Tag Archives: Esther 4-7:10

August 19, 2014 Bible Study — Many Parts, One Body

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 21:21-22

    The first part of today’s proverbs are another way of saying what Jesus was saying when He said “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Those who pursue righteousness and love are seeking the Kingdom of God, whether they know it or not. If those who seek the Kingdom of God do not pursue righteousness and love they are on a hopeless quest.
    Wisdom will overcome strength. This proverb is another way of stating a saying I have heard for many years, “Old age and treachery will beat youth and skill.” While the latter saying has similar meaning, it does not quite encompass the proverb. The point of the proverb is that in a contest between wisdom and strength, wisdom will always come out on top.

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Psalm 36:1-12

    The wicked have no fear of the Lord. They are so arrogant and cocky that they completely overlook and dismiss their own sins, believing that they are basically good people. They often hold to this belief while planning evil and refusing to turn from sin.
    However, God sets the standard for what is truly good. If we fail to meet that standard than we are not good people. God’s love is unfailing. Can I truly say that about myself? That my love is unfailing? God cares for both people and animals. This means that we too are to care for both people and animals. Just as God feeds us out of His abundance, let us provide for the needy out of the abundance He has given us.

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1 Corinthians 12:1-26

    There are many different spiritual gifts and they are all necessary for the Body of Christ to flourish. Each person has the spiritual gifts which God chose for them to have according to what God decided was necessary at that time and place. One person is not more important than another, no matter that one has a gift we consider important and another has one that we consider unimportant. Our judgement that the spiritual gift that one person has is more important than the spiritual gifts another person has is wrong. This does not mean that we are wrong to place some people in more prominent, visible positions than others. Just as some parts of the body are meant to be seen and noticed while other parts are hidden and protected, so people with some spiritual gifts are meant to be seen and noticed while those with other gifts work best when they are unseen and most are unaware of their presence. If your gift calls for you to be one of the latter, do not seek to draw attention to yourself. On the other hand, if your gift is one of the former, do not believe that it makes you better or more important than others. God knows exactly what gifts the Body needs and doles them out accordingly.

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Esther 4-7:10

    When Haman launched his pogrom against the Jews Mordecai made Esther aware of it. Mordecai asked her to go to the king and plead for her people. Esther was reluctant because approaching the king was risky. Mordecai told her that she had no choice, she could not avoid the danger by remaining silent. He suggested that perhaps she was in that very position in order to bring about the rescue of the Jews. There is a very important point here, we can never avoid the dangers of this world by keeping our heads down, hoping to avoid notice. We must use whatever position we find ourselves in to combat injustice. If we do not, sooner or later we will find that injustice directed at us.

August 19, 2013 Bible Study — If I Must Die, I Must Die

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Esther 4-7:10

     When Mordecai learned of Haman’s edict, he went into mourning. Dressed in sackcloth he sat at the gate to the king’s palace. When Esther heard that he was doing this, she sent a messenger with new clothes for him. Mordecai refused the clothes and sent a message back to Esther telling her the details of Haman’s edict. Mordecai asked Esther to intervene for her people with the king. Esther replied that if she approached the king without being summoned, she might be killed unless the king extended grace to her and she had not been summoned to the king in over a month.
     Mordecai replied to Esther that she would not escape the coming purge just because she was in the palace. If she remained silent, deliverance and relief would arise for the Jews from some other place, but she and her family would die. He then suggested that perhaps she had been made queen for this very purpose. Esther took this to heart and replied asking Mordecai to gather all of the Jews in Susa together to fast for three days and nights. She and her servants would do the same. On the fourth day she would go to see the king, submitting herself to the hand of God, whether she lived or she died.

