Archive for the ‘Esther-BibleTrekToday’ Category

Dear Friends,

Greetings in the Glorious Name of Jesus!   It is such a joy to be able to be in God’s house with God’s people to worship the one who willingly gave His life for us!   No one has to force me to go to church; I delight to do that!  It’s not just because I am a pastor either, for I would do this regardless!  It isn’t a sacrifice; it is a great privilege and also a sacred responsibility.  My wife and children are watching me.  They are looking at my life and my leadership.  They are learning by my example.  My friends and neighbors are also watching.  More than any of these, God, Himself is watching and knows my heart!

Esther was part of the Jewish nation in captivity.  She was placed in the King’s palace in a foreign land and when one of the King’s officials plotted the murder of all Jews, she had a decision to make.  It could have cost her life and position, but she fasted and made the necessary sacrifice willingly.  (Esther 4:16)  The end result was the saving of her people from execution. (Esther 9:22)

Job was a great man from the East who trusted in God.  He willingly made sacrifices for his children each day to intercede for their souls. (Job 1:5) They were all killed in a sudden storm, but the end of Job tells of a double return for Job in everything he lost.  He had ten more children, but the implication is that the other ten would be seen again in heaven!  (Job 42:10-13)

As you join today with God’s people, willingly give yourself and your tithes and offerings to see God’s saving grace in your family and nation!  Eternity will reveal the great rewards!

In His Love, Pastor John

Scripture reading for May 18th: Esther 8-10

Don’t you just love a happy ending to a sad story?  The story of Esther and her uncle, Mordecai, has a good ending for the people of God as well as for the principle characters.  The ones that were designated for death and destruction got to take revenge on their enemies.  The ones on the bottom got to be at the top.  There was joy and rejoicing in the camp of the Jews wherever they were scattered throughout the land.

Haman had cast a lot, probably by throwing dice or some similar gambling device.   He trusted in luck and the help of gods to choose a date to wipe out the Jews.   He was overruled by God and was hanged on the gallows he constructed to kill Mordecai.  Mordecai was given his place of rulership and Queen Esther petitioned the King to change the edict.  What she did not realize was that a command of the King could not be rescinded.  (Esther 8:3-8)  The King was sympathetic, granted her Haman’s estate, and allowed another edict to be drawn up.  This edict granted the Jews the right to gather and protect themselves and even to get relief from their enemies!  (Esther 8:11-14)

When the appointed day arrived, the Jews quickly acted against their enemies.  They killed the ten sons of Haman and 500 others in Susa alone.  Queen Esther petitioned to have a second day to finish the work and the King granted it.   In all of the country 75,000 were killed by the Jews.  (Esther 9:16-17)  The Jews then officially set apart the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the 12th month as a day of celebration and joy because of what God had done.  They give presents to one another and gifts to the poor.  The name of this feast is “Purim”.  It is named after the Hebrew word for “lot” which is “pur”  (Esther 9:26-27)

This story is a picture of the great reversal that belongs to each child of God.  We can look forward to the punishment of those who have mistreated us.  God knows how to keep the wicked for the day of punishment and how to preserve and reward those who are faithful to Him!  The day is coming when we will dance on the ashes of the wicked!  (Malachi 3:2-3)

Scripture reading for May 17th: Esther 5-7

“If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.” (Proverbs 26:27)   One of the spiritual laws of God is that a person will “reap what they sow”.  (Galatians 6:7)  God has so designed the world that our actions have consequences.  Consequences sometimes appear to the uneducated as “bad luck” or “unfortunate coincidences”.  In today’s reading, Haman plots to hang Mordecai the Jew in a very public execution,  but has some “bad luck!”

The Jews had fasted three days for Queen Esther’s favor as she approached the King.  On the third day, she went and stood at his door.  He invited her to come and she received favor from him.  (Esther 5:1-4)  She invited the King and Haman to a banquet that she had prepared.  The first day she did not make a request but invited them back the next day.  As they left the first banquet, Mordecai refused to bow to Haman or show him any deference.  This infuriated Haman who went home sulking.  His wife and advisers suggested building a gallows and asking the King to allow him to hang Mordecai on it.  The idea pleased Haman and the plan was put into action.

That night, the King could not sleep.  He had royal records brought and read to him.  The record of Mordecai exposing the assassination plot was read and the King asked if Mordecai had been honored.  Because nothing had been done, the King was moved to do something for this man who had saved his life.   As Haman was entering the gate to have Mordecai hanged, the King asked to see Haman, intending to have him help in honoring Mordecai.  Haman knew he was in trouble!  (Esther 6:12-14)

Haman was then taken to the second banquet and there Queen Esther exposed his plot to exterminate the Jews.  The king was furious and had Haman hanged on the gallows that he had built!  (Esther 7:6-10)  What “bad luck” for Haman!  He was in the wrong place at the wrong time!

