Esther 7 Devotional
By Pastor Lawrence

In Psalm 74:10-11 the psalmist pleads with God saying, “How long, O Lord, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Arise, and defend your cause O God.” Is that not our question and ongoing concern today as well? Have we not all longed at times for the day of justice when the righteous are vindicated and the wicked finally get their just due? Often it seems that evil men are left unchecked and that the innocent are continually crushed by the wicked. It’s not every day that we see get to see justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. But in our passage this morning in the book of Esther, we certainly get a foretaste of that promised day of Christ’s coming when Jesus will rule the nations with dominion and we will reign with him in his glorious kingdom.

Up until this point in the story, Haman has had his way as the king’s right-hand man and has set things in motion that the king didn’t even bother to look into. And Mordecai and Esther have been powerless to put a stop to it. But then God’s people set themselves to fast and pray and the Lord orchestrated something that seemed impossible at the time carrying out a wonderful act of poetic justice in this world. Even though we don’t see this happen very often in our lives, we should give thanks to the Lord when we see even a partial display of it in a fallen world, for God is under no necessity to provide it until the appointed time. And thankfully, through the cross of Christ we will never experience his full justice in this world, or else none of us would be saved.

It’s certainly understandable that Esther was afraid to do the hard thing in this instance, for the Lord didn’t fill her in on exactly what he was going to do, or if He was going to intervene at all. Also, Esther has no idea of the danger that her cousin Mordecai is in at this very moment, nor does she know about the 75-foot gallows that have already been prepared. Nevertheless, she is still very nervous about revealing her true identity to the king and pleading the cause of her people before this erratic and self-centered king.

But clearly, the tables are now turning as Esther takes her stand with God’s people. For Haman is over-confident and foolishly thinks he can still manipulate the king to do his bidding in killing Mordecai, not realizing the new-found power that Esther has over the king. Surely, there is a power at work here that Haman has not considered, not merely the allure of a woman, but the ability of the Spirit to move the heart of a king to action. So, even in the darkest of days when it seems that evil is running rampant and that the church is powerless to do anything about it, remember how the Lord waited until it seemed that all hope was lost before putting his magnificent and mysterious power on display. Indeed, God can do immeasurably more than all we ask or think, so let us not despair but turn to God in prayer.