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     This passage is one that touches me very deeply and is at the heart of my understanding of my duties as a follower of God. We are where we are in life in order to fulfill God’s purpose in this world. We cannot avoid the risks associated with doing God’s will. If we refuse to do that which we know God desires us to do because we are afraid of possible consequences, those consequences will still fall upon us and God will find some other means to do His will. On the other hand, if we step forth in God’s will, despite the risks, God may protect us from harm. We are called to live our lives as Esther did here and as Daniel’s three friends (Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego) did. Esther said, “If I must die, I must die.” Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego said, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods…” All too often I have failed to live up to these examples because I was afraid that someone would mock me. I pray that the Holy Spirit will give me the strength going forward to echo Esther and say, “If I must die, I must die,” or, “If I will be mocked, so be it.”
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     On the fourth day, Esther went to see the king. When the king saw her enter his presence he extended her an invitation to be there, thus sparing her life. He then asked her what she desired of him. Esther invited the king to come to a banquet she had prepared and to bring Haman with him. The king granted her request. When they came to the banquet the king asked Esther what she really wanted. promising to grant her request, even up to half of his kingdom. Esther merely replied that she desired that the king and Haman come to a banquet she had prepared for the following day. She told the king that she would explain what this was all about at that banquet. The king agreed.
     As he was leaving the palace at the end of the day, Haman passed Mordecai and his rage at Mordecai was rekindled. When he got home, he boasted of his wealth and power, and about being invited to a banquet a private banquet with the king and Queen Esther. However, all of this was unsatisfying as long as Mordecai sat at the palace gates. Haman’s wife suggested that Haman set up a tall sharpened pole and in the morning request the king’s permission to impale Mordecai on it. Haman liked this idea and ordered the pole set up.
     Meanwhile, the king had trouble sleeping so he had the book recounting the history of his reign read to him. While it was being read, he heard an account of Mordecai revealing the plot against him. He asked what reward Mordecai had been given for this act. The answer was that nothing had been done for Mordecai. At that moment, Haman arrived, intending to request permission to impale Mordecai. The king summoned Haman into his presence and asked him what he should do to honor a man who truly pleased him. Haman, assuming that the king meant to honor him, told the king that he should dress the person in royal regalia and mount him on a royal horse. Then he should have one of his high officials lead the man to be so honored through the city square on the king’s horse, with the official declaring that this what the king does for one he wished to honor. The king liked Haman’s plan and ordered him to do this for Mordecai. Haman did as ordered. Afterwards Haman rushed home dejected and humiliated. When he told his wife and friends what had happened his wife told him that since Mordecai was a Jew, his plans against him would never come to fruition and to continue to oppose him would be fatal.
     Once she had said this, the king’s servants arrived to escort Haman to Esther’s banquet. Once they were at the banquet, the king once again asked Esther what she truly desired. Esther answered by requesting that her life and that of her people be spared. She told the king that she and her people had been sold to those who wished to kill and annihilate them. The king asked her who would dare do such a thing. Esther told him that it was none other than Haman. The king jumped to his feet in rage and went out to the palace garden. Meanwhile Haman attempted to plead for his life with Esther. However, in his grief he fell upon her couch just as the king returned. The king assumed that he was assaulting Esther and called for his servants to seize him. One of the king’s servants told the king that Haman had set up a sharpened pole intending to impale Mordecai upon it, noting that Mordecai had saved the king from assassination (this suggests that Haman was not popular among the palace servants). The king ordered that Haman be impaled upon the very pole he had set up.

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1 Corinthians 12:1-26

     Paul moves on to his next topic, spiritual gifts. The first thing he tells us about recognizing spiritual gifts is how to distinguish between true and false spiritual gifts. No one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus and everyone who honors Jesus is doing so by the Spirit of God. He then tells us that there are different spiritual gifts and that God calls us to different kinds of service. Despite these differences there is only one God working in and through us. We are each given a spiritual gift in order to help each other. The Spirit gives the gift of wise advice to some and that of special knowledge to others. Other gifts which the Spirit gives are great faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking on various languages, and interpretation of languages. All of these gifts are different, but they all come from the same Spirit. God distributes these gifts according to His designs in this world, not according to human desire.
     The human body is made up of many parts, but it is still only one body. In the same manner, the Church is made up of many different people, with different skills and gifts nevertheless we are all baptized into one body, the Body of Christ, and we all share one Spirit. Just as the human body needs all of its various parts, placed according to God’s design, to function properly, so, too the Church requires all of the different parts which are placed according to God’s designs. In the same way that we honor certain parts of our body and protect other parts, so too in the Church should we be careful to honor and protect different parts of the Body according to their needs and their vulnerability. If one part of our body is honored, our whole body is honored, if one part of our body is hurt, our whole body suffers. The same is true of the Church, the Body of Christ, even if we do not always recognize this.

