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Song: In His Time
Scripture: Esther 6:1-14
The execution of Haman and the exaltation of Mordecai is one of the great ironies of the Bible. The story is set in the days of Ahasuerus (486-465 BC), King of Persia, while the Jews were busy rebuilding Jerusalem. Ahasuerus had dismissed his queen, Vashti, and providentially chosen Esther, a Benjamite, as his new wife. Mordecai was her elder cousin who had adopted her when her parents died, and his wisdom was partly the reason for her exaltation. The annual Feast of Purim instituted at the close of this book celebrates the salvation that God wrought through his chosen servant Esther.
Take courage, God will provide. “If you remain silent… relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place” (4:14). Those were Mordecai’s words to his cousin, made daughter, turned queen. He continued, “who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” This passage and the entire book is one of the great testimonies to God’s providence.
Faith doesn’t have to know how God will provide. It just believes that He will. And believing, it acts. If Esther and Mordecai had both been martyred, their story would be no less inspiring. Had they been slain, and that story told, they would still be victors, God having provided them a better home. The fact that God saved their lives and those of all the Jews only strengthens our assurance that He provides the final victory—for them, and for us.
Jason Moore
