The Butterfly Effect of Families Changing Nations
/If there were any truth to the butterfly effect, the butterfly is marriage or family. Good bad or indifferent a family, in its simplest form has the possibility to raise up men and women in this age or the next, to change the world for good or bad. But, there is a trend in media and society to separate the generations so as to undermine the family. Nickjr, Nickelodian, Mtv, and so on. Age appropriate is a common word used, and seems innocent, but it is deceptive and undermines the family's ability to build cross generational dialogue and relationship.
Mom has her clubs, dad has his hobbies, and the kids are all over the place.
Esther 9:2 And they gathered themselves together in every city, and town, and place, to lay their hands on their enemies, and their persecutors. And no one could withstand them, for the fear of their power had gone through every people.
Does this sound like a Christian family you know?
Miriam was Moses sister, and instrumental in the exodus of the children of Israel. Her mother hid her baby brother away for as long as she could so that he would not be murdered. She followed her baby brother down the river as he floated in a basket. Can you imagine her prayers for him, and the courage it took for her to speak up to the Pharaoh's daughter? It was the relationship between pharaoh's daughter and Pharaoh that allowed her to keep the Hebrew child in the first place. Any other Egyptian that would have kept a Hebrew child would not have had such power to allow him to live.
Relationship....
When Moses decided to head back to Egypt to free his people messed up and almost fell under the judgment of God. It was his wife that remembered the covenant of circumcision and kept him from dying. When the children of Israel sinned against God, and the Lord confronted Moses about it, he showed the relationship by saying "Your people." It was his prayers that kept God's wrath away. Later, Moses got angry with their obstinance and asked God to wipe them out and free him from the obligation to lead them. It was God's turn to encourage Moses to have compassion and perseverance.
God uses relationship to help others, and people use their relationship with God to help and pray for others.
Abrahams intercession for his cousin in Sodom kept him from being destroyed.
An entire race of people was going to be wiped out, and the relationship between a young woman and her adoptive father saved them from annihilation. Esther was Hebrew, and had been picked to be the queen of a pagan country, when the king was looking for a replacement. The Hebrews had enemies though, and one of them was an advisor of the king, and convinced the King to allow for their destruction. He had no idea that he had signed a death order for his own wife.
Esther 3:13, tells us of what was to happen to all of her people:
Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.
Esther was not aware of the common knowledge of the people, but found out her uncle was distressed and sent a servant to find out what was going on.
Esther 4: 6 Mordecaigave her servant, Hathak , a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told Hathak to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
She asked her uncle and people to pray for her as she took on the risky plan to go before the king. It took quite a bit for her to finally reveal to him that she too was Jewish and he had made it law for her people to be killed. Haman the enemy of God's people was killed but the way the law was , once it was made, it could not be retracted. The king was in a pickle and said:
Esther 8: 7 “Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have impaled him on the pole he set up. Now write another decree in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”
Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king’s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.
The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children, and to plunder the property of their enemies. The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
Although there was an edict to destroy a family, perseverance, relationship with each other and with God, the people were given legal authority to defend and avenge themselves.
If you look back in history, you will see something called the great reformation, and the product of such. Reformation is " setting things right." it can only come when the humble admit their need of that , and allow it not holding onto things of old. You can stoke a fire and see flames ...jump high and lick the sky, but if the fuel is not set right, it will need constant attention. Let's allow God to first set things right, and then see what a real fire can do in our homes communities and nations. It just takes a humble person to allow the one that "neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but ALL things are naked and opened to his eyes," (Hebrews 4:13) to reform us.
Scripture says for a man seeking appointment in leadership, " if he can't manage his family how can he handle the affairs of God?"
Relationship.....
The favor on one family saved an entire country, namely, Egypt from famine. It was God's provision for Joseph's family that he blessed Egypt to endure. Before God would lead Moses out of Egypt, he had to allow his heart to be turned towards his people or family. Studies show the positive impact that fathers have on family both financially and emotionally, but all too often fathers are not encouraged to do their part. If the men are overtaken, the women and children are easy to subdue. We have the authority to fight for what God has given us. Dinah was raped because her father settled where God told him not to. He chose to be close to the people of other nations in hopes of financial gain and it affected his family.
The first miracle Jesus ever performed was at a wedding. Jesus hid from public ministry right before his death on the cross and kept close to those that werelike family. he looked down from the cross and established the relationship of son and mother with John and Mary.
The story of Esther is short, and I encourage you to read it in its entirety. You will see the regret of the arrogant king of banishing his first wife. This led him to finding Esther. He honored the world's system and evil voices to keep him from knowing or being interested in his Queen. His relationship with a wicked man almost killed his wife. If you made mistakes like the King did with Esther, in your own marriage, you can counteract attacks on your family. It is never too late to fight, not even after an edict of destruction has been declared.
Kill the voices of those that mean harm, whether it be through, media, work, or non-believers. Don't separatethe family in age groups, or by common interests. They might have something that needs to be said, or you might have something you need to teach. Practice leadership in the home and see nations changed. You will be raising up Esthers and Mordecais.