Weekly Reflection 10/16/23

Esther part 4 – “God Controls the Dice”

Esther 2:21 – 3:1

Remember that at the end of chapter 2 Mordecai happened to overhear a plot to assassinate king Ahasuerus while he was “sitting at the gate.”  Mordecai foiled the assassination plot by reporting it to Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king giving due credit to Mordecai.  Acts of loyalty were usually rewarded immediately and generously by Persian kings, but Mordecai’s reward was apparently overlooked. Given Mordecai’s demonstrated loyalty to the king, promotion would have been an appropriate reward. Chapter 3 starts with a new character is introduced into the story: Haman the Agagite. And instead of Mordecai being promoted this guy Haman is promoted, though no explanation of why he deserved this honor is given. The author places the promotion of Haman just where the original readers would have expected a report of Mordecai’s reward as a benefactor of the king. 

• It can be hard when our good deeds and hard work go unnoticed and unrewarded, when we see others  others prosper who are not even trying to do right. But this example of Esther and Mordecai gives us reason to endure these situations with patience and grace. 
• Doing the right thing should never be about immediate reward or recognition. If we shift to that mind-set, in fact, then we may quickly move to doing what is right when it is inspected and not doing what is right just because it is expected. 
• As a believer who lives in a corrupt and fallen world, do not be surprised if no one thanks you for being a Christian. Not everyone will love you just because you love Jesus. Not everyone wants to hear about Jesus or follow Him. 
• That reality, however, does not mean we should stop trying to serve others for their good. We’ve got to be OK with people failing to express gratitude. And that is not always easy. 
• I am sure Mordecai may have thought to himself once or twice, “Where was Haman when people were plotting to kill the king? I was the protector, but Haman was promoted.” 
• We can experience an internal struggle when we see others get positions or awards or opportunities we believe we deserved or earned. But if, like Mordecai, you find yourself having done the right thing but no one offered fanfare in response, do not be discouraged. God is keeping detailed records, and all will be made right. 
• Jesus says in Revelation 22:12, “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.”  
• God’s timing is best, and He has purposes in our receiving from other people delayed or even no recognition at all. Above all, we do not strive to do what is right toward others because of their gratitude but because of His glory.

1. Why is doing what is right for people who have done us wrong so difficult? 
2. How can the gospel fuel our obedience here? Why do we so easily seek earthly rewards and forget about kingdom rewards? How can we give more consideration to the eternal rather than the temporal?

Esther 3:2-6, 8-9

Seeing Haman’s reaction should cause us to consider how we react when people do not recognize the “greatness” we perceive in ourselves. To his dishonor, Haman overreacted horribly. But what do we do when people do not honor us as we feel we ought to be honored? Hopefully we do not choose the nuclear option of seeking not only to kill them but also all of those who share their ethnicity. Yet even though we may not desire to physically kill anyone, it could be that our anger burns within us like Haman’s did, and we murder those who disrespect us with our thoughts. If that is the case, then we are thinking too highly of ourselves. Here are some additional questions we should consider to help us in determining whether we to, like Haman, think too much of ourselves: 

1. Are we in any way guilty of seeking our honor over God’s? 
2. Are we seeking our honor to the detriment of those around us? 
3. Are we more offended when our honor is questioned than when God’s is?

Esther 3:7

Phase one of Haman’s plan was to set a date. How does one pick a date for a genocide? Haman would rely on the pur, also known as a “lot.” What they used to discern the date of death may have been similar to our contemporary dice (William W. Hallo, “The First Purim,” 19–26). Through casting the lots, those gathered with Haman were able to determine that the twelfth month would be the most favorable day on which to slaughter the Jews. But we know something Haman and his cronies did not: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” (Proverbs 16:33). The date chosen by Haman, therefore, came not through the discretion of the gods but by the direction of God. A clear evidence of God’s grace is that while Haman began scheming during the first month of the year, the massacre was scheduled for the twelfth month.

