NOT BY CHANCE

GOD’S Bob April 23, 2021

NOT BY CHANCE

ESTHER 3: 5-15

Today we move on in the story of Esther and learn about chance, fate, luck, etc. All dirty 6 and 4 letter words to my pastor but I hope he will indulge me here.

How many of you remember the Magic 8 ball? It looked like an 8 ball from a pool table. You shook it while asking a yes/no question. There was a 20-sided die floating inside that would surface to reveal one of its sides. On 10 of the sides were positive answers. On five of the sides were non-committal answers and on the remaining five were negative answers.

A lot of people say the things that happen in life can be chalked up to luck or fate. We, as believers, know that God is sovereign. Where we are in the story in Esther is where Haman is furious about Mordecai’s refusal to bow down to him. He merely did not want to just punish Mordecai, but he also wanted to destroy all the Jews in the kingdom. Rather than kill them immediately, Haman consulted a pur or cast a lot which was a cube shaped object used for divination. It was their own version of the magic 8 ball.

Haman consulted this device to see when the slaughter of the Jews should take place. He cast in during first month of year and the lot fell to the 12th month meaning that the Israelites would live with the horror of impending massacre for eleven long months. However, that delay, PROVIDENTIALLY, bought them some time.

Israelites were familiar with the pur.

They even used it to query Yahweh.

Jacob cast lots before the Lord when assigning land to the tribes, deferring his decision to His sovereignty. (JOSH. 18: 6)

David says in Psalm 16: 5-6 praising the Lord: “You alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.”

WHILE HAMAN CAST THE LOT, YAHWEH ALONE—THE GOD OF THE JEWS—WOULD DETERMINE HOW IT FELL.

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP A JOURNAL RECORD OF HOW GOD WORKS IN YOUR LIFE.

FROM TIME TO TIME, GO BACK IN YOUR JOURNAL AND READ IT—ESPECIALLY IN HARD TIMES.

IT IS GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT TO SEE HOW GOD WORKS---HOW HE DID THEN—HOW HE DOES NOW---HOW WE ALWAYS WILL!!! THE GOD OF ALWAYS!!!