Latest / Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive / September 1, 2021 | Chronological Bible Study with Patty Diliberto - Session 22: Esther

Transcript

September 1, 2021 | Chronological Bible Study with Patty Diliberto - Session 22: Esther · Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive

0:00
SPEAKER_00: In the movie Princess Bride, there's a line in that movie that I love, and the quirky bad guy, Vizzini, says, Aha, you fool.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is Never Get Involved in a Landborn Asia.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: But only slightly less well known is this never go against a Sicilian with death on the line.
0:27
SPEAKER_00: If you're not a fan of that movie, it won't mean anything to you.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: But if it is, if you are, it will make sense.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: I love that movie.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: But I'm sure that Mordecai and Esther would also add to that.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: And never go against the God of Israel and Israel with death on the line.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: It's inconceivable that going against the good guys or God is ever going to turn out well.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: And that is one of the things that we see clearly in the story of Esther.
1:01
SPEAKER_00: And it's just, it is so cool.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: I love this story.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: And I love that God included it in his word.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: So let's pray.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, God, so much for putting this story in this the narrative of the Bible.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: It encourages us and builds our faith up.
1:20
SPEAKER_00: And we're grateful for that.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Lord.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: I just ask that you would bless us today with this information.
1:27
SPEAKER_00: We pray these things in Jesus' name.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
1:31
SPEAKER_00: So the book of Esther takes place in Persia between 539 and 331 BC.
1:40
SPEAKER_00: Now remember, Assyria comes in, they take the northern kingdom of Israel captive.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: Then Assyria takes over, and they take, and then after Assyria is Babylon, and they come in and they take the southern kingdom of Judah, and then Persia attacks Babylon and takes over to rule the land.
2:01
SPEAKER_00: Right after Cyrus, Cyrus the Great of Persia takes control, the exiles start returning back to rebuild the temple and set up the sacrificial system.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: That's what has taken place.
2:15
SPEAKER_00: Between the sixth and seventh chapters of Ezra, there's a 57-year gap of time extending from the sixth year of Darius to the seventh year of Arta Xerxes.
2:28
SPEAKER_00: In this interval, Xerxes, or as he's sometimes called Ahazirus, reigned.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: And this is the time of the events that the book of Esther took place.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: So the events of Esther take place between the first and the second return.
2:45
SPEAKER_00: Most of the exiled Jews, as we've already seen, do not return to their homeland to Jerusalem.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: They stay where they have been exiled, and Mordecai and Esther, Mordecai's cousin, are among those who do not return to Jerusalem.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: They stay where they are exiled.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: There are many differences between the exiled Jews who were back in the land and those who stay in the countries where they were carried off to.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: One of the biggest differences was between the religion of the dispersed Jews and those who are living back in Israel.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: And that difference was intermarriage.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: Intermarriage was not tolerated in Jerusalem, and we will see Ezra in just a few weeks, we will see Ezra coming out really strongly against the people in Jerusalem for their intermarriage.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: But we see in the book of Esther that intermarriage is really no big deal for the people who are exiled.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure it was, but not to the same degree.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: Another difference that we see is that the Jews who returned to Jerusalem were very vocal and demonstrative about their faith.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: But the Jews who have been dispersed and remain learn to be prudent with their faith.
4:12
SPEAKER_00: They're not nearly as demonstrative as those who are in Jerusalem.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: And we will see this difference demonstrated in Mordecai as we go through this study.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: Another difference that we will see in the book of Esther specifically is that there's no reference to God in or mention of God in the book of Esther, unlike the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: Chuck Swindal says, although we never actually hear or see God in the story, we have an overwhelming sense of confidence that he is just offstage cueing the characters and orchestrating the drama in order to preserve his people from a tragic ending.
4:55
SPEAKER_00: It's easy to see God in the miraculous.
4:57
SPEAKER_00: It's not so easy to see him in the mundane.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: We live with God, not center stage, but directing unobtrusively from the wings.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: That is so true for us still today.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: That is all the more reason that we have to be attentive to God and to his voice so that we can be aware of the subtle ways in which he works.
5:20
SPEAKER_00: Though God is invisible, he is invincible.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: That is the message of the book of Esther.
5:27
SPEAKER_00: The invisible God who may not, who may appear to be absent, is the invincible God who is working out his wise plan.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: The same is true for us today.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: God is still working out his plans.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: He's still on the throne.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: The book of Esther starts with Queen Vashti in her story.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: In the third year of King Xerxes' reign, he holds an elaborate three-month-long festival where the wealth of the kingdom is on display.
