Not Your Typical Church Lady

In the last article we talked about Daniel, but I had also mentioned reading the book of Esther. Well guess what was next on the recommended daily readings? Yep, it was Esther. Now I know that many folks prefer not to read their Bibles for some reason, but you really need to read the whole book of Esther yourself. It is so riveting and action packed that I can't even begin to go over the whole exciting thing in the detail it deserves.

In it we meet Hadassah, a.k.a. Esther, an orphan who was raised by her cousin, Mordecai, and came to be queen. Her cousin Mordecai foiled an evil plot to assassinate the king. Later, a fellow named Haman (he's a bad guy) came on the scene and rose to become well known to the king. Haman didn't like that Mordecai (a Jew) refused to bow to him whenever he walked past so he began to plot a way to not only get rid of Mordecai, but all the Jews. A lot was cast and a date was set to wipe out the Jews. The decree went out across the land, signed in the king's name and sealed by the king's own ring. Mordecai told Esther about it and asked her to intercede before the king, who did not know that Esther herself was a Jew. In the end (seriously, please go read this book – I'm skipping over many juicy details and plot twists here, you will not be disappointed) another decree was made and went out in the king's name, signed by his ring in every language saying that on the day that the Jews were set to be killed that they had the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality that might attack them. This was HUGE news for the Jewish people. They defended themselves and were victorious.

Next on the daily reading list was Nehemiah, which is located right in front of the book of Esther. In this book we learn how Nehemiah, a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, was given permission to return to Jerusalem where he oversaw the project of rebuilding the walls and the gates surrounding it. In this book we read how their enemies became a threat to the point that those who were rebuilding the wall worked with one hand and carried a sword in the other. Those working on the wall did not lose sight of their objective and their mission. They stayed focused on the task at hand and at the same time were ready to defend themselves if necessary.

In addition to the regular daily readings, I prefer to read at least one Psalm each day. It just so happened that Psalm 27 was on my rotation. It seemed to tie in perfectly with the above two readings. Here are some excerpts from it:

"The Lord is my light and salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besieges me, my heart will not fear; though war breaks out against me, even then I will be confident." (Psalm 27:1-3, NIV.)

"For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord." (Psalm 27:5-6, NIV.)

"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:13-14, NIV.)

It would seem that in all these readings, an enemy is threatening disaster in some way. An interesting fact about the book of Esther is that God is not mentioned once in it, but he is still at work and moving on behalf of his people. He has aligned just the right people to be at just the right place at just the right time. It all works out with beautiful precision. In Nehemiah, he gives Nehemiah discernment and leadership skills to know how to react to the situation and how to handle troublemakers. In Psalm 27, David lays out his problems before the Lord and continues in confidence, knowing that he will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Esther, Nehemiah and David all had real enemies, people who wanted to harm them. God gave them the wisdom for each situation. Perhaps we can remember these examples in times of trouble in our own lives.

Seek God with sincerity of heart and open yourself to the way in which he will answer.