Lent Day 8: I will save the lame and gather the outcast
Mar 14 in Lent
I spent a year studying the book of Esther for a project I was working on and it has to be one of my favourite books of the Bible. There is so much you find everytime you delve in a little deeper, I am looking forward to see what new things I will unravel.
To understand the historical context of this period we need to first look to the book of Daniel; the sons of Israel had been taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in 606BC. Sixty odd years later Babylon is invaded by the Medo-Persian armies who also overthrow and take control of Lydia and Egypt, (Daniel 7:5 represents this empire as a bear with great appetite for conquest). The book of Esther is set during this time (486-465BC) King Ahasuerus (better known in History books by Xerxes I) of the Persian Empire is on the throne, and “reigned from India to Ethiopia, over 127 provinces”. Esther is the orphaned niece of Mordecai “who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah” (Esther 2:6)... we have the background of our story.
I am suddenly drawn to a scripture in Zephaniah 3:18 that talks about the ‘reproach of exile’ and I think not only of the Jewish diaspora but of so many over the centuries that have been forceably exiled to other countries and that reproach which they silently endure to this very day. Last Saturday I visited the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, over 400 years 12 million Africans were forced onto European slave ships and treated far worse than cattle, to see so much suffering was heart rendering. Much of our European wealth is gained at their expense, we celebrate those who fought hard to abolish the slave trade but disregard how the effects are still being felt. People who are told to ‘get over it’, ‘move on’, who wake up every day knowing that it is a daily struggle; who have to fight smarter and work harder and rise above the ignorant comments or foolish remarks that will undoubtedly be said that day. Courage they need to face every day, the power to overlook an offense and smile. The ‘reproach of exile’…
I am glad that God is no respecter of men, he is a God of justice who sees what we miss and although a God of mercy, judges according to truth “the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts”(1 Corinthians 4:5) my prayer today is that of David in Psalm 139 “Search me, O God, and know my heart”… what is my heart truly like? When under the light, will it stand? what is the inclination of my heart?
“Behold, I am going to deal at that time with all your oppressors, I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will turn their shame into praise and renown in all the earth”.