WAIT ON THE LORD

GOD’S PROTECTION AND GREATNESS

ECCLESIASTES 1:2, 12:8 PSALM 27 AND ISAIAH 40

INTRODUCTION:

VANITY OF VANITIES… (ECCL 1:2, 12:8) FAST FOOD, INSTANT GRATIFICATION

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.  (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.  (Ecclesiastes 12:8)

1) DAVID’S RELIANCE ON GOD (PSALM 27:1-14)

            A.  DAVID’S LORD IS LIGHT, SALVATION AND STRENGTH (27:1-3) V1

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?² When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.³ Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

            B.  DAVID’S DESIRE (27:4)

One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.

            C.  DAVID’S GOD OF PROTECTION (27:5-13)

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.⁶ And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.⁸ When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.⁹ Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.¹⁰ When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.¹¹ Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.¹² Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.¹³ I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

            D.  DAVID WAITS ON THE LORD (27:14) HE COULD WAIT BECAUSE HE KNEW WHO HIS GOD WAS AND TRUSTED IN HIM

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

2) COMFORT FOR JERUSALEM (ISAIAH 40:1-31)

            A.  CONTEXT: PROPHECY AFTER BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY

              B.  COMFORT FOR JERUSALEM (40:1-2)

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.² Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

            C.  JOHN THE BAPTIST PROPHESIED (40:3-5)

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.⁴ Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:⁵ And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

            D. THE WORD OF GOD SHALL STAND FOREVER (40:6-8)

The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:⁷ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.⁸ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

            E.  BEHOLD YOUR GOD (40:9-11)

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!¹⁰ Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.¹¹ He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

            F.  GOD ASKS RHETORICAL QUESTIONS (40:12-14)

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?¹³ Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?¹⁴ With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

            G. ALL NATIONS BEFORE HIM ARE AS NOTHING… (40:15-17)

Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.¹⁶ And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.¹⁷ All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

            H. WHO IS LIKE GOD? (40:18-22)

To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?¹⁹ The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.²⁰ He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.²¹ Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?²² It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

            J. GOD HAS POWER OVER LEADERS (40:23-24)

That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.²⁴ Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

            K. GOD IS… (40:25-31) HOLY ONE (40:25), CREATOR, STRONG IN POWER (40:26), FAINTETH NOT, NEITHER IS WEARY (40:28), GIVETH POWER TO THE FAINT, INCREASETH STRENGTH (40:29)

To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.²⁷ Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?²⁸ Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.²⁹ He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

            L. JERUSALEM AND JUDAH COULD WAIT ON THE LORD BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS (40:30-31)

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

CONCLUSION:

1) READ GOD’S WORD

2) KNOW WHO GOD IS

3) DESIRE GOD

4) WAIT ON GOD TO DO HIS WILL IN YOUR LIFE

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

Wait on the Lord. That is a process. It doesn’t just happen. As we will see, David and Isaiah both knew their God. Subsequently, they were able to completely wait for God to act.

2) COMFORT FOR JERUSALEM (ISAIAH 40:1-31)

        A.  CONTEXT: PROPHECY AFTER BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY

          B.  COMFORT FOR JERUSALEM (40:1-2)

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.² Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

        C.  JOHN THE BAPTIST PROPHESIED (40:3-5)

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.⁴ Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:⁵ And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

        D. THE WORD OF GOD SHALL STAND FOREVER (40:6-8)

The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:⁷ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.⁸ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

        E.  BEHOLD YOUR GOD (40:9-11)

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!¹⁰ Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.¹¹ He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Israel is in midst of the Babylonian captivity.

God tells Isaiah to comfort His people. He says to speak comfortably to her. Tell her “…that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned:”

Then Isaiah tells Israel of the one who will prepare the way for the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Then God tells him to cry. He cries that the people are grass and like flowers in the field. He ends with, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” We should never forget that God’s word is eternal. When we need answers, God’s word has the answers we need.

Then Isaiah tells Israel to “…behold your God!” Why? The Lord will come with a strong hand, His arm shall rule for them, His reward is with Him, He shall feed his flock, He shall gather His lambs, He shall carry them, and shall gently lead them.

Isaiah knew his God and was told by God to tell Israel what God was about to do for them. He comforts Israel with these words.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

Wait on the Lord. That is a process. It doesn’t just happen. As we will see, David and Isaiah both knew their God. Subsequently, they were able to completely wait for God to act.

1) DAVID’S RELIANCE ON GOD (PSALM 27:1-14)

        A.  DAVID’S LORD IS LIGHT, SALVATION AND STRENGTH (27:1-3) V1

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?² When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.³ Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

        B.  DAVID’S DESIRE (27:4)

One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.

        C.  DAVID’S GOD OF PROTECTION (27:5-13)

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.⁶ And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.⁸ When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.⁹ Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.¹⁰ When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.¹¹ Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.¹² Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.¹³ I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

        D.  DAVID WAITS ON THE LORD (27:14) HE COULD WAIT BECAUSE HE KNEW WHO HIS GOD WAS AND TRUSTED IN HIM

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

The only way that David could make the statement in verse 14,”Wait on the Lord:…” is to have known the Lord and what He had done in his own personal life. As we read, we see David saying that the Lord is MY life, He is the strength of MY life, David desires to dwell in God’s house all the days of MY life. David also knows that the Lord will protect him. David says the Lord will hide him and deliver him from his enemies. He praises the Lord for His protection and salvation.

