In Esther 1 and 2 it was surprising how the nation of Persia behaved under the rule of king Ahasuerus. The picture portrayed in Esther 1 tells about how the people celebrated the greatness of their king for over half a year. This isn’t that a little too indulgent? Was this indulgence due to an unchecked pride? King Ahasuerus seems to be eager to present himself as a great and splendid king to everyone in his nation, so he all too willingly takes the advice of his wise men. What does such lust say about the motives and desires of the Persian nations? What are your motives and desires in life? Are your motives characterized by lust? When wrong is done in sinning will committing further sin make it amends? When lust is a motivating factor in a persons life it becomes a cascading life of sin as more sin is committed to fulfill lusts appetite.

Into this world a group of exiled Jews goes about their daily lives. How has the Persian society affected their beliefs? Are they holding fast to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Where do the people of Israel rank within this kingdom? Do the Israelites in Persia wait for deliverance? The ways of the Persians enveloped the Israelite when all the beautiful virgins in the land were taken for the king. What kind of kingdom is this where young virgins are taken to satisfy the lusts of a king because he chose to dishonor the previous queen Vashti.

When Esther was chosen by king Ahasuerus to be the next queen what was she thinking? The movie infers that she found a love for him but would that truly have been the case when she was taken from her uncle Mordecai a year prior and prepared as a lust object for the king? Why did Mordecai tell Esther to hide her kindred and people from everyone? Would she have been mistreated?

Many questions were asked as I reflected upon Esther 1 and 2. I do not know what answers will be provided as the story continues to unfold in the rest for the book but what is clearly seen is that excess without God leads to a pride and lust filled existence. I am thankful that the desire in my life is to follow God wholeheartedly. It is only by the grace of God that I live and move. Reflection upon scripture always leads me to reflect upon my life and I am filled with overwhelming thankfulness in this moment.

Ezra falls to his knees as he clings to the grace that God extended in Ezra 9:5-15. The people were wrong and had sinned before God. They needed to change their ways and turn wholeheartedly to God. Ezra and the leaders of Israel expressed the urgency to the people that they were sinning before God by intermarrying with the people of the land. By the grace of God the people of Israel acknowledged their sin openly before God and set their hearts towards following His commands. When we are faced with sin in our lives what are we called to do? Will we acknowledge our sinfulness to God? Will we set our hearts towards God? We need to cling to the grace of God extended to us through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and holdfast to God as we set our hearts towards Him and not the ways of the surrounding world.

God continually sought to bring the hearts of the people of Judah back to Him through His messengers and prophets. How does a persons heart become so hardened against God that they have no respect, thought, or desire for Him? “The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He has compasstion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy.” 2 Chronicles 36:15,16 What is the wrath of the Lord? Can this wrath be an expression of God’s love? God desired to maintain fellowship with us so much that He executed His full wrath over our sin upon Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. This is the true extent of the love that brings hope.

When the people of Judah are taken away into exile in Babylon all the treasures that occupied their hearts were removed or destroyed. “All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles.” 2 Chronicles 36:18,19  When the things that clutter our hearts desires are removed what will happen? When 2 Chronicles 36:16 said that there was no remedy what does that mean?

The exile of Judah in Babylon would last seventy years. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years before God allowed them to inherit the promised land. The exile in Babylon and in the wilderness allowed for the generations that hardened their hearts towards God to pass away allowing the new generations to be raised up in a situation where they will be looking for God and his deliverance. God has continually worked this way throughout the Old Testament with people who are stubborn and resolutely set against Him. Does God work in this way today? Does the grace of God expressed upon the cross of Jesus Christ effect how God works today? Does God still place His people in exile to turn their hearts back to Him? What is the state of your heart today? If you find that you have become callous towards God I implore you to turn back to Him and away from the idols that you are clinging to.

In the midst of our striving after idols we will only seek after God when we are so removed from the things we cling to allowing us to truly see that our only hope is in God alone. In 2 Chronicles 33:10 Manasseh and the people of Judah pay no attention to God? They were so filled with their idols that they had no room in their hears for God. Can God’s love be expressed through His anger?  Did God love Manasseh so much that he sent the armies of Assyria to remove him from Judah and all he held dear to heart so that his heart would again seek out the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? As Manasseh was captive in Babylon his heart turned back to God. Manasseh was brought back to Jerusalem by God and he sought to remove the idols that he had brought into Israel. An amazing transformation occurred in the heart of Manasseh from a man who would not listen to God to a man who acknowledged that the Lord was God.

