Esther 1:1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)
2 That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace,
3 In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him:
4 When he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days.
5 And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace;
6 Where were white, green, and blue, hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble.
7 And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king.
8 And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man’s pleasure.
9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
The book of Esther gives us a picture of what happens when those who are supposed to be God’s people, become comfortable living in a compromised manner. There are those who believe the book of Esther should not be in the Bible because there is no mention of God in the book. Others have a problem accepting this book as genuine because Esther married a divorced man. Others look at this book and they use the sins mentioned in this book as license for their sins. They try to justify themselves by what they see happening in this book.
Personally, I believe the book belongs in the Bible. God used this book to warn of what happens when those who are supposed to know the Lord, grow cold toward Him. The nation of Israel is a unique nation. God purposely chose Abram to be the father of that nation. He moved Abram from his homeland into a land he was not familiar with. There were people living in Canaan at that time. God’s design was for them to be removed from that land and replaced permanently by Abram/Abraham’s descendants. There have been thousands of people who have disagreed with God’s design and many of those have vehemently disagreed.
There has been a hatred for the Jews for hundreds of years. That hatred is fuelled by the devil. That hatred is rooted in a hatred for God. We see the devil’s hatred for God throughout the Bible, but in particular in the book of Job. Satan wanted to attack God and he wanted to prove that if Job were taken out from under God’s protection, he would curse God and die just like the majority of people do. God allowed Satan some liberties with Job, and Job proved Satan a liar. God proved that He watches over His children, and yes, His children have special benefits.
God chose the nation of Israel to be a peculiar people among the nations of the world.
Deuteronomy 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
God did that because He wants all people to see that there is no better God than He is.
Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
In less than a week I am scheduled to appear before a judge regarding my belief that the local church belongs to God. Jesus Christ is the Head of every true local church. I am being charged with disobeying a health order that declared that churches were not to be open for a time during the Wuhan virus experiment. It is my intent to go before that judge and remind that person and the crown and anyone else who will be there, that the true local church belongs to God. I have been told by some not to do that. They say the judge will not like that and it could get me into trouble.
The true local church is designed by God to be a light in a dark world. If we refuse to be that light, what is our purpose for existing. Jesus told the Pharisees He could use the rocks to declare His deity and His right to be the King of the Jews. God created man to glorify Him. The majority of mankind has chosen to reject Him. It is a shame that so few professing Christians are willing to stand up and be counted. They are like Peter in the heat of the moment. They are afraid of what might happen if they stand where they must stand.
I am just as human as the next person. I do not know how I will fare on that day. I am praying for boldness and wisdom to respond as God would want me to. Jesus told the disciples not to pre-plan their answers when called before the judges. They were to trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit in their lives. That is the same thing every born again Christian needs to do all the time. Whether it is in the pulpit or in the pew or on the street, we are to be a light in a dark and dying world. We cannot be that light if we want to blend in with the world.
God chose the nation of Israel for that same purpose. They decided they did not want that position. Since they made that decision, life has been tough for them. King David faced formidable enemies. On several occasions he chose to consult with God as to how to face those enemies. He trusted in God to protect him and his father’s sheep from the lion and the bear. He took that same trust when he went to face Goliath. He did that much of the time as he fled from king Saul. As a new reigning king, he trusted in the Lord when facing the Philistines. He had some failures. Those failures do not define David, but they certainly did hurt him and his family and the nation of Israel. His son, king Solomon was the last human king of a united nation of Israel. King Solomon lost that special place due to his sin of polygamy and adultery. Things did not go well for him nor for the entire nation of Israel. King Solomon did much to ‘normalize’ sin.
As we look at Israel today, we know that at this present time there is a ‘ceasefire’ agreement that is supposed to take effect this coming Sunday. Antony Blinken is the Secretary of State in the Biden administration. He is a Jew. He has been working against the God of Israel and against the best interests of the Jews. Qatar and even Turkey have been involved in forcing the hand of Netanyahu to agree to a deal that will keep Israel in a precarious position. Mr. Blinken has been heavily involved in pressuring Israel to agree to unjust terms.
All of this is taking place because Israel, as a nation has still rejected the true God as their God. God chose them to be a peculiar people through whom He would show the world the importance of knowing Him, the true God. There is a great blessing in knowing the true God. That blessing cannot be had in any other way. Israel has missed that blessing for thousands of years. They are still God’s chosen people. God proves that He NEVER goes back on His Word. Man often goes back on His Word, but God is faithful to Himself.
What kind of a God would we have if He were like our politicians. I listened to some concerns raised regarding the presidential election, coming out of Minnesota. They have exposed corruption in that election. One of the people talking said they were sure that election integrity was still there. She had no doubt in her mind about that. That is the statement of a lost person with their head firmly planted in the sand. Lost people cannot see the evil that is all around them and indeed in them. They have to have imaginary thoughts about others because they cannot face reality. Facing reality would mean they, as a lost person, would have to admit they are corrupt to the core. Very few are willing to agree with God on that fact. Among the few that do agree with that fact, are a small group who turn to God in repentance and get saved.
There is ONE and only ONE alternative to the life of sin that we are all born into. That ONE alternative is repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. As we study the book of Esther we will see God’s hand at work and we will see the effects of a secularly minded nation of Israel. That reality is what is behind the attack against whether this book should even be in the Bible. As we look at the secular nature of the Jews in that time, we can also look at the secular nature of most churches today. They still want to be called churches, but they do not want to submit to the God of the Bible Who declared:
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Who are you building your life upon today? In this world, true, faithful born again Christians shall “have tribulation” (John 16:33). The good news is that Jesus Christ has overcome the world. The naked eye will not see that. The spiritual eye will see that. Victory right now is not ruling the world. Victory right now is God ruling the soul and mind and body of the saved individual. One day the world will see the victory overall. Most will not benefit from that victory. Be sure you are one that is benefiting from that blessing today and into eternity.
Pastor Bartel
