If only…

When I heard this song, tonight, I wished I had the guts to say these things.  Guess, that is kind of the point of the song.

I think I should be able to resume my study of Esther Wednesday evening. 

I haven’t forgotten. . .

I’ve been really busy with work and life…I’ll get back to Esther in a few days.  Until then, enjoy this song that has a simple, yet very important message. 

 

Esther…the rest of Chapter 2

Well, I’m back (finally) to continue telling you what I’ve learned in my study of the book of Esther.

When I last wrote on the topic, I left you with a diminished, depressed king who needed to replace his wife.  He had a change of heart after kicking her out of the palace, but his new rules wouldn’t allow him to bring her back into the palace.  So, his “people” set up a beauty contest.  It kind-of-sort-of reminds me of Cinderalla:  have a bunch of available women in for a look-see and pick one.  Well, there was more to it, and I highly doubt there were any ugly stepsisters involved.

Among all of the beauties invited to King Xerxes’ palace for the parade of beauties, was a young woman named Esther.  She was there because her cousin, Mordecai, who had raised her, had her entered into this contest.

The one thing he asked of her was to not acknowledge her heritage.  They were Jewish and they lived in a land of anti-semites.

Long story short, Esther was the clear winner during the process, and was chosen by the king to be his new queen.  When he did this, somehow, perhaps at Esther’s polite bidding (remember, not-so-polite behavior got Queen Vashti de-queened) Mordecai was given a “new position” in the king’s gate.  Do you know what they did at the king’s gate?  Settled legal matters.  Mordecai was made a judge.

It was while Mordecai was sitting in his position at the king’s gate that he overheard things that would save the king, and eventually,  the Jews.

So, now that I’ve given you a re-telling of the story a little, let’s look a little deeper:

The contest, concubines, and the will of God…
Now, as someone who has lived a life outside the will of God, I know that as He has purposed, “it” (whatever He has willed) will come to pass no matter what we try to do.  If indeed it is something He really, really, really wants to have happen,   He will use us in spite of ourselves.  That is the case with Mordecai and Esther.

According to my study Bible and McGee, Mordecai and Esther were part of the Jewish faction that decided to not return to Israel when their exile ended.  They were commanded to return.  They did not, and stayed in a country where they were not necessarily able to be “free” to practice their faith; however, there is no real evidence that they put their religious beliefs into practice, either.  (Quick note:  religion is not the same as an abiding faith in God…just thought I’d mention that tidbit.)

So, they were not practicing Jews (aside from it being their heritage and how they identified themselves), made no mention of God, and had agreed during this time, at Esther’s entrance into the beauty contest and when she became queen, that they would not make mention of their Jewish heritage.  They would be denying God, in other words.  Marrying a non-Jew was a HUGE no-no (marrying someone who does not share the same faith in God is a no-no, period), AND had Esther not become queen, she would have spent her life as a concubine.  I dare say, none of those things would not have been the will of God.

Also, important to note, is that Esther did not deny her her cousin, Mordecai.  She honored his advice, requests, and took his words to the king’s ears.  In her position as queen, she did not demean him, nor did she ignore him.  They had a very good relationship.

As I stated earlier, I know what it means to be outside the will of God.  You run your life, thinking you are doing the right things, especially if you haven’t been “struck by lightning,” and you sometimes have the idiotic thought, “Hmm…God must be okay with this.”  It isn’t that He is okay with what you are doing, but that He will take what YOU have given Him, and He will turn it into something for His glory, if He so wills.

And that is why we are, at times, in the right place at the right time…

This is not because we have done anything the right way.  It is because God is the one in control and He will be in the situation to do His will.  Why?  Well, in Esther, for example, as we will see in Chapter two, there is a plot on King Xerxes’ life.  Why would God save him, a pagan?  Because he will be needed later down the road.  But, for now, we turn our attention back to Mordecai…at the gate.  He overhears the plot on Xerxes’ life, informs Esther, and she makes sure that Xerxes finds out about the plot.  The two would-be assassins are hanged.

