Esther... married a non-Jew

The morning I headed into surgery last week, I decided I would start reading the book of Esther. Then it hit me that God called Esther to marry outside of His expected laws for her. She married the king, a non-Christian, non-Jew, non-everything! If she hadn't done that, the nation of Israel wouldn't have been saved in the way that it was. Crazy!

It reminds me of  a post I made last Christmas about how the Christmas story was nothing like we expected it to be. In fact, I bet we could find something in every Bible story that shows us that God's ways are definitely not our ways!

The book of Isaiah chapter 55 puts it this way:

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways,”
            declares the Lord.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.

I don't think we'll ever get this as humans. No matter how hard we try to figure him out, He operates on a different level than us.

God does go on to reassure us using terms we are familiar with...

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
   come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
   without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
   so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
   It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
   and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

The rain and snow always accomplish what they are supposed to do. In fact, all of nature just does it thing naturally. In that same way, we can expect that God's Word will achieve its purpose here on earth.

Now I know we're humans and we are great at figuring out ways to mess up things, but God also knows that and knows how to work around that. :-)

The rest of Isaiah chapter 55 reads:

¹² You will go out in joy
   and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
   will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
   will clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
   and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
   for an everlasting sign,
   that will endure forever.”

I like that. We'll go out with joy and be  led forth with peace--definitely two elements I want personified in my life.

Have a good day!