The dialog between Queen
Esther and her older cousin Mordecai was concerning the salvation of
the Jews who were destined to be destroyed by an edict from King
Ahasuerus and promoted by Haman. Esther was concerned that if she
were to appear before the king uninvited that she might be killed,
and Mordecai's answer to her was that she should not think that she
would escape the carnage even though it was hidden that she was also
a Jew. In chapter four and verse fourteen, we see a pinnacle phrase
in Mordecai's comments that places Esther in a God given destiny for
this situation. We read:
For if you altogether hold your peace at this time, then
shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from
another place; but you and your father's house shall be destroyed:
and who knows whether you are come to the kingdom for such a
time as this?
The verse begins, “For
if you altogether hold your peace at this time, then
shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from
another place;” After sharing with Esther about not thinking
that she would escape this edict, Mordecai warns her about what would
happen if she were to “hold your peace” at this time. In
other words, if Esther decided that it was too much risk to go before
the king uninvited, and there was no way she was going to jeopardize
her life, then God would send “enlargement” which means
“relief” and “deliverance” which means “escape” to
the Jews from somewhere else. Esther was in a prime position to
affect the salvation of the Jews, but if she should choose not to go
before the king, God would save the Jews in some other manner.
The verse continues, “but
you and your father's house shall be destroyed:” Now this is a
heavy warning. Not only would Esther be killed, but also her
relatives as well. We remember that her dad and mom were already dead
which was the reason Mordecai adopted her in the first place, but now
Mordecai tells her that the rest of her family would die as well if
she did not go before the king. Can we imagine what Esther felt like
when she heard those words?
Finally
we read, “and who knows whether you are come to the kingdom for
such a time as this?” Now we see the climatic
question of this message from Mordecai. Let us remember that Mordecai
does not have the advantage of knowing how this story ends at this
time. He is not sure about why Esther became the queen of Persia, but
he considers that divine providence has orchestrated her in this
manner just because of this edict. “For such a time a this”
might be the very reason that Esther was queen. God in His
eternal knowledge knew there was going to be an effort to destroy the
Jews, and behind the scenes He was moving Esther to the position that
could alter the entire outcome. There was an answer to Mordecai's
question “who knows” - God knew.
What situations has God put
us in the middle of that might be our “such a time as this”?
Has the culmination of the events in our lives been directing us to a
specific purpose whereby people will be saved? Are there special
situations that have arisen that require that we risk our lives, our
status, and our all to be used to affect a change? As we ponder
today's verse, let us open our hearts and lives to the Lord Jesus
Christ and ask Him where we may be used “for such a time as
this”, and may He give us the courage to step out in faith to
do so.
Next
time we will look at another answer from Esther, so read ahead, and
we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” and the new marriage book “So, You Want
to Be Married” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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