The apostle Paul spoke of God's glorious nature in 1 Timothy 6:15-16: "...He who is the
blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in
unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honour
and everlasting power. Amen." God is from everlasting and His power is infinite. We cannot stare into the brightness of the sun for long without damaging our eyes, and if we attempted to draw near to this great star the heat would consume our bodies long before our feet ever touched upon the surface. God is even more inapproachable, and though we cannot see Him the power of what He has made by the words of His mouth causes our hearts to fail.
To be summoned to appear in the court of a king would be a fearful proposition. I was never comfortable to be called into the office by my boss when potentially my job hung in the balance: how much more disconcerting to be called before a king who possessed power over life and death! All he needed to do was say the word and the life of the mightiest subject was forfeit. When evil Haman plotted the destruction of the Jews, Esther the queen was compelled by her cousin Mordecai to approach her husband Ahasuerus the king of the Medes and Persians to intercede on behalf of the Jews to expose grave injustice and bring about deliverance. You might think, "Big deal! She's the queen and married to the king. She can do anything she wants!" You would be quite wrong in that assessment, for the law said otherwise.
Esther knew the law of the Medes and Persians, and the law only condemned all in her position should she enter the court without being summoned. She explained this in Esther 4:11: "All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden sceptre, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days." Going before the king unannounced was an automatic death sentence. The only exception was if the king held out the golden sceptre. By this benevolent act the king could go above the law to save who came to him. After three days of praying and fasting, Esther approached the king, he held out the sceptre, and the rest is history.
It is with such trepidation and soberness we approach the LORD God who has revealed Himself to us by His grace. Under the Law we are condemned and have no hope of deliverance. There is nothing we can bring in our hands which would cause God to accept us on our merits. When we approach the unapproachable God humbly in faith, He has extended grace and deliverance to us through Jesus Christ. God forbid we would see Jesus only as a friend and not first as God and King of whose presence we are most unworthy. Esther and all the people knew the law of the Medes and Persians which could not be changed, and many people do not know the Almighty God who does not change. He is without beginning or ending, immortal, unapproachable, to whom is honour and everlasting power. When you pray to Him, do not barge into His presence. Do not be presumptuous to do all the speaking. We are only able to approach Him boldly because He has already summoned us to appear before His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
Our God is a consuming fire, and at the prospect of His might our natural inclination is to run and hide. Trying to hide from God is futile, for His light shines in all darkness and His understanding is infinite. Let us draw near to Him in faith even as Esther did before her king. She did not appear because she was assured of favour from the king but the urgency of her need. God has assured all those who repent and trust in Him favour, deliverance, and salvation. The Law which condemned us has been blotted out and nailed to the cross for good measure with our Saviour Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:13-15), and our King lives to make intercession on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25). How glorious is it is to be known and accepted by the most high God! Let us fall on our faces in worship, for He is worthy!
To be summoned to appear in the court of a king would be a fearful proposition. I was never comfortable to be called into the office by my boss when potentially my job hung in the balance: how much more disconcerting to be called before a king who possessed power over life and death! All he needed to do was say the word and the life of the mightiest subject was forfeit. When evil Haman plotted the destruction of the Jews, Esther the queen was compelled by her cousin Mordecai to approach her husband Ahasuerus the king of the Medes and Persians to intercede on behalf of the Jews to expose grave injustice and bring about deliverance. You might think, "Big deal! She's the queen and married to the king. She can do anything she wants!" You would be quite wrong in that assessment, for the law said otherwise.
Esther knew the law of the Medes and Persians, and the law only condemned all in her position should she enter the court without being summoned. She explained this in Esther 4:11: "All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden sceptre, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days." Going before the king unannounced was an automatic death sentence. The only exception was if the king held out the golden sceptre. By this benevolent act the king could go above the law to save who came to him. After three days of praying and fasting, Esther approached the king, he held out the sceptre, and the rest is history.
It is with such trepidation and soberness we approach the LORD God who has revealed Himself to us by His grace. Under the Law we are condemned and have no hope of deliverance. There is nothing we can bring in our hands which would cause God to accept us on our merits. When we approach the unapproachable God humbly in faith, He has extended grace and deliverance to us through Jesus Christ. God forbid we would see Jesus only as a friend and not first as God and King of whose presence we are most unworthy. Esther and all the people knew the law of the Medes and Persians which could not be changed, and many people do not know the Almighty God who does not change. He is without beginning or ending, immortal, unapproachable, to whom is honour and everlasting power. When you pray to Him, do not barge into His presence. Do not be presumptuous to do all the speaking. We are only able to approach Him boldly because He has already summoned us to appear before His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
Our God is a consuming fire, and at the prospect of His might our natural inclination is to run and hide. Trying to hide from God is futile, for His light shines in all darkness and His understanding is infinite. Let us draw near to Him in faith even as Esther did before her king. She did not appear because she was assured of favour from the king but the urgency of her need. God has assured all those who repent and trust in Him favour, deliverance, and salvation. The Law which condemned us has been blotted out and nailed to the cross for good measure with our Saviour Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:13-15), and our King lives to make intercession on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25). How glorious is it is to be known and accepted by the most high God! Let us fall on our faces in worship, for He is worthy!
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