Esther, Finding Courageous FaithPart 2, November 24th, 2013

Last week we walked through the first half of the Book of Esther... an incredible story of God’s faithfulness in the midst of tremendous crisis and fear.

- And yet, one of the most unusual things about the Book of Esther is that the name of God isn’t mentioned even once throughout its ten chapters...

- Though, when you read it, His fingerprints are unmistakably on every verse.

Truth is, the writer of Esther, I believe, made a specific point not to mention God’s name...

- Not to leave God out of the story... but just the opposite... to remind us of how, even when He can’t be seen, God is always present and at work in our day to day lives.

- That even through those difficult seasons we all go through from time to time in our lives…

- especially through those times where we don’t have a sense of where God is… the Book of Esther is given to us as a reminder that God has never and will never abandon His people.

This amazingly simple truth, taken from the Book of Esther, is celebrated on the most joyous holiday on the Jewish calendar... the Festival of Purim.

- The work Purim means “lots”... and it’s used to remember how Haman, the bad guys of the Esther story,

- basically caste lots to determine the date he would have all the Jews of Persia exterminated.

Well, each year on the Festival of Purim,even to this day, Jews go to Synagogue in order to read through the Book of Esther.

- In fact, people get so into it that as the story is being read, people clap & cheer every time Mordecai’s name is mentioned....

- they go “ahhh” every time Esther’s name is read... and, of course every time Haman’s name comes up they hiss and boo!

- So, go ahead and do that as I preach this... let’s see if I can keep focus!! (Practice: Haman, Mordacai, Esther!)

Now, let me get us caught up to where we finished last week. If you remember, Haman, the Agagite, has been given the position as King Xerxes’ #2 guy...

- a position that obviously gets to his head since he requires everyone he passes to bow down before him.

- And pretty much, because of the power he has in the Persian Empire, everyone does... except for Mordecai, Esther’s cousin and adopted father… who makes it clear that he would bow only to God.

This gets Haman so mad that, in 3:6, he goes ahead and makes plans to kill off not just Mordecai... but all the Jewish people throughout the Persian Empire,

- which, at this time, spread out from the Nile River in Egypt to India.

- In fact, without even mentioning the name of the people he purposed to extinguish, Haman managed to get permission from Xerxes to personally oversee the whole genocide.

- So in 3:7, Haman heads over to the king’s priests who cast lots for him in order to find out when he should carry out his plan… which turns out to be March 7th, just under a year later.

Well, after hearing the news, Mordecai is completely mortified... In Chapter 4:1-3, we read “When Mordecai learned what had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, crying with a loud and bitter wail.  3And as news of the king's decree reached all the provinces there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and wailed, and many people lay in sackcloth and ashes.” 

- He then sends word to Esther that she needed to speak with her husband the king.

- But there were two problems with this. The biggest problem was no one, including the queen, could approach the king without being summoned. In fact, doing so was a capital offense.

- Take a look at 4:11, she sends this desperate word back to Mordecai saying, “The whole world knows that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter.”

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- In other words, just approaching Xerxes about this… before she even had the opportunity to speak with him, would likely mean her death.

The second problem was that they hadn’t shared a bed together in over 30 days. I mean, its one thing if Esther and Xerxes’ marriage wasn’t going great… but they hadn’t even spoken in a month!

- In other words, Esther didn’t appear to have a whole lot of equity with Xerxes, which made her going to him unsummoned, even more crazy.

- And yet, Esther, who needless to say, is experiencing a tremendous amount of fear right now, asks Mordecai, in 4:16,

- to have all the Jews in their city begin praying and fasting for three days.

She says, “And then, though it is against the law, I will go to the king. If I must die, I am willing to die.”

- Somehow, the words of Mordecai have reached deep into her heart… "Who knows, perhaps you have come to royal position for just such a time as this."

- And yet, Esther isn’t about to trust in her own good looks or her own cleverness or wisdom.

“God, I need you, I’m desperate without You... help me, Lord... give me the courage, give me the wisdom... and the words.”

- You see, survival is no longer her primary goal. Her life has been given over to something much bigger than her own existence or the retaining of her royalty.

