Bible Studies

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by Doug Laird

08/05/21
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The Biblical account (See OT Book of Esther) tells of how an orphaned girl (Esther 2: 7), being raised by an older cousin Mordecai, became the queen of an ancient Empire that encompassed land from India to Ethiopia (Cush).

Esther's story is a clear example of how God works behind the scenes of many individuals and current events to ultimately accomplish His will.

After Esther became queen, a personal conflict developed between Mordecai, a Jewish exile, and Haman, a high-ranking official of the kingdom.

Haman took it personally when Mordecai refused to publicly bow down and pay homage to him.

In response, Haman plotted to not only destroy Mordecai, but to exterminate all the Jewish exiles residing within in the kingdom (Esther 3: 6).

Haman convinced King Ahasuerus that it was in the best interest of the kingdom for King Ahasuerus to sanction the extermination of every Jew throughout the kingdom. Haman's proposed strategy would accomplish this in a single day (Esther 3: 13).

But what did Haman not know, or take into consideration, was that Queen Esther was Jewish. She had been instructed by Mordecai not to make her Jewish ethnicity known (Esther 2: 10) during her participation in the program (Esther 2: 2- 4) that had been set up to find the next queen.

Even though she had become queen, entering the king's inner court without first being summoned, in of itself, could result in being put to death (Esther 4: 11), let alone there to plead for the protection of a race of people slated for a violent, government-authorized, extermination!

In response to her concerns, Mordecai admonished her saying, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this (Esther 4: 13, 14)?”

To cut a long story short, not only did Esther obtain the king's favor upon entering the inner court uninvited, but as a result of her boldness, steps were taken that delivered the Jews living in kingdom from extermination.

Antisemitism has been on the devil's agenda since it was announced that the Savior would come into the world by way of the Jewish race. In addition, the necessity of the nation of Israel's presence on Earth plays a key element in the unfolding of end time prophecy. Without the Jews, the plan of God for the salvation of the world and the end time prophecies could not unfold as prophesied.

Haman was hung on the very gallows (Esther 7: 10) that had been prepared for the hanging of Mordecai (Esther 5: 14).

In God's timing, Mordecai was promoted to a position in the kingdom, second only to the king himself (Esther 10: 3), for his part in exposing an earlier plot to assassinate the king (Esther 2: 22).

It is God that places each individual where they are to be so that, in His timing, they will have the means and opportunity to fulfill His purpose.

God has used, is using, and will use both good and evil people and nations to ultimately accomplish His will.

God does not violate free will. Being omniscient, He knows exactly what each one of us will do (good or bad) when the time and circumstances call for it.

Only an omniscient God could have penned the Divine Decree (Psalms 139: 16), recording the details of the lives of every member of the entire human race BEFORE any one of them was born, and ultimately have His master plan be fulfilled WITHOUT violating free will.

God knew when, where, and what choices Esther would make when He penned the Divine decree. God knew and knows where each one of us will be and what our choices will be throughout the course of our appointed time here on Earth.

Keep in mind that the Divine Decree lists e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g that will take place in the life of every soul He creates. This includes our negative choices and activities as well as the good. The Divine Decree contains what God directs to take place, and what God allows to take place. God never approves of sin or evil (Habakkuk 1: 13), but within the parameters He establishes, He allows sin, evil, and adversity to take place.

Some of what God allows can in be a real test of faith, but nothing happens anywhere without first passing through the filters of God's direct, permissive, and or overruling power and will.

(Many times we pray for Thy will to be done, but what we really mean is for My will to be done.)

God desires that everyone be saved (1Tim. 2: 4) and provided the means (John 1: 29/1John 2: 2) for that to take place. Never-the-less, God knows, by the individual choice (John 3: 18) that WE make, whose names will be found in Rev. 20: 15 book and whose names will not.

"And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20: 15 NASB)."

When and where you were (or will be) when the opportunity (perhaps right now) to be presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message takes place was (or will be) by no coincidence. It was or will be the most important divinely arranged appointment you will ever have during your time here on Earth. Your chosen response to that opportunity determines WHERE you WILL be spending all of eternity.

Once (if) you have been born again, you then have the daily opportunity to embrace discipleship (Luke 9: 23). Once prepared (1Pet. 3: 15/2Tim. 2: 15), it will be by no coincidence that you will be where you are when you are given the opportunity to take part in the evangelization and or the edification of others, be it at home, work, or play.

This is why God places us among others who share similar secular, familial, social, activities, and interests. It is the potential for evangelization and or edification of others that gives spiritual significance to all that we do on a daily basis at home, work, school, or play.

It may not be a part of God's individual for us to be the one He uses to prevent a holocaust, as in the case of Esther, or to expose a plot to assassinate a king, as in the case of Mordecai, but all followers of Christ can be used of God to accomplish things that have eternal significance (Rev. 20: 15/1Cor. 3: 15) by proclaiming the unadulterated Gospel Message to those in need of salvation, and by sharing accurate Bible Doctrine for the edification of fellow believers.

Esther was placed in a position of secular royalty to ultimately carry out the plan that God had in mind. Every born again believer of the Church Age has been placed in a position of spiritual royalty (1Pet. 2: 9) to carry out the general (Matt. 28: 19, 20) and individual (1Cor. 12: 7 - 11, 15 - 18, 27) plan that God has in mind.

God sets the time, the place, and the circumstances for us to participate in the evangelization and edification of others. Sometimes we will be there to plant seeds. Sometimes we will be there to water the plants. Sometimes we will be there to prune. Sometimes we will be there to reap.

Keep in mind that it is, "... neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building (1Cor. 3: 7 - 9 NASB)."

Don't overlook the fact that there are times when we are where we are for our own edification. There will always be room for more knowledge (2Pet. 3: 18), and for refining (2Cor. 13: 5) knowledge that we already have. There will always be room for improving our willingness to apply (James 1: 22) the knowledge that we acquire.

As a follower of Christ, our part is to be prepared and to respond to the opportunities to evangelize or to edify others that God arranges as we go about our daily activities. It is for this reason that advancing disciples are where they are at any given moment on any given day.

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