"Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this."
“So Mordecai told him [Hathach, Esther's attendant] all that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries to destroy the Jews. He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was give and Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people. So Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: 'All the kings servants and the people of the provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law; put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.'
So they told Mordecai Esther's words. And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: 'Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. 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.'
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 'Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shusan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:7-16)
In Matthew 16:24-25 (NLT), Jesus says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.'”
We are all presented by God with an invitation into something greater than ourselves as we choose to trust in Him rather than choose self preservation out of fear and lack of trust in God. He offers us the opportunity to enter into the dance of life with Him --laying down our lives for a greater purpose than ourselves (despite fears) out of love for God and connection to His greater kingdom purposes.
Not only does Mordecai confront Esther for her fear and desire for self protection, but he helps her to wonder what God's invitation to her might look like to her. “He asks her, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” He invites her into something that is bigger than herself.
Esther knew she had been given the position as queen. She also knew all the laws that surrounded this role as queen. What she did not know, however, was the position she held in the kings heart. To approach the inner court of the king and live, she had to find great favor in his sight. [a]
By stepping out in faith and giving herself fully to a greater cause than herself, she discovered she held a place in the kings heart. Esther 5:2-3 says, “So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter. And the king said to her, 'What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you – up to half the kingdom!'”
Esther did not immediately reveal her request to spare her people. Instead, she invited the king and Haman to come to a banquet she prepared for them. Perhaps she wanted to see what position she held in the kings heart compared to Haman, her enemy, first before she revealed her purpose for coming to the king.
Psalm 23:5 says, “You prepare a banquet for me while my enemies watch. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.”
Esther chose a path of getting to know the kings heart towards her before she risked making her petition to him. After the first day of the banquet, when asked by the king what her request was, she again asked for him to come another day to the banquet with Haman.
Then on the second day, after having some time to get to know the king and his heart towards her, when he asked a third time what was her petition, she made her request --for her life and the life of her people. The king was enraged that someone would threaten her life and the life of her people. When Esther told the king that it was Haman, he commanded him hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.
Esther 8:1 says, “On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews.”
Psalm 53:5 says, “God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them.”
Esther truly had been created and put in her position for 'such a time as this.' She found that in the place of laying down her fears and self-interests, there was something much greater for her. She could enter into a bigger story than herself and find that God not only was capable of sustaining her and protecting her in this place, but could use her to accomplish great purposes.
John Maxwell writes, “Esther put the cause of her people above her instinct for self-preservation -and not only lived, but enabled many others to live as well.”[1]
In the middle of all her difficulties, she came to really know God rather than just knowing about Him. Like Job, she could proclaim, “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.” (Job 42:5)
God deeply desires that we would truly get to know Him and His heart towards us rather than just knowing about Him. Hosea 6:3,6 says, “Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth... For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
Without knowledge of God people perish in their sin. Proverbs 5:23 says, “He will die for lack of instruction [also translated doctrine], And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.”
And Job 36:12 says, “But if they do not obey, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.”
The Lord brings a charge against Israel for their lack of knowledge of Him in Hosea 4:1b-2, 6. He says, “'There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint, with bloodshed upon bloodshed... My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
Proverbs 1:7 notes that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Esther was wise and had a healthy respect for the king and his position. She was not like Queen Vashti who disrespected the king by refusing to obey the kings commands and totally disregarded him when he called for her.
Sometimes people treat God like He is just there to meet their personal needs. They treat Him as some personal vending machine in the sky who, if you manipulate just right, he will answer their every whim and beckoning for money, power, success, and a preferred parking space. They are not willing to listen to Him or honor His commands. When they do not get their way, they become offended by Him.
A.W. Tozer writes in “The Knowledge of the Holy,” To regain her lost power the Church must see heaven opened and have a transforming vision of God. But the God we must see is not the utilitarian God who is having such a run of popularity today, whose chief claim to men's attention is His ability to bring them success in their various undertakings and who for that reason is being cajoled and flattered by everyone who wants a favor.
