The Die Was Cast

Why do you boast about your evil plans, O powerful man? God's loyal love protects me all day long!
Your tongue carries out your destructive plans; it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver.
You love evil more than good, lies more than speaking the truth. (Selah)
You love to use all the words that destroy, and the tongue that deceives.
Yet God will make you a permanent heap of ruins. He will scoop you up and remove you from your home; he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)
When the godly see this, they will be filled with awe, and will mock the evildoer, saying:
"Look, here is the man who would not make God his protector! He trusted in his great wealth and was confident about his plans to destroy others."
But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God; I continually trust in God's loyal love.
I will continually thank you when you execute judgment; I will rely on you, for your loyal followers know you are good.
Psalm 52

 I ended the last post on Esther with this verse, and I believe it applies here as well:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  [Matthew 10:28 NET]

 Man likes to think he is powerful, influential, in charge. The reality is, he is not. Ultimately, it is God who executes judgment, it is God who determines the Pur.

 What is the Pur? In ancient days, people would cast lots, or Pur, to determine the course of their path. They believed it was influenced by their gods. Today in the story of Esther we read Chapter 3 verses 5-11 which tell the story of how Haman cast lots to determine the best day to carry out the destruction of the Jews. Haman rolled the dice and they came up double sixes, he was to destroy the Jews in 12 months. He ran this by the king, though you can bet it was an edited version of his plans, and the king thought it seemed good so he approved. The die was cast, quite literally, and Haman’s plot moved forward.

 Today the die seems to be cast, the Pur determined, in a lot of areas. The government is marching relentlessly forward on its mission to purge our country of immigrants, whether they are here legally or illegally. As an aside, I find this quite funny since everyone in this country, even the Native Americans, are immigrants. They are sending ICE agents to homes, courts, anywhere and everywhere. They are sending emails threatening terrible punishment if not complied with. It seems like a rolling train that no one can stop. You could throw yourself on the tracks, but it would make no difference, you would simply be rolled over. Did our leadership throw dice when determining the dates for some of these mass evictions? Who knows. Whether they were literal dice, or random numbers generated from their hearts, the result is the same.

 It would be easy to lose hope, to give up, to wonder whether evil will actually triumph in this season. But here’s the truth:

"The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD."  Proverbs 16:33

 Even when things seem hopeless and there is no open door ahead of us. Even when the data is all in and the odds are stacked against us. Even then, our God is still in control. Even then He will never leave us nor forsake us. I’ve faced more than a few situations in my life where the doctors have said here is your diagnosis and there is no cure, there is no treatment. They’ve given my pain a name, and it’s name is forever. I’ve done my research and seen that, according to the data, they are correct. There is no hope. I have no hope in the medical system. What I do have hope in is God, my Great Physician (Jehovah Rapha). The One who made me, who knit me together in my mother’s womb, who determined my days before one of them came to pass, He has a plan for me.

 Today’s SOAP verse is:

“Your tongue carries out your destructive plans; it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver.”  Psalm 52:2

 But we have a God who turns Pur into Purim! Remember at the beginning of this post when I mentioned that the casting of lots was called Pur? Well God, who determined those lots, brought together His perfect plan and established the feast of Purim that celebrates how He delivered the Jews from certain destruction. We’ll get into the details of how He brought that about later, but I couldn’t resist the Pur into Purim reference today!

 Here’s the Thing: It can be scary when the odds are stacked against us, when the die has been cast. When the skies are dark and the road ahead is clouded in danger. But slip your hand into Jesus’ hand. He will walk with you and make your paths straight. He will go before you, and He will be your rear guard.