May 14 ~ Judges 4:1-10
1-3 The People of Israel kept right on doing evil in God's sight. With Ehud dead, God sold them off to Jabin king of Canaan who ruled from Hazor. Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim, was the commander of his army. The People of Israel cried out to God because he had cruelly oppressed them with his nine hundred iron chariots for twenty years.
4-5 Deborah was a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth. She was judge over Israel at that time. She held court under Deborah's Palm between Ramah and Bethel in the hills of Ephraim. The People of Israel went to her in matters of justice.
6-7 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "It has become clear that God, the God of Israel, commands you: Go to Mount Tabor and prepare for battle. Take ten companies of soldiers from Naphtali and Zebulun. I'll take care of getting Sisera, the leader of Jabin's army, to the Kishon River with all his chariots and troops. And I'll make sure you win the battle."
8 Barak said, "If you go with me, I'll go. But if you don't go with me, I won't go."
9-10 She said, "Of course I'll go with you. But understand that with an attitude like that, there'll be no glory in it for you. God will use a woman's hand to take care of Sisera."
Deborah got ready and went with Barak to Kedesh. Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together at Kedesh. Ten companies of men followed him. And Deborah was with him.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Why do you suppose I am having you read this passage? On the first pass, it may seem terribly confusing. All of those names and leaders and rulers run together and don’t make sense! Let me break it down for you. The people of Israel are still disobeying God and doing evil things, so He allows the King of Canaan – named Jabin – to buy the Israelites. Sisera is head of Jabin’s army.
Deborah, a prophetess, is the Judge of the Israelites. She ruled on all the legal matters for the Israelites. She told her military leader, Barak, that God was ordering him to take Israelite soldiers to meet Sisera’s army. She told Barak that she would try to see that he won the battle. Barak agreed to go if Deborah would go with her. Deborah told Barak that she would do this, but God would take the “win” from him and give it to a woman! So Barak led ten companies of men to war with Sisera, and Deborah went with him.
I think this is an example of two things: 1) God does get irritated with us and while He would never turn His back on us, sometimes He is left with no choice but to punish us for our sins; and 2) sometimes it can seem like God has left us, and we cry out to Him, and we feel like He doesn’t hear us. In this passage we learn that the Israelites cried out to God for TWENTY YEARS of oppression. I doubt very seriously that any of us will feel the wrath of God for twenty years, but it IS possible… and even twenty minutes may feel like twenty years when we are talking God’s wrath. I just can’t imagine anything more horrible.
What is the lesson? I don’t mean to be flip about it, but basically, the lesson is “Don’t mess around with God!” Don’t make Him angry… nothing is worth risking His oppression and punishment. Nothing is risking one minute of feeling separated from our Heavenly Father. We may not be cruelly oppressed with nine hundred iron chariots, but it will certainly feel like it! Stay in obedience to God’s Word for your life. Live in His blessings, not His blastings!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 13 ~ Esther 8:1-2
1-2 That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, archenemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king because Esther had explained their relationship. The king took off his signet ring, which he had taken back from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. Esther appointed Mordecai over Haman's estate.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
I encourage you to go ahead and finish reading the Book of Esther on your own. If you don’t own a copy of The Message you can go to www.biblegateway.org to read this passage in this translation and many others. The rest of the story is that Esther pleaded for Xerxes to reverse his order to kill all of the Jews in Susa, and Xerxes did that. Because of the faith of one young woman, an entire race of people in this city were saved from death.
We have studied Esther for several days now, because I want us to realize that we tend to get bogged down in feeling so sorry for ourselves. Yes, there are bad things happening in our world today. Yes, it often seems like we are spiraling out of control and headed for hell on earth! But all we have to do is look at the Book of Esther and other stories in the Bible – all we have to do is look at what the Romans did to Jesus on the cross – and we see that nothing is new under the sun, and trouble and heartache are not 21st century inventions. But we also must see that God is still with us. He is still in control… His will should still be OUR will, and His blessings extend to us as much as they did to Esther and others. Thank Him today for never changing. Thank Him today for His loving grace and mercy upon us. Think of Esther and have faith!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 12 ~ Esther 7
1-2 So the king and Haman went to dinner with Queen Esther. At this second dinner, while they were drinking wine the king again asked, "Queen Esther, what would you like? Half of my kingdom! Just ask and it's yours."
3 Queen Esther answered, "If I have found favor in your eyes, O King, and if it please the king, give me my life, and give my people their lives.
4 "We've been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed—sold to be massacred, eliminated. If we had just been sold off into slavery, I wouldn't even have brought it up; our troubles wouldn't have been worth bothering the king over."
