Month: November 2017

And so it comes to a close, a nearly 90 day challenge.  Our next challenge will be a 50 day challenge which will begin on December 26 and it will cover the book of Genesis.  But let’s close this one out strong with Esther chapter 10.  There isn’t much in this chapter, just 3 verses in all.  I was struck by the parallel between Joseph and Mordecai.  Mordecai took the initiative to save his people through the work of the current reigning power.  Joseph did the same.  Joseph was in a position where he was able to save his family because of his position which was the second in command to the king.  Mordecai was also the second in command to the king.  Look back over the life of Joseph, if you want, and it will also serve as a tease for our next challenge: Genesis 37-50.

When all is said and done we see that the people of God are saved and God did indeed raise up a person to do just that.  Isn’t that what God has continued to do over history?  Isn’t that what God has done in our own individual lives?  God loves and God saves and God redeems, and God never tires of us.  God is faithful.  I hope you enjoyed this challenge, and I pray that you will continue to read Scripture and see it as a light unto your feet.

In this verse we find the establishment of the feast of Purim.  But we also find some other details that are quite shocking and of which I had forgotten.  Did you get the account of the destruction of the enemies of the Jews?  It was quite terrifying and terrible.  It is not a Scripture that we should take and use as one where we justify doing terrible things to our enemies.  I like Jesus’ take on what we should do with our enemies.  Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-48 that we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  He must have left out the part that says: strike down all your enemies with the sword and slaughter them.  Yeah, I like Jesus’ approach much better.  

There is a lot in this Scripture, but there is one thing which I want to be sure that you are able to identify.  Notice how far the edict to reverse the original edict went out.  From India all the way to Ethiopia.  Look at a map and you will see how expansive this territory is.  The fact that I want you to focus on is how widespread the people of Israel were at that time.  Even to this day there will be synagogues in Ethiopia and in India which could have been around in that day as well.  The history of the Jewish people is incredibly rich and it is vital to recognize that God’s people have been around a long, long time.

So the storyline pretty much finds its end in this chapter.  Mordecai is given everything that at one time belonged to Haman from his property to his robes to the king’s ring.  The decree allowed the Jews to defend themselves.  What an incredible decree.  If it had not been passed then they would have been forced to submit to whatever atrocities their neighbors wanted to commit against them.  It makes me think of the Rohingya in our modern day reality which are a stateless people who are persecuted wherever they find themselves.  

And the story comes to a rousing climax.  Hard to imagine any more suspense.  I also am having a hard time imagining Haman’s thoughts as he entered that banquet hall.  Needless to say it was not Haman’s day.  He thought the king was going to honor him, but he ends up having to escort his sworn enemy around the kingdom as a favorite of the king.  At least he had a banquet to go to which the queen was holding just for him and the king.  As things are progressing he is thrown off guard when Esther begins to tell a story in vs.5 which sounds vaguely familiar, but from the opposite side.  King, there is someone who is looking to destroy me and all of my family.  The King, as you would expect, reacts very defensively and can’t imagine who would, especially since Esther could arguably be considered his favorite.  Especially since they have spent the last two days partying with Esther.  Look at vs.2 if you don’t believe it.  Also, find below a video which gives you some insight and history into the festival of Purim which marks this historic triumph of Esther and Mordecai over Haman.

The bravery of Esther comes out as she points out Haman and calls him out.  Haman is wise, he notices that the King is taking Esther’s side so instead of trying to convince the king, he stays and tries to convince Esther, by jumping on her couch!  Not the wisest move because when the king comes back in things don’t look so good.  It seems like Haman is trying to have his way with the queen.  Well, that was the last straw and Haman is hanged and they live happily ever after.  Wait, there are a few more chapters left.  Things continue to get interesting.  

Did you get what just happened?  Haman walked into the presence of the King with great plans to hang Mordecai.  The king asks him a question which pertains to honoring someone who is favored by the king and Haman assumes that the King is talking about himself, Haman.  So he comes up with this elaborate plan that he hopes the king will follow through and that he is the one who will be getting all of that honor.  Once he is done telling the king the plan on how to honor the person who is special to the king, it turns out that it is Modecai whom the kind wants to honor.

