Christ in Esther: Our Salvation

In preparation for this week’s study I read several different opinions of how Christ is foreshadowed in the book of Esther, and I came to the conclusion that each of these opinions has some valid points.  One opinion was that Christ was typified in Mordecai, sitting at the gate of the city, making intercession for his people to the king.  Another said that Christ was typified in King Ahasuerus.  And Esther certainly could represent the Church as the Bride of Christ. Although that opinion offends my senses since Ahasuerus was not at all like Christ, but instead he was a self-indulgent man, detached from his people and his duties, I must admit the correlation could possibly be a valid one if we looked at the story of Esther in light of the definition of allegory -- a parable or symbol.  In any allegory, the parallels will fail at one point or another.  And in any foreshadowing, we see only a “shadow” of what is to come, not a clear picture with every detail intact. But the opinion that I will use for this study is that Queen Esther foreshadows and typifies Christ.  I am by no means saying the other opinions are not correct, but only that, for this study, we will look at the third option.  I would encourage you to read the ten chapters of the book of Esther for yourself and come to your own conclusion.  I would be interested in hearing what you think.  Trusting that you will read it for yourself, I will not recount the entire story here, but will just point out some interesting parallels in this true story about a real, live, heroic queen of Persia.  

When Queen Vashti refused to go to King Ahasuerus when he called for her, it made the king angry.  He consulted with his advisors and they recommended that she be removed as queen and that the king choose another queen to replace her.

If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it will not be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.  (Esther 1:19)

Here Vashti represents good works and the law.  Vashti was beautiful, and she was something in which the king took great pride.  She looked good on the surface, but her heart was not right.  In the same way, our good works look good on the surface, but our good works cannot bring us into a right relationship with God.  No one can be good enough to keep all the law perfectly.  When we say no to God’s grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as payment for our sin, we are like Vashti, cast away, never to come into the presence of the King of Heaven.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

We are not told a lot about Esther’s childhood.  We know who her parents were, and that she was raised by her cousin, Mordecai, who loved her very much.  We know that Esther also loved Mordecai and trusted him completely.

And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.  (Esther 2:7)

Esther had not revealed her people or family, for Mordecai had charged her not to reveal it. And every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the women’s quarters, to learn of Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.  (Esther 2:10-11)

In much the same way, we are not told a lot about the childhood of Jesus.  We know that His step-father, Joseph, was a carpenter and that Jesus worked with him.  We know that He was taught by Mary and Joseph.  And we know that He loved them, and that He loved and trusted His Father completely.

Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:51-52)

The king chose Esther to replace Vashti.  Esther spent a year in preparation before she was called into the king’s presence. 

Each young woman’s turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months’ preparation, according to the regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women. (Esther 2:12)

Jesus was 30 years old before His ministry on earth began.  He had spent His entire life in preparation for His work.  And when He was baptized by John the Baptist, He demonstrated to His followers how they should be prepared to follow Him.  Then He spent 40 days in the wilderness in prayer and fasting, preparing to face all the opposition that He was about to confront.

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17)

In our look at the parallels in Esther’s story, we see Haman as a parallel to the devil.  Haman had become a powerful man in the court of the king, just as the devil has become powerful in our world.  Haman was indignant that Mordecai would not bow down to him, so he convinced the king to order that Mordecai and all of the Jewish people be killed.

And the letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women.  (Esther 3:13a)

The devil wants nothing more than for us to turn away from Jesus Christ and bow down to him instead.  If we do, he will destroy us.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

As we have seen in our two previous studies of Ezra and Nehemiah, Esther was placed in a position of authority by God.  She was loved by the king.  But even though the king loved her, she could have been put to death for daring to approach him without first being called by him.  It took a great deal of courage for her to go to the king to beg for the lives of her uncle and all the rest of her people.  Mordecai was wise enough to know that God had placed her where He had for a purpose.

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Jesus had a purpose when He came to earth as a man.  He was placed here by the authority of God the Father at just the right time in human history to fulfill every prophecy that had been written about Messiah.

