For Such a Time as This Esther 4

Esther is the closest the Bible offers to a "Cinderella Story"; the little orphan exile becomes the Queen.  The story is set in the Babylonian exile.  The people of God are strangers in a strange land.  Even the Psalmist doesn't know how to sing the songs of Zion in such a place (Ps 137:4).

One of the most striking things about the book of Esther is the way God makes the best of bad situations.  Take this one for instance. 

• The King had issued a decree long before that any Jews who wanted to could go home to Jerusalem, so why is Mordecai’s family still in exile?  Wrong place/ Wrong time, but God will use it.
• What’s a nice Jewish girl doing in a Babylonian Beauty Contest?  Wrong place/ Wrong time, but God will use it.
• Why is there less than full disclosure on such an important part of Esther’s life as her nationality, or more importantly—her faith?  But God will use even that.

The good news/ bad news for people like Esther and Mordecai was that they learned to fit in.  That’s always the way, isn't it?  If you stay somewhere long enough it starts to feel "normal."  I've heard it called the "Frog in the Kettle" phenomenon.  If you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, he would jump right out.  But if the water is room temperature and you turn the heat up slowly enough, he will stay right there oblivious to his surroundings.  Talk about that in your small group.  Have you ever been there?

Through a series of “fairy tale” events Esther wins the heart of the King and the crown of a Queen.  It’s a happily-ever-after time and it went on for awhile.  But the dream is interrupted when the Cinderella Story becomes a Holocaust story.  A plot is hatched for the destruction of all the Jews throughout the 127 provinces of Media-Persia.  But God has a plan. 

Talk for a few minutes in your small group about the interruptions of life: cancer, divorce, death of a spouse or a child.  Happily-ever-after can be fragile. 

The hope of a People fell on the shoulders of Esther, but it was not without risk.  The capricious King had a rule that no one could come to him without being called.  If you tried, the penalty was death.  The only hope was for the King to extend his golden scepter to receive the caller.

Some of the most memorable lines from the book of Esther come in chapter 4 (14) “who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”  It takes courage to walk out God’s plan for your life.  Esther’s answer is no less memorable; “I will go to the King, and if I perish, I perish.”  Not many of us have had to summon that kind of courage to live our lives before God.  Talk about that in your small group.

One last thing.  Esther’s reward was the sparing of the lives of all the Jews.  For her reward she won a people.  The stakes were almost inconceivably high.  The only place in my life that in any way approaches that kind of life and death moment is the sharing of the Gospel.  Think about it—that goes beyond life and death and reaches into eternity—heaven and hell.  Talk about that in your small groups.

Is there anyone in your life who is currently hanging in the balance?  Is God calling you to speak into the situation?  What are the risks/rewards?

The Gracious Hand of My God Was Upon Nehemiah 1-2

May 2, 2010

Nehemiah is one of my favorite Bible characters.  He is a guy whose life was all set, if only he had been satisfied with it.  He was a slave—that’s true.  He had been born in captivity, and lived his whole life as a servant one way or another.  He must have been a nice-looking guy with good people skills because he was in a position of close-proximity to the most powerful King in the world at that time.

There were some great things about Nehemiah’s life; he went everywhere the King went, he lived in the palace, he dressed in the clothes of the wealthy, he ate the best food and drank the best wine.  But with every meal he was reminded that he was expendable.  Nehemiah was cup-bearer to the King—the defense against someone trying to poison the King; if Nehemiah ate it and didn’t die, it was safe for the King.

Nehemiah’s body may have been with the King, but his heart was somewhere else.  The Israelites had been uprooted 70 years earlier and deported from their “Promised Land” to Babylon where they lived in captivity.  Even though he had never been there, Nehemiah knew Jerusalem was his home.

Read Nehemiah 1.  What do the first 4 verses tell you about Nehemiah’s heart?

Sunday we sang a song with a lyric that asked to God to “break my heart for what breaks Yours.”  How do you see that played out in these Bible verses?

Has God burned anything into your heart that rises to that level—breaking your heart for what breaks the heart of God?  Talk about that burning heart for a minute.

Nehemiah took his breaking heart straight to God.  Verse 5 through the end of the chapter comprises the prayer Nehemiah lifted to God for the next four months—day and night.

What do you discover about Nehemiah’s view of God through his prayer?

What do you discover about his view of his people?  It strikes me that Nehemiah identified himself with his people—not praying about “them” but about “US.”

Talk in your Small Group about the principles of “Scattering and Gathering.”  God said if we are unfaithful we will be scattered, but when we return to Him He will gather us. 

How does that play out in your personal life?

In your thought life? 

In your financial life (Look at Haggai 1:5-6.  This was written in Nehemiah’s time)?

God put it on Nehemiah’s heart to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.  He had no knowledge or skills to prepare him for the task—the only thing he had was God’s call.  What might God put on your heart if He knew you were willing?