This is how David can say, “Wait on the Lord:”.

Do you know the Lord like David did? If not, begin cultivating that relationship right now!

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

A flower that only grows in the garden of eternity!

(Matthew Hale 1600-1675)

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand!” Psalm 16:11

True happiness is not to be found in this life. It is a flower that only grows in the garden of eternity, and to be expected in its full fruition only in that life which is to come.

If we do but seriously believe the truth of the gospel, the best things of this world will seem of small importance; and the worst things this world can inflict will seem but of little consequence. The worst things that this world can inflict will appear too light to provoke us to impatience or discontent. He who has everlasting glory in prospect, will have a mind full of contentment in the darkest condition here.

This poor world is the place of our travel and pilgrimage, and, at the best, our temporary inn.
Our home, our country, is Heaven, where there are no sorrows, nor fears, nor troubles.

In my Father’s house there are mansions, many mansions, instead of my inn. My Savior Himself has gone before me to prepare a place for me. I will therefore content myself with the inconveniences of my short journey, for my accommodations will be inconceivable when I come to my true home, that heavenly inheritance which is the place of my eternal happiness.

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints!” Ephesians 1:18
~  ~  ~  ~
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

On our learning this lesson depends our comforting walk heavenward

(Letters of William Romaine, 1714-1795)

When the Holy Spirit takes of the things of Christ and preaches them to the heart–oh, what a sweet peace follows! For the believer then finds himself saved from all the miseries of sin, and entitled to all the blessings of eternal glory.

Being thus persuaded of his safety by believing in the sin-atoning blood of our Great High Priest, the Holy Spirit then teaches him how to live upon Christ, and how to make use of Christ’s fullness.

On our learning this lesson depends our comforting walk heavenward. For Christ does not give us a stock of grace and expect us to improve it by being faithful to grace given. No, no, that is not His way. Our souls must depend upon Him, just as our bodies do upon the elements of this world. Every moment we must live by faith upon His fullness, and be every moment receiving out of it grace upon grace.

And this is our happiness–to have all in Christ!

A beggar in myself, but rich with unsearchable eternal riches in Him.

Ignorant still in myself, but led and taught by His unerring wisdom.
A sinner still, but saved by His blood and righteousness.

Weak and helpless still, but kept by His Almighty love.

Nothing but sorrow in myself, nothing but joy in Him.
Oh, this is a blessed life!

No tongue can tell what a Heaven it is, thus to live by faith upon the Son of God. Thanks be to Him, that I do know a little of it. Surely I could not have thought, some years ago, that there was such a Heaven upon earth as I now find. May you find it more and more! Sweet Jesus keep you, my dear friend!

Yours,
William Romaine
~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

The grand object of the eye of faith!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“We fix our eyes not on what is seen–but on what is unseen.
 For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal!”
   2 Corinthians 4:18

In our Christian pilgrimage it is well for the most part to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown–and onward is the goal. Whether it is for hope, for joy, for consolation, or for the inspiring of our love–the future must, after all, be the grand object of the eye of faith!

Looking into the future–the Christian sees sin cast out, the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect, and fit to be a partaker of eternal glory. Looking further yet, the believer’s enlightened eye can see death’s river passed. He sees himself . . .
  enter within the pearly gates,
  hailed as more than conqueror,
  crowned by the hand of Christ,
  embraced in the arms of Jesus,
  glorified with Him, and
  made to sit together with Him on His throne!

Contemplation of my glorious future may well relieve,
    the darkness of the past, and
    the gloom of the present!The joys of Heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth!

Hush, hush, my fears!Death is but a narrow stream–and you shall soon have forded it!

Death–how brief!
Immortality–how endless!

Time–how short!
Eternity–how long!

The road is so, so short! I shall soon be there!

“In the future, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day; and not only to me–but to all those who have loved His appearing!” 2 Timothy 4:8

“Our citizenship is in Heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who . . . will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body!” Philippians 3:20-21

 ~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

Forty Scripture Directions

(John Willison, “Forty Scripture Directions” 1680-1750)

Never let the world come into God’s place. (1 John 2:15)

Keep up the same opinion now of things of the world, that you will have when you come to die. (Matthew 16:26)

Put a high value upon precious time, and lose none of it by sloth. (Ephesians 5:16)

Allow a little time every day to think upon eternity. (Matthew 25:46)

Employ Christ as your refuge in all cases, and in every strait go to Him for relief. (Hebrews 12:2)

As you expect to live with Christ in Heaven, study to live for Christ on earth. (2 Corinthians 5:15)

Cleave fast to Christ and the way of holiness, whatever it may cost you. (Acts 11:23; 2 Timothy 3:12)

Delight much in thinking upon Christ–particularly of His death and sufferings for us. (1 Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 6:14)

Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17)

Spend as much time as possible in secret prayer and converse with God. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

 ~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

Oh how ashamed you would be if men could see your thoughts!

