providence

The Fickle Finger of Fate

Posted on May 20, 2023May 20, 2023 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I was listening to Dr. RC Sproul explain the Doctrine of Concurrence in a 2004 sermon. He opened with an explanation of it, and after a short while of preaching, mentioned “The Fickle Finger of Fate”. The audience, ones of a certain age, lol, laughed.

I think he was referencing a famous skit during a 1960s variety comedy show called “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”. The whole title of the skit was the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate.

“That dubious honor—which became a weekly staple of the series—was awarded to public figures, corporations, and government agencies, for their many questionable achievements” said one website. Laugh-In was a sort of a cross between Saturday Night Live and Monty Python, and was very popular for its time.

Of course, the fickle finger of fate phrase preceded that television show. People who don’t believe in God refer to seemingly random happenings as fate or chance.

There is no chance.

Literally, there is no such thing as chance, or fate, or randomness, in the events happening on earth. God is in control of ALL of it, down to the very last dust mote. As Sproul has famously said, “T here is not one maverick molecule in the universe.”

John Murray has said,

1: There is a Providence
“Providence is an old fashioned word and has a strange ring to modern ears. Yet when we break it down into its parts the meaning becomes clear. It comes from the Latin video ‘to see’ and pro ‘before’, meaning ‘to see beforehand’. In our lives we plan beforehand but we do not see what is going to happen. God has planned everything for His creation and because He is the sovereign God everything will come to pass as He purposed. Providence is that marvelous working of God by which all the events and happenings in His universe accomplish the purpose He has in mind.” ~Source: Behind a Frowning Providence

Surely, rolling the dice or casting lots is chance…right?

No.

Proverbs 16:33 says The lot is cast into the lap, But its every judgment is from Yahweh.

The casting of the lot is an extraordinary or unusual request made to God that He would reveal His will in an important controversy which cannot be resolved by either wisdom, skill, or strength. It pertains to an issue that must be resolved, as there would otherwise be danger or great disadvantage to the country, church, or individual. By Wilhelmus à Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service

Before I was saved I spent a lot of mental time pondering why things are the way they are…why things happen…the nature of ‘chance’. Far from being totally clueless about these concepts, non-believers do think of them. They know there is a God but they suppress that truth in unrighteousness, and continue on their way thinking it is all chance or fate.

We have will and moral agency. We decide to do things, either aligned with God’s holy standards, or not. Witness Joseph’s brothers, who hated Joseph and put him in a pit, plotted to murder him, and then sold him to the slave traders.

Yet Joseph said at the end of those long decades, they meant it for evil but God meant it for good. God meant it to happen. How do those two things work together to accomplish God’s plan? And what of tornadoes and hurricanes, i.e. ‘natural’ disasters?

Sproul explained that the doctrine of Concurrence (or confluence) can be seen in an analogy of the Three Rivers merging together in Pittsburgh.

The Monongahela River and the Allegheny River flow along in their individual riverbanks for hundreds of miles then merge to form the Ohio River.

The Allegheny River (left) and the Monongahela River (right) join to form the Ohio here.
The West End Bridge crosses the Ohio in the foreground. **Source**

Though each river does its own thing according to its own nature, they eventually and inexorably flow into the mighty Ohio. What man does, man does, but unknowingly he is being directed, even by use of his own nature, to the flow God wants to direct it. Man’s actions and God’s will create a confluence that is part of God’s perfect plan. This same thing happens with ‘natural disasters’ such as floods, hurricanes, lightning and so on. God is in control of it all.

Even the adversities and disasters come upon a person’s life.

When adversity comes into our lives we tend to react in one of two ways. We may say that it is from a source other than God and He has no power to stop it; or we may say it is an evidence of God’s anger against us. Either way we are guilty of casting aspersions on the character of our Father and consequently of perverting our attitude to Him. John Murray

There is no such thing as a problem-free Christianity. God ordains all that will occur, including all that will occur to me, before I was even born. Before the first person – Adam – was even created.

Sadly such teaching seems far removed from the outlook that prevails in large parts of the Church today. The impression is given that the purpose of the Christian life is enjoyment. Everything that stands in the way of that is to be eliminated. People are looking for a problem-free Christianity. Murray.

