Hello Everyone,
I pray that everyone had a blessed week. I have exciting news!! I would like to welcome all our Brothers in Christ who have joined us in this journey of studying Esther. Additionally, I would like to welcome our readers in France, Jamaica, Singapore, Germany, and Japan. It is so awesome that no matter where we are, we are all striving to walk closer with Christ.
Last week we discussed sacrifice. I pray that you all received an awesome blessing through your spiritual sacrifices. If you have not, don't worry, it's on the way. God is the blessing business and He honors the ones who honor Him (Proverbs 22:4)
This week's lesson is a perfect display of God honoring those who honor Him. We will discuss Mordecai’s faithfulness to God’s plan and how it placed him in a position of honor.
Resources
Chapter 6: The King Honors Mordecai1 That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 Then the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4 So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5 The king’s servants said to him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” 6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” 7 And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ 10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.” 11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!” 12 Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. 13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him. 14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.
Lesson
6
Let us begin with the King, who is unable to
sleep.
The providence of God rules over the smallest
concerns of men. A sparrow does not fall
to the ground without Him. The king
could not sleep when Providence had a design to serve, keeping the king
awake. There is no evidence of illness
that broke the king’s sleep, but God, whose gift sleep is, withheld it from the
king (Nelson 1997).
I can recall many nights when God has spoken to me
through my restlessness. I know that
when I unable to obtain rest, God is calling me to spend more time with
Him. He is preparing me, through
increasing time in His word, for His divine plan. I need to be ready, dressed in my whole armor
of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).
We must stay open to God’s omniscient power. We must
trust in His divine plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11). While there is no evidence that King
Ahasuerus had relationship with God, God still has relationship with all of
us. He is our creator, thereby ruler of
our rest. King Ahasuerus had no idea
that his restlessness was determined by our all mighty God, but he still chose
to rise up and do some reading. How are
we, servants to the Kingdom, and we are unwilling to disturb our rest to read
God’s word? God’s plan does include your
restlessness. Besides ultimate rest is
in Him anyway (Matthew 11:28-30).
Let us move on to Haman.Haman was so consumed with his own glorification that he was unable to see anything us. I love when God works things out for His good (Romans 8:28). Therefore, even in Haman’s behavior, God is communicating to us. He is requiring us not to become consumed with our own pride. He wants us to focus on Him and not ourselves. The deceitfulness of our own hearts appears in nothing more than in the conceit we have of ourselves and our own performances: against which we should constantly pray (Nelson 1997).
This brings us to Mordecai.
Mordecai remained humble throughout this entire
experience. Regardless to the happenings
in his surroundings, his one true consistent behavior was to God. He trusted God’s plan; without knowing the
plan. Even after he received the acknowledgement of the King, he maintained his
original position until God said different.
Mordecai was not puffed up with his honors, he returned to his place and
duty (Nelson 1997).
We must stay focused on the Lord our God and keep
His statutes (Psalm 119). We must trust
His plan for us. We work every day and
trust our bosses’ vision for the company, we engage in extracurricular
activities and trust the leaders of those events, and we even follow the visions
of our pastors and other leaders of the church.
This is all admirable because God calls us to come under the authority
that He has placed over us (Romans 13:1). However, should we not submit to the
ultimate authority, Christ Jesus, and trust His plan through that same submission?
God honors those who are faithful to His divine
plan. Honor is well bestowed on those
that do not think themselves above their business (Nelson 1997). Besides, God’s
outcome is always so much more glorious than we could ever orchestrate.
Application
This week we will carve out time with the Lord to
seek His face concerning His plan for us.
In order to be sensitive to God’s plan for our lives, we must seek after
Him. We cannot aimlessly roam, driving
our own ship with plans that we have devised through worldly exposure. We need to seek God’s plan for us through
Godly exposure.
We will focus on Acts 17:26-28, Lamentations
3:25-26, and Psalms 107:9. I pray that
in reading and studying these scriptures daily, God will reveal in us a spirit
of trusting His divine plan.
Closing
Again, welcome to all our new readers and I pray
that we all will have a blessed week!
Be blessed,
T. Carter
References
All scripture references were extracted from The Bible - New King James
Version. BibleGateway.com (2013).
Nelson, Thomas (1997). Matthew Henry's Concise
Commentary on the Whole Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishing. Nashville,
Tennessee
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