(Richard Baxter)

Is not the eye of God ten thousand times more to be regarded?

“You alone know each human heart!” 2 Chronicles 6:30

“Behold, I know your thoughts!” Job 21:27

“Would not God have discovered it, since He knows the secrets of the heart?” Psalm 44:21

“You have set our iniquities before You,our secret sins in the light of Your presence!” Psalm 90:8

“You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar!” Psalm 139:2

“Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD–how much more the hearts of men!” Proverbs 15:11

“I know what is going through your mind.” Ezekiel 11:5

“I know their works and their thoughts.” Isaiah 66:18

“Lord, You know everyone’s heart.” Acts 1:24

“For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14

“God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all.” Romans 2:16

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.” 1 Corinthians 4:5

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”   Psalm 139:23-24
~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chapla1n@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

The festival of Purim celebrates God’s deliverance from a plot to destroy all the Jews. This year the celebration begins on the evening of 25 February and ends on the evening of 26 February.

Today we conclude our study of Esther. We will look at Esther’s banquet request and the death of Haman, promotion of Mordecai and new decree to allow the Jews to defend themselves, Jews destroy their enemies and Purim instituted, and Mordecai’s greatness.

Please read these chapters for the complete story.

Chapter 7 Esther’s banquet request and the death of Haman

“Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:4 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.5 Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?6 And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.” (7:3-6)

“So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.” (7:10)

Chapter 8 Promotion of Mordecai and new decree to allow the Jews to defend themselves

“On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews’ enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her.2 And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.” (8:1-2)

“Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.” (8:8)

“And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus’ name, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:11 Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,” (8:10-11)

Chapter 9 Jews destroy their enemies and Purim instituted

“Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them.” (9:5)

“And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,21 To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.” (9:20-22)

“Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,” (9:26)

Chapter 10 Mordecai’s greatness

“For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.” (10:3)

Chapter 7

Esther tells the king that Haman has plotted to kill her people the Jews. As the king contemplates what to do, Haman throws himself on Queen Esther for mercy. The king, however, thought that Haman was assaulting the queen. Haman is sentenced to be hanged on the gallows he had made for Mordecai.

Chapter 8

The problem still exists, what will become of the Jews? The king’s decree could not be revoked.

The king promotes Mordecai to Haman’s position. He suggests that Mordecai write a new decree. He does. “Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,”.

Chapter 9

The Jews defeated their enemies. To commemorate this event the festival of Purim was initiated.  It has been celebrated from that time till today.

Chapter 10

Mordecai is second to the king. More importantly, he is accepted by the Jews as a great benevolent leader.

So the story has a happy ending.

God orchestrated each event. He was in every circumstance that Mordecai, Esther, and Haman encountered.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

The festival of Purim celebrates God’s deliverance from a plot to destroy all the Jews. This year the celebration begins on the evening of 25 February and ends on the evening of 26 February.

Today we will look at Chapters 4-6 Mordecai informs, Jews fast, Esther prepares to go to the king, the courage of Esther and the pride of Haman, and Mordecai Rewarded and Haman shamed. Please read these chapters for the full story.

Chapter 4 Mordecai informs, Jews fast, Esther prepares to go to the king

“And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.8 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.” (4:7-8)

“For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (4:14)

“Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.” (4:16)

Chapter 5 Courage of Esther and the Pride of Haman

“And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the scepter.” (5:2)

“And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow am I invited unto her also with the king.” (5:11-12)

Chapter 6 Mordecai Rewarded and Haman shamed

“And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, What honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.” (6:2-3)

“Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.11 Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor.12 And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered. (6:10-12)

These three chapters tell of God’s intervention in the affairs of men. We will see the courage of Esther and how Haman’s pride is turned to Mordecai’s honor.

Chapter4

Mordecai gets a copy of the king’s commandment to destroy the Jews. He cried with a loud and bitter cry. The Jews of the provinces were in great mourning, fasting, weeping, and wailing.

Mordecai challenges Queen Esther to go to the king for deliverance. Initially she hesitated. However, Mordecai made a convincing argument and she decided she would go.

Chapter 5

Esther goes and the king held out the golden scepter. She requests that the king and Haman come to a banquet she has prepared for them. Then she invites them to a second one the next day.

While this is going on, Haman is boasting to his family how great he is. He is also encouraged to go to the king and request to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had built.

Chapter 6

The king could not sleep. They brought the book of records of the chronicles and they were read to him. They read the entry about how Mordecai saved the king’s life. The king asks, “What honor and dignity hath been done to honor Mordecai?” the answer was that nothing had been done for him.

Mordecai has come to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows.

The king asks Haman, “What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor?” Haman’s pride kicks in and he describes what he would like the king to do for him. When he gets finished, the king tells him to all these things for Mordecai. The irony is that Haman had to honor Mordecai. Haman was utterly shamed. It gets worse for Haman.

Tomorrow the story concludes. Will the Jews be saved? Does Haman’s plot come to fruition? What happens to Esther and Mordecai? How is Purim initiated?

Come back tomorrow and find out!

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com