Romans 4:9-12 “Thoughts”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁹Therefore, [is] the blessing upon the circumcision or also upon the uncircumcision? For we are saying the faith was counted to Abraham into righteousness. ¹⁰Therefore, how was it counted, being in circumcision or in uncircumcision? [It was] not in circumcision but in uncircumcision, ¹¹and he received a sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith, being in uncircumcision, into him to be a father of many of the ones believing through uncircumcision into to be counted to them righteousness, ¹²and [he was] a father of circumcision not only to those out of circumcision but also to ones walking in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham in uncircumcision.

I have the same problem here I had in the first eight verses. It seems like the truth here presented is so obvious, I want to move on to something I personally find more “helpful.” Yet, I do want to slow down and ponder my way all the way through this book of Romans. As I discovered in the first eight verses, while the immediate truth of the passage seemed obvious, yet the larger truth behind it is utterly profound. I’ll see if the same thing happens here.

Once again, if someone wants a verse by verse commentary on this passage, the world is full of very detailed and often excellent commentaries which will do exactly that. Since the immediate truth seems obvious to me, I want to look past it to the larger truths we can observe.

Basically, Paul is addressing the whole question of Jews versus Gentiles. The Jews are “the circumcision” while us Gentiles are “the uncircumcision.” In the ancient world, apparently it was mainly the Jews who circumcised their boys, while the rest of the world did not. The Jewish people considered it their badge of honor, their mark of identity, the rite that secured to them their special relationship with God. And of course, they derived the idea from the Scriptures themselves, going all the way back to Abraham (Gen. 17:9-14), when the Lord gave to him the rite of circumcision as the seal of the Covenant.

While I’m on it, I think it is worth admitting that this is actually very strange to us. We circumcise our baby boys today but that is, I understand, mainly a health thing. But it is frankly an uncomfortable subject to discuss in open public forums (like church services!). It is an awkward thing for us to discuss, but then it also seems strange to me to designate it as the sign of the covenant. You’d think it would be better to use a red dot on our foreheads like the Indian people do. At least you could “see” it! It seems strange to designate something as a “sign” and then have it be something no one ever “sees.” In the Bible, as far as I can find, God never addresses why He chose this odd, obscured rite of circumcision as the sign of the covenant.

I would like to suggest it has everything to do with the fact that the Lord loves babies. He told us from the beginning to “be fruitful and multiply,” but of course it goes far beyond just reproducing like rabbits. What He desires is “a godly offspring” (Mal. 2:15). He instructs fathers to “bring them up in the training and the instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). I would like to suggest the Lord chose circumcision as the sign of His covenant so that literally every time a man urinates, he is reminded that his reproductive capabilities belong to Someone else. For any Jewish man to engage in sexual sin, he had to do so with the very body part bearing the sign that all he was and all he did was with a body dedicated to a holy God. So the “sign” is actually for the man himself to see. The red dot would be for others, but the Lord wanted circumcision to be a sign a man could never escape. Observing that sign literally several times every single day ought to have been a powerful and constant reminder to men that they, their wives, and the children they bore ought to be consecrated wholly to the Lord. It should have kept “family” always before a man’s mind. Once again, the Bible itself, as far as I’ve ever observed, doesn’t address this question at all, so all of this is at best just my opinion, but, since we’re on the subject I wanted to write it down for anyone else’s interested consideration.

The force of the passage, of course, is that Abraham was “declared righteous” already in Gen. 15:6, before the Lord gave him this sign of circumcision in 17:9-14. Paul’s point is that Abraham was already accepted as a man of faith even before he was circumcised. For Jews this would be similar to a debate Christians might have regarding baptism. Many teach one has to be baptized to be saved. Yet, the rest of us will point to the thief on the cross who believed, was told by Jesus Himself, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise,” and yet could not have been baptized. We will assert that salvation is by faith alone, and that baptism, as important as it might be, is only a sign “after the fact,” just as circumcision was to Abraham. Paul’s larger point, of course, is that uncircumcised Gentiles have just as much of a right to salvation as any circumcised Jew.