How does our stubbornness play into our dependance upon God? How long are you willing to live in whatever way you want before you will acknowledge that the Lord, He is God? Do not harden your heart and cling to the idols and ways of the world. You will never find satisfaction apart from God. Remove the things of this life that are cluttering your heart and let God fill your heart, mind, soul and strength the way only He can. Let go of this world and cling to the Lord your God.

Do you wonder how you are to seek to love God? Do you think you have gone too far into the pits of idolatry to ever see the hopeful light of God’s love? In 2 Chronicles 35 you can find hope that will be refreshing water for your weary soul. When Josiah became king over Judah he was only eight years old. By the age of sixteen Josiah was seeking the God of his father David and by the age of twenty four he was radically purging the evil from within Judah. As Josiah sought to know God he became aware of how far Judah strayed from God. When we see the black and white truth of God’s word illuminating the deeds of our life we will meet a crisis point where we need to choose to seek God or our selfish sinfulness.

Josiah choose to seek God and was blessed because of his tender heart, ‘ “Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord. Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants.” ‘ 2 Chronicles 34:27,28  God honored how Josiah set his heart toward Him when he saw the sinfulness around him. Sin has consequences and Judah would reap the reward for their actions in seeking the gods of the land in their idolatry. Today we live in a world full of gods that promise hope and fulfillment but they are only snares that lead to death. What do you worship? When we as Josiah realize our sinfulness, humble our hearts,and set our heart, mind, soul and strength toward God alone we will be spared from the coming wrath. The wrath that is coming upon this world is an eternity in hell but by God’s grace Jesus Christ took that burden of our sin upon himself when He died on the cross. We can just as Josiah find rest in our days and be taken to our fathers in peace. Where will you find your hope? Look to Jesus Christ who died on the cross for your sins for your hope.

It was vitally important for Hezekiah to tell the people of Judah how they strayed from God as seen in 2 Chronicles 29:6-11. The heart of Hezekiah is laid bare before the priests and Levites of Judah, “Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to minister to Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense.” 2 Chronicles 29:10,11  Why is a tenderhearted leader so important? Hezekiah needed the priests and Levites to help point the people of Judah back to God. His openness before the people shows how sincerely he desired that all of Judah seek after God. If you are a leader do you openly share your heart with those you lead? What effect does that openness have?

The exhortation of Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 29 motivates the Levites to rise and take action. They entered back into the Temple to minister before God. Were these men filled with a fear of God as they reentered the Temple? Within sixteen days of the start of Hezekiah’s rule the Temple was cleansed and restored. What did resuming worship of God in the Temple mean for Judah? How was a personal relationship with God maintained without the indwelling Holy Spirit? The Temple was where the people of God went to worship Him and atone for their sins.

The beauty of Hezekiah’s devotion to God was experienced outside of the borders of Judah. In 2 Chronicles 30 the people of Judah and Israel are invited to celebrate the Passover again. What was it like to receive a message that the Temple was restored and the Passover celebration was being held? Some people who received the invitation to the Passover celebration laughed and ridiculed the messengers but all Judah and many from Israel came to the celebration. The hearts of these people were being drawn back to God and they were again seeking to maintain their relationship with Him. What was it like for these people who were living in a spiritual drought to worship God in the Temple again as they celebrated the Passover? “So there was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. Then the Levitical priests arose and blessed the people and their voice was heard and their prayer came to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.” 2 Chronicles 30:26,27  Do you see the beauty of the devotion of these people of God?

God was glorified by these wayward children returning to worship Him wholeheartedly. What does this mean for us today? Leaders be passionate about seeking God and exhort those you lead to seek God. If you have strayed from God and defiled yourself with the idols arise, cleanse, and restore. Your hope for tomorrow starts today as you set your heart toward God.

Did the wickedness of Ahaz, who ruled Judah after Jotham, stem from the perverse wickedness of the people of Judah during the reign of Jotham? When Ahaz wholeheartedly turned away from God what effect did it have on the nation of Judah? The protection and blessing of God was removed from Judah as they were invaded by Israel. God will ordain or allow difficult moments in our lives to remind us of our dependance upon Him.

When Israel was dealing a heavy blow against Judah God sent the prophet Oded to give them the a warning. “Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage which has reached heaven. Now you are proposing to subjugate for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely, do you not have transgressions of your own against the Lord your God? Now therefore, listen to me and return the captives whom you captured from your brothers, for the burning anger of the Lord is against you.” 2 Chronicles 28:9-11  What can we glean from the words of Oded? What do these words proclaim about God and His faithfulness?

