Esther
was an orphan, living in a foreign land where her “kind” was despised. When
suddenly, the egotistical king decided after a long humiliating experience (he
not only lost his wife (Esther 1), he lost the war against the Greeks https://www.historynet.com/greco-persian-wars-xerxes-invasion.htm),
he decided to gather all the beautiful young women from the land he ruled over
(Esther 2:2-4). Not only was Esther
thrust into a life without her parents, and now her only family member, but she
could live locked away for the rest of her life.
Like Lisa mentioned yesterday, the enemy has been slinging arrows at me faster than I can duck. And although this study has been a blessing, I am definitely at war with the enemy.
Mercy
and grace are often confused.
Mercy
= God not punishing us as our sin deserves.
Grace/Favor = God blessing us despite the fact we don’t deserve it.
Mercy
is deliverance from judgment.
Grace/Favor
is extending kindness to the unworthy.
According
to gotquestions.org, favor is “demonstrated delight.” The favor of God can be described as “tangible
evidence that a person has the approval of the Lord.”
When
we favor someone, we tend to want to be with them. We connect with them in a way we don’t
connect with others. We have that “you
too” feeling. According to Isaiah 66:2,
God shows favor to people who delight and connect with Him.
And
according to 2 Chronicles 16:9, God searches for those whose hearts are
perfect.
What
does that mean to be perfect towards God?
It means to seek His favor more than we seek the favor of anyone else,
even ourselves.
Those
who have received Jesus as Savior are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians
2:8-9). They know the favor of God. Without faith, it is impossible to please
God. (Hebrews 11:6), but those who have
saving faith in God’s Son are declared righteous (Romans 4:5; Philippians 3:9)
and live in God’s favor. For us, the
answer to “how can I get God’s favor?” is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
All through the book of Esther, we never
read the word God, nor is He referenced, but God showed favor to Esther (2:8-9). Why would Esther receive the “best place in
the house of women”? Because she
obtained the FAVOR of the person that was responsible – the favor of Hegai – the custodian of the women. But that’s not the only time Esther received
favor
15 When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had
adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked
for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the
harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. 16 She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth
month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more
than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than
any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
The
reason Esther became queen was because she “won FAVOR in the sight of ALL who
saw her.” And most importantly, she obtained FAVOR of the king himself.
Who is the source of Esther’s favor? Was Esther following what all the other women were doing? (I can’t help but think of Honey Boo Boo right now) or was she guessing at what would win others favor?
Psalms
84:11 says, “For the LORD God is a sun
and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.”
The
source of favor is not beauty, or studying what the world does, but the
LORD. It is He who gives favor.
In
this entire chapter it shows us that Esther obtained favor and Psalm 84:11
tells us the ONE who supplied it to her.
I
don’t know about you, but would you have allowed your husband to select your
wardrobe and make-up for your wedding? Would you be able to trust your future to someone else?
I
went on a trip a few years ago and my roommate was a very busy mom and she had
her 10 year old son pack for her for this one week trip out of the country. I told her I didn’t think I could trust my
son to do that for me.
It
occurred to me as I began writing this post that all the struggles I’ve been in
lately are simply part of the journey.
And I have an opportunity to trust the people God has placed in my life
because He looks with favor on me! Hebrews 4:14-16 says, “Therefore, since we have a great
high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high
priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who
has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s
throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help us in our time of need.”
In other words, let’s go boldly to God and we will
certainly find the favor we need.
In
order for us to earn favor with God, we need to accept all that Jesus has done
for us.