God is not mocked.  What a man sows, he will reap.  Mordecai had sowed good will towards the King and honored his God.  He reaped blessing, protection and promotion.  Haman sowed pride, arrogance, and murder.  He lost his life on an instrument of death that he himself had built!  Be careful what you sow!

Scripture reading for May 15th: Esther 3-4

The beautiful new Queen is now faced with a dilemma.  A plot to kill off all Jews is going on in the palace and her husband, the King, has signed the edict.  Her uncle Mordecai is fasting and has found a way to warn her and appeal to her for mercy.  How will she ever help her people?  God’s favor is desperately needed!

Haman was angry that Mordecai would not show him honor by bowing to him.  In his anger, he plotted to kill Mordecai and all of the Jews, people he deemed disrespectful and worthy only of elimination.  The king gave his approval of the plan to destroy the Jews.  A day was picked by casting lots and the day was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month!  (Esther 3:7)  A decree was drawn up and plans were made.  Haman would contribute about 120 million dollars in silver to pay for this operation!

This plan was what Mordecai had shared with Queen Esther.  She asked Mordecai and her people to fast for three days.   God’s favor would be needed before she sought an audience with the King.  She knew the possibility of death awaited her if the King was having a bad day or felt threatened by her approach.  She was willing to die on behalf of saving her people.  (Esther 4:15-16)

As we look at this interesting dilemma, we see how Satan hates the people of God.  He is always looking to kill, steal, or destroy them.  (John 10:10)  God’s people are in a spiritual battle that requires spiritual weapons.  We rely on prayer and fasting.  Fasting causes us to be humbled before God and God sees our humble spirit and gives grace.  Prayer asks God to do what we can’t do ourselves.  We are dependent on Him for favor, direction and protection.  As Esther began this process, she became willing to even give her own life to try to spare her people.  This act of humble submission and willing sacrifice would bring God’s grace to her people in a unique way.

Take time today to check out your spiritual weapons.  Are you resisting the Devil and alert to his plans to kill, steal or destroy you?  Give thanks to the Lord for sending Jesus Christ as His willing sacrifice for our sins in order to save us from hell and death!

Scripture reading for May 14th: Esther 1-2

The story of  Esther concerns a plot by Haman, an official of Xerxes King of Persia, to do away with the Jews.  Hatred of God’s people has been going on for years.  The warfare is a spiritual conflict backed by Satan to kill, steal, and destroy people.  God works behind the scenes to bring about His purposes and protect His people!  God used a beauty contest to place Esther where she could help!

King Xerxes was a very vain man who loved to party and celebrate.  Along with the partying came drinking and boasting.  He loved to show off the wealth of his kingdom!  (Esther 1:4)  He threw an elaborate party that lasted seven days.  During the seventh day, after drinking much wine, he commanded his eunuchs to bring Queen Vashti, his wife to display her before the nobles.  The queen refused!  (Esther 1:12)  This infuriated the King and he banished her from his presence and began a search for another queen who would submit to his demands.

King Xerxes wanted a woman of beauty who could please him and so he conducted a beauty contest of a sort.  Women were brought into his harem and had to undergo 12 months of beauty treatments and preparation before being brought before the King.  Many women were gathered and placed under the care of the eunuchs who ran the harem.  (Esther 2:2-4)  Among these women was a Jewish girl named Esther.  She had been raised by her uncle Mordecai and was very beautiful.  Mordecai told Esther not to reveal her identity because the Jews were exiles in the land and he was concerned for her safety.

Of all the beautiful women being prepared, Esther had favor with Hegai, the harem manager.  When the time came, Esther had favor with the King as well.  God knows how to promote His people to place them where they are needed!

This interesting story highlights beauty that brought Esther to prominence.  Women who love God and serve Him are given a beauty that comes from His presence and Spirit.  Sarah, Abraham’s wife, was so beautiful that she was desired by kings for her beauty even in old age!  (Genesis 12:11-14)  Peter tells women to let their beauty come from the gentle and quiet spirit of their inner self and he uses Sarah as an example.  (1st Peter 3:3-6)  God’s beauty program is best!

Scripture reading for May 17th: Esther 8-10

When God wants His people to remember something, He usually designs a feast or celebration!  How is that for a new view of God!  Looking back, God gave Israel “Passover” as a way to remember their deliverance from bondage in Egypt.  He gave them “Pentecost” and “Firstfruits” to celebrate the harvest and giving of His Law.  He gave them “Tabernacles” where they lived in booths to commemorate their 40 years in the wilderness before entering the promised land.  He gave the church the “Eucharist” (thanksgiving) to celebrate Jesus Christ’s final sacrifice and as a picture of the great wedding banquet to come!  Let’s face it, our God likes the idea of His people celebrating and the celebrations will continue in the life to come!

