Bibledoorajar Looks At Using Resources

     Esther has put Mordecai in charge of Haman's house. How Haman's resources will be used is now up to a God fearing man. But using Haman's resources for good will not stop the decree that Haman put in writing. Remember? He persuaded the king to put in writing that Esther's people in all of the king's royal provinces would surely be put to death on a specific date in the future. Esther makes another "If it please the king" statement, this time punctuated with dependent clauses for his consideration. She then reveals the level of concern for her kinsman.

"If it please the king, if I have won his favor, if the matter seem right to the king and if I have his approval, then let an order be written rescinding the letters devised by Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi, which he wrote to destroy the Jews in all the royal provinces. For how can I bear to see the disaster that will overcome my people? How can I endure seeing the extermination of my kinsman?"

     Wisdom, Himself, expressed this thought in Solomon's proverbs:

Do not let grace and truth leave you--bind them around your neck; 

write them on the tablet of your heart.

Then you will win FAVOR and ESTEEM

in the sight of God and of people.

                    Proverbs 3:3-4

Esther's behavior epitomizes this biblical truth. In the face of an extraordinary pending disaster, she never let grace and truth leave her. The result was favor with God and the king.

By the time Jesus was 12, He had won favor with God. In the Garden he suffered greatly but with grace and truth. He won His Father's complete favor and esteem when he said (paraphrasing), this is my request(to live), but if grace and truth calls for my death, then I am willing. For us today, we have this challenge before us: how far removed from grace and truth have we let ourselves get? If it is too far, wisdom is calling us to once again close the gap! We can do this through the strength that He provides. When done, who knows what victory may come through us! Righteous prayer avails much and could prevent a great disaster.