Esther 8

Read Esther 8

Verses chosen for meditation: Esther 8:15,16 ESV:

Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a robe of fine linen and purple, and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor.

Reflect

Think of a time when things went smoothly, when all requests were granted and when schemers met their own doom.

Coupled with that, a promotion, a recognition, and a region wide enforcement of favourable laws.

Will this not be a great cause for celebration? Will there not be the attendant joy and gladness? What a day it will be, can you even begin to imagine it?

Relate

The chapter reads like a red – letter day for the Jews in the days of Esther. Incidentally, today, the 10th of October is also a red - letter day for the Chinese. 

In modern parlance, one could say too that 'the stars are aligned'. Indeed, everything was going swimmingly for Esther and Mordecai, including the entire Jewish community both near and far. There couldn't have been a better time for them in a long while.

Days like this are certainly rare and, if ever, they would be far in between. Not sure if Esther and Mordecai had expected things to turn out the way they did. But chances are they had not seen the day coming. If that's the case, joy is all the more sweet when it is least expected.

Now, if we could just imagine the king as God for a moment, someone who grants all of our requests, supports the causes we stand for, ensures our well - being and even exalts us before the rest, how would it make us feel? As surreal as it might be, it needn't be a far - fetched imagination. For this is truly the character of God as vested in the king.

Perhaps, for this reason, God is not mentioned at all in the book of Esther, but alluded to in the various examples. It's for us then to imagine God. What if the goodness of God is remote from our memory? Then, we’ll need to refresh them. Granted, it can be hard for some of us to imagine God as being all gracious and generous.

Even then, we need not be envious of Esther and Mordecai. They had their own share of dark nights and rough days, being minorities in a foreign land where persecution was rife. Besides, Esther had also lost both her parents when young. But despite their less than favourable circumstances, they had been willing to take risks for their fellowmen, at the cost of their own lives. To that end, they had remained fervent in their faith.

Some of us would have stopped looking forward to the day, bailing ourselves out of the whole waiting game because of some bad experiences that had seared our memories.

But there could still be those who are waiting for the day to come. Their willingness to 'take risk' then becomes their staying power.

What risks are we talking about?

If we remember, we have been challenged to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5: 7). This naturally involves some measure of risk taking. There's no playing it safe in this challenge. However, it doesn't mean that we would impulsively dash headlong into a glass wall.

So, like it or not, faith does require the taking of risks. Taking God at his Word is actually taking risks. 

Someone also said that ‘Faith is passive in the absence of reality, but active in the presence of reality.’ The question then is, 'Are we up for it?'

But if we really know God, we know that He is a risk worth taking. Anytime.

For great will be the returns on that 'red - letter' day!

Rest

Lord, the measure of your worth is reflected by the amount of risk we're willing to take. Not impulsively nor recklessly. But in true faith. As a result of due diligence done in knowing you. Therefore, we look forward to that day. To the sure and marvellous returns.

Naville Chia