In Esther 2 we meet Mordecai and Esther, Jews who were living in Susa, after the Babylonian exile. God had called his people to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple but for many reasons, some families decided to stay where they were.Were they disobedient?
Were they following God?
Only they and God know.
The one thing we do know is that GOD was (and still is) FAITHFUL.
Through his covenant(s) God had promised to love, protect, bless and restore His people.
We see it played out in the lives of His people in the book of Esther. (SO.MUCH.SOVEREIGNTY. SO.MUCH.PROVIDENCE.) God taking care of His people, the Jews in Shushan during the time of Esther. He never forgot about them or left them (even though His name is never mentioned in the book of Esther.) The same is for us if we are in a covenant relationship with God.
He is with us.
He loves us.
He cares for us.
He blesses us.
He restores us.
His requirement? Obedience, following Him, following His words and commandments.
We won’t do it perfectly. (We're not robots!) We won’t live in perfect obedience. We’re kinda like the Jews in that way too. However the undeserved favor is ours as well though
WOW.
So ... let's check out a few facts about covenants in the Bible ...
God offers forever love, protection, blessing through our covenant relationship with Him!
This covenant is an agreement between God and His people, us too when we come into a relationship with HIm.
The meaning? "Coming together", God coming together with His people in agreement to love, care and bless us. To me, it's like a warm hug! (I know it's cheesy but it's comforting on so many levels.)
His expectation for our end of the deal? We need to be faithful to Him, obedience to the life He's called us to. Will we do live it perfectly? Nope. That's not an "out"; it's life as an earth dweller. We're not earning His favor either. We're living our lives with our hearts in earnest and genuine desire to follow Him. And for those times when we don't follow Him, we return, repentant and ready to make changes. Faithful obedience isn't perfect obedience. God sees the thoughts and intents of our hearts.
Covenants are such a beautiful reminder of the promises of forever love and care for God's people, His intention to redeem them (and us!) and His plan for restoration. He is for us. (Psalm 56:9 says "This I know, that God is for me.")
Here's how I'm studying covenants in the book of Esther ...
