to his own schemes
Everybody needs someone beside em’ shining like a lighthouse from the sea

Brother let me be your shelter
Never leave you all alone
I can be the one you call
When you’re low
Brother let me be your fortress
When the night winds are driving on
Be the one to light the way
Bring you home

Face down in the desert now there’s a cage locked around my heart
I found a way to drop the keys where my failures were
Now my hands can’t reach that far
I ain’t made for a rivalry, I could never take the world alone
I know that in my weakness I am stronger
It’s your love that brings me home

Brother let me be your shelter
I’ll never leave you all alone
I can be the one you call
When you’re low
Brother let me be your fortress
When the night winds are driving on
Be the one to light the way
Bring you home

When we are someone's shelter, someone's fortress, then we can point them to the shelter that is Jesus, to the Fortress that is our God.

Sisters in circumstance, conclusion

I'm hopeful that this week's study of Dinah and Tamar has sparked some thought, some insights, and perhaps been a call to action.

When we left Tamar, her brother had brought her to his home. If we keep reading in the chapter, we will see how he truly felt about the situation.

Two years later, when Absalom’s sheep were being sheared at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, Absalom invited all the king’s sons to come to a feast. ²⁴ He went to the king and said, “My sheep-shearers are now at work. Would the king and his servants please come to celebrate the occasion with me?”
²⁵ The king replied, “No, my son. If we all came, we would be too much of a burden on you.” Absalom pressed him, but the king would not come, though he gave Absalom his blessing.
²⁶ “Well, then,” Absalom said, “if you can’t come, how about sending my brother Amnon with us?”
“Why Amnon?” the king asked. ²⁷ But Absalom kept on pressing the king until he finally agreed to let all his sons attend, including Amnon. So Absalom prepared a feast fit for a king.
²⁸ Absalom told his men, “Wait until Amnon gets drunk; then at my signal, kill him! Don’t be afraid. I’m the one who has given the command. Take courage and do it!” ²⁹ So at Absalom’s signal they murdered Amnon. Then the other sons of the king jumped on their mules and fled.

He actually didn't take it lightly, as we might have thought. He was angry, but he was patient. He waited for two years, and then came up with a plan to have Amnon murdered.  So, Absolom was her kinsman redeemer. He "made things right" in the ancient way of thinking. He wanted to restore Tamar, and to vindicate her for the betrayal that she experienced.

Just as there are many parents, riddled with guilt for having allowed betrayal to happen, there are many "Tamars" in this world.
Who will restore them? Who will bring then out of desolation, and make them part of the family again? Has anyone approached them with words of comfort? Perhaps you and I know a woman who needs this restorative care . . . if not us, who will assure her that she can be loved? Who will tell her that her dignity can be restored, and that she can be the recipient of compassion, instead of lust? Who will tell her that her integrity can be pure again?  She needs to have a shoulder to cry on, and then hear "I don't condemn you."
What she really needs to hear is Jesus, saying "Come unto me." Come with your burdens, your grief, your broken heart. Bring me your wounds, your reproach, your self-loathing. I will bring you into a family where you will not be used, abused, betrayed, and I will guard and protect you.

We need to be advocates for these women. Yes, there are times when accusations are false. There are times when lies or false memories are aired. But if we pray for His wisdom, we will have more success than if we go it alone. We can offer them an end to their shame, and a cover for their past. A robe He gives, that will cover their scars.

In our world, it is Satan who wants to plot and scheme our demise. He wants also for us to keep our secrets well, secret! He counts on us burying them, and not letting them see the light of day. Or the light of God's love. But when we open up to God, and let His love shine on our secrets, we can have true freedom, and we can have life. We do not have to allow a past event to shape our lives any longer. That event doesn't have to define us, who we are, what we can do, who we can be. If we lay our secret at the foot of His cross, we can be restored. He is our kinsman Redeemer -- He wants to comfort and restore us, renew our minds.

He will wipe away all tears . . .