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It encourages me to know that God still cares for us even when we’re bitter toward Him, as Naomi was. God directed Ruth, a “new believer,” and used her faith and obedience to transform defeat into victory. God is concerned about the details of our lives, and this fact should give us courage and joy as we seek to live each day to please Him.
If you focus on only the evils of our day, you’ll become pessimistic and cynical; but, if you ask God what field He wants you to work in and faithfully serve Him, you’ll experience His grace, love, and joy.
The God of the fields in the book of Ruth is also the God of the feasts in the book of Esther. He guides the poor gleaner in the harvest and overrules the powerful king on the throne. He has His way with both of them, though He never violates their freedom.
Whether you live on a farm, in a small town, in the suburbs, or in a metropolis, God is there and is always at work on behalf of His people. Nobody can escape the watchful eye or the faithful hand of almighty God, for God “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11 NKJV).
This book also reminds us that God was caring for His people Israel and fulfilling His promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3). Every enemy that has ever tried to exterminate the Jewish nation has been defeated. At Passover, the Jews celebrate God’s victory over Egypt. Every December at Hanukkah (“Feast of the Lights”), they celebrate the victory of Judas Maccabaeus and the cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem. Purim commemorates their victory over Haman and his conspiracy in the Persian Empire. Satan continues to attack Israel, but the Jews, protected by God, are still in the community of nations
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God can use poor peasants and powerful queens to accomplish His divine purposes in this world. The question is not “Where do I live and work?” but “For whom do I live and work, for myself or my Lord?”
People in authority need to remember that all authority comes from God (Rom. 13:1) and that He alone is in complete control. Pharaoh had to learn that lesson in Egypt (Ex. 7:3–5); Nebuchadnezzar had to learn it in Babylon (Dan. 3—4); Belshazzar learned it at his blasphemous banquet (Dan. 5); Sennacherib learned it at the gates of Jerusalem (Isa. 36—37); and Herod Agrippa I learned it as he died, being eaten by worms (Acts 12:20–23). Every man or woman in a place of authority is second in command, for Jesus Christ is Lord of all.
Anger has a way of blinding our eyes and deadening our hearts to that which is good and noble. The Italian poet Pietro Aletino (1492–1557) wrote to a friend, “Angry men are blind and foolish, for reason at such a time takes flight and, in her absence, wrath plunders all the riches of the intellect, while the judgment remains the prisoner of its own pride.”
The decisions made today in the high places of government and finance seem remote from the everyday lives of God’s people, but they affect us and God’s work in many ways. It’s good to know that God is on His throne and that no decision is made that can thwart His purposes. “He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: ‘What have you done?’” (Dan. 4:35
“There is no attribute of God more comforting to His children than the doctrine of divine sovereignty,” said Charles Haddon Spurgeon. While we confess that many things involved in this doctrine are shrouded in mystery, it’s unthinkable that almighty God should not be Master of His own universe. Even in the affairs of a pagan empire, God is in control.
An English proverb says, “Beauty may have fair leaves, yet bitter fruit.”
“All truths are not to be spoken at all times,” wrote Matthew Henry, “though an untruth is not to be spoken at any time.”
When you consider the backslid state of the Jewish nation at that time, the disobedience of the Jewish remnant in the Persian Empire, and the unspiritual lifestyle of Mordecai and Esther, is it any wonder that the name of God is absent from this book? Would you want to identify your holy name with such an unholy people?
Just as Joseph found favor in Egypt (Gen. 39:21) and Daniel in Babylon (Dan. 1:9), so Esther found favor in Shushan. God is so great that He can work even in the heart and mind of the keeper of a harem! Hegai was a Gentile. His job was to provide pleasure for the king, and he didn’t know the true God of Israel. Nevertheless, he played an important role in the plan that God was working out for His people. Even today, God is working in places where you and I might think He is absent.
