Reading
SAA Notes
God’s providence brings rescue from destruction from an unlikely source – a seeming chance reading by the King. This is the pattern of Christmas.
SJA Notes
* Holy God, You as Father sent Yourself as Son, and in the Jordan with John sent You the Spirit to descend like a dove and rest upon Jesus, telling us that in Him You are well pleased. We praise You three-fold God – Father, Son and Spirit!
“On the night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.”
Here we see the reversal of political fame and fortune come about through a king not being able to sleep – See the Lord’s hand at work here!
King Ahasuerus discovered that Mordecai had never been honored for revealing the plot of the two eunuchs for harm to the king.
So the king ordered Mordecai honored. By an enemy, Haman the Agagite.
Agag was the Amalekite king that Saul (the Israelite king, from the tribe of Benjamin as was Mordecai) was commanded by the Lord to kill.
Saul disobeyed God and kept Agag alive, until Samuel the prophet killed Agag with the sword.
Both Haman and Mordecai were a product of long-standing grudges. More than five hundred years have passed and still there was great animosity between God’s people and the Amalekites.
And because of sleeplessness the tables were turned.
This is God at work.
* Father God,
Thank You for taking care of us, often in ways we don’t see or understand.
Thank You for Your grace – Giving to us blessing that we do not deserve.
Thank You for Your mercy – Not giving to us the curse that we absolutely deserve.
Please fix our eyes on You today Lord God. Please show us what you would have us know from Your word.
Amen.