The Law of Divine Nature
Esther 2
1. After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her
2. Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king
3. And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of the kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace to the house of women, unto the custody of Hege the king’s chamberlain, keeper of the women, and let their things for purification be given them:
4. And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king and he did so.
Right of the bat, the purpose of God in creation of man has been for a being with whom he could express his divine nature. Man was meant to act out God. Man was on probation, on the path to being readied to be indwelt by God; he was on the way of being the satisfaction of God, the reflection of his Creator just, as a type, woman is supposed to be the satisfaction, the glory of her husband. “….. forasmuch as he (man) is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man”(1Corinthians11:7). This truth should not elude me, Lord. I’m the reflection, the image and the glory of God! I’m Yours and You’re mine; intertwined!
Author: Olayode Mark Page 11 of 12
The Riches of the Wisdom and
Knowledge of God
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out” (Romans 11:33).
There’s is a need to juxtapose the above verse in the eleventh chapter of Romans with our long read in the story of Esther, today. It’s hard not to pause to think that there was an invisible hand directing the affairs of man, even when he believes that he is the one in control. Certainly, a hand was at work shaping history and destinies of men and, in this story, impulsing Vashti, the centre of the beginning of the story today, to suddenly misbehave, and lose all her glories to the bargain.
In the last episode, Vashti the queen of this glorious kingdom suddenly found the strength to misbehave towards her husband, the king, by disobeying the order or command of the king to show her off to the people. The story continues:
Esther 1:
13. Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgement:
14. And the next to him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes which saw the king’s face, and which sat first in the kingdom;)
The king Ahasuerus summoned a meeting of his seven wise men, the princes of the kingdom, laying before them the wifely misbehaviour of Vashti. He started:
15. “What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she had not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?”
And Memucan, one of the seven begins to point out the possible far reaching effects of this queenly rebellion of Vashti: rebellions of wives to husbands and spins of family disorders in the kingdom.
“Vashti the queen,” he says, “hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus
17. For this deed of queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought before him, but she came not.
18. Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day until all the king’s princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath”
Then the wise man begins his recommendation to restore order. Order in the homes, families and the kingdom is the focus of this judgement.
The Unsearchable Riches of His Grace
Esther 1:
10. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded… seven eunuchs who served in the presence of the king
11. To bring Queen Vashti before the king wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people to behold. She was fair to look on.
12. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains; therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger turned in him
Beautiful Queen Vashti is the wife of king Ahasuerus, the ravish of his heart, the excellency of his glory and the delight of his eyes. He loves her for who she’s and for her beauty. He sees her as the ultimate of life achievements. He wants to show her to the world and say, This is life; this is perfection.
Esther 1:
5. And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace
6. Where were white, green and blue hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble; and both were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble
7. And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, the (the vessels being divers from one another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king.
And the drinking was according to the law: none did compel for the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man’s pleasure
9. Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
We were meditating on the unending feast we enjoy in Christ as we behold Him and are transformed into the Christ image we behold. We will continue to learn of the King in all eternity. He said to come to Him and learn of Him. This is feasting. His presence is a feast; the increasing knowledge of Him is a feast and hearing from Him is yet another feast. In general the Lord Who was, Who died and lives for ever more is all of a bundle of feast that grows and expands with eternal life.