The Jews had good reason to celebrate!  Their enemy, Haman, had been hung on a gallows that he himself built.  The king had extended favor to Esther and Mordecai by giving them Haman’s estate.  If you will remember, he had offered 375 tons of silver, the equivalent of about 120 million dollars, to eliminate the Jews and the king told him to keep his money!  (Esther 3:9-11)   His estate must have been tremendous. Not only that, but they were now granted the right to defend themselves against their enemies and even eliminate their enemies on the appointed day that Haman had picked by casting the l0t!  Their lives were spared and they were able to see their enemies get their due!

This plan was devised by Mordecai after the king granted him authority to write up what the Jews needed in order to counter the first decree which, according to the law of the land, could not be set aside.  Before the day came, many people of other nationalities became Jews for fear of them. (Esther 8:17)  On the day set by Haman, the tables were turned and the enemies of the Jews were themselves destroyed.  (Esther 9:1-2)  Five hundred were killed in Suza and another 75,000 were eliminated across the land of Persia by the Jews.  Esther asked for another day in Suza and the king granted her plea and even more enemies were eliminated!  God truly turned the tables and the lot was reversed in favor of His people!  Thus the feast of Purim (lot) was begun.  They celebrated for two days giving gifts and eating choice foods, for their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into celebration!  (Esther 9:20-22)

What do we learn from all of this?  God is in absolute control of everything!  When His people fast and pray and seek to obey, He comes through.  Evil toward His people is turned back on the heads of those who would touch His children!  His children can celebrate a total victory over the forces of evil arrayed against them!  We win in the end!  Tell someone this good news today! Celebrate the victory that is yours in Jesus Christ!

Greetings on this wonderful day of refreshing!  Every day is a day of refreshing in Jesus Christ, but Christians celebrate a day of worship and rest on the first day of the week because that is the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead!  This supernatural event declares Jesus to be the Son of God with power!  (Romans 1:4)  He stands uniquely above any other person because of this event and the many eye-witnesses that testified to this truth!  We who believe in Jesus Christ have a strong foundation to rest on!

I want to reflect today on the “providence” of God.  Providence is a word that seems to mean “chance” or “luck”.  But we as Christians do not believe in “luck”.  God is sovereign and has the power to bring about His purposes in several ways.  First, He alone knows all things.  He knows what will happen and how things will happen.  Second, He has the power to make things happen.  He is not bound by the creation that He created.  He is bound by His love and the covenant he made with man!  He is also bound by His own Word.  If He has said it, He will do it!  He has also decreed that He will hear the prayers of His people and act upon them in a way to bring about their forgiveness, deliverance, healing and prosperity in accordance with His own Word.

We have the tendency to think of providence as just events happening at random in a way that blesses us or causes us harm.  In God’s economy, everything will work for good for those that love God and seek Him in prayer.  (Romans 8:26-28)  He even gives us the Holy Spirit to help us to pray according to the will of God!  As we pray in the Spirit, according to His perfect will, He causes providence to happen for our good!  He can take that which was meant for evil and turn it to our good.  He can take evil men and turn the tables on them!  He can bring hidden things to light at just the right time to change the course of history!  Esther’s story with that of her Uncle Mordecai gives us glimpses into the miraculous providence of God released when His people pray!  Have a great day of rest and may the providence of our Lord bless your socks off!  Love, Pastor John

Scripture reading for May 16: Esther 5-7

“If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.” Proverbs 26:27

“An evil man is snared by his own sin, but a righteous one can sing and be glad.” Proverbs 29:6

We must be careful when we plot revenge.  All judgment and vengeance is the Lord’s.  (Romans 12:19)  The Lord has a way of turning the tables on those who seek revenge and plot evil.  He has ways of protecting those who are innocent and especially those who are serving Him.  In today’s reading from Esther, we find God turning the tables on Haman as he plots to destroy the Jews and hang an innocent man.

Haman was thrilled with his position and his influence!  He boasted to his wife and friends of his good fortune and how he was the only one invited to meet with Queen Esther for a banquet.  (Nehemiah 6:1-12)  He was happy, except for one fly in the ointment: Mordecai the Jew would not show him honor by bowing before him!  He complained to his wife and friends who proposed a plan to hang Mordecai on a gallows 75 feet high!  This would have been high enough to display the execution above the walls of the city!  He had the gallows built and was ready for the next day.

God was moving silently behind the scenes.  The king could not sleep, so he had the chronicles of his reign read to him.  He heard the story of the plot to assassinate him–a plot Mordecai had exposed thus saving his life.  He asked what had been done for this man and found out it had been overlooked.  He asked who might be in the court to honor Mordecai, and providentially, Haman had just walked in with his plans in place.  The king asked him what he would do to honor someone special to the king.  Haman thought he himself was to be honored,  so he proposed a grand public honor and was shocked when the king told him to honor Mordecai!  How ironic that God turned the tables so deftly and quickly!

