Re-Cap: In the
declaration of Choices: Door No. 1 or Door No. 2 we discussed the weight
of a Nation that was placed on the shoulders of a young beautiful Jewish woman
that had been crowned Queen of Persia in place of her predecessor, Vashti. While she may have felt ill prepared for this
assignment, God knew that he could trust her with doing the right thing which
is why he chose her. Fasting must have
been a common practice for her which is why she called for one, but customarily
there only lasted one day. Given the
severity of the challenge, she called for a three-day consecration (no food,
beverages, entertainment, etc.) and their spare time was used for prayer and
meditation. This unusually long fast
points to the seriousness of the situation.
God answered her prayer and gave her a strategic plan to address the annihilation
of her nation.
Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, subtly alludes to his belief that
God, in His sovereignty, has providentially ordered the events of Esther’s life
to put her in a position where she can act to deliver all the Jews. The trauma of being separated from her family
now starts to make sense. This is why it
is so important for us (me and you) to trust God even when things don’t seem to
make sense.
The Customized Strategic Plan Given to Esther:
1. Approaching
the King: She prepared herself
spiritually (fasting and prayer); mentally (“If I must die, I must die” Esther 4:16 (NLT)); emotionally (she was
afraid but she didn’t let it terrorize her).
She told her chefs to prepare the most elegant banquet ever coordinated
in the palace complete with fine linen, music, wine, décor, etc. She dressed in her very best attire and
royal robes, got her hair done, nails done and used the King favorite scented
oils. Without being there I know her
appearance must have been breathtaking because as soon as the King saw her he raised
the golden scepter and said, “Lil’ Momma, what can big Daddy do for you, name
it and it’s yours, even if it’s half of my kingdom?” Her seemingly innocent request for the King
and Haman to her house for a banquet completely threw him off, I’m sure. He ordered Haman to accompany him and off
they went.
2.
The Ask:
The King was beside himself with curiosity. While enjoying the wine and each other’s
company he finally asked Esther again what she wanted and offered up to half
his Kingdom – again. Her response was to invite the King and Haman back for dinner
the next night and she promised to answer his question. (Esther 5:7-8 (NLT).
a. When
Haman left the Queen’s residence he saw Mordecai who refused to bow to Haman as
Haman exited the palace and he was hot as fish grease. As soon as he got home he bragged to his
wife, family and friends about the exclusive dinner with the King and Queen and
his position in the Kingdom. But he sulked
over Mordecai’s rebellion. The wife
suggested that he build impaling
polls for Mordecai in preparation for the annihilation of the Jews and he
consents.
b. Ironically
that very night the King discovered that he failed to reward Mordecai for saving
his life by reporting an attempt to assassinate him (the King). The next morning he asked Haman’s advice for
honoring someone who pleased the king.
Assuming the King was planning to reward him he came up with an
elaborate idea. The King loved the idea
and told him to do everything he just said for Mordecai. Can you say BLANK STARE? Can you say LOSER; how about crawl under a
rock and disappear under a blanket of humiliation.
c.
Haman was ORDERED to parade Mordecai throughout
the city while, he walked and Mordecai rode on the King’s horse, shouting
praises about him for saving the King’s life. CAN YOU IMAGINE THA SCENE? I’m crackin’ up
doing a belly laugh, where’s the tissha, this is hilarious. Can you say vengeance is mine or He’ll make
your enemies your footstool? Man, God is
hilarious. When Haman concluded he scurried off to his
house with his tail tucked and told his wife and friends about his humiliation
just before it was time to head to the Queen’s for their dinner party.
3. The
Answer: After engaging in small talk the
King asked Esther what she wanted. Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor
with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request, I ask that my
life and the lives of my people will be spared. For my people and I have been
sold to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. If we had merely
been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet, for that would be too trivial a
matter to warrant disturbing the king.” Who would do such a thing?”
King Xerxes demanded. “Who would be so presumptuous as to touch you?” Esther
replied, “This wicked Haman is our adversary and our enemy.” Haman grew pale
with fright before the king and queen. Then
the king jumped to his feet in a rage and went out into the palace garden
a. He
had to be reflecting on how Haman had manipulated him and what he could do to nullify
it the stupid law he enacted to annihilate the Jews, including his Queen. While deciding on the appropriate punishment
for Haman, one of the King’s servants informed him that Haman erected gallows
to kill Mordecai. He became angrier.
b. Meanwhile,
Haman stayed back to beg for mercy from the Queen, got a little too close to
her just as the King walked in to witness Haman near his WOMAN and that was it. The King ordered Haman killed on the impaling
polls that Haman built for Mordecai.
He gave all of Haman’s property to Esther, who put Mordecai
in charge of it and the King promoted Mordecai to Haman’s old position.
Choices (Conclusion):
Vashti refused the invitation of the King. A move that could have gotten her killed but
I’m thinking she might have been a little jalapeno pepper and was used to having
her way with the King except this time she emasculated him in front of his
royal subjects and he had to stand up straight.
Her choice changed her life forever.
King Xerxes made a hasty decision to dethrone Vashti, while
he was drunk and regretted it, but it was too late to retract it. His choice ultimate led to God’s plan.
Hadassah (Esther) had to decide whether she would trust God
or not. Her choice to trust God saved
not only her life, but the life of an entire nation. She was rewarded for her obedience
Mordecai made a choice to believe God out the gate. There was no other option as far as he was
concerned. Though he was well aware of
Haman’s hatred towards him, God made his enemy (Haman) bless him and gave him
an Ephesians 3:20 blessing.
So when you are faced with situations that you don’t
understand; when it feels like your trapped in the darkness of the challenge
your facing with no way out; when it feels like God has forgotten you; TRUST
HIM to make the right Choice. He will
blow your mind (your way of thinking) every cotton picking time.
In His Excellent Service
Tania
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