- Her worst case scenario is not death, its living outside her calling... its living outside of God’s purposes for her life.

So then, on the third day we’re told that she puts on her royal robes and stands in the inner court and waits for the king to see her.

- VIDEO: “ESTHER-APPROACHED THE KING”- Imagine what goes on in the mind of this young woman, as she

waits. Is it going to be life or death? The king sees her and he reaches out his scepter -- she'll live at least for the moment.

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- And then 5:3, "Esther approaches the top of the scepter. And the king said to her, 'What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.'"

Now, keep in mind that Xerxes isn’t offering half of his kingdom to Esther… it’s just his way of saying, " I'm in a good mood today. What do you want?”

- But still… what is she supposed to say? “Haman tricked you and has ordered the death of all the Jews throughout your empire… and, by the way, I’m a Jew!?”

- Truth is, insulting the king’s right-hand man is punishable by death. So, she knows she can't just blurt out, "I'd like to have you revoke the unalterable law of the Persians and put down your chief of staff!”

So instead she says -- and again, you see the wisdom of this knowing what we know about the king—

- "I'm having a party, I'm having a banquet. So you and Haman come."

- As you know, the book of Esther began with a banquet and now its time for her to have one. So, the king and Haman both come… and they have a great time.

5:6 -- "The king said to Esther, while he is drinking wine... What's your petition, it shall be granted to you... Even to half of my kingdom.”

- Verse 7 -- "Esther said, 'This is my petition and my request: if I have won the king's favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request then let the king and Haman come tomorrow to another banquet that I shall prepare for you, and then I will do as the king has said.”

- In other words, “If I have favor with you, then come to another dinner party tomorrow night where I’ll make my request known to you.”

Now we're ready for the climax of the story, but the author leaves us in suspense for a moment… as he shifts the story line, in verse 9, back to Haman.

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- It says in verses 9-10, "Haman went out from that first banquet with great joy." He’s never felt so self-important in his life!

- “Then Haman gathered together his friends and Zeresh, his wife,11and boasted to them about his great wealth and his many children. He bragged about the honors the king had given him and how he had been promoted over all the other nobles and officials."

- Then, in verse 12, "Haman added, "And that's not all! Queen Esther invited only me and the king himself to the banquet she prepared for us. And she has invited me to dine with her and the king again tomorrow!"

So, on the asset side of the ledger he says, "I've got all this stuff going for me. I've been advanced far beyond everybody else; I'm tremendously wealthy;

- I've got all these sons; I've been promoted by the king, set above everyone else in the kingdom;

- I'm going to this banquet only for the king and I. Man, I have got it goin’ on!"

Verse 13, "Yet all this does me no good as long as I see the Jew, Mordecai, sitting at the king's gate" refusing to bow before me!

- (By the way, Mordecai is the first person in all of Scripture to be called a Jew. Till now, Jews were called Hebrews or Israelites.)

- "All of this unbelievable success, status, wealth, power, clout, fame does no good because someone doesn't like me. Someone won't bow down before me. Someone doesn't treat me like royalty. I'm miserable!”

The author here does such an amazing job contrasting the heart of Haman with the character of Mordecai and Esther.

- Esther says, "I'm willing to die to myself," and so she lives. She has purpose, meaning, significance.

- Haman says, "I'm going to live for myself," and he falls apart. In fact, we’ll see in a few minutes what ultimately happens to him.

- In spite of all he has… he could never enjoy any of it because of his anger… his anger toward just one person. What pride!!

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Like Haman, some of you maybe have been handing way too much power over to another person…

- Maybe it's a boss or a parent or someone in your circle of friends... and you're miserable because that one person doesn't think about you the way that you want to be thought of... or treat you the way that you want to be treated.

- You know, Haman could have learned so much from Mordecai.

He needed somebody in his life that didn't bow down to him. But he let his anger get in the way time after time.

- So, instead of learning from someone like Mordecai, Haman listens to his wife who only fuels his anger. Listen to this:

- “So Haman's wife, Zeresh, and all his friends suggested, ‘Set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall, and in the morning ask the king to impale Mordecai on it. When this is done, you can go on your merry way to the banquet with the king.’ This pleased Haman, and he ordered the pole set up.”

