WHEN CULTURES CLASH

When called to do a special work, it is bound to happen. When you are living in a culture that clashes with your calling, eventually, you can expect that sooner or later, if you stay true to your calling, you will run into problems. What do you do?

We have looked at God’s love for us and his plan (his mission) to bridge the gap between us and him.

His mission is to bring us back into a loving relationship with him. He wants us to become His disciples and members of his family.

Thus, He calls for us to respond to His love.

We now understand that our relationship with Him does not end with His call, for a call without action from the one being called has no value.

God calls for us today to be light in the darkness. How can we let our light shine when in a culture steeped in darkness and error?

Review our past and present videos at SabbathSchoolDaily.com or visit my YouTube Channel,

Sabbath School Daily by Dr. Brenda Ware Davis

Let Us Inviting God’s Presence:

Holy Father, we understand that the great battle is coming; the last great controversy between truth and error is coming. Give us the power to stand in this great conflict. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

God’s Mission, My Mission

(Lesson 11)

Esther and Mordecia

Part 4: Mordecia’s Faithful Witness

Mordecai and Esther are foreigners living in the Kingdom of Persia. As Israelites who worship God the Creator, their culture is very different.

As true worshippers of God, their ways and beliefs are different from those of the Persians.

Thus, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Mordecai and Esther were going to have trouble in Persia if they stayed loyal to God and true to their calling.

For Mordecai, this did not take long.

Read Esther 3:1–15 to discover what happened and why. (Split)

In Esther 3, we learn that King Xerxes, that is, Ahasuerus, honored Haman by giving him a high position of power.

As the old saying goes: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Certainly this was the case with Haman.  

Everyone was told they must bow down to Him.

Yet we find in Esther 3:2: “Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor” (Esther 3:2).

 Mordecai refused to bow down to him, nor would he give him honor.

The Bible doesn’t give the reason Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman; however, being a Jew, most likely, he is not willing to bow down to an Amalekite.

You see, Haman was an Amalekites.

The Amalekites were descendants of Agag.

Agag were the enemies of the Israelites since the time that God led them out of Egypt.

Because of their fierce opposition to the people of Israel, God in Deuteronomy 25:19 gave the Israelites the following instructions regarding the Amalekites:

19 Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget (Deuteronomy 25:19).

Therefore, as a loyal Jew dedicated to his people, how could Mordecai bow down to an Amalekite?

More important though, how could a worshipper of the True and Living God worship anyone except God?

Esther 3:3 tells us that Mordecai’s refusal to bow down to Haman causes curiosity in the king’s servants. (Split)

“Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, ‘Why do you transgress the king’s command?’” (Esther 3:3).

Esther 3:4 tells us that “Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew” (Esther 3:4, NKJV)

Though it does not say, but in Mordecai’s response that he was a Jew, it is likely that he explained that he was a worshiper of the God who created heaven and earth.

Thus, He couldn’t worship a fallen human.

Hence, there is no doubt that the curiosity of the king’s servants presented the opportunity for Mordecai to share his faith with these men.

For instance, it is said that:

“From Daniel and his companions and Mordecai, a bright light shone amid the moral darkness of the kingly courts of Babylon.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 13, 1884.

The culture of Persia clashed with Mordecai’s faith in God. His bright light beamed amid the darkness.

Thus, his refusal to bow before Heman endangered himself and others.

Haman became angry when Mordecai refused to honor him.

In response, Haman sought to destroy not just Mordecai but all the Jewish people in the Kingdom.

It says in Esther 3:8

8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain (Esther 3:8)

Culture clash! The worshippers of the true God clash with the culture of the people of Persia.

What will they do?

Do they stand strong against the opposition, or do they give in?

To find out, read Esther 4:1-14 then continue to the next segment of this video, Part 5: For Such A Time As This.

God’s Mission, My Mission

(Lesson 12)

Esther and Mordecai

Part 5: For Such A Time As This

In Esther 4:1–14, we find that it is time for Esther to do the work that God has called her to do.

It is time for Esther to reveal her identity.

So, Mordecai contacts Esther for help.

By now, Esther has been married to Ahasuerus for several years.

To save her people, Esther must go before Ahasuerus, the Persian King.

But there is a Persian law that prohibited anyone from going before the king’s throne without an expressed invitation from the king, not even the royal queen.

As a matter of fact, the king had the right to kill anyone who refused to obey this law.

Thus, Queen Esther’s life would be on the line should she present herself before the king without an invitation.