After feasting the empire for 180 days, displaying his wealth and the majesty of his military might and readiness, king Ahasuerus went further to feast the people in Shushan, the capital city where he lived. This reminds me of Zion; this reminds me of Jerusalem. Zion is Jerusalem; Jerusalem is Zion. One of the first things king David did after the tribes of Israel came to him in Hebron informing him they wanted him as their king was to take the strong hold of Jerusalem that, in the narrative, is also, by engaging the Hebrew poetic device of parallelism, is Zion. “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem….(the Jebusites, original inhabitants) thinking, David cannot come here hither, nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion, the same is the city of David” (2Samuel5:6-7). Zion is a city inside a city; it’s the location of the palace of a great king. The glorious feast which has already begun in this dispensation and continuing in the ages to come ( only increasingly more intense) is and will take place in Zion. Jerusalem, nay, Zion, signifies royalty. Therefore, I’m not gunning for heaven alone, not even Jerusalem alone; I’m after Zion, the dwelling of the Lord himself. “Ye are come unto mount Zion, unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrew 12:22). To be in Zion is to have the opportunity of being part of the royalty. Everyone in Christ is offered this opportunity to be in heavenly Jerusalem, no doubt. However, while others may be satisfied with being in Jerusalem within the precinct of the feastable glory of His presence, I crave a nearer presence where the intensity of the brightness of his glory is at it’s zenith. There in Zion where the Lord resides, there’ll be feast of feasts or what somebody aptly put as the father of all feasts! It’s not for the fun of it that a woman once sidled up to the Lord Jesus, gained his attention, and passionately pleaded that her two lovely sons who were also disciples of the Christ would at either sides of the Lord of his kingdom. This was in anticipation of the coming feast. It’s not a sin to demand this vantage place; it’s false humility to desire less. The city is for those who’ll go the extra miles with the Lord: it’s reserved for those with crazy obsession! . “And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion and with him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having the Father’s name written on their foreheads….These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they which followeth the Lamb withersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Revelations 14:1,4-5). The Lord didn’t rebuke James, John and their mother for their lofty desire, nor does he rebuke me even if this height is seen too much beyond me. However, Christ referred to a baptism of battles and sufferings: “…. Are ye able to drink the cup that I shall drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”(Mathew 20:22). The feast in Zion is for the overcomers, those that stand in the thick battles with the Lord; the battles are against the kingdom of sin and darkness. “…… and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful” (Revelations 17:14). What comes to my heart now with the speed of light is the story of Gideon who was to raise an army for the Lord. The men were all called. Then came the test at a water pass where few of the men were chosen. Of course, the chosen were faithful.
My being called is no more in doubt. But, Lord, may I be chosen and be found faithful with you. You’re the consummation of all the ages; the realization of the inheritance of God in man; the showcase of life eternal.
Zion is complete possession of God – the dawning of life eternal. “In the hope of eternal life which God who cannot lie” (Titus 1:2). Eternal life is a forever feast in the royalty presence and radiance of the Lord! This, You see, Lord, has been a lofty hope for me – going beyond the normal, the average to the totality of You. But I must not despair of attaining this Divine urging from eternity. Why are you cast down O my soul and why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God, O my soul. He’s my shepherd. Lord help me. Thank you for helping me for I shall know what it means to wake up in your likeness, in your very presence.
The Unending Feast
Esther 1:
5. And when those days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days in the court of the garden of the king’s palace;
6. Where white, green, and blue, hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red (porphyry), and blue, and white, and black, marble
7. And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being divers from one another.) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king
8. And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel: for the king had appointed to all the officers of the house, that they should do according to every man’s pleasure
9. And Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
In the last post, we were reflecting on throne, king and kingdom. Here, it’s about the unending feast in the kingdom – the feast continues for another period of seven days in the royal garden court of the king in Shushan. The atmosphere is charged full of colours. I’ve allowed my imagination to essay forth a bird to view this scenery from the air. I see a pervading beauty and smell sweet odours that have blended into one. The hangings of white, green and blue clothes fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and….silver-gold beds on pavement of red…mother-of-pearl and precious stones. White is purity; green is life and blue is heavenly while purple signifies royalty. Red or porphyry is the colour of the blood of man’s redemption like the red cord hanging from Rehab’s window. In the worship instituted in the wilderness as the people of Israel moved towards Canaan, the Holies had articles mainly of gold; this typified God. Silver speaks of redemption.
What again, in this feast, are available? Special and most costly royal wines and every one was fed according to his desire. Wines speaks of liveliness, excitement; sense of being actively alive. The guests are served the best the king has. At the same time, similar feast is going on in the palace as Vashti, the queen, is carrying on her own feast.
