Consequence of Faith – Scene 2 – the king’s banquet hall
Bible Passage: Esther 7-8
In the previous chapter, we had seen how the bad guy plans the good for himself and ended up honoring his enemy.
In chapter 7 we read about how the bad guy’s preparation against his enemy came upon the bad guy himself! It feels good to see the bad guy go down, doesn’t it?
We see the guilty hanged instead of the innocent, while in our case Jesus was the innocent who was crucified for us, the guilty.
But the death of the bad guy does not mean the end of trouble for the Israelites.
The king’s decree already went out for the date of annihilation of the Jews. It is not something that can be revoked. The king had to write another decree to allow the Jews to prepare themselves for that day and to protect themselves and go forward to destroy their enemies.
Similarly, God cannot simply change his law of eternal justice and take away death, but He came to die on man’s behalf and opened a way of reconciliation with Him, so that we can have the power to overcome death brought upon by sin.
Not only that, He gave us power, the Holy Spirit, and the weapon, the Sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the Word, to take the offensive, so that we can be victorious against our enemies.
Although unlike the Jews who knew the appointed day of attack, we have no idea when the Last Day will come (cf Matt 24:36). But we are told with certainty that the day will definitely come, and that there are signs.
“Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?” Luke 12:56
“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” Rom 13:11
Regarding the video of the late millionaire surgeon Dr Richard Teo that went viral, he quoted the words of Mitch Albom that speaks volumes:
“Everyone knows they’re going to die.. but nobody believes. If we did, we would do things differently.”
What about us?
Do we believe that the Last Day will come and we will be judged by God?
Do we live like we are expecting Jesus to come?
Are we ready to suffer for Christ?
Queen Esther fasted 3 days before she went to see the King. All her maids and the Jews in Shushan also fasted with her and for her.
Do we see the urgency of preaching the gospel and bringing people to reconcile with God before the Great and Terrible Day?
Do we fast before the bi-annual Spiritual Meeting and the Evangelistic Meeting with the church?
Someone asked a brother last Saturday, “Did you fast?”
His reply was “Why must I fast? Why can’t I just pray without fasting?”
Do we lack the knowledge why we are fasting? Or do we lack the conviction?
Are we ready to suffer for Christ when we are not even able to skip two meals for Him? How then do we prepare ourselves to fight Satan and his armies?
The enemies of the Jews all around the Persian Empire were getting ready to attack the Jews. Instead of just waiting there and mourning, then the Jews had the blessing of the King to gather to protect themselves, to strengthen one another, to make and sharpen swords.
Can they afford to waste their time as the day approaches, to pretend that the day will not come?
Can we afford to waste our time now indulging in life’s troubles and joys?
I am of the opinion that we better buck up, because I’m quite sure Satan and his armies are not relaxing as the Day approaches.