5 King Xerxes exploded, "Who? Where is he? This is monstrous!"
6 "An enemy. An adversary. This evil Haman," said Esther.
Haman was terror-stricken before the king and queen.
7-8 The king, raging, left his wine and stalked out into the palace garden.
Haman stood there pleading with Queen Esther for his life—he could see that the king was finished with him and that he was doomed. As the king came back from the palace garden into the banquet hall, Haman was groveling at the couch on which Esther reclined. The king roared out, "Will he even molest the queen while I'm just around the corner?"
When that word left the king's mouth, all the blood drained from Haman's face.
9 Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, spoke up: "Look over there! There's the gallows that Haman had built for Mordecai, who saved the king's life. It's right next to Haman's house—seventy-five feet high!"
The king said, "Hang him on it!"
10 So Haman was hanged on the very gallows that he had built for Mordecai. And the king's hot anger cooled.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Have you ever heard the saying “Things are not always as they seem?” I think that would clearly apply here. Haman was seriously mistaken about Esther’s impression of him. And I don’t think he realized how deeply King Xerxes loved Esther. In a day when it was not always popular to be kind and accepting of Jews, Xerxes was very forward thinking and open minded. He did not feel the same as Haman toward these people, and when he found out that Haman had tricked him into ordering their murder, he was NOT amused.
Aren’t we often like Haman? Don’t we sometimes twist and turn things so that they fit our agenda? If we have a group or an issue we oppose or dislike, rather than come right out and say something that might be politically incorrect or socially disgraceful, we work behind the scenes to twist and turn things and achieve our personal goals. Maybe you have never done this – I hope so! But I know people who have. Maybe a boss tells his/her employees, when they ask, you say this or that. I’ll cover for you.
I knew of a teacher whose principal and superintendent wanted him to say he taught a class that was required by the state Department of Education for accreditation. All this person had to do was sign a paper. But he did NOT teach the class, so it was an out-and-out lie to sign the paper… but to not sign meant he would probably lose his job. He didn’t sign. I am pretty sure he lost his job. But the good news is that he sought another job… a better job in another school district! God provided for his honesty and faithfulness.
You may know of someone who is being deceitful… or someone may be trying to get you to be dishonest or deceptive – or cruel and unkind. And it may be really hard to refuse… the stakes may be really, really high! But think of Esther and Mordecai… remember what happened to Haman… and ask God for strength and courage to do the right thing. He will support you. He will give you everything you need. Walk in faith… you were made for such a time as this!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 11 ~ Esther 6
1-2 That night the king couldn't sleep. He ordered the record book, the day-by-day journal of events, to be brought and read to him. They came across the story there about the time that Mordecai had exposed the plot of Bigthana and Teresh—the two royal eunuchs who guarded the entrance and who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
3 The king asked, "What great honor was given to Mordecai for this?"
"Nothing," replied the king's servants who were in attendance. "Nothing has been done for him."
4 The king said, "Is there anybody out in the court?"
Now Haman had just come into the outer court of the king's palace to talk to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had built for him.
5 The king's servants said, "Haman is out there, waiting in the court."
"Bring him in," said the king.
6-9 When Haman entered, the king said, "What would be appropriate for the man the king especially wants to honor?"
Haman thought to himself, "He must be talking about honoring me— who else?" So he answered the king, "For the man the king delights to honor, do this: Bring a royal robe that the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crown on its head. Then give the robe and the horse to one of the king's most noble princes. Have him robe the man whom the king especially wants to honor; have the prince lead him on horseback through the city square, proclaiming before him, 'This is what is done for the man whom the king especially wants to honor!'"
10 "Go and do it," the king said to Haman. "Don't waste another minute. Take the robe and horse and do what you have proposed to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the King's Gate. Don't leave out a single detail of your plan."
11 So Haman took the robe and horse; he robed Mordecai and led him through the city square, proclaiming before him, "This is what is done for the man whom the king especially wants to honor!"
12-13 Then Mordecai returned to the King's Gate, but Haman fled to his house, thoroughly mortified, hiding his face. When Haman had finished telling his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his knowledgeable friends who were there and his wife Zeresh said, "If this Mordecai is in fact a Jew, your bad luck has only begun. You don't stand a chance against him—you're as good as ruined."
14 While they were still talking, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman off to the dinner that Esther had prepared.
(Scripture from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Do you get what happened here? Xerxes started reading his diary and realized that Mordecai had sent word (through Esther) that men were plotting to kill him. He asked if anything had been done to thank Mordecai, and his servants said nothing had been done. So Xerxes asks Haman, the egomaniac, “If I really wanted to honor someone, how would I do it?” and of course, Haman, being the egomaniac, thinks he’s talking about HIM, so he suggests parading him through town on a donkey, adorned in a purple robe, a crown, and a scepter. Xerxes thinks this is a fabulous idea, and he orders it done – for Mordecai the JEW!!!
