February 13 The Submission Challenge

Esther 2:15 When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.
 
THIS verse reminds us that two men had authority over Escher prior to her appearance, her test if you will, before King Ahasuerus in his bedroom. The inference in the text and the evidence of Esther’s life tells us that she submitted to these men and to her circumstance. As we’ve mentioned that Esther can easily be seen as a victim of evil maneuvering by the king and his advisors, this has stirred in me some questions regarding submission. How about you? Have you thought about Esther’s submissive response?
    Such thoughts have led me to a search of Scripture about the role of submission in our relationship to God, to Jesus’ church, to each other, and to our government. How do we respond when circumstances God has formed around us are against his laws and teachings? Does he want us to rebel against our authority? Is he testing us to see if we will respond in faith, trusting in his secure love, significant purpose and sufficient hope?  
    Yes, it’s easy to understand how we must submit to God. He is our perfect Lord, who has created us, died for us and redeemed us. But what do we do when we find ourselves under the influence of imperfection – of sin?
    Our first response to Esther in this ungodly harem awaiting the king’s pleasure is to easily and righteously say, “She is a victim of a man’s sins. She needs to stand up for herself and for God’s law at all costs!” That’s what Daniel did, and he glorified God when he did not submit to King Nebuchadnezzar, and he did submit only to God.
    And, certainly, if you were to do a series of on-the-street interviews in our culture today, the answer would be, “Esther’s submission makes her a victim. She needs to be her own person. Esther must do what’s right for herself.”
    Yes, it’s true that “submission” is one of those words that forms negative images in our minds. We can equate submission with being a slave, yielding to all a master commands us to do, even against our will. We can see submission as only something weak people do because they have no backbone.
    If submission is so harmful, though, why does the Bible then speak of submission as necessary in our earthly relationships? A brief look at the Bible shows us some very essential submissive relationships for God’s purposes. Further, the Apostle Paul teaches us in Ephesians 5:21 submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. We’ll consider submissive relationships further tomorrow and the next several days.
    In the meantime, let’s keep this in mind: What we can’t see amid our circumstances is the future. We must always remember that there are times when God calls us into difficult places. He will use us in those places to be an instrument of his grace into his ordained there. Thus, as we ask, “Should Esther submit?” we can know there is something larger than the lives of Esther, Mordecai, Hegai and King Ahasuerus. The Lord God Almighty is present in Persia. He is moving events as he has decreed. We must submit to that understanding.
 
Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, holy be your name. Teach us to know what submission means. In Jesus, our Lord. Amen.