Wednesday: For Such a Time as This
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 20th of December 2023
Read Esther 4:1-14. Why was it considered at this moment appropriate for Esther to identify herself as a Jew?
When Mordecai contacted Esther for her help, she had been married to Ahasuerus for several years, but there was a law in Persia that no one could come to the king’s throne without an express invitation from the king. Anyone who didn’t respect this rule risked death. Esther, knowing the risk, went to the throne room anyway, uninvited.
Mordecai’s faith sought to awaken Esther’s faith. The heart of the book of Esther is found in Mordecai’s words to Esther: “And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: ‘Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. 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 4:13-14, NKJV).
Esther’s faith was put to the test as Mordecai appealed to her love for her people. No one knew she was Jewish except Mordecai, and once she made the decision to become involved, she did not hesitate to put her life on the line.
Her faith in God was strong, and she knew that without God’s help she could not succeed. Her answer to Mordecai revealed her faith: “ ‘Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish’ ” (Esther 4:16, NIV). Mordecai sent this information to the entire Jewish community in Shushan (Susa), and while they fasted and prayed, Esther prepared herself for the dangerous moment. “On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter” (Esther 5:1-2, NIV).
For the Jews in such a situation as described above, prayer would certainly accompany fasting. That is, though they acted in their own behalf, prayer was central to their response. What obvious lesson can we take from this?
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You’re there and nobody else can do this but you….that’s why God put you there = “an Esther moment”
Encouraging and making an appeal to/ building up someone to rise in their unique calling = “a Mordecai moment”
Esther and Mordecai needed each other. “Mordecai’s faith sought to awaken Esther’s faith.” Spiritual gifts are discovered in fellowship. The Christian faith isn’t about self- improvement and reaching high states of enlightenment for our own development and eternal wellbeing…. forever basking in solitude in palaces and on mountaintops. We are anointed and gifted at the moment when we make ourselves at the disposal of the King to bless His people. Love God and love your neighbor go together.
I’m still praying to experience this (Eph. 3:17-19 ESV), I still have barely the foggiest understanding of what God‘s full deep love is, and what pure love through me to others is like.
God has a "moment of truth" for everyone. Sooner or later, we will face the reality of having to express our principles and origin openly! When that moment comes, may we not run from the responsibility of assuming Who we believe and to Whom we serve!
Kangaroos have a complex breeding system. Most of us know that a baby Kangaroo is born in a relatively undeveloped state and makes its way to the mother's pouch where it attaches to a nipple, remaining there until it is developed enough to hop around outside. What is not so well known is that Kangaroos (and many other marsupials) can delay the development of the embryo for days and even months using embryonic diapause. Essentially, female kangaroos are continually pregnant. For example, two eggs are fertilized and one of them develops as normal. The other egg's development it put on hold until it is needed. If something happens to the first Joey - it may not make it to the nipple, or it dies as a result of a drought, then, the appropriate signal is given to restart the development of the second embryo. They can also delay development if a serious drought occurs and restart development when the rain begins.
It is the Kangaroo equivalent of being ready for "such a time as this". Both Mordecai and Esther were ready for "such a time as this" and it wasn't just a case of luck, but rather the development of that sense of connection with both God and the Jewish people that ensured the right action at the right time.
I am told that modern airplanes virtually fly themselves from departure to destination. If you look at some of YouTube aircraft cockpit videos you will see the pilots doing very little during a routine flight. But, if something goes seriously wrong, that is when you hope that they have the very highest level of training. That is when they really earn their money. Much of their training is preparation for "such a time as this."
Our challenge to be ready for "such a time as this" implies that we too should make appropriate preparation.
Haman was an Agagite, a descendant of king Agag, whom God had instructed Saul to eliminate. He didn't, and Samuel had to do the job for him. There was longstanding animosity between the two peoples, and Mordecai was no exception. On principle it would have galled him to be obliged to show honour to what was to him a despised race. Mordecai was a first generation exile and knew his people's history.