• Anytime we see a gap of time before a judgment or an evil is to happen we need to recognize that as grace, an opportunity being offered by God.
• Read Esther 4:1-3, 14, Jonah 3:4-10, and Joel 2:12-14 and notice the similarities.
• What is God’s purpose in these gaps of time?  What does He desire people to do?
• Throughout the Old Testament it could be easy to view God as an out of control, angry, blood thirsty God. But make sure you realize, even when we may not understand why things are happening, or we may not in our limited view see God at work, that God always gave opportunity for repentance. 
• God said, “I’m going to destroy the world in a flood.”  But before the destruction came, God established a preacher by the name of Noah, who was a preacher of righteousness, and he preached judgment, and called for repentance for 120 years.  Peter in 1 Peter 3:20 describes this as the patience of God, waiting in the days of Noah, the patience of God. 
• Amazing patience with sinners.  

Esther 3:10-14

Once the date was confirmed, Haman had to convince Ahasuerus to annihilate an entire ethnic group in his empire. One would hope this would be difficult if not impossible. Haman simply gave the king a bogus scenario full of generalities. He was not interested in presenting truth, just in being manipulative, which is not dissimilar to the way we frame stories to make our way seem best. (We are never guilty of leaving out details that would be detrimental to whatever we are trying to make happen, are we?) He provided no specifics about the people he considered dangerous to the king’s interests. What Haman was specific about was the amount of silver he would place in the king’s treasury if his plan was approved.

The king, who apparently was the most easily influenced, powerful person in the history of the world, told Haman to do what he wanted and gave him his ring to validate the decrees that would be sent out. Based on what we know of Ahasuerus, his lack of regard for human life is saddening but not surprising. The king granted permission for thousands of Jews to be slaughtered, regardless of gender or age, by their neighbors.

The next phase of Haman’s demonic plan was to draft one of the most heinous decrees in history. The decree was to be translated into every script and language used in the empire. Haman wanted those he was targeting to know there would be no place to hide in Ahasuerus’s kingdom because even those living in its most remote areas would receive the decree. In the name of the king, Haman commands all people in the empire to completely annihilate every Jew regardless of gender or age. 

I want us to consider the eleven months of waiting that God’s people would experience from the time the decree went out until the date set for the purge. After the decree was placed in the mail, Haman and Ahasuerus sat down to drink together. While they were celebrating, the citadel was in confusion, the Jews were concerned, and God was still in control! What Haman and Ahasuerus and not even Esther and Mordecai knew yet was the final outcome of all of this. That God’s people didn’t know how it would all turn out is what I want us to see. 

• It is one thing to hear the phrase cancer free after months (or years) of undergoing surgeries and treatments. But on the first day of diagnosis, even the most faithful believer may be tempted to be anxious and need to be reminded that we can cast our cares on God because God cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). 
• In God’s providence only He knows the full plan; we do not. Yes, we know how Revelation ends, and yes, we have His promises, but a lot of details for our specific lives remain mysterious. God’s plan may involve our living, and it may involve our dying, but it will definitely involve our faith. 
• The author of Hebrews reminds us that in God’s providence some are spared and some suffer greatly, but in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, we are to remain faithful (Hebrews 11:32–12:3). 
• So even though we do not know God’s full plan or how our specific situations will turn out, we can trust God fully. Even in our times of waiting, we can be empowered to trust the Lord not by considering our previous faithfulness but by recalling His. He is always working in our waiting even if it is not always evident. 
• As Thomas Watson encourages, “God is to be trusted when his providences seem to run contrary to his promises” (A Body of Divinity, 112). And as is noted so clearly in Psalms 105 and 106 and eventually in Esther, no one will ever be able to stop God from protecting and preserving His people.

1. The Jews would have certainly been tempted to be fearful and anxious because of the decree. What, if anything, are we as Christians currently fearful or anxious about? How can we cast our cares on him?
2. How can recalling God’s faithfulness in the past fuel our trust and faithfulness in the present?