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Psalm 36:1-12

     There is a wonderful insight into human nature in this psalm:

In their blind conceit,
they cannot see how wicked they really are.

No one thinks of themselves as truly evil. People constantly justify their actions to themselves, explaining why it was not wrong of them to do things which they know are wrong. Once we have done wicked acts, we lie to ourselves continuously, following up one evil act with another. Each one justified in our own minds. It is only when we acknowledge that without God we are wicked and then confess our sins that we can break this cycle of ever increasing evil.

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Proverbs 21:21-22

     It is only through the pursuit of righteousness and love that we can find life and honor. Wisdom will overcome strength every time.

August 19, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Esther 4-7:10

     When Mordecai learned of the decree against the Jews, he put on sackcloth and ashes and mourned at the palace gate. When Esther heard that Mordecai was mourning at the palace gates, she sent a messenger to find out why. Mordecai gave Esther’s messenger a copy of Haman’s decree and asked that she go to the king and plead for her people. Esther replies that if she goes before the king without being summoned it could mean her death. Mordecai tells her, through her messenger, that if she does not act, deliverance for the Jews will come from another source, but she and her family will be killed. He suggests that perhaps she was made queen for just this occasion. Esther recognized the truth of Mordecai’s argument and requested that he and the rest of the Jews of Susa fast for three days and pray for her(prayer is implied rather than stated). Esther said that she and her maids would do the same.
     One of the interesting things I came across is that the name of God is not mentioned once in the Book of Esther. However, we see at several places that the characters reverence God. In this passage, Mordecai suggests that Esther was made Queen for just this occasion (made Queen by whom if not God). I think Mordecai’s point to Esther is one that we should pay close attention to. When we are blessed, it is in order for us to be in a place to serve God. Sooner or later we will be called upon to risk that blessing in order to use that blessing in God’s service.
     To continue with the story, after three days of fasting Esther went to the king. He extended his scepter, sparing her life. and asked her what request she had, promising to grant it. Esther requested that the king and Haman come to a banquet she had prepared for them. At the banquet, the king asked Esther what she was really after. Esther replied by asking the king and Haman come to a banquet again the next day when she would explain it all to the king.
     That evening on his way home Haman sees Mordecai again and is once again infuriated by Mordecai’s failure to fear him. Haman brags to his family about his wealth and favor with the king and with Queen Esther. He plans to kill Mordecai on a spike in his, Haman’s, own courtyard. During the night, King Xerxes cannot sleep, so he orders an attendant to read the book of the history of his reign to him. One of the accounts read is about the plot to kill the king that Mordecai had uncovered. The king inquires what had been done to reward Mordecai. When he discovers that no reward was given, he plans to fix that in the morning. In the morning, the king asks Haman what he should do to honor a man he wished to honor. Haman assumed that he was that man. Haman recommends that the king have the man dressed in royal robes and mounted on a royal horse and paraded around the city declaring that he was a man favored by the king. King Xerxes immediately orders Haman to do this for Mordecai. Haman follows the kings instructions but returns home dejected. Haman’s advisers tell him that it would be fatal to continue plotting against Mordecai and the Jews, but it is too late. As they tell him this the king’s eunuchs arrive to escort him to Queen Esther’s banquet.
     At the banquet the king once again asks Esther what she really wants. She tells the king that she wishes her life and the lives of her people to be spared, that their lives had been sold for annihilation. The king asks who would dare to threaten Esther. Esther reveals to the king that it is Haman who so plotted. The king is furious and in his desperation Haman makes matters worse. One of the king’s eunuchs tells the king that Haman had set up a sharpened pole that he intended to use to impale Mordecai. The king orders Haman impaled upon it. This story reminds us that evil plots often rebound upon the plotters.

