Esther As a Model Of The Spiritual Life Chapter 2 of 10
<-Chapter 1 Chapter 3-> Return to FulltextAllegory of Salvation
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Finding Vashti's Replacement
Vashti is removed as queen, but the king then longs for her. So they decide to find a new queen.
They decide to bring in many young women for the king to choose a new queen. They each will be prepared and then spend a night with the king.
Looking to the Flesh
When a person realises there is something missing, they start looking for what will satisfy. Often they start looking in the wrong places. Sometimes they look to religion or a false cult.
Introducing the Holy Spirit
The person who will provide the solution for the king is a man called Mordecai. He has been there all along but has remained in the background. He is a picture of the Holy Spirit in a person's life.
Enter Esther
Mordecai enters his adopted daughter Esther as a prospect for queen. Esther is a picture of the human spirit that is close to the Holy Spirit. She is a picture of the reborn spirit of man.
Just as the king was ready now to meet Esther, so the unbeliever is ready to embrace the new spirit that God wants to give through the Holy Spirit.
The Solution is Found
When the king meets Esther he knows she is what he was looking for, and he makes her his new queen.
So, after trying different things and finding that they do not satisfy, the unbeliever then hears the Gospel message and discovers what they were looking for. They are convinced and accept Jesus as Savior.
You might have looked for satisfaction in so many things. You taste and try each one of them, but nothing satisfies until you taste Esther (the new birth). One taste of Esther and the king was hooked.
Salvation is Accomplished
Esther is brought into the palace, which is a picture of the salvation experience. The palace is a picture of our heart - the deep inner part where both the spirit and soul live. And now there is a new reborn human spirit in place of the old.
Esther has been brought into the palace, and the queen is now close to the king. He is spending time with her and enjoying her, but he still doesn't know that Mordecai exists.
Mordecai is still there serving the king in the background. He is there and has actually been responsible for this beautiful queen that the king now has, but the king does not know it yet.
Becoming Aware of the Lord
The only one who knows Mordecai is Esther. And in you, the only part of you that knows God is your recreated spirit. Your soul, mind and body do not fully know Him yet..
Esther must bring Mordecai into the picture. So God works first in your human spirit. And because your human spirit is so deep inside of you it doesn't come out loud.
The queen didn't walk up to the king on the first day and say,
"Hey, I want to tell you about my dad, Mordecai. You need to get to know him better."
It had to happen slowly and gradually. God had an agenda and everyone has a series of stages that they must go through, before they realize fully who the Lord is and the role that He can play in their life.
The Enemy Wants to Destroy
Mordecai discovers a plot to kill the king. In the same way when you are born again, there is an enemy that wants to destroy what you received. But as Mordecai was watching over the king from the background, so the Holy Spirit watches over the young believer. He is keeping his eye on you to protect you.
Though Mordecai knew of this plot to kill King Ahasuerus, he did not go in to tell the king. He told Esther and she took care of it.
The Holy Spirit Protects
So the Holy Spirit works deep down in you, in that new recreated spirit. That is where He deposits His message. Your human spirit will now start to become more sensitive and protect you. If you will listen carefully, it will give you warnings from deep down inside.
There is a new voice that is speaking to you that wasn't there before. It is starting to prompt you and to warn you. This comes from deep inside, and it takes a while for this influence to fully show.
Queen Esther did not have the liberty to just go and speak to the king directly yet, even when she wanted to. Your human spirit works the same way. It is influenced by the Holy Spirit, and He never imposes Himself or forces Himself on us in any way.
A Gentle Nudge
The human spirit gives its messages very gently as an appeal from deep within. And for a person who has now entered into the spiritual life and gets to know the Lord, it takes a while for them to even recognize that voice.
Although a person is born again and they have the Spirit of God living within them, it is very possible for them to go back and continue living the way they were before.
The king had to call for Esther before she came to him. And when he called on her she was responsive and there immediately. So the new recreated spirit is there and available. But God does not force Himself, and your spirit will not impose itself on you. It will speak gently and make appeals from deep within.
Summary of the Salvation Experience
We have seen now the beginning of the spiritual life. Things have taken a happy turn and are starting to move well. We expect progress to take place now that eventually Esther will be able to bring Mordecai in. The king will get to meet Mordecai. He will realize who he is and let him become an active part of the kingdom.
It would be great if things were that simple. But experience shows us that this is not the case in real life. There were troubles ahead for Esther and Mordecai, and for a new believer the same thing applies.
Conflict Begins
Just when it looked like everything was really going well, suddenly a new character appears in the story. Enter a new actor who up until now wasn't known. Suddenly he steps in, and we see the first sign of the antagonist in the story.
Every good story must include conflict, and the first conflict is about to appear. The spiritual life has several important stages to it and the book of Esther graphically portrays these stages.
In preparation for the next stage I would like to suggest you go and read Chapters 3 and 4 of the book of Esther which cover this. You can also read the first two chapters so that you can catch up on what we covered in this Section.
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