God at Work in Providence (Esther 8)
In our sermon today, I would like us to consider the theme of providence. We will look at some of the things that Esther 8 says about providence as well as mentioning other examples of divine providence. No doubt we have many questions about providence. I suspect the basic one is, ‘Can I trust God to do what is right?’ One well-known author of a book on providence, Jerry Bridges, reckoned in his estimation that in times of adversity it is easier to obey God than to trust him. This is what he wrote: ‘The moral will of God given to us in the Bible is rational and reasonable. The circumstances in which we must trust God often appear irrational and inexplicable…. Obeying God is worked out within well-defined boundaries of God’s revealed will. Trusting in God is worked out in an arena that has no boundaries…. We are always coping with the unknown.’
The experience of John Craig
Let me tell you some details from the life of John Craig who played an important role in the development of the Reformed Church in Scotland. As a young man he went to study in a convent in Bologna in Italy. There he discovered a copy of Calvin’s Institutes and he became a convert to the Reformed Faith. Shortly afterwards he was arrested as a heretic and taken to Rome for execution. The evening before the execution, the Pope died; and there was a riot that led to prisoners being freed. So, Craig with some others managed to escape in the confusion, although they had no money to help them. They only travelled a short distance when soldiers recaptured them. The captain recalled being helped by Craig in Bologna and allowed him to escape. The captain also gave him some money, but it did not last long. A short time later Craig was sitting in a wood wondering where further help would come from. A dog came running to him with a purse in its mouth and refused to go away until Craig took the purse. It contained enough money for Craig to reach his intended destination. Eventually he reached Edinburgh (with the dog) and helped John Knox and others in the work of the Scottish Reformation.
Our experience this morning
The Puritan author John Flavel wrote a well-known book called The Mystery of Providence. One of the comments he makes is to the effect that when we look for providential activities by God we will see plenty of them. What providential activities of God did you see on your way to church this morning? One is that probably no one tried to hinder you coming to church. Another is that you were led to pray that you would get a blessing from God when you were in church. Still another is that you could come in comfort, in a car (I wonder what Flavel would have made of that providence). A fourth activity of God in providence is that he gave you sufficient health to come to church. A fifth is that he has not dealt with us as our sins deserve. A sixth is that all around were signs of life. There are many more aspects to see if we look carefully.
Some biblical examples – Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and Ruth
Every book in the Bible is about divine providence. Perhaps that is one reason why it tells us so much about what happened in the lives of individuals. We could ask them what providence did for them. Abraham would say that God led me to a place that was unknown to me, but I arrived. Jacob could say that at one time he imagined everything was against him, but later on he had a better grasp when he declared that God had led him all life long. What an interesting set of experiences Joseph had in divine providence – rejection by his brothers, falsely accused by a sinful woman, forgotten by those he had helped when in prison, but exalted suddenly to the position of prime minister of Egypt. As he told his brothers, they had meant it for evil when they sold him into slavery, but God had meant it for good. We could go through most of the books of the Bible and observe numerous things that God did.
Take the experience of Ruth. One day, a family from another country move to live in her country – she was probably unaware that they had come. Later, she comes in contact with that family and marries one of the two sons. Then all the men in the family die. She decides to stay with her mother-in-law, which means moving to another country. There she has nothing and has to join other poor people in locating food. She is observed by the owner of the field in which she is working. Despite big obstacles, she and he eventually marry. Is her story a romance? Is her story a tragedy? It is providence. And it affects us. For example, we would not have sung the psalms we sung if those things had not happened to Ruth – she was an ancestor of David. More importantly, we would not have the line from which the Saviour came. Who could have predicted the outcome when an Israelite boy, taken to a foreign country, met a Moabite girl?
Providence is more than a theory
It is easy to turn biblical doctrines into theories and they become points of debate. In providence today, Jesus is representing his people in heaven. Is that merely a theory for us or is it a living reality? It is possible to focus only on how he does it (often speculation) rather than that he does it. And there is a difference between those approaches.
One book in the Bible that highlights the providence of God is the Book of Esther. This is the case even although his name is not mentioned in the book. We could take any chapter and search for examples, and we will do so with regard to chapter 8.
