No Need For Confusion

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No Need For Confusion

No Need For Confusion

Esther 3:7  In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.
8  And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.
9  If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.
10  And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy.
11  And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee.
12  Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring.
13  And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.
14  The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day.
15  The posts went out, being hastened by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.

I want to begin this devotional with a further explanation regarding my court case on the 23rd of January. I am not trying to belabour this matter. I realized that I had not published the results of that case on our website or through SermonAudio. We are blessed with having people from several different countries receiving our material due to the Internet. I mentioned the trial was coming up, but did not give the final results of it.

I Chronicles 16:25  For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.

We had been praying for wisdom to be able to give a Biblical answer to the judge in this matter. The Lord was true to Himself, and He granted us that opportunity. The trial did not take place in the regular place where court is held. They took me off to a side room. My wife was there with me. I am assuming they did not want this event publicized.
Fifteen minutes before the trial was to begin, the crown attorney/CA wanted to interview me about the case. She wanted me to explain my side. She was a “woke” attorney. I explained the order of events for that particular Sunday. I stated that during the time of the unjust mandates, we had two signs on the outside of our door telling people that it is illegal for government officials, including police to interfere with a local church service. We also stated that our door was locked and if a person wanted to come in to listen and learn, we would open the door for them. If they wanted to come in and interfere with our service we would not let them in. We had Bible verses on that poster to remind people of where our authority is found.
I told her that a true local church operates under God’s authority, and the state does not have the authority under God to interfere with the operations of a true local church. I stated that people can refuse to believe in God, but they will answer to Him for that rejection of Him. I talked about how this officer interrupted our service twice, first by knocking on the door. I could see from the window that it was a police officer and I did not open the door for her to enter. I told her, through the door, she was not allowed to interfere with our service and I would talk to her after the service. I went back to preaching. A few moments later she banged on the door very forcefully. I stopped preaching again and went to the door and told her she was not allowed to interrupt our service and I would speak with her later. After the service I went outside and she was waiting for me and issued me a ticket. I offered her some literature about what we believe and she was not interested. She threatened me with a charge of manslaughter if someone were to come to our church and get sick and die. I told the CA that I was not aware of any Canadian Tire, or Costco, or Walmart manager who had been given such a threat. I also told her that this did not scare me. I had a mandate from God to preach the Word and I was going to do that.
After our discussion, the CA stated that she was going to recommend the case be dismissed. When the judge entered the room, the CA stated my case very briefly and she recommended dismissal of the charges. The judge agreed to that and asked me to step forward. She wanted to make sure that I understood what had taken place. I explained that I understood and she said we were free to go.
God was gracious to us. We had honoured God in our dealings and in this instance He granted us a dismissal of the charges. He did not have to do that and we were not demanding that of Him. We were prepared to accept whatever God would have for us. We thank the Lord for watching over us. We thank Him for giving me the opportunity to speak to the CA prior to the official trial and explain to her what a true church is about. She was not really interested, but she heard about the true purpose of a true church. God is the Head of a true church. All people will answer to God for their choices in life.
The true local church is an essential service to the community. It does not matter that the community does not appreciate us being there. We are called to remind people of the need to know the true God. We are also there to encourage the saints to walk humbly and faithfully with the Lord. By God’s grace we intend to continue to do that.
In our text we see the continuation of Haman’s evil plot to destroy the Jews. We are given the time frame here. It was the first month, the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus’ reign. This is now five years after Esther has been chosen as the new wife for Ahasuerus and the new queen of the empire.
Haman was a lost man. He used a form of “rolling the dice”, called “Pur” to see which would be the best month to carry out his evil plot. His “casting the lot” was a pagan way of seeing where his luck was strongest. It was not something sanctioned by God.
God had taught Israel the importance of casting lots, but that was for His purposes. It was not based on luck. King Saul had sought help from God prior to his final battle, and God refused to answer him. God used a witch to call up Samuel to give Saul God’s final words. God’s teaching on using the lot was not a matter of luck. It was His way of answering questions during Old Testament times. That system ended with the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell every believer. Godly people do not use that method today.
In verse 8, Haman instructed Ahasuerus of this certain people that did not fit in with the common culture of that time. Of course Haman lied about how the Jews lived at that time. As we see, they blended in quite well with the general population. Mordecai had been elevated to be able to sit in the gate. His beliefs had not hindered him from being promoted by the king. The Jews were not seeking to help others to see the need to know the true God. They were really not doing anything that would seem as a threat to the king.
Haman lied and painted a scenario of a people who did not keep the king’s laws. Haman concluded that it was not wise for the king to keep these people around. Haman had been promoted to a higher rank prior to this, however, he still needed the king’s permission to do certain things. Because the king was lost, Haman was quite certain that he would do as he asked.
In verse 9 Haman asked the king to sign a decree, authorizing the rest of the society to destroy the Jews on a certain day. Haman bribed the king with a large sum of money. The king, being a vain man, saw the dollar signs and took off his ring and gave it to Haman to write and send out this petition.
In verse 11 we read that the king gave Haman an opening to do as he pleased with the Jews. In verse 12 we read that the king’s scribes were called in to write the letter. Government waste has always been a problem wherever human government is in place. When a person does not live for God, he or she tends to get a “fat” head and makes unwise decisions.
We see that there were many different languages spoken in the Persian empire at this time. Haman took the king’s ring and sealed the letters so that they would be official.
The “posts” were people assigned to deliver official documents during those days. These particular letters were sending a message to kill all Jews, whether young or old, children and women, in one day. This would have been a massive slaughter if it were allowed to proceed. The specific day was listed as well. No one would be charged with murder for killing a Jew.
After initiating this dirty deed, we read that Haman and the king sat down to drink. There was no concern for life there. As we have noted, drunkenness was a common practice in that empire. Eventually it would fall to the Greeks. We read as well that the city of Shushan was perplexed.
The Hebrew word translated as “perplexed” means confusion. Obviously the people did not see a problem having the Jews around. They were not causing any problems for the average people. The only one who had a problem with the Jews was Haman. As we will see, the people were shallow thinkers, so they would go along with an ungodly order.
The same thing happened in much of the world over the Wuhan virus event. The science proved that this virus was not as dangerous as the officials wanted it to be. The officials lied and used their positions to instil fear into the hearts and minds of a general population that does not believe in God and has been brainwashed with the lies of evolution. Most people are scared to die. They hope for the best, but they have no assurance of a peaceful future. This is due to the rejection of God.
The true local church is essential to society. We have the truth. We cannot sit back and refuse to speak the truth because we are compromised. We need to be sure to live under the Headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will face challenges, but God will be with us through those challenges, just as He has promised to be. We are given opportunities to prove His authority and power as we humbly submit to Him.
Pastor Bartel

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