We can’t say “God did good to me” or “God did evil to me”. All that God does is good. All that God does is perfect. All that God does is to the good of those who love Him, even and especially, the ‘dark providences’. There is no fickle finger of fate. There is only the steady and assured hand of God, doing all that He sees fit.

The hurricane, the car crash, the Down’s syndrome, the ‘untimely’ death of a young one, a miscarriage, are all part of God’s plan. Also part of His plan is our prospering, our sanctification, the joys of a newborn, the uniting of two into one through marriage, His assurance of salvation and eternity with Him, and all the other blessings He gives.

Our sins and evil doings both pre-and-post salvation are also absorbed into His plan and used for the good of those who love Him. As an Allegheny River flowing along, we don’t know there is an Ohio River ahead into which we eventually flow, banked by His rod and staff, nurtured and cleansed, until we reach the purest fountain of all: Jesus in His heaven.

theology

“Why is this happening?”

Posted on July 25, 2021July 25, 2021 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Charles Spurgeon was a great preacher. In his sermon What are the Clouds? He asks timeless questions. He asks the questions we ask today, when there are disasters, wars, tragedies. Why did my baby die? What did that war accomplish? Why was there a terrible hurricane?

Here Spurgeon speaks of mysterious Providence as he did so often. Providence is the outworking of the plan God has in His mind that He causes to happen and all things that He prevents from happening. It’s the working out of His will in the world. We might be but a microbe in the grand plan and cannot see all that He is doing nor know why. But we still ask, Why? Where is the good in this?

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theology

I’m gonna need a bigger bookcase…

Posted on May 24, 2021May 24, 2021 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

It’s a riff off the famous line in the classic 1975 movie, Jaws. I was born in Providence, Rhode Island and grew up in Little Rhody. I was 14 1/2 when the movie came out, timed for Memorial Day Weekend and the blockbuster season of summer fun movies. They filmed the movie on the nearby island of Martha’s Vineyard.

A friend from high school whose family had a trawler invited me to join them for a weekend jaunt to the ‘The Vineyard’. We’d all seen Jaws of course, and like everyone else the movie scared me to death. When we got to Edgartown, one of the main towns on the island, we anchored. Immediately my friend’s teenage brothers started cannon-ball jumping from the top of the bridge into the water. I looked down at those Atlantic seal-grey waters that obscured everything underneath, and thought about the shark, filmed in that very spot, and said ‘nope.’ The filming gear was still around, including the floating platform they used to film the mechanical shark, dubbed “Bruce.” Spooky!

The line “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” is embedded in American consciousness and has become iconic. For me, I cannot believe it has been 45 years since that Martha’s Vineyard summer! Where does the time go?! I remember being shy around my friend’s brothers, of seeing the sun set over the harbor, of cobblestone streets, of scrimshaw shops, of eating fresh fish for dinner. Because of the movie, I thought about death for the first time, really thought about it. Where do people go when they die?

By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.
(Genesis 3:19)

What happens after we die? It was an impenetrable question to which my 14-year-old brain had no answer. What lay ahead for that gal, only the Lord knew. As I look back over the bridge of time, I know that it has been quite a ride.

As we age, I guess in some respects we become melancholy in reminiscing about the past. I’m not fond of memories because mine tend to be sad, or filled with wistful regrets.

I returned to Martha’s Vineyard many decades later. My husband and I had our own boat by then. We lived on it for 2 years, cruising up and down the eastern seaboard and over to the Bahamas. We spent some time in Edgartown and Vineyard Haven harbors, swinging on anchor and enjoying the summer breezes. I was a 30-year-old adult by then, twice the age I was when I’d first visited.

My time living on our boat taught me that the earth is beautiful. It could not have been banged into existence because of its easily seen currents, tides, beauty, progression of the sun, moon, and stars nightly. “This couldn’t have happened by chance,” I kept thinking. “There must be a God.”

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20).

The Jesus thing, though, forgeddaboutit. Not for nothing, but that sin and blood and cross stuff was wack.

Twelve years later I was closing in on the cross but not there yet. I was still pondering the mysteries of the universe, this time, the nature of evil. I was running the local newspaper then, and there was an epic struggle for the soul of the town. Dems vs Republicans, liberals vs conservative, old ways vs influx of people with newfangled ideas. You know, it was a mini-version of the same thing we saw in the 2020 election campaign season and culminating on January 6th. Bad.

