Supernatural Choices | Sunday, July 25, 2021

And King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.

The happy ending of Esther has only one explanation—the supernatural hand of God, who invites us to step into the story He is writing.

A Victory Lap That Can Only Be Explained as Supernatural

This last chapter is the victory lap. We've gone from the Jews facing certain death under a horrible person named Haman, to a moment where the victim has become the victor. Mordecai's wisdom, patience, and relationship with God have triumphed, and it's a happy story.

So how did we get here? The way this story arrives at its ending can be explained by nothing except the supernatural—God working behind the scenes, doing something more than our next step could ever fathom.

The supernatural is an interesting thing. I'm thankful that here we teach the Word of God intelligently, thoroughly, and as it's written. But as Scripture begins to make sense to us, it can become so familiar that we forget the supernatural hand of God—both in the Bible and in our own lives.

The Chain of "Coincidences"

Consider the events God orchestrated that would seem like coincidence. The queen, Vashti, is fired over a trivial thing. Instead of simply choosing a replacement, the king holds a kingdom-wide competition, and Esther is entered. She supernaturally finds favor with everyone in the king's house and is selected as queen.

Not long after, Mordecai happens to overhear an assassination plot against the king, reports it through Esther, and the plot is foiled—and the king's loyalty is not forgotten later. Haman's decree of death was to be carried out by private citizens rather than the king's army. That alone is a miracle, because retracting a royal-army decree would have been impossible; with private citizens, there was a way to combat it.

Haman's anger toward Mordecai is restrained. Esther decides to hold two banquets rather than springing the surprise, so the timing is perfect—because it's God's timing. Then, on a sleepless night, the king has the royal records read and discovers he never rewarded Mordecai. Haman builds a gallows, falls out of favor, and—unbeknownst to us, though I believe it was God—throws himself onto Esther's couch as the enraged king returns. The king catches him, and a servant just happens to mention the gallows, which is then put to its ultimate use. These are not mere accidents. They are the supernatural part of the story God laid out.

Trials Are God's Invitation Into the Story

Trials are God's way of including us in His story. This was a very real trial for the Jewish people. We go through death, divorce, betrayal, bankruptcy, sickness—and God has allowed all of it in our lives. For the Christian, He's allowed it so that we can be part of a story that displays our trust, our faith, His power, His glory, and ultimately His redemption.

He gives us the choice to be part of the story. Esther had a choice; she could have blown off her people. So could Mordecai; he could have taken a different route. But they chose obedience, love, and relationship with God. That's why we're reading this story today.

Everyone Has a "But"

I recently spent eight days on an offshore fishing trip. It is good for us in the church, especially pastors, to be locked away with unbelievers—the world God sent His Son to save. We forget how much we walk and talk among Christians, so getting out into the world can blow us away. On the boat, ministry always happens; people ask questions, and I've prayed with many and led some to the Lord over the years.

One thing struck me: as people wrestle with the question of God, they all have a "but." I'm okay with Christianity, but... there's one thing holding them back. Sadly, I sometimes see Christians with a "but" too. With the unsaved, it's often that God didn't meet their expectations—a loved one they cried out for wasn't saved, an answer didn't come. They're making a God in their own image, trying to get the God of the universe to adhere to their ideas of who He should be and how He should act.

Job: Part of the Story, and the Story Itself

The book of Job sits right next to Esther, and it's a hard story. The devil canvasses the earth, and God asks, "Have you considered my servant Job?" Satan argues that Job only fears God because God has blessed him—but take it away and he'll curse You. And God allows it.

Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and a messenger came to Job... "The oxen were plowing... when the Sabeans raided them... and I alone have escaped to tell you." While he was still speaking, another also came... "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep..." ...another came... "The Chaldeans formed three bands and raided the camels..." ...another came... "A great wind came from across the wilderness... and it fell on the young people, and they are dead..." Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.

In one catastrophic day, Job lost his family, his wealth, and his servants—a day only the hand of God could have allowed. And his immediate response was to fall down and worship. Job was not only part of the story; Job was the story. He would lose his health, endure accusing friends, and hear his own wife tell him to curse God and die. Yet Job did not curse God. His faith, trust, and hope were in the right place, even though he knew only that he was part of the story.

The good news is the restoration:

Then Job answered the Lord and said: "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You... I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before... Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than the beginning... After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days.

Job chose to be part of the story even when he didn't know he was the story—and he did it in faith and obedience.

