It so happened
"Now it came about on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner courtyard of the king’s palace in front of the king’s rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room, opposite the entrance to the palace. When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the courtyard, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand." (Esther 5:1-2 NASV)
August 5, 2024
Dear friends,
Is there such a thing as "chance"? Is there such a thing as luck (good or bad), and does life just come down to the roll of the dice? Are things in life only random, after all?
In adult Sunday school we are studying the book of Esther. The people who are opposed to the Jews are intent on casting lots and arranging circumstances in order to do their cruel deeds. Meanwhile God -- the true God, who in this book remains unnamed -- is at work behind the scenes in very small, random, seemingly inconsequential events which reverse the entire story line.
We were covering chapters 5 and 6 this past Sunday, where the tide turns against Haman, the enemy of the Jews. In verse one of chapter five we come upon a word which is translated "Now it came about" (NASV), "it so happened" (NET), or "now it came to pass" (KJV). It's a word appearing over 800 times in the OT. It is "Va-yahî" (וַיְהִ֣י), which often serves primarily to connect the sentences of a narrative to continue the story line.
It's first use is in Genesis chapter one, where God's words of decree "came to pass". Some translations have, "...and it was so." That is, God made it so. It happens because the sovereign God makes it happen.
Later in the Old Testament, the word is used to call attention to things happening by God’s unseen hand, and could be translated as "it so happened that..." The book of Ruth opens with this word and is filled with events that just so happened to turn out for good and for God's glory.
All of this is part of God's amazing providence, his omnipotence in guiding the affairs of the universe according to his will. He provides for his people in ways seen and unseen. He does this in big ways, and in little ways hardly noticed. Not just miracles, but small details can change storylines and alter destinies.
We may think that some things in life are merely coincidental, or just happenstance. Randomness in the universe -- or "chance" -- is really just our observation of how events turn out. Chance is not a thing nor an entity which produces events. In statistics it can help us to calculate probability, but chance itself does not cause anything. If you flip a coin one hundred times, it is your thumb, and the force, and the momentum, and the air and temperature, and whatever else, which makes the coin flip so many times in the air. That it lands heads about 50% of the time, or tails, is only our observation of how things regularly happen in nature.
But the Bible makes it plain: "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD." (Proverbs 16:33)
God's sovereign and providential care extends not only over very big things, like determining the number and names of stars and galaxies, but also in stooping to bind the wounds of the brokenhearted (Ps 147:3-4). It includes when and where rain comes (Acts 14:17; Job 5:10), and when a sparrow falls (Matt 10:29).
So, God is orchestrating events big and small. He works for his people in ways seen and unseen. Sometimes we only want to see God do big and miraculous events, while being unaware of (and unthankful for?) his sovereignty over all the circumstances and details around us.
We should ask ourselves: do we believe that our Father, who is unseen, is working his will for our good and for his glory in everything (that is, all things), seen and unseen, big and small?
READING.
-- For more on how the term "chance" can be misunderstood in discussions about science, read Not a Chance: God, Science, and the Revolt against Reason, by R. C. Sproul and Keith Mathison (Baker, 2014).
-- When God's people neglect character and virtue in the quest for power: "The outcome is that the postliberal right, which began in conversations around The Benedict Option about how to better catechize young people and create thick communities of Christian belief has, in just under 10 years, shifted into something primarily partisan and quite often linked to white nationalism."
-- "Girling the Boy Scouts," another victory in the war on American institutions, by Heather MacDonald.
-- "There is much truth here, but much missing too—something certainly less important than religion but possibly more important than politics, and, as I found in my drive through Cambridge, it has something to do with architecture." (Peter Kreeft)
-- Very cool: a short list of the world's best new architecture.
-- This year I'm rotating into my reading some new periodicals: Biblical Archaeology Review, the National Review, and Kiplinger Magazine.
MY BACK PAGES
(Being things I posted from years past, though I'm younger than that now.)
-- From 5 years ago, a parable from Perelandra: "When Satan cannot deceive us by lies, he will distract us by sheer noise and nonsense."
-- From 10 years ago: how to determine what kind of anger you have and if you are processing it in the right way.
-- From 15 years ago, G. K. Chesterton on the importance of worldviews.
FINAL QUOTE.
"Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools." (Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 ESV)
That's it for this week! I'm thankful for the Father's love, the grace of our Lord Jesus, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit!
Sandy
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.