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Pocket Sized Thoughts – Esther – Part 4

Esther 3:1-15 “Then was Haman full of anger” (v.5)

Often, the whims and desires of those who rule have no rhyme, nor reason. The enemy is never slow, through his agents, to creep in with all subtlety to gain positions of authority to destroy righteousness and even God’s people themselves. Such was Haman, whose name means ‘Magnificent’ and he must have certainly thought he was, especially after his very recent promotion. Haman was an Agagite, a descendant of an ancient enemy, the Amalekites. The Amalekites and Agag, their king, were to be destroyed by king Saul, but were spared by him. It was left to the prophet Samuel to perform the divine execution (1 Samuel chapter 15). Some, no doubt escaped, of whom Haman was now their descendant. Both Mordecai and Haman probably recognised the significance of their respective histories and when Mordecai refused to bow, Haman saw his opportunity to exact revenge. Employing means of deceit, authority was duly given to Haman to destroy every Jew, whether young, or old, male, or female, upon a set date. The threat was real and fear began to be felt among the Jews. The days appeared dark and all were shocked. Haman thought his purpose was all but complete and sat down, complacently, to eat and drink with the king. However, he had not reckoned with God, for the Jews were His people and He would protect them. As you do God’s will, there will be many threats and plots against you. Because you are His, you have no need to fear as He will guide you through every danger and every scheme of both men and devils.

PRAYER :- “Lord, thank you that we can hide ourselves in You from every fury of the enemy.”


Pocket Sized Thoughts – Esther – Part 3

Esther 2:19-23 “Mordecai sat in the king’s gate” (v.21)

As Esther was chosen and began a new life as queen, her cousin and guardian, Mordecai, sat at the gate of the palace. Though he could not enter, he was always in the background, being faithful in his love and watchful in his care for his adopted daughter. Eager for any news about Esther, one day Mordecai hears of a plot against the king. A channel of communication between Mordecai, Esther and the king remained open. Mordecai could have remained silent. The desire for revenge against a king whose empire had forcibly taken him and his people captive would have been motive enough for him to keep quiet. However, compassion and honour, as well as concern for Esther, made him reveal the plot. Mordecai was seeking no reward, but his name was duly recognised as it was written in the chronicles of the king. This was to become a very significant ‘hinge’ point upon which the future lay. Many, many times we will do things for a reward or to look good in the eyes of others. It is far greater to do things faithfully, for the honour of God’s name alone. Being faithful to Him will have its own reward in due time.

PRAYER :- “Lord, thank you that You look after my interests (as Mordecai did to Esther) in a way that no-one else can.”


Pocket Sized Thoughts – Esther – Part 2

Esther 2:1-18 “The king loved Esther above all the other women” (v.17)

In the process of searching for a replacement queen, Mordecai and Esther are introduced. Mordecai’s name means ‘Little Man’; he was to become anything but little, but his name indicates his humility, even though he was from the proud tribe of Benjamin. He had been taken along with thousands of others to start a new life in a strange land. Mordecai had a cousin who had lost both her parents, but was not friendless as Mordecai took the role of adoptive parent. Her name was Esther whose name means star and she was destined to shine brightly in Jewish history. Her Hebrew name was Hadassah, which means Myrtle, an evergreen tree with small, fragrant white flowers; her fragrance and purity never failed. She was brought to the palace and under the watchful eye of an overseer, underwent a purification process of preparing her to be presented without any fault before the king. All was made available for this work and nothing was spared. This is a picture of the sanctifying work of the word of God in preparing the church for her heavenly bridegroom-king (Ephesians 5:26,27). All things are ours in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:21-23) because of His great love to us. Let us avail ourselves, under His watchful eye, of all His grace so as to be worthy of being presented to Him.

PRAYER :- “Lord, thank you that Your love purifies my life from all other loves.”


