Different
Good Morning,
The fact that God’s people are different is well known, but the extent of their difference is rarely seen so clearly as in the life of Mordecai.
Esther 3:8 “..and their laws are diverse from all people;”
The people of God have always been different; or at least, we are supposed to be different —different from all other people.
Esther 4:6 “So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king's gate.”
vs. 7 “And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.”
How very personal the king’s law was to Mordecai because it was his fault that all the Jews were threatened. He alone bore the responsibility, but it was according to the commands of God, and Mordecai was willing to leave the end result to God. Although the other Jews did not hold the same standard, Mordecai’s unbending stand, uncompromising application of Scriptures, and unmovable conviction were the cause that threatened the lives of all the Jews. Still, Mordecai did not seek peace or compromise.
Mordecai was not fearful of the destruction of the Jewish people. Later, he assured Esther that deliverance would arrive from somewhere; it was her choice to be a part of it or not.
Esther 4:14 “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Mordecai was sure, not only in his stand against the actions of religious people but also in that he would win in the end.
Abraham was asked to offer his son on the altar. This request was unusual and absurd in the eyes of men, yet it was the willingness to do the unusual deed that brought about the statement in Genesis 22:12: “And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”
I am not saying that God would ask of us the unusual deeds that He asked of Abraham or Jephthah, but I am saying that unusual actions suit an unusual people. We are strangers and pilgrims on this earth.
1 Peter 2:11 “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”
Deciding not to drink liquor or go to casinos is not a freak decision, but simply one of separation. Loving your spouse, having an orderly home in which people love one another, following rules of behavior, allowing dad to be head of the home, or teaching children to obey are not weird or freakish decisions.
Esther 3:8 “…and their laws are diverse from all people;”
No matter the price, Daniel would not stop praying at his window, and his friends would not bow to the giant idol. The apostles would not quit preaching on the street, nor would believers be deterred when death was the price. Baptists were drowned by the millions for simply not baptizing their babies. They were not freaks; they were people of conviction. When people truly believe something is so right that suffering is better than compromise, they set themselves apart.
We are different. Our roots are different. Our God is worthy of our absolute trust, even if it makes us outcasts.
Hebrews 11:13 “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
In Hebrews 11, we read of the kinds of people that God revered as faithful heroes:
Hebrews 11:32 “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:”
vs. 33 “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,”
vs. 34 ‘Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”
Some people were held up for great victories they had won; others were esteemed for standing true when the world said they were failures.
vs. 35 “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:”
vs. 36 “And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:”
vs. 37 “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;”
vs. 38 “(Of whom the world was not worthy…”
We are not bad, but we are different. We are people of conviction and strong belief — people who believe their God is worthy of our trust and obedience.
Yes, we are very different from the world around us.
Pastor