Advent Day 17 :: Faithful Mediator
“The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. [17] And in every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.” (Esther 8:16-17)
At the end of 2019 Pastor Bob began a series on the book of Esther which helped us to see the providence of God. His faithfulness and mercy, his grace and love, not just for the nation of Israel but for His people throughout all time.
We’re pretty familiar with the book of Esther, well, at least certain scenes and ideas in Esther. Like any other book we can quickly thumb through our thoughts like a rolodex to find the more memorable pieces of what we may have read or studied from the Bible. We’re familiar with the faithfulness and wisdom of Mordecai. We know all too well the bravery and courage of Esther. We’ve placed a red flag on Haman and the issues of pride and his hunger for power. We know all about King Ahasuerus’ (Xerxes) wealth and his propensity to be swayed one way or another with just a slight breeze.
There is one thing (or person) that we cannot easily pinpoint in the story of Esther - God. The book of Esther is the only book in the Bible in which God is not even mentioned. We are left to wonder where He is as we read through the dramatic and suspense filled story of Esther and the Jewish people in provinces of King Xerxes.
As Pastor Bob pointed out in our series on Esther, God is far from being absent in Esther’s story. God is always at work, whether He is easily seen or completely missing from the storyline. Despite the near death of the Jewish people, God was there through every minute detail orchestrating the redemption and rescue of His own. You see, the triumph of God’s Kingdom and the success of His redemptive plan does not depend on the faithfulness of His people but of Himself. In fact, the book of Esther fits in with the rest of the Old Testament which works to delicately and intently foreshadow Jesus as the deliverer and mediator for God’s people (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39, 46).
Christ is working in everything - from the biggest of issues to smallest of troubles. He has willingly become our deliverer and mediator in all our human affairs. There is nothing that our God cannot do and there is no situation in which Christ isn’t willing to step into in order to bring us out on the other side. Scripture tells us in Romans that while we still sinners, Christ came and died for us (5:8). He stepped into the muck, mire, filth, and brokenness of our world in order to rescue us and deliver us from sin and death (Psalm 40:2). I love what Romans 8 tells us about our deliverer and mediator Jesus Christ - nothing can separate us from His love. Sure King Xerxes is powerful, but what can he do to separate God’s people from his love? What can God’s enemies do to separate us from the love of Christ that will result from God’s preservation of this covenant people?
In this Advent season, remember, you are never, ever alone. Things may look bleak and seem out of control. You may feel like all hope is lost and you’re not sure what to do next. Just know, God is working. In every little detail. We need only remain faithful to Him. Following His lead in all that we do, knowing full well that in the end He will deliver. His plan always prevails. The birth of Christ is evidence of how much love God has for His people, for all of creation (John 3:16).
Further Reading: Romans 8
Photo by Landis Brown on Unsplash
