Title For This Time / Esther 4:10-17
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Esther 4:10-17
Although today is Mother's Day, we have chosen the text according to the Bible reading table. Today, I chose the text from the book of Esther. As I already said last week, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther are Bible books that contain the stories of people who took the lead and devoted themselves when the nation and people were in trouble. Of the 66 books of the Bible, there are only two Bibles with female names in their names. One is Ruth and the other is Esther.
The book of Esther is set in the land of the Persian Empire, where Judah fell and was taken captive and had already lived for 100 years. Many Jews were already assimilated and living there. Among them, a character named 'Esther' appears.
The meaning of the name Esther is 'star'. Esther, whose real name was Hadassah (2:7), changed it to a new name when she became Empress. Esther lost her parents when she was young and grew up in the home of her cousin Mordecai. Although Esther was brought up in an unfavorable environment, she did not give in to the environment, and she grew up with a good appearance as well as a good heart.
The queen of King Ahasuerus, Vashti, was deposed, and Esther was chosen as the most beautiful woman among the beautiful women from all over the country gathered in Susan to choose a new queen. Her beauty was not the beauty of her appearance with makeup and ornaments, but the beauty that came from her trust in God. So she became a queen.
However, four years after Esther became queen, a major event occurred. Haman, who was the prime minister of the Persian Empire at the time, was angry with Mordecai for not showing respect to him, and he plotted to destroy not only Mordecai but all the Jewish people living in the Persian land.
Three important confessions can be read in the course of these events.
1. For this time (confession of calling).
When the danger of the entire nation was destroyed by a man named Haman, Mordecai wore sackcloth and sat down in front of the royal palace mourning. I got a call from Esther. Why are you prostrate in the royal palace in such a dress? At that time, he will tell the Jews of the crisis they faced. All of our people were killed by 'Haman', so I told you to appeal to the king to be saved. Then Esther hesitated. 'I haven't seen the king for 30 days.' At that time, the Persian Law was not called by the king, but to go before the king by himself was to bring death. Such behavior was an act of disrespect for the king and an act of disobedience to the king. Therefore, unless the king looks for some reason, he is bound to die. So Esther hesitated.
That's when Modde Gae said the famous saying.
At this time, if you remain silent,
The Jews will find release and deliverance by other means, but you and your father's house will perish.
Who knows whether it is not for this time that you have been crowned queen Esther 4:14
'Didn't God make you queen for this time?' This is an amazing faith. ‘Didn’t you first send you there to save our people in a time of crisis like this that you became queen? Therefore, you must fulfill your mission according to God's will.'
Mordecai's faith is amazing. He had faith that God would surely save the people of Judah. And that role is entrusted to Esther. However, if Esther pursued only her own well-being and honor as queen, God would entrust it to someone else, but Esther, who went a selfish way, would eventually perish.
'For this time' We must live with this faith. You have created me for this time. You have given me these things for this time. You have given me so much knowledge for this time. You have given me such good conditions for this time. You have given me these talents for this time. This should be the confession of us Christians. This is the Christian faith with a sense of calling.
A life lived with a vocation and mission is beautiful. There are people who avoid when there is a problem, and there are leaders who take the lead in solving problems. God is pleased to find people who have a sense of calling, work through them, and bless them.
2. Neither eat nor drink for three days and nights (confession of prayer).
Esther decides. I suggest that you pray first. I knew that this was not something that could be done by human strength. All suggested that they fast and pray. All the Jews gathered together and fasted. Esther also fasted and prayed with her maids. In the face of difficult problems, he did not follow the wisdom or counsel of men, but sought God's help.
In the end, after three days of fasting and prayer, Esther broke the rules of the empire with the determination and faith that 'if I die, I will die', and went to the king wearing the queen's robes. She was ready to sacrifice her life for her nation and people. This sacrificial decision moves the hand of God. That God's hand moved the king's heart to save the Jewish people who were in crisis.
Please believe that prayer changes all things. This is not to say that prayer has magical powers. This is because prayer is the channel through which we receive the power of God. All Christians were people of prayer. I hope you will become strong believers through prayer. Early morning prayer, I can't meet my menstrual cycle, I can't because I'm busy in the evening, I can't because of another Friday prayer meeting, and worship times always come 10 minutes late and go 5 minutes early. So when do you pray? Doesn't this mean that it's not just a belief that faith is compatible with God, but a common-sense belief?
