Confidence in God's Deliverance

I've been enjoying reading through Esther lately, and it is amazing how God brings fresh insights to familiar passages.  Haman was incensed by the Jew Mordecai's refusal to give him reverence, and so great was his pride punishing Mordecai was not enough:  he would exterminate Mordecai and his people as well.  Having the favour of the king, Haman was able to write the doom of the Jews into law.  When Mordecai heard these evil tidings, he put on sackcloth and mourned publicly.  Esther the queen, seeing her cousin in such strife, inquired concerning his welfare and heard the news for herself.

Mordecai urged Esther to use her privileged position as queen to gain access to the king to plead for her people.  At first she resisted, citing a law which endangered the lives of all who approached the king without a summons.  Esther 4:13-14 reads, "And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"  Mordecai was a man of great faith in the God of Israel who faithfully delivered His people from great trouble when they cried out to Him.  Even when the destruction of the Jews was decreed by command of the King of a world empire, never for a moment did Mordecai doubt God could or would save the Jews.

Mordecai did not plead with Esther as we might, conveying she was their only hope for survival.  He did not don sackcloth to wring his hands in despair, worrying from where deliverance could come:  God would deliver His people without doubt.  The question was, would Esther be willing to be used to that end, even at the risk of her own life?  God would surely raise up relief and deliverance for the Jews from somewhere, and Mordecai did not presume to know where.  Mordecai believed God had elevated Esther to her position as queen not because of her great beauty, but because God intended for her to serve Him to her full extent in her current station.  Mordecai was convinced if Esther refused to act and remained silent, she was resigned to her own destruction.

Brother and sister in Christ, this is true for us!  God is a deliverer and a Saviour, of this we can be certain.  The question is, will we submit to serve God in our current role and relationships to the utmost so God can work His wonders through us?  Do we have the faith of Mordecai, believing God would raise up relief and deliverance for His people from somewhere - even when the source is obscured from our sight?  Do we look upon God with such confidence?  May it be such hearts and eyes of faith in the power and compassion of God are found in all God's people.

Called by Name

"But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. ² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you."

Isaiah 43:1-2

God did a phenomenal thing in birthing the Jewish nation out of slavery in Egypt.  It was a demonstration of love and grace which rivals the salvation God has provided Jew and Gentile through faith in Jesus Christ.  See what God said to the Hebrews in in Deuteronomy 7:7-8:  "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; ⁸ but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt."  God set His love on His people because He loved them; He chose them because He would keep His word to redeem them.  God did not save His people because of their goodness, but because He is good.

Though Israel would later demand a king like the other nations, forsake His Law, and bow down before idols, God did not disown His people.  Though He chastened them to repentance with famine, drought, war, and captivity, the God who formed and chose Israel would protect and uphold them.  He delivered them to the Syrians and Babylonians for their iniquities, but He would remember them and cause them to enter the land He promised to their fathers once again.  Even in the darkest times He commanded them to fear not because He was their Redeemer.  The rivers would flood but would not overwhelm His people.  Though the fire raged hot they would not be burned from His memory.  He said, "I have called you by your name; you are Mine."

How glorious it is, that the one who formed and knows us would call our name!  In the book of Esther young maidens were prepared for one year before going into the presence of the king of Persia.  Esther 2:14 details what occurred after appearing before the king:  "In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name."  One word which stands out in this verse is "custody."  The luxury afforded the concubines of the king provided comfort, but individual freedom was restricted.  A woman who appeared before the king was not free to go wherever she wanted but would remain in seclusion unless the king "delighted in her and called for her by name."  I imagine many tears were shed in this house as many women languished in their youth with silence from the king, pining to be remembered and delighted in.  How the clouds would lift to be called by your king by name!

God delighted in Jacob and gave him a new name.  God blessed Jacob in Genesis 32:28:  "And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."  God claimed Israel as His treasured inheritance, and the New Covenant by the blood of Jesus in no way lessens the impact of the grace and goodness God has shown the Jews.  It is amazing how through Jesus Christ all people can have fellowship with the Creator who delights in us and calls us by name.  We languished in a prison awaiting death for our sin, but at the call of our Saviour Jesus Christ we have come out of darkness and into His marvellous light.  God promised to be with His people, and Christians are reminded of God's word to us in Hebrews 13:5, "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  The Almighty God delights in us and calls us by His name, and let us eternally praise and worship Him for this!