The Unending Feasting
Esther 1:
5. And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people present (found) in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days in the court of the garden of the king’s palace
The last post was on throne and kingdom and kingdom. An everlasting kingdom in the offing. Scientists are, if unconsciously, are hastening the days of the kingdom; philosophers are agreed that something is about to give way in our cosmos; the religionists are pandering to it though only from the tip of their tongues; the prophets, real and fake, are announcing it. It will be absolute; a kingdom of new heavens and a new earth, according to Peter, whose bodily expression is righteousness (2 Peter 3:13).
Throne and Kingdom
Esther 1:
2. That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was at Shushan the palace
Throne is the hub of glory, the point of the radiance of king; there issues forth power and the majesty of authority. A man is a man any day any time but he becomes another entity when he ascends throne. Another paraphernalia of king is sceptre which in reality signifies authority. As soon as the man mounts the stool he becomes supreme. The man, the stool and the sceptre constitute the power and influence of the kingdom, the man being the physical manifestation of them all.
In the present age, all the other components are virtually almost none existent in the world except in places where people are still held in the awe and sway of their traditions. Evidently, the earth is groaning with birth pangs of a civilisation and, because this is new, there’s a need to have a paradigm shift from the old. The midwives of the present civilisation – the scientists, the thinkers, the inventors, the writers…. – are kings with the world as the reach of their kingdom. The wizard that created Facebook, for example, is a king of the world; Ellen Musk is another; Soyinka is – all on kingly thrones that defy ancient borders, transcending race and regions and religions.
The Vast Glory of a Kingdom, 3
Esther 1:
1. It came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this Ahasuerus which reigned from India even Ethiopia, over an hundred and twenty and seven provinces:)
2.That in those days, when king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace
3. In the third year of his reign he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants, the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him
4. When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days.
We have been reflecting on the Book of Esther, w have been reading of a king the bible describes as having a vastly immeasurable kingdom that is gloriously rich and consisting of peoples of many cultures and outlook. It is amazing how he’s able to be the centre of the harmony and conflicts as well as the contradictions oozing from this huge conglomerate. This king decides to showcase the might and riches and the great resources of his excellent kingdom. For more than half of a year, he is literally feeding the people: his princes or subordinate rulers and servants. Ahasuerus, this king is a man. Before him and after him and for ever is the kingdom of God. The display of majesty and power and glory and honour expressed concerning king Ahasuerus in this book are a snippet leaking from heaven to man’s earth by some mechanism; every picture of the heavenly handled by mortals always turn awry. Kingdom establishment and kingly expression are heavenly, but in the hand of man, it’s a world of horror, tragedies and catastrophes. God alone is described as the true Potentate, to whom be glory and majesty and power and dominion and authority for ever and ever. Man in me is a critical part of this exhaustless kingdom whose vast resources cannot give out in all eternity. Ahasuerus and his kingdom though rich and vast are limited. The King of kings doesn’t have to impress me with his awesome power, his creativity and ingenuity. He is not bound to display before me the richness of his kingdom. He doesn’t have to woo my friendship Who’s surrounded by myriads of exotic beings in his kingdom in heaven or the in the kingdom of heaven. Yet this King crested me for this sole purpose of possessing my being, that he might live in me. He deliberately intervened in history because of me, abolishing death and bringing immortality to light. He reborn me so that he might express himself on earth through me; that I might live him on earth and display the vastness of his glorious kingdom. Yet, amazing, in the deliberateness of unfathomable wisdom and knowledge, he crested me the weakest. This mystery of God inhabiting me stirred the curiosity of the angels, principalities, powers – beings in their own right and realms who are excellent in power and might – and they are still busy trying to pry open: How, they wondered in the beginning of my creation in the hand of the King, can God dwell in Man, in me forever? God promised them a holy marvel of his Almightiness; he let them know that in the later days, in his kingdom, they would be seeing him in his unbounded wisdom. “To the intent,” the scripture assures, “that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church ( I’m part of the church, you know) the MANIFOLD wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ our Lord” (Ephesians 3:10-11). This wisdom he showed in his mystic secret hidden in his Son Jesu Christ. Then his Son, that this divine technology might be replicated in me, died and resurrected and brought immortality, a reincarnation of himself in me! Oh, the depth both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! (9:33). You see, God, my Father could do anything, could just make me do what he wanted me to do – but he would not take advantage of my weakness as a man, the lowest in the cadre of the mighty ones. He seeks my cooperation. You could see he covets my friendship as he passionately desires me. You see it would hurt him greatly if I don’t cooperate with him for my redemption which he brought about through the shedding of the blood of his Son Jesus. Redemption means restoring to the original balance of things, to the original thought of God. Now, he sings a serenade and croons to me a lullaby. The amazing love, unequalled! He impressed on me the strength of his love by taking my place in righteous judgement! Lord what can I say to this love!