The end of the story finds Haman hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai after being exposed as the one seeking to kill off all Jews, including the Queen!  God worked His plan out for good and turned the tables!  This is exactly what will happen for all of His people who serve Him faithfully.  It looks like death has the final answer, but not with God!  It looks as if the wicked get by with their schemes, but not at the final judgment!  Check your heart today and come clean of any thoughts or plans for revenge.  Forgive and turn the table back toward God’s mercy before He turns the tables on you!

Scripture reading for May 15th: Esther 3-4

As God’s people, we try to be the best citizens we can be.  We should be known as people who obey the law and serve and pray for those in authority.  We should promote respect for those in authority and aid their proper rule.  However, when a civil authority gives orders to disobey the law of God, we must respectfully decline and obey God!  This can bring trouble and wrath from authority!

In today’s reading, we have a man who is exalted by King Xerxes to a place of honor above all others.  All officials in the king’s palace knelt down and paid honor to Haman.  (Esther 3:2)  One man would not.  Mordecai, Queen Esther’s Jewish uncle, would not bow his knee before a man because of his faith in God and God’s word. (Esther 3:4)   This infuriated Haman and he devised a plot to eliminate all Jews from Persia.  He offered the king 375 tons of silver to allow him to eliminate these disrespectful people.  (Esther 3:8-9)  Do you notice the common thread of insecurity with the disobedience of Queen Vashti?  For those in authority to feel secure, any threat must be removed!

How did Mordecai react to the decree to kill all Jews?  He immediately began to fast and pray.  (Ester 4:1-3)  He called on other Jews to join with him.  He even asked his niece, Queen Esther, to help.  This was not going to be easy.  She would have to exercise some wise “civil disobedience” herself if she were to approach the king.  She asked for prayer covering as she prepared for this potentially life-threatening task of asking the king for help.  (Ester 4:15-17)  Her attitude was one of faith and of willingness to die to protect her people!

Queen Esther, as I see it today, is a type of the church.  The Church has been placed by God in places of influence to be a witness for God and His people.  The Church is to be submissive to the authorities of the world in all things except where that compromises faithfulness to God.  The Church is to be willing to die for what is right, rather than compromise the truth for the passing pleasures of sin for a season.  The Church must speak up or loose its place of influence for God!  Ask God what other lessons might be here for you today as you read this story of God working through ordinary people to accomplish His purposes!

Scripture reading for May 14th: Esther1-2

Esther is an interesting book of the Bible.  It takes place in Persia during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah when the 50,000 Jews were rebuilding the temple and walls in Jerusalem.  It never mentions the name of God, but God’s presence is implied and felt throughout the story.  It is the story of ordinary Jewish people who are trying to be faithful to their God while they live in a foreign land.  As they live out their lives, God is moving and turning all circumstances to work out for the good of those who love Him.  (Romans 8:28)  Even things that look like they are evil!

The first two chapters deal with how God puts Esther, a beautiful virgin and Jew, in the palace of the king of Persia.  This story tells of a partying king who liked to drink and boast of his wealth and possessions, and evidently of his women, too!  He called for his beautiful queen, Vasti, to come and display herself before the nobles who were drinking with her husband.  Queen Vasti refused to do what he asked.  The king was furious and sought counsel as to what to do about this offense.  It was decided that she must be made a public example so that other women would not get the idea that they could disobey their husbands and show them disrespect.  Queen Vasti was removed from her royal position and was never to come into the king’s presence again!  As a result of this, a search was made for the most beautiful and suitable woman to take the queen’s place.  God then exalts Esther, a Jew, to this place of honor!

Let’s talk about this example.  In today’s culture, what Vasti did would have been totally acceptable!  She probably felt disrespected herself by her husband’s desire to display her before a group of drunken men.  She did not want to be eye candy for this group that were already inflamed by wine.  She had her principles and stuck by them.  She would have her rights as well as the king.  She would have been commended by all today, especially Christians!

How is it that the king was so upset?  In that culture, women were expected to be totally obedient to their husbands.  This disrespect by disobedience was not tolerated!  In the pagan culture, no conviction of right or wrong could stop the king from having what he wanted!  All the men in power agreed about that and felt threatened by the queen’s action!  They felt that they needed to take action to protect themselves and their way of life. (Esther 1:18-20)

God used the culture of that day to accomplish his purposes.  He removed the one queen, probably protecting her for her stand of faith.  He placed Esther, a godly Jew, in the place of influence and gave her favor in order to bring about the deliverance of all his people!  (Esther 2:17)  As a godly Jew, Esther knew how to obey the king and still remain loyal to her God.  By faith she became to all an example  of a woman true to her people and to God!