It is quite amazing how this entire story is intertwined with itself.  The beginning which depicted a Modecai saving the King’s life is now repaid in such a way that will save the entire race of Mordecai, but the king doesn’t know that yet.  I love the support that Haman gets from his wife and friends.  It does remind me so much of Job who as he is suffering his wife and friends tell him to “curse God and die.” (Job 2:9)  The Old Testament is full of not very supportive spouses with Delilah who cuts off the hair of Samson.  We find Abraham who tells people that Sara is his sister so that he could save his life.  Pretty twisted.

But here we find how God is able to arrange the salvation of the Jews from the hands of the evil Haman.  This is able to happen through his servants Modecai and Esther, but I believe I am getting ahead of myself.  For such a time as this…

The plot thickens but we don’t know how it is going to end yet in this chapter.  But it does seem like one layer upon another is added.  I spoke with someone from church who after the first chapter of Esther had a hard time filling in the blank in the booklet: Who is God to me?  This is the only book in the Bible where the name of God actually is not mentioned.  So that is understandable.  

So, I just took a break because the neighborhood kids came to church and I just spent some time talking to them about their future etc.  I never mentioned the name of God and they never mentioned it to me.  But one day, maybe 10 years from now, if one of them is facing a rough time, or wants to get married, or wants to bring his family to church maybe, just maybe he will say: I remember that church, First Presbyterian, they  were nice to me.  They let me come in and have a snack when it was 36 degrees outside.  Maybe I’ll go there.

When that happens, then God will be revealed to them in a powerful and compelling way.  Esther doesn’t have to mention God, but you know what drove Esther and Mordecai.  This book of the Bible may not contain ways in which to bring people to a saving knowledge of Christ, but it does remind us that God is in charge of this and every situation.  May God bless us as we look to reach out to those around us with His love, even if we don’t use His name.

One of the most powerful verses in all of Scripture is found in this chapter.  Unceasingly I use vs.14 as a standard for my life.  Who knows, maybe for such a time as this you were placed where you are today?  I believe that with my whole heart and soul simply because I have seen it played out in my life.  I absolutely believe that God has placed us where we are in our lives for a specific purpose and a specific reason.  I know that God placed me in Italy, in Florida, in Russia, in Strasburg for a specific purpose.  It wasn’t always clear to me when I was living in those places, but looking back I can say with certainty: it is for this reason that God placed me there at that time and at that place.

This is a confidence and an assurance that we need to have.  There can be no doubt in our lives that God has placed us where we are and involved us in certain activities and moments in our lives for specific purposes.  When we speak about Esther, she has an opportunity to save the existence of an entire race.  But it was not easy.  I am not saying that God has called you to a specific task and a specific time and a specific place and it is going to be easy.  No, it absolutely will not be easy.  But it will be God’s will.  It reminds me of this scene in Narnia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn2n3wdAQi4

God has called us to a specific time and a specific place, but that does not mean that it will be risk free.  Esther shows that she is willing to take the risk, but demands that the Israelites pray with and for her.  

The plot thickens, but slowly.  Haman is infuriated that a fledgling, Mordecai a Jew, would not bow down to him.  He is told that Mordecai is a Jew so in order to hurrt him and his entire race, he decides to exterminate all of the Jews.  So, this is real similar to what Hitler did.  I am convinced that the more we forget history, the more we are condemned to repeat it.  George Santayana coined this phrase but his was directly the following: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  It is imperative that we remember and learn about our past so that we do not repeat.

Needless to say Haman gets the king’s permission to eliminate the Jews through an edict which covered the entire land from Italy to India assuring that any who did not bow down to the king and his subjects would be destroyed.  This included, especially, the Jews.  Haman and the king celebrated with a drink while the people of Susa, a stronghold of Jewish culture, were thrown into confusion as to what that might mean for them directly.