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1 Corinthians 12:1-26

     Paul starts off his teaching on spiritual gifts by declaring that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. I do not think in either case Paul is limiting this to just the words. That is, if someone says “Jesus is Lord” but the rest of their teaching is that Jesus is not Lord, they are not speaking by the Holy Spirit. Paul goes on to tell us that there are different kinds of spiritual gifts and different kinds of service, but only one God that we worship and serve. Paul here links our spiritual gifts to the service we are called to. I think this reflects an important principle about spiritual gifts. They are given in order to allow us to fulfill the service that God has called us to. Often times in the Church we study what spiritual gifts someone has in order to determine what type of ministry they are called to. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, except that sometimes God does not give the spiritual gift until after we have followed His call into service. We, as a Church, need to do a better job of extending God’s call to His people. I have taken part in several “gifts discernment” processes that were personality tests given a “spiritual” veneer. There is nothing wrong with these. They are a good starting point to understanding where we are likely to be able to serve God. After all, God gave us each certain personality traits in order to suit us to particular ministries. But that is not what Paul is talking about when he discusses spiritual gifts here. Paul is talking about gifts wherein we do and say things that when we look back on it we go, “Where did that come from?”
     I will give an example from my life. When I was in college one night I was returning to my dorm when I came upon a woman I knew only vaguely who looked distraught. She asked me if I knew where a mutual friend of ours was. I did not. But I continued to speak with her. As we talked about what was troubling her, it came out that the root of her current problem was partially due to an inaccurate view of God that she had learned in her childhood. As we spoke, I began quoting scriptures, including the reference to where they were found, which showed how her perception was wrong. I had never memorized those verses. The next day I could not remember exactly where they were found, but that night, as I was speaking to her, I knew the chapter and verse for them. That night I was given the spiritual gift of wisdom and of knowledge. The thing about spiritual gifts is that they allow us to do something that we cannot take credit for. I cannot take credit for what I said that night because I did not know those verses before I uttered them and I did not know them the next morning, but when they were needed the Spirit provided them. If you find yourself in a situation that calls for abilities and talents that you do not possess, do not be afraid to step forward and act. God will give you what you need. Certainly, if others are present who possess those personality traits and/or skills, allow them to take the lead. But if you see a need that no one is filling, take action. God will bless you, either by revealing abilities you did not know you possessed or by granting you a spiritual gift to meet those needs at that moment. Just as Esther was Queen at that time to save the Jews from Haman’s plots, so we are where we are to serve God’s purpose and He will grant us what we need to do so.

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Psalm 36:1-12

     Here we learn that the wicked do not realize how wicked they are. The wicked do not attempt to turn from their wickedness because they refuse to acknowledge that they are wicked. This in a round about way shows us an important part of following God. We must learn to acknowledge when we do that which is wicked and sinful. We must turn from such behaviors and seek instead to do that which God desires. This is a cycle that goes both ways. As we acknowledge our sins and seek God’s help in overcoming them, we become aware of other sins in our lives and develop a desire to correct those as well. On the other hand, if we refuse to acknowledge a sin as sin, we will soon find ourselves committing other sins that we no longer are willing to consider sin. I pray to God that I never again find myself on that latter cycle.

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Proverbs 21:21-22

     The first proverb tells us that if we seek righteousness, we will find it. Along with righteousness we will find life and honor. But this also tells us that if we perceive a need to behave dishonorably in pursuit of our goals, those goals are not righteous. The second proverb tells us that in a contest between strength and wisdom, the side with wisdom will emerge victorious.