Providence and those who have died. Haman disappeared from the scene at the close of the previous chapter, but providence continued working on his case. Where did his vast estate go? Remember at the beginning of his plot to kill the Jews he had promised a vast amount of financial help to the king. Little did he realise that he was commencing a journey in which all of it would be given to those he wanted to destroy.
Providence and those who were wronged. As we have seen in the story of Esther, her uncle Mordecai had been wronged in several ways. He had been despised by Haman who planned for him to be destroyed. He had been wronged by the king who had forgotten to reward him for his loyal act of service. It is hard to cope with being wronged, but it must have been a lot worse to be wronged and facing the prospect of death without an obvious escape route. Yet, Mordecai now finds himself promoted to the heights and possessing the full authority of the king to deal with the problem of his destructive decree.
Providence and human government. We are all familiar with Margaret Thatcher’s phrase, ‘The lady is not for turning.’ The Persian ruler would have had a similar outlook, although in his case it would be, ‘The king cannot turn his decrees.’ After all, such a decision would mean that he had made a foolish decision that needed to be changed. In reality, it was easy for his decree to be changed – just make another one that adjusted the terms of the previous one. The point is not that the decree could not be changed, but could the king be changed in his outlook. There was no person apart from God who could do this, and yet he did so in a way that was so simple. The king’s change of mind revealed that in comparison to God the control of the Persian emperor was minute. We see that Ahasueras had no power as far as affecting God’s plan was concerned.
Another aspect that comes from this story is the fact that God can put one of his own into a place of power even when it looked very unlikely that he could get there. It was a great blessing for the peoples of the Persian Empire to have such a man as Mordecai in charge. Obviously, it would be good for the Jews, but it was an expression of God’s common grace for him to bring Mordecai into such a place of prominence.
Providence and doing what is right. Esther was now in a place of real influence with the king. So how did she deal with the lot she now had in divine providence. We know that favourable providences can sometimes make people worse in the sense that they misuse what they have been given. So how did Esther respond? There are at least two details that are obvious. First, she informed the king of her relationship with Mordecai, which means that she revealed the truth. Second, her emotions were fully involved – she wept about the situation her people were in. She did not conclude that the demise of Haman could allow her to become stoical or presumptuous about what would happen to them. And we can see from the response of Ahasueras that her tears had an influence over him.
Providence and attraction to God’s people. The last verse of the chapter mentions a surprising response of some of the inhabitants of the empire – they decided to become Jews or proselytes. Why would they do this? After all, becoming a Jew was not the ancient equivalent of emigrating to another country and taking on new citizenship. Instead, becoming a Jew involved adherence to the God of Israel and worshipping him rather that whatever pagan gods they had previously adored. What had seemed to be a situation in which the number of his people would be reduced, God turned into a situation in which they increased in number.
Some applications
One obvious application is the benefit of thinking about divine providence, of considering what is happening in different areas of our lives. The matters that we see can become reasons for gratitude or causes of prayer and intercession. It is difficult to imagine a realistic prayer life that pays no attention to providence. Providence gives much fuel for prayer. Another application is that we should take note of providence in the stories in the Bible. No doubt there are many reasons why we have so many biblical stories and one of them is that we can learn how to observe providence. Again, they help us to pray.
Earlier we thought about how providence removed Haman’s wealth from him. It is obvious that God had endowed him with many talents, but he had not used them for God’s glory. Jesus told a parable about a man who did not use properly what his master had given him. Later, when being assessed by his master, one aspect of the punishment was that his talent was taken from him and given to a person who had served the master well. The lesson is obvious. Haman is not the only one whose abilities and resources will remain with God.
Another application is to remind ourselves that God is in charge of the political world and can solve any issue that arises, even those that seem insurmountable. Moreover, he can place one of his own in as a high a position as is necessary in the divine purpose, no matter how corrupt the political system may be. This should be very encouraging for us today as we look at our political world.
The example of Esther illustrates for us how to be effective in moving the hand who has power in it. By acting truthfully and revealing the feelings of her heart, she discovered power with the king. Her actions are in line with her being made in the image of God. If we want influence in the real place of power, that is with God, we need to be authentic and full of passionate desire.
The final application is that God’s kingdom can grow even when things seem very difficult. Many became Jews during that time of trial for them. Today many are becoming Christians despite the problems that will come their way. Hardly a week goes by without the media highlighting some Christian. Whatever else can be said about them, we see from them that God is at work in their lives.