Pastor's Corner

As I read in Esther 8 this morning of what was necessary in order to counter the original decree issued by the king for the annihilation of the Jews, i.e. that a new decree needed to be written giving the king’s support to the Jews against their attackers (and that’s because “an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked”—v. 8), I couldn’t help but see the necessity of Christ’s work on the cross on our behalf.

The original decree…

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”

And because “an edict written in the name of THE KING…cannot be revoked”…

The new decree…

“…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

God issued the decree that those who sinned would die, and because He is entirely and perfectly just, He could never just revoke that decree—the debt for sin HAD to be paid. So He wrote a new decree by sending His Son to satisfy that debt for us, and by telling us that all we need to do in order to receive eternal life is to put our trust in Jesus’ sacrificial death for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; 3:16).

PRAISE TO THE KING!

As I read the tragic and very ironic ending of Haman’s wicked life in Esther 7 this morning, I was drawn immediately to Psalm 37, where David writes…

“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.” (Psalm 37:1-13)

We all encounter wicked people from time to time, people who, though they may not want to kill us, want to hurt or discourage or derail us in some way. The encouragement that we receive from Scripture—from the example of Haman as well as from the words of David—is that we, as God’s children, need NOT fret as a result. We need NOT fear; we need NOT be envious; we need NOT become angry; we need NOT be vengeful!

We need only “trust in the LORD;” “delight [ourselves] in the LORD;” “commit [our] way to the LORD;” “be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him”…“and he will act.”

If the book of Esther shows us anything, it shows us the sovereignty of God—it demonstrates that in the courts of heaven there are no coincidences or surprises. It was no coincidence that…

· The king couldn’t sleep (Esther 6:1)
· He decided to read “the book of memorable deeds” in which he read of Mordecai’s good deed (v. 2)
· Haman entered the king's court at just that moment to ask for the execution of Mordecai (v. 4)
· The king asked Haman, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” (v. 6)
· Haman thought the king was referring to him (v. 6), and so went on to describe a glorious way to honor such a person (vv. 8-9)
· Haman was chosen to do as he said for Mordecai, his hated enemy (v. 10)

And what confidence we, as God’s children, can find in His sovereignty!

“In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men. For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.” (Psalm 71:1-5)