August 2, 2015
Scripture:
Scripture:
Hymn 323 - There’s a Friend for little children
Prayer
Last time, we finished Nehemiah. So this week we are going to start going through the book of Esther. It takes place before the book of Ezra. The name of God is never mentioned in this book, but God certainly controlled everything that happened in this book. It shows the sovereignty of God. That means that God is in control. As we go through we will see that the Lord let things happen to bring about His plan.
Esther 1:1-5,9. 12,13a, 19
The King’s name is Ahasuerus. He reigned over India to Ethiopia. That was 172 provinces. This was a big kingdom. His palace was in Shushan. The same palace in which Nehemiah was cup bearer.
The story opens up in the third year of Ahasuerus’s reign. He was throwing a big feast for the top people in his kingdom. This feast lasted for 180 days. It was a very long feast! During this feast, the king showed off his majesty. He showed them everything he had.
After that feast, he gave another one for everyone in the palace. This one only lasted seven days. But this was a proud king. He was proud of everything, including his wife. His wife, Queen Vashti, was having a feast for the royal women of the palace. Ahasuerus sent a messenger to Vashti telling her to come join his feast, so he could show her to the people. Well, Queen Vashti refused to come to the king’s feast. The king was angered by this. We read that his anger burned within him. He was very upset that Vashti wouldn’t come.
King Ahasuerus went to his wise men to figure out what to do about this. They recommended that Queen Vashti should never come before the king again, and that she should no longer be queen. King Ahasuerus listened to his wise men.
Some people act out of anger, and then later they regret what they did. The Lord wants us to have control over our anger. He wants us to have self-control over our emotions. But the king, in his wrath, made the decree.
Who do we go to for advice? We should go to God’s Word and to the Lord for help in decisions. We can talk to those who have wisdom and experience.
Colossians 3: 8, 16
We should walk in honour and holiness, and put off anger. We should have God’s Word dwelling in us. God’s Word is important for counsel. If we have God’s Word dwelling in us, we will know how to react in different circumstances.
So, we’ve met King Ahasuerus, who has a large kingdom and is rather proud over this. Then there was his wife Vashti, who we will never see again. But we can see through these events that God is in control of all circumstances.
Ephesians 2:14-22
The word “one” appears 4 times here at the end of the chapter— in verses 14, 15, 16, 18. They have different aspects, and grow in sequence. This oneness brings us into the church of God; but we have also been brought into a household, and made into a building, temple, and habitation of God. There is profound truth behind these metaphors.
We’ve seen Paul use the concept of “ye” and “we”; referring to the Jews and Gentiles. The Jews had been separated by God, and treated specially; but now we Gentiles are just as special. Christ’s work has now made both of us one by breaking down the wall of laws and regulations, and we are both on totally new ground. There was no peace while the law was in place. For the conscientious Jew, there were more than 300 laws to be kept!
Christ is now our peace. He has abolished the law of commandments, and has made both Jew and Gentile one. We are a new man; a new order of man. The first order was Adam in the Garden. The second was the Lord in his perfection, and we are now the third order; created under His grace. Before, the Jew was accepted based on his works, and the Gentile was totally without hope. Now—through the cross—we are all in Christ. Are we behaving better? Maybe not, but our two parties have been brought together under Christ; and God looks at Him and His work, not at us. Before, there was enmity between Jews and Gentiles. Now we have been reconciled to God, are members of one body through the cross, and are a new order of man.
Being a member of the body of Christ is different from gathering with the local assembly. The Lord’s body is made up of every believer all over the world. Though we walk in a path of separation that others don’t, we don’t need to put up another wall between us and others. Because we are all one body, we don’t take a name. However, those that do take a name are still Christians, and are still our brethren. As Darby says, our feet must be narrow enough to walk in the path of truth, but our hearts wide enough to accept all.
When we accept the Lord as Saviour, we receive the Holy Spirit, and that gives us access to the Father. It’s amazing: one person of our triune God actually lives inside of us and creates a network with other persons!
It’s through this indwelling of this Spirit that we can call God Father. Elsewhere, the Holy Ghost is actually called the Spirit of Adoption. This is a great place and privilege that God has given us. He is the mighty, omnipotent God; and yet we can call Him Father. That is the nearness of relationship. For the Jew, these things are just as amazing as for the Gentiles. They were never in-dwelt by the Spirit, and didn’t have access to the Father. They couldn’t get too close to God, or else they would die.
This title of Father—or Abba Father—is just one name we get for God in the Scriptures. It’s a name that doesn’t take great knowledge to understand, though. It simply speaks of the nearness that God wants us to experience with Him.
Our place as sons gives us access to the Holiest before God. We enter it during the Breaking of Bread, and also in prayer meetings. However, we can also enter the holiest in the private of our own homes. This again would have been amazing to the Jew. If they entered the holiest, they died! Now we can enter it at any time. What a privilege!
Hymn 193 — There comes to my heart a sweet strain
Prayer