Probably anyone reading this would say with me, “That’s pretty much obvious,” and I think it is—to us living today. It was, however, revolutionary in the first century, so Paul has to address it. For most of us, our minds would go quickly to passages like, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, …There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:26-28). In Christian circles, I think it safe to say we all understand faith is unconditionally available today to Jew and Gentile alike.

That leads me to two observations from the Bixby mill: The first is a huge “why?” I don’t know I’ve ever heard this pointed out, so I will here. Why? Why is it so important that faith should leave Judea and spread to the uttermost parts of the earth? You might offer a number of (very good) reasons, but consider what the Father says to the Son in Isaiah 49:6, “It is too small a thing for You to be My servant to restore the tribes of Jacob…I will also make You a light for the Gentiles, that You may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”  Notice: “It is too small a thing…” The Father thinks it is “too small a thing” for His Son Jesus to only redeem the Jewish people! Do you see what I’m seeing? Jesus is too great to only save the Jews! He is so great, His salvation must be extended to “the ends of the earth!” The fact that salvation is provided for us who live in the “ends of the earth” is actually not because we so desperately need it (which we do), but because Jesus is such a great Savior! Like I said, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else make that observation, but I think it’s cool.

The second thing I want to observe from this passage is that we do see here “the circumcision” and “the uncircumcision,” Jew and Gentile. I touched on this back in chapter 2 but I want to note it again here. As in the passage from Galatians 3 above, Christians today like to quote that there is no longer “Jew nor Gentile,” that we have all become “one” in Christ, with the implication that there is no longer any distinction between us. To those verses in Galatians 3, we could add many other passages that seem to imply the same thing – like Eph. 2:14,15, “For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace…”

However, I think we must recognize that, while all of this is true—that, in fact, in this Church Age, we are all one in Christ—we also need to note that throughout the New Testament, we still see the Lord acknowledging that the Jews still exist as a distinct people in His eyes. This isn’t terribly hard to embrace as the passage in Galatians 3 also said there is no longer male or female. Does anyone want to suggest that, since the Cross, there is no difference between men and women? Obviously, His “oneness” is a spiritual reality, not something that obliterates real physical differences. Men are still men. Women are still women. Slaves are still slaves and masters are still masters, and Jews are still Jews and we are still Gentiles. Consider that, as late as Rev. 7, when the Lord would raise up 144,000 witnesses, they are “from all the tribes of Israel.”

We will see this matter addressed at length in Romans chapters 9-11, but I want to point it out here as I think it very dangerous to read and understand our Bibles ignoring the reality that the Jewish people are still a distinct group in God’s eyes. People for centuries have tried to “spiritualize” the Jewish people, then claim they have become the Church. That may be theologically convenient for some, but I would suggest you cannot honestly read the New Testament and deny that the Jewish people are, in fact, still a distinct people group. What that distinction means exactly is still somewhat of a mystery to me. I related many of my questions back in chapter 2 but can’t say I’ve come up with any answers since then. That is a subject I’ll have to keep pondering on.

One last thing I’d like to point out from this passage is to observe the much larger truth behind it all, and that is that what God does is to bring people together. In our universe, Satan is a murderer and his presence always divides, always separates. If he can’t literally kill people, he murders their relationships. Where God is, He can even let people be very different—like men and women or Jews and Gentiles—and yet still make them one. This is precisely why it’s always been true that the more a husband and wife love God, the more they’ll love each other. It’s why real Christian families seem to treasure each other. It’s why, when America owned the Bible we could be basically a unified nation, but now, having cast it behind us, we only get more and more divided. Obviously all of this could bear a much lengthier discussion, but suffice it here to observe that, once again, the truth of the Gospel actually informs the realities of our existence. Jesus invites us into a salvation that not only delivers us from hell but will actually create for us a world where love infuses our relationships and where people are drawn together, not driven apart.

