To be continued...

If you thought Jurassic World was going to top this summer’s blockbuster movies, you’d better think again. Still to come during July and August we can look forward to Minions, Mr. Holmes, Ant-man, Fantastic Four and even a new Mission: Impossible.

 

Literally one of the best movie cliffhangers ever...

What’s the one constant that we can pretty much rely on through all of these films (hint - it's not Tom Cruise)?

A sequel.

With stand-alone films limiting studio profits and merchandising rights, we can almost guarantee that most of the top films this summer will end on a cliffhanger - something that whets our appetite for what's to come in the next installment.

The cliffhangers have been coming thick and fast through Esther too, with a particularly good example at the end of chapter 4. Here, the ball is in Esther's court; Mordecai requests that she reveal her identity and plead with the king to reverse his edict to destroy the Jews.  Will she or won’t she?

For Esther, it’s not a decision she takes lightly and she’s well aware of the consequences. Faced with the prospect of her own execution if the plan goes awry, for the first time we get to see Esther depending on the sovereignty of God. In asking Mordecai to call the Jews to prayer and fasting Esther is acknowledging the outcome of this situation is entirely dependent on the will and sovereignty of God.

But notice that doesn’t mean she sits back and does nothing, nor that she adopts a blasé and fatalistic attitude. She prepares by dressing to impress and giving Xerxes the beauty and finery that she knows grabs his attention, and observes the palace protocol by waiting for the king to summon her. Having earned her opportunity to speak to her King, isn’t her request a bit odd? “Come to lunch” she asks, in one of the shrewdest and most streetwise manoeuvres we’ve seen so far in this book. She’s got a huge confession to make and a big favour to ask, and she knew that she had to play this just right.

As we read the Bible there’s a danger of thinking that our actions don’t matter, and that as we’re not saved by works we can pretty much live as we please. Esther teaches us that’s not the case. Yes, God is sovereign, but God works sovereignly through the actions of people – through you, and through me. James picks up on this in the New Testament too. God’s sovereignty and human responsibility are complementary, not contradictory.

Esther trusts herself to God’s sovereignty but takes responsibility for her own actions. We pray and fast to seek God’s will, but there comes a time when we need to act. That’s not to say we steam in like bulls in china shops - prayer is preparation before action.

There are times when as Christians it seems like we're at the mercy of the proud and powerful, just like the Jews seemed to be at the mercy of Haman. Ask those who face it all the time – you won’t have to search far to find out how that’s being played out around the world, and here in the UK.

It was the same for Jesus. It appeared that he was at the mercy of the powerful and influential, but Acts 2:22-23 shows us that he was handed over with God's planning and foreknowledge. Through the evil actions of proud men God's sovereignty was at work to fulfil his plan to deal with the curse of sin. When Jesus died it looked like a hopeless and devastating defeat at the hands of his enemies, when in fact it was part of God’s plan to deal with our rebellion once and for all.

At the end of chapter 5 we’re left with another cliffhanger. The stage is set, and Haman’s pride looks set to exact revenge on Mordecai and the Jews.

To be continued…