This will be very important to Mordecai, Esther, and the Jews later, as there will be a plot to exterminate the Jewish population.  God promised that would never happen, and in spite of people who turn their collective backs on Him, He will keep His promises and His will can never be thwarted.

When we look back on our lives, we often see God’s Providence…or as McGee puts it, “The way God leads the man who will not be lead.”  We will see this more in the chapters to come.

Mercy

Isn’t it awesome how God shows His mercy?  Imagine how much sweeter life would be if we all showed each other the same kind of compassion.  Wow!

I will resume the “study” of Esther this weekend.

What is your favorite Bible verse/passage?

My favorite verses are II Corinthians 5:17-18:  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…”

These two verses came alive for me in 1992 when I gave my life back to God.  The word that resonates is “reconciliation”.  God never closes the door on us.  He always leaves it open for us to come back to Him.

I was listening to a minister last night who brought up this verse in relation to how we minister to each other.  When we look at God’s example of the “minstry of reconciliation,” how can we deny anyone, knowing that God would never deny us.

Esther 2:1

Just one verse, today.

Esther 2:1
Later when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her.

Seems pretty mundane, a transition, doesn’t it?

Well McGee had a lot to say about it, and while I was reading his interpretation, I thought of some things on my own.

McGee discussed how after all of the lavish party-throwing and excess, Xerxes went on to lose his campaign against the Greeks.  While Xerxes had the power of numbers, the Greeks had power in strength.  When a defeated Xerxes returned home, he realized that he made a major decision that he could not “take back”.

Xerxes rejected his wife:
1.  She made him look weak in front of others.
2.  He was drunk.
3.  He got angry.
4.  With the help of weaker men than he, the king made sure that law was enacted to not allow Vashti to be queen ever again.

He wishes he could take it back.  That “remembering” what he had done was now coming back to bite him a little.  He was lonely and defeated.

I wonder if men ever regret rejecting women.  Let me take that back for a second (well, I didn’t decree anything, so I guess I can have do-overs).  I wonder what reasons men have to reject women and then if they ever regret allowing those reasons to reign over the decision making.  (I’m really good at the this stream-of-conscience, digression thing, huh?).

In any case, we know Xerxes remembered.  And by virtue of the next verse that states his people decided to have a beauty contest of sorts to find him a new queen, it can be surmised that he was in need of a companion.  And as what seems to mirror our times, depth of character and a good heart don’t matter much.  This isn’t the Miss America version, this is Miss Universe…all looks.

Luckily for him, though, his choice will not only have beauty, but she’ll have a good heart that is moved for her people.  A heart respectful of her husband and one that garners favor with him, because of her integrity.

So you say, “Where is God?”

He’s there.  Remember, He has the power to rule the world.  He isn’t moving us around like chess pieces, but God decides what His will is, and despite our best efforts, it will not be thwarted.

He will move, allow things, not allow other things, and He will guide the direction in folks’ lives…believers and non-believers alike, so that His will is done.

Pharaoh had to learn that lesson during his interactions with Moses, as have other leaders/rulers, and ordinary, plain folk like us.

Oh, and to go back to my earlier digression…
Next time you are moved emotionally to do something, especially something rash and impulsive (like banishing your spouse, heh), ask yourself if you will eventually regret it.

See, when I read this passage and McGee’s interpretation of it, all I thought about were hasty decisions, hasty rejections, and regret of those actions.  I thought it would be best to just focus on the one verse, so that those thoughts didn’t distract me from the remainder of the study.

At the verse’s core is the description of Xerxes returning home, his efforts defeated, and then the afterthought of what he had done to his wife in drunken anger and hurt pride.  However, there is something there for all of us to glean about our own behaviors.

Just because…

“For every Mountain”–Kurt Carr Singers

Esther Chapter 1

What we have so far…

A country that is lacking God.