6:01
SPEAKER_00: Queen Vashti also holds a banquet for the women at during the same time.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: But on the seventh day, the party gets a little out of hand, and King Xerxes, in high spirits from his wine, commands his eunuchs to bring Queen Vashti before him, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and the nobles.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: When the attendants delivered the king's command, Queen Vashti refuses to come, and the king becomes furious.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: It's interesting to think about this command.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: What is he actually asking her to do?
6:41
SPEAKER_00: Alexander Wyth says, whatever the royal decree was, an order that came to her out of the banqueting hall exactly was, the brave queen refused to obey.
6:55
SPEAKER_00: Her beauty was her own and her husband's.
6:58
SPEAKER_00: It was not for open show among hundreds of half-drunk men.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: Now, I want you to think about this and what we're going to look at here with Queen Vashti with our current COVID mindset in mind.
7:16
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
7:17
SPEAKER_00: The Queen is commanded to do something that, number one, either jeopardized her well-being, or two, objectified her as a woman.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: We don't know what exactly she was asked to do with this, but her refusal brought consequences that impacted the other leaders.
7:40
SPEAKER_00: We know about that from Esther chapter 1, verse 16.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: It says, when uh Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king, but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: The conclusion is that Vashti was in the wrong, not the command that was in the wrong.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: It's all about perspective here.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: Why did they see it as wrong?
8:14
SPEAKER_00: Because they feared, they feared that it would lead to other women who would stand up to their husbands, other women who would find their voice and do as Vashti had done.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: In chapter 1, verse 18, it says, the men say, There will be no end of disrespect and discord.
8:39
SPEAKER_00: Vashti was the problem because she refused.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: The command or the actions and the attitude of the ruler and his subordinates, those who ruled with him, were not in the wrong.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: Their conclusion, the problem has to go away because our influence as leaders is going to be jeopardized.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: Vashti shows us that some things are worth standing up for.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: That's what she's showing us here.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps Vashti knew that the other women were not being treated well and that motivated her to take action.
9:19
SPEAKER_00: We don't know what motivated her, we just know that she took a stand in a really um public way.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: When people don't have a voice, think totalitarian countries, they know that defiance will be met with strict, if not fatal, consequences.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: Do you think that Vashti had any idea of the firestorm that she would unleash by by disobeying and what this would start?
10:00
SPEAKER_00: Whatever else can be said about Vashti, she was a woman of conviction.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: She stood up to the most powerful man in the land at the expense of her marriage and her throne.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: That's some chutzpah on her part.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: Maybe Xerxes had done something similar to her before, that that made her make up her mind that she was not going to submit herself to that and subject herself to that again.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: We don't know what drove her to take this action, but we do know what was driving the men who were under King Xerxes.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: Their fear drove them to take severe action.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: They were afraid of the disrespect and the discord that would come from their own wives as a result of Vashti's actions.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: Taking a stand, taking a stand can sometimes make others fearful that they might lose control.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: Esther chapter 1, verses 19 through 22.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: Vashti is never again to enter into the presence.
11:18
SPEAKER_00: Oh, let me go back.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: Because that's the wrong thing.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: Go back.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes.
11:30
SPEAKER_00: Also, let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: Then when the king's edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.
11:47
SPEAKER_00: Vashis being used as an example to all the other women.
11:52
SPEAKER_00: The message they wanted heard loud and clear was don't cross your husbands.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: Don't mess with the authority.
12:02
SPEAKER_00: Don't make waves.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: Leaders who have to use force out of fear of losing control make very lousy leaders.
12:14
SPEAKER_00: But as usual, God is orchestrating the events and the circumstances in this entire narrative to put someone else in place to bring about change, and thus enters Esther.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: Esther chapter 2 opens with King Ahazierus, King Xerxes, contemplating what he had done with Vashti.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: Nearly four years have gone by since Vashti was disposed.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: And during that time, Ahaziaerus led a military campaign to Greece, which did not go well for him.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: He came home in humiliation instead of honor.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: And then a plan is hatched to have a beauty pageant, to search for all the most beautiful virgins in the land, to give and give them beauty treatments, and then parade them before the king and let him have his choice of who will be the next queen.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: Sonic Light says, the fact that God placed Esther in a position so she could deliver her people even before they were in danger shows his far-reaching providence at work for his chosen people.
