August 18
Esther 1:1-3:15; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Psalm 35:17-28; Proverbs 21:19-20
Esther is one of my daughters’ favorite books in the Bible. To her, it is about a grand romance when it is truly nothing like that. They see it as a Disneyesque princess tale but as we read it, it unveils a story of abuse, power run amok, and a story of good versus evil.
It begins with a powerful man asking his first wife to appear most likely nude except for a crown in front of all his drunk friends. When she (rightly) refuses he casts her to the side and seeks to fill her position with a trophy wife. He then collects a massive group of virgins who are forced to have sex with him. These powerless young women are all cast aside except for one who will become queen. As if this isn't tragic enough a law is passed which will send all the Jewish people in the Persian kingdom to their deaths. The story of the children of God versus the children of the Serpent in a deathmatch is repeated once again.
I think by now, we all are wondering why this book is included in the Bible. This is especially true of the fact that God is never mentioned by name. I think one of the lessons that the book of Esther teaches us is that God is always at work even when his work is not obvious or explicit. Further, he can redeem awful, terrible, evil situations. We may find ourselves in tragic circumstances similar to those described in the book of Esther, but we can always trust, as Romans 8:28 says, “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” As we explore the rest of the book of Esther we will see how God did this work in the past and how we can use that understanding to trust that he is equally doing the same in our lives as well.
Father God, thank you that you are always working for my good. I may not always be able to understand this or see it from my perspective, but I thank you that I can trust you. Even when I wonder why you would allow certain things into my life help me to run to you with my doubts instead of away from you. Thank you that you love me more than I can fathom and are always working for my ultimate good. Amen.
Question of the day: How have you seen God redeem awful, terrible, evil things in your life?
Esther is one of my daughters’ favorite books in the Bible. To her, it is about a grand romance when it is truly nothing like that. They see it as a Disneyesque princess tale but as we read it, it unveils a story of abuse, power run amok, and a story of good versus evil.
It begins with a powerful man asking his first wife to appear most likely nude except for a crown in front of all his drunk friends. When she (rightly) refuses he casts her to the side and seeks to fill her position with a trophy wife. He then collects a massive group of virgins who are forced to have sex with him. These powerless young women are all cast aside except for one who will become queen. As if this isn't tragic enough a law is passed which will send all the Jewish people in the Persian kingdom to their deaths. The story of the children of God versus the children of the Serpent in a deathmatch is repeated once again.
I think by now, we all are wondering why this book is included in the Bible. This is especially true of the fact that God is never mentioned by name. I think one of the lessons that the book of Esther teaches us is that God is always at work even when his work is not obvious or explicit. Further, he can redeem awful, terrible, evil situations. We may find ourselves in tragic circumstances similar to those described in the book of Esther, but we can always trust, as Romans 8:28 says, “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” As we explore the rest of the book of Esther we will see how God did this work in the past and how we can use that understanding to trust that he is equally doing the same in our lives as well.
Father God, thank you that you are always working for my good. I may not always be able to understand this or see it from my perspective, but I thank you that I can trust you. Even when I wonder why you would allow certain things into my life help me to run to you with my doubts instead of away from you. Thank you that you love me more than I can fathom and are always working for my ultimate good. Amen.
Question of the day: How have you seen God redeem awful, terrible, evil things in your life?
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