God’s appointed times recorded in scripture are key in the understanding of His Divine Plan. God’s appointed times—His Feast Days are very significant on God’s calendar as we will see in the Book of Esther. Let us keep in mind that the Hebrew calendar begins in the month Nissan in which the celebration of Passover occurs which this year was on April 22-30. (Remember the Christian calendar was different from the Hebrew calendar this year.) Of course, as we know, that it was the time that Jesus laid down His life as the sacrificial Lamb so that we can have eternal life and through His blood every man, woman, and child can receive forgiveness for sin and be born as a child of God! John 3: 16-17 makes it clear: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” It all goes back to God and His plan of redemption. God is Creator: We know from God’s Word that God spoke the universe into existence! (Genesis 1-2) God is Sustainer: It is by God’s preservation that the universe is held together. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Christ “upholds all things by the word of His power.” Colossians 1:17 says: “And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” God rules over all: Psalm 103:9 says “His Kingdom ruleth over all.” Paul reveals in Ephesians 1:11 that God “works all things after the counsel of His own will” according to Divine Providence--the means by which God directs all things; seen and unseen and good and evil to accomplish and fulfill His purpose and plan. As I looked at the calendar for June, I had a date marked that begins at 6:00 Friday, June 28, and ends at 6:00 Saturday, June 29. God brought to mind the significance of that date from the Book of Esther which on the Hebrew calendar is the 23rd day of Sivan—the third month on the Hebrew calendar which falls 10 days after Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down and the Church was birthed. This Book is the last of the historical books of the Bible and follows Nehemiah that we recently studied. The Book of Esther provides us with the greatest illustrations of the Providence of God although His Name nor prayer is ever mentioned but He is the Unseen Hand. God opened my eyes to truths that I had never seen before from this book that I believe He is wanting us to focus on today—“at such a time as this.” (Esther 4: 14)
It is important that we set the stage for the events of this book. As we learned in Nehemiah, God used the Gentile ruler Cyrus to give the command and provide for the return of the Jewish people to their land after 70 years in captivity in a pagan kingdom. History reveals that a remnant of less than sixty thousand returned to Israel. The Book of Esther relates to the several million that did not return to the land as God decreed! They were not obedient to God’s commandment to them and were therefore out of the will of God. Why would the people want to remain in a pagan land and not return to their homeland? Let us put it into perspective. God reminded me that 70 years ago, I was seven years old and during this time I have witnessed many drastic changes from no indoor plumbing, a wood stove for cooking, telephones with a crank and an 8 party line and limited electricity to modern conveniences, cell phones and computers! The world has changed exponentially in 70 years and likewise it did for them also. Before the captivity, the Presence of God had dwelt among them in the Temple in Jerusalem, but they had become surrounded and enmeshed into a pagan society that did not know or honor God and was controlled by the world and the things of the world. They had forgotten and forsaken the vow they made with Him according to Psalm 137:6 “…let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I prefer not Jerusalem…” and had rejected God. Do you see an analogy with where we are today as a nation? Are the majority of the people of our nation out of the will of God? The Jewish people during that day rejected God but God did not forget them! Likewise, God is not finished His work in America and more specifically in the Church! Our God is faithful and rules and overrules in the affairs of men to bring about His will, purpose and plan!
Let us briefly recall the highlights of this book and apply it to where we are today as God’s ways and thoughts do not change! The Book opens with a public display of the King’s kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty lasting 180 days! It was followed by a grand banquet lasting for seven days for everyone with no restrictions on the royal wine consumption. On the seventh day when the heart of the King was merry from the wine, he commanded his servants to bring the Queen with her royal crown to show her beauty off to all the officials. She refused to be made a public spectacle to the drunken party and was therefore dethroned according to the advice of his wicked counsel! They appeased the King further by recommending that a kingdom-wide beauty pageant be held from the young virgin women to replace her. God introduced us to a pagan court where decisions were made that affected the world at that time and to the counsel of darkness controlled by the god of this world. What Satan meant for evil, God would use for good to reveal His Divine Providence!
We see God introducing a character from the Jewish people who chose to stay behind named Mordecai. This man was going to be brought home, although he is out of the will of God, and although he is not looking to God for help! Mordecai had a young cousin whose parents may have been slain when Nebuchadnezzar took the City of Jerusalem. Mordecai adopted her as his own daughter named Hadassah or Esther that means “star” and according to scripture was beautiful and fair. Mordecai had a position within the palace and saw the beauty contest to replace the queen as an opportunity for him to gain influence in the court and encouraged Esther to enter. He was breaking the Mosaic Law that forbid intermarriage with the heathen. Mordecai was willing to take a risk if she lost that she would become a concubine and be exposed to an awful life! How foolish are the ways of those separated from God’s ways! BUT GOD, overruled and granted Esther grace and favor with the keeper of the women. She obtained kindness from him, and he gave her everything she needed to help make her even more beautiful. She was indeed on her way to being the star of the story!
Let us remember that the Jews were a captive people and anti-Semitism always has been a curse in the nations of the world. We are still seeing anti-Semitism today as the god of this world opposes God and His people. Therefore, Mordecai warned Esther not to reveal her nationality. The moment Mordecai and Esther denied their nationality, that moment they denied their religion and their God. It is interesting to note that today when men and women are out of the will of God, they have very little to say about their faith in Christ. As the time neared for the competition, fear gripped Mordecai because of the situation he had put Esther into. How many times have we leaped into a situation because we thought it was a good idea, only to regret that we had not sought God for the answer? Again, God overruled through His providence and began to move at that time. It was no accident that Esther is given the most prominent place and that she is shown every favor and given every consideration. We know that Esther became the winner and became Queen. Her selection was by the Providence of Almighty God. It was essential for God to go before and make arrangements to protect His people. God wanted us to see His overruling in the affairs of men and Satan. This should be a comfort to God’s children in this hour in which we live.
