November 5, 2024

Esther – Chapter 6:1-3

During that night the king could not sleep so he gave an order to bring the book of records,  the chronicles, and they were read before the king.   It was found written what Mordecai had reported concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who were doorkeepers,  that they had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.   The king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?”  Then the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”

 Esther 6:1-3

The favor of a man (in this case King Ahasuerus), while a blessing, is always temporary.  As we read this record, we see that the king realized that something should have been done to show honor, or favor, to Mordecai for saving Ahasuerus’ life. (Look back here to see exactly what had happened.)  For some reason…perhaps God’s timing…it did not happen at that time.

We have seen ‘favor’ being given here in Esther’s story before…let’s look back.

…Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.
And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the maidens….
Chapter 2, verse 15-17

And when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight, and he held out to [her] the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near and touched the tip of the scepter.
Chapter 5, verse 2

In the first account, Esther was favored not only by everyone she met but…far more importantly…she was favored by the king.  And, in the second record, because of the favor that Esther received from her husband King Ahasuerus, she was allowed to approach his throne and granted her most unusual request.  When favor is given from person to person, there is always the chance it will be withheld, or delayed…as in the instance between Ahasuerus and Mordecai.

However, God’s favor—His grace to us—is never withheld.  We are never left waiting for His blessing.  When we receive favor from the Lord it is always timely…perfectly on time.   There are many records throughout the Bible of people being favored by the Lord.  Here are a few of my personal favorites!

Noah — found favor in God’s eyes; and we know what came from that!

Genesis 6:6-8
And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved at heart.
So the Lord said, I will destroy, blot out, and wipe away mankind, whom I have created from the face of the ground—not only man, [but] the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air—for it grieves Me and makes Me regretful that I have made them.
But Noah found grace (favor) in the eyes of the Lord.

Moses — also was favored by God and through His life the children of Israel benefitted from that favor and were led to the Promised Land.

Exodus 33:17 and 18
The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.”
Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!”

David — Psalms 5:12, 30:5 and 7, 69:13 (and others)

Acts 7:45 and 46
So it was until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God
and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

Mary — Can you only imagine being told these things!

Luke 1:28-31
The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call Him Jesus.

As we read through these records and remember the fullness and importance of each account, I think that we recognize the incredible value there is in finding ‘favor with God.’  I have read numerous times that ‘favor’ (Old Testament word) and ‘grace” (New Testament word) are the same thing.  So favor = grace

Well, we HAVE found favor, or grace, with God!  And the favor/grace that we have with Him can never be withheld, delayed, or taken away!  (For a beautiful picture of God’s favor, His grace to us, read Romans 5.)

Read through the following verses…I pray that God will enlarge your understanding so that you will see and know of His favor and grace towards you!

I always thank my God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:4

Romans 6:14

2 Corinthians 9:8

Ephesians 1:2-6

Ephesians 2:5-8

Ephesians 4:7

Philippians 1:7

Hebrews 4:16

Titus 3:4-7

2 Peter 1:2-3

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Let’s Pray:

Almighty Father, we thank You…we praise You…for the immensity of Your grace towards us!  Where would we be without it?!!  Truly, still dead in our trespasses and sins!  Your grace, your favor, Your blessing for our lives cannot be earned; we are so thankful!  May we hold the TRUTH regarding Your wonderful grace in our hearts…and rest in that truth.  Thank You, Father; we love and adore You!

Amen.

Esther – Chapter 2:16-20

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Esther asked for little and was given much! The Word doesn’t say that after a period of time King Xerxes decided he “liked” Esther. It says when Esther was taken into his presence, he “loved her above all other women.” And not only that but she also “won his favor (grace) and approval more than any of the other virgins!” (Esther 2:17).  To show his affection and approval, the king elevated Esther from a lowly position of a concubine (for that’s what she would have become had he not chosen her; Esther 2:14) to be his queen, and gave her a royal crown so no one would mistake her position in the kingdom.

Our author, Darlene Schacht, has us reflect on Hannah’s prayer of praise in I Samuel 2:4-8, which comes after years of barrenness and humiliation.  As background in I Samuel 1: 1-28, we read the story of Hannah and Elkanah.  In the eyes of their society, Hannah was “a nobody” and a disgrace to Elkanah since she hadn’t borne him any children.  But Elkanah didn’t see her that way.  No matter what…he loved her for herself.  And God loved her and had a plan.  In His timing, God took a humiliated, barren woman and honored her by blessing her with Samuel who would serve the Lord in the temple all the days of his life.  Hannah saw first-hand how God would “lift the needy” in His timing, and she raised her praise to Him in prayer.  From barrenness to blessed.  From humiliated to honored.

Esther was one of the Jewish exiles who lived as a common citizen of the community surrounding the palace, even though Mordecai, her cousin, sat at the king’s gate and had responsibilities in the palace (Esther 2:5-7).  She was lowly with nothing to offer the king—but her submission and trust.  The king saw that and more in her, and he lifted her up and blessed her.  The king presented her before his people and celebrated with a great feast in her honor.  From “barrenness” to blessed.  From humbleness to honored.  With grace and honor, he set her among his royalty and crowned her to share in his throne and kingdom!  And perhaps, Esther prayed Hannah’s prayer of praise, especially I Samuel 2:8,

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.

From my perspective, I’m like Esther was—just a common citizen with nothing to offer the King of kings, but my submission and trust.  Ephesians 2:4-7 tells “the rest of the story”:

But because of His great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in Heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Wow, what an honor—what a celebration! And I praise my King!

Did you notice in Esther 2:18-20, that even in the midst of all the honor and celebration, neither Esther nor Mordecai forgot their relationship and responsibility to each other?  Even though Esther was now in a pretty secure position, she still respected Mordecai’s wisdom and submitted to him because, I believe, she knew he loved her and had her best interests in mind.  God has our best interests in mind, too.  And, like Mordecai, the Holy Spirit of God is standing close by watching over us, loving and guiding us in all His grace and wisdom.

One other point from Darlene about this relationship: Esther was an orphan and Mordecai had taken her in and cared for her as his own.  As we follow this story we see that Mordecai continued to watch out for her best interest.  Darlene points us to James 1:27, “Pure and genuine religion (unstained devotion) in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”  Mordecai demonstrated pure religion as he watched over Esther.  He “walked his talk.”  In the Book of Ruth, Ruth demonstrated pure religion by caring for her widowed mother-in-law (Ruth 2:17-18).  God wants us to demonstrate our pure religion by living out our faith. Perhaps we should check ourselves each day with this question, “Am I walking my talk?”

*****

Let’s Pray:

Dear Lord,
We thank You, Lord, that when we were “a nobody,” like Esther, we were a “somebody special” to You.  We have nothing to offer You except ourselves; and, come to find out, that’s exactly what You are looking for!  You are looking for our obedience and courageous submission so that we can come into Your Presence, as Esther came into her king’s presence.  You are eager to lift us up “from the ash heap” and seat us with You, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  Help us to remember that You have our best interests in mind.  You have promised us that Your Holy Spirit will be close to us to guide and comfort us.  Please Holy Spirit, help us daily to “walk our talk” so others will see You even when we don’t speak Your Name.  In Jesus’ Name.

Amen.