Pray4American (part 7) - For such a time as this

Man wearing a mask on the Jewish holiday of Purim

Providence

It's not just the capital of Rhode Island.

Providence means that the hand of God is in the glove of human events  (reference: Dr. McGee quote)

Speaking of Providence, there is a feast to commemorate such an event. In 2013, the Jewish holiday of Purim is celebrated from sundown, February 23 to sundown, February 24.

The story behind this holiday is a good yarn, found in the Old Testament Book of Esther.  It's fraught with racial hatred and political intrigue, yet through Providence good ultimately triumphs over evil .

Many sites write about it, such as About.com which has The Story of Purim.  And for a good summary of the Book of Esther, check out the  Esther Study Guide.

Through Providence, Esther won a beauty contest to become the next queen of Persia.  Later, her guardian Mordecai revealed wicked Haman's final solution to exterminate the Jews in the Empire and spoke of her Providential position -

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. 
And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:14
NIV

Most likely there were several million Jews living in the Empire at that time.  So Esther - by her wits - delivered more of her people, if you go by the numbers, than did the great names of Moses, Joshua, Gideon, or David.

Below is a musical summary of Esther's story.




The story speaks to me today.  Like the pagan court described in the Book of Esther, it seems our leaders govern as if God does not exist.  The challenges we face today seem like there are no solutions or at least ones that we are willing to undertake.  Many "prophets" and "doomsayers" point to America's decline and economic collapse which will consign us to the dustbin of history.  They could be right.

Yet in Esther's story, though God or prayer are not specifically mentioned, both are so evident in the background as God is in the shadows, working behind the scenes, protecting His own.  And throughout any age, the greatest stealth weapon we have is prayer.

And in our day as we need an "Esther" who has the ear of the king, I was quite heartened by Dr. Benjamin Carson's speech at the recent Prayer Breakfast with the President and Vice President.



For such a time as this ...  please join in prayer for our nation.

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Heavenly Father

We confess as a nation we have turned from You and have been so ungrateful for Your bountiful blessings.  Yet, even for a people out of Your will, You are ever faithful to keep watch over Your own.

The Book of Esther encourages us as it demonstrates Your care even when Your people are out our Your expressed will.  During such godless times, though the wicked Haman had plotted to exterminate Your people, You were abiding in the shadows watching over Your own.  Through Your Providence, You raised up Esther "for such a time as this” to thwart the plans of the enemy and give victory to Your people.

With the example of Esther, we take heart for our nation.  Many, it seems, in high places have risen against You and Your people, calling good evil, and evil good, (Isaiah 5:20).  Through Your Providence, Heavenly Father, we ask that You raise up men and women filled with Your Spirit – for such a time as this.  Give us a heart of repentance so we may we turn to You, the only Savior and the only Source of Wisdom to overcome the daunting challenges we face in our nation and in this world.

In Jesus Name
Amen

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Bonus:

Here is the song written by the  Liberated Walling Wall - For Such a Time as This - put to dance celebrating not only God's deliverance of His people in Esther's day but other times in the Old and New Testament.

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Keep praying for America.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.

Psalm 33:12

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Previous post on this topic:

Lots - Lady, Luck, Lessons (2011)

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Previous posts in this series:

Pray4America (part 1) - National Day of Prayer (2012)

Pray4America (part 2) - FDR's prayer on D-Day (2012)

Pray4America (part 3) - FDR's Flag Day prayer - June 14, 1942 (2012)

Pray4America (part 4) - It's a Wonderful Life, America (2012)

Pray4America (part 5) - United we stand? (2012)

Pray4America (part 6) - Christmas in Iran 1980 (2012)

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Photo:  Wikimedia - Purim Mask

Lots - Lady, Luck, Lessons

Lots:

God's dice always have a lucky roll.
Sophocles

This March 20, 2011 not only hails the first day of Spring, but also closes with an ancient Hebrew holiday which celebrates the Providence - the casting of lots.

The holiday is the Feast of Lots - Purim.

By Jewish reckoning, it begins this year at sunset on March 19th and ends at sunset March 20th. In some places of the world, the holiday starts the last night of Winter and ends the first day with Spring.

... weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Psalm 30:5
(King James Version)

The entire story is found in the Book of Esther. Also it is told wonderfully here - The Feast of Purim. Both are a good read with a beautiful heroine, heroes, evil villains, court intrigue, and a thriller with a plot twist. Most remarkable - it's true.

Instead of merely retelling it - and there are so many good links, such as the one above, that do that - I have drawn out a few points as to this marvellous story of God's Providence.

Here are three rolls of the loaded dice:

1st roll: The Lady

In the Old Testament, who was the greatest deliverer?

* Moses when he delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt?
* Joshua who fought the Battle of Jericho?
* Gideon and his small band that delivered his people from the Midianites during the time of the Judges?
* David who defeated the Philistines?

If you go strictly by the numbers, it was a woman - Esther.

After 70 years of captivity, the prophets had decreed that Jewish people return to the land. Perhaps as many as 60,000 did so. Their story is told in Ezra and Nehemiah and two of the "minor" prophets - Haggai and Zechariah.

Yet, most disobeyed and stayed in the Persian Empire. The Book of Esther tells what happened to this majority, who did not go back to Israel. Again, it's the same old sad story of anti-semitism.

Moses and Joshua had delivered an estimated million in the Exodus from Egypt. But Esther, perhaps, delivered her tens of millions, for it has been estimated that several million Jews lived in the Persian Empire during this time.

This was no small feat. By modern standards, it would be as if Esther had stopped Adolf Hitler and prevented the Holocaust. And it was not mistake that during the Holocaust the Jews had called Adolf Hitler a modern day Haman after the villain in the Book of Esther.

For comparison and contrast, reference: Haman and Hitler

2rd roll:  "Luck"

* Was it "luck" that the king of Persia put away his wife and through a beauty contest picked Esther as his new queen?
* Was it "luck" Esther when exercised nepotism, so her next of kin Mordecai rose to a prominent position within the kingdom and had the queen's ear?
* Was it "luck" when Haman hatched his "final solution" to exterminate the Jews that Mordecai said to Esther:

... and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Esther 4:14
(King James Version)

The story is filled with many such lucky coincidences - such that Haman's plot was exposed and Mordecai and his Jewish countrymen found favor with the king and issued the support to stop it.

Sophocles was right. God does load the dice.

3rd roll:  Lessons

The Book of Esther is unique in many ways. It's one of the two books in Protestant Bible named after a woman. It is the only book which has no direct mention of God or prayer.

In spite of that, the hand of God is clearly seen, He is alluded to as deliverance coming, prayer is implied with fasting. In a pagan court, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was still there in the shadows watching over his own - even those who were deliberately out of His expressed will. (Reference: George Campbell Morgan)

The story today still speaks to me. It gives me hope for this godless world that seems to have gone mad, and the name of God only used as a curse word.

The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Psalm 121:7&8
(King James Version)


Question: Have you had any "lucky" coincidences, which have brought you deliverance?


Picture from Wikipedia Commons: Historical dice