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. (Luke 24:44)

Esther loved her uncle, and she loved her people.  She prayed and fasted, asking God to save her people and to protect her, if it was His will to do so, but she was willing to die for them, if need be. 

“Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:16)

Jesus loves us.  He loves us so much He was willing to die for us.  He prayed, asking God to save Him if it was possible, but He was obedient, even to death on the cross.

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39)

Through the artful and intelligent work of Esther, Mordecai and the Jewish people were saved, and Haman was defeated and killed.  Not only was Mordecai saved, but he was exalted to the position that Haman had once held.  All the Jews living in Persia were happy and were honored because of Mordecai and Esther.

So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor.  (Esther 8:15-16)

Through the saving work of Jesus on the cross and because He rose from the grave on the third day, our enemy, Satan, is destroyed, and we are saved to live a life of eternal joy, honored as children of the King of Kings!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

I hope you have enjoyed the study of Esther as much as I have.  And I hope you will also have the kind of faith that she demonstrated . . . not a faith that is just wishful thinking, but a genuine, deep, abiding faith in God who loves us so much that He sent His Son to come to earth to die for us.  My prayer for you and for myself this week is inspired by Esther 4:16:

“Dear Father in Heaven, please show me your will for my life.  Give me the courage to do your will in every area of my life.  Protect me if it is your will to do so.  And if following you causes my friends to laugh at me, they will laugh at me.  If I perish, I perish.  Thank you for sending your son to die for me. Amen.”

All scripture is from the New King James Version

Christ in Nehemiah: God's Faithful Servant

Although he was Jewish, his family brought into captivity by the Babylonians, Nehemiah had risen to a position of influence in the king’s court.  As a matter of fact, the King Artexerxes trusted him so much that he was the king’s cupbearer.  It was during this time, at the time Ezra had become the high priest in Jerusalem, and during the time that the rebuilding of the temple there was being completed, that Nehemiah learned that the walls of Jerusalem and the city, itself, were still in ruins.  This distressed Nehemiah.  He was so distressed that he wept and mourned for days, fasting and praying to God.

As we noted in our study of Ezra, God places men in positions of authority and He uses them to accomplish His purposes, whether they are aware of it or not.  Not only did God place Nehemiah in the king’s court, but God also caused the king to notice and to care that Nehemiah was distressed.  When Nehemiah told the king the reason for his distress, God softened the heart of the king.  Not only did the king dispatch Nehemiah to Jerusalem to oversee the rebuilding of the city and its wall, but he also gave Nehemiah letters which gave him the authority to do the task and granting him safe passage through the outlying territories.  And on top of that, the king also provided timbers from the royal forest to be used to rebuild the gates of the fortress near the temple, the gates of the city, and the house which Nehemiah would build for himself.  Contrast all that we read in chapter 2 of Nehemiah that I have paraphrased here with what we read in Ezra when this very same king ordered that the city NOT be rebuilt.  Only God could have caused such an about-face in the heart of the king:

Therefore, issue an order to stop these people: this city is not to be rebuilt until I make a decree. (Ezra 4:21)

Once Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he organized the people into work crews to rebuild the wall around the city.  They worked day and night, threatened by neighboring tribes that were violently opposed to their work.  Their work was attacked by mockery, conspiracy, extortion, compromise, slander, and treachery (see chapters 4 – 7), but “the people were eager to work.” (Nehemiah 4:6)  Nehemiah appointed guards to keep watch, armed with spears, shields, bows, and breastplates.  Those who were carrying building materials to the builders with one hand also carried a weapon in the other.  Those who were actually doing the construction work wore a sword as they built.  A trumpeter stood near Nehemiah in order to sound an alarm in case of an attack.  Despite all the opposition and the added stress and work that opposition created, the wall was completed in just 52 days!

Nehemiah remained in Jerusalem for 12 years and served as governor there, under the authority of the king, at which time the city was rebuilt and repopulated.  The temple was once again the center of worship.  However, during a short time period when Nehemiah had returned to the king, the people once again failed to keep God’s laws.  The priests had become corrupt and were allowing the temple to be desecrated.  Upon Nehemiah’s return, he revived the people, cleansed the temple, reprimanded the tribal leaders, and brought God’s law back to the city.