Romans 4:1-8 “Yes”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹Therefore what will we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to [the] flesh, has found? ²For, if Abraham was justified out of works, he has a boast, but not toward God. ³For what does the Scripture say? “But Abraham believed God and He counted [it] to him into righteousness,” ⁴but the reward [given] to one working is not counted according to grace but according to debt, ⁵but the faith of him is counted into righteousness, to one not working but believing upon the One justifying the ungodly, ⁶just as David also speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God counts righteousness without works: ⁷“Blessed ones [are those] of whom the lawlessnesses are forgiven and of whom the trespasses are covered.” ⁸“Blessed [is] the man of whom [the] Lord absolutely should not count sin.”

The first three chapters of Romans were concluded with Paul’s statement in 3:28, “Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” Paul next spends essentially an entire chapter answering the question, “But what about Abraham?” This is a question he had to address, especially when a huge part of the church at that time were Jews—Jews who for the most part believed and taught that Abraham was justified by his works and that only Jews could be saved (or Gentiles who willingly became Jews).

I confess that, as I have studied this, I find it difficult somehow to keep focused. In my own soul, it feels like this is so obvious (that we are saved by faith, not works, that the Gospel is for us Gentiles too) that I just want to move on and get to something more helpful to me personally. Essentially I’m saying, “I already know this,” which I acknowledge is a very, very dangerous attitude to take toward Scripture. It usually means there is something huge I’m missing. However, as I’ve tried to keep my heart open and let the Lord teach me, that sense just doesn’t go away. I studied through the book of Galatians over ten years ago and I feel like there, this whole faith/works thing really finally made total sense to me.

So it seems like I’m re-hashing those same truths. However, I do want to study through this incredible book of Romans, even if I have to work through sections of truth with which I feel I’m already familiar. One thing that often happens is that the Lord opens my eyes finally to see what I’m missing even as I’m typing this blog. It has happened a number of times that I conclude my studies feeling like I’m not quite sure what to do with it all, but as I wander into typing what I do see, suddenly something jumps off the page at me. So, for whatever it’s worth, here’s my thoughts rising out of these first eight verses of chapter four:

People often argue that this passage is in direct conflict with James 2:20-24 which discusses Abraham and then says in verse 24, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” Romans 4:5 seems to say the opposite, “However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” The key difference between these two passages is the question, “In whose sight?” In Romans 4:2, it says, “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God.” In James, he says, “You see…” Therein is the difference in the two contexts. In Romans, the “justification” is coming from God and concerns the matter of our eternal salvation. In James, he is concerned about people who claim to have been saved, but then bear no fruit. To “justify” of course means to “declare righteous.” From what “you see,” it is hard to declare someone righteous when their life doesn’t show it. So the two passages are looking at “justification” from two completely different perspectives—one from God concerning the entirely invisible work of redeeming us fallen sinners, the other from what the rest of us can conclude from what we see of a person’s life. Jesus, of course, said exactly the same thing—on the one hand, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47), and on the other hand, “By their works, you shall know them” (Matt. 7:16). Salvation itself is a matter of believing, but those who do believe will live changed lives. Frankly, if we’re reading our Bibles practically, I think all of this is obvious. I only mention it because it has historically been a matter of considerable debate, at least between people who are not necessarily trying to be practical.

Something I did learn from my study—I’ve always wondered how the quotations from David support the idea of justification by faith alone. After showing that Abraham was justified by his faith and not by his works, Paul quotes David, “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven…” It has always seemed to me like that leaves open the question of how they’re forgiven. Of course, we’re blessed if we are, but it seems like someone could suggest that somehow they get forgiven by what they do—like going to Mass, or doing penance, or whatever. However, what no one seems to acknowledge is this: If you want to be justified by what you do, then you are proposing that God should evaluate you according to your works. But what about your sins? The whole reason we’re talking about forgiveness is that you’ve already sinned. Your “works” have already condemned you. Forgiveness from God has to be entirely a gift of grace granted on some basis other than our works, and, praise God, it is by faith.

