Most of us eat every day, some of us too much, because yesterday's
food is not enough to supply energy for today's needs. Why then, do
some of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly manna, the word of God to
keep us through today's challenges. On this program, we are going to change
all of that. Let's experience God's words today and receive the power we need
to live healthy, vibrant lives. Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host,
author speaker, Elle David Harris. Good morning, good morning, good
morning. It is Monday, December eighteen, twenty twenty three. Hello,
my name is El David Harris. I am your host, and this is
your Daily Portion where we give you God's word every single day, and today
is no exception. We are continuing in our Lesson study series. God's mission,
my mission, and our caption for today is in a foreign court.
Of course, you can hear royalty in that discussion. We're not talking about
the criminal justice system. Yes, we'll get into that in just a moment,
But first i'd like to say welcome to you and ask you to please
go over to your Daily Portion dot com join our online community. Also,
also, please pick up your Daily Portion book at your Dailyportion dot com.
This is a way that we can build faith and fellowship together. Let's go
ahead and pray, and then we will get underway. Father and Heaven,
thank you for giving us your word again today. And I pray that you
will give us understanding, help us to apply what we here today to our
own lives, even though we don't live in the same society of as Mordecai
and Esther and others. I pray that you will make us holy today in
Jesus name. I pray Amen and Amen again in a foreign court, in
a foreign court, we're going to go ahead and read beginning in the Book
of Esther, the Book of Esther, chapter two, and I will read
beginning at verse one. And this is coming from the New English translation of
the Bible, and the Bible reads. When these things had been accomplished and
the rage of King Ahazarars was diminished, he remembered Vashtai or Vashti. I
think it's Vashti what she had done and what had been decided against her.
The king's servants who attended him said, let us search be conducted on the
king's behalf for an attractive young woman for attractive young women. And let the
king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive
young women in Susa the Citadel to the Harem under the authority of HEGIAI,
the King's yunuch, who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics
they desire. Of course, this is not something we endorse, we're not
excited about, we're not happy about, and we're not saying this is great.
This is what happened, though, And so the question is when the
women are in this situation and then one of the women stands out, what
is her responsibility? What does she do? I want you to keep that
in your mind. Verse four, as we continue to read, let the
young woman whom the king finds most attractive become queen of the palace of Vashtai.
This seemed like a good idea to the king, so he acted accordingly.
Now there happened to be a Jewish man in Susa the Citadel whose name
was Mordecai, and he was the son of Jair, the son of SHEMIAI,
the son of kish A Benjamite, who had been taken into exile from
Jerusalem with the captives who had been carried into exile from with Jakaniah, King
of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, had taken into exile.
Now he was acting as a guardian of Hadassah, that is, esther the
daughter of his uncle, for neither her father nor mother was alive. This
young woman was very attractive and had a beautiful figure, and her father and
mother died. Mordecai raised her as if she were his own daughter. It
so happened that when the king's edict and his law became known, many young
women were taken Azusa the citadel to be placed under the authority of Hegyai.
Ester also was taken to the royal Palace to be under the authority of Hegyi,
who was overseeing the women. This young woman pleased him, and she
found favor with him. He quickly provided her with cosmetics and her rations,
and also provided her with the seven special chosen young women who were from the
palace. He then transferred her and the young women to the best quarters of
the Harem. Now I know like for me, I'm just like real really,
but God was working here through the culture, through the situation that was
happening, God was about to do something special for his people. And then
the lesson writer actually points out eventually, after the fall of Babylon and the
rise of Meto Persia, many of the Jews return to their ancestral lands,
but not all returned. Some remained where they had been living for a generation
or more. And with this background in mind, we have a little bit
of context for the story of Esther. In chapter one, King Vashtai falls
out of favor with the King, which leads him to look for another queen,
one to replace the now disfavored Vashtai. It is in this context that
Esther and her cousin Morrikai first appear. They first appear. So let's begin
with the lessons that we can learn now. We're not going to go into
the story deeply. We'll have to pace ourselves. Esther Chapter three is what
we will discuss tomorrow. But just from where we are in Ester chapter two,
verses one through twenty, we can extract three major lessons about witnessing in
a foreign and unfamiliar environment. Never mind the Harem, never mind Vashti,
never mind what God is doing. Yet let's walk slowly. The first thing
that we want to do is adapt while maintaining identity. Adapt while maintaining our
identity. See Esther and Mornecai were Jews living in a foreign court, immersed
in the Persian culture. See the Persians didn't have the same God, the
Persians didn't have the same mindset, and yet they managed to maintain their identity
while adapting to the surroundings. Esther's participation in the selection process for new queen
that was something interesting that shows that it's possible to engage in the culture while
maintaining your core beliefs and values. See she Eventually she stands out, not
because she was more like the Persians, not because she learned how to compromise,
but because God had put an excellent spirit in Esther. God was after
something in that entire situation. He was about to do something special for his
people, and therefore he used what was going on in the society. He
used the king's mindset, he used the culture, he used the way that
they had done things. But he had instilled in Esther's bosom and excellent spirit.
Can you think of anyone else in the Bible where this would have happened.
Yes, Joseph, who had an excellent spirit, ultimately ultimately saved the
whole planet then known planet in that region. Of course, I don't want
to exaggerate through seven years of famine, seven years of plenty, when the
planet would have starved, the people in that region would have starved if God
had not placed an excellent spirit in Joseph, who could endure the trials and
the privation that his brothers had put him through in selling him into slavery,
right, and him going through the chiallenge and ordeal with the Potiphar's wife,
right, and going through jail and prison and whatever else. God had a
plan, and God used Joseph and his life his steadfast love for God to
manifest God's character in the earth and do something special in terms of providing for
the people, including those who did not know God. Number two discretion and
wisdom in hostile environments. Mordecai's advice to Esther not to reveal her full identity
teaches the importance of discretion and wisdom as especially in potentially hostile environments. And
like I said, we're going to come back and talk about some of what
would happen later, but It was in this moment that they had to be
discreet, not dishonest, not disrespectful, but discreet for the exact perfect time
that it would have made sense to reveal ourself. In three and final,
God's providence in unfamiliar territories. The story of Esther being chosen as queen demonstrates
God's providence and his ability to position his people strategically for his purposes. And
this encourages us to trust God and let him do what he's doing. At
the appropriate time, he'll manifest this character. Thanks for joining us listening.
Friends, Always remember we cannot live by bread alone, but by every word
that comes from the mouth of God. This has been your daily portion with
el David Harris. Make it a great day. Yeah,