“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?””
Esther 4:14 NKJV)
There's a lot to like about the book of Esther ... and a lot to dislike. If interested, see my thoughts at the bottom.
BROAD SWEEP OF HISTORY: In this week, we get more of The Return (from 70 years of exile). First, the altar is rebuilt and the Temple foundation laid. Next, some people return and rebuild the Temple. Finally (next week), some more returnees rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. But not without some resistance ...
Blessings,
Steve
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We’re reading The One Year Chronological Bible, New Living Translation (Tyndale). It’s best with your own copy. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:
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This week's highlights:
Daniel's visions of the End Times. Both Haggai and Zechariah prophesy the imminent return of the exiles and call for the (physical) rebuilding of the Temple. Darius (successor to Persian Conqueror Cyrus) confirms the Temple is to be rebuilt. The Temple is rededicated in the book of Ezra. Esther wins a beauty contest and becomes a queen. Ezra and the exiles start their journey back to the Promised Land.
September 10th - Daniel chapters 10, 11, and 12 - "Sometimes they fight ...." An unnamed angel comes to bring God's message to Daniel. I love this section because it is one of the very few times we get a glimpse into what the spiritual realm is doing while we "physical realm" folk are going about our lives. You see a bit in Job, of course, and in Zechariah (the horse riders). Elisha gives us a peek into that world, as well. This one is especially interesting because it reveals conflicts between spiritual beings that we cannot see ... and they affect how (and when!) God's messengers deliver their assigned messages. Here's a link to Amy Grant singing about them (with printed lyrics): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUKcUxnvHEw&app=desktop
September 11th - “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” (Haggai 2:8) ... kind of puts everything in perspective, you know?
September 11th - “Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’” (Zechariah 1:3) ... couldn't be simpler. This may be what James is referencing when he writes “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)
September 11th - Another glimpse into the activity of spiritual beings in our world. Zechariah has a vision: he sees riders and horses. In answer to his query, he is told: “They are the ones the Lord has sent out to patrol the earth.” Then the other riders reported to the angel of the Lord, who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have been patrolling the earth, and the whole earth is at peace.”” (Zechariah 1:8-11)
September 11th - Zechariah 4:6-10 - Two messages sent by God to Zerubbabel to encourage him in rebuilding the temple. First, God addresses power, and then He addresses process. Two great lessons for us, as well. (A) The power to do great things comes from God's spirit (The Maranatha Singers set it to music, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyStz6BXWH0&app=desktop
Next (B), great things take time so, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin(!). There's a companion verse about process at Zechariah 8:9: "Be strong and finish the task!" Get started, be happy with having started, then continue until its done ... full process (Beginning, middle, and end).
September 12th - From Ezra 5:3 through 6:14a - God shows us how he uses those in power to deal with bullies!
September 12th - Zechariah 7:8-13 - This is why God was so angry with them: "Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress windows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other."
September 12th - Zechariah is such a rich book! It's hard to not comment on what's in here. Last one from the 12th: Zechariah 8:16-17 "Stop your love of telling lies ...."
September 13th - Zechariah 9:9-10 - JESUS (x-ref Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15)
September 13th - Zechariah 11:4 through 13: 1 - JESUS (30 pieces of silver & the Potter, whom they have pierced, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins, the GOOD SHEPHERD)
September 14th & 15th - All about Esther
September 16th - Ezra 4:7-23 - Misled by the bullies, King Artaxerxes shuts down the rebuilding of Jerusalem. However, by Chapter 7, the King has been swayed by Ezra to reverse the original declaration. How? Once decreed, the King's rules must remain. The key is in all the language about law and order. All of the King's new order reference "lawful subjects." Another example of how God turns the hearts of those in positions of power.
Next week:
Ezra weighs in on "Inter-marriage." Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem ("watch and pray"). For the first time in decades, the Law is read aloud to the people. The Prophet Malachi. The Prophet Joel (and the promise of the Holy Spirit!).
All About Esther
My grandmother was named Esther. Her other name was Ruth. I can't recall the time I didn't know she was named after two Biblical women. Knowing that led to an early interest in those two women in particular.
As I wrote, above: there's a lot to like about the book of Esther ... and a lot to dislike:
(1) The King's disrespect for Queen Vashti ("Come meet my friends. Wear your crown ... Just your crown.") and the general disrespect for all women is disgusting.
(2) And then there's Haman's antisemitism ("So he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes."). It was a harsh system set within a culture of opulence ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....")
A lot of people have noticed that "God" does not appear anywhere in the book of Esther.
I think we are better served that God's presence was not obvious. He was there ... watching. The exile period was the time for the Israelites to show to God that they had changed, repented of their intransigence.
This period was about faith. In the midst of the exile (God's discipline, the consequence of their actions), would the Jews demonstrate their faith by conforming to God's commands? Or would they, once again, act as if God was not a real part of their lives?
It was bound to happen at some point; a person in authority decides to destroy the Jews, a group with no power and no power of redress before the monarchy. Without the protection of God (which had been withdrawn), they were ideal targets for the kind of bully who must destroy others to feed his own ego. So, here was the "perfect" opportunity for those who called themselves "God's people" to prove their faith.
Not that it feels that way when you're the one experiencing that "perfect" opportunity. It feels pretty awful, actually. I don't doubt for a second that Esther felt the same despair as Mordecai and all the other Jews. But I think she may have felt an even heavier weight. The destruction of the Jews was scheduled for a date almost a year in the future. Esther's death would come a lot sooner if she provoked the King.
I think it must have taken great courage to say, "If I perish, I perish," knowing her immediate actions could lead to her immediate death.
Are we to think Esther is a special case? No. There is alway someone who has "come to the kingdom for such a time as this."
Who knows? It might be you.
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