August 2, 2009
Scripture:
Scripture:
Romans 8:31 - 37
Exodus 3:8
Earlier we read the story David and Goliath; and saw how David went down into the valley to remove the enemy of Israel. Here God is talking to Moses. The Israelites were in bondage, and God is going to bring them out; to a better land, a land flowing with milk and honey. We share in our Lord’s victories. We are blessed to have the hope of being with Him forever.
Hymn 127 - Let us sing of His love once again
Prayer
Today we’ll be reading Esther 3. In ch. 1, we saw how Vashti is a type of those who are left on earth after the Christians are raptured. Then we saw how Esther was a picture of the Jewish remnant.
Esther 3:1 - 15
This chapter introduces us to a man named Haman, the Agagite; an Agagite is an Amalekite. To get a bit of background on the Amalekites, read Genesis 36:1 - 3, 10, 12; Amalek was the grandson of Esau. Also, from Exodus 17:8, we can see that Amalek is the enemy of Israel. The Amalekites were supposed to be eliminated, but here, one popped up.
The king had promoted Haman, and now everyone was supposed to bow down when he went by. However, Mordecai refused to bow; when asked why, he clearly stated that he was a Jew. When Hanam found out, he wanted to kill not only Mordecai, but also all the Jews.
So, Haman went to talk to the king about it; he explained that there were certain people in his kingdom whose laws were different from the kings, and who should be put to death. The king agreed to let Haman kill them, and so he called his scribes and wrote letters; then, he sent them out through the kingdom, to all the different provinces. At the end of the chapter, we see the king and Haman enjoying a glass of wine together; but “the city of Shushan was perplexed.”
Haman is a picture of the antichrist; during the tribulation, he will be part of the unholy trinity here on earth. It’s amazing to me how God allows people’s lives to be a picture of what will happen in the future.
We noticed last time how the enemy gets stronger when we begin to do the Lord’s work. We’ve been talking about the Amalekites; often, they are a type of our enemy in the flesh. We looked at the story of David and Goliath this morning; you’d like to think that Goliath with his head chopped off is a picture of Satan. However, he’s not gone.; but his power over us is gone. Yet, he still tries to get to us. Read Ephesian 6:11. In our chapter, the Jews needed to prepare their weapons to fight. We, too, need to take up the armour of God, to escape from the tricky methods of the devil.
We also talked about how the Jews’ enemies progressed. At first, they just ridiculed the Jews. Then, they started mocking them; now, they become violent. Notice that their goal was not to stop the work, but to hinder it. Satan knows that he can’t take away our salvation, but he can hinder our lives so easily.
Part of the enemy’s tactic was intimidation. What a resource it is to be able to pray when this happens! (v. 9). This will give us God’s protection; we can look to Him for encouragement. However we can’t forget to put on our spiritual armour so that we can fight against spiritual wickedness.
V. 10 : Those who were bearing the burdens were feeling weak; It is the same today; however, we should not grow weary in well doing; the joy of the Lord is our strength. Also read Psalm 61:2 - 3. However, it is always good to have new recruits. Read Lamentations 3:27 and I Timothy 4:12.
Hymn 290 - Praise the Saviour, ye who know Him
Prayer