Pocket Sized Thoughts – Esther – Part 1

Esther 1:1-22 “Let the king give her royal estate to one who is better than she” (v.19)

Though chronologically set at the time of the Babylonian captivity, the story of Esther is timeless in its value. God’s name is never mentioned but His invisible hand of care is always in evidence. It is difficult to identify who exactly Ahasuerus was. Some say Xerxes, but whoever he was, he was an extremely powerful king ruling over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia. The feast was in honour of an unknown celebration and during the days of feasting and drunkenness, Queen Vashti refused to appear. The king’s pride was offended, Vashti was deposed and an alternative was to be found. Thus, through unusual circumstances, the pattern of God’s care for His people begins to be woven. God is able to use any situation to display His love, care, kindness and mercy for His people. Trusting Him in the unknown and the unseen is a key of faith, which we need to exercise in all areas of our lives.

PRAYER :- “Lord, thank you that Your hand is invisibly, yet most evidently at work in my life.”


Pocket Sized Thoughts – Joshua – Part 31

Choose this day whom you will serve … as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (24:15)

Joshua’s second ‘final’ speech is to the whole nation as they presented themselves before God. He reminds them of their origins and how that the parents of Abraham, the ‘father’ of their race served idols. From this idolatry, by way of Egypt, God saved them and brought them to a place where they would worship the true and living God and enter into a covenant relationship with Him. To this end, they were a privileged people, saved for special purposes. They then had a choice which Joshua sets before them : they could serve the Lord, or they could serve idols which their hearts were prone to. Joshua makes his choice clearly before them all (last part of v.16). The influence of a godly life affects their response. Their reply is recorded in stone as a witness against them should they ever depart from the true and living God. But, once that life has been removed and a new generation emerge who have not directly seen, or known the works of the Lord, other forces come into play and spiritual life, strength and vigour begins to decline as they lust after other things. We thank God for those who have blazed a trail ahead of us; let us honour their memory by following the Lord with all our hearts and only serving Him.

PRAYER :- “Lord, may my days really count in serving You.”


Pocket Sized Thoughts – Joshua – Part 30

Love the Lord your God.” (23:11)

Joshua is now old and his time on earth has almost come to an end. His work is done and now the Lord’s work must be carried on by another. The last two chapters of the book that bears his name are mainly his final words. Firstly, he speaks to the elders, judges and heads of Israel. There is no one successor to Joshua but they are to be as the spiritual guardians of the nation. Joshua’s words are those of warnings and promises. The central exhortation is two-fold :- listen and love (v.11). They were to listen to God’s commands and ensure that they first were to be above reproach. If they failed, or disobeyed in any way, how could they possibly guide the nation? And, they were to love the Lord. If God was the first affection in their hearts, they would avoid anything to displease Him. If love for God was strong, they would not seek satisfaction anywhere else. True love for God will keep us from disobedience and keep us from idols. May the Lord truly help us to love the Lord first and foremost, not to leave that primary place and substitute love for Him with other things. How vital this is if the work of God is to go forward with good success and so, not to know the shame of defeat.

PRAYER :- “Lord, let my love for You be always stronger than a love for anything else.”


Pocket Sized Thoughts – Joshua – Part 29

They gave the Levites out of their own inheritance” (21:3)

No portion of land was given to the Levites as the Lord Himself was their inheritance. However, each tribe set aside a number of cities, 48 in total, for the Levites to live in. In this way, the priestly, spiritual service was not in isolation from the rest of the nation, but rather, lived among them. This is God’s way of maintaining His testimony to all people. Monasteries, convents, sanctuaries and even mission stations are alien to the ways of God. He and His ‘ministering’ people are to be totally accessible at all times. With this final allocation, the last work of dividing up the land came to an end. Every word that God had spoken had been fulfilled (v.45); all that He promised had become reality. This is always the case with God’s word and hardly ever the case with man’s. This difference alone should establish our faith in Him. As if to confirm the testimony of God’s faithfulness, there is a lovely picture in verse 11. The city of Arba, which means the ‘Strength of Baal’ had previously belonged to father of all the children of Anak, the giants who had defied Israel and brought so much unbelief into the nation (see Numbers 13:33). This same city, as a result of conquest, was now being given to Levi and thus, a glorious change of use was being observed. The source of Anak, their father, no longer existed – all had changed and the new name, Hebron, meaning ‘Fellowship’ typifies the change of use. Our God is able to transform everything for His new, wonderful and eternal purposes from the degraded purposes of the past.