Be careful to understand, the book of Nehemiah tells us a story that is full of hope and faith in the middle of adversity and disobedience, and it would make a wonderful movie.  But this is a true story, a story of events that actually happened some 2500 years ago.  It is not a parable.  The facts that are given in our Bible are also documented in secular historical documents.  These were real people, used by God, and their story can be used to point us to Christ and our relationship with Him.  So where do we see Christ in the history recorded by Nehemiah?

·   To begin with, Nehemiah was in an exalted position in the house of the king of Persia when he left to do his work in Jerusalem.  Jesus was also in an exalted position, One with God, Creator of the Universe, when He left Heaven to do His work of salvation on earth.

At that time, I was a cupbearer to the king. (Nehemiah 1:11b)

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. . . The Word became flesh and made his home among us. We have seen his glory, glory like that of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John1:1, 14)

·   Neither Nehemiah nor Jesus Christ attempted to begin their work without intense, fervent prayer and fasting.

Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in honoring your name. Please give success to your servant today and grant him favor in the presence of this man! (Nehemiah 1:11a)

Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving. (Luke 4:1-2)

·   Both Nehemiah and Jesus Christ faced opposition.

But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the work on the walls was progressing and the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to create a disturbance in it. (Nehemiah 4:7-8)

When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was filled with anger.  They rose up and ran him out of town. They led him to the crest of the hill on which their town had been built so that they could throw him off the cliff. (Luke 4:28-29)

·   But Nehemiah and Jesus Christ completed the work they were sent to do.

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul. It took fifty-two days. (Nehemiah 6:15)

When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed.” Bowing his head, he gave up his life. (John 19:30)

So what does this mean for me and for you?  Although Nehemiah completed his work, the city and its wall and the temple were all rebuilt, the people did not remain faithful.  They were led astray by corrupt leaders and false teachers.  And although Jesus completed the work of salvation for us on the cross, unless we accept His payment for our sin and give our lives to Him, we will be found guilty because of our own corruption.  Unless we study His word, and unless we allow Him to lead us every day of our lives, we can be led astray by false teachers whose words sound good, but are contrary to God’s holy Word.

My prayer for you and for me this week is adapted from Nehemiah 9:5-6 and from Psalm 119:10-11:

(Here I) stand and bless the Lord (my) God.  From everlasting to everlasting bless your glorious name, which is high above all blessing and praise.  You alone are the Lord . . . I have sought you with all my heart.  Don’t let me stray from any of your commandments!  I keep your word close, in my heart, so that I won’t sin against you.

All scripture is from the Common English Bible

Christ in Ezra: Our Restoration

After seventy years in Babylonian captivity, God’s promise to restore Israel to her land was fulfilled.  The book of Ezra tells us about that restoration, up to and including the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem over a period of 121 years.  The author was most likely Ezra, and his writing was probably completed between 456 and 444 B.C.  Ezra would have had existing documents, genealogies, and personal memoirs to use as resource materials since the people of Israel, specifically the scribes, were accustomed to keeping meticulous records.
 

King Cyrus of Persia was obviously influenced by the children of Israel, most probably by the teaching and writings of Daniel, since he had been elevated to a position of influence by Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar many years earlier.  The first few verses of the book tell us very specifically when these events took place.  King Cyrus reigned from 538 – 530 B.C., so we know that Ezra’s story begins in 538 B.C., and we know that this foreign king was being used by God to fulfill His promise to Israel.  As you read the following, you might find it very surprising that King Cyrus not only allowed and encouraged the Israelites to leave captivity, but he also provided funding for their trip and the rebuilding of God’s temple in Jerusalem!