Mordecai received neither recognition nor reward for saving the king’s life. No matter; God saw to it that the facts were permanently recorded, and He would make good use of them at the right time. Our good works are like seeds that are planted by faith, and their fruits don’t always appear immediately. “Evil pursues sinners, but to the righteous, good shall be repaid” (Prov. 13:21 NKJV). Joseph befriended a fellow prisoner, and the man completely forgot his kindness for two years (Gen. 40:23; 41:1, 9–13). But God’s timing is always perfect, and He sees to it that no good deed is ever wasted.
Everything about Haman is hateful; you can’t find one thing about this man worth praising. In fact, everything about Haman God hated! “These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren” (Prov. 6:16–19 NKJV). Keep these seven evil characteristics in mind as you read the book of Esther, for you will see them depicted in this depraved man.
What people do with authority is a test of character. Do they use their authority to promote themselves or to help others? Do they glorify themselves or glorify God? Daniel was given a high position similar to Haman’s, but he used his authority to honor God and help others (Dan. 6). Of course, the difference between Daniel and Haman is that Daniel was a humble man of God while Haman was a proud man of the world.
Pride blinds people to what they really are and makes them insist on having what they really don’t deserve. The British essayist Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864) wrote, “When little men cast long shadows, it is a sign that the sun is setting.” Haman was a little man, indeed, but his vanity compelled him to make himself look and sound bigger than he really was.
Helen Keller said, “Science may have found a cure for most evils, but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all—the apathy of human beings” (My Religion, 162).
Billions of lost sinners in today’s world are under a sentence of eternal death, and most Christians do very little about it. We can sit at our church banquets and Sunday dinners without even thinking about helping to get the message out that “the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).
So often in the work of the Lord, He uses obscure people to accomplish important tasks. What was the name of the lad who gave Jesus his loaves and fish? Who were the men who rescued Paul by lifting him over that Damascus wall in a basket? What was the name of the little servant girl who told Naaman to go see the prophet? We don’t know, but God used these people to accomplish His purposes. As great doors can swing upon small hinges, so great events can turn upon the deeds of “small” and sometimes anonymous people.
God has divine purposes to accomplish in this world. God’s purposes involve the Jewish nation as well as the Gentile nations of the world. They also involve the church. God deals with individuals as well as with nations. His purposes touch the lives of kings and queens and common people, godly people and wicked people. There is nothing in this world that is outside the influence of the purposes of God.
God accomplishes His purposes through people. For reasons we don’t fully understand, God permits wicked people to do evil things in this world, but He can work in and through unbelievers and His own people to accomplish His purposes.
In great things and little things, God is sovereign.
God will accomplish His purposes even if His servants refuse to obey His will.
If you and I refuse to obey God, either He can abandon us and get somebody else to do the job, and we will lose the reward and blessing, or He can discipline us until we surrender to His will. Two examples come to mind. Since John Mark left the mission field and returned home (Acts 13:13; 15:36–41), God raised up Timothy to take his place (16:1–3). When Jonah ran from God, the Lord kept after him until he obeyed, even though he didn’t obey from his heart. When God isn’t permitted to rule, He overrules, and He always accomplishes His purposes.
God isn’t in a hurry but will fulfill His plans in due time.
God is never in a hurry. He knows the end from the beginning, and His decrees are always right and always on time.
People may succeed for a time in covering up disgraceful activities, but eventually the truth surfaces, and everybody knows what’s going on. And the culprit discovers that the wrong we do to others, we do to ourselves.
The only safe place to put your confidence is in the Lord.
pride is the very essence of sin. (Perhaps that’s why pride is number one on God’s “hate list.” See Prov. 6:16–19.) It was pride that turned Lucifer into Satan: “I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14 NKJV). Satan used pride to tempt Eve: “You will be like God” (Gen. 3:5 NIV). British Bible scholar William Barclay wrote, “Pride is the ground in which all the other sins grow, and the parent from which all the other sins come.”
