Bibledoorajar Observes Behavior More Closely

    Last week we talked about Esther and her willingness to change and to take on new behaviors. She moved forward continuously, carrying out her plan. Because of changes made quietly and on the inside, she was able to act overtly when brave actions counted. Thus, she was prepared to expose the terrible work of Haman and to secure justice for God's people. But only God could move the king's heart and cause him to change his behavior. Only God can illumine truth and give mercy to those who desire to honor it. Good could not have come from the Queen's behavior if she and her uncle had not fully enjoyed God's power to move in the affairs of men. Without such faith, their efforts might have failed. Without such faith it is impossible to please God. But, instead, their behavior seemed to mirror that of God. They moved forward slowly and persistently to accomplish their goal. They did this without panic; they did this without demanding or commanding. And then they waited for God to transform the king's heart.

According to the great prophet, Isaiah, God the Father anointed Jesus with great and gentle persuasion necessary to bring about human change. Many people followed Jesus as a result and He brought about great change in many lives.

              "Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,
               my beloved, with whom I am well pleased;
               I will put my Spirit on him, and he will
               announce justice to the Gentiles. He will
               not fight or shout, no one will hear his
               voice in the streets; he will not snap off a
               broken reed or snuff out a smoldering wick
               until he has brought justice through to
               victory. In him the Gentiles will put their
               hope."
                                         Matthew 12: 18-21 quotes from Isaiah 42:1-4

Esther allowed herself to slowly be prepared for a great purpose--a purpose larger than herself. Safety of others became greater than her own safety and when she realized it she was ready.  Such is God's purpose: He so loved the WORLD that He gave His son. How willing are we to be used in His purposes? Are we seeking to move in great and gentle persuasion learned from God?

Bibledoorajar Ponders: does what we think really matter?

There is one question that is prominent in Esther's story. Did she know something that the rest of us do not? How was she so very effective in her efforts? It seems to me the main point of her story is that she was willing to be changed. First, she was willing to be changed from a simple Jewish girl into a queen. Then, she was willing to SEE herself as a QUEEN. This involved changing her mind. It was necessary for her to think differently--about herself, her family, her people, her king, her enemy and, most importantly, her God.

As the dynamics of Esther's life unfolded, she realized she had a major calling. She had been placed (hidden) in the king's palace in order to defeat an enemy of God's people. As the enemy advanced, her duty to thwart his advancement became increasingly clear to her. She had to change her perspective and she had to do some serious tactical planning. Would she "choose this day whom she would serve" and would she begin to plan her strategy? Yes, she would!!

When I was in graduate school, I took a course on critical thinking. In this course, I learned that critical thinkers do not start with answers; they start with questions. In order to get the best answer, thinkers are encouraged to "think outside the box." That is, thinkers are encouraged to not just give the first easy answer, but to list as many possible answers that come to mind. This tactic, we learned, was called brainstorming. Of course, no one could force us to think like this, storming our minds, taxing them with possibilities. Some recoiled at the brain taxation, but others could see the advantages.

God placed before Esther (and us) commandments replete with possibilities. These commandments require choice, discipline, desire, and a need for tactical thinking. Right thinking will produce wise and holy possibilities. But not everyone pursues such thinking. Esther could have chosen to allow her people to remain in danger of ultimate annihilation. She was free to do so. She was not being pressured by the king. We can choose to leave the widows and orphans without help. We are free to do so. We are not being pressured by the King. However, our choice won't be without a price. God has set before us both blessings and curses. If we use our critical thinking, if we choose wisely and pursue brave godly strategies, we have blessings. If not, we have curses. Curses imply God's back turned away from us. How sad.

Bibledoorajar Considers Associates and Conspirators

In our story of Esther, she found herself with a king who was successfully building a kingdom. At the time of the story, his kingdom extended over 127 provinces. Obviously, the king was hoping that many loyal subjects would be found in his kingdom but he had to be on the watch for those who wished to conspire against him and against that for which he stood. He prided himself on having a good kingdom made up of loyal subjects who served him faithfully. For those, he took joy in seeing that they had the best in order to serve him better. Those who could not serve him faithfully like Vashti, his queen, were banished. But conspirators, like Haman, when found out, were dealt the greatest punishment: death.

In the kingdom of God, knowing Him as the Creator is important but it is not enough. The Holy Spirit is transforming us into becoming loyal associates of the King capable of completing many important tasks. The power to do this is that we are being made like Him.