Have you ever been targeted unfairly by a person or a government simply because of the way that you were born.  I have to say that I was not.  I remember always being proud of being a bit different.  Growing up in Rome I enjoyed the fact that I could play with my Italian friends but still know another language.  In my younger years here in the States I remember being different because not everyone had spent most of their life in another country.  I liked that, but it did not disqualify me from anything and it was, in fact, actually to my advantage.  But not everything that we are born with or experience puts us in a better position.  Sometimes our race, or our gender is a disqualifying feature for some people.  It seems like the people of Israel, the Jewish people, have historically felt that oppression.  

As Christians we have to repent for those times that this oppression has come in the name of our God.  For whatever reason there is never any excuse to single out any race or any group of people and consider them our “enemies”.  In fact, we are beholden to the Jewish people for so much, including the birth of our Savior and the Holy Scriptures which we have.  I pray we would take a perspective that is one of gratitude as opposed to a historical animosity.

This story is moving pretty quickly.  Esther is an orphan who was raised by her cousin, Mordecai.  She was probably orphaned by the great captivity of the Israelites when they were removed and taken into captivity.  So when Esther is one of the selected to go before the king a few things come to my mind.  The first is that this is a kind of high level stakes The Voice where the winner is chosen and becomes queen for life and the losers just go back to their normal routine.  

The second is that Esther is about to become queen in a regime that killed her mother and father.  Think of that.  What if the current presidency ordered the murder of your mother and father, and then you are asked to serve on the administration.  What would you do?  Mordecai is more of a father figure than a cousin.  We see this play out as the intrigue deepens as Mordecai hears of a plot to kill the king.  He tells the newly crowned Queen Esther, and she tells her new hubby, the king.  The plot is found out to be true and the king’s life is saved.  Mordecai and Esther become heroes and …, wait, no, that doesn’t happen.

All we read is that this story was written in the annals of the king with the king being present at the time of their writing.  This is crucial and it will come up later.   We don’t read that either Esther nor Mordecai are recognized for having brought up this plot and foiled it. But for now the stage is being set in the story.  It is a regime that has been brutal to the Israelites, taken them into captivity, and now they have an insider, the queen, who can sway the decision making of the king himself because she has won his good graces.  Now the plot continues to thicken.

The background to the book of Esther is fascinating.  I hate to send you to Wikipedia, but seeing in the comments that you are very familiar with it, I will send you there.  Check out this webpage and it will give you some great background information:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Esther

We have to keep in mind that Esther is an absolutely vital book even today.  Jewish families on the day of Purim celebrate the conquest of Esther and Mordecai over the evil Haman.  One of my favorite Veggie Tales ever is the one about the story of Esther.  Here is a link to that for your viewing pleasure.  

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x26tjqy

The book of Esther also contains one of my favorite quotes which we will see coming up in chapter 4, so I don’t want to steal my own thunder.  Let’s get on with chapter 1.

Chapter 1 sets up the story for why Esther had to be chosen in the first place.  The king had ordered the queen to come before him and she refused.  He was embarrassed and didn’t want others to think he wasn’t in control of his own family so he kicked her out.  We need to remember that this was taking place in the 5th century BC.  But having said that can you think of what is prevalent in our news today and has some bearing to this story?

So, I’m the father of 3 daughters.  I grew up in a family of boys.  We respected my mom because my dad obviously loved and respected his wife.  We were taught by example how to treat women.  On very many levels when I read of men who take advantage of their position as men and have some power that others don’t have and then use that to their advantage to curry sexual favors, I don’t have much respect for them.  So, as a result I don’t have much sympathy for the king as he is about to choose Esther as her queen.  That comes next chapter.

When we live as Christians and see men who treat women abhorrently or call them certain names or speak of their exploits as trophies to be brandished, that is a person who should be corrected from a Christian perspective.  This comes through clearly here that women were not treated with the equal footing that they ought to be as we read in Paul’s writings.