ESTHER: Foreigners in a Strange Land
Esther 3:1-11
FOREIGNERS, TEMPORARY RESIDENTS AWAY FROM OUR TRUE HOME
“There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves
from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live.” —-Esther 3:8 (NLT)
“All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a
homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” —Hebrews 11:13-16 (NLT)
CITIZENS OF THE ETERNAL KINGDOM OF GOD
“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are
along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.” —Ephesians 2:19-22 (NLT)
“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly
for him to return as our Savior.” —Philippians 3:20 (NLT)
LIVE AS CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
“For you are a
people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.” —Deuteronomy 7:6 (NLT)
“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can
others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. ‘Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.’ Dear friends, I warn you as ‘temporary residents and foreigners’ to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.” —1 Peter 2:9-12 (NLT)