Sometimes the Christian life can be discouraging because of the things that surround us. We see the wicked prospering on every hand and at the same time we see the righteous as they suffer.
Neither the word <em>missions</em> nor the word <em>missionary</em> is found in the Bible. Yet, it is difficult to read through Acts or Paul’s epistles without seeing its practice on every page. Mission comes from the Latin word missio and means a sending or sending away. A mission is defined as a sending out with authority to perform a special duty.
Certainly, the Lord enabled Nehemiah and the Jews to complete the walls of Jerusalem. However, the leadership of Nehemiah was critical from the human viewpoint. The enemies of the wall threw everything imaginable at him, but he would not turn from the cause at hand. How much we should learn from Nehemiah’s example!
In this lesson, the providence of God is clearly seen. The king receives Esther and comes to her banquets. The king cannot sleep and this results in him be reminded of the favor done to him by Mordecai. Haman unwittingly gives the honor to Mordecai that he wanted for himself. We can see that God is in the process of giving a great victory to Mordecai and to the Jewish people.
Many years ago, Bible students began to see a connection between the conflict in the book of Esther and the conflict inside each man and woman (Galatians 5:17). The entire book makes for a powerful allegory that demonstrates how we can have victory over the flesh and live in the power of the Spirit.