Today's text is taken from the Bible reading table we are going to read. Are you reading Esther? Did you read the book of Nehemiah last week? Faith is the grace given to those who walk the path of faith on their own. There are not many people in our church who have a long experience of faith. So, there are many times when I am grateful for just attending the Sunday worship service. However, in order to grow in faith, reading the Word, praying, and devoting yourself to life must grow even a little bit. For those who have already lived a long life of faith, the years of faith are not important, but a life of prayer, the Word, and devotion must be followed in order to have healthy faith. Prayer changes things. I bless you to be prayerful saints.
3. If I die, I will die (confession of sacrifice).
Esther and the Jews fasted and prayed. However, there was an act of preparing for death, saying, 'If I die, I will die' instead of just sitting and looking at the sky after praying. There, God's work appeared and the problem was solved. Faith requires action.
Asking for God's help does not mean just sitting and praying. It must be followed by the best efforts of human beings. It is not faith to pray and wait for the problem to be resolved. It is not faith to pray and put your hands down and look only at God. If you prayed, you must have the best effort of human beings. Praying and sitting and waiting is an attitude of unbelief that places all responsibility on God alone.
At that time, it was considered rude to go before the king without the king calling him. If you do such a disrespect, you may die, depending on the heart of the king at that time. Therefore, it was very dangerous for Esther to go before the king to plead for the salvation of her people. It was an act that risked his life. Moreover, it would have been risky for a woman to act like that, no matter how queen. In this situation, Esther entrusted all of her future to God, and was prepared to make sacrifices if things went wrong. That's why the famous saying, 'If you die, you will die' was coined.
However, in the Bible, the path to death always followed God's will was always turned upside down in the history of life. The disciples who went to the death of Lazarus, saying, 'Let's go to die with the Lord', Mary who visited the tomb of Jesus, and Jesus who carried the cross all experienced a remarkable reversal in which the history of life took place. The place where Esther was prepared to die, saying, 'If I die, I will die', eventually, the history of life in which she saves not only herself but also her own nation, the Jewish people, appeared.
It is easy to laugh at good things. It is easy to cry over bad things. However, it is difficult to take on a difficult task. Sometimes we see this in the church as well. Everyone is crowded with good things and weeping together for sad things, but sometimes it is difficult to find a hand to hold on to in difficult and responsible tasks.
Esther, after praying, she went her own best way. It was a life-threatening act. His confession was, 'If I die, I will die'. It means that when you die, you die. What a firm decision. How desperate are these words? How clear are your words? 'If I die, I will die' is a truly remarkable word.
I will go wherever the Lord wills.
I will do anything that pleases the Lord.
Where the Lord is, I will be there.
Where the Lord told me to go, I will go.
What the Lord told me to do, I will do it.
Where the Lord is humbled, I will be humbled infinitely.
Isn't this the meaning of the confession, 'If I die, I will die'? I pray that this confession will become my confession before God. I hope that our confession before the cross of Jesus will be like this.
Esther, who went before the king saying, 'If I die, I will die.' On the contrary, she gained the king's greater love and received the grace of saving her entire nation.
We see one thing here. So far, everyone has only talked about Esther. However, in fact, if you read the development of all these stories carefully, you will realize that the person who led all these events was Mordecai. As a play, you realize that Esther was the lead actress and Mordecai was the director. Esther, who was ready to make a full sacrifice saying, 'If I die, I will die' is also great, but I realize that Mordecai's faith is more valuable than anything else.
*There are leaders who don't do it on their own, but make it work. Mordecai is that person.
*There are leaders who take the initiative and dedicate themselves to solving problems. Esther is that person.
*There are people who work together to make things better. These are the Jews who prayed together.
*There are people who only enjoy the fruits while watching. Undisclosed, but some Jews.
I hope to see what my life looks like.
Just as Esther prepared Esther for God's people in the crisis of absolute extinction, God gives His people a way of escape from any tribulation. God does not change in the past, now, or forever. If it worked like that then, it works like that today. That's why we read the Bible. When we pray, God raises his hand. You change the problem. When we do not give in to problems and act with faith, He gives us the amazing work of reversal. I hope that you will become believers who always meet God anew with this kind of faith. I pray that you will become saints who happily fulfill their missions.