The God we must learn to know is the Majesty in the heavens, God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, the only wise God our Saviour. He it is that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, who stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in, who bringeth out His starry host by number and calleth them all by name through the greatness of His power, who seeth the works of man as vanity, who putteth no confidence in princes and and asks no counsel of kings.” [2]
Like Queen Vashti, one thing that can get in the way of this is pride. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
One sees themselves as significant in their own eyes and so their focus is centered on themselves rather than on God's purposes which involve the greater good of others (at the expense our our self-interests). John Maxwell writes that humility is the pinnacle of wisdom. [3]
Proverbs 15:33 says “The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor [i.e. wisdom, see Proverbs 11:2, 3:15].
John Maxwell goes on to note, “In the words of Ezra Taft Benson, 'Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.' Humble leaders do not consider their own ideas and projects to be sacred.” He notes that humble leaders follow “the best course of action—regardless of who suggests it.” [4]
Humble leaders also recognize that their vision cannot be accomplished in isolation so they invite others to join them in pursuing it according to John Maxwell. He notes that they cherish and intentionally cultivate friendships. They do not see life as an individual quest for glory , “but as an adventure to be enjoyed in the company of fellow travelers.” [5]
Hosea 10:8 says, “Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars; They shall say to the mountains, 'Cover us!' And to the hills, 'Fall on us!'”
What drew the adulterous Israelites back to God to seek after Him again was the affliction they experienced. The Lord says in Hosea 5:15, “In their affliction they will earnestly seek me.”
When people experienced difficult circumstances in the Bible, they more frequently stopped relying on themselves and returned to God. It is prosperity and ease that often lead to people getting puffed up. In prosperity, people grow complacent and indulgent.
It was in the place of drought and famine that the Israelites 'knew' the Lord and the place of rich pasture that the people 'forgot' God. The Lord says in Hosea 13:4-6, “Yet I am the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me; For there is no savior besides Me. I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. When they had pasture, they were filled; they were filled and their heart was exalted; Therefore they forgot Me.”
It is much more painful to have our “high places of Aven” [vanity] destroyed through affliction than willingly laying them down, casting all those things we get our value and significance from before the feet of Jesus.
As we humbly die to our vanity, selfish interests, and complacency, we become more available to experience God. Our hearts are purified and we come to 'know Him' for who He truly is. Jesus says in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
We must actually have encounters with God to know Him. Reading or hearing about Him is not enough. A.W. Tozer writes, “Knowledge of such a Being cannot be gained by study alone. It comes by a wisdom the natural man knows nothing of, neither can know, because it is spiritually discerned. To know God is at once the easiest and the most difficult thing in the world. It is easy because the knowledge is not won by hard mental toil, but is something freely given. As unlight falls free on the open field, so the knowledge of the holy God is a free gift to men who are open to receive it. But this knowledge is difficult because there are conditions to be met and the obstinate nature of fallen man does not take kindly to them.” [6]
We need to seek after and pursue Him with our whole hearts. Hosea 10:12 says, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.”
And Deuteronomy 4:29 says, that if we seek the Lord, we will find him if we look for Him with all our hearts and with all our souls.
However, what drives us to run after Him and pursue Him is that we taste His love for us. Song 1:2-4 says, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth – for your love is better than wine. Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, your name is ointment poured forth; Therefore the virgins love you. Draw me away! We will run after you.”
“How great Your love for us” sings in the background
Just like Esther, we become much more interested when we find out that He is not standing back judging us or holding us to the letter of the law. Instead, the king extends great favor towards us. As we begin to experience His heart, we pursue Him with greater passion. And as we create space to feast with Him, such as Esther did as she prepared a banquet to get to know better the kings heart towards her, we desire and thirst for Him more.
“The beauty of your majesty awakes my heart to see, How marvelous, how wonderful you are. Beautiful one I love, Beautiful one I adore, Beautiful one my soul must sing.”