God's Precious Vessels

Today I read about when King Ahasuerus hosted a great feast in Shushan.  In the third year of his reign he displayed the power of Media and Persia, inviting nobles and rulers from the 127 provinces he ruled for 180 days.  That would be quite the gathering!  When those days were completed, he hosted a feast for 7 days and all in Shushan were invited to the court of his garden palace.  Esther 1:6-7 describes the elaborate and luxurious decor:  "There were white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble pillars; and the couches were of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of alabaster, turquoise, and white and black marble. ⁷ And they served drinks in golden vessels, each vessel being different from the other, with royal wine in abundance, according to the generosity of the king."

It must have been a treat for the people of Shushan to partake of the generous bounty of their king.  The value in gold of even a single goblet for drinking wine might have been more gold a poor person would ever earn in a lifetime, and for 7 days there were free refills of royal wine!  The drinking vessels are described as being made of gold and each one being unique in design.  These details may seem unnecessary, but the truth of God's Word is significant.  Passages easily glossed over can contain great insight and provide observations and comparisons which enlarge our understanding of God and His grace.

The wealth of King Ahasuerus greatly exceeded that of his people, and the wealth of God is infinitely greater than all kings in this world.  Ahasuerus did well to invite rulers from 127 provinces, but God's subjects are more numerous than the sands of the sea and every star in the universe He knows and calls by name.  The golden vessels of the king of Persia, though numerous, were limited in number and value.  God's wealth cannot be measured, weighed, and is beyond compare.  One similarity between the drinking vessels of Ahasuerus and God's vessels of honour is they are all made distinct and unique.  Our lives are compared to earthen vessels fashioned in the hands of a divine Potter who makes us for His purposes.  Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us."

The value of the vessels of gold could be determined by weight, but our value is determined by the precious blood of Jesus Christ who redeemed us.  This is spelled out in 1 Peter 1:18-19:  "...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."  The satanic deception is to imagine we are worthy of redemption because of the love God has for us or the price He paid, but not one of us is worthy of God's grace.  We are corruptible, perishing earthen vessels, but God treats us as if we were more valuable than gold because He is good.  King Ahasuerus received glory in the eyes of his people because of his monetary wealth and abundance of gold, yet God is worthy to receive infinitely greater glory because of His love and grace freely offered to all who trust in Him.

Astonished at Teaching

Yesterday in church the text we examined was the first half of Acts 13 which included Paul's interaction with the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus.  Being an intelligent man and likely interested to learn new things, Sergius Paulus summoned Barnabas and Paul to hear the Word of God.  A Jew named Elymas withstood the apostles when they arrived, trying to turn Sergius Paulus from the truth of the Gospel.  Finally Paul rebuked Elymas strongly and declared he would be rendered blind for a season.  After this immediately came to pass Acts 13:12 reads, "Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord."

Reading this struck me as I considered the question:  would I be more astonished by a person struck completely blind or by the "teaching of the LORD?"  Likely seeing someone suddenly blind by words alone would be more astonishing.  What this drives home is how the Bible should astonish us; the claims, actions, and implications of all Jesus did should shock us.  We who have long been familiar with the Bible can become calloused to how utterly astonishing the revelation of God and the teaching of Jesus is.  I am sure Sergius Paulus was quite familiar with the Roman mythological gods, but the fact God would humble Himself to be a man and die for lost sinners was astonishing.  Considering how the all-powerful and perfectly righteous God said and conducted Himself, choosing the path of humility and suffering without threats of vengeance, was unlike anything he had heard or imagined.

How glorious is our God, and let us observe with renewed minds and soft hearts the wonder of God's Word.  Instead of allowing the scriptures to roll off our hearts and minds like water repelled by oil on the feathers of a duck, let us humble ourselves to receive afresh the teaching of the LORD.  Read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and compare it with the way we naturally think and live.  If the teachings of Jesus do not astonish us, then perhaps we aren't allowing them to sink into our hearts or be lived out in our lives to the degree God desires.  Following Christ isn't like the worship of Roman gods or goddesses with rites, rituals, sacrifice and incantations, but obedience to the Living God by faith.  God has dealt to each of us a measure of faith, yet God would have us exercise faith so our faith might be strengthened and grow.  The complexity and design of the natural world is astonishing to our minds, but much more so the teaching of the LORD to a receptive heart.