The struggle turned ugly, with the entire array of dirty tricks, hatred, bitterness, and words said. Tires were slashed, slander spread, whisper campaigns galore. Why are people so mean? I wondered. If we go to heaven when we die, what makes that place different from here, if we’re all there? It would be the same? What makes heaven, heaven?

Now it’s eighteen years later. I’ve been saved since then. My church is a wonderful place. We had a great service yesterday with truth proclaimed in a steady, strong stream for an hour and a half in music, prayer, and sermon. We had supper afterwards, and friends and I talked, laughed, enjoyed each other’s company. Our church is a generous church and it is a reading church. When we planted, all of our elders were educators either in Christian schools or public schools. We have a lot of grad students, college students, and educators. We read. Our church buys boxes of books and gives them to us. We have book clubs sprinkled over two counties of our congregants. I SO appreciate their wisdom in making sure they recommend good material and provide the means to get good books to us!

One of the boxes of books they bought was John Piper’s new magnum opus, Providence. I eagerly went to the book room and grabbed a copy, excited to start reading it this summer while I’m home from work. I’m not a huge fan of Piper but I hear great things about this particular work.

As I hefted the book from the shelf and wrestled the tome into my smallish bookbag, I realized how big of a book it was. “I’m going to need a bigger bookcase…” popped into my head. Right after, all those thoughts of that long-ago summer in Martha’s Vineyard with Jaws filming props scattered around came back to me.

My favorite doctrine is the Doctrine of Providence. GotQuestions explains,

"Divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. The doctrine of divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe as a whole (Psalm 103:19), the physical world (Matthew 5:45), the affairs of nations (Psalm 66:7), human destiny (Galatians 1:15), human successes and failures (Luke 1:52), and the protection of His people (Psalm 4:8). This doctrine stands in direct opposition to the idea that the universe is governed by chance or fate."

"Through divine providence God accomplishes His will. To ensure that His purposes are fulfilled, God governs the affairs of men and works through the natural order of things."

And sometimes He works through the UNnatural order of things, like stopping the sun, parting the sea, or changing water to wine.

Providence is a comfort, it is reassuring, it gives me license to hand over control in submission to a wise and compassionate God. I’ve sometimes wondered if the Lord’s planning of my birth before the foundation of the world in the state of Rhode Island in the city of Providence was connected to my growing love for the Doctrine. It tickles me anyway, that I was born in Providence and I love the doctrine of Providence.

I AM going to need a bigger bookcase, lol. I’m running out of room and when I add this bad boy it’s going to make the shelf sag for sure. Good thing I providentially have time during the summer to read. See what I did there?

I’m grateful for God’s providential care, His salvation of my wretched soul at age 42, His raising up of good men turned to elders who plant churches for His name, for books, for my life. Take some time today to ponder Him, His creation, His plan, His providence in caring for you.

The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. (Psalm 103:19).

theology

Counting My Blessings for God’s Providence

Posted on January 8, 2021January 8, 2021 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

So many conversations go like this:

Man 1: How are ya?
Man 2: I’m alive. Better’n the alternative!
Both: HAR HAR HAR

If you are a Christian, you know that is not true. The alternative which is, death to eternal life, is a wonderful alternative. As Paul said, “we prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:7-9). Paul also said,

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes.” (Philippians 1:21-23).

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bible reading plan, Uncategorized

Bible Reading Plan thoughts: God’s providence in using Deborah and Jael

Posted on February 6, 2018 by elizabethprata

We read of Jael in the Bible Reading Plan today. God’s providential intervention is evident in today’s reading.

Jael

Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite. Sisera had been cruelly oppressing the Hebrews for 20 years. The people cried out. Deborah was civic leader at that time, prophesying and judging. She sent for Barak, the military leader and told him to go take care of the problem. Barak could freely decide what to do. He could go or he could not go, the choice was his. He said he would not go unless Deborah came with him. (Judges 4:8). His answer was in effect, no. Deborah replied that she would go with Barak, but it would be an embarrassment to him because God would deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman, and Barak would not get the military glory for the victory.

Barak freely made his choice, but now the outcome would occur from another quarter, just as Mordecai had said it would if Esther decided against her action.