One way we feast on His love, creating space for Him and growing deeper in knowledge of Him is through His Word. [7] Meditation on His Word draws us into knowledge of Him. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
His word is a gift to us to draw us into greater knowledge of Him. A.W Tozer writes, “...we must practice the art of long and loving meditation up the majesty of God... God is a Person and can be known in increasing degrees of intimate acquaintance as we prepare our hearts for wonder. It may be necessary for us to altar our former beliefs about God as the glory that gilds the Sacred Scriptures dawns over our interior lives.. We may also need to break quietly and graciously with the lifeless textualism that prevails among the gospel churches, and to protest the frivolous character of much that passes for Christianity among us.” [8]
We are to delight in the Word and follow it with our whole hearts. In this place our hearts are 'revived' - set on fire for Him and His kingdom purposes. Psalm 119:89-93 says, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides. They continue this day according to Your ordinances, for all are Your servants. Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them You have given me life.”
Finally, as Paul Anleitner, the worship leader for a monthly prayer meeting I attend, has noted on occasion, “justice is the fruit of revival.” As our hearts are set on fire from encountering His love and experiencing Him through His Word, we are moved towards acts of justice. We put our hands to seeing God's greater kingdom purposes come forth. And as we move towards expressing God's mercy and love to others, we come to know Him in deeper ways than we ever could otherwise.
A.W. Tozer writes, “... as the knowledge of God becomes more wonderful, greater service to our fellow men will become for us imperative. This blessed knowledge is not given to be enjoyed selfishly. The more perfectly we know God the more we will feel the desire to translate the new-found knowledge into deeds of mercy toward suffering humanity. The God who gave all to us will continue to give all through us as we come to know Him better.” [9]
So what can I learn from all of this?
Esther is a beautiful story of the sovereignty of God, His purposes, His love and favor in the midst of Him honoring our freedom to choose. God is never mentioned in the book but His heart print is demonstrated throughout the pages.
What it makes me think and wonder about, is that maybe we have been chosen and placed with great care and love in this season [the generation that endures the tribulation and sees the return of Christ with their very own eyes] 'for such a time as this.' And if so, just as Esther, we all have freedom to choose what we do with it. We can enter into His greater purposes or shrink back in fear.
When we experience difficulties, trials and shaking, we can hold on to our lives in fear and self preservation. We can choose not to take risks or lay down our lives. Or we can look to God and wonder about His invitation. What does it look like to enter into his purposes during this season? What is His bigger story that He is working to accomplish? And what does it look like to lay down our lives and risk what we have been given for the greater good of others?
“Give to the wind your fears, hope and be undismayed... God will lift up your head”
Perhaps, just as Esther, in stepping out in faith and giving ourselves to a greater cause than our own self-interests and fears, we will discover in greater measure the place we hold in the kings heart. We will find that as the king extends to us His hand to enter into this last dance with Him, He is more than able to sustain us. Perhaps we will be able to say with Job and Esther, I had heard of you with my ears, but now I see You with my eyes.
Father, there is nothing I desire more than this last dance with You. Lord, we long to enter into the fullness of all You have invited us into. Forgive us where, like Esther, we may have been reluctant. Thank you for the Mordecai's you send along side of us to encourage us. Would you lift us above our fears and self-interests. Would you help us to enter in to what You have for us in this time and season with our whole hearts. And, with Esther, may we come to know You and Your love for us in ways we never could otherwise.
May “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding begin enlightened that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” (Ephesians 2:17-21)
a. Note, some of the material on Esther is based out of a prophetic sermon on Esther I heard a year or so ago at TCHOP (Twin Cities House of Prayer) presented by MaryLynn Christopher.
1. Maxwell, John. The Maxwell Leadership Bible, Second Edition. NKJV. Lessons in Leadership from the Word of God. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, Tennessee. 2007.
2, 6, 8-9. Tozer, A.W. The Knowledge of the Holy. HarperCollins. New York, NY. 1961.
3-5. Maxwell, John. Seven Hallmarks of a Leader. Located at: http://www.johnmaxwell.com/articles/seven_hallmarks_of_a_leader Last Accessed: 4/12/11.
