HealingStrong's Around the Word
Join us around the table with friends who love the Lord and want to dig deeper into God's Word. Hosted by Cheryl Collins and joined by friends of HealingStrong, this podcast is sure to peak your interest in learning more about God's Word, as discussions on each podcast are short, bite-sized morsels that help to go deeper and enjoy God's Word. Cheryl and the podcast team will discuss stories that build trust in God through the history of Joseph, Esther, Jehoshaphat, Daniel, Nehemiah, the Disciples, and of course, Jesus! These episodes encourage our faith in overcoming our fear, and who doesn't need strengthened faith?
HealingStrong's Around the Word
Episode 47 - The Esther Series: Divine Timing in Everyday Lives (Esther 2:19-23 NIV)
We explore the extraordinary ways God uses ordinary people within the story of Mordecai discovering a plot to assassinate King Xerxes in Esther 2:19-23. This remarkable biblical account reveals how regular people become part of God's extraordinary plans without even realizing it.
• Mordecai, sitting at the king's gate, overhears two royal officials plotting to kill King Xerxes
• Mordecai reports the assassination plot through Esther, demonstrating his commitment to doing what's right
• Though the king records Mordecai's act in the royal annals, he receives no immediate reward for his loyalty
• The apparent "coincidence" of Mordecai being in the right place at the right time reveals God's providential hand
• Mordecai and Esther were ordinary people who had no idea they were part of a much larger divine plan
• God consistently works through regular, obedient people rather than just through extraordinary individuals
• The story offers encouragement that God can use anyone—regardless of status or position—for His purposes
Suggested Resources:
BIBLE PLAN - Trusting God's Plan When You Don't See Him: Lessons From the Book of Esther
PODCAST - Genesis to Revelation Bible Reading
TOOLS - Refresh Your Spirit through God's Word
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Everything about the story is extraordinary, except the regular people being a part of an extraordinary plan.
Speaker 2:Well, hey, there I'm Cheryl and you're listening to Healing Strong's Around the Word. We are friends sitting around the table who love God and love digging deep into His Word. Each day you'll hear me reading a Bible passage and then you'll hear our discussion on that passage. Today we'll be reading from Esther, chapter 2, verses 19 through 23, from the NIV version of the Bible. So join us Around the Word Esther, chapter 2, verses 19 through 23.
Speaker 2:When the virgins were assembled a second time, mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, but Esther had kept secret her family, background and nationality, just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai's instructions, as she had done when he was bringing her up. During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.
Speaker 2:You just heard our Bible passage for the day. Now let's listen in on what we were chatting about around the word Now. Let's listen in on what we were chatting about around the word Today, y'all. We're starting off with a conspiracy to kill the king. Two guys who were officials that worked at the doorway or the gateway of the palace were conspiring to kill the king, and Mordecai hears about this, which I just have to stop right there and see out of all the places these two people are conspiring. Mordecai, a follower of the Lord, hears what's going on. It's within earshot of him, hearing and knowing this. So I feel like he was at the right place at the right time. And then what happened with that, with that plot?
Speaker 3:Well, mordecai and this is very interesting to me Mordecai valued life over the situation. I mean, I often wonder why didn't he just stay quiet and let that happen?
Speaker 2:I have a guess on that. I have a guess on that.
Speaker 3:Well then, then let's hear it.
Speaker 2:I think it's because Esther is now the queen. And what if these guys are trying to take out the king and the queen? What if they try to kill her too?
Speaker 3:I love that perspective and I had never had seen it that way. But he made sure that the king's people knew that this was about to transpire, that there was an assassination plan for the king, and so, and so he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
Speaker 2:Well, he could have been quiet and just like trusted. Oh well, God's got it, God's got her. I don't need to say anything because I don't need to reveal who I am. He's a regular dude.
Speaker 1:He just happens to be a Jew. Yeah, he's a Jewish dude.
Speaker 2:And he's being God in a huge way. Yes, yeah, but isn't that even more encouraging, that even more encouraging? That's the point.
Speaker 1:I'm making yeah, is that? Esther doesn't have a clue. Mordecai doesn't have a clue. They know they're Jews. They know their God because everybody has gods there. You know they have bunches of gods that other people do. This is a group of people that has one God and their God has told them through their prophets that they will always be taken care of by their God. We think they are extraordinary people because they have survived in our Bible and all that. But, putting it in the context of them, they were just living their little lives, trying to do the best they can. Yes, they were Jews. They were different culturally. They're regular folks like us I think I don't know why that keeps coming to my mind but more obedient Culturally they're regular folks like us, I think.
Speaker 2:I don't know why that keeps coming to my mind, but more obedient.
Speaker 3:Well, they were obedient to the Ten Commandments.
Speaker 2:To the Jewish customs and the Jewish yeah.
Speaker 3:I appreciate what you're saying, angie, because when you realize that these people are just regular people, it makes that story so much more extraordinary. Because, just like us, we are regular people when life happens and we're obedient in those situations and we do what God would have us to do, even though we're not, you know, pastor over a huge church or a ministry. We're just regular people. God uses us.
Speaker 1:Greatly. Absolutely and sometimes we know it and sometimes we may not know it.
Speaker 3:And they didn't know.
Speaker 2:They had no clue, they had no idea that he was using them, yeah.
Speaker 1:They didn't see this story. So I always like to try to pretend I'm the character that we're reading about and try to find out as much as I can about what it would have been like to be them and imagine how I would feel then, because that's what his story is. His story is about his people and the story of building up to Jesus, and so we're all a part of that. My suspicion is these are regular people that were used mightily by God and it was the providence of God. I mean all these things. I mean how could you not looking back? You go, how could they not have known? Well, they were living it at the time.
Speaker 1:But you know, esther is just this little orphan Jew. She gets picked out of bukus of women. Mordecai is just this regular guy that maybe he's elevated at some level. He sits at the gate a lot, so maybe he's given advice or he's a court official. But he's a regular guy who and he just happens to be at the right place at the right time, he just happens to hear this plot, he just happens to you know. Then tell Esther. Esther, you've got to go tell the king. It gets recorded. He's never rewarded, which is extraordinary from what my research says At that point he's not rewarded at all.
Speaker 2:No, he is later.
Speaker 1:Five years later. Yeah, yeah, but normally a king that has learned of something like that would bring that person in. The king would want to promote that kind of behavior and he would reward that person and give him a bunch of stuff, that sort of thing. And give him a bunch of stuff, that sort of thing. It's totally forgotten. How extraordinary is that? Everything about the story is extraordinary, except the regular people being a part of an extraordinary plan.
Speaker 2:Doesn't that give you some hope that God uses regular people, normal people, fallible people, people that make mistakes, people that aren't powerhouses? All the time of faith, he helps them to become them, but he uses regular people just like you and me, and I think that's an encouraging word for you and me today. Thanks so much for joining us for Healing Strong's Around the Word podcast. I hope you are encouraged to read God's Word and explore it yourself, and please visit us if you have some time at healingstrongorg, where you can find out more about our mission and our amazing community groups. Until next time, remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.