My daughter Beri and son-in-law Joe in Europe without the kids. Happy and free!

Esther 3

King Ahasuerus loves Esther. In the Providence of God, the king was smitten; swept off his feet; it was love at first sight. Esther rocked his world. The king declared a holiday and held a massive banquet to celebrate his new bride. A true Cinderella-like fairy tale. We are reminded in the text that throughout this time, Esther keeps her nationality unknown as her cousin Mordecai had instructed her.
The plot is spoiled

Meanwhile, Mordecai sits at the front gate of the palace to stay as close to Esther as possible. While sitting there one day, he hears of a plot against the king’s life.  2:22 says “But the plot became known to Mordecai and he told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai’s name. Now when the plot was investigated and found to be so, they were both hanged on the gallows; and it was written in the Book of the Chronicles in the king’s presence.” This is an important event that God will use soon in a most extraordinary way.

Here comes the bad guy

Sometime after these events, the king promoted a man named Haman to a high position in the court, overseeing many princes and provinces. Haman was a descendent of Agag. He was Agagite. The Agagites hated the Jews, especially despising the line of Saul. Mordecai, was a descendent of….guess who? Saul. The plot thickens as the king commands all to bow and pay homage to Haman in his new, exalted position. Mordecai begs to differ. He refused to bow and pay homage. The king’s servants at the gate, hoping to avoid conflict, urged Mordecai to bow. Mordecai refused stating that he was a Jew. He would not bow to an Agagite. The racial disdain was thick on both sides. After many days of urging Mordecai, the king’s servants informed Haman. He was enraged, but vs 6 tells us, “he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they told him who the people of Mordecai were; therefore, Haman sought to destroy all Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.”  Haman holds back his revenge on Mordecai to consider how to destroy all the Jews. More on this next time.

Defining moments of impact

Today let us continue to consider how God providentially uses us in our daily lives to reach, touch and impact others. We never know exactly who He is going to bring into our lives. But we know that we are best used by Him when we stand firm in our biblical convictions and live lives of moral courage according to biblical principles. The apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2 calls us to cleanse ourselves, live righteously according to His Word. Then we will be a “vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.” Amen!