Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Dec 5 2019 - Esther 1 – Queen Vashti deposed

Let me refresh your memory on some of the history lying behind the book of Esther. The unfaithfulness of God's people and their fondness for idols had led to God allowing the Babylonian army to destroy Jerusalem and to take many of the Jews away into exile in Babylon. But, after 70 years of Exile, the Babylonian Empire was defeated by that of Persia. Darius, the Persian King (or more properly the commander of the Medes), then allowed many of the Jews to return to their own country, to repopulate Jerusalem and to begin rebuilding the temple (see Ezra 1:1-6). Many Jews, however, chose to remain living in the Persian Empire with its capital now in Susa. This is the background against which we need to read the book of Esther.

The book tells a dramatic story. One of the remarkable features of this biblical book is that it never makes mention of the name of God. Nevertheless, like the story of Joseph and that of Ruth, it clearly displays God's sovereign control over the whole of history – and particularly the history of his people. It reminds us that God is also at work through the ordinary events of our daily lives whether at work or in the home or in our local community. We are not allowed to assign God to a "religious" compartment within our lives. So let's see how God is at work in this wonderfully dramatic story.

King Xerxes, also known as Ahasuerus (see NIV footnote), ruled over an empire that stretched from India to the upper reaches of the Nile (v. 1); he was an immensely powerful king and one who liked to make a display of his wealth and power. So, in the third year of his reign he threw a banquet for all the military leaders of Persia and Media:

For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendour and glory of his majesty. When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa. (vv. 4-5).

No expense was spared during this lavish banquet and the wine flowed abundantly. Queen Vashti (a name meaning beautiful), also gave a banquet for the women of the capital.

When the king was rather merry because of the wine he had consumed he commanded that Queen Vashti should be fetched so that her beauty could be displayed to the assembled men, but Vashti refused to come. In his fury the king deposed Vashti and declared that she should never again be allowed into his presence. He also sent out a decree into every corner of his empire "proclaiming that every man should be ruler over his own household" (v. 22).

Chapter one sets the context for the story of this remarkable book and shows us that God is at work even through the drunken anger of a pagan king and the behaviour of his spirited wife. God works out his purposes in the most unexpected ways and through the most unexpected agents.

We see this especially in the Lord Jesus Christ, a far more attractive king than Xerxes and a king over an empire far greater and more lasting than that of Persia. God worked out his purposes for the salvation of his people through a treacherous disciple, through the hatred of those who should have been leaders of his people and through the representative of the oppressive Roman Empire. All things were worked together by God for the good – the eternal good – of his people, and are so still (Romans 8:28). In what ways are you aware of God at work through the circumstances of your life today? Don't worry, even if you cannot see it, he is at work, and at work for your blessing.

Father God, we thank you that in all things you are at work for our good and our blessing and that this is demonstrated and underwritten by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Help us to trust you in all things and to make it our aim, by the help and direction of your Spirit, to be at work for the blessing of those around us. 

Dec 5 2020 - 1 John 4:1-21 – We live through him

The gospel, indeed, the whole of Scripture, centres in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not surprising then that those who wish to undermine the gospel frequently deny key truths about the Lord Jesus. John warns his readers about “false prophets” who were travelling around the churches seeking to gain a hearing and a following for their own views. You can spot these false teachers, says John, by their denial of the incarnation; they deny that Jesus was God become man.

There may have been some who claimed that Jesus was divine but denied that he was really a human being (a form of early Gnosticism). Perhaps they claimed to be more ‘spiritual’ than orthodox teachers by asserting that the Son of God from heaven was a spirit who simply appeared in human form – perhaps entering Jesus at the time of his baptism and leaving just before his crucifixion. Such people, says John, are not spiritual at all for the Spirit of God testifies to the Lord Jesus Christ as God come in the flesh.

Maybe there were others who taught that Jesus was a wonderful man – maybe the wisest of men and greatest of the prophets, come to point us to God – but he was no more than a man. These too are condemned by John for denying Jesus’ divine origin.

Why is all of this so important? Isn’t it just so much theology? Well yes, it is. It is theology in the true sense of the word; it is talking about and knowing God. God has revealed himself in the Lord Jesus Christ in all his glory, humility and grace. To fail to recognise God in Christ is to fail to know God.

Secondly, God has revealed himself in the Lord Jesus that the life of God and love of God displayed in him might be displayed in our lives also. John writes, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). We need to live in this love (4:16). This means confidently basking in the gracious embrace of God’s love towards us in Christ – a love that will never let us go. But it also means that we must be willing to embrace others in their need. The love of God cannot be contained within us, it must flow from us and embrace even those who seem unlovely and unlovable – for that is how God has loved us.

And this is what the world needs. In 4:12 John writes, "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." The implication is that when we love one another we reflect the character of God and make him visible to the watching world. God's love has appeared in Christ so that, as we live in him, God's love is made visible through us also (see again 4:9).

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God" (4:7). It’s a word of encouragement that we need to hear again and again. The life of God that became incarnate in the Lord Jesus is to become incarnate and visible in us as we live in Christ.

Lord Jesus, remind me ever afresh of your great love for me. You have shown me the inestimable love of God. Help me to reflect that love in my attitude towards and care of others that they may see something of the life and character of the living God and feel the wonder of your love.

Peter Misselbrook