-devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)
I love the story of Esther, because without her obedience and willingness to sacrifice herself if needed, a pretty horrible pre-Holocaust destruction of the Jews would have taken place. While it’s hard for me to imagine it being on the same scale of intentional diabolical evil that occurred in World War II, I suppose if you are one of the ones that’s being murdered you’re far less concerned with intent than action.
In Esther 3 today, we see that the King (Ahasuerus) “magnified Haman” and advanced him, “above all the princes who were with him” (v1), to the point that the king had commanded folks to bow to him (v2). It’s not really clear in scripture why Haman was advanced, but Haman was promoted to (presumably) the second highest level of authority in the kingdom, and was enraged when Mordecai the Jew wouldn’t offer him obeisance. Read Esther 3:5-6 and see how Haman’s pride caused him to feel/act: then take a moment to flip back to 2 Sam 16:5-14 to see how David (the king) responded to an even greater insult. Ponder them both in your hearts for a moment: their level of pride, their reactions, and then their fates. It’s good food for thought.
Something that I had kind of read past when I was younger jumped out at me when I was reading this morning, in 3:7 we see that Haman, after becoming enraged at Mordeai, had lots cast (cleromancy) for almost a full year before acting on his rage with his plans to commit genocide on the Jews. Haman is a man who acts on his impulses, but absolutely does not act impulsively: he festered on his rage for almost a year before approaching the king to begin his attempt against the Jews, and sought supernatural guidance to find the best time to begin. Haman offers the king 10000 talents (a talent was @75 lbs!) of silver, but the king said “the silver is given to you” and handed Haman his signet ring (effectively giving him full authority and funding) to sign his petition in to law. Decrees were issued, messengers were sent out, and the king and Haman settled in to drink, but the “city of Susa was in confusion”. The regular citizens, in other words, had no idea why this was happening. (This is all detailed in Esther 3:7-15).
When Mordecai hears of this, he informs Esther that she must act. Initially she is hesitant to do so since there is a distinct possibility that she’ll be killed (Esther 4:1-12). Mordecai’s response to this in 4:13 gives us a critical understanding: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not reached royalty for such a time as this?“(LSB). So here’s the thing: God has a plan. We see throughout scripture that God interacts with his creation through his agents (shaliach) to further His plans and purposes, and many times He has placed a person in just the right place at just the right time to fulfill His purpose. What do you think happens to those agents who allow fear to prevent them from doing Gods purpose? (Hint: see bold text above). Think about it for a moment: God will ensure His purposes, whether or not you choose to participate obediently determines whether you are rewarded richly or die unknown in disgrace.
Keep this understanding in mind, while we move forward in time to when God sent Jesus as His obedient agent of salvation for the world. In the book of Matthew, directly after being baptized, Jesus is led (by the holy spirit) into the wilderness and fasts for 40 days and nights, after which The Adversary approaches him and tempts him: first with food (pretty obvious), then with a confirmation of authority (subtle and insidious), and then with a blatant offer of power (a last desperate attempt). So what if Jesus had responded differently or disobediently, with arrogance instead of firm humility? Think about it. If Jesus had not been obedient, it might be someone else’s name we all recognized today.
A couple very important things to be noted: God cannot be tempted (James 1:13). Even if you have a confused understanding about your Christology this should be a giant waving red flag to a “traditional orthodox” understanding, regardless of “nature”, because God cannot be tempted irregardless of how you try to rationalize or justify that. Secondly, we know firsthand that our adversary is insidious and clever, hitting us at our weakest points. In Matt 3:17, God says “This is my beloved son…” after Jesus obediently gets baptized. In Matt 4:3, the tempter said “IF you are the son of God…” turn these stones into bread, and Jesus responds with scripture (Dt 8:3). Then he took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and said “IF you are the son of God…” throw yourself down, and quotes today’s reading of Psalms 91 (v11-12). Jesus responds by quoting scripture back (Dt 6:16). You know the story, probably so well that you’ve not dug into it too deeply.
Here’s the thing, and why this is so insidious: in each of these instances above, the tempter is trying to plant a seed of doubt: “IF you are the son of God…IF you are…” (“Are you really? Are you sure? We haven’t seen any miracles yet…how do you know? Maybe this could show me and the world that you really are, prove yourself, let people see, won’t that be awesome? Are you the messiah, do you really think so? Are you really? SHOW US…prove it to us and to yourself…”). This is downright diabolical. This is why it’s just so humbling and beautiful that Jesus remained faithful, because he overcame all of these diabolical temptations, these targeted attacks on him.
“Weeell, he wasn’t really tempted…” I’ve heard some folks say, but YES, HE WAS! In each of the points of potential weakness that the shrewdest adversary that exists thought he could penetrate. Have you ever not eaten for a couple days? Try it. You start fantasizing about what foods you will eat when you eat again. This is a pretty obvious first stab. The second attempt (“throw yourself down…IF you are the son of God you’ll be fine…”) is the most insidious one, in my opinion, because as humans we are always just filled with doubt. “Are you really the son of God? Really? Prove it…” Imagine as a man that you believe that you have a God-given destiny, that you are to be the one to redeem not only Israel but all of the earth: but you’ve been out by yourself for over a month and haven’t eaten, you’re starving and beginning to wonder, and here is the opportunity to prove not only to your enemy but to yourself that you really are the chosen one, the Christ, the Anointed One. You can prove it. Are you tempted? Of course you are.
Thank God that Jesus overcame. In our reading today of Hebrews 2:16-18 it confirms that Jesus was the seed of Abraham (A Jew, fulfilling the prophecy in Dt 18:18), that he was our brother (A human being, fulfilling the prophecy of Gen 3:15 and Ps 89:19), and that he himself was tempted (which God Himself can’t be, see James 1:13 again for clarification) so that he is able to come to help those who are tempted (ie, us, the other humans). As our brother, Jesus is our role model of obedience and humble submission to God’s will. We can do it, because Jesus did. We are called to be obedient and to submit just like Jesus did, just like Esther did, because if we don’t God will just raise up someone else in our place: His purpose will be fulfilled, whether you participate or not.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- Do you think you’d have ever heard about Esther, if she’d chosen to be safe instead of obedient?
- Same question, but with Jesus?
- Can you think of a time in your past where you had a choice but were scared? What happened? Do you feel as if you passed or failed that test, and why?
PRAYER
Father God, thank you for life, and breath, and all things. Help me to be humble and obedient, even as the Christ was, and even to the point of death. Allow me the honor of fulfilling the purpose that You have determined for me in this life, even unto death, and allow me to see Your kingdom. May the lips of all creation offer You the praise deserved. In Jesus name, Amen.
Seek Grow Love 