7. Russell, Corey. The Knowledge of God. Located at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K49r4O91C9c&feature=related. Last Accessed: 4/12/11
Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: 'All the kings servants and the people of the provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law; put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.'
So they told Mordecai Esther's words. And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: 'Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. 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.'
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 'Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shusan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:7-16)
In Matthew 16:24-25 (NLT), Jesus says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.'”
We are all presented by God with an invitation into something greater than ourselves as we choose to trust in Him rather than choose self preservation out of fear and lack of trust in God. He offers us the opportunity to enter into the dance of life with Him --laying down our lives for a greater purpose than ourselves (despite fears) out of love for God and connection to His greater kingdom purposes.
Not only does Mordecai confront Esther for her fear and desire for self protection, but he helps her to wonder what God's invitation to her might look like to her. “He asks her, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” He invites her into something that is bigger than herself.
Esther knew she had been given the position as queen. She also knew all the laws that surrounded this role as queen. What she did not know, however, was the position she held in the kings heart. To approach the inner court of the king and live, she had to find great favor in his sight. [a]
By stepping out in faith and giving herself fully to a greater cause than herself, she discovered she held a place in the kings heart. Esther 5:2-3 says, “So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter. And the king said to her, 'What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you – up to half the kingdom!'”
Esther did not immediately reveal her request to spare her people. Instead, she invited the king and Haman to come to a banquet she prepared for them. Perhaps she wanted to see what position she held in the kings heart compared to Haman, her enemy, first before she revealed her purpose for coming to the king.
Psalm 23:5 says, “You prepare a banquet for me while my enemies watch. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.”
Esther chose a path of getting to know the kings heart towards her before she risked making her petition to him. After the first day of the banquet, when asked by the king what her request was, she again asked for him to come another day to the banquet with Haman.
Then on the second day, after having some time to get to know the king and his heart towards her, when he asked a third time what was her petition, she made her request --for her life and the life of her people. The king was enraged that someone would threaten her life and the life of her people. When Esther told the king that it was Haman, he commanded him hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.
Esther 8:1 says, “On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews.”
Psalm 53:5 says, “God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them.”
Esther truly had been created and put in her position for 'such a time as this.' She found that in the place of laying down her fears and self-interests, there was something much greater for her. She could enter into a bigger story than herself and find that God not only was capable of sustaining her and protecting her in this place, but could use her to accomplish great purposes.
John Maxwell writes, “Esther put the cause of her people above her instinct for self-preservation -and not only lived, but enabled many others to live as well.”[1]
In the middle of all her difficulties, she came to really know God rather than just knowing about Him. Like Job, she could proclaim, “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.” (Job 42:5)
God deeply desires that we would truly get to know Him and His heart towards us rather than just knowing about Him. Hosea 6:3,6 says, “Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth... For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
Without knowledge of God people perish in their sin. Proverbs 5:23 says, “He will die for lack of instruction [also translated doctrine], And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.”
And Job 36:12 says, “But if they do not obey, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.”
The Lord brings a charge against Israel for their lack of knowledge of Him in Hosea 4:1b-2, 6. He says, “'There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint, with bloodshed upon bloodshed... My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
Proverbs 1:7 notes that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Esther was wise and had a healthy respect for the king and his position. She was not like Queen Vashti who disrespected the king by refusing to obey the kings commands and totally disregarded him when he called for her.
Sometimes people treat God like He is just there to meet their personal needs. They treat Him as some personal vending machine in the sky who, if you manipulate just right, he will answer their every whim and beckoning for money, power, success, and a preferred parking space. They are not willing to listen to Him or honor His commands. When they do not get their way, they become offended by Him.
A.W. Tozer writes in “The Knowledge of the Holy,” To regain her lost power the Church must see heaven opened and have a transforming vision of God. But the God we must see is not the utilitarian God who is having such a run of popularity today, whose chief claim to men's attention is His ability to bring them success in their various undertakings and who for that reason is being cajoled and flattered by everyone who wants a favor.
