The Die is Cast — Adam’s Angle

You want to run, but you can’t.

Here comes the last day of your work contract, or that tax audit, or the first time you meet your daughter’s fiancé. We all face things we can’t escape, but we don’t need to choke on angst because God is sovereign even when He handles things on the down low.

A “Lot” to be Afraid Of

If there’s one thing you’ll learn from reading the book of Esther, it’s that those ancient Medes and Persians were an odd bunch of birds. At the risk of sounding uncouth, let me suggest they were a bit pig-headed.

Just consider the way they set up their legal system: “Let him (the king) issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed” (Esther 1:19). Yikes! There’s nothing wrong with a good law that can’t be struck down, but what about when the king makes a bad call and there’s no way out?

That was the case in the book of Esther. One of the king’s advisers, Haman, had a beef against the Jews and wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth (Esther 3:6). He used his political sway to influence the king who wrote an irrevocable law calling for a Jewish genocide (Esther3:9-11).

When would this atrocity be carried out? Haman cast the lot (a form of divination), and the day calling for the destruction of God’s people was set (Esther 3:7).

And there was nothing anyone could do about it.

It’s Not the Devil Who’s in the Details

The Jews were facing their inevitable destruction, and it seemed God was nowhere to be found. Maybe you’ve felt like that before. You faced something terrible, and yet there were no angelic visitations, no clouds parting in heaven, no nothing. Just silence.

But does that mean God’s not there?

It’s well known that the book of Esther is the only book of the Bible that doesn’t explicitly mention God by name. But God most definitely is there — in the subtle coordination of a string of “coincidences.” The ten-dollar word we Christians use for this concept is sovereignty. It just means that God is in control of every itty-bitty detail in all creation; nothing happens apart from Him allowing it.

Consider a few of the details that had to happen in order for the Jew’s day of devastation to turn into a day of celebration:

The Persian queen Vashti had to be deposed. Esther had to be a looker. Esther had to be chosen to be the next queen. Mordecai (Esther’s cousin) had to be in the right place at the right time to uncover a plot against the king. The king had to show favor to Esther (at the risk of her life!) when she approached without permission. The king had to have a sleepless night on the night before Mordecai was to be hanged. He had to choose the method by which he would be lulled to sleep (reading the chronicles of his reign). The exact scroll that told of Mordecai uncovering the plot against the king would have to be chosen.

I hope you get the point: this seemingly random series of events involving numerous people doing everyday things (and even making mistakes) was not meaningless and chaotic; it was the perfect recipe of God to deliver His people from “unpreventable” destruction. The Persian king ultimately issued another law that would permit the Jews to defend themselves on their appointed day of doom. Things were turned upside down.

Your 9 O’ Clock Appointment is Here

Great! Since God delivered the Jews from Haman does that mean my daughter’s fiancé is going to be the best thing since sliced bread?

No. Get real.

Everything doesn’t always turn out the way we would like it to. But, there is still hope. Don’t forget that no matter what happens on your own day of destiny, your heavenly Father is in control of even the smallest details — even in the times when it seems He’s nowhere to be found. Dread, begone!

— Adam Pivec
7/26/08