MEMORY VERSE: Then
Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou
shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou
altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement
and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy
father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come
to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:13-14
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Nahum
Haman,
a wicked man with an evil heart, wanted Mordecai dead because he
refused to bow to him (Esther 3). What did he do? He hatched a plan to
exterminate all the Jews in the land. He went to King Ahasuerus, told
him that the Jews were working against him and asked for permission to
conduct an ethnic cleansing. He even volunteered to personally foot the
bill. Which king wouldn’t want to see the end of those working against
him? None. So, the king gave him his blessings ; Haman spoke with the
law makers and they passed a bill that says all the Jews must be
exterminated on a certain date. Mordecai heard this news and passed it
on to Queen Esther, his adopted daughter. At first, Esther began to give
excuses but the tough old man said to her “Think not with thyself
that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For
if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there
enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but
thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether
thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
There
several lessons we can learn from the old man’s response. Firstly,
“whatever” position you find yourself in life you are there for a
reason. Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy Jewish man who secretly followed
Jesus, was a member of the Sanhedrin for a reason. God deliberately put
him in the Sanhedrin– a position that gave him access to Herod - so that
He would use his contact, connection and position to collect the body
of Jesus Christ from Herod after His crucifixion (Mark 15:42-64). That
young slave girl was in the house of Naaman, waiting on Naaman’s wife,
for a reason (2 Kings 5:1-19). God deliberately had her there so as to
use her to bring healing to Naaman, one of the high ranking officers in
the Syrian army, which will in turn mend the relationship between the
Syrians and the Israelites- God wanted to use an Israelite prophet to
heal a top brass in the Syrian army. Sadly, Gehazi’s conduct hindered it
as he took money from Naaman for his healing.
Secondly,
“whatever” position you find yourself as a child of God, you are there
for a "particular time". This translates that you will not be there
forever. Also, you are there for a particular purpose. As such,
“whatever” position you find yourself as a child of God, you must behave
yourself in a way that will not jeopardize the fulfillment of your
purpose there. Thank God that young slave girl behaved well whilst
waiting on Naaman’s wife. Had it been she was a lazy girl or a thief,
Naaman’s wife would not have listened when she spoke to her about the
prophet in Israel. Thank God Joseph of Arimathea was a responsible man.
Had it been he was irresponsible, Herod would not have granted him
audience talkless of release the body of Christ, a treasure of
inestimable value, to him. We thank the Lord for the life of Queen
Esther. She was a humble woman who never took the king for granted. Had
it been that she behaved like her predecessor Vashti, she would not have
been able to save her people. Please note that all we have been talking
about only applies to children of God. As a child of God, if you find
yourself in a position you don’t like i want you to know that your
Father in heaven knows about it, and He will work things for your own
good (Romans 8:28). However, if you are yet to give your life to Christ
or you are living in sin and you find yourself in a situation you don’t
like, it could be the devil punishing you for fun since you are in his
camp. Today, you can change camp by confessing with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the
dead (Romans 10:9).
QUESTION: How are you
behaving in that position God has put you? Are you behaving in a way
that will jeopardize the fulfillment of God's purpose for having you
there?
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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world
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