Into the story enters Jael. After Barak routed Sisera’s army, Sisera fled. Sisera aimed toward the tent of Heber the Kenite. Sisera knew there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor (Sisera’s King) and the house of Heber the Kenite. Heber had separated from the Kenites and was settled far from the action. Sisera ran, believing he was safe to go toward the area where there was no fighting and where there was peace between the parties. Normally he would be right, especially since hospitality customs were so strong in protecting those who are invited into the tent. However in this providential case, Sisera was wrong. Jael invited Sisera into the tent, gave him drink, and covered him as he fell asleep.

And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. (Judges 4:22-23).

Barak had kind of said “I will go” but not really. Placing conditions on your obedience to God isn’t really obedience to God. I like how the verse says God subdued Jabin.

Whether Esther went in or didn’t go in, God would deliver the Jews from Haman. Whether Barak went to battle or didn’t go to battle, God would deliver the Jews from King Jabin and Commander Sisera. Both Esther and Barak freely decided on a course of action. Yet both outcomes occurred at the providential hand of God.

God is amazing.

discernment, Uncategorized

A move of the holy spirit & Christian emotionalists

Posted on January 12, 2018 by elizabethprata

We hear a lot about the big moves of the Holy Spirit. We see Youtube clips of young millennials falling to the floor, or standing with arms upstretched in front of smoke filled stages, pulsing lights, glitter, laughing and sobbing. Afterward they smile tiredly, saying “The Holy Spirit really moved!” Or, “The Holy Spirit really showed up!”

As an aside, I dislike that phrase, ‘The Holy Spirit showed up.’ It’s crass. It’s akin to attending a funeral and saying to the bereaved, “So your wife croaked, eh?’ The Holy Spirit doesn’t ‘show up.’ He isn’t hailing a taxi running late, throwing a scarf around his neck while jumping out of the cab and huffing into the church. The Spirit doesn’t ‘show up’. The Holy Spirit governs the universe.

To the main point regarding big moves of the Spirit. Successive years of successive generations of younger church-goers have twisted Hebrews 11:1’s statement of what faith is:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Into –

Now faith is the substance of things we’ve come to tangibly possess, the evidence of things seen and experienced.

Spurgeon had something to say about these “Christian emotionalists” in Sermon 898, A Word with Those Who Wait for Signs and Wonders,

And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign... (Luke 11:29-30)

There are some, and these are generally the most uneducated, who expect to experience remarkable dreams or to behold singular visions. Others we have met with, who suppose that in order to being saved they must feel some very peculiar physical sensation. Now you must not look for this. You must not put physical contortions or sensations as a test before the Lord, and say you will not believe in Him otherwise.

You seek what is quite unnecessary. What do you want a sign for? You want, you say, a token of God’s love. What token of God’s love to you can ever be wanted, now that He has given His only-begotten Son, first to live on earth, and then to die in pains extreme, the just for the unjust, “that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”! I blush for you, that you should ask any token of God’s love while Jesus Christ is before you…

I must tell you what is more, you are acting the part of an idolater. What does an idolater do? He says, “I cannot believe in an unseen God; I must have a golden calf or an image, that I can see with my eyes and touch with my hand.” You say just the same. You cannot believe God’s naked word, you demand something you can feel, something you can see. Sheer idolatry.

You might feel an overwhelming sense of joy, or peace, or well-being, or love for Jesus at times. These emotional times can occur when prayer is answered, providence is seen, worship is genuine, or Bible reading has deepened your view of the Savior. Strong emotion is good and appropriate. But to rely on such moments as proof of the Spirit’s presence casts a vain hope upon the shores of the Rock which stands above all. Your sure faith is in Him and His word that reveals Him.

Depending on signs is seeking a golden calf of experience over faith.

If you’re looking for a move of the Spirit, a miracle, sign, or wonder, there are many that we can name which exalt Jesus. Unsaved men are helpless and unable to come to God unless the Spirit draws them. (John 6:44). He saves by grace. Any new believer is a miracle, because they cannot save themselves. Sanctification is a miracle of God, because only by the Spirit can we resist sin and grow in His likeness. Providence is a miracle of God because He sustains the universe by the power of His word every minute, and He ordains every event that happens to all 8 billion people on earth at every second.

Stop looking for glitter dust falling from the ceiling, for personal prophecies, and visible signs when we already have the redemptive, sanctifying, providential work of the Lord occurring all over the world every second.