We fast forward and know that even though Mordecai and Esther were not faithful enough to return to Jerusalem, they were willing to jeopardize their lives in order to save their people. We see a minion of Satan—Haman—a hater of Jews, emerge as the villain in the story. He conspired to have the King release an edict on the 13th day of the first month—Nissan on the Hebrew calendar (Passover when Christ would die on the cross) to have all the Jews annihilated on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month on the Hebrew calendar—the month of Adar. We see the enormous challenge of the danger that Mordecai and Esther experienced. Mordecai laid out the dilemma to Esther: “Do not think in your soul that you will escape in the king’s household more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place—but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows whether you have attained royal status for such a time as this?” (Es. 4: 13-14)
We begin to see God by His Providence—His Unseen Hand moving in the affairs of the nation! It is obvious that Esther did not accidentally become Queen. She is there for a very definite purpose, and God had been arranging it all the time. God is prepared for every event! God knows what is coming. When we put our hand in His Unseen Hand, He has the power to hold us! God knows what is going to happen tomorrow and next month and next year. He will care for us! All we have to do is trust Him!
We know that Esther interceded for her people and exposed Haman’s wicked plot to the King and also identified herself and her people as Jews. God did a Divine Reversal and Haman, the enemy of Mordecai and the Jewish people, was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai! Ps. 37: 35-36 says: “I have seen the wicked in great power and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not: yet I sought him, but he could not be found.” The lesson is “You can run against God’s plan and purpose, but you won’t defeat God, because You are going to pass off the stage.” That is what happened to Haman. Although Haman was dead, the threat of death still hung over every Jew because the decree is a law of the Medes and Persians and could not be changed.
Esther made it plain to the King that the judgment against Haman was of no avail unless something was done to save her people. The King had given to Esther and Mordecai the house of Haman and all he owned, but that did not spare the Jews. With courage and wisdom, Mordecai came up with a solution to save His people from annihilation—the King would declare another decree on behalf of the Jews and be sent out just like the first and signed by the King. It was on the 23rd day of the third month, Sivan—anniversary day this year of June-28-29! It was on that day that the decree was sent out to the 127 provinces of the kingdom. This new decree provided a way of escape for the Jews. If they received the message in time—and believed it—they could save their lives. The King granted them the right to gather, to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause their enemy to perish! “The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honor.” (Es. 8:16) The result was that many of the people became Jews—the nation Israel became a witness to the world leading up to the day of Haman’s decree of death to the Jews. The new decree was to take effect on the same day that Haman’s decree was to go in force—the thirteenth day of the 12th month known as the Feast of Purim celebrating the keeping power of God, His providence, His sovereignty.
How does all of this relate to where we are today in our nation, in the Church and to us as individuals who are His? God revealed to me that this was one of the most wonderful pictures of our salvation in the Bible as it affected all the nation and the people. During those 70 years God’s people had become accustomed to living in tyranny under the leadership of the pagan government and the evil Hamans and they had forgotten the God of their fathers who covenanted with Him. God’s Unseen Hand would do amazing things in the next 9 months to bring about radical change in the leadership of the nation and to bring about a Divine Reversal to His people. It was a great awakening to the people that required them to learn to walk with God again in close fellowship, obeying His Word instead of the dictates of the government and their own personal agendas. As you go through the change points that occurred in the Babylon Empire in that time you will see that it was a spiritual battle in the unseen realm much like we are experiencing now. 1. It was during Passover that Haman plotted the death of Mordecai and the Jewish people and the decree went out. This foreshadowed the plot from Satan and his minions to crucify Jesus fulfilled at a future Passover when Satan’s head would be crushed and Christ would defeat Satan on behalf of us helpless sinners and Christ would destroy the devil’s most powerful weapon, death. Satan, our accuser, is now powerless to condemn Christians because we are covered by His blood. 2. It was on the 23rd day of the third month (on our June 28-29, 2024) Sivan that another decree was issued bringing victory to God’s people. It was Jesus who arose from the dead on the third day: “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Rev. 1:18) 3. The Jews had renewed hope and went forth with light, gladness, joy and honor and declared it to all the people. The good news—the Gospel—is grounded in Christ’s victory over death. Christians “have passed from death to life” (1 John 3: 14) Christ “has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” (2 Tim. 1:10) God just revealed to me yesterday why He is highlighting this decree and date. The U.S. Supreme Court comes to the end of the 2024 term this week and is set to release a series of blockbuster rulings that could change the course of this nation just as that decree did in the Book of Esther! Therefore, we are to pray for the Unseen Hand of God to rule and overrule in the hearts and minds of these Justices to put in place the laws that will set this nation and God’s people free as in the days of Esther! 4. The new decree was to take effect on the same day that Haman’s decree was to go in force—the thirteenth day of the 12th month known as Purim (on our March 13-14, 2025) celebrating the keeping power of God, His providence, His sovereignty. The Jews went forth during those 9 months in great anticipation and hope for the joy set before them. Likewise, may it be so for us as well. May we gird up our minds, be sober, and rest our hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13). Jesus Christ is our present and future hope, who is our assurance of salvation, our comfort in times of trouble, and our joy in the midst of trials. I believe that God is calling us today to be Esthers and Mordecais at such a time as this to wake up, get up and stand up for Jesus—to be soldiers of the Cross. Let us open our eyes to the Unseen Hand moving to set the captives free—and remember that God ever stands in the shadows, keeping watch over His own! He will keep His nation Israel; He will keep His Church, and He will keep the individuals who are His. He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto Him.