Lessons from the book of Esther (IV)

 

We continue with our study of the book of Esther, focusing this week on Chapters 5 and 6 which will teach us how to ask according to the rule book.

1) The importance of preparation

Esther fasted for three days before facing the king; she did not just barge in because he favoured her: it would have cost her, her life. The lesson here is that you cannot physically possess that which you have not first obtained spiritually. Indeed, EVERYTHING that is visible has its origin in the invisible. The physical events first take place in the spiritual realm. Moses was able to gaze at the physical tabernacle because he had first beheld its heavenly pattern (He 8:5). Thus, before venturing into the physical presence of the king, Esther had to be welcomed in there in her spirit first. In addition, fasting also gave her the courage and determination she needed to risk her life. Because of this preparation, the effects of fasting were early felt:

• First, when Esther appears, before opening her mouth, the king is already ready to give her half of the kingdom (vs. 5:2-3).
• Then, the king cannot sleep and to occupy himself, asks for the Chronicles of the kingdom 'by chance' (but it is another consequence of the fast) and finds that Mordecai, Esther's uncle, had saved his life and had not been worthily rewarded (vs. 6:1-3).
• Finally, when Haman comes to see him to seal Mordecai’s fate, the king speaks first and asks him which befitting reward should be given to someone who has rendered good deeds to the nation. Haman, who is totally convinced it can only be him, describes the pageantry that should accompany such a man and the next minute, Mordecai falls into glory (vs. 6.4-10). If Haman had spoken first to ask the head of one’ arrogant Jew’, and if the king had agreed, everything would have changed because the king never came back on his word. Again, we see the effects of the fast.

Do you take time to prepare yourself before encountering those who are in authority - people or God? Do you understand the role of fasting? Fasting does not change the heart or purposes of God; but it changes the heart and purposes of men, and aligns your heart to the Lord's plans, while giving you the wisdom you need to act, as we will see with the second point.

2) Knowing how to touch the heart

You can only best speak to the head if you have previously successfully spoken to the heart and soul. If Jesus performed many miracles around the table, it is because the mind is more receptive when the soul is satisfied. Indeed, the seed that falls among thorns (the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches), will be choked and bear no fruit (Mat 13): the heart must first be relieved, contented and free in order to be willing to do good. Thus, when Isaac wants to bless his beloved son, he asks: “Prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” Isaac knew that to say/wish the best possible thing (etymological sense of ‘to bless’); to be able to utter good words, living words, something had to be stirred, shaken and moved deep within. So, he thought of what was most likely to put him in such a state and revealed it to his beloved son. Esau was not to prepare just any meal; he had to prepare a game and prepare it in a special way. Likewise, Esther had to make a splash. Fasting helped her discover the strategy to obtain the king’s grace; she found the key to his heart and what he liked the most: feasts. This was the best gift she could give him and offered two successive banquets in his honour. When you know how difficult it is to impress someone who has seen /eaten it all and who can afford everything, you understand what it took to blow his mind. Don’t be fooled; it is wrong to believe that 'it's the thought that counts': you must hit the target. If you really want to touch the heart of those whom you want to offer (or ask) something to, you should take the time to research what will make them happy. This is done in the place of prayer or by interviewing people close to them: this is the time of preparation mentioned above. If you offer me a pair of yellow, green or bright red shoes, no matter the brand, the price, and the sincerity of your intentions, the person that I am now and that I will probably be for long, will not wear them and will give them back to you. You may even irritate me: it's not the gesture that matters. Saul thought he could flatter God with the best beasts of the Amalekites’ cattle: it did not work (1Sam 15)!

The day will come when you'll want to ask something very important to the Lord, your boss or a someone in a high position; don’t jump anyhow into it because, just as this inconsistency could have cost Esther’s life, it can also cause you to lose everything. Take time to prepare; remember that the way of blessing flows through the heart and to touch it, have recourse to the Holy Spirit to know what is suitable to give.

God bless you with wisdom this week.

