The Results Belong to God
This morning I attend my Tuesday prayer gathering. We didn’t have any of our county officials present, but we prayed for them anyway. 🙂 With my new position and having the ability to be more active, I am attending more community functions. Today I attended a Rotary meeting in Fort Collins. I also had a workout session with my trainer, but he took it easier on me this week which was nice.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Mordecai the Jew was second in importance to King Xerxes, and he was the most important man among the Jewish people. His fellow Jews respected him very much, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the safety of all the Jewish people.” Esther 10:3 NCV
The Book of Esther begins with Esther being selected as Queen and ends with Mordecai as “Prime Minister” (second in importance) to King Xerxes. So we find two Jews, individuals who had their history among those who had been taken captive by the King of Babylon now in positions of power and influence in the kingdom Persia, following the fall of Babylon.
We read in scripture the same type of thing happening with Daniel and the “three Hebrew children.” We see how Nehemiah was in a position of influence near the King as cupbearer so he could intercede on behalf of the exiles in Jerusalem. We need to understand the God “knows what He is doing.” He is able to provide for His people even in the worst of circumstances. He is able to protect and rescue as He did in the story of Esther.
Mordecai was not elevated to his position by virtue of sheer political influence. His favor with the King was because He honored and obeyed the Lord. His character lead to exaltation to a position of honor and influence. He put himself on the line for the good of others and won their respect. He spoke up when it would have been easy to be silent and he took action when it would have been easy to stay put. In doing so, he saved his own life as well as the lives of thousands of Jews living in exile.
We never know how our actions will influence the outcome of history; for ourselves and for generations to come. If the Jews would have been exterminated as Haman had planned, there would have been no return to Jerusalem and their would have been no lineage of David to provide for the coming of Jesus as the Messiah. I don’t know if Mordecai understood all of that; but we see he did understand that the Lord would act on behalf of his people. We see it in his words to Esther, “If you keep quiet at this time, someone else will help and save the Jewish people…but you will die…” (Esther 4:14 NCV)
In the end Esther decided to break the law, risk her life and place herself in the Lord’s hands. She came to the conclusion, “…if I die, I die…” She made the decision that death by an act of nobility, was better than death as a coward.
We see an interesting parallel in 2 Chronicles 28 with the unknown prophet “Oded.” Pastor Park Sutton pointed out in our devotional this morning, how this prophet put his life on the line in confronting the armies of Israel who had killed thousands of Judah’s soldiers and had taken 200,000 women and children captive.
He pointed out that the prophet took a big risk by speaking up. He could have been killed, taken captive or even if they listen to him, still have been an unknown prophet of the Lord. But he spoke up and the Lord used him and Israel’s leaders listen. They responded by clothing and feeding their captives; they cared for the sick and wounded and returned them to Jericho.
In our life our decision, our responsibility is to obey and follow the Lord. The Lord will take care of the results and the outcome. Esther’s life was spared, Mordecai, it ended up in a position of influence; for Oded he went back to life as usual. His name was not in the news, he receive no human promotion. In both of these accounts the Lord used the person who was available and obedient to save the lives of thousands.
When we obey the Lord and are more concerned about others than ourselves, it is amazing what the Lord can do through our life. Remember, “we obey – the results belong to God.”