13:29
SPEAKER_00: This revelation would have been a great encouragement to the Jews of the post-exilic period, as it has been to all believers since then.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: I love that insight.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: That tells you that he's in the southern kingdom, in the southern kingdom of Judah.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: He was named Mordecai, son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, along with those taken captive with Jehaiakim, king of Judah.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely, lovely figure and was beautiful.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
14:25
SPEAKER_00: So Kish, Mordef, Mordecai's great-grandfather, had been carried away into captivity.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: Mordecai and Esther were probably descendants of some of the most leading citizens of Jerusalem, the most prominent people.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: We don't know if Esther is forced to participate in this beauty pageant, or if she did so willingly.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: But in view of Xerxes' great power, she was probably forced to do this.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: Esther is rounded up with all the other beautiful young women and taken to the palace, and she's put under the care of Haggai, who is in charge of the whole harem.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: Esther 2, verse 9 says, She pleased Hagi and won his favor.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: Immediately he provided her with beauty treatments and special food.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: He assigned her, assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king's palace, and moved her and her attendants to the best place in the harem.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.
15:46
SPEAKER_00: So these women had to complete 12 months of beauty treatment, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and cosmetics.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: What an intense, self-absorbed place and treatments these would have been.
16:05
SPEAKER_00: This would have been crazy.
16:08
SPEAKER_00: And then after that, she would be presented to the king.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: Anything she wanted was was given to her to take with her from the harem to the king's palace.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shashagaz, whatever that is, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the concubines.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: Those who were not chosen to be the queen were automatically put in the king's harem where they would live out the rest of their lives in his harem.
16:49
SPEAKER_00: It was the king's prerogative to have sexual relations with any of them in the harem.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: The women in the harem used their huge amount of time to just try to make themselves look beautiful and more appealing.
17:04
SPEAKER_00: It's a wonder, it's really a wonder that Esther didn't succumb to all of that pressure and all of that that that um fawning and and treatments and and the fact that she doesn't become self-absorbed and all that is proof of her character.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: Because that would have been a very difficult, um, a difficult place to live.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: Esther 215.
17:33
SPEAKER_00: When the turn came for Esther, she asked for nothing other than what Hagi, the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the harem, suggested.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her.
17:45
SPEAKER_00: Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
18:02
SPEAKER_00: Esther had such a natural beauty and charm that she really didn't need other adornment to make herself really appealing and attractive.
18:13
SPEAKER_00: But verse 20 tells us, but Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality because um nationality, just as Mordecai had told her to do.
18:37
SPEAKER_00: She's safe and secure there, but now the story shifts to a seemingly insignificant side story in the greater story, but we'll see later how God uses something seemingly insignificant because nothing is insignificant with God, especially when he's moving all the pieces around.
18:58
SPEAKER_00: In essence, Mordecai is in the right place at the right time.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: And who put him there?
19:04
SPEAKER_00: God.
19:05
SPEAKER_00: During the time Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate, Big Thana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai.
19:25
SPEAKER_00: And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impalled on polls.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: All this was recorded in the Book of the Annals of the presence of the king.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: Instead of Mordecai getting promoted because of his courage to tell about the assassination attempt, he's passed over.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: And another person is promoted to power.
19:49
SPEAKER_00: And that's when Haman enters the story.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: Esther chapter 3, verse 1.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman, the son of Hamadatha, the Aggeite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles.
20:09
SPEAKER_00: All the royal officials in the king's gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: For the king had commanded this concerning him.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: But Mordecai would not kneel or pay him honor.
20:21
SPEAKER_00: Then the royal officials and the king asked Mordecai, at the king's, I'm sorry, at the king's gate, asked Mordecai, Why do you disobey the king's command?
20:33
SPEAKER_00: Day after day they spoke to him, but he refused to comply.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai's behavior would be tolerated.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: For he had told them he was a Jew.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: Dun dun dun dun.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: He he reveals that he's a Jew.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.
20:56
SPEAKER_00: Yet having learned who Mordecai's people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: Instead, Haman looked for a way to destroy all of Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: So the root of Haman's bitterness can be traced back in his family line.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: These verses before told us that he was an Agite.
21:27
SPEAKER_00: And that was Agag was the Amalekite king whom God commanded Saul to kill.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: Saul was to kill all the Amalekites, including the king Agag, but he didn't do that.
21:42
SPEAKER_00: Remember, that was one of the strikes against him, is he didn't obey the Lord's command.
21:47
SPEAKER_00: So Samuel is the one who has to kill Agag.
21:51
SPEAKER_00: Well, the the um survivors of that, the Amalekites, um, this is who Haman.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Lineage is.
