Central thought: God will always show up at His own time for His children who trust in Him.
Text: Esther 6:1-14, Psalm 37:1-15
Life is full of challenges. There are many bumps and difficulties along life’s pathway. Some of these are self-imposed through careless lifestyle while others are satan-induced. When we find ourselves in such ugly situations of life, it sometimes appears as if we have been totally forgotten, and there seems to be no hope of escape. From the record of scriptures and the experiences of contemporary believers, we have often seen God our loving Father show up mightily on the behalf of His children. Such was the case of Mordecai, a Jew and a slave in Shushan. God providentially rescued him and his fellow Jews from imminent extermination and promoted him to the position of authority in the foreign land. God has not changed. He is the same yesterday, and today and forever (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). He will surely intervene in that issue of life if we can fully trust in Him.
Lesson Objectives:
This lesson has the following objectives:
- To know who Mordecai was and what he did for king Ahasuerus.
- To appreciate how the king changed Mordecai’s status
- To identify some challenges in life that demand diving intervention.
- To appropriate the lessons derived from this study.
Question 1.a) Who was Mordecai?
Esther 2:5-7
Mordecai was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin. His father’s name was Jair, the grandson of Kish. He was one of the captives of war from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Now a slave, he served in Shushan as a gate man at the palace of king Ahasuerus. He was the cousin of Hadassah (now Esther). He brought up Esther in the ways of the Lord, He was the instrument by which God delivered the king from being killed and Israel from being exterminated.
Question 1.b) What did Mordecai do for King Ahaseurus?
Esther 2:21-23
Mordecai overheard an assassination plot against king Ahaseurus by two of his door keepers Bigthan and Teresh. He quickly made it known through Esther, now queen in Shushan. Thus the king’s life was spared as the two plotters were killed and the incident documented in the kings chronicles.
Question 2.a.) How did the King change Mordecai’s status?
Esther 6:1-11
Due to God’s intervention, King Ahasuerus experienced a strange sleepless night. This forced him to inquire into the kingdom’s archives where he stumbled into Mordecai’s benevolent act towards him in leaking the plot to assassinate him. As a reward, he mandated Haman, the second in command and the arch-enemy of Mordecai and the Jews, to decorate him with materials of royalty and parade him around the kingdom. Mordecai’s status changed after God’s intervention on the extermination plot against the Israelites by Haman. This subsequently led to the death of Haman and Mordecai’s promotion to a higher status in the land of his captivity,
Question 2.b.) Mordecai’s deeds were recorded (Esther 6:2-3). What does this teach about our works, words and actions in life? Revelation 20:12-15.
Mordecai’s experience teaches us that our activities on earth whether good or bad, are being recorded. God is a good record keeper. A day of reckoning will surely come (1 Corinthians 3:13-15) and every man shall be rewarded accordingly to his works (Revelation 22:12), God is a faithful rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). It behooves of us therefore to be steadfast in Him, unmoveable and always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as we know that our labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Question 3.) How would you describe the timing of the intervention which Mordecai received?
Esther 5:14, 6:1-4, Psalm 46:1-4
God’s divine intervention in Mordecai’s life came at a time when all hope seemed to have been lost. Haman had secured the royal consent to “destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day…. (Esther 3:13). Specifically, the gallows in which Mordecai was to be hanged the following day had been constructed (Esther 5:4). As it were the execution of Mordecai and his people was already a finished business and a mission accomplished by Haman. It was at this critical moment, a near hopeless and helpless situation that the Most High, the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the King of Kings showed up. God turned again the captivity of His people. It was indeed like a dream (Esther 7 & 8).
For believers, God is never too late to intervene in our cause. He is the Master strategist who is always punctual to His time. We should never give up on Him but trust Him to the end.
Question 4.) Mention some challenges in our lives that demand divine intervention?
Life’s challenges are many and varied. It is rare to see someone who will go through life without encountering any of them. Some of the issues of life for which we need to wait patiently for God to intervene are: sicknesses, delay in getting admission to study a course of one’s choice, delay in getting promotion, lack of business breakthrough, delay in getting married, delay in getting children, delay in getting one’s relative saved, financial hardship, and some forms of oppression etc. The child of God should be rest assured that God is with him and that He will surely bring his heart desires to pass.
Question 5.) What lessons do we derive from this study?
Psalm 37:1-15
Knowing that God is aware and interested in our difficult situations, the child of God should:
- Not be unnecessarily anxious about the situation (Philippians 4:6)
- He should trust God for His intervention (Psalm 37:3)
- Like Job and others, he should continue to delight himself in the Lord
- He should pray
- He should wait patiently for God
- He should desist from self-pity
- He should desist from self-comparism
- He should cease from anger against himself, others and God
Daily Living Application:
Our lives challenges might have brought us to a point in which we think that we have been completely forgotten. However, our study today has shown us that God moves in mysterious ways. He can never be late. He is always punctual to His own time. This knowledge should make us to relax and trust Him absolutely.
Memory Verse:
Psalm 46:1
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”
Daily Devotional Guide:
Monday: Mordecai, a slave and gateman in Shushan.
Esther 2:5-7
Tuesday: Mordecai’s sense of duty.
Esther 2:1-13.
Wednesday: Mordecai honored.
Esther 6:1-11
Thursday: God’s intervention on Mordecai’s assassination.
Esther 7:1-10
Friday: Meditate on Psalm 46:1-4
Saturday: Examine Psalm 37:1-15