PRAYER :- “Lord, thank you that You always want those who ‘minister’ to You to dwell in the land.”


Pocket Sized Thoughts – Joshua – Part 28

They shall take him in … and give him a place” (20:4)

As part of the division of the land, the vital importance of allocating the cities of refuge was made early on. Summary/mob justice was not allowed to become a permanent feature in the land; the rule of law must be maintained. Pre-meditated murder had no sanctuary, but death through accident at the hands of another gave the chance to flee to the cities of refuge. It has been said that the roads were kept clear and the bridges in good repair, so that there should no delays in the person’s flight, in case the revenger of blood caught up with him and killed him. Once in the city of refuge, the case was carefully heard by the priests, who stood for mediation. The man who had fled, his life was literally in the hands of the mediators. Only after the closest, fullest and most impartial investigation, could a man’s guilt be confirmed, or annulled. The court of divine justice has and will find us guilty of sin and offending a holy God. Our only hope of appeal and salvation is to flee to our heavenly Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will assess our case. If our plea for mercy is genuine, He will not turn us away from His grace so as to avoid the punishment of death our sins so surely deserve. It has also been said that there were constant and many signposts pointing the way to the nearest city of refuge. Let us pay heed to those signs and not ignore the clear way to salvation.

PRAYER :- “Lord, thank you that there is such abundant mercy to be found in You.”


Pocket Sized Thoughts – Joshua – Part 27

And the area … was too small for them.” (19:47)

The division of the land proceeds in a fairly routine way until we read about the motivation of the tribe of Dan (v.47). Here is faith and a heart reminiscent of that of Joshua and Caleb of old. Routinely, they were given their borders, but then they came to conclusion that their inheritance was too small for them. Rather than lodge a complaint, they stirred themselves into immediate action. Without delay (perhaps taking to heart Joshua’s words of the previous chapter), they rose up and took Leshem, making it their own by re-naming it after their own name. Thus , the transfer of ownership becomes complete. Leshem means fortress and it would have stood as a perpetual reminder of the inadequacies of faith in the Lord’s people. This, the tribe of Dan would not tolerate. They could have thought, “Oh, this will do, it’s enough.” But, they had a heart of holy dissatisfaction, went out, conquered and thus, enlarged their border. Are we content in lesser things? Does God not want to add to that which we already have? If our sphere of faith and godly influence is too small, then, instead of complaining, let us seek the Lord as to how our ‘border’ can be enlarged.

PRAYER :- “Lord, let me always see that there is more to be known of You and done for You.”


Pocket Sized Thoughts – Joshua – Part 26

How long are you slack to possess the land.” (18:3)

As the land became subdued, worship was re-established at Shiloh where the Tabernacle was once more set up. As they became focussed and God-centred once more, the word of exhortation and rebuke rang out loudly in their ears. “How long will you delay before possessing the land which the Lord has given you?” It was a very valid question and not to be dismissed. There is a danger that we can slacken off in our Christian lives, especially if we become weary and tired in the work. As we worship the Lord, we must allow for words of exhortation, rebuke, correction, encouragement, etc. God needed to speak, through Joshua, to the people again, reminding them of their God-given responsibility to possess that which, through Him, was theirs. We must not settle back and allow the status quo of mediocrity to dominate and determine our lives. There is no shortage in the work of the Lord. Let us gather round Him and His throne to receive fresh vision and strength and allow the word of God inspire us to stir ourselves up again to go out and conquer once again in His name.

PRAYER :- “Lord, let my faith be real and do not let me slide into spiritual complacency.”