       "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being TRANSFORMED INTO THE SAME IMAGE FROM GLORY TO GLORY." 2 Cor. 3:18

In the Austin Powers movies, A 1/8 size of Dr. Evil was made. He called him "Mini-'Me" and declared that he was breathtaking. Conspirators like Mini-Me like to disrupt good kingdoms. But those of us who are being transformed into loyal subjects filled with the glory of Christ within, must help break the chains of "Mini-Me" within His kingdom. As the preachers say, our Head has no hands or feet but ours. We can take on Mini-Me with the courage of Esther and Mordecai and if we perish, we perish. But like Paul, our death will be our gain, forever with the Lord. Take courage my friend. We can succeed if we do not veer from the commands of Jesus and from continually reading the Book of instructions (Bible).

Bibledoorajar shares thoughts from Esther for the Church

     We have learned from the book of Esther that it was necessary for her to move from wonderfully made to beautiful and, therefore, very appealing to the king. For Esther, this meant spending a period of time in which she was washed, perfumed and dressed in fine clothing. She had to become obedient and humble before the king. She reached to touch his extended scepter, asking for the king's favor and mercy.
     The church, too, must be washed in the watery grave of baptism and dressed in robes of righteousness. We must smell as a sweet savor before Him. We must humble ourselves and be willing to relinquish our will and the ways of the world in order to please our King.

     It is no good for the church to be clean and "all dressed up with no where to go." We are gaining from God that quality of mind that is renewed toward doing brave things for the sake of the kingdom. We can measure our fear level by the standard Esther used: "If I perish, I perish." We drink the King's wine, and it must be poured out in His service. And here is the clincher. The Bible says this level of activity must be done joyfully. We come to Him joyfully, we allow the Holy Spirit to improve us joyfully, and we defend the faith joyfully. In deed, the Bible says that "the joy of the Lord is our strength." The Holy Spirit protects us while we are away from our King and the Spirit weeps if we are hurt defending Christ's values. He speedily gives us a DOUBLE PORTION of gifts to sustain us in purity before the king. He has great ability. He can take both the good and the evil that happen to us and work them together for a good end if we love Jesus. We can't have better assurance to make the journey with Jesus than that! It is a wonderful thought to realize that He is with us every step of the way.

     In 1942, C. S. Lewis wrote a book called The Screwtape Letters. In this book the dark force, Uncle Screwtape,  comments on the dark forces' arch enemy, God. He writes the following to his nephew:


      "...He cannot 'tempt' to virtue as we do to vice. He wants them to learn to walk and therefore must take away his hand... Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."

Bibledoorajar rejoices over a new decree

    
Esther reminded the king about the decree that Haman persuaded him to put in place. Now the king was responsive to Esther's request and he makes a new decree. The new decree would abolish the old and protect the Jews from death. Never was there such a righteous act done in Shushan and the people rejoiced that their King had done right. Many of the gentiles were in such awe of this decree that they believed in the God of the Jews and accepted His ways.

On the 13th day of Adar, instead of Jews being killed, they killed their enemies, including the ten sons of Haman. It was a time of great victory. Mordecai established an annual remembrance of this great salvation and redemption of God's people. It is observed by observant Jews to this day and is called the Purim Feast.

The arch enemy of God declared that all people should be denied a right to live freely and to be delivered from sin. But our heavenly Father has seen to it that he will not succeed. It took a heavenly Mordecai who appeared "for such a time as this" and, at great price, to make a way for us all to find freedom. Many peoples from all nations have been in such awe of this act that they have believed in the God of the Jews and the One whom He sent to free any who would freely come. Our heavenly Mordecai, Jesus,  established a weekly remembrance of this great salvation and redemption of God's people and it is observed by observant Christians to this day. It is called the Lord's Supper.

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.

     

    

Bibledoorajar sees the king's anger subside

     The attendants of the king knew he was angry. They pointed to the gallows
seventy five feet tall standing at Haman's house. The king said: "Hang him on it."
So Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. After he was
hanged and the king had retrieved his signet ring from off Haman's finger, the king's
anger subsided. The king gave Esther the house of Haman. She revealed her true
relationship to Mordecai to the king. He called Mordecai before him. He removed the signet
ring that once indicated Haman's status from his finger and gave it to Mordecai. Esther
put Mordecai in charge of Haman's house. How Haman would have been vexed if he could
have seen Mordecai in charge of his possessions!
     Some people worry about what will happen to their possessions after their death. They
become obsessed that certain people will not have them. Great lengths are taken to prevent them
from doing so. Some are so worried that they give their possessions to another of their choosing
well before dying. Jesus said that we should have a different focus. We should focus on
those possessions that we can store up in heaven. This should be our primary concern and if
we are going to be anxious about something it should be what foundation we are building in
glory for the new life we will live there. This, of course, is not a purchase, but a reward for
righteous acts which the God of mercy and grace will administer. So use your earthly possessions,
 but remember they will fade away in the end. But the glorious foundations being built in heaven will be improved on forever. There's an old hymn that says we have a mansion just over the hilltop. Let's
live so we have something good to see when we get there!