I am not a helpless victim!

Esther 8:1–10:3, 3 John 5–15, Psalm 118:17–29

The Old Testament points to Christ and often illustrates facets of the Christian life. Today’s reading blesses me as it again reminds me of how God works. The story is near the climax when Esther goes to King Ahasuerus concerning Haman’s plan to destroy her people.

It makes me think of a different plan, the one Satan has to destroy God’s people even yet. This raises a question: why does God allow his activity? The Bible does not spell out the reasons, yet God does allow it. Instead of changing the way things are, like that ancient king, God simply adds a new plan.

In that culture, the king could not change anything sealed with his ring. Haman used the ring to make and seal the edict to kill the Jews, but the king decided to make a new edict. He told Mordecai (Esther’s uncle) that he could, “Write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked . . . . And he (Mordecai) wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king’s service, bred from the royal stud, saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods, on one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.” (Esther 8:8, 10–12) The first edict could not be changed, but this one allowed the Jews to defend themselves.

Even now, the plan of Satan is allowed. He can attack God’s people, yet God has given us the order and the ability to fight back. Satan can be resisted. In Christ, I do not have to be a victim. I am not helpless; he cannot destroy me or anyone who belongs to Jesus Christ.

As for that ancient victory, the Jews celebrated with great joy. They still celebrate it every year: “These days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.” (Esther 9:28)

For me, this celebration is not annual, not even monthly or weekly. It is every day, even moment by moment! God allows the enemy’s attacks, but I can defend myself. I can follow the Lord and obey the instructions He gives, such as, “Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” (3 John 11)

I rejoice that the Lord still calls the shots and makes the rules. “You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 118:28–29)

Hear the roar? It might be too late.

A couple weeks ago someone asked how I was and I replied, “Weary of spiritual warfare.” The other person professes to be a Christian, but had no idea what I was talking about.

The next week, another person asked the same thing, and I gave the same answer. This person said, “Then you must be a threat. They enemy does not attack those that he already has in his clutches.”

In C. S. Lewis’ book, The Screwtape Letters,” a demon and Satan write back and forth with their strategy to effectively make Christians useless to God. I remember one in particular. It was a woman who was bound up in her fussiness. She needed to have her meals just so. Being particular about her ‘stuff’ was evidence of always thinking about herself and her own needs. This made her useless to God.

That chapter in the book made me realize that it doesn’t take much, or at least it might not seem like much, but Satan can use my most insignificant weaknesses to entrap me, never mind what he can do with the bigger issues.

Spiritual warfare is something like Paul’s description in Romans 7 of his battle with sin. He found himself doing what he didn’t want to do and not able to do what he did want to do. 

I strongly identify with his experience and now can more deeply understand how he ended that passage of Scripture: “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (Romans 7:22–25)

The enemy is sometimes subtle, sometimes not, but in either case he goes after my areas of pride, the places in my life where I feel hard done by, that I should have more or better than what I have. In other words, I’m thinking that I know what is best for me — better than God knows what is best for me. Peter has something to say about this spiritual danger . . .

“ . . .  Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:5–10)

I might not have all my needs met, never mind my wants, but God bids me to trust Him, not take matters into my own hands. He knows what is important — and what do I know? Not much. By being anxious about myself, I’m giving Satan a toehold, but the Bible says, “Give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:27)

The way to win these wars is by giving in, yielding, not to the enemy but to God. All my battles are rooted in some way to an issue of life where I am not trusting God or God’s supply or that He knows what He is doing with my life. In each battle, the victory came (and Satan left) when I yielded to God.

James says it well: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:7–8)

Sadly, there have been times when I was ignorantly resisting God and thus open to the attacks of the enemy. At times, I didn’t even realize I’d been trapped until God made me aware of the pickle I was in. Like my friend, I was oblivious to the sneaky tactics of this one that Jesus called the liar and destroyer.

While God promises to keep His people eternally safe, and not allow anything to separate us from His love, He also tells us to be humble yet alert. Roaring lions make a noise only when they are claiming their territory and their prey is already in position for the kill.

Sifted like wheat

My dad used a big machine at harvest time to combine the process of loosening and removing the outer chaff from wheat. This “combine” was very powerful and created a lot of dust. Some farmers died by slipping and falling inside it, yet this loud and dangerous machine changed the farming industry. 