In a sense, verses 1-5 are the front door, considering our “good” works, while verses 6-8 are the back door, “Yeah, but what about our sins?”  If someone doesn’t like verses 1-5 and demands to be evaluated on the basis of what they’ve done, verses 6-8 would remind them, “Oh, yeah. There is this small matter of your sins.” You may have done some good for which you think you deserve God’s favor, but what will you do about your sins? David is saying of people who already know they’ve failed, “Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven” or “Blessed are those whom God knows of their failure and yet still grants them forgiveness.” And so we see that these “blessed” persons are very specifically not being judged according to their works. They are proof that, in fact, “The just shall live by faith.”

Then I want to go a totally different direction. If someone wants a verse by verse commentary on this passage, there is a seemingly endless stream of commentaries on the book of Romans they can consult, including this passage here in Romans 4. What I want to do rather is step back and see a much, much bigger picture of what this passage is teaching. The issue before us actually goes far beyond just the matter of salvation. That is the greatest thing I feel I’m learning from Romans—that the Gospel itself reaches far, far beyond salvation itself. It isn’t just a set of truths about how to be saved. It is the Truth. Within the truths of the Gospel, we will find the very Truth about which the entire universe spins. To miss the Gospel is literally to miss the most basic truths of our existence. In the Gospel, we learn who God is and who we are. We learn what is the problem with all of us and what to do about it.

I think what I want to point out is profound truth for us to live by. We’ll see if this croaking toad can present it so anyone else can see it.

In the big scheme of things, what the Gospel teaches us is that grace is better than obligation. Now I’m not just talking about salvation. I’m talking about an all-day, everyday truth to live by. To live a life of grace, in general, is a far better way to live your life than by obligation. Consider the truth from here in Romans 4: “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” So, God, in His relationship with you, would rather you enter into a personal, trusting relationship with Him, than to somehow “rack up points” that you think will ultimately get you accepted. He’d rather grant you a free gracious salvation (at infinite personal cost to Himself, by the way), so that you could enter into a relationship with Him wherein you do what you do because you love Him, not because you’re trying to “earn” anything.

Now what I want to suggest is that this “model” of relationships goes far beyond your salvation. Again, the Truth of the Gospel actually informs the totality of our human existence. Consider what Joseph Parker said (ca. 1890) in The People’s Bible: “Faith lives on God, and in God, and with God, and in a sense faith is God. Faith is more largely rewarded than law. You can pay law, you cannot pay faith; you can pay a servant, you cannot pay a friend; you can pay for legal advice, you never can pay for fellow-suffering, deep, tender, night-and-day sympathy; you can even pay the doctor, but you cannot pay the mother.”

“You can even pay the doctor, but you cannot pay the mother.” There it is in a nutshell. You can pay a doctor to “fix” you, but he may very well do it only because he wants your money. I am reminded of the doctor who performed a particular surgery on me which was life-changing. He really helped me—but his bedside manner was nothing but a man in a hurry. He couldn’t care less about me. I was just another pocket to pick. The doctor who did Joan’s back surgery did a fabulous job—almost instantly relieving her of terrible sciatica—but he was about as close as I’ve come in years to punching someone in the face. He was a rude, arrogant man. On the other hand, we’ve all had doctors that were decent people, who acted like they did care—and here’s my point: but none of them can compare to a mother.

And why is that? Because a mother loves for no other reason than love itself. In a mother’s world, there is not even the thought that she’ll get anything in return. It is pure grace that moves her to change the baby’s stinky diaper, to prepare the bottle to just the right temperature, to make sure the child’s hair is combed and their clothes are clean. We have today the “Cracker Barrel” restaurants that supposedly offer “country” cooking. That is nice and I certainly enjoy eating there. It definitely brings back memories of growing up and my mom’s cooking and Grandma Bumbles’, of farm wives’ and almost anyone else’s grandma’s cooking. However, at Cracker Barrel, I’ve noticed for years there’s always just some little element that is “missing.” It finally hit me one day what it is: love. Moms and grandmas not only cooked the food according to whatever recipe, but while they were doing it, it was love that moved their hands. Every ingredient was added with love and then, invariably, they had some little trick, some little “special” they’d throw in, like a teaspoon of brown sugar or a glop of sour cream. When they set it on the table in front of you, it was the most heavenly, delicious food you ever put in your mouth, but I will maintain to the end, what gave it that little extra “punch” of deliciousness was love.

