Can we Miss our Purpose and Calling?
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)
The Story Line
The book of Esther deals with Jews who are still in exile in Babylon when the story unfolds although Babylon was now controlled by the Medes and the Persians. Many of the Jews had gone back to Israel after the decree of Cyrus, the Persian king, had allowed it. But many of the Jews stayed in foreign lands. One could wonder if God would forsake his people who seemed content to live in the Persian empire after the formal captivity of the Jews had ended. But this book makes it quite clear that the Lord was preserving and protecting all of His chosen people. But in doing so, God had to design things so that a beautiful maiden girl would become Queen and would ultimately provide the means of saving the Jewish people from that “evil” Haman who was determined to have all people bow down to him. Mordecai, the cousin and guardian of Esther, would not bow. Because Mordecai would not bow down to him,Haman in anger wanted to destroy all of Mordecai’s people. Haman was an Agagite which may mean that he descended from some of the Amalekite kings (Agag seems to be a title much like Pharaoh or Caesar). Amalekites were always enemies of the Jews.
Esther’s Opportunity
When Haman began his evil designs to hang Mordecai and to destroy his people, Esther had not told the king she was Jewish. However, her honeymoon was over because she had not been called into the king’s presence for at least 30 days. Coming into the king’s presence uninvited meant death unless he held out a golden scepter to the uninvited guest. Esther seemed to think that approaching the king could mean death for her but she was willing to submit herself to Mordecai and follow his instructions in order to save her people. The words that most remember from the book of Esther are, “If I perish, I perish.” She was willing to die trying to intercede for her people. But I have noticed Mordecai’s statement that if she wouldn’t do what she had been given the opportunity to do, God would still save His people by other means. However she and Mordecai would die. Now I don’t know how Mordecai knew that but He did. He likely believed in God’s plan to make Israel the centerpiece of a future kingdom which has still not been completely fulfilled. He also likely knew of the temperament of this king. What Haman did not know was that Mordecai had discovered a plot against the king that had saved the king’s life. That is why Haman’s gallows was used on Haman and not on Mordecai as Haman had wanted.
Our Opportunity
People often ask me what my “gift” is? I tell them that I just do whatever the Lord gives me the opportunity to do on any particular day whether I feel it is my personal gift or whether it isn’t. I know we are all given at least one spiritual gift when we trust the Lord for salvation. Many people never use or develop that gift which means that people like me who are not “as gifted” have to do jobs others should be doing. Now I don’t know that we can say for certain that when we don’t take our responsibilities seriously in this New Testament age that the Lord finds someone to do the job that we should have done, but I think that is the case. The Lord is going to fulfill His prophetic promises. He is going to bless the Gospel as it is faithfully preached. He is going to build His church If the Lord has called us to minister to the sick, if He has called us to shepherd His sheep, If he has called us to minister practically to the needs of those on the front lines, if He has called us to be missionaries, wouldn’t it be a shame to miss the blessings associated with being in the right place at the right time as Esther was? Esther counted the cost and decided that her calling was worth it.
My prayer is that I never miss the joy of being available to the Lord and doing what He asks me to do even if that means doing that which others either cannot or will not do.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of June 24, 2018