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia’s rule, to fulfill the Lord’s word spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Persia’s King Cyrus. The king issued a proclamation throughout his kingdom (it was also in writing) that stated:  “Persia’s King Cyrus says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. If there are any of you who are from his people, may their God be with them! They may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And as for all those who remain in the various places where they are living, let the people of those places supply them with silver and gold, and with goods and livestock, together with spontaneous gifts for God’s house in Jerusalem.’”  (Ezra 1:1-4)

But God was not surprised!  As a matter of fact, the Israelites should not have been surprised, either!  The prophet Isaiah had told them, 150 years earlier, before they were even taken into captivity, that a king named Cyrus would command that the temple be rebuilt, before the city of Jerusalem and the temple were even destroyed!

The Lord your redeemer who formed you in the womb says: “I am the Lord, the maker of all, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, who frustrates the omens of diviners and makes a mockery of magicians, who turns back the wise and turns their knowledge into folly. But who confirms the word of my servant, and fulfills the predictions of my messengers; who says about Jerusalem, ‘It will be resettled’; and who says about the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins’; who says to the ocean depths, ‘Dry up; I will dry your streams’; who says about Cyrus, ‘My shepherd -- he will do all that I want’; who says about Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt’ and who says about the temple, ‘You will be founded once again.’” (Isaiah 44:24-28)

The book of Ezra and the story of the Jewish people are a foreshadowing of the story of Christ and His church.  God continues to seat people in places of authority, including kings, presidents, governors, just as he did King Cyrus.  He can cause those leaders to further His plan, even if they are not aware that they are doing so:

Every person should place themselves under the authority of the government. There isn’t any authority unless it comes from God, and the authorities that are there have been put in place by God. So anyone who opposes the authority is standing against what God has established. People who take this kind of stand will get punished. (Romans 13:1-2)

When Pilate heard this word, he was even more afraid. He went back into the residence and spoke to Jesus, “Where are you from?” Jesus didn’t answer. So Pilate said, “You won’t speak to me? Don’t you know that I have authority to release you and also to crucify you?” Jesus replied, “You would have no authority over me if it had not been given to you from above. (John 19:8-11)

The first temple that was built by Solomon was destroyed by Babylon in 586 B.C.  The temple that was rebuilt in the day of Ezra was later enlarged by Herod in the first century A.D., but then destroyed by Rome in 70 A.D.  When Christ died on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom, removing the barrier between man and God.  He is our High Priest, and we (the church) are His temple.  The temple that Jesus Christ restored will never be destroyed:

Again Jesus cried out with a loud shout. Then he died. Look, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split, (Matthew 27:50-51)

Brothers and sisters, we have confidence that we can enter the holy of holies by means of Jesus’ blood, through a new and living way that he opened up for us through the curtain, which is his body, and we have a great high priest over God’s house. (Hebrews 10:19-21) 

Because the scribes of Israel kept such precise records, Ezra was able to list in chapter 2 all the people who left Persia to rebuild the temple, and in chapter 8 all the people who left Persia some 120 years later.  Jesus Christ is also described as a Scribe.  He has a book called The Lambs Book of Life in which are listed all the names of all the people who have accepted His sacrifice, The Lamb of God, as payment for their sins.

I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. Another scroll was opened too; this is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged on the basis of what was written in the scrolls about what they had done. (Revelation 20:12)

Nothing unclean will ever enter it (Heaven), nor anyone who does what is vile and deceitful, but only those who are registered in the Lamb’s scroll of life. (Revelation 21:27)

I hope your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  I hope that your relationship with God that was destroyed by sin has been restored by the blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God.  If not, trust Him now.  Confess your sins to our Great High Priest.  The perfect, spotless sacrifice has been made, so apply it to your life, and receive the forgiveness He offers.  Allow Him to live in and through you, making your heart, your mind, and your body His temple.

My prayer for you and for myself this week is loosely taken from Ezra 7:27, 28:

Bless the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who (is in control of the nations) and who has demonstrated his graciousness for me (in spite of my sins). I (take) courage because the Lord my God’s power (is) with me. (Thank you, Lamb of God, for forgiving me.  Thank you Holy God for restoring me to fellowship with You. Thank you Living God for your promise of eternal life with you.) Amen.