HAGAR VS ESTHER PT4 - ATTITUDE TO THE LAWS OF THE LAND MATTERS

MEMORY VERSE: All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or women, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live, Esther 4:11a.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Sam 10, 2 Cor 3, Ezek 17, John 18

In part three of these series, we saw that one of the factors behind Hagar’s failure as a wife was her attitude to rebuke. We also saw that her attitude to the poor or less privilege played a significant role in her demotion. Hagar lost her advantage as a result of her attitude to those who were not as favored as her. The Lord decided to demote her and promote those she considered as less privileged.

We have be comparing and contrasting the life of two young women – Hagar and Esther. Both from humble beginning rose to prominence. Hagar lost her advantage but Esther was elevated. While one was demoted, the other was celebrated. One of the reasons behind Esther’s success as a queen was that she used her position to bring joy. Haman hated the Jews with a passion. Since he was close to the king, he used his position to petition the king to pass out a law that will give everyone the right to kill the Jews. Esther got a wind of what Haman was up to, she went before the king and pleaded for mercy. Been a merciful king he agreed and permitted the Jews to defend themselves also. The Lord was with the Jews and they destroyed all their enemies. In the case of Hagar, she used her position to cause pain. She used her advantage as a means to torment Sarah for been childless. The Lord decided that if this is how she is going to use her advantage, I will demote her and promote someone else. She was demoted and the person she was victimizing was promoted.

Another reason behind Hagar’s failure was her attitude to the law of the land. In the days of Abraham it was acceptable for mistresses to raise children through their maid servants. On no occasion should a maid servant disrespect her madam. Hagar disobeyed the laws of the land by disrespecting her madam. Romans 13:1 -2 says all governments are ordained by God, by refusing to obey the laws of the land one is refusing to obey God. Hagar refused to obey God by refusing to obey the law of the land and she was relegated. Esther on the hand respected the laws of the land. The first thing she said when Mordecai prompted her to go before the king was the law of the land states that on no occasion should any one go before the king except he calls them , Esther 4:11a. The fact that one is in position does not mean he can do and undo. Men may not be able to discipline a fellow for transgressing the law but the God who instituted the law can. Because Esther respected the laws of the land, the Lord used the laws of the land to deliver her and her people from the hands of evil Haman.

NOTE: Failure to obey the laws of the land is failure to obey God