An Optimistic View in a Confused Season

It would be easy to get discouraged by what we see in media and hear from people's mouths today. But I believe we are in a time and season of confusion, division, and fear—and God works in seasons. People need answers.

When I look at a church that went from over five hundred on a Sunday to about two hundred fifty, I know those empty seats are being emptied for a reason. God is refining the church, and He has made room for a coming time of hope and restoration. At Cross Connection, one of our core values is an optimistic view of the future: Christ is coming back, and in the meantime He will use His church to bring many into salvation. It's time for us to roll up our sleeves and go to work in this season.

God Keeps His Covenant Even When We Do Not

One of the most important lessons Esther teaches is that God intends to keep His covenant promise even when His people do not. That's a hard saying that takes faith, because sometimes it looks in the news as though God is losing—but we know He's not.

Through Esther it seemed for a while that God's people were losing, but we found out differently. Our Savior on the cross, for a moment, looked like God losing—but that's the difference between an eternal outlook and a temporal, worldly one. Often what makes us think God is losing is the devil distracting and discouraging us.

Hosea and the Cost of Redemption

Hosea is a hard yet fascinating book. God had brought His people into the promised land, and they promptly worshiped idols while still sacrificing to Jehovah, covering all their bases and trusting in political alliances with Egypt and Assyria. To get their attention, God made Hosea not just part of the story but the story.

God told Hosea to marry Gomer, a well-known prostitute. For a man of God, that was a difficult step. I can imagine Hosea asking, "Are you sure, Lord?"—and the conversation with his mother. But he marries her publicly; it's the talk of the town. They have three children, so there was real intimacy and care. Then she runs off after other men, very publicly and embarrassingly. If you've ever felt the betrayal of being left or exchanged for someone else, you know that hurt can follow you for years.

Then God tells Hosea to go redeem her—to pay off her debt, bring her back, forgive her, and love her. Does that sound familiar? It's a total sneak peek of what Jesus would do for us on the cross. This is what God feels, and Hosea lived it out before all the people.

Marriage, Forgiveness, and Unity

The only time you and I make a covenant is with God, and with another in marriage. I believe God gave us the marriage covenant as a way to work out our relationship with Him. Many think the goal of marriage is happiness, but it's actually holiness. The people closest to you will irritate, betray, and disappoint you more than anyone, because you feel it deeper and there's trust there.

They say if you want patience, have children; but if you want to learn forgiveness, get married. Forgiveness draws us closer to the Lord and pictures our relationship with Christ. When I counsel couples, I tell them restoration requires forgiveness—and sometimes it has to come from the one who thinks they were wronged the most. That's the example of Jesus: He went first. Before we ever accepted Him or apologized, He preemptively went to the cross. In marriage, somebody has to take the first step.

Unity is the result of two people moving closer to God and then closer to one another at the same time. God loves unity. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity (Psalm 133). We saw unity in World War II and after 9/11, and during floods and hurricanes—because we had a common enemy or common goal.

Sadly, 2020 brought division over COVID, politics, and even division in the church. I think it's because our enemy was a faceless enemy. Behind the arguments over masks, vaccines, shutdowns, and politics was an enemy we never stopped to identify. It is said that one of the devil's greatest tricks is convincing us he does not exist. In Acts 2, as the disciples waited for the Holy Spirit, they were of one accord; many commentators say that unity may have been the first fruit of the Spirit. As we reunite as a church, I believe we will reunite in that kind of unity.

The New Covenant in Communion

Thankfully, God intends to keep His covenant—a new covenant that came from no other than Jesus. We celebrate it in communion, a time of unity, because nothing brings us together like sitting with one common purpose: to honor God.

This new covenant is not through the blood of animals, nor through our being perfectly in tune with God, but through the blood of Christ. On a quiet, anxious night—when these men were about to become hunted criminals—Jesus gave them this.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." ...Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, thank You so much for the act and tradition of communion. As we look at the lessons we've learned in the book of Esther—lessons of faithfulness, selflessness, bravery, faith, hope, and love, and how the faith of a few saved the great nation of Israel—I ask that we take those lessons into our own hearts. As we look at our nation and our people, may we be brave, faithful, loving, and kind. May Your church not be seen as a place of division or accusation, Lord, but as a place of hope, optimism, and ultimately salvation. It is in Jesus' holy name we pray, amen.