*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Hate is a necessary part of the Christian vocabulary.
We are commanded by God to love righteousness and hate sin.
As beautiful as Esther was, hidden deep within her was a steely resolve to finish what Saul had left undone. Although this warrior-king stood head and shoulders above his countrymen, he did not have what it took to obey God and utterly destroy the Amalekites. He was strong in body but soft in character.
Esther may have been soft in body, but she was strong in character.
A killer instinct rose up in Queen Esther, and she said to herself, "Not only am I going to make sure we survive, but I'm going to make sure he doesn't." She was determined to fulfill God's mandate: Haman, the last of the murderous line of King Agag the Amalekite, must not survive, nor would the offspring of his spirit.
Could this be yet another embodiment of the prophetic words God spoke to Satan the serpent?
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
Esther was not and could not be content merely to see Haman eliminated. She knew that, what you do not eradicate when you are strong will come back to attack you when you are weak.
Haman had planted a lethal virus of hatred and genocide throughout the Persian empire. A man of hate had engineered the destruction of the Jews without the knowledge or input. If they did not act, they would be destroyed even after the "father" of the plot was dead.
Esther was making a clear statement to the enemies of the Jewish people. "You started it without cause. Now this is going to be such a lopsided victory that we will never have to fight this battle again. You started it, now we will finish it."
God will give you an extra day to make sure your victory is complete!
When the King asks, "What more do you want?"-- always reply, "Complete victory!"
Favor can restore in a day what was stolen in a lifetime.
Isn't that a little too warlike for loving Christians?
I remember someone in the Bible who said something to the church that is also very warlike:
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every though into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. [2 Cor 10:4-6]
We beg God to defeat our enemies and reenact a battle that was won two thousand years ago. In much the same way that King Xerxes responded to Esther, our King has gently reminded us that He already placed His signet ring on our finger when He gave us the power and right to use His name in the earth.
It is up to us to send the message in the King's name. I seem to remember His saying, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Favor makes you fearful to your enemies.
One night with the King changes everything!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Eveline pops at |10:57 PM|
Captivate my heart, dear Jesus
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hate is a necessary part of the Christian vocabulary.
We are commanded by God to love righteousness and hate sin.
As beautiful as Esther was, hidden deep within her was a steely resolve to finish what Saul had left undone. Although this warrior-king stood head and shoulders above his countrymen, he did not have what it took to obey God and utterly destroy the Amalekites. He was strong in body but soft in character.
Esther may have been soft in body, but she was strong in character.
A killer instinct rose up in Queen Esther, and she said to herself, "Not only am I going to make sure we survive, but I'm going to make sure he doesn't." She was determined to fulfill God's mandate: Haman, the last of the murderous line of King Agag the Amalekite, must not survive, nor would the offspring of his spirit.
Could this be yet another embodiment of the prophetic words God spoke to Satan the serpent?
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
Esther was not and could not be content merely to see Haman eliminated. She knew that, what you do not eradicate when you are strong will come back to attack you when you are weak.
Haman had planted a lethal virus of hatred and genocide throughout the Persian empire. A man of hate had engineered the destruction of the Jews without the knowledge or input. If they did not act, they would be destroyed even after the "father" of the plot was dead.
Esther was making a clear statement to the enemies of the Jewish people. "You started it without cause. Now this is going to be such a lopsided victory that we will never have to fight this battle again. You started it, now we will finish it."
God will give you an extra day to make sure your victory is complete!
When the King asks, "What more do you want?"-- always reply, "Complete victory!"
Favor can restore in a day what was stolen in a lifetime.
Isn't that a little too warlike for loving Christians?
I remember someone in the Bible who said something to the church that is also very warlike:
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every though into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. [2 Cor 10:4-6]
We beg God to defeat our enemies and reenact a battle that was won two thousand years ago. In much the same way that King Xerxes responded to Esther, our King has gently reminded us that He already placed His signet ring on our finger when He gave us the power and right to use His name in the earth.
It is up to us to send the message in the King's name. I seem to remember His saying, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Favor makes you fearful to your enemies.
One night with the King changes everything!
Finding favor with the King
Eveline pops at |10:57 PM|