What I want to suggest then, is that, even if you are “working for wages,” it is a far, far better life, far more fulfilling for you and far more beneficial to the world around you, if you strive to do your job out of grace and not debt. Even though the doctor is being paid, he can still do what he does because he sincerely cares, and the same goes for you and me. The “caring” is a grace that must come from within us. People can pay you to work, they cannot pay you enough to make you care. But, even at work, it is the caring that makes your life worth living. Even if there is “obligation,” yet it is the relationship that matters.

Any why is this? Because it is the truth of the Gospel that informs our reality. God doesn’t want to reward you because He somehow “owes” it to you. He wants you to let Him love you just because He does.

And I want to take this a step further. What effect does that have on you and me? How does it affect you to experience God’s love as a total grace gift? How does it affect you to grasp that He cares for you? I hope anyone reading this knows what I mean. It totally transforms me. I almost can’t help but love Him in return. When I grasp His gracious love for me, even His Law is no longer a law. To me now it is simply an expression of the heart of this One who loves me. I actually want to serve Him. I want to study the Bible, not to figure out the rules or gain Heaven points, but precisely because I want to know Him. I want to know more of this One who loves me and gave His only Son for me.

Do you see what is happening? He loves us with a gracious love and what does it produce? More love. It moves us to love Him in return. How does it affect you when it is obvious your doctor does care? Your mechanic? Your realtor? The cashier at the grocery store? Your teacher? Does it not draw you into a love relationship with that person? We’ve all had waitresses who just “did their job” and then the ones who really do seem to care and do a fabulous job of serving us. I try to give good tips to the poor girls even if they’re lousy waitresses, but, for the ones who are marvelous, I find myself wanting to leave them a big tip. Why? Because I want to share back to them the love they’ve shown to me.

Well, there it is.

I hope that makes sense to you. It is far better to pattern your life according to God’s model, the model of grace, than to drudge through your days fulfilling “obligations.” Jesus’ entire life was lived for no other reason than to love. May we hear His words, “Go and do thou likewise.”

One last time—it just floors me how the simple truth of the Gospel actually informs the very core of our human existence. By entering fully and enthusiastically into an active and deliberate love relationship with God, we are actually being transformed into the very people we were created to be—not just in some sense of “religion” but in the totality of who we are all day every day.

Yes.

Esther 4:1-17 “A Heart with God”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹And Mordecai knew all which was done and Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sack cloth and ash and he went out in the middle of the city and he cried out a cry great and bitter. ²And he came in even to the faces of the gate of the king because not to enter to the gate of the king in clothing of sack cloth, ³and in the all of a province and a province from a place which the word of the king and his law arriving, mourning great to the Jews and fasting and weeping and wailing. Sack cloth and ash was spread to the many. ⁴And the maids of Esther came in and her eunuchs, and they told to her, and the queen was deeply distressed, and sent clothes to clothe Mordecai and to take away his sack cloth from upon him and he did not take, ⁵and Esther called to Hathak from the eunuchs of the king who was caused to stand to her face and she commanded him upon Mordecai to know what this and upon what this? ⁶And Hathak went out to Mordecai to the plaza of the city which [was] to the faces of the gate of the king, ⁷and Mordecai told to him all which happened to him and the exact amount of the silver which Haman said to weigh upon the treasuries of the king in the Jews to destroy [them]. ⁸And the copy of the writing of the law which was given in Shushan to destroy them he gave to him to show Esther and to tell to her and to command her to go in to the king to seek favor to him and to seek from his face upon her people. ⁹And Hathak came in and he told to Esther the words of Mordecai, ¹⁰and Esther spoke to Hathak and she commanded him to Mordecai.  ¹¹“The all of the servants of the king and the people of the provinces of the king knowing that every man or woman wo goes to the king to the court of the inner, who was not called, the one of the law of him to kill, except from whom the king extends to him the scepter of the gold, he will live, and I have not been called to go to the king this thirty of day.” ¹²And they told to Mordecai the words of Esther, ¹³and Mordecai said to reply, “Esther, do not think in your soul to escape the house of the king from the all of the Jews, ¹⁴for, if to be silent you are silent in the time of this, relief and the deliverance will stand to the Jews from a place of another and you and the house of your father will perish and who knowing if to a time like this you have arrived to the kingdom?” ¹⁵And Esther said to reply to Mordecai, ¹⁶“Go, gather the all of the Jews found in Shushan and fast upon me and do not eat and do not drink three of days, night and day. I also and my young women will fast thus and in thus I will go to the king, which not according to the law, and if I perish, I perish.” ¹⁷And Mordecai passed over and he did according to the all of which Esther commanded upon him.

