In our study of Esther and the providence of God we are presently discussing the doctrine of Divine timing. When we left off last time we were discussing life in time in view of eternity.
We saw that in view of eternity, our time on earth is very short. When compared to eternity time is barely a drop in the ocean. For the brief time that we are here, we have the opportunity to operate under good timing that comes from the PMA of Bible doctrine to the glory of God.
As a believer, your life only has significance as it is related to the mystery doctrine of the Church Age and the problem solving devices. Your life is only a vapor trail, a cloud that disappears quickly, and it only has any significance if it is related to God's word that abides forever. Matt 24:35;
Good timing is fulfilling God's plan, purpose, and will for your life. 1Pet 4:2; NASB "So as to live the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for the lusts of mankind but for the will of God." The will of God is virtue and God's timing; the lust of mankind is depravity and man's timing.
We see here that Good timing is the believer's life which is synchronized with the will, plan, and purpose of God and bad timing is the believer's life out of sync with God's will, plan, and purpose for his life because of the fragmentation that comes from the lack of doctrinal viewpoint and OSN control of the soul.
Until the believer's life is synchronized with the protocol plan of God through the consistent function of post-salvation renovation of the thinking, the believer's timing will always be a serious problem. Understanding Bible Doctrine is critical because believers cannot be in sync with God's plan if they do not understand it.
The Word of God reveals that there are three phases of life in God's plan. Phase 1 is salvation through personal faith in Jesus Christ. Phase 2 is post-salvation experience on earth, including living and dying. Phase 3 is the Church Age believer in eternity.
Phase 3 occurs in God's perfect timing, where the believer who dies goes into heaven in an interim body, absent from the body and face to face with the Lord or through God's perfect timing, where the believer arrives in heaven in a resurrection body at the Exit Resurrection or Rapture of the Church.
2Cor 5:8; "Now we have confidence, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home (face to face) with the Lord." In this passage Paul is expressing his understanding of God's timing for his life.
Timing is therefore a subject that is related to the believer's time on this earth in the devil's world after salvation or phase 2 of God's protocol plan.
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, you will see every time in life where you went astray from bad timing in your attempts to fulfill your lusts, your arrogant ambitions, your desires by running around in the frantic search for happiness because you were unwilling to faithfully wait on God. Isa 40:31;
Momentum in the protocol plan of God for he Church Age is based upon having good timing, which starts with the filling of the Holy Spirit and residence, function, and momentum inside the divine dynasphere and consistent perception of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age that results in cognitive self-confidence.
That's when you start to make good decisions related to God's timing in the same way that Abraham did when he told Lot to choose what he wanted and Abraham would go in the opposite direction. Abraham spoke in the cognitive self-confidence of spiritual self-esteem because of his trust in the promises and integrity of God. Heb 11:8-12;
When believers attain personal love for God in spiritual adulthood they begin to receive the benefits from their function in God's timing. Rom 8:28. "For we know that to those who love God, He (God) works together all things for good, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
This is God's purpose and plan for your life that is made possible when you wait on him.
This brings us back to the Book of Esther and our study of God's providence and preservation.
In Esther chapter 1 we had seen that Xerxes had dismissed Vasthi because of her refusal to come to his party. He had then gone off to war with Greece and returned.
Esther 2:1; After the anger of the king subsided, he realized that he had been too hasty in his actions regarding Vasthi but he could not have her back because of his edict. Esther 1:19;
Esther 2:2-4; So it was suggested to the king that beautiful young virgins (unmarried women) be brought to Susa, placed under Hegai the eunuch who was in charge of the harem and given beauty treatments, and that the king would pick from them a woman to replace Vashti.
Esther 2:5-7; Mordecai is a Babylonian name. Net note 9 Mordecai was from the tribe of Benjamin and he had hidden the fact that he and his cousin were from Judah the southern kingdom of Israel. Esther 2:10, 20;
Esther 2:6; indicates that Mordecai's great-grandfather was deported by Nebuchadnezzar along with Jehoiachin Net note 11 in 597BC. 2Kings 24:15-16; This was the same time Daniel was deported. Daniel 1:1-6;
Esther had been raised by her cousin Mordecai apparently because her parents died when she was young. Her father was Abihail Esther 2:15; Net note 28.
Esther is also a Persian name that meant "star". Her Hebrew name, Hadassah, means myrtle. Net note 13 She is described as being beautiful. Esther 2:7; Net note 15
Esther 2:8-11; Esther was taken into Xerxes' harem to await the king's choice, along with many other young women of the kingdom who were summoned to Susa.
v 9 Esther pleased Hegai, Net note 19 and as a result was quickly given a favorable position in the harem. He saw that she had beauty treatments and special food, apparently food of a higher quality, she was given seven specifically chosen women from the palace to serve her and the best rooms in the house.
Esther 2:10; Esther kept her Jewish nationality a secret, not telling anyone because Mordecai had told her not to.
v11 Mordecai recognizes the risk that Esther is taking and keeps in contact with her during her time in the harem.
We see here that God is protecting Esther and Mordecai in spite of the fact that they were out of the geographic will of God and not living according to the Mosaic law that God had given to the people of Israel.
According to the Mosaic law Esther was not to marry anyone who was not from Israel Deut 7:3; or have sexual relations with a man who was not her husband Ex. 20:14; Net note 36 and yet this was the purpose of her being included in the harem.