Intercession: The Throne Ministry # 20

"For Ever, O Lord, Thy Word is Settled in Heaven" (continued)

Esther, who represents the throne ministry of intercession, becomes a vessel through whom God can bring forth deliverance for His people and judgment upon His enemies. Esther is one who interceded much in spirit and acted very slowly and spoke very little as she was led painstakingly, step by step, by the Lord until Haman and his descendants were destroyed.

The accounting of the destruction of Haman's ten sons is set out in an unusual way in the Hebrew and, therefore, becomes significant. Remember, everything in the Written Word of God is significant, whether we can fully understand it or not; and in every Hebrew manuscript, the names of Haman's sons are presented thus (Esther 9:7-9).

Haman's ten sons are listed in this way in order that the Lord's people will be reminded that there is always a satanic move either to destroy God's people or to cause them to wander from the direct course. Four times Haman is called "the Jews' enemy"; and the fourth time his sons are also included in this venomous phrase. This phrase, "the Jews' enemy", is representative of the satanic forces, the seed of the serpent, who are seeking, in every age, by any means possible, to stop God's people before they can finish the course that God has set before them.

However, let us also remember that it is in "such a time as this" that God is Hiding His Power; and at His appointed time, the descendants of Amalek (Haman and his ten sons) are brought to an end. Ten is the number of order and completeness; and, in this instance, because it is referring to the enemy, it denotes that Amalek's cup of iniquity is full: satan's evil and treacherous plot against God's people had come to full cycle! And then it is, whether in Esther's time or in ours, that God "with Secret Hand" executes judgment upon His enemies and saves His people in order that they can be free and ready to finish the course He has set before them.

At the beginning of this charter, we said that the Book of Esther exemplifies the statement, "The Hiding of His Power"; and we also said that the Name of God does not appear in this book. However, we have found that it is by Divine Design that the Name of God does not appear in Esther, for God has chosen to hide His All-Powerful Name in this book by using the Hebrew alphabet in the form of a figure of speech. In doing this, the Lord is emphasizing and calling attention to the fact  that He Is, as He clearly states in the New Testament, The Alpha and Omega - The Beginning, The Through All, and the Completion - The One Who worketh all things after the counsel of His Own Will.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 21 - The Living Word: The Alpha and Omega")