When Haman figures this out, he runs home to his wife, kicking and screaming, so to speak, and the wife tells him he’s ruined! The score is now Mordecai/Esther 1, Haman 0!!! And now, to add insult to injury, Haman still has to go to dinner with Esther and Xerxes!
What does this have to do with us? Simply, it shows two things: 1) God has a sense of humor, and 2) you cannot fool God! He sees the inner person… He knows the truth – always! Mordecai and Esther were faithful, and God was not going to let Haman get by with harming them. And God is waiting to protect us when we are faithful, too. Does this mean nothing bad will ever happen? NO! But it means that God will never give us more than we can handle – with His help! So our lesson today is to trust God, stay the course, be faithful, and abide in His loving care and protection. Nothing can defeat us when we are in God’s will! Live strong in Him!!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 10 ~ Esther 5:1-14
1-3 Three days later Esther dressed in her royal robes and took up a position in the inner court of the palace in front of the king's throne room. The king was on his throne facing the entrance. When he noticed Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased to see her; the king extended the gold scepter in his hand. Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. The king asked, "And what's your desire, Queen Esther? What do you want? Ask and it's yours—even if it's half my kingdom!"
4 "If it please the king," said Esther, "let the king come with Haman to a dinner I've prepared for him."
5-6"Get Haman at once," said the king, "so we can go to dinner with Esther."
So the king and Haman joined Esther at the dinner she had arranged. As they were drinking the wine, the king said, "Now, what is it you want? Half of my kingdom isn't too much to ask! Just ask."
7-8 Esther answered, "Here's what I want. If the king favors me and is pleased to do what I desire and ask, let the king and Haman come again tomorrow to the dinner that I will fix for them. Then I'll give a straight answer to the king's question." 9-13 Haman left the palace that day happy, beaming. And then he saw Mordecai sitting at the King's Gate ignoring him, oblivious to him. Haman was furious with Mordecai. But he held himself in and went on home. He got his friends together with his wife Zeresh and started bragging about how much money he had, his many sons, all the times the king had honored him, and his promotion to the highest position in the government. "On top of all that," Haman continued, "Queen Esther invited me to a private dinner she gave for the king, just the three of us. And she's invited me to another one tomorrow. But I can't enjoy any of it when I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the King's Gate."
14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends said, "Build a gallows seventy-five feet high. First thing in the morning speak with the king; get him to order Mordecai hanged on it. Then happily go with the king to dinner."
Haman liked that. He had the gallows built.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
You gotta love Esther! She is playing games with Haman, drawing him in and making him think she likes him and enjoys his company, when all the time, she is setting a huge trap. She has to be scared to death, because the fate of her family is at stake and on her shoulders, and yet, she can see what a despicable, egomaniac Haman is, and he is playing right into her hand. She holds all the cards, because Xerxes loves her, and he has told her repeatedly that “half of my kingdom isn’t too much to ask. Just ask.”
I am not a patient person. I don’t know if I would have been able to play this game as long as Esther did, even if I knew that it would get me the desired result in the end. But sometimes, even when we know what we are working for is God’s will, He doesn’t give us what we desire right away. Often there is something to be learned in the waiting. Haman is planning to have Esther’s cousin Mordecai hanged before the next dinner, but you will soon see that God is going to make some changes to Haman’s plans. When we stay in God’s will and let Him lead us, He may not do things on our time table, but He always does them perfectly.
So the next time you are facing a situation where you KNOW you are on the right track, but things just keep coming up to slow you down, ask God if HE is causing the delays. It may be that He has things that need to be accomplished along the way. Ask Him to help you be patient and follow HIS plans rather than your own. The end result will be far, far better and worth the wait!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 9 ~ Esther 4:9-11
9-11 Hathach came back and told Esther everything Mordecai had said. Esther talked it over with Hathach and then sent him back to Mordecai with this message: "Everyone who works for the king here, and even the people out in the provinces, knows that there is a single fate for every man or woman who approaches the king without being invited: death. The one exception is if the king extends his gold scepter; then he or she may live. And it's been thirty days now since I've been invited to come to the king."
12-14 When Hathach told Mordecai what Esther had said, Mordecai sent her this message: "Don't think that just because you live in the king's house you're the one Jew who will get out of this alive. If you persist in staying silent at a time like this, help and deliverance will arrive for the Jews from someplace else; but you and your family will be wiped out. Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this."
