Upholding The Standards of God--Day 212 Through the Bible

                               Of all the rocks I have seen my grandchildren pick up from the South Toe River,
                                                                      I have never seen two that were exactly alike.  
                                                                   God has done the same amazing feat with people.
                                  We are blessed to get to enjoy the differences in rocks as well as the differences in people!
                                                 

The Book of Esther begins with circumstances that have become familiar to us in other Scripture readings.  We see a man of faith being pressured to follow the crowd in a way that is contrary to his beliefs.  As people of faith, we can identify with the principles of this situation as we are pressured on a daily basis to align ourselves with things contrary to God’s standard.  Mordecai refused to listen to them.  “Haman was filled with wrath” (v. 5), when he was told Mordecai would not bow down to him.  (God has recently begun to open my eyes to the ugly fact that I become angry or indignant when someone doesn’t do things my way.  I realize this stems from pride and I’ve asked God to forgive me for this sin and to bring about changes in my heart and thoughts (Romans 12:2). I can rest assured and rejoice that with my cooperation, God will indeed clean up this area of my life: “When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”--I John 1:9. Such good news for a sinner such as I!)

Haman’s anger did not just stop with Mordecai: “But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. . .instead, (he) sought to destroy all the Jews---the people of Mordecai” (v. 6).  Haman took issue with the fact that “their laws are different from all other people’s” (v. 8).  We, unfortunately, continue to be intolerant of differences today. We are witnessing Haman’s bigotry being played out all over the world.  The origins still lie in pride which is expressed through anger and intolerance against individuals and entire races of people—races of people and differences authored by God, I might add.

Consider the outcome today if targeted factions chose to turn to God in fasting and prayer in response to bigotry and threats of personal harm.  If targeted, is it not okay to just to ignore it and do nothing?  We cannot control what intolerant people may choose to do,  however, we are responsible for what we allow to take root in our own hearts.  If targeted, we must respond in a positive manner and seek God’s help in dealing with matters of the heart. Otherwise, we may fall prey to prideful anger and sin which has the potential for destroying us just as it did Haman.

 Esther was warned by Mordecai, “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” (Esther 4:14).  We must not crumble under pressure, but rather trust God and stand up for what is right.  Mordecai continued, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (v. 14)?  When the envelope has been pushed in our direction, will we boldly pick it up or leave it lying?  Esther picked it up, made a decision and came up with a plan to put the nation’s spiritual house in order, as well as her own.  She prepared to put her life on the line for her people.  Esther knew that God holds our lives in His hand. She recognized that their hope lay in God’s mercy and intervention on behalf of her people.

The Psalmist bemoans the state of mankind—our time is short, without God our lives are futile, we are all doomed to die and we cannot deliver ourselves from this fate (Psalm 89:46-48)!  Our adversaries are actually the enemies of God (see John 15:18). Jesus warned His disciples (this applies to us as Jesus’ disciples today): “And you shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake” (Matthew 10:22).  Like Esther, we must get our spiritual house in order, place our fate in God’s merciful hands and stand. Ephesians 6, reveals exactly how we can do this.

Proverbs 22:8, warns us that “He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, and the rod of his anger will fail”.  We see this verse fulfilled in Haman’s life exactly as written!  The rod of Haman’s anger failed and he was hanged on the very gallows he constructed for Mordecai.  This is why we must not respond to others sins with sins of our own.  If we do, God cautions us that we will surely reap sorrow.

God has intervened throughout history to preserve His covenant people, the Jews. Romans 3:2, says that “to them were committed the oracles of God”.  God’s law reveals God’s standard.  His law serves to show us just how far we fall short of meeting this standard. It shows us our sins regardless of whether we are Jew or Gentile.  Paul reminds us we are all sinners and none of us can be considered “good” (Rom. 3:9-18).  The state of mankind with our pride played out in anger, intolerance and hatred toward our fellowman, misses the mark of God’s righteousness totally and marks us for death as payment for our sins.  God’s law is not voided because faith has been revealed as the only way to salvation.  Paul ends our reading for today with this: “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:97, “O how love I Thy law! It is my meditation all the day”. 

Psalm 19:7-11 “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul:
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.  
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.  
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever:
the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.  Moreover by them is Thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.” ---these beautiful words were written by King David, whose sins were recorded for all to see, yet he was known to God as "a man after Mine own heart" (Acts 13:22)!