Esther As a Model Of The Spiritual Life Chapter 4 of 10
<-Chapter 3 Chapter 5-> Return to FulltextHow the Flesh Works
Condensed Version (Completed)
Haman is so angry he wants to wipe Mordecai out. But he needs a reason and a legal way to do this.
When he discovers that Mordecai is a Jew , he decides to get rid of not only Mordecai, but all of the Jews in the Kingdom.
So Haman comes to the king and says,
"King, you have these people in your kingdom that are big trouble. I think we should get rid of them."
The Weak Soul
The king shows that he is really a weak leader. He does not question Haman, but hands over his ring to Haman and tells him to go ahead and use it to make a proclamation to carry this out.
The soul of man, which is pictured here by Haman is also not the strongest part of our being, though it makes the decisions, because it holds our will.
Your will does not have the power to overcome sin, because there is a sinful tendency in all of us that overrules our normal desires. And this is tendency is very forceful and demands its way.
Licensing the Flesh
The flesh has to be given license and you must make a choice to submit to it. This is what the king did when he told Haman to do whatever he wished.
Unbelievers do not usually resist this because they do what they enjoy, and do not think about sin. But when you become a believer suddenly things change.
And when the flesh comes to trap you, you don't realize that it is trying to destroy that new thing that God has put in you.
So you give into it without even realizing what you are doing. And then it takes that license and uses it.
Licensing With Words and Actions
How do we license this spiritual force in our lives? You can see this illustrated in what Haman did. He took royal parchment, wrote down a decree, and activated that decree by sealing it with the King's ring. Then he sent it out to be implemented.
The flesh uses the two most essential functions that release power from within us, which are: words and actions. When you choose to speak words and act them out, you give the flesh (your sinful nature), full license to take control of your life.
Of course you can do the same to licence the Holy Spirit, as we will see later.
Cannot Be Retracted
The big thing about words and actions that once spoken or carried out, they cannot be retracted. You may regret what you said or did, but it is too late. The consequences will still follow.
In the book of Esther this is portrayed as The Law of the Medes and the Persians. Once a king issued a decree, he himself could not withdraw that decree or cancel it.
Can you see how dangerous it is to give in to the flesh? It is likely to cause consequences that you may never be able to reverse.
The Flesh and Feelings
The immediate effects of giving in to the flesh are not noticed at first. In this story the king and Human sat down and had a party to celebrate.
You won't realize that you have given the flesh license until you begin to see the consequences of it. In fact you might feel quite good about yourself. That is how subtle the flesh is because it makes you feel good. And if it feels good then you think it must be right.
Leads to Confusion and Death
The Scripture says that the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was perplexed. Shushan is a picture of the heart of man and there is now confusion because of what Haman has just done.
When you allow the flesh to have license in your life, there comes a confusion deep within. You have lost your way and don't see clearly anymore.
Paul says in Romans 7:5,
For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, worked in our members to bring forth fruit to death.
The flesh produces death which starts in your spirit. Your spirit becomes ineffective, because the moment you license the flesh the spirit is quenched and becomes ineffective
Death begins to spread from your spirit outwards. It affects your mind, your emotions and your will. And it can even affect your body and your health as well. It can lead to sickness and even physical death.
No Hope of Change
At this stage of the story it seems like all is lost and there is no way out. You opened your mouth without thinking and did something wrong, and the consequences are spiritual death.
There seems to be no hope now for either Esther or Mordecai because they are Jews. And a decree has gone out to destroy the Jews.
The soul and the flesh (the king and Haman) are now in control. Paul describes this feeling very well in the book of Romans 7. He says,
"I try to do what is right, but I end up doing the wrong thing. I hate doing the wrong thing, but I keep doing it."
We have all been there at one time or another. But how do we get rid of Haman or the Flesh? There is a way to deal with the flesh, but first things will get worse.
The story of Esther actually portrays this very well. And like all good stories there is a happy ending coming. But first we must deal with this phase of 'all is lost.' The next chapter of the book of Esther is going to show us how to do this.
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