What does a sinful person have to be proud of? We certainly can’t be proud of our ancestry. The Puritan preacher William Jenkyn said, “Our father was Adam, our grandfather dust, and our great-grandfather nothing.” So much for the family tree! The only thing the Bible says is great about humanity is its sin: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth” (Gen. 6:5 KJV). So much for our achievements!
pride is the only known disease that makes everybody sick except the person who has it. Unless cured, p...
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Malice is that deep-seated hatred that brings delight if our enemy suffers and pain if our enemy succeeds. Malice can never forgive; it must always take revenge. Malice has a good memory for hurts and a bad memory for kindnesses. In 1 Corinthians 5:8, Paul compared malice to yeast, because, like yeast, malice begins very small but gradually grows and finally permeates the whole of life. Malice in the Christian’s heart grieves the Holy Spirit and must be put out of our lives (Eph. 4:30–32; Col. 3:8).
While I’m asleep, my heavenly Father is busily at work making sure the new day will be just what He wants it to be. God’s compassions never fail but are “new every morning” (Lam. 3:22–23) because God never sleeps and never stops working all things together for our good (Rom. 8:28).
In the midst of a confused and troubled world, the dedicated believer is able to say, “My times are in thy hand” (Ps. 31:15 KJV), and find peace in God’s will.
Applause doesn’t change truly humble people, for their values are far deeper. God can trust His blessings with the humble because they seek to honor only the Lord.
When God sounds the alarm, it pays to stop, look, and listen—and obey.
God’s long-suffering today is an opportunity for people to repent (2 Peter 3:9), but our sinful world thinks it means God won’t judge sinners at all. “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thess. 5:3 NKJV).
“The arrogant bully became, as usually in the face of disaster, a whining coward” (The Five Megilloth, 228).
No good deed done for the glory of Jesus Christ will ever be forgotten before God. No loving word spoken in Jesus’ name will ever be wasted. If we don’t see the harvest in this life, we’ll see it when we stand before the Lord. Even a cup of cold water given in the name of Christ will have its just reward (Matt. 10:42; 25:31–46).
Every enemy that has ever tried to destroy Israel has been destroyed. “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you” is God’s promise to Israel (Gen. 12:3 NKJV), and He has always kept it. God takes His promises seriously even if the nations of the world ignore them or challenge them.
God doesn’t approve of those who try to destroy His chosen people. Whether it’s Pharaoh in Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, Haman in Persia, or Hitler in Germany, the enemy of the Jews is the enemy of almighty God and will not succeed.
God doesn’t always give this kind of a “happy ending” to everybody’s story. Today, not all faithful Christians are promoted and given special honors. Some of them get fired because of their stand for Christ! God hasn’t promised that we’ll be promoted and made rich, but He has assured us that He’s in control of all circumstances and that He will write the last chapter of the story. If God doesn’t promote us here on earth, He certainly will when we get to glory.
We need more people like Esther, whose burden for condemned people was greater than any other thing in her life.
One concerned person devoted to prayer can make a great difference in this world, for prayer is the key that releases the power of God. “Yet you do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2 NKJV).
Dr. J. Vernon McGee: “The Jew has attended the funeral of every one of the nations that tried to exterminate him.”
Evangelist Billy Sunday said, “If you have no joy in your religion, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere.” If Christian believers today manifested more of the joy of the Lord, perhaps those outside the faith would be attracted to the church and be willing to consider the message of the gospel.
There’s nothing wrong with meaningful tradition. The church is always one generation short of extinction, and if we don’t pass on to our children and grandchildren what God has done for us and our fathers, the church will die of apathy and ignorance. “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD” (Ps. 34:11 NIV). It’s when tradition gradually becomes traditionalism that we get into trouble. Theologian Jaroslav Pelikan said, “Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.”
Too often God’s people defeat the enemy and then celebrate the victory by fighting among themselves!