15-16 Esther sent back her answer to Mordecai: "Go and get all the Jews living in Susa together. Fast for me. Don't eat or drink for three days, either day or night. I and my maids will fast with you. If you will do this, I'll go to the king, even though it's forbidden. If I die, I die."
17 Mordecai left and carried out Esther's instructions.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
How far are you willing to go for those you love? Would you be as strong as Esther? Would you be willing to risk your life to save the lives of others? I think of the story I read on the Internet of the mother who risked everything to flee a life in the Mormon Church. She waited until she thought her husband was gone, and she gathered her eight children into the family van, only to realize it barely had enough gas to get them down the road. Filling the tank earlier would have tipped off the husband, so she took a chance, and somehow – miraculously - the nearly empty tank held out to get the family to safety.
I think of battered women and children who fear telling someone, knowing if they are not rescued, the consequences of telling will be horrendous, possibly fatal. And yet, they know if they don’t tell, horrible things will continue to happen. I am reminded of those like Corrie Ten Boom who aided Jews to escape the Nazis, and those who aided slaves in escaping via the "underground railroad" in the era of the Civil War. I think of the girl who stared down the barrel of a gun at Columbine and claimed to love Jesus… and woke up in Heaven in His arms.
And I wonder… would I have such courage? Every day, in ways great and small, we are called to be “Esthers.” We are called to step out and invite someone to church instead of standing nervously on one foot and another and letting the moment pass. We are called to stand up and say, “I will not participate in XYZ because God’s Word tells me not to do this.” We are called to witness and minister and love and comfort and rescue in His name. We, too, were made “for such a time as this.” So what will we do? Will we accept our mission and trust God to sustain us, no matter what happens? It’s a big challenge, and the stakes are high. Are you up for it?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 8 ~ Esther 4:1-8
1-3 When Mordecai learned what had been done, he ripped his clothes to shreds and put on sackcloth and ashes. Then he went out in the streets of the city crying out in loud and bitter cries. He came only as far as the King's Gate, for no one dressed in sackcloth was allowed to enter the King's Gate. As the king's order was posted in every province, there was loud lament among the Jews - fasting, weeping, wailing. And most of them stretched out on sackcloth and ashes.
4-8 Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her. The queen was stunned. She sent fresh clothes to Mordecai so he could take off his sackcloth but he wouldn't accept them. Esther called for Hathach, one of the royal eunuchs whom the king had assigned to wait on her, and told him to go to Mordecai and get the full story of what was happening. So Hathach went to Mordecai in the town square in front of the King's Gate. Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him. He also told him the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to deposit in the royal bank to finance the massacre of the Jews. Mordecai also gave him a copy of the bulletin that had been posted in Susa ordering the massacre so he could show it to Esther when he reported back with instructions to go to the king and intercede and plead with him for her people.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
”Will you talk to him/her for me?” That question is asked over and over. You ask a friend to talk to your boyfriend (or girlfriend) for you and find out what went wrong or what they are thinking. You ask someone to talk to your mom or dad and see if they can convince them to let you do something (or have something or go some place) you want. You ask a co-worker to talk to the boss and see what he/she plans to do about XYZ. And that’s what Esther’s cousin Mordecai is doing … he is sending word to her to please ask the king NOT to do this horrible thing. Please ask him to reconsider his order to kill all of the Jews.
Did you notice that Mordecai ripped his clothes and put on sack cloth? That was a symbol that he was incredibly distressed. Have you ever been that upset? Have you ever hurt so deeply or been so mad or frustrated that you wished you could just rip your shirt right off your chest? Have you ever felt like you had nowhere to turn and nobody to help you? Then you know how hopeless – and helpless – Mordecai felt. And you see that this is nothing new. People have experienced these emotions and horribly disturbing situations for centuries!
The DIFFERENCE in Mordecai’s situation and ours is that Mordecai really had only one hope – Esther’s appeal to Xerxes. WE, on the other hand, have options. First and foremost, we have Jesus. Because of Him, we can go before God and plead our case directly and ask for His help and direction. Secondly, as Christians, we (hopefully) have fellow brothers and sisters we can go to and share our difficulties and ask for help. Hopefully we have church leaders and mentors who can help us sort out our problems. If you are not comfortable speaking with your pastor(s), maybe you know a Sunday School teacher, adult leader, or other church member or Christian friend who can provide insight and understanding. Maybe you have a parent or trusted family member who will listen and/or intercede for you.
God has given us resources in the form of Christian brothers and sisters to help us sort out our troubles and find His will for our lives. We are so blessed that we are not depending on the whims of a fickle king and the persuasions of his queen. We serve the King of Kings, and His door is always open to all of us.
©2008 Debbie Robus
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