ESTHER

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It is time to draw an analogy here between the consequences which took place in the palace of Ahasuerus and the dealing of the Lord with Israel. While the situations and actions are not similar, the end results are.

There are two words which tie the two together. The first, the beauty of queen Vashti. The Lord chose to call His people Judah, Beauty, a people in whom He could delight. Zech. 11:7 He beautified and magnified them until they became a great nation. Then they substituted the gods of the heathen and idols in His place. Israel, Samaria or the Northern tribes He called Bands. From the prophecy of Zechariah it is very obvious that the Lord was extremely angry with both nations. So much so that He vowed to break His covenant with them. Zech. 11: 10 And, it was broken. Zech. 11:11.

The second word is divorce. Beauty could not overcome the judgment passed on disobedience. Regardless of how appealing Beauty may have been it could not change the outcome. Separation was inevitable. The Lord ìput Israel awayî that is gave her a bill of divorcement. Jer. 3:8 However, Judah committed sin which was far greater and was certainly grounds for divorce according to the Law. Jer. 3:8-13 Along with the message reminding them of their sin is a call for repentance. Surely the Lord is merciful. In spite of their great wickedness the Lord is still calling them unto Himself.

Shocking. For all their vileness and the tremendous repulsion of the Lord toward their actions, He still confessed that He is married to them and extended an appeal for the backslider to return unto Him. Jer. 3:14 What we now find in this prophecy of Jeremiah is not to be fulfilled after the flesh but requires spiritual changes in the hearts and lives of the participants. This is not a blanket act of the Lord covering the entire population of the nation, but involves the individual who comes to Christ.

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