Has not God chosen the weak things of the world to confound the wisdom of the world…
One example of how God chooses the weak things of the world to confound the so-called wise of the world can be found in the Old Testament, in the Book of Esther, in how this lone obscure young woman was used of God to save the Jewish people from utter annihilation and thereby guaranteed the lineage through which our Messiah and Savior would come.
The Apostle Paul invited the Corinthians to remember their condition when God first called them. From a worldly point of view, they had been utterly foolish to believe in Christ as the way of salvation.
The cross challenges human values because no one expects to find freedom through capital punishment.
Unlike most of the thousands who faced crucifixion before and after Jesus, He was clearly not a criminal.
God uses this contradiction to reveal His power and wisdom:
Jesus has offered Himself to death and has been raised to life to bring liberation to others.
Those who truly follow this crucified king do not seek power and authority through the normal patterns of the world; they offer themselves in loving sacrifice for others.
That is where God’s transforming power is truly revealed in the church.
1 Corinthians 1:26-30
The Voice
25 You can count on this: God’s foolishness will always be wiser than mere human wisdom, and God’s weakness will always be stronger than mere human strength.
26 Look carefully at your call, brothers and sisters. By human standards, not many of you are deemed to be wise. Not many are considered powerful. Not many of you come from royalty, right?
27 But celebrate this: God selected the world’s foolish to bring shame upon those who think they are wise; likewise, He selected the world’s weak to bring disgrace upon those who think they are strong.
28 God selected the common and the castoff, whatever lacks status, so He could invalidate the claims of those who think those things are significant.
29 So it makes no sense for any person to boast in God’s presence.
30 Instead, credit God with your new situation: you are united with Jesus the Anointed. He is God’s wisdom for us and more. He is our righteousness and holiness and redemption.
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Who was Esther and how did God use her?
The Book of Esther tells how a Jewish girl became the queen of Persia and saved her people from a plot to destroy them. She is assisted in this by Mordecai, her cousin and guardian.
Esther was written to explain the origin of the Feast of Purim and to ensure that it would be observed by all future generations of the Jewish people (Esther 9:28).
It has clearly achieved this purpose, since Jews have continued to observe Purim to the present day.
The book of Esther is read as part of the celebration of Purim.
Esther is part of a much larger story that runs all the way from Abraham to Christ and, through Him, to the church.
If Haman had succeeded, the Jewish people as a whole would have been destroyed, and the story of God’s saving work in and through Abraham’s descendants would have come to an end.
There would have been no fulfillment in Christ, and therefore no gospel and no Christian church.
Christians should read the book of Esther, not just as a story about the Jews but as part of their own heritage.
Christians are not obliged to observe the Feast of Purim, but they are to take to heart the truth that God providentially watches over His own (Rom. 8:28).
ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING (Esther the Bible Movie)
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Anchor devotional
THE ADVOCATE
“On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance.”
— Esther 5:1
There is something awe-inspiring about the way Queen Esther left her doubts and insecurities behind and took up the mantle of advocate on behalf of her people.
She gained favor in the eyes of her earthly king because she was favored in the eyes of her heavenly King.
The God of her people was with her and was adorning her in profound wisdom.
Esther knew that King Xerxes loved fancy banquets and good wine. She knew he would not tolerate direct defiance (as with the previous queen, Vashti).
But she also knew he could be easily swayed by persuasive advisors, like Haman.
Esther patiently and carefully worked to undo the malevolence of Haman and rescue God’s people.
Meanwhile, the only thing God’s people would see at that time were the gallows Haman constructed for Mordecai.
They would have to trust in God and His appointed advocate despite the terror they beheld with their eyes.
So must we! We cannot comprehend the mind of our God or the timing of His salvation, but we trust in His care which has never failed us yet.
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Amen to that… God NEVER fails and His promises in His Word will never return void!
Isaiah 55:10-11
New King James Version
10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me [a]void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Selah (let us pause and calmly think about these things)
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