In Jesus’ day and even now in poorer economies, human labor does the job. First, the grain is spread onto a stone or tamped earth floor. Then it is beaten with a flail to loosen the chaff. In the next step, the grain is thrown into the air. Even a small breeze blows away the lighter chaff and the heaver grain falls back to the ground. 

Just before His crucifixion, Jesus used this image to describe to Peter what Satan wanted to do with him in regard to his faith.

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. (Luke 22:31–32)

These verses bring to mind other images from a film we saw on the weekend. It showed killer whales hunting young seals, then tossing them in the air like a cat plays with a helpless mouse. From that, it takes little imagination to see Satan tossing a helpless person like a toy. I also know what it feels like to be sifted like wheat.

Right now, I am here, not tossed or blown in the wind. Thankfully, the sifting and accompanying threats to my faith are seasonal, like harvest time, and I have a reprieve and also a promise. Just as Jesus told Simon Peter that He would pray, He also prays for me. I am not like the seals who are mere victims from their killers. Jesus keeps me from being destroyed by threshing power of my spiritual enemy.

While it may not feel like it at the time, God even brings good out of the sifting process. I can see that from the illustration of threshing grain. Sifting is necessary for the wheat to be edible and useful. Struggling against attacks to my faith also are vital in separating the good from the useless. After a trial, my focus is strengthened and my trust is deepened. Any trivia that prevented me from “strengthening” others has been carried away by the wind, leaving behind a deeper faith and a more palatable life message. 

These verses also produce other images. With these thoughts of combines and wheat, I am missing my dad. I’ve images of him on that dusty machine and remember the many times I took water or lunch to him on horseback. I miss his dusty face and the mingled smell of sweat and the harvest. 

At the same time, I associate his love and care for farm and family with the love of God and His care for us. Being sifted could be the Lord lovingly running a combine through my life, allowing the sifting and knowing that the faith He has given me will survive being tossed into the wind. Not only that, God uses the sifting to purify and make me a better person, proof that the violence of the sifting process is no match for the prayers of Jesus Christ.

Escaping from the bird-catcher

Catching a bird seems to me difficult, but I’m not a bird-catcher. This was a common occupation in Bible times, even an amusement in Egypt. In Israel, these fowlers supplied the demand for birds used as caged pets, in sacrifice, and for food.

They used many methods such as a bow and sling or one of four types of net. Some used snares or springy twigs, clap-boards and decoys, such as a partridge in a cage whose cry attracted other birds. These were then trapped with a sticky substance smeared on a stick. Those snared were put into cages and crates that held them until they were sold or destroyed. 

The psalmist and other Bible writers spoke of fowlers in a metaphor that illustrates the deadly traps of spiritual enemies, chiefly Satan and his demonic forces. Yet God is with His people to protect and deliver.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence… (Psalm 91:1–3)

If I were a bird, I would want to be aware of the types of traps used by a fowler so that I could avoid being captured. As a Christian, I also want to be aware so I can avoid being Satan’s pet or experience destruction of my spiritual freedom and effectiveness. Paul wrote, obedience is important toward this awareness. He said to forgive others, “so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs” (2 Corinthians 2:11).

Spurgeon preached that the fowler's snare often looks like pleasure, profit, and advantage. For a bird, it could be seed scattered on the ground that draws it into the snare. Satan uses alluring temptations to beguile me. I might be thinking something pleasant is okay, but it could be that very pleasure that makes it dangerous. 

Satan always gilds his poisons. He knows what appeals to people and can make the destructive look innocent and the most normal hide the grossest of sin. He dangles pleasures so he can trap God’s people and put us in a cage. 

This warning is not to make aesthetics of us, causing us to avoid all pleasure, but to put us on guard with those things that are enjoyable. Job did not forbid the feasting of his children but said, "I will offer a sacrifice, lest my sons should have sinned in their hearts, and should have cursed God foolishly." Satan’s snares are more often connected with some pleasure or profit, but his end is not to please but destroy. 

God’s deliverance might come before I step into the trap.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

He also delivers should I fail to take that way of escape. All I need to do is realize my folly and cry out to Him, because He promised to help me.

When he calls to me, I will answer (her); I will be with (her) in trouble; I will rescue (her) and honor (her). (Psalm 91:15)

Today’s devotional reading warns me about the little things, the hidden traps and nets set to entangle me and ruin my walk with God. Great sins can frighten me from being trapped, but it is easier to escape them than the craftily hidden snares.