Father, you have me; I’m forever yours. This is love shinning through the kingdom: “God commendeth his love towards us in that while we’re yet sinners Christ died for us.” I’m glad that you have me and at the dawn of your glorious parousia, the complete supervening of your kingdom, I will be like you because I’ll see and be just as you are. This is the hope of my waiting (1 John 3:2). Lord I love that! You became me and you turned around to hold the mirror of you to me so that I may become more and more like you, the image I see. Now in the glory of your kingdom, I’m being metamorphosed into the same glory as you who I behold – the you who’s the perfection, nay, the fullness of glory.
The Vast Glory of a Kingdom, 2
Esther 1:
1. Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this Ahasuerus which reigned from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces;)
2. That in those days when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace
3. In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants, the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes, being before him
4. When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days.
The kingdom is truly a vast land of peoples of different tongues, nations, tribes, kindreds and cultures. Yet the king was able to hold all the conflicting interests and contradictions as well as the harmony together in his person. The land was all the way from India in present day Asia to Ethiopia in Africa. But a rising power was appearing in the horizon, a rising power of another kingdom trying to conquer and subjugate him. The history of the world, by which civilisation is measured, is power to conquer and subjugate others
The king Ahasuerus needed to show that he was not only militarily sound but was economically wealthy enough to strike down any upstart and threatening nation; the show of the opulence and excellence of his might and power on display. To mightily impress this on the mind of his people, he feasted them for more than half of a year. The feast was in Shushan.
The world is groaning under economic yoke. I’m thinking of what it would cost one country in the modern world to fete her people for half of a year without the nationals contributing a dime as shown here. Even in the days of covid-19 , the nations of the world couldn’t feed their nationals which had been shut up in the house. But Ahasuerus did this for such a vast kingdom and displayed the grandeur of his military majesty. This kingdom was not only vast but also glorious – a kingdom of glorious peoples, cultures and civilisations all in one awesome unit under one king; a capable, most intelligent one.
The kingdom of God
I fail abjectly each time I try to wrap my finite mind around the infinite magnitude of God’s kingdom. A drop-in-the-ocean idea is found in the bible. The writer of bible’s Revelation, after giving the statistic of those who received God’s seal of ownership, continues his narration: “After this, I beheld and, lo,a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne…”(Rev.7:9). The Psalmist sings, “Let them praise the name of the Lord…his glory is above the heaven” (Psalm 148:13).
What kingdom of God is
The word kingdom means the domain of a king, the place of influence of a king, a place of display of his character. The phrase the kingdom of God therefore indicates the domain of the King, the true potentate, the only one that has immortality. This King, says a verse of the scripture, dwells, lives in the midst of light that cannot be approached (1Timothy 6:15- 16).
The Vast Glory of a Kingdom
Esther 1:
1. Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this Ahasuerus which reigned from India to even unto Ethiopia, Ethiopia over an hundred and seven provinces:)