The God we must learn to know is the Majesty in the heavens, God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, the only wise God our Saviour. He it is that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, who stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in, who bringeth out His starry host by number and calleth them all by name through the greatness of His power, who seeth the works of man as vanity, who putteth no confidence in princes and and asks no counsel of kings.” [2]
Like Queen Vashti, one thing that can get in the way of this is pride. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
One sees themselves as significant in their own eyes and so their focus is centered on themselves rather than on God's purposes which involve the greater good of others (at the expense our our self-interests). John Maxwell writes that humility is the pinnacle of wisdom. [3]
Proverbs 15:33 says “The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor [i.e. wisdom, see Proverbs 11:2, 3:15].
John Maxwell goes on to note, “In the words of Ezra Taft Benson, 'Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.' Humble leaders do not consider their own ideas and projects to be sacred.” He notes that humble leaders follow “the best course of action—regardless of who suggests it.” [4]
Humble leaders also recognize that their vision cannot be accomplished in isolation so they invite others to join them in pursuing it according to John Maxwell. He notes that they cherish and intentionally cultivate friendships. They do not see life as an individual quest for glory , “but as an adventure to be enjoyed in the company of fellow travelers.” [5]
Hosea 10:8 says, “Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars; They shall say to the mountains, 'Cover us!' And to the hills, 'Fall on us!'”
What drew the adulterous Israelites back to God to seek after Him again was the affliction they experienced. The Lord says in Hosea 5:15, “In their affliction they will earnestly seek me.”
When people experienced difficult circumstances in the Bible, they more frequently stopped relying on themselves and returned to God. It is prosperity and ease that often lead to people getting puffed up. In prosperity, people grow complacent and indulgent.
It was in the place of drought and famine that the Israelites 'knew' the Lord and the place of rich pasture that the people 'forgot' God. The Lord says in Hosea 13:4-6, “Yet I am the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me; For there is no savior besides Me. I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. When they had pasture, they were filled; they were filled and their heart was exalted; Therefore they forgot Me.”
It is much more painful to have our “high places of Aven” [vanity] destroyed through affliction than willingly laying them down, casting all those things we get our value and significance from before the feet of Jesus.
As we humbly die to our vanity, selfish interests, and complacency, we become more available to experience God. Our hearts are purified and we come to 'know Him' for who He truly is. Jesus says in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
We must actually have encounters with God to know Him. Reading or hearing about Him is not enough. A.W. Tozer writes, “Knowledge of such a Being cannot be gained by study alone. It comes by a wisdom the natural man knows nothing of, neither can know, because it is spiritually discerned. To know God is at once the easiest and the most difficult thing in the world. It is easy because the knowledge is not won by hard mental toil, but is something freely given. As unlight falls free on the open field, so the knowledge of the holy God is a free gift to men who are open to receive it. But this knowledge is difficult because there are conditions to be met and the obstinate nature of fallen man does not take kindly to them.” [6]
We need to seek after and pursue Him with our whole hearts. Hosea 10:12 says, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.”
And Deuteronomy 4:29 says, that if we seek the Lord, we will find him if we look for Him with all our hearts and with all our souls.
However, what drives us to run after Him and pursue Him is that we taste His love for us. Song 1:2-4 says, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth – for your love is better than wine. Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, your name is ointment poured forth; Therefore the virgins love you. Draw me away! We will run after you.”
“How great Your love for us” sings in the background
Just like Esther, we become much more interested when we find out that He is not standing back judging us or holding us to the letter of the law. Instead, the king extends great favor towards us. As we begin to experience His heart, we pursue Him with greater passion. And as we create space to feast with Him, such as Esther did as she prepared a banquet to get to know better the kings heart towards her, we desire and thirst for Him more.
“The beauty of your majesty awakes my heart to see, How marvelous, how wonderful you are. Beautiful one I love, Beautiful one I adore, Beautiful one my soul must sing.”