Man! You should all be glad that I’m married to someone like Joyce and not Zeresh!

- But, we’re told that her advice pleased Haman… so much so that immediately has his servants make this sharpened pole in front of his house.

- So the next day he's going to get permission from the king to kill Mordecai. BUT… that conversation gets interrupted.

In chapter 6 we read that the king wasn’t able to get to sleep that night… so he calls out to his servants to have one of the scribes come in and read to him.

- I mean… He's the king… why read to yourself when you can have a professional read to you!

- So, they ask him, "What shall we read to you?" He says, "Why don't you read the annals of the King."

- And guess what the annals of the King is about? It's about the king. He's the main character in it.

- They say, "What should we read?" He says, "Read that book about me!”

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So they do. And of all things, the scribe ends up reading about the time Mordecai discovered the assassination attempt against the king and ends up saving the king’s life.

- Well, as the scribe is reading the story, King Xerxes realizes that Mordecai has never been properly thanked…

- Something that would reflect poorly on him… sort of a blot on the king's reputation.

- The king should obviously honor someone that saved his life!

Well, the next morning Haman arrives in order to talk about the execution of Mordecai.

- Of course, he knows nothing about what’s been going on with Xerxes. The irony of this scene is unbelievable.

- The king's servants say in 6:6, "Haman is in the court… so Haman came in and the king said to him, 'What shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?'"

Feeling utterly self-important, of course, Haman assumes the king is talking about him… about to bestow some kind of honor on him.

- And, “since he must be talking about me so I better make this really good because apparently, I get to write out my own check."

- So Haman said to the king, "For the man whom the king wishes to honor" -- notice that phrase, it keeps recurring –

- "for the man whom the king wishes to honor let royal robes be brought which the king has worn and a horse that the king has ridden with a royal crown on its head."

In other words, not only should he get royal robes… but even his horse should wear a crown.

- "Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble officials. Let him robe the man whom the king wishes to honor and let him conduct the man on horseback through the open square of the city proclaiming before him, 'Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor,'" nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

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Now, you've got to picture this, okay? You see, Haman is a happy camper, "This is going to be my day. The king's going to say to me, 'Haman, you the man. You can go get on that horse.'"

- So, the king says, "That's a good idea, Haman. Go get the horse and go… and put Mordecai up on that horse. In fact, before you put him on my horse, help him put on my royal robes.

- And not only that… but you should be the one to talk him around town. And as you do, say out loud for all to hear, ‘Thus it shall be for Mordecai, the man the king wants to honor.' Good idea, Haman. You go do that."

It was the last thing in the world Haman was expecting…, can you can just imagine his utter humiliation? But, he had no choice. It says in verse 12:

- "After it was done Mordecai returned to the king's gate, but Haman hurried to his house, mourning, and with his head covered. When Haman told his wife, Zeresh, and all his friends, his advisors, his wife said, ‘Since Mordecai—this man who has humiliated you—is of Jewish birth, you will never succeed in your plans against him. It will be fatal to continue opposing him.’"

- The timing is amazing here… ‘cause it says that "While they were still talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman off to the banquet that Esther had prepared."

After all that humiliation, at least Haman can revel in the Queen’s personal invitation to once again join her and the king for dinner.

- I mean, not even Mordecai was invited to join them… just and the king.

- But as they’re eating from this feast that Esther prepared for them, the king finally says to her,

- "Okay, you've been fattening me up here long enough. What's your request? Even to the half of my kingdom."

And so Esther, with utter dependence on God and amazing wisdom begins telling her husband & king that her life will be taken from him…

- That she and her people are about to be destroyed. - Of course, the king has no idea what she’s talking about."What do

you mean? Who’s gonna take your life? What are you talking about? Believe me… no one’s gonna hurt you!"

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Now again, we’ve got to appreciate the boldness of Esther here. She's about to tell Xerxes that his right hand man… the number two guy in the kingdom...

- the one man he trusts more than every other in his kingdom… that He’s the one… that he’s behind all of it… that he’s betrayed the king.