Last time I tried to draw out the very real terror that bore upon Mordecai and Esther and also the indications of Mordecai’s faith even in the horror of it all. This time I want to think deeply about our girl Esther and what she teaches us from this passage.

When she hears that Mordecai is dressed in sackcloth and ashes and wailing, the NIV says she was “in great distress.” The old KJV translated it, she was “exceedingly grieved.” The Hebrew word actually describes a woman in labor! What a contrast: Haman and Xerxes plot the senseless, cruel murder of millions of people, and what do they do? They “sat down to drink.” When our Esther hears of someone else’s distress, it hits her like labor! What a contrast. They are oblivious to the pain of others. Esther is smitten with it.

Remember again she is a very beautiful girl and now she is a queen living in fathomless opulence with every possible luxury afforded her. She doesn’t need to care about anyone! The king doesn’t. Why should she? The king insulates himself from other peoples’ pain—Mordecai could not even enter the king’s gate because he was dressed in sackcloth and ashes. Our Esther obviously could have taken the same attitude but instead, when she hears of someone else’s distress it hits her like labor! She is a girl who lived the NT principle of “Rejoice with them that rejoice; Weep with those who weep.” She allowed herself to feel others’ pain…and so should we.

I love too that she is a girl who’s in the habit of doing right. When Mordecai instructs her to go in to the king and plead for her people, what is her first response? “But that’s against the law.” “That would be breaking the rules.”

Good for her. If any group in any country is its law-abiding citizens, it should be us believers. If any group in any company is its compliant employees, it should be us believers. Even under a government without God, the Bible tells us, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Romans 13:1). As we will see in Esther’s case, there is a time for what we call “civil disobedience,” however that is not the norm for us believers. It is a rare exception.

Especially in the workplace, I would maintain that part of the reason bosses will often “like” us is because they find us easy to lead, that we are to them unusually compliant and dependable. They often find other people “difficult” and perhaps not always dependable. Then there is the Joseph, the Daniel, the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the Nehemiah, the Ezra—the believers who found their way into high places specifically because they were very good workers. Now we have our Esther whose humility and sweetness landed her in the position of queen. If we ever do face a situation where we will need to “disobey,” then like Esther, it should be totally out of character for us.

Some commentators make a big deal about Esther’s reluctance and suggest it is a matter of fear. I would say, certainly she would be fearful when the penalty is death, yet I think we do her a great disservice to paint her simply as someone paralyzed with fear. Again, she is a good girl who grew up humbly obedient to her father. The first thing we should expect from her would be reluctance when suddenly asked to commit a capital crime!