In the midst of His anger against Judah God was not ignorant of what was happening. He knew the pain that was inflicted upon Judah by Israel. In the midst of Israel’s rebellion and their rage against Judah God reminds them that He is watching them and aware of all that happens. No matter what you are doing in life whether: good or bad, helping or hurting, caring or uncaring God is always watching what you do. Seek to set your heart towards God in all that you do. We will never obtain perfection this side of heaven but God judges our hearts and intentions today so seek to cling to him with all your being.

In the midst of God passing judgement upon Israel by sending the angel of the Lord upon Israel we are given a glimpse of the heart of David through his response. “Is it not I who commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.” 1 Chronicles 21:17  David looked upon the people of Israel as sheep that God had given him be shepherd over. The sin was committed by David alone and he desired that God place the burden upon him alone for his actions to spare the sheep that we under his care. The responsibility that David claims is an encouragement and exhortation to all leaders to stand up and take responsibility for past actions and to seek out God as the plans for the future are made. What sheep are under your care? What choice do you make that will have an effect on those sheep for good or bad?

Imagine a life where you didn’t have a Bible but you lived from day to day and year to year following the examples of men who lived before you. Some men in your family were full of wickedness while other men had great faith in God. Over time would you know what was truth and what was error by the example of those men? What would you think and feel if someone found a Bible, the Word of God, hidden away. Would you read that Bible with voracity to seek out the truth contained within it? Imagine the hope and terror that would seize you as you read the word of God for the first time. Would you be compelled to make changes in your life because of the sheer greatness and glory of God? That is the situation that Josiah found himself in when he looked upon the book of the law. He saw the holiness of God in light of the sinfulness within Judah and he made changes to seek out God and turn back to Him. There was no guarantee of how God would react to this change of heart.

God still allowed the people of Judah to be led into exile. Why did God not change His mind after the people turned away from their sin? The sins of Manasseh were too great to go unpunished. Would the professed faith that is displayed by the people of Judah be genuine? Can the people truly walk away from generations of sinful behavior in a moment? Is captivity the tool that God needed to wield to bring the people of Israel and Judah back to Him?

The ups and downs displayed by the sons of Israel parallel the life of a Christian. We have our high moments and we have our low moments and we need to continually fight the flesh that is within us. How is the cycle broken? Is there anything in the life of a Christian today that would be considered captivity? Does God use situations in our lives to bring us to a point where we will see Him clearly without ourselves getting in the way? God is always able to make a way where there seems to be no way. He can bring us up out of the depths of sin into fellowship with Him.

After the death of Solomon in 1 Kings 11 the nation of Israel split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Jeroboam ruled Israel after the division and he realized that if the people of Israel went to worship God in Jerusalem they would want to reunite as one nation. Instead of allowing people to seek out God in Jerusalem two idols were setup in Bethel and Dan where the people of Israel were led to believe, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 1 Kings 12:28  Jeroboam was a catalyst that led generation after generation him into idolatry. Every king listed that follows in his footsteps is not willing to tear down the high places of worship in Bethel and Dan. Some kings drove out the worshipers of Baal and Asherah but they were not willing to destroy the idol worship that continually drew the men and women of Israel away from God.

Were these men not able or willing to follow God completely? What was the reason that the high places were not torn down? The deception of sin is so complete that we are oblivious to the hold it has on our lives. When father after father continued to worship on the high places did the sons know that it was wrong? When sin lodges itself into the life of a family it will be habitually instilled into the following generations. In what ways has sin entrenched itself so deeply in your life that you are zealous to see God’s victory over areas of sin and oppression globally, nationally, or locally only to refuse to look at the sin within the house you live

What will be required for the bonds of slavery to these sins to be broken? Are we so ready to look outwardly that we forget to look at out own lives? Will you take a long hard look at your life today to see where you have created high places of worship that you are unwilling to tear down? Where is hope found to break free from the idol worship that we have subjected ourselves to? When Jesus Christ died on the cross he destroyed the hold that sin has on our lives. We need to seek out freedom in Jesus Christ alone.

How does God use such flawed and frail beings as us? Why does He care about us? It is truly humbling to realize that God takes and interest in humanity despite our consistent failure. Jehu was not perfect but he was faithful to follow the command of God to strike down the house of Ahab systematically killing all of the people of in the house and all the worshipers of Baal. These two chapters make me feel very insignificant as I see the anger of God being expressed against the entire house of Ahab. Is there any hope to be found in all of this death?

The truth of God’s ultimate sovereignty is proclaimed by the death of the entire family of Ahab. God acted this way because He is God. It is easy to say that it was unfair for all of the children to die or every one of the worshipers of Baal. The truth is that we all deserve the same fate as Ahab’s family. We cannot escape the fact that we are all inherently sinful and that we will be held accountable for our actions. Death is the only true thing that we deserve and the only hope to escape judgement is found in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.