July 30, 2019
Ester 6:1-7:6
by Monika Surcey
Administrative Assistant
Clinch Mountain District
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church
Esther 6 starts off with “That night the king had trouble sleeping …” This trouble began a stirring of truth and revelation for King Ahasuerus that then brought about justice for many. The fate of the Jewish people in his land was in the hands of one wicked man, Haman. It all began with Haman’s seething and scheming anger against a man of faith, Mordecai, who would not bow down to Haman. This angered Haman so badly that he began a great persecution of Mordecai’s people, and they lived in fear.
All of this was yet unbeknownst to the king until he had trouble sleeping. And what he found was a righteous man, Mordecai, whom the king wanted to honor.
This part of the story in Esther accentuates how God can make a move toward justice beyond comprehension. Esther and her people were doomed to certain slaughter because a man who hated them was in a place of high position and power. Talk about a fearful situation for Esther and her people!
At the end of this part of the story, Haman was called out in chapter seven, verse six. The scripture describes how pale he grew with fright, fright of inevitable mortal punishment by a man-king. The king delivered Mordecai from Haman in a way none could have imagined: Haman ended up being hanged on the gallows he constructed to hang Mordecai. And, the Jewish people in that land lived. The king flipped what Haman wanted to flop. The great tide of evil was turned over on its ear, completely unexpectedly, because of a sleepless king who requested some historical documents to lull him back to sleep.
Faith, fear, rescue, salvation, trust. The reading for this day displays a God Who Is a Contriver of Justice. Justice doesn’t always happen how we think or rarely when we think, but God is righteous and Judge of each and every soul and situation. God sees every tear, hears every cry, and knows every angst large and small. God is Jehovah Maphalti, our Deliverer. Justice out of his righteousness is one of the facets of God’s salvation, his rescuing of us. I can personally assure you we can trust God to save, and save he does!
Prayer: Thank you, God, that you are the contriver of justice for all. Let us be awake to your stirring of your movements toward justice. Thank you that we can trust you to save. Help us to be more like you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.