Thanks for this observation, Melody. You are correct about the history, but I think it was more than personal animosity on Mordecai's part.
I believe it was Mordecai's loyalty to God that prevented him from bowing to Haman as to a deity.
In my 50 plus years of my "Seventh Day Adventist Journey," I never knew that "The Book of Esther," and its occurrence was somewhat similar to Joseph and his murderous brothers, Joseph and Potiphar's wife's lies and his imprisonment, Moses and the 10 plagues of Egypt and Egyptian Exodus, Daniel's three friends and the Fiery Furnace, Daniel and the Den of Lions etc. But, personally, I do not see how Mordecai would have sinned against God if he had "Bowed down to Haman's acknowledgement to the Kings' Command to do so as Honoring Haman as "Chief Prince" of his Kingdom. I do not see the Kings "Command," as being similar to bowing down to an "Idol" but just simply "Honoring Haman as Chief Prince," that was all.
Hi Pete, this was what puzzled me for years. However, I have recently come to understand that Haman himself was asking for worship whereas the king’s command had to do with respect. In many cultures, it is common to bow to someone in respect when you meet them; however you are not worshiping them. The text does not explicitly indicate this, but we can extrapolate it from the historical context and other details. I find it harder to believe that Mordecai simply held a centuries old grudge against the Aagites. That seems out of character with the other recorded aspects of his character. And in the context of the whole Bible, the question of who you will worship is central.
That Haman is an Agagite (that is, a descendant of King Agag) and Mordecai is a son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin is a part of the contrasts in the story of Esther. King Saul, also a son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin, did not act in accord with the Lord’s will in that he showed a false sense of mercy to King Agag (from whom Haman descended); whereas, Mordecai did act in accord with the Lord’s will in that he refused to show respect to Haman.
Haman was a “leader” who thought that his power and wealth made him right—he was wholly focused on self-seeking aggrandizement. This contrasts sharply with the characters of both Mordecai and Esther, who sought for the good of the land in which they lived and served, and of God’s people.
Mordecai did not bow (show respect) to Haman because he did not deserve respect. Mordecai was not a fawning sycophant like some of those seeking political power. He was not out to serve himself; instead, he was working for the good of others. Those that worship the idols of power and wealth to magnify themselves do not deserve respect. This is why Mordecai’s failure to show respect stuck in the craw of Haman. But in his life, we see Mordecai showing respect to those deserving it, which is in accord with God’s will.
Discretion in what we show to people is certainly essential. Sometimes I wonder how committed Esther was to her Jewish faith, keeping it secret in a heathen palace. It should have been extremely difficult, if even possible, to keep the Sabbath, or to eat the Lord's way, or to commemorate sacred holidays.
Letting people know our religious beliefs is not always in our control. These days, people can find out a lot of information without our permission and without our intention to have it shared. What really matters is that we surrender to God's guidance and do whatever we are supposed to do, for His glory.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not on thine own understanding In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.
The saying: “For such a time as this”, reminds me of the parables concerning the kingdom of God. The book of Matthew 13 provides us with many parables to help us understand what the Kingdom of God is or means.
As I understand it, life in the Kingdom of God becomes observable for Christians as it was for the faithful applying the Law of God from the years before Christ’s revelation of living in this spiritual Kingdom of heaven by faith. Our spiritual eyes are opened to recognize His Hand in all we experience.
“For such a time as this”! Can we be cognizant of all these times when heaven intervened on our behalf? No - though by determining to faithfully live in this kingdom governed by His heavenly agents, we can rest assured that ‘all will work out well for those who love God with all their heart and are called according to HIS purpose’ – Rom.8:28.
Every Word of God provided to the faithful contains the fullness of God’s Love for man, expressed through His promises contained in His ‘Covenant of Faith with man’ - to rescue, to set right, the living soul existing in this conundrum of God's Spirit living within the physical manifestation of man; but we have been redeemed by the faith of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Using this understanding, merely living our lives guided by the Holy Spirit, we find ourselves called upon to apply our faith “for such a time as this.”