- At this point, it could go either way. He could just have easily have believed Haman. It was an incredible risk.

She looks at him… and the words come out… "This wicked Haman is our adversary and our enemy..."

- “he sent out a decree calling for the death of every last Jew throughout the Persian Empire… and… that’s me. He’s just given me a death sentence!”

- Well… Xerxes is furious… and stormed out of the garden they were eating in.

- Haman then falls down on the couch where Esther was sitting… begging for his life.

But when Xerxes comes back, in 7:8, and sees him holding on to his wife, he starts screaming… "Will he even assault the queen right here in the palace, before my very eyes?"

- We’re then told that “As soon as the king spoke, his attendants covered Haman's face, signaling his doom.”

- VIDEO: “ESTHER-SAVE ME”- (Those attendants also told the king about the 75’ pole that

Haman had built in order to impale Mordecai… so, the king ordered that Haman be immediately impaled on it himself.)

Xerxes then gives to Esther all the wealth and property owned by Haman, a gift she then, in turn, makes sure goes to Mordecai.

- It doesn't stop there. The king now needs a new chief of staff… a job that he ends up giving to Mordecai.

- Just as Joseph becomes Pharaoh’s right hand man while Israel was in captivity in Egypt, now Mordecai takes on the same position while under Persian rule.

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But there was still a big problem. The death sentence due to be carried out against the Jews is still set for March 7th… nothing’s changed.

- You see, once a law is sealed by the king’s signet ring… the law is unalterable.

- The planned genocide of the Jewish people is irrevocable.- On March 7th, anyone who killed a Jew would immediately

inherit their property… everyone would have free reign to destroy the Jewish people.

And so the king turns to Mordecai… asking him to figure out some kind of solution to all of this.

- Knowing he couldn’t call off the attacks against the Jews through the Persian Empire, Mordecai, now armed with the signet ring once held by Haman,

- sends out a decree giving Jews the right to arm and defend themselves on that day.

Imagine the anxiety… March 7th comes along… what would happen? Well… what happened was beyond amazing.

- Not only did God give the Jewish people victory against anyone who would attack them…

- But, because of the respect the people had for Mordecai and Esther, many not only chose to put down their swords, but chose to become Jews themselves.

- As a result, we read in 8:17, that “In every province and city, wherever the king's decree arrived, the Jews rejoiced and had a great celebration and declared a public festival and holiday. And many of the people of the land became Jews themselves, for they feared what the Jews might do to them.”

The great irony of the book of Esther is how the unalterable law of the Persians tends not to be very unalterable at all.

- You see, what the writer of Esther wants us to grasp is that, in spite of all that might be happening in the world and in our lives…

- That in spite of how things might seem on the surface… that God is always working behind the scenes.

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How is it that of all the women in the empire, an orphaned, impoverished Jewish girl named Esther becomes queen?

- That of all the people in the empire, Mordecai should be the one to save the king from an assassination plot?

- How is it that the king should have insomnia on the very night that Haman had built the gallows for Mordecai?

- That of all the stories in the world, the one that is read to him was the story of Mordecai saving his life?

It makes you wonder… How is it that Haman, this scheming murderer, becomes the victim of his own schemes?

- That Mordecai, who is supposed to be the murdered man becomes instead Haman's replacement?

- How does the king's ring, which was given to Haman, end up on Mordecai's finger?

- How does the 75’ sharpened pole, intended to impale Mordecai, become the end of Haman?

- How is it that the ones who marked the Jews for destruction are instead themselves destroyed?

Is this all just chance? Were the lots cast by the priests of Persia guiding these events… or was it the God of Israel?

- The writer wants you and I to know that even in exile… even amidst the most challenging circumstances… that God is present & at work in our lives.

- Though, at times He may go unseen in our lives, God is at work behind the scenes of your everyday life.

- Right now… He’s with you… He’s with me… He’s at work… He’s not caught off guard by what’s going on in your life.