22:01
SPEAKER_00: He comes from Agag himself.
22:05
SPEAKER_00: And so he has taken up this anti-Semitic hatred for the Jews because of what they had done.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: Mordecai's defiance to bow down to him fueled Haman's anger, which prompted him to hatch this plan to destroy all of the Jews and not just Mordecai.
22:24
SPEAKER_00: Then Haman said to King Xerxes, There is a certain people dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: This is a problem.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: They keep themselves separate.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king's laws.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them.
22:46
SPEAKER_00: If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king's administrators for the royal treasury.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman, son of Hamadatha the Aggeite, the enemy of the Jews.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: Keep the money, he said to Haman, and do with the people as you please.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: You may remember that the two preceding kings, Cyrus and Darius, both had issued proclamations allowing the Jews to go back and rebuild the city and rebuild the rebuild everything.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: But did you notice that Haman doesn't give specific, say specifically who this people group is?
23:35
SPEAKER_00: He leaves it very nebulous.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: He didn't want to chance jeopardizing this plan against the Jews.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: So he uses bribery to get what he wants.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: And the bribe, the 10,000 talents of silver, equaled a hundred, I mean, I'm sorry, 750,000 pounds of silver.
23:58
SPEAKER_00: This huge amount of silver.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: In today's value, if it was$8 an ounce, it would be worth$96 million.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: So how badly did Haman want this to succeed?
24:12
SPEAKER_00: Xerxes was clearly not a good king.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: He gives him a thumbs up and says, oh, by the way, keep the money.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: So on the 13th day of the first month, Haman orders the governors of all the various provinces and the nobles and the various people to give the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews?
24:37
SPEAKER_00: Young and old, women and children, on a single day, the 13th day of the 12th month.
24:46
SPEAKER_00: Now, who is ultimately always at the bottom of this attack against the Jews?
24:56
SPEAKER_00: Satan.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: Satan hates them.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: He always has.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: Whose plan is it to wipe out Jews and Christians?
25:04
SPEAKER_00: Satans.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: We, the Jewish people and believers in Christ, are a huge threat to Satan's agenda.
25:15
SPEAKER_00: We always have been and we always will be.
25:18
SPEAKER_00: It will always be his agenda to wipe us out, partially because we have the truth of Scripture, partially because we are God's chosen people.
25:33
SPEAKER_00: Mordecai and Esther couldn't turn to the final chapter of their story and find out what happened.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: How everything turns out.
25:46
SPEAKER_00: If they could have, they would know that God was going to work it all out perfectly, according to his will.
25:56
SPEAKER_00: You and I, we can't know how things will turn out in our near or future or really far future.
26:10
SPEAKER_00: We don't know what's gonna happen, except that we do have the end of the book.
26:15
SPEAKER_00: We do have the end of the story, and we do know that God wins.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: We do know that God works out everything in conformance to his will.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: That's what we know.
26:29
SPEAKER_00: We know all how all of this does ultimately end.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: We don't know all the details along the way, but we win because God wins.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: So let's see how Mordecai handles this 11 months of uncertainty and certain death that's coming up.
26:51
SPEAKER_00: When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: But he went only as far as the king's gate because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
27:23
SPEAKER_00: When Esther's eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress.
27:29
SPEAKER_00: She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
27:35
SPEAKER_00: Then Esther summoned Hatchet, one of the king's eunuchs, assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.
27:45
SPEAKER_00: Mordecai tells Hatchet all that had happened.
27:47
SPEAKER_00: He told him exactly how much Haman was willing to pay into the treasury, and he sent a copy of the order to annihilate the Jews.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: Mordecai was very, very careful to pass on all of the information that he could to Esther because he was about to ask her to get involved and to take a huge risk and to take a stand.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: What does Esther do with this information?
28:17
SPEAKER_00: She weighs her options and they're very limited, very limited options.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: If she approaches the king in the court without being asked to come in and being summoned by the king, there's only one law that she be put to death, unless the king extends his scepter and she touches it and her life is spared.
28:40
SPEAKER_00: Esther chapter 4.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer Do not think that because you are in the king's house, you alone of all the Jews will escape.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your fam father's family will perish.
29:02
SPEAKER_00: And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?
29:08
SPEAKER_00: It's been thirty days since Esther has slept with the king and even been in his presence.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: And who knows how much longer it would be.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: So she knows instantly what is at stake here.
29:22
SPEAKER_00: Chuck Swindal says, Follow the lines of Mordecai's reasoning.
29:26