Lessons from the Book of Esther (III)

 

Reading / studying the book of Esther also tells us that it is important to be ready to defend just causes, even if it must come at the expense of our lives. It is difficult (and even impossible) to become great if we are not ready to forget ourselves / to live / to die for a cause greater than ourselves. The Bible exhorts us not to look to our own interests, but also to the interests of others (Phil 2.4); and that’s what Esther did. She understood that in any case, being Jewish herself, she had little chance to escape extermination. And even if the king's love had saved her, what flavour and joy would life have had after such carnage? Our Christianity has become too personal: “My faith is only for me and it should not disturb anyone.” However, since the time of Jesus, Christianity has always disturbed people. Though He is the Prince of Peace, Jesus warned us about what it is to follow Him: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mat 10:34-39) Why have we forgotten these words in favour of those promising healing, miracles and prosperity? By losing her life, Esther found it back, but she also saved that of a whole people. Who knows? Perhaps Jesus would have never been born if she had not braved death.

The Book of Esther also gives us a superb example of the consequences of compromise. Some 500 years ago, God had asked Saul to make war with the Amalekites and destroy them all: men, women, children, old people and cattle (1Sam 15)! But Saul did not obey; after defeating them, he decided to spare their king, Agag, and the choicest beasts of the flocks (pretending it was to offer a sacrifice to the Lord – What madness it is to dare bring to God something that He has already struck with a curse Himself!). This nonchalance cost him the throne, him and his descendants. God knows the future; and it is knowingly that He had asked to exterminate ALL the Amalekites. He knew the danger that they would later represent. Indeed, the Bible reveals that Haman, the arch enemy of Mordecai and the Jews in this book, the one who had sworn to wipe them all off the surface of the earth, was an Agagite: a descendant of Agag, the king that Saul had spared. The thing that God is asking you to eliminate from your life today and for which you are reluctant to comply, may well be what will destroy your child or your grandchildren tomorrow. We must obey the Lord and obey fully. I wrote an article last year on the danger of compromise; (re)read it. Each time we are not 100% obedient, we allow a certain percentage of compromise and without knowing it, we begin to destroy ourselves; we lose a crown and put the future generations at risk. This illustrates what I said earlier about not minding our own interests only, but looking at things with a global perspective. Africa is in this state today because apart from the leaders who risked their lives for the independence, almost all those who followed have only been worshipping their bellies and pursuing their own interests and those of their families. Who cares if there is no hospital worthy of the name? They go for treatment in Europe! Who cares if there is no university worthy of the name? Their children go to the very best American and European schools and universities. Who cares if there is no mall worthy of the name? They shop abroad every week-end. Who cares if the oil and mineral reserves are depleted within 50 years? In the meantime, this money buys them houses, mansions, luxury cars and jewellery all over the world (preferably in Europe and the U.S.).

Our Christianity must become militant, committed, and free of any compromise again: Jesus is coming back.

God bless you!

Lessons from the book of Esther (II)

 

Favour is an anointing; it is a magnet. Esther’s ‘Chance’ did not just happen when the king took a liking for her: the sign of favour was already on her when she pleased Hegai, the eunuch who was in charge of the women, and he advanced her to the best place in the harem. The Bible actually emphasizes that she was winning favour in the eyes of all who saw her (vs. 2.9, 15b). Indeed, when you have God's favour, people cannot help doing all they can to please you.

Chapter II describes something interesting; when the turn came for any girl to go to the king, whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house (vs. 13). However, when Esther’s turn came, she asked for nothing except what Hegai advised. The rest is history: she was crowned queen.

At exactly this time last year (Easter Monday), my family and I went to visit another family. While we were chatting about I can’t remember what, I had an open vision. I saw an important breach appear on the wall in front of me, and two people who initially seemed locked up, passed through it and left their ‘prison’. Then, other prisoners who had nothing to do with them also took advantage of that opportunity to escape; but some others remained inside because they did not even realize what had happened; they didn’t realize that they were potentially free, before the breach was eventually repaired and closed. Behind the wall, there was like a table set with everything one could desire on it. Immediately after the vision, The Lord gave me some interesting revelations about breakthroughs. I may be free to share all of them later, but for now and for the purpose of our topic, here's some of what I repeated to those present that day:

“There will be a breakthrough; it is settled, imminent and nothing can stop it. After the breakthrough, it will be possible to choose/ask/take EVERYTHING you want on the other side of the wall. However, you’ll need to choose wisely; henceforth, you must spend time in prayer for the Holy Spirit to guide your choices. You can take whatever you want; but some requests or choices will not be profitable to you for long while others will change your life forever.”

