The Book of Esther reveals how the Lord uses the pride of a King, to bring about the establishment of a Queen (Esther) to saved His people Israel from destruction! (Pro_21:1  The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” No one, not even you or I, can stand against the Lord! Submit to Him in everything, Remember, there are no exceptions to God’s rules!

Often, as the saved of God living among the lost in the US, we think of corruption of our country as “their sin”. When it comes to nations, such thinking is foreign to Scripture. You see,  a Citizen of this nation is a part of that nation whether lost or saved. Nehemiah, upon receiving dire news of Jerusalem’s physical condition, prayed, (Neh 1:7) “WE have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.” His fellow citizen’s sins were Nehemiah’s sins. Our prayers for our country should say, “WE have sinned.”

(Ezr 1:1) “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, (2)  Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.”  The Lord moved in the heart of a true heathen king bringing about a fulfillment of what He had said 70 years earlier. You and I so often do not really have faith that the Lord can and will do what to us is the impossible! Don’t doubt Him. He is STILL God!

(2Ch 1:1) “And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.” It was the Lord Who gave this man wisdom and the honor of others. It was the Lord that gave Him respect and peace all around. Yet, he was influenced through unbelievers to turn from God. Take warning from the ever true Word of God,  (1Co_10:12)  “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Become the Lord’s child through the rebirth, hold His hand and never let go. Never let ANYONE influence you away from obeying and thus walking with your Father.

(1Ch 1:19)  “And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided: and his brother’s name was Joktan…” In verse 10 of this genealogy, this world was divided by the confusion of speech as a result of Nimrod’s influence. This was a judgment of God for the good of mankind. In the text before us we see, after men spread around a joined land mass, the Lord divided them further. This is why although the first people before the flood corrupted each other in some 1500 years, the people this side of the flood have lasted around 5500 years. The barrier of land and the difference in language has been overcome through various inventions of man, bringing man’s rapid corruption. Hold on; get right with God; for the end will be soon of this world as we know it today (Tribulation, 1,000 reign, end of the world).

(2Ki 1:2) “And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. (3) But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? (4)  Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.”  By choosing to live his life as he pleased, he robbed himself of the Lord’s help when he needed Him most! Friend, our Lord is not a genie at your command, ready to run when you decide you need Him. He is the Lord. When you are right with God, He hears your prayers.

(1Ki 1:1) “Now king David was old and stricken in years;…” then, (1Ki 1:5) “Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. (6) And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so?…”  David’s failure to speak hard things to this son eventually led to that son’s death! Spiritually, there are times we must speak hard things to those we love, lest they end up in hell; or someone else does because of them. May the Lord give us the strength to speak when it is the hardest to do so.

The first King of Israel, King Saul, was sent on a mission from God to wipe out a people called the Amalekites. He failed the Lord through rebellion. He was thus sentenced to the loss of his kingdom. It is so interesting to me that years later, he died at the hand of  an Amalekite. (2 Sam 1:1-10). Lesson: do as the Lord instructs, even if you don’t understand the purpose – He knows something you don’t.

(1Sa 1:1) “Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: (2)  And he had two wives;…”  God’s plan was one woman to complete on man, else He would have made two or more women for Adam. Anything added to God’s plan results in problems. This is certainly true every time you see two wives in Scripture.  It proves that God’s plans NEED no improvement!

(Ruth 1:1) “Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.” It NEVER works out for God’s people to leave their place of abiding with fellow-believers and moving into the fellowship of the unsaved – for any reason! The move of this man ended in the death of himself and his sons, leaving his wife and daughter-in-laws stranded. During times of hardship (famine) is the time we should look to our God, not to the world! It did not work out well at all for him. His wife and Ruth his daughter-in-law, DID look to the Lord and found He is “a very present help”. Trust Him!