Principle: Wise leaders reward virtue in their ranks.
Context: Wicked Haman had planned evil for Mordecai and the Jews. Mordecai and Esther (Jews themselves) risked it all, however, and courageously spoke to King Ahasuerus. Well, Esther did, that is, at the wise bidding of her uncle Mordecai.
Esther spoke and the king listened. Haman, confident that his star was on the rise, just knew he was going to be promoted in front of the formation. He was sure he was to be the center of attention. He was sure that his toady-like, sycophantic behavior had curried sufficient favor with King Ahasuerus, and that he was to be the man of the hour.
But what Haman did not realize was that Mordecai and Esther had fasted and prayed, had remained faithful servants to the king, and Mordecai had even alerted the king to plots upon his (the king’s) life (Est 6:2). The king then gave orders that Mordecai, a captive Jew, should be lauded. Mordecai’s quiet faithfulness was rewarded.
Haman was crestfallen and humiliated. His pride and his duplicity would be his downfall. But there was still more judgment to come. More blessing was to come to Mordecai, Esther, and their people.
And more woe and humiliation were to come to Haman and his ilk.
For now, just be encouraged: Sometimes what seems so (and you’ll pardon the grammar) ain’t necessarily so. Wise leaders know their people, and reward virtue in their ranks.
What does the history of Esther (and the book that bears her name in the Bible) have to do with history, with leadership, and with the true church? A lot. Follow me: It was the late 400s B.C. in Persia (present-day Iran). Many Jews were dispersed due to persecution under the pagan empires of Assyria and Babylon. Two characters figure prominently in the book of Esther, Hadassah (Esther) and her uncle, Mordecai. Esther was an orphan and Mordecai essentially stepped in as a father-like figure and raised her. Esther was physically striking, i.e., beautiful. And God would eventually use both Mordecai and Esther as examples of how Godly courage, Godly conviction, and faithfulness to God were used by God for purposes of judgment against sinners and redemption of believers.
Every Good Story Has Conflict: The villain in the book of Esther is Haman. He plots a holocaust in the 5th century B.C. against the Jews. His plan is simple: kill them (Est 3:6, 9). Haman was about as dark and villainous as anyone in history. He was the consummate narcissist, a grifter, a politician, and utterly shameless.
And yet God was going to use Jewish captives, those with seemingly no worldly power, as types to both thwart the evil plans of Haman but also as types and shadows of how God uses His people to judge evil and defeat Satan. But what is called for is Godly courage, Godly conviction, and faithfulness to God.
Mordecai fasted, prayed, and eventually prevailed over Esther’s initial reluctance to confront the king over Haman’s wicked machinations. Mordecai’s words to his niece are famous: “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Est 4:14).
And Esther’s response is likewise famous: “Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish” (Est 4:16).
Encouragement: I will continue the story in the next installment, but here’s the rub: God does not necessarily use those with the most brawn or the best looks or the most connections. God instead uses His people because they live out Godly courage, Godly conviction, and faithfulness to His revealed will. More to follow.
The book of Proverbs is the master example of alternatives:
Wisdom vs. Folly
Prudence vs. Rashness
Teachability vs. Hardness of Heart
Faithfulness vs. Betrayal
Humility vs. Hubris
The list could go on and on. But there’s an issue that’s in Proverbs 1 that is terrifying in its teaching: There are times when God laughs at human sin and anguish and distress. Yes, it’s true. Stick with me for a moment.
Verses 20-25 of Proverbs 1 all stress one theme: The wisdom of God calls out to all. She (it’s literary personification) “cries aloud in the street” (Pr 1:20a) She asks, “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?” (Pr 1:22).
Here’s the Rub: God sometimes gives people over to their folly as just judgment for our refusal to listen to God’s wisdom.
Here’s what Scripture teaches:
24Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, 25 because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, 27 when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. 28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, 30 would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, 31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. 32 For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; 33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
God sometimes appears to go silent. Why? As judgment for our folly. Verse 26 should shake us to our core. Why? Because it teaches that God actually laughs at our calamity, that He mocks us. And in verse 28, He says He will not answer. But we don’t have to wonder why. It’s right there in the text. Verses 29-30 read, “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of [His] counsel and despised all [His] reproof.”
Connection and Encouragement: Sometimes when I look around at our culture, I think to myself, “Surely, we cannot get any dumber. Surely, Lord, we’ll come to our senses. Surely, we’ll not embrace further madness,” but then clown world continues to play out. It is truly madness run amok, day in and day out, and the forces of darkness are running roughshod. Wisdom seems to have been rejected and folly embraced. And we are told by ‘leaders’ to call light darkness and to call darkness the light. And for those who care, we go, “Why? What’s happened?” I think the answer is right here in Proverbs 1. We’ve rejected God, rejected wisdom, and instead embraced nihilism and sheer folly.