A month had not even gone by that our host had had a great career opportunity which was nothing short of a miracle. Within five months, all those to whom I shared that vision and all the explanations thereof on that day, also had some extraordinary breakthroughs, and it is far from over…

The Bible says that no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God (1Cor 2.11,10). And also that He takes what the Father has (and which is Christ’s), and declare it to us (Jn 16.14-15). In other words, when we really want to please the Lord, since His ways and His thoughts are as far from us as the East West, it is better to ask the One who knows Him best (the Holy Spirit), how to go about it. In the story of Esther, Hegai was a type of the Holy Ghost (he played His role a little). He knew the king, and knew what would please him. He would have freely tipped any girl who would have cared enough to be interested; but, with the exception of Esther, the only thing that mattered to them was their personal satisfaction: “Here is finally the chance of my life to have all the jewellery, clothes, shoes etc. in the world; I am not missing it!” They all knew why they were in the palace: to be pleasant enough onto the king to receive the crown; yet, they didn’t bother to find out how to achieve that. Is this also your attitude towards the Lord?

Why do you want to breakthrough? If God asks you what you would like Him to do for you today, what would you answer? Why? And if He gives you what you want, how will it affect your life positively? Not your daily life, but your destiny and that of those around you? The modest and wise choices of Esther when she went through the treasure room enabled her to later prevent the extermination of her people…

May God bless you with wisdom in Christ Jesus as you breakthrough.

Happy Easter!

Lessons from the Book of Esther (I)

 

I’ve just reread the book of Esther and was really surprised by a few things which I had never paid attention to before.

For example, king Ahasuerus had only been in power for less than 3 years when he decided to give a feast for all his officials and servants: the feast lasted six months!!! Then, he went for another seven days feast for the rest of the people present in the Capital. This reveals different things:

 

• He loved his people and wanted them to partake in the wealth of the kingdom as well. Even drinking was without compulsion; but as each man desired. This is rather rare and curious, isn’t it?
• He was extraordinarily bounteous.
• He was lazy: the Ecclesiast warns: “Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning!” (Eccl 10:16)

The last day of the feast, he wanted to honour his queen (and perhaps also to please the people) and called for her to come in her royal attire, so he could flaunt her around. You know it's not every day one can see the queen or the first lady closely. This was perhaps the only time most of his guests would see her. Only, I don’t know if it was out of condescendence vis-à-vis those in front of whom she was supposed to parade or if it was because she was busy with her own group of people, but Vashti refused to come. This was a triple abomination. It was insubordination vis-à-vis the king, insubordination vis-à-vis her husband, and a public insult. In case of impunity, anyone could have also refused to obey the king afterwards. Indeed, because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil (Eccl 8:11).

Ahasuerus was also a wise king: all the affairs of his kingdom were treated before those who were verse in law and judgment. If only we could also treat all our matters in the same way; we have the Bible, a unique collection of wisdom and laws; but we do not use it enough, we trust people who know jack – as my pastor likes to say ;-). Anyway, that was just a digression. The king summoned the wise men and asked them how to react to the queen’s affront. In a way, they advised him to banish her and grant her title to another who would be better than her. So, Vashti's dismissal was decided in a council of elders; and the Bible says that the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way (KJV: a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment, Eccl 8.5). Those who judged her had the intelligence of times. Vashti ‘s time was over: Esther’s time had come. This story reminds me of the parable Jesus told about a king who gave a wedding feast for his son (Mat 22). When those who had been invited to the wedding refused to honour the king with their presence, he sent for even the street beggars and bestowed on them the grace and privileges which should have normally fallen to others.

What happened to Vashti should serve as warning to us. There will always be a day when God will ask us to display the gifts, talents and benefits that we have received from Him. If we refuse to comply, we run the risk of losing everything and being driven away from His presence. The gifts of God, the Lord's blessings, are not meant to sleep in the garage. They are given to bless others; if not, they will be given to those who want to multiply them (Mat 25:28). God will take the position and the title, and He will give to someone else. Thus, Mordecai will later warn Esther: “if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish.” (Est 4:14a) God had blessed Vashti with beauty; but the day she was asked to use it to serve the people, she rebelled. Another one who had the same gift of beauty and who was better than her (as we will later see) was crowned at her place.

"Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." (Rom 11.19)

God is Good and Jesus is on the throne: there is no need to worry!

Have a great week and God bless you.