Weekly Reflection 11/27/23

Esther part 9: “Remembering Effects Our Rejoicing.”

“And in every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.” Esther‬ 8‬:17‬ ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Among the Jews there was gladness and joy, a feast and a holiday. What I want us to notice here is that their actual physical circumstance had not changed yet. They were still living in a foreign land with a decree in place that on the 13^th day of the 12 month they were to be destroyed. So why are they glad and full of joy now, why a feast and a holiday? Because they have a new perspective. At this point there were two decrees or laws in place. 

The first law that said that the Jews would be destroyed on the 13^th day of the 12^th month. “Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.” (Esther‬ 3‬:13‬ ESV)‬ The second law that allowed them to defend themselves and would give them life. “saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods,” (Esther‬ 8‬:11‬ ESV‬‬)

Before this second law that would give them life there was only the law that would bring death. That is why they were weeping and mourning in sackcloth, there was only one perspective available, death. Now there is a second law, a law that would bring life. They chose to view their circumstance through this second law, they chose a new perspective. That first law was still there but they chose to no longer view their life through that perspective.

“For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

Romans‬ 8‬:2‬ ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• What perspective are you looking at life with? Do you view life through the perspective of the law of sin and death or are you viewing life through the perspective of the law of the Spirit of life?
• The perspective of the law of sin and death is a lens of hopelessness, fear, condemnation, anxiety, anger, criticalness, insecurity, despair, addiction, greed, lust, selfishness, envy, jealousy,
• The perspective of the law of the Spirit of life is a place of what Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 6:10 as being sorrowful yet always rejoicing. There is sorrow over the hurt, brokenness, darkness, lostness; yet underneath that sorrow is hope, joy, peace, courage, perseverance, purpose, contentment, compassion.
• I really believe that this place of sorrowful yet always rejoicing is what makes the church shine brightly in a broken and dark world.
• The world sees a realness, a compassionate people, caring people, people who hurt when other people hurt and they also see a hopeful people, a people who have a rock-solid joy that no circumstance can steal, a peaceful people who don’t get rattled when a broken world acts broken, a persevering people who have their face set like flint on their glorious Savior.
• The sorrowful part may be the easier part, it’s not real hard to look around us and feel sorrowful, the always rejoicing part may be a bit harder.
• So how do we grow in that area of being a people who are always rejoicing?
• I think a lot of it goes back to what perspective you are viewing life, through the law of sin and death or through the law of the Spirit of life.

Esther 9:1-5, 20-22

• Verses 20-22 are about remembering, not only what God had done but also the situation they were once in. Mordecai is inviting the Jews to remember, to remember the sorrow that was turned into gladness, to remember the mourning that was turned into holiday.  I believe that is a key piece to always rejoicing, remembering who you once were, remembering where you once were heading and yes, remembering and celebrating who you now are and where you are now heading. 

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians‬ 2‬:11‬-13‬ ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• Remember is a command, not a suggestion. “Remember that you were hopeless!” It is not something that Paul found people doing, and then said, “Stop doing that. It is bad for you.” 
• It is part of the Christian walk. It is important. It is not to be jumped over so that we only begin reading at verse 13: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near.” When we neglect to remember who we once were it leads to lukewarm Christianity. If we have a trivial and superficial view of what we were before we turned to Christ, then probably our expressions will bear testimony to that.
• God’s command to remember is meant to intensity our affection and deepen our devotion, “Remember! Remember that we were hopeless!” When Paul says to us, “Remember that you were without God,” he didn’t just mean, “Remember that you once lacked some knowledge about God.” He meant, “Remember that God was once not your God, and that He would not be yet, apart from the gospel.” And if He was not our God, then He was not for us but against us; He was not our justifier but our condemner; not eternal life but eternal damnation lay before us.  And it’s just this that Paul wants us to remember. 
• Remember that apart from Christ, almighty God would be against us; apart from Christ, we would be storing up wrath for ourselves on the day of the righteous judgment of God; apart from the free and unmerited mercy of Christ, we would go away into “eternal punishment”. Or, as Paul says in a single phrase, we would be utterly “without hope.”
• It is good to remember the entirety of our hopeless condition apart from the mercy of God in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Ephesians 2:1-10

• We were dead in sin, BUT GOD made us alive with Christ.
• We were captive to the prince of the power of the air and enslaved to the course of this world, BUT GOD raised us with Christ and made us sit with Him in the heavenly places.
• We were children of wrath and deserving of an eternity in the torments of hell, BUT GOD, instead of pouring out wrath, will spend eternity showing the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness to us in Christ Jesus.