week four is here, and chapter four is a good one. when i read it this time around, having had the background built up around it, it felt more real than ever. not like boring history book 'real', but more like something straight out of a diary. it's fun to have the words start jumping off the page. my eyes can't take them in fast enough.
this week we'll see the following progression in the story.
1. mordecai's response to the 'annihilation edict'
2. esther's concern and care for mordecai
3. esther's maids and servants playing a role in the story
4. a difficult request, and an obedient, sacrificial answer
5. special instructions for a unification among the jews
but before we get too far from it, let's review the week we just finished off.
number one. growing up hearing this story in sunday school, i never understood just how evil haman was. how hitler-like. he was truly planning a holocaust. i haven't fully grasped that concept of the story until this lesson. i also found the discussion of haman's meanstreak really fascinating. it is possible that his hateful tendencies were spurred by 'gigantic self-regard and his exaggerated fear of disgrace,' which lends a good warning to us about the harmful effects of pride and of anger, when it does not quickly subside. we know that anger itself is not a sin, but in james 1.19-20, we are told that 'anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.' so true. we see the perfect example of that here in this story: haman. so the moral of the lesson is: anger can be dangerous, so get rid of it quickly. (ephesians 4.26b 'do not let the sun go down while you are still angry'!)
number two. another new-to-me fact from this story.. all of the jews knew about the plan to exterminate them! how did i miss that part in my sunday school class? beth brought up an interesting point here, that haman letting the jews know about their own slaughter was a psychological weapon against the jews. he was getting his hands on their minds for a full 11 months. he was playing with them, torturing them. much like satan would like to do to us. he loves when our fear allows him to 'destructively influence our thoughts.' that is spiritual warfare in a nutshell, guys. and that is exactly why we are instructed in 1 peter 5.8 to 'be self-controlled and alert. your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.' and although our minds are weak, He is strong. isaiah 26.3 says,'You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
number three. God had a plan to keep his people together, to keep them intact and set apart for Him, but they didn't always want God's way, they wanted their own way. when the persian jews were given deliverance by cyrus and granted permission to return to jerusalem- their city that God gave to them- 'they decided that they liked persian life better and stayed put.' what a slap in the face to their Lord! and what about us? would we so desire to be fulfilled in our temporary life here on earth that we forget the place that God has for us? i hope not. i like beth's point here that maybe one reason God allows certain trials to come into our lives (haman, for the jews) is to remind us that earth is not where we are to find our fulfillment. when things do not go our way today, let this be a reminder of what hope we have and where our thoughts should be.
elisabeth elliot puts it beautifully.
'Heaven is not here, it's There. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world, rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for.'
have a marvelous week of study in chapter four, everyone! key verses to come soon.
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