However, knowing this, Esther went anyway.

To help encourage her, Mordecai attempts to stir up her faith.

So, in Esther 4:13 and 14, Mordecai sends a message to Esther saying,

13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews.  (Split)

14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13, 14).

This was testing time for Esther. This was a test of her faith. Would she pass the test?

To help her through this gigantic challenge, Mordecai appeals to her love for her people.

Up to this point, only she and Mordecai knew she was Jewish.

This had been a long secret kept between her and Mordecai.

Now, it was time for her to reveal her secret.

With the help of Mordecai, Esther’s heart is fired up for her people.

And once she made up her mind to do what she was called to do, she was all in.

She put her whole heart into it.

She made up her mind that she would move forward for the sake of her people, even if it meant her death.

The book Prophet and Kings points out that:

The crisis that Esther faced demanded quick, earnest action; but both she and Mordecai realized that unless God should work mightily in their behalf, their own efforts would be unavailing. So Esther took time for communion with God, the source of her strength. (Prophets and Kings, pp. 601, 602) 

Then Esther in Esther 4:16 says

16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:16).

Mordecai sent Esther’s request to the whole Jewish community in Shushan, which is also called Susa.

The people fasted and prayed.

In the meantime, Esther prepared herself to face the dangerous moment when she should stand before the king.

It says in Esther 5:1 and 2

1 Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, across from the king’s house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house.

2 So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter. (Esther 5:1, 2).

Certainly, the Lord was with Esther.

In a situation like this, it could not have been accomplished without prayer and fasting.

No human power alone could have accomplished the events that followed.

The book Prophets and Kings tells us that the events that followed happened in rapid succession.

To discover what happened next, Read Esther 8 and 9, then continue to the next segment of this video, Part 6, The Miracle of Purim

God’s Mission, My Mission

(Lesson 12)

Esther and Mordecai

Part 6: The Miracle of Purim

An interesting thing about the Book of Esther is that God’s name does not appear in it.

As a matter of fact, Esther is the only book in the Bible in which God’s name isn’t included.

Though God’s name may not be included in the book; the Jews were able to see God move in His great deliverance of them from the evil hand of Haman.

The Book of Esther shows that though, at times, we may not see or feel God’s presence in our lives, He is still working behind the scenes on our behalf.

God works in many ways in our lives.

They may take the appearance of normal or natural events.

But, if we do not pay close attention, we may not notice His presence.

Esther 8 and 9 tell us the results of Esther’s actions. If you have not read 8 and 9, pause this video, take time to read it, and then continue.

It is called the miracle of Purim! It is called a miracle because it took a very unnatural turn.

The plan Haman had to kill the Jews took a strange and unusual twist. 

The law enacted to destroy the Jews was not reversed, but a new law was written that permitted the Jews to defend themselves.

Did you notice what else happened?

Did you see how God used this event to save His people to open the eyes of the non-Jews?  

They, too, notice God’s divine intervention to save the Jews.

So, as a result of God’s intervention, Esther 8:17 says

 17 And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them. (Esther 8:17).

In other words, the story of Esther shows us how the Lord used the things that happened to the Jews to teach the non-Jews about Him.

Furthermore, the Jewish leaders saw how God worked a miracle on their behalf.

Thus, they declared the day an annual holiday. They called it Purim.

It became a special time of celebration and remembrance of how God saved them from being destroyed.

Today, Jews still celebrate Purim as a special time of thanksgiving to God for their deliverance.

The question we all must ponder is this: who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14.”

Who knows when that time will come for you? God has called us all to do a special work.

Notice what it says regarding Esther in the book Daughters of God.

In ancient times, the Lord worked in a wonderful way through consecrated women who united in His work with men whom He had chosen to stand as His representatives. He used women to gain great and decisive victories. More than once, in times of emergency, He brought them to the front and worked through them for the salvation of many lives. Through Esther the queen, the Lord accomplished a mighty deliverance for His people.

At a time when it seemed that no power could save them, Esther and the women associated with her, by fasting and prayer and prompt action, met the issue and brought salvation to their people. . . (Daughters of God, pp. 45, 46) 

Has God called you for such a time as this?

Here is the challenge.

Challenge #1: Pray that God will give you the courage to share something God has done for you with someone on your prayer list. (Split)

For those up to a greater Challenge

Challenge #2: Prepare a daily journal of special things God does for you. Review what you have written and pray that God will help you remember these things at the right time so you can share them at such a time as this! 

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