Take hope in this: God invariably preserves a remnant of people through the storms. His purposes will be fulfilled. And He calls out still, just like in Proverbs 1, “but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster” (Pr 1:33).
You may remember some of America’s other proclamations. One was President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. It freed slaves. Staggering how different is America 161 years after President Lincoln.
I read the proclamation online. Then when my wife and I were invited to dinner by some friends Saturday evening, one of them brought it up to me, too. My mind immediately returned to Augustine’s writings about the sacking of Rome, of internal rot, of wickedness being rewarded, of corruption being the regimen, and of how God gave people over in order to demonstrate His righteousness. Funny how history unfolds over and again, and yet we act like things are new, that God has somehow changed, and that somehow we’re exempt from consequences of our sin.
I hope that biblical church leadership equipped the saints with truth and encouragement today on the holiest of Christian days (speaking in a calendarly way). How could biblical shepherds not speak to this? This was Nebuchadnezzar 2024. Fall down and worship purple-haired reprobation, genital mutilation, paganism, and the god of depravity, or be ready for what’s coming your way–whether fiery furnaces, lions, exile, or death.
Did you hear anything about it? Were you equipped? Were you fortified? Were you trained for the warfare that is invading your mind, your former borders, and your zip code?
You will, dear reader, be made to care.
In the late 50s of the 1st century A.D., Paul wrote a letter to Christians. Paul was living in an extraordinary time. The Messiah had come, been betrayed, spat upon, mocked, whipped, crowned with thorns, stripped, and crucified. And just like the Old Testament and Christ Himself had predicted in explicit detail, He rose again three days later. Skeptics became believers; Saul became Paul; persecutors became evangelists and pastors; and the New Testament churches were planted and multiplied.
Their leaders shared these historical truths of redemptive history. Christ was prophesied; Christ came; Christ died; Christ arose; Christ will come again.
These things matter, beloved. They matter because reprobation is nothing new. Rome fell. Nebuchadnezzar was taken down. Pharaohs were drowned in seas of God’s sovereignty. Herod was eaten by worms. Caesars were raised up and brought low. Ahasuerus was quickened. Haman was hanged. Judas committed suicide. And on and on it goes.
Why? Because all of Romans 1:18-32 remains true, dear ones. Because vanilla TED Talks save no one but rather abandon sinners to their damnation.
Not telling the truth that saves is hatred rather than love.
To paraphrase Edgar in the last scene of King Lear, “The weight of this sad time we must obey,/Speak [what is true], not what [pagans would have us say].”
I was very very close to my maternal grandparents. They have both passed on now and gone to their inheritance but I see and do many things that remind me of them. Today, for example, my body was all messed up because of my flight schedule. I flew from Idaho to Colorado. Then I flew from Colorado to Georgia. Then I drove from the airport in Atlanta 3 hours to my apartment. By the time I laid down, the sun was coming up, and I had to get up. I cannot sleep when there’s light. Anyway, this is not to whine. After all, lots of people have crazy schedules sometimes and sleeplessness is not unique to me.
This evening, like my maternal grandfather invariably did in all the years I was blessed to have him in my life, I craved cereal before bedtime. I know it’s not healthy, but I was craving it–badly. I love a particular brand of raisin bran-type cereal, and so I drove to the store around the corner from my apartment and picked up a box and a half-gallon of the milk I prefer, and a few other small items. When I got to the register to pay, a very kind black woman about my age came over to the register. She so much reminded me of folks that I gravitate towards that I almost had to pinch myself.
“Hey, hon,” she said. “How you doin’?”
“I’m fine, ma’am. You? I just found myself craving some cereal. So I’m here,” I said. She was so sweet, I just felt comfortable opening up to her.
“You’re good, hon. That’ll be $17.37,” she said. I paid for the cereal, milk, and other items.
I used my debit card and paid. Normally the cashiers at this establishment are perfunctory and about as interested in customer service as I’d be in a college calculus class–totally checked out. But not this lady. She helped me bag the few items. Then she said something that warmed my soul.
“Enjoy your cereal, hon. And Happy Easter.”
I felt myself smiling like a little boy. “Happy Easter to you, ma’am. I hope you have a good evening.”
I feel ashamed now that I did not even notice the woman’s name. I would like to write a positive review of her for the store to be cognizant of; she deserves it. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve become an old man and tend to romanticize the past or what. But when you meet people who are truly kind … well, I won’t speak for others … but when I meet such people, they stick out. They make my heart happy. They remind me of people with manners and what we used to call common courtesy. It is no longer common.
But this dear lady at the store tonight, as I went to grab a few items, and eat a bowl of cereal, and reflect upon my beloved grandparents, I just want her to know that I appreciated it. It’s the small things, I suppose, that are in fact not small or insignficant at all.
There’s a remnant of beautiful and kind folks who still speak respectfully, and still say, “Happy Easter” to one another in a culture that in so many ways has lost its soul. Thank God for kindness and the other remnants of the true, good, and beautiful.
