Read: Esther 1:1-3:15; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Psalm 35:17-28; Proverbs 21:19-20
When I read Esther I can’t help but remember what we read about yesterday about the role of the man and the woman. The king is a picture of God who rejected his first wife because of her disobedience. She refused to present herself before him. God rejected his first wife, the Jews for this very reason…they had rejected him first. His new wife is the Church of all nationalities: Jews and Gentiles, but mainly Gentiles. Esther was definitely not of the same origin as King Xertxes.
Esther showed that she could submit. She submitted to Mordechai at home first. Then she submitted to Hegai, the master of the harem. These were all preparation for being submissive to her husband, the king.
We have that same opportunity to learn obedience. We have to learn to be submissive to our parents, then our teachers, then our husbands. These all prepare us to be submissive to God or vice versa.
Esther was chosen as the bride by the king just as we are chosen if we submit to the purification process God puts us through in our lives. The more we learn to submit to authority around us the better we will be at submitting to God. God can use us better and more often when we are empty of ourselves and teachable.
The people in Corinth were not very teachable and had many divisions. Divisions happen when one side wants their way over another and there is no give. We are never to give in to compromise in the matters of sin but we can compromise our rights to rule. Even God is not comfortable in a church where there is division. The people in Corinth were letting their natural desires rule their bodies. They had no self-control. Paul told them to be prepared spiritually and naturally before they came to church.
Lord, may we be submit ourselves to authority as unto You. Develop self-control and humility in us today.
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