I’ll leave John MacArthur with the last word-

For all those true believers who love the Lord, the promise is a wonderful promise. … I think it’s time in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to give honor to the Holy Spirit, to worship Him, to love Him, to ascribe to Him the glory that He is due and to stop the nonsense that brings dishonor on His holy name.

encouragement, Uncategorized

A year end thank you for all that Grace To You has done for me

Posted on December 30, 2017 by elizabethprata

A letter I wrote to GTY regarding thanks for the radio ministry. The ministry means SO MUCH to me.

Dear Grace To You,

I want to take a moment to share how God used John’s radio broadcast in my spiritual life.

I was saved at age 44. Before salvation, I spent my life as all sinners do, for myself, rebelling against God. New England is a dark place, and an adult can go a lifetime and not run into anything Christian, or a Bible, or a preacher. I was ignorant of anything related to Jesus. I was certainly ignorant of my own sin, except for the conscience that pricked me.

me with abby one copy1 — Camping in FL. 20 years ago, I didn’t know Jesus.

My husband and I liked to travel and we decided to take a long cross-country camping trip in our pop-up camper. We listened to the radio all along the way. We enjoyed talk radio and searched for programs that would help us pass the time as we drove. As we entered the southern part of the United States, we inevitably came across the radio dial of typical southern preachers with their funny accent and pulpit pounding exposition, yelling “JAY-sus! We’d laugh and tee hee about those silly Jesus people. And then we’d hurriedly change the dial.

Whenever we came across John’s Grace To You broadcast, and the introduction music soon became familiar as his program was on many stations, his voice was different. It was logical, soothing. The content of what he was saying intrigued me, as much as it repulsed me. My conscience was pricked even more. I always lingered a bit, listening. But then my husband would change the dial away from the “Jesus stuff” as we called it, I’d feel both relieved that the spiritual pressure was gone but curious for more, too. I didn’t understand this push-pull.

Five years later, the Lord saved me. The internet offered a wealth of sermons, devotionals, and biblical instruction. But which one to pick? Then one day I heard that music. “I know that music!” I said. I heard John’s voice. “I know that guy!” I said. And now that I was saved, the content of what John was saying made sense. More than that, the content of what he was saying inspired me, illuminated my mind, and soothed me. I quickly devoured sermon after sermon. Having no church baggage to unlearn, John’s sermons went straight into my soul. He taught the Doctrine of Justification, and moved to the Doctrine of Election.

Six years after that, I listened live as John finished preaching through the New Testament. It was a historic moment. Even more personally for me, it was a poignant moment. Before I was even saved, God had used John to spark my conscience as a sinner curiously repulsed by the ‘Jesus stuff’ he was preaching, through to salvation, to growth by the Spirit, to burgeoning maturity and becoming a Titus 3 church woman to the younger ladies. God used John through it all. He is still using John in my spiritual life as I read many of his books and still listen to the wonderful sermons.

chisos mountains — Camping in Texas. One day in the future, I’d hear the GTY music and my mind and soul would light up

God used John to preload me in readiness for the moment I would in His timing, come into the kingdom and begin learning the glories of God. John’s familiar voice, the familiar music, led me by His grace to this solid ministry upon which God laid the foundation of my growth.

Thank you John MacArthur and all of you at Grace To You. I praise God for the men He has raised up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” (John 5:17)

God is always working in the lives of those who He will eventually call into His kingdom, and continues working in our lives after that, forever and ever.

encouragement, Uncategorized

In My Seat: a 9/11 Pilot’s Story and the Providence of God

Posted on September 12, 2017 by elizabethprata

God is in sovereign control of every single thing on this earth, in heaven, and throughout the universe. He is at work providentially, invisibly. We would never have known this story until the video was made and the man told of this event. Yet known or unknown, this story of providence is repeated millions of times per day, every day, over and over, by Jesus, so that His plan will come to fruition at any given moment and at every moment.

Do not fear. This same Jesus has your life in His hand. He is orchestrating all things for your good and His glory. Whether His plan had been to put you in that seat, or to take you out of that seat, on any given day, His ministrations and ordination of events will come to pass. He is God, and there is no other.

This 15-minute video is WELL worth your time.

