EXHORTATION FOR ESTHER

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14 NKJV).

Evil Haman had concocted a plan to annihilate the Jews. Mordecai warned Esther about the peril of silence. This exhortation is applicable to all believers. Thus we want to note the responsibility, replacement, and retribution in the exhortation.

Responsibility - “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther’s selection to be queen was not accidental but providential. She was put there to help her people at this very critical time. We are not given position and possessions just for our own enjoyment but for God’s glory. Esther was made queen not just to live in luxury, but for service to the Lord. Our gifts and talents are our responsibilities, as well as our obligations. Providence both guides and obligates.

Replacement – “If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place.” No one is indispensable and God can do without us. If we fail to use our talents and opportunities for the Lord, He will use someone else and we would miss out on an opportunity to serve. We do not want to be castaways. Good stewardship of opportunities is necessary for participation in service.

Retribution - “You and your father’s house will perish.” Failing to make use of our responsibilities will not only result in our replacement, but there will be Divine retribution. The Lord Jesus taught this same truth in the parable of the man who did not use his talent but hid it in the ground. As a result of not using his talent, the man not only lost his talent (Matt. 25:28); but he was also severely punished (Matt. 25:30). God does not look kindly upon those who will not use their blessings for His service.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Your life is God’s gift to you; what you do with it is your gift to God!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Devour

In 1 Peter 5:8 we read, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (NKJV).

Devour is the Greek word katapinō (καταπίνω = kat-a-ee'-no). It is made up of two words: “katá” which means down, and “pínō” which means to drink. Thus the word means to cause something to pass through the mouth and into the stomach; to gulp down. Literally to drink down, and so to swallow and to swallow up completely. Figuratively katapinō means to cause the complete and sudden destruction of someone or something.

In Classical Greek katapinō means to gulp down or to swallow. In the Septuagint katapinō has a negative connotation and means to swallow up or to destroy. In the New Testament katapinō pictures the overwhelming of one thing by another.

It is therefore clear to see that our enemy is seeking to bring us to spiritual ruin, to demoralize us so that we are on the sidelines. He wants to weaken our faith and replace it with fear. Peter’s point is that this “lion” doesn’t just want to scratch us but he wants to ‘chew us up’ and ‘swallow us down,’ seeking to devour us by destroying our faith that we cease from walking dynamically with God. He wants to ruin out testimony.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – During Messiah’s suffering, there would be darkness over the land (Amos 8:9).

New Testament Fulfillment – Matt. 27:45

Bible Facts

Olive oil and wine useful on wounds (Luke 10:34). Jesus told of a Samaritan man, who when he came upon a wounded traveler, he bandaged him - pouring upon his wounds olive oil and wine. Today we know that wine contains ethyl alcohol and traces of methyl alcohol. Both are good disinfectants. Olive oil is also a good disinfectant, as well as a skin moisturizer, protector, and soothing lotion. However, during the Middle Ages and right up till the early 20th century, millions died because they did not know how to treat and protect open wounds.

Bible Quiz

Who said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ?”

**Answer to last week’s trivia: According to Revelation 5, where will the redeemed reign? Upon the earth (Rev. 5:10).

That’s in the Bible

"Law of the Medians and Persians”

“Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter” (Dan. 6:8 KJV).

“Law of the Medes and Persians” - The expression “law of the Medes and Persians” refers to that which cannot be changed. Because of his godly lifestyle, Daniel’s enemies wanted to get rid of him. However, they could find no reason to accuse him before the king. So they asked the king to write a law, recording it in a way that could not be changed or recalled. By praying to God, Daniel was seen as being in violation of the law. This is a reminder to believers that living godly will not exempt us from persecution (2 Tim. 3:12).

Did You Know - Christian History

Frederick William Robertson was born February 3, 1816 in London, England. He was an evangelist and clergy of the Church of England.

Young Frederick W. Robertson wanted to join the army. But his evangelical father urged him to enter the ministry and circumstances pushed the young man in that direction. He threw himself heart and soul into training. Filled with determination, Frederick became one of the greatest preachers of the 19th Century England.

As a preacher, Frederick was noted above all else for trying to get into the skin of Bible characters. It was this which he tried to pass on to those that he taught. He worked hard, researching his sermons and preaching them only when he was sure he had the true meaning. Preaching the truth was far better than refuting error, he believed.

By ‘soul-winning,’ Frederick meant getting a person to make a deliberate decision to follow Christ, followed by a conscious effort to live a Christian life and to join the fellowship of the church. His method was by preaching sermons that had direct application to the day. Robertson’s published works include five volumes of sermons, two volumes of expository lectures on Genesis and on the epistles to the Corinthians, a volume of miscellaneous addresses, and an Analysis of “In Memoriam.”

The careful search for truth and the exhausting work of caring for his parish at Brighton wore him out. He took unpopular political stands and this brought him much criticism. A lonely man, the strain broke his health. He preached only thirteen years, dying at the young age of 37. His printed sermons came to be widely admired after his death

A Little Humor

A father was teaching his son to admire the beauties of nature. “Look son,” he exclaimed, “isn’t that a beautiful picture God has painted?” “It sure is, dad,” responded the youngster enthusiastically, “especially since God had to paint it with His left hand.” The father was baffled. “What do you mean, His left hand?” “Well,” said the boy, “my Sunday school teacher said that Jesus was sitting on God’s right hand.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Try Jesus before you reject him!”