MESSAGE BY: Apostle Dr. Samuel Ofori
MAIN TEXT: Esther 2:21-23, Jer. 29:11, Rom. 8:28, Heb. 7:16
INTRODUCTION
God is not mentioned by name in the Book of Esther, yet He is there. He does not ‘miraculously’ intervene to rescue His people, yet it is clear that He has arranged for their rescue. Because it doesn’t mention God, some call the book of Esther as a secular book that should not have been included in the cannon of inspired writings. However, the book of Esther teaches that God is able to make all things work together for His people’s good when He is secretly working though ordinary human decision-making processes as when He is in the spotlight and everyone is calling His name. God is always behind the scenes to rescue his people from danger and to bless and promote.
Whatever circumstances of life that we go through as Christians, God is always behind the scene to rescue his people. In the current situation, the advent of Corona Virus disease, the spread of the infections, the precautionary protocols and now the lockdown, it would be very difficult and strange to see the hand of God, but I want to assure you that God will ensure that all this will work together for our good, even as we trust and obey Him.
LESSON ONE
God is always behind the scenes in our lives, controlling the things that happen.
- The feast or banquet organized by the King of Persia
- The invitation to the Queen to display her beauty and her refusal
- The advice of the Magi that Vashti be removed as Queen and be replaced
- The Miss Persia Beauty Pageant and the subsequent coronation of Esther as Queen of Persia.
All these were preparatory grounds for the great salvation and deliverance that God was preparing for the Jews in the Persian Empire. All these were ordinary events in life but God was behind the scene orchestrating everything to bring about the deliverance for His people. He has plans for our lives and will ensure that all things work together for our good.
Jer. 29:11 – ‘I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ (NIV)
I believe that God is behind the current situation to ensure that His good purposes and plans are brought to pass in the lives of his children, the church, and our nation even as we continue to pray and seek the face of the Living God.
LESSON TWO
Coincidences in our lives are not accidents, but God plans them for our good.
- Mordecai exposes a plot to assassinate the King (Esther 2:21-23) but he is not rewarded, or the King just forgets to reward him.
- The whole incident was recorded in the royal Persian record books (2:23)
- The Master Strategist was merely waiting for precisely the right moment.
- Haman’s Scheme to destroy Mordecai and the Jews was to lead to his promotion to the position of a Prime Minister of an Empire that consisted of 127 nations stretching from Arabia to India.
I want to assure you, children of the Living God, that even in these difficult times, God will still work out His purposes in your life. Do not be afraid, just continue to trust Him, obey Him, and get closer to Him in prayer and personal devotions.
LESSON THREE
Our lives are not run by fate and chance but under the control of the Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and Omniscient God.
Haman believed his life was run by fate and luck, He and others who had joined him in the conspiracy to destroy the Jews (3:7) decided on the throw of the dice – the PUR – to determine the date for the annihilation of the Jews. The Jewish Feast of PURIM gets its name from the process of casting lot. The dice finally indicated that the annihilation should take place in the 12th month. Then they cast the PUR to determine the day, and settled on the 13th day. God had seen to it that the Jews would have nearly a whole year to prepare for the genocide. Haman did not understand that our God has the power to control decisions made by casting lots and that our lives are not governed by fate or chance.
Proverbs 16:33 – ‘The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord’
The Lord controls and determines whatever life situation that comes our way. I want to assure you that your life is controlled by the Omnipotent God and He will ensure that you are protected, kept safe, and preserved throughout this period of the Corona Virus invasion. Do not be afraid, just stand firm in Him and watch the salvation that will come your way.
LESSON FOUR
With Jesus on our side the plans of the enemy, his evil machinations and schemes will not be able to destroy us. For our Lord is ‘one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life’. Hebrews 7:16. (NIV)
Haman ended up on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai. The Jews were delivered and Mordecai was promoted.
Isaiah 54:17 ‘no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and this is their vindication from me’.
Rulers have laid plans to exterminate the Jews at least three times in history:
- Pharaoh of Egypt ordered the drowning of all Jewish boy babies (Ex. 1:16, 22)
- Haman manipulated Xerxes to make his genocidal decree (Est. 3:8-15)
- Adolf Hitler, in the Nazi Holocaust of World War II, ordered the killing of 6,000,000 Jews. In addition, the Jews suffered greatly at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, who killed thousands and carried the rest off to Babylon, and the Romans under Emperor Titus, who destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD, killed 1,100,000.
- The people of God are indestructible. You are in safe hands and your life is secure and would be preserved, and like Esther, Mordecai, and the Jews, you will have a testimony that your God is faithful.
WHO CAN DESTROY THE PEOPLE GOD HAS BLESSED?
Ps. 91:1-8 ‘He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust, surely, he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.’ (NIV)
MAY THE LORD BLESS AND KEEP YOU, MAY HIS FACE SHINE UPON YOU AND BE GRACIOUS UNTO YOU, MAY THE LORD TURN HIS FACE TOWARD YOU AND GIVE YOU PEACE. AMEN.
