October 24, 2024: Thursday Old Testament Bible Study - Esther 6:12 - 8:2
Wake up my dear friends. It’s Thursday morning. Oh yes, 12:23am. I am having a little trouble sleeping after yesterday's troubling car accident with my little white Ford. On Golf Links just east of Swan a car pulled over the curb, off the shoulder, and came into my middle lane accelerating, when out of the trunk something fell, in a few seconds I was flying through the air on the front left side of my car. So far, just two flat tires, and a much-needed alignment on the car. I was able to drive it home today after the tire repairs, but last night I was off the road on Alvernon for nearly 2 hours. With help from the only person who stopped, a wonderful tall African man with a great accent, and finally a community service officer came and stayed with me with flashers and flares until the wrecker came. The crash was so hard that it threw my cell phone out of my pocket across the front seat, which meant I had no way to call out because I couldn't find my phone. I was only a little sore last night and today. Please remember this Sunday's busy morning schedule. Pumpkin carving at 9am on the patio, 10am worship with an adult Baptism, a short after church reception in the narthex, a quick Gospel Group rehearsal, and Church Council. Phew! I think that's plenty.
In this morning's study we finally get to see Esther in action over the issue of the hatred of Haman for Mordecai and all of the Judahites, who he was out to destroy. All of this reminds us of how our Jewish brothers and sisters continue to feel today over their persecution and unfounded accusations made against them. However, I will say to you that I believe they have gone too far with the deaths of 10s of 1000s of Palestinian citizens around them in Gaza, Lebanon, and West Bank. I have been saying for a long time that I get the feeling that they may once again lose their place in their nation and land. Today, the age-old prophecy of the Old Testament still stands for how God sees His Elect community of people and their right worship, and care for the widow, the orphan, and the resident alien in their midst. Without claiming Christ as the Messiah, they must live by God's laws and be judged by Him for their failure to be obedient to them. However, certainly here in the book of Esther we can understand the historic fear of the Jews for such hatred against them. In this part of our reading from Esther we have yet to get to the fullness of her heroic action on behalf of her Uncle Mordecai, and all of their people who live under the reign of Xerxes. Haman has done a good job of turning the king against the Judahites in his kingdom. In fact, as we remember from last Thursday's study, Haman has even built a hanging scaffold at his home, hoping to catch Mordecai and kill him for the disrespect that Mordecai has shown him at the gate to the palace. Esther shows us her bravery and skill in appealing to the king. First, she offers to throw a big banquet for Xerxes and Haman, and then she appeals to the King being offered an undesignated, but major gift, of any kind that Esther might want. She moves to appeal to the king because her people have been "sold" by Haman to be destroyed by any means possible. Though God is not mentioned in this OT book, it is clear that He is present and moving the decisions by His action. The king cannot sleep. That's kind of the time when he got into trouble with Haman, seeing sleep as an omen that he must pay attention to. And then in his vanity and liking for a really good party and banquet that goes on for days, which Esther now provides for him herself, the king is feeling pretty generous. Remember the king's first queen in this book refused to accommodate his request for her presence at the first rousing banquet of six months of drunkenness and what we can only call debauchery. So, he was very pleased with Esther when she not only makes herself present and available, but she throws one of the parties that the king loves so much. Throughout the Old Testament we see time after time that God acts on behalf of His children, even when they have been difficult. God intervenes and using the existing situation, moves everything in the direction He wants as He moves all of creation, including us, toward the fulfillment of His eternal plan. His action is obvious for the Judahites, just as it was in Egypt for the Hebrews, or for Samson, or for the consequences of the Hebrew's disobedience when Moses presents the Commandments to them. Haman comes to the king after his sleepless night in the palace, a time when the king is ready to set the orders of the day and get things moving. It is bad timing for Haman, at least because he misunderstands what the king is saying, and believes it to all be for him. Unexpectedly, Haman is indeed going to elevate Mordecai, but not on the scaffolding in a hangman's noose. I hope that you realize that in the books of the OT, the stories we have about the strong women like Ruth, Naomi, Deborah, Esther, and the women of the New Testament, Mary, Christ's mother, and Mary and Martha in Bethany, and Lydia in starting a brand new church, are pretty short in comparison to the many stories of the men in the Bible. But we must know that the women who we encounter here, just like the women today, are powerhouses of resilience and wisdom. In the Bible they make a huge difference in the progress of God's plan for us all. We are still not quite done with Esther.
With the love of Christ, Pastor Kim
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