Then we get to see a glimpse of this father/daughter relationship and what a good father Mordecai was. Although we would expect her initial reluctance simply because she’s not in the habit of “breaking the rules,” yet Mordecai knows Esther is young and very well could give way to fear. If we look closely at what he tells her, I hope we can all realize what he’s doing is helping her “think it through.” Once again, I would suggest this is “nothing new.” I would suggest we see that Mordecai is not and never has been a father who simply says, “Do it because I say so.” He certainly was firm with Esther growing up (to raise such a sweet daughter), but he was a father who shepherded her heart, who helped her to not only do right but, more importantly, to think right—and that is exactly what he is doing here.

He doesn’t say, “Yeah, I know it’s dangerous. Just do it anyway.” Look what he does. Without mentioning God’s name (in this book of the Unseen God), he draws Esther to see her world through God’s eyes. Because he knows fear is a very really threat, a very real path down which her heart could run, he says, “Do not think that you of all people will escape this calamity.” That is the truth and what she needs is truth. It is the truth that she is a Jew and the king’s decree is the death of all Jews. Truth. Then he reminds her that this annihilation cannot succeed in the end because there is a God in heaven, this is His world, and in it, He has promised to preserve and bless the Jewish people. If you don’t do the right thing now, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jewish people from somewhere. Truth.

Further, because God is very real and very present, we can rest assured that acts of cowardice and self-preservation will one way or another suffer His chastening hand. It is a NT principle but was just as true then, “He who saves his life will lose it; He who loses his life for My sake, the same shall find it.” Truth.

Then this loving father tells his daughter one of the immortally greatest encouragements in human history: “And who knows but that you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” So much of what people tell each other is sarcastic, discouraging, demeaning, and anything but encouraging. But not this Dad. He tells his daughter exactly the words she needed to hear, words that encourage her to grasp what was without a doubt her greatest opportunity to serve the Lord and her people. “You can do it, my daughter.” I wonder how many times before he has encouraged her with words just like these? No wonder she could rise to be a queen. Her father always knew she could! And he told her so. May we all learn to be encouragers. As you and I speak to others, may we be people who strengthen their hands and help them to battle on, to become all they were born to be!

Then our text turns back to Esther. How will she respond? She says, “I will go into the king, even though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” Obviously we could praise her for many things. We could praise her faith. We could praise her courage. But I think it’s worth going even deeper yet. What gives her such faith? What makes her so brave? She actually draws back the curtain of her heart in 8:6. Listen to what she says there: “For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?”

What is going on? Love. Jesus told us “Greater love has no man than this: that he should lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Again, I call our attention to the contrast. Godless Haman and Xerxes can “sit down to drink,” in utter disregard for the miseries of others. Godless Xerxes can decree that no one enter his presence in mourning. The plain simple truth is that their hearts without God were also hearts without love. With God, Esther’s heart is so full of love, she goes into “labor” when she hears of someone else’s grief. She sends clothes to Mordecai, probably so he could enter the king’s gate and be closer to explaining to her what was wrong. And now her big heart of love says, “I will go into the king, even though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”

The greatest horror of a world without God is that it will be a world without love. God is love and calls us as “dearly loved children” to “live a life of love.” In His world, He would have us know that the two greatest things you can ever do is simply to “love God and love people.” We can pause to acknowledge that there is love that goes on even in the lives of people who care nothing for God. However, this is precisely because even they were made in the image of God and, even though that image may be horrifically marred, yet still it will show like the face you see in the shards of a broken mirror. It is part of what we call “common grace,” the fact that the Lord sends His rain on the just and the unjust—that He does allow blessing into the lives of even those who hate Him.

But again, what a contrast: godless men who seem to have not a whit of love in their hearts compared to a girl whose heart bursts with it. They possessed everything this world values most. Esther had the one thing that mattered most. That is what knowing God will do for you and me—He’ll make us love more. And to love more means to enjoy relationships more. And then the day comes when we realize that was the only thing that really mattered anyway.

May Esther teach us all to let God give us hearts of love. May we care deeply for others around us, may we allow ourselves to sincerely feel their pain, and may God help us all day everyday be people who “lose their life for Jesus’ sake” only to find we gained it after all!