One way we feast on His love, creating space for Him and growing deeper in knowledge of Him is through His Word. [7] Meditation on His Word draws us into knowledge of Him. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
His word is a gift to us to draw us into greater knowledge of Him. A.W Tozer writes, “...we must practice the art of long and loving meditation up the majesty of God... God is a Person and can be known in increasing degrees of intimate acquaintance as we prepare our hearts for wonder. It may be necessary for us to altar our former beliefs about God as the glory that gilds the Sacred Scriptures dawns over our interior lives.. We may also need to break quietly and graciously with the lifeless textualism that prevails among the gospel churches, and to protest the frivolous character of much that passes for Christianity among us.” [8]
We are to delight in the Word and follow it with our whole hearts. In this place our hearts are 'revived' - set on fire for Him and His kingdom purposes. Psalm 119:89-93 says, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides. They continue this day according to Your ordinances, for all are Your servants. Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them You have given me life.”
Finally, as Paul Anleitner, the worship leader for a monthly prayer meeting I attend, has noted on occasion, “justice is the fruit of revival.” As our hearts are set on fire from encountering His love and experiencing Him through His Word, we are moved towards acts of justice. We put our hands to seeing God's greater kingdom purposes come forth. And as we move towards expressing God's mercy and love to others, we come to know Him in deeper ways than we ever could otherwise.
A.W. Tozer writes, “... as the knowledge of God becomes more wonderful, greater service to our fellow men will become for us imperative. This blessed knowledge is not given to be enjoyed selfishly. The more perfectly we know God the more we will feel the desire to translate the new-found knowledge into deeds of mercy toward suffering humanity. The God who gave all to us will continue to give all through us as we come to know Him better.” [9]
So what can I learn from all of this?
Esther is a beautiful story of the sovereignty of God, His purposes, His love and favor in the midst of Him honoring our freedom to choose. God is never mentioned in the book but His heart print is demonstrated throughout the pages.
What it makes me think and wonder about, is that maybe we have been chosen and placed with great care and love in this season [the generation that endures the tribulation and sees the return of Christ with their very own eyes] 'for such a time as this.' And if so, just as Esther, we all have freedom to choose what we do with it. We can enter into His greater purposes or shrink back in fear.
When we experience difficulties, trials and shaking, we can hold on to our lives in fear and self preservation. We can choose not to take risks or lay down our lives. Or we can look to God and wonder about His invitation. What does it look like to enter into his purposes during this season? What is His bigger story that He is working to accomplish? And what does it look like to lay down our lives and risk what we have been given for the greater good of others?
“Give to the wind your fears, hope and be undismayed... God will lift up your head”
Perhaps, just as Esther, in stepping out in faith and giving ourselves to a greater cause than our own self-interests and fears, we will discover in greater measure the place we hold in the kings heart. We will find that as the king extends to us His hand to enter into this last dance with Him, He is more than able to sustain us. Perhaps we will be able to say with Job and Esther, I had heard of you with my ears, but now I see You with my eyes.
Father, there is nothing I desire more than this last dance with You. Lord, we long to enter into the fullness of all You have invited us into. Forgive us where, like Esther, we may have been reluctant. Thank you for the Mordecai's you send along side of us to encourage us. Would you lift us above our fears and self-interests. Would you help us to enter in to what You have for us in this time and season with our whole hearts. And, with Esther, may we come to know You and Your love for us in ways we never could otherwise.
May “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding begin enlightened that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” (Ephesians 2:17-21)
a. Note, some of the material on Esther is based out of a prophetic sermon on Esther I heard a year or so ago at TCHOP (Twin Cities House of Prayer) presented by MaryLynn Christopher.
1. Maxwell, John. The Maxwell Leadership Bible, Second Edition. NKJV. Lessons in Leadership from the Word of God. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, Tennessee. 2007.
2, 6, 8-9. Tozer, A.W. The Knowledge of the Holy. HarperCollins. New York, NY. 1961.
3-5. Maxwell, John. Seven Hallmarks of a Leader. Located at: http://www.johnmaxwell.com/articles/seven_hallmarks_of_a_leader Last Accessed: 4/12/11.
7. Russell, Corey. The Knowledge of God. Located at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K49r4O91C9c&feature=related. Last Accessed: 4/12/11
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