We all know that as we walk out this journey… that once in a while, you just might come face to face with a set of circumstances over which you have no control…

- The kind of storm no human action can get you out… where there’s nothing you can fix to make things better…

- nothing you have control over … where all you can do is wait. - It’s then… when God’s name doesn’t seem to be written

anywhere on the pages of your life…

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- that all you can do is simply trust in God’s promise in Psalm 9:9 to be our “refuge in times of trouble.”

David so often expresses this in the Psalms. "God, I can’t get myself out of this, I will not let go of you. I will find my refuge in you. I will trust you."

- For David, finding ultimate refuge in God has to do with abiding in God’s presence… even when you don’t understand what He’s doing in your life.

- It has to do with holding close to His promises and trusting in His character… His goodness.

- David writes in Psalm 9:9-10, “The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O LORD, have never abandoned anyone who searches for you.

To the degree we’ve come to trust in the Father’s goodness… to trust in His promise never to abandon us …

- to trust that His intentions for us are always good… to trust that His love and mercies never end…

- To that degree can we NOT ONLY experience God as our refuge in those times of need…

- But that we would also experience Him as our Empowering Presence to then go proclaim and demonstrate the power and healing of God to the world around us.

If you remember, the Book of Esther begins with a feast that leads to Queen Vashti’s death.

- There’s another feast given after Esther becomes her replacement. Then Esther calls for two feasts herself.

- And, now… here at the end of the story… in verse 22, Mordecai issued a decree calling Jews everywhere to a final feast…

- to celebrate each year on this day as a way of remembering this moment in history…

- when the Jews were saved from their enemies… when their sorrow had turned to gladness and their mourning into joy.

Not long ago, Esther called all Israel to a three day fast. But the time of fasting was over… now it was time to celebrate.

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- And even today, the Feast of Purim remains the most joyful of all the Jewish holidays... celebrated from that time till today.

- It’s a day of joyful remembrance where they call out, "We've been delivered; we've been redeemed."

It’s what we ought to be celebrating every day of our lives… that God loved us so much that He sent His only Son into the world to be our Redeemer… our Deliverer.

- And, because of Him, the unalterable edict against us was satisfied as Jesus stood in our place… enduring the shame and punishment we deserved.

- Because of him, "We have been redeemed."

We need to remember that, because that's what gives people courage to say with the great underdogs of the faith—

- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, Moses and David and Daniel and Esther, this Barbie doll who transforms from a beauty queen to the most powerful woman in the most powerful empire in the world…

- It’s what gives all of them… and all of us… the courage to echo the words of Esther…

- "I will follow God. I will obey his will. I will rise up for such a time as this, and if I perish, I perish because to me to live is Christ, to die is gain."

Because of what Jesus has done for us, we find ourselves compelled to make Jesus, not only the hero of our lives but the hero of the nations.

- You see… it’s time! It’s time for you who have been inspired… to now go and inspire.

- It’s time for you who have been changed… to go and change.- It’s time for you who have been so richly blessed to go and be a

blessing to all the those you come into contact with from day to day.

It’s time for you whom God has opened His hand to… to now go and open your hands to those who need the love and gifts that God has deposited in you.

- It’s time to go and give away all that’s been given to you.

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- So my encouragement to you… is to say “YES” to whatever God is putting in front of you.

- Make a decision… even this morning… to express this stirring to God.

God… Don’t give us security… give us grace to be unquestionably obedient to Your every last command and desire.

Don’t give us status… give us a place to serve. Don’t give us things for our use… use us. Don’t just give us good jobs… put us to work. Don’t give us comfort… command us. Don’t give us pleasure… give us perspective. Don’t give us satisfaction… teach us sacrifice. Don’t give us entertainment… enable us. Don’t give us good salaries… give us strength to do your will. Don’t give us safety… give us a life of significance.

Ask the Holy Spirit to allow that spark of God… that purpose, desire, dream of God… to so stir you inside that you can’t help but to say Yes to His call on your life.

So, my only question for you… in spite of all the challenges and obstacles that might make you an underdog…

- Will you say “yes” to God. Will you risk obedience and say yes to whatever God puts in front of you to do.

- By doing that, Esther saved Israel. And, by doing just that, I promise that you will make a real difference in this world.

- You were made for such a time as this. I hope you believe that.

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