Folly of Idolatry
One of my favourite books is Tim Keller's "Counterfeit Gods". It is a no that continues speaking to me and helps me to understand a lot of scripture in light of my own fallen nature and idolatry. Anyway, the reading from Genesis today was actually one that Keller used in is book, the story of Jacob being deceived by Laban. Blinded by his lust (idolatry of Rachel), he didn't realise he was being deceived by Laban. So that got me thinking about idolatry of course as I read on, and in Esther, I couldn't help but notice how Haman was himself exhibiting signs of idolatry. He was in a privileged position already, and yet because of his high self image (idolatry of self), he could not enjoy it just because Mordecai had no fear of him. Quite sad really, especially given the rest of the story... Man I love Esther!!
Unnamed But Quite Present
I already mentioned that God does not "appear" in the book of Esther - no LORD, no God, etc. nonetheless, it's not hard to discern how God shows up even when unnamed. And here in Esther 4, we see this happening. Esther tells Mordecai about the law forbidding anyone from approaching the king. And to this, Mordecai answers "For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish." Amazing! Here's the covenant restated in different words. The Jews, as the covenant people, indeed will be saved. And then here's the kicker, Mordecai continues: "And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" And there is sovereignty. The belief that God is I. Control even when it doesn't see, like it at all.
Sovereignty in the Big Matters
Yesterday, I made some comments about God's sovereignty being shown in small matters such as finding a wife for Isaac (in Genesis 24). I realize of course large and small are two measures that need to be considered in context, and so I thought that today, as I begin reading Esther, I would put how "small" the matter of finding a wife for Isaac (as I would suspect that most would disagree with my considering it "small") into perspective. Esther is a problematic book for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the term "God" or "Yahweh" does not appear in the story. It seems a book that has nothing at all to do with God, and yet it has everything to do with Him. God's sovereignty is seen throughout the book, with Esther 1 standing as the introduction to the situation in which God's sovereignty will be seen in a huge way. To be sure, it is a pretty horrible thing that happened. A patriarchal society would have no problems at all with what happened to Queen Vashti, while ours would question what right the King had to demand so much from her. Nonetheless, whatever way you view their dispute and the results, God's sovereignty was at work to bring about his divine purpose.