The Providence of God # 8

As we have been studying the Providence of God, we have been using the Old Testament Book of Esther which describes Haman’s wicked plot to kill all the Jews in Persia and how God saved them 

We see the Providence of God at work in Israel and learn that God has ordained His choice of Israel  

In Deuteronomy 7:6-8a God said of Israel, ‘For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be His own special treasure. The Lord did not set His heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and He was keeping the oath He had sworn to your ancestors.’ (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) 

Yes, God chose Israel - But for what purpose did He choose them!?  

The answer to that question is found in, Deuteronomy 7: 8a, and concerns the ‘oath’ that God had sworn to Israel’s ancestors, beginning with Abraham 

Genesis 12: 1-3 ‘The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” 

The ‘oath’ that God made to Abraham is called the Abrahamic Covenant and was repeated to Abraham’s descendants Isaac and Jacob 

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the 3 great patriarchs of Israel 

Genesis 17: 15-19; Genesis 28: 13b-14 

In His ‘oath’ to Abraham God said that He had chosen Abraham and his descendants to be a blessing to ‘all the families on earth’; that is all the nations of the earth 

That ‘oath’ has never been removed, revoked or cancelled and for the 4, 100 years since the time of Abraham Israel has had the responsibility to fulfil the Abrahamic Covenant 

God also said in the ‘oath’ that He would give Abraham and his descendants, Genesis 12: 1b ‘the land that I will show you’, and Genesis 12: 7b ‘I will give this land to your descendants’ 

That land became known as the Promised Land of Israel, a tiny 22, 145 sq. Km strip of land that serves as a land bridge between Africa, Asia and Europe 

(Our New Zealand province of Canterbury is twice the size of Israel at 44, 508 sq. Km)   

Now, considering their location, how was Israel going to be a blessing to ‘all the families on earth’ – the nations? 

Firstly, God put Israel in the land to be a blessing to the nations that traveled through it. The Lord said this about what would later become Israel’s capital, Ezekiel 5: 5 ‘This is Jerusalem: I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.’ 

Secondly, God required Israel to go out of the land and be a blessing to all the nations, Psalm 67: 2 ‘May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere.’ 

Psalm 96 

Now, let’s get back to the Book of Esther and let’s ask the question that we asked at the start of this Message Series – what was Israel doing in Persia? 

Esther 2: 6  

God exiled Israel to Persia because Israel wouldn’t go willingly 

God’s purpose for Israel was that they would be a blessing to the nations by being His witnesses, Isaiah 43: 10a ‘you are My witnesses, O Israel! says the Lord.’  

And how can they be witnesses to the nations unless they are go?  

Romans 10: 13-15 

Sadly, Israel had a history of being unwilling witnesses to the nations and when they refused to go, God had to persuade them to go 

Let me ask you a question: from your own experience, how many of you know that the Lord can be very persuasive?  

The Prophet Jonah found out that the Lord can be very persuasive 

Jonah was unwilling to be the Lord’s witness and refused to go to the nations but with some persuasion from the Lord Jonah changed his mind and went to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and declared the Word of the Lord to them Jonah 1: 1-4, 17, Jonah 2: 7a, 10; Jonah 3: 1-4  

And through Jonah’s ministry, the people of Nineveh were saved 

Jonah 3: 5  

Sometime later, another Jonah was unwilling to be the Lord’s witness, and he also refused to go to the nations, Matthew 16: 17 ‘Simon Bar-Jonah' - we know him better as the disciple Peter and later as the Apostle Peter 

In the Acts 10 narrative we see the unwillingness of the Apostle Peter to go to the nations but with some persuasion from the Lord, Peter changed his mind and went and through Peter’s ministry the household of Cornelius were saved 

Acts 10: 34b-35 

The early Christian Church also found out that the Lord can be very persuasive 

The early Christian Church was made up of mostly Jewish believers and they too were unwilling to be the Lord’s witnesses and also refused to go to the nations, so the Lord brought persecution upon the Church and they too changed their mind and went,  Acts 8: 1b ‘A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.’ 

Acts 8: 4 ‘the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went.’ 

Do you find it amazing that the Apostles stayed in Jerusalem!? (GK: ‘Apostolos’ means ‘sent’). An apostle is called to go - not stay! 

John 20: 21b; Acts 26: 17b 

The events in the Book of Esther remind us that God’s choice of Israel was with purpose – that through their witness Israel would be a blessing to ‘all the families of the earth’ and that included the people of the Persian Empire 

 Isaiah 43: 10 

Haman’s plot to kill all the Jews in Persia had failed but the problem remained – the King’s Decree to kill the Jews could not be revoked  

Esther 3: 8-15; Esther 8: 5-8    

But by the Providence of God, Xerxes authorized Queen Esther and Mordecai to write a new Decree in his name which would save the Jews and by the Providence of God Israel’s witness in the Persian Empire would be preserved  

Esther 8: 7-14

God’s purpose for you is to be His witness to the nations - let me remind you that it is better to obey Him than to invite His persuasion 

Amen!