Since God, as Sovereign, deemed it appropriate to give each tiny tyrant, that is you and me, dear reader, the ability to choose, we can see that He placed us in a moral dilemma, isn't that so? If the questions above were asked of each of us by God, how would you respond?
My son and I were driving the other day and he mentioned that we cannot be every child's parent, but that maybe we would take some in when they are orphaned. That thought has stuck with me: the first adoptive parents were indeed, Christians. They took children in that were exposed, left outside of family dwellings to die from hunger, thirst, and literally exposure to the elements.
Not caring for and worse yet, abusing the young, must be the most atrocious and grotesque behaviour that God witnesses, day in and out, without stoppage. The vile hearted, for fear of penalty, used to hide their heinous ways in the shadows: alas, these culprits have grown in numbers, and what formerly was shameful, is now popular and trendy. They fear not. They have figured out repercussions are for those that challenge and question their actions. They live their lives believing that anything they say and do, cannot and will not, be used against them in everyday life, nor will they be held to account in courts of law.
In my most faith filled moments, I am excited to see what God will do. History is replete with glorious God interventions. The wicked are here today, and gone tomorrow, or the next day, or even, sometimes a year from now. I think of Haman in the book of Esther. Esther bravely risked her life to expose one of the kings closest and trusted but clearly, sneaky servants. Her timing was impeccable, and I highly recommend you read the story in its entirety for some reassurance and encouragement. Here is a short excerpt:
So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. And on the second day, at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!
Then Queen Esther answered and said, If I have found favour in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king's loss.
So king Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?
And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!
So Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?
As the word left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king's behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.
Then the king said, Hang him on it.
So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath subsided (Esther 7:1-10)
Dear reader, Haman had plotted and planned the murder of the Jews. He had recruited people across the land to execute their Jewish neighbours one year after he had gotten the king to sign a death decree. Esther was an intercessor, a woman of God placed to speak, at her peril, against the man and his plot to kill her relatives. She was unwittingly a plant, and she did her best work for the Kingdom of God, when she trusted His will and His ways.
Haman had erected a gallows right out front of his home! How grotesque is that? He took pleasure in his plan, and fully intended to enjoy the murder of Mordecai... sound familiar? Are we not seeing killers roaming freely, eating and drinking as though they are royalty with impunity to do as they please?
Haman begged for his life, but was immune to compassion for other. He had sympathy for self, and felt not a moment of empathetic pain for the Jews his hate filled heart sought to annihilate. Spoiler alert, not only did Haman get what he deserved, but his ten sons were also "slew": the sins of the father in this case were definitely visited upon the sons.
God turns things around, dear one, when circumstances seem most dire. The story of Esther is one of intrigue, murder, emotional turmoil, submission to the Power that is God, and ultimately, redemption of God's faithful ones, with some justice served up to the evil plotters and planners that were hell bent on killing innocent people.
We are called as intercessors. If Esther is our model, how are we to step into the gap, into the fray, even at the risk of our own safety?
King Ahasuerus was a human inclined to being deceived, and also inclined to partying with snakes that wanted to climb the ladder of life to a position of wanton power and prestige. But, dear one, when the king was alerted, and sobered to the facts, he came alive with righteous indignation, and I ask you, I suggest, I not so subtly insist, that we do the same.
God has given us the gift of choice. We could be tiny tyrants, wanting our own ways, serving our own desires, filling ourselves up with what pleases us at the expense of other. But that is not God's way... He is the true King of kings, and He wants us to be like Esther, and have the rewards of Mordecai for our faithfulness! I ask you again:
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