Temptations are everywhere. Satan can lure me in riches or poverty, sickness or strength, prosperity or adversity, friendship or loneliness, work or idleness. The unwary can be easily captured, but so can the wise and the watchful. Little things that seem hardly worth guarding against are strong enough to hold me or hinder me. I need continually reliance upon my Savior and not on my own abilities. 

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Father, being a Christian puts me into a spiritual battle. While I’m to wear spiritual armor and be strong in You, I’m also aware that I cannot save myself from the dangers of temptation and sin, or from the lies of the fowler. I need You. I am thankful that You are both my Fortress where I can hide from the bird-catcher, and my Deliverer who will rescue me from his snares.

(Clipart credit)

My Commanding Officer

Yesterday’s vote in our church resulted in a decision that seemed unexpected for almost everyone, no matter what side of the vote they took. There will be division, but it was division that brought us to a vote in the first place. Some are upset. Some are taking sides. There is confusion and I know that, “God is not the author of confusion but of peace…” (1 Corinthians 14:33) 
 

I had trouble sleeping last night and felt confused too. It seemed that none of this needed to happen. About 3:00 a.m. I got up and turned on Logos 4. I did a word search and found several articles that settled me. These explained the why’s and what to do about such confusion and division. After reading them, I was able to sleep.

It is no coincidence that this morning’s devotional reading again clarifies and settles my anxiety. It speaks of a leader of Israel who faced great conflict. Joshua was about to lead his people into the land God had promised them. The first obstacle was the city of Jericho. 

Earlier reports from spies sent out told Joshua that the cities of Canaan were “great and fortified up to heaven” (Deuteronomy 1:28). Despite Joshua’s military experience, he had never led an attack on a fortified city that was prepared for a long siege. Of all the walled cities ahead of them, Jericho was probably the most invincible. Besides, his army had no siege engines, battering rams, catapults, or moving towers. Their weapons were slings, arrows, and spears. Not only that, this battle must be won. His troops had already crossed the Jordan leaving them no place to which they could retreat. If they bypassed the city, their women, children, goods, and cattle would be exposed to destruction.

As Joshua surveyed this fortress, he could have wondered how to attack and what strategy would bring success. Then his thoughts were interrupted by a man with his sword drawn. Immediately, Joshua asked the man to declare himself as friend or foe.

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13–15)

What strikes me about this story is that man, later identified as the “Angel of the Lord” did not identify Himself as friend or foe, but as “Commander of the army of the Lord.” While He was there to support and encourage Joshua to move ahead in obedience, He did not take sides. God and His will stands above the division between pagans and His people. As I read it, I thought that He also stands above the factions and divisions between His people. Besides all that, He makes it clear who our real enemy is and who it is not…

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Jesus called our enemy a liar and a destroyer. He calls His people united and part of His Body. We are not foes but family.

Other parts of the Bible indicate more about this “man” who came to Joshua with drawn sword. This was a very special appearance of Christ called a theophany. That means a temporary or ‘pre-incarnate’ appearance of the Lord to His people, looking like a man or an angel (angel means “messenger”). A theophany is not the same as Christ’s incarnation, which would come centuries later. In the incarnation, God became a man, identifying himself with us by adding human nature to His divine nature, and offering us eternal life. 

I notice also that this “man” had his sword drawn. This signifies to me that that the Lord himself would be fighting for Joshua and the people of Israel. It was not Joshua or the army of Israel that would give them victory, but the Lord, and He would do it for His holy purposes and glory, not merely for their sake. He had already told them He had not chosen them because they deserved anything special.

“Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. (Deuteronomy 9:6)

As I think of all these things, I realize that God has a purpose. He wants His people to live in victory over sin and to have a positive impact on a dark and sinful world. He may lead us in ways that puzzle us, but we are called to trust Him and do as He says. We need to follow our Commander if we want to conquer the enemies that come against us, and we need to be united in our efforts.

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Lord, I’m always asking You to give me the right attitudes. Sometimes the problems, like Jericho, seem insurmountable. Yet You are here, with a hug as well as a sword, bidding me to remember that the place where I stand — the solid Rock that supports me — is holy ground. Keep my eyes on You and help me remember who my enemies are and that You will do battle against all evil forces that oppose Your people.