25Aug 2011 Esther 9:10b

^10b…But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

The Jews have been saved from annihilation through a very unlikely person. The plot to kill them was made known to the king and the king let the Jews write their own ticket for protection. The Jews were allowed to defend themselves from the coming attacks. What is interesting is that the order sent to all the provinces stated that they were allowed to plunder the wealth of their attackers. And yet three times in this chapter it states that when they did protect themselves and defeat their enemies, they did not plunder their enemies. I personally think it was because the Jews recognized that these men they were killing had families, and that their families did not deserve to be thrust into poverty because their husbands were attacking the Jews. The text doesn’t give a reason for the Jews not plundering, but my mind wants to know. The order that allowed them to protect themselves was written for maximum effect. It wanted to weed out those who were just along for the ride and those who were consumed with hatred of the Jews. By threatening total economic ruin for the families of those fighting, some would think twice about their involvement. So perhaps the threat accomplished its purpose. The compassionate side of the Jewish people shows through in their response. They could have plundered, like they had been plundered, but they chose compassion instead. Revenge is an ugly beast, devouring much more than planned or anticipated.

24Aug 2011 Esther 8:16

¹⁶For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor.

Sometime you just need to celebrate! Celebration can be a good thing. Life is not about all doom and gloom. God created joy and it part of His plan that we know how to enjoy life. Some Jesus-followers feel and teach that too much joy and happiness is a bad thing. With all the sorrow in the world, how can we be celebrating? In our text the Jews’ lives have just been spare, and at the last minute. Destruction was eminent. Only a miracle could stop this from engulfing the world. And that is exactly what God did. He stopped it. He used a very unlikely candidate to accomplish his purposes. Are you an unlikely person that the Lord might be able to use? Are you willing to be prepositioned as a forward asset in His kingdom, ready to be opened at a moment’s notice and used?

23Aug 2011 Esther 6:6

⁶When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?”

A bad day at the office! This is Haman’s nightmare about to come true. He doesn’t realize that the Lord is about to honor Mordecai the object of his jealous hatred. He is so self-absorbed, so bigheaded, that he thinks he is about to get honored. So, he thinks of the grandest, most power-grabbing, ego flaunting act he can. He proposes being “king for a day” status. His own ego is so inflated that he thinks he deserves what the king has. But it all comes back to bite him. Everything he wanted for himself he ends up giving to Mordecai. Now that is justice! The funny thing is, Mordecai doesn’t really want any recognition. He just wants his life. He and all the Jews are under a death sentence because of Haman’s insecurities. But Haman ends up honoring the very man he despises. He is humiliated by his own ego. He wants promotion, and he ends up proclaiming the greatness, not of himself, which is his true desire, but the greatness of the one man who represents everything he is not and wants to be. Often kids pick on others who possess the very qualities they want in themselves. Adults are usually more subtle in this, except in the political arena. Both kids and adults attack others, not out of strength and confidence in their own abilities, but because they feel threatened by the other’s strengths. The weaknesses we see in others are the very weaknesses with which we struggle. We point at them to deflect the attention away from our own weaknesses. So next time you point the finger, pause and reflect on what weakness you are protecting in yourself.

22Aug 2011 Esther 4:16

¹⁶“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

This is crunch time for the Jewish people. Esther has been put in a position of influence with a leader of the known world, even though she is a Jew. There is a plot to murder all the Jews, a plot planned because of one man’s anger and jealousy. Esther knows she must act, that she alone has a job to do that no one else is able to do. But this job could be her last. It could be fatal. So she asks for some serious prayer and fasting on her behalf. When really big, life altering decisions need to be made, it is always good to bath that decision process in prayer. Listening to hear God’s heartbeat instead of our many conflicting frequencies is essential. It was essential then, how much more in our world of distractions and conflicting messages. We are bombarded with the values of the world. We need to take time to block out this avalanche of false information and directions. We must learn to quiet ourselves and hear the voice of the Lord. Esther had to calm her fear of death before she could enter the king’s presence. That can be a very loud sound indeed! How loud is your world with competing voices, voices that drown out the Lord’s voice? Isn’t it time you found a quiet place to stop and listen?

21Aug 2011 Esther 2:10

¹⁰Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so.

Sometimes it is OK to withhold some information. I know this may sound like lying, but stick with me. When you first meet someone, do you tell them your whole life story, including your credit card numbers and pin number? Of course not! It is OK to hold back some information. Esther is living in a place and time that places her and her family in danger simply because they were Jews. Sounds like Europe during WWII, doesn’t it! Sounds like most Muslim populated countries when you are the Christian. To offer the information is to invite persecution needlessly. Jesus said we are to be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. If asked we should be honest about our beliefs, but we need not place a sign on the outside of our house stating we are not Muslim. Mordecai is in a position of great power in the kingdom, even though he is Jewish. He keeps that part of his life in low profile. He instructs his niece, Esther, to do the same. She is the minor respecting her elder, the man who raised her after her parent’s death. Esther saves the king’s life by passing on information about a plot that Mordecai overhears. To withhold that information would have meant the death of the king. We are not talking about lying about sin, or covering up our own tracks. When Esther is asked about her nationality, she is open and honest. She was not sinning by withholding this information. She is being wise in a time of persecution. There are people around the world who face death for simply being a Christian. Wisdom allows them to be less bold about the outward proclamation of their faith in the public square.

20Aug 2011 Esther 1:22

²²He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, proclaiming in each people’s tongue that every man should be ruler over his own household. So this is where the crazy idea came from, that men are supposed to “rule” their households! This is a very different concept from the concepts of mutual submission and respect, of love and caring, honor and cherishing. This idea came about because a drunk king wanted to show off his beautiful wife to his party friends. She refused to be an object to be shown off. But of course, her drunk husband thought he was “in charge” of his wife. All the guests become afraid that they will not be able to “rule” their own wives, so they get the king to write a fear-driven law that allows divorce if she refuses his request. Talk about throwing the doors of divorce wide open! Now all a husband had to do was make a unreasonable request and divorce could happen. This sounds a bit like what happens here in the States. Divorce happens for the slightest reasons. And you really don’t need a reason. You can just say you are incompatible, and go to the judge. You don’t have to seek counseling, you just have to pay the money and off you go to the next person. And by the way, chances of a second marriage ending in divorce are even greater than the first one. No one is to “rule” another person, especially in a marriage. How do you rule someone who is now “one” with you? “The two shall become one.” This idea of easy divorce started with a drunk king. Let’s end it with sober commitment right from the beginning of relationship. Stay pure until the wedding night. Stay devoted to each other through years of commitment and contentment.