I’ve been a fan of the band Genesis for many years, especially during the Peter Gabriel years. I’m indebted to my old college buddy Ken for educating me to the deeper things of Genesis when we were in our 20s and were both drawn to ‘prog’ rock bands like Rush, King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, et al.
Genesis has a song with the title “Watcher of the Skies.” In Idaho, I find myself watching the skies constantly. The weather patterns seem to change both rapidly and constantly, and I’m often gazing at the skies and the mountains underneath as if answers are forthcoming if I’ll just attend. When the clouds move over the mountains, the sunlight that gets through makes it appear that the earth is a conveyor belt of images.
In the Genesis song, the lyrics run like this:
Watcher of the skies, watcher of all His is a world alone, no world is his own He whom life can no longer surprise Raising his eyes, beholds a planet unknown
Creatures shaped this planet’s soil Now their reign has come to end Has life again destroyed life? Do they play elsewhere? Do they know more than their childhood games?
Judge not this race by empty remains Do you judge God by his creatures When they are dead? For now, the lizard’s shed its tail This is the end of man’s long union with Earth
From life alone to life as one Think not now your journey’s done For though your ship be sturdy No mercy has the sea Will you survive on the ocean of being? Come ancient children, hear what I say This is my parting counsel for you on your way
Sadly now, your thoughts turn to the stars Where we’ve gone You know you never can go Watcher of the skies, watcher of all This is your fate alone, this fate is your own
On your own, your own On your own, your own
Gabriel and the fellows from Genesis are all Brits, and I’ve no idea of the context of the song’s genesis (I could not resist the pun), but when I find myself gazing around me and up at the skies, then down at the visual patterns that slide, shift, morph, and move, one could do worse things than be a watcher of these mysterious skies.
I was approaching Boise, Idaho on the flight from Atlanta. And as we descended below the lowest clouds, and the snow on the ridges surrounding Boise came into view, I completed this reading of DeLillo’s Players, a novel that is utterly DeLilloesque in its exquisite and precise diction, accurate in its observations of human behavior, revealing of the sadness just below the surface in contemporary life, and a wonderful read from the prophetic master of the most connected and yet isolated culture we have ever seen.
I was in line at the Wendy’s in the airport for a coffee. The gentleman in front of me had a headset on with a wrap-around microphone, and he appeared to be in conversation with someone. But he turned around to me (I was in my military uniform) and spoke warmly and clearly.
“Thank you for your service, man.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said.
“I was born at Ft. Benning, man. I’m from Columbus,” he said.
“Really? That’s great. That’s actually where I’m stationed–at Benning,” I said. “But they’ve renamed it to Ft. Moore. They’re renaming almost all posts.”
“Man, why they doin’ that? How ’bout changing people’s mindset instead of changing history?”
Suddenly I thought I’d met my soulmate.
Here he and I were–different races, but both men of about the same age–and there was no racial animus. We were just two men–one black and on his way to Pennsylvania, and another a white one on his way to Idaho.
But he was not done talking. He kept going.
“I know, man, why they say they doin’ it. You and I both know. But why not change your mindset instead of renaming things, man? That’s what I say. Feed your mind. Expand your mind. Stop lookin’ each other up and down for colors, man.”
“I think we’re cut from the same cloth,” I said.
“It’s the mind, man. Anyway, man, I’m on my way to Pittsburgh. I’m in the oil business. But I want you to know it’ll always be Benning to me, man. I was born there. I grew up and went to school in Columbus. That’s home, man,” he said.
The girl behind the register called out his name for his coffee. He paid and retrieved his coffee, then turned around to me and again thanked me for my service. “Appreciate you, man. It’s still Benning, brother,” and he pointed to his right temple with his index finger and mouthed mindset again.
Context: One of the many ways in which Christianity is unique among worldviews is in its theology of who God is and what God is like. God–over and over again in Scripture-is referenced as steadfast, unchanging, & constant. For example, in Jeremiah 10:5, the prophet writes, “Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”
And in Jeremiah 9:24, the prophet writes, “but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.”
Encouragement & Application: The steadfastness, immutability, and constancy of God are crucial to one’s life as a believer because he/she has the Rock of Ages upon which to rely. God “gives life to all things” (1 Tim 6:13) and is “the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King” (Jer10:10). When everything appears unhinged and chaotic, the biblical believer knows why: those who reject God have by definition rejected reason, logos, and order.
But the believer knows the One who is constant, steadfast, and sure.
I went to the woods today to hike, look for sheds, but most of all to read some more of DeLillo’s Players. As I sat between a pine and a holly, I heard steps. I looked up.
Then the girls came by–a deer locomotive.
They caught my scent and the older doe blew and blew at me.
So much fun to watch these girls doing their thing.
MIND & MATTERS 