Esther and Ehud and You

Esther and Ehud. Two people we don't usually associate together, but for this little devotion I'm going to put in the same room.

Before we begin, let me put to you a question: Do you believe that you have been fearfully and wonderfully made? (Psalm 139:14) If you do, then do you believe also that God has a special plan for your life that is wholly and specifically yours? I have to admit, I often don't feel like I have a special purpose. I get up, do school, go to bed, and repeat. But maybe, just maybe, God has made me for such a time as today.

Okay, now back to Esther and Ehud. In Esther's time, the Hebrew people were in exile to Persia, and the king, Ahasuerus, had just ousted his wife because she didn't show up to his party. Talk about a whiner. Anyway, after this he holds a beauty contest to see who he wants to marry next. Esther, who was a Hebrew and a very beautiful one at that, shows up and blows the King off his feet. He chooses her not knowing that she's a Hebrew. After this, a dude named Haman (NOT a nice fellow) convinces the King to kill off ALL the Hebrews in one single sweep! He does this because Mordecai, Esther's uncle, would not bow to him. Mordecai catches wind of the plot and sends a message to Queen Esther and tells her to tell the King and get him to change the law. This is all well and good, except that in Persia there was a law that no one, not even the King's own wife for crying out loud, could enter the King's presence without invitation. If anyone did, they could be killed on the spot. Only if the King found favor in the person would they live. So obviously for Esther, this would be a dangerous situation. Yet Mordecai knew this, and still he told Esther to go. Why? He says it in Esther 4:14 b - "Who knows? Perhaps you have come to a royal position for a time such as this." (Lexham English Bible) Anyway, to make a long story short, Esther gets the guts to go to the King and saves the entire Hebrew race.

So the moral of the story? Sometimes with this one it's confusing. Many people say that it's that God has called each of us to such a time as this, and I agree. But many time when we read Esther, we think that God can only use those of us that are in positions of power prestige, and influence. We say: "I will rise up to the call that God has given me... as soon as I have plenty of influence!" I don't believe that this is correct thinking, because of the next story I am going to tell you.

The story of Ehud is a littler-known story of daring risks, assassination, and liberation. It only lasts eighteen verses in the bible, but it's still very much worth studying and retelling. Israel was under the thumb of Moab at the time, and everyone was being affected. Israel, however, cried out to God and He heard them. He sent Ehud, who as far as I can tell had little to no influence, to take out the King of Moab. So Ehud strapped a sword that he made to his thigh, took with him the people's tribute to the King, and went to the palace. Now, this is speculation, but it must be imagined that Ehud was given a pat-down before he was sent into the King's presence to make sure he didn't have a weapon. Now you would think at this point they would find the sword, kill Ehud, and send the tribute on. But Ehud had a special gift. He was left handed. So as the guards would have patted down his left side to make sure he didn't pull out a sword, Ehud would have strapped the sword to his right side because he was left handed. A stroke of genius! The guards would have expected a right handed man, not a left handed one! Ehud was the perfect man for the job! So was able to get in, kill the king, (in a horribly gruesome way) and get out to lead a battle against Moab.

Ehud had no prestige or position to speak of, yet he led the charge of liberating the people of Israel. You may not have power or prestige or position, but when you think that God may not have a special plan and purpose for you, that he won't raise you up for such a time as yours, think of Ehud. You may just be right man for the left handed job.