Synopsis:

September 10, 2001, First Officer Steve Scheibner packed his suitcase and waited for the phone call finalizing his assignment to fly American Airlines Flight 11, from Boston to Los Angeles. The call never came. In My Seat recounts the events leading up to Flight 11 and the subsequent death of Tom McGuinness in the seat that should have been filled by Steve Scheibner.

encouragement, Uncategorized

There’s no such thing as tragedy in a Christian’s life

Posted on May 16, 2017May 16, 2017 by elizabethprata

This will be among the shortest blog essays I’ve ever written, but it will be one of the most powerful. At least, it was for me. I pray it is for you as well.

John Gerstner was a Professor of Church History at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Knox Theological Seminary and an authority on the life and theology of Jonathan Edwards. He produced many edifying works in his life, most famously, his “Handout” series. Handout Church History, Handout Theology, and Handout Apologetics are among some of the most wonderful series of lectures and handouts he ever produced. They are easily available online, foremost at Ligonier.org but also in books and videos elsewhere.

Anyway, in his Handout Theology series I’m watching at Ligonier, he did several lectures on the Doctrine of Providence, which is my favorite doctrine. He referenced Romans 8:28 which I’ll post. Then his comment below.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

I was once asked, ‘what is tragedy?’ It is whatever happens to the unconverted. No matter how great a blessing, it is a curse to the unconverted because he does not receive it with gratitude to the Giver. On the other hand, no matter whether a snake bite, or whatever, it is a blessing to God’s children for whom all things work together for the good. ~John Gerstner, Handout Theology lecture on Providence, part 2

When we focus on Jesus in His heaven, it changes our perspective. When our worldview changes, we settle into the peace that Jesus gives us, the peace that passes all understanding.

———–

God’s sovereignty in providence: Esther and Jael

Posted on January 30, 2017January 30, 2017 by elizabethprata

God is sovereign of the entire universe. He plans what he plans and He does what he pleases.

Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. (Psalm 115:3).

It’s admittedly hard to understand how God can and does orchestrate all events at once, constantly, over the earth and throughout the stars, so that His plans providentially combine in perfect harmony to enact His will. But He is God and we’re not supposed to understand it! It is also hard to understand how our personal decisions are still personal but also are part of His will and plan and the outcome is predetermined. That our decisions are our own yet are part of a pre-ordained plan that all leads to the cross and beyond is a tension our finite minds can’t comprehend. It is a joy to ponder them though, because in so doing, we come up against God’s power, omniscience, and will.

Here are two things to consider when looking at God’s providence and will, with our decisions and will.

Esther

The book of Esther was not written by Esther but it is about Esther, her Hebrew name was Hadassah. She lived during the time of King Ahasuerus of Persia, also known as King Xerxes. Through a series of providential events, Esther wound up as Queen to Ahasuerus and also was put in a position to save her people. However the saving of her people was at dire risk to her own life. She was discussing what to do with her uncle Mordecai, and Mordecai famously said,

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Esther could make her own decision. She could risk her life and go in to the King, or she could stay in the harem and not go to the King. Mordecai knew God’s character well enough to know that His promise to keep a remnant of His people alive would indeed happen, whether Esther decided to participate at this particular moment or not. God would keep His promise no matter what Esther decided. The choice was hers. Esther decided to go in and speak to the King even though he had not called for her (usually this meant death). We know the rest, Esther’s action revealed to the King the evil deeds of Haman and Haman was killed instead of the Jews.

Jael

Barak freely made his choice, but now the outcome would occur from another quarter, just as Mordecai had said it would if Esther decided against her action.

Note that Sisera fell asleep. He had a hard day of fighting, but even though his life was in peril he felt comfortable enough where he let down his guard and fall asleep. Women in those days were responsible for pitching the tents and so Jael was strong enough and familiar enough with how to efficiently hammer a tent peg into the ground. As Sisera slept, she drove a tent peg into his temple and pinned his head to the ground. The verse succinctly states, “So he died.” (Judges 4:21b).

And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. (Judges 4:22-23).

Barak had kind of said “I will go” but not really. Placing conditions on your obedience isn’t really obedience to God. I like how the verse says God subdued Jabin.

God is amazing.

Anonymous.
Jael and Sisera
pen drawing — c. 1440 – 1450
Museum Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig. The name of the drafter is not known. He is thought to be someone close to Van Eyck and his workshop. Source: Art and the Bible