A leader full of hubris. So much so, he holds a huge party for six months, full of drunkenness and excess, all in an attempt to prove he can afford to fund a war. THEN…the final seven days of the party, after the 180 days of straight partying, has a men-only party given to even more “proof” that he can fund a huge war to take over the world.

Now, what is possibly one of the worst things that could happen to a ruler while he is trying to impress everyone with his lavish spending and generosity in food and spirits?

Eh…having his wife show that he doesn’t quite have all the respect and power in his home that he should, given all of his power as a king and “mighty” warrior.

Poor Xerxes. (Well, not really. He’s really rich.)      However, as McGee and my handy dandy NIV Life Application Bible point out, the king made a request to have his wife come to his party,  to be placed on display for the menfolk. In his society (and even in some of today’s circles), this is pretty low and inappropriate behavior.

But, his ego was smashed and he knew he looked bad in front of the guys. Can’t look like a chump in front of the guys, huh? So, he had his “people” come up with a law that demanded women pay their men respect and let the man run the roost. (Well, one man did point out that women would take the stand made by Vashti, the queen, and would make it their own cause.

WOW!

Well, in case you haven’t noticed, or haven’t studied Esther (like me), you haven’t heard God’s name, you haven’t been given a good example of a  “sober” living society, and you don’t see much that would make you think that there is a “higher” purpose for this book. There is…well, it wouldn’t be in the Bible if there wasn’t a good reason for the book to be in it, right?

The big thing that both my study Bible and McGee assert is that Chapter 1 of Esther sets the table for us to attend God’s display of power and provision. So much more than what the mighty and rich Xerxes could ever have hoped to do…and his shindig was very expensive.

The keyword that McGee brought up in his commentary is Providence. God’s provision and overarching will.

I love the word Providence. I’ve had the opportunity to teach its meaning in school as it relates to the beliefs behind those that use the term in their literature. I also raised the idea in one of my literature classes in college, when we were reading Jane Eyre. The word Providence was used quite a bit.  So much so, that I felt it necessary to state that while not uttered intensely, Jane Eyre was always led by God to her destinations and such, by His Providence. (My argument continued on to ask, “Well, what else would you expect a preacher’s daughter to write about in her “romance” novel?” Think of it…it fits. My professor spazzed on me, but I know I was right.)

I quasi-digress.

We are provided with a glimpse of a very affluent, yet flawed and Godless society. Even the Jews that had decided to stay had no real leaning toward God; in fact, God wasn’t even a thought to the folks in the book of Esther (McGee, et al).

All of this is used to prepare us to see how God works, even in the lives of those who do not acknowledge Him, so that His will and work can be done…via Providence.

Now, how many times have we seen that scenario in our lives? At the right place, at the right time, you can see God’s hand in things. There are no accidents…no coincidences.  That’s what is fun about reading things like this: you are a fly on the wall and you know what’s up, and you giggle all along at the limits of human wisdom, on one hand, and feel joy, on the other hand, when you see God at work.

Resources

Well, my local Christian bookstore was light in resources for a study of Esther.  However, I did find a commentary written by J. Vernon McGee.  He’s pretty awesome, and I used to listen to his radio show a lot when I was a little kid.

I also picked up a Bible study and commentary by McGee for the book of Ruth.  The woman that was helping me find things told me, “We have a lot on Ruth, but I’m not sure about Esther,” when we first started looking at things.  So…after Esther, I will study Ruth.

I’ve always wanted to study Nehemiah, too.  The commentary I bought for Esther also has commentaries for Ezra and Nehemiah, so I guess my next two studies are set, Lord willing.

I’ll be reading and studying throughout the week.  I will probably post something in a day or so.

Thanks for visiting. 

Sunday Song

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

This song pretty much sums it all up:  we all have hurts, pain, and flaws.  God promises to take the weight of it all.  We just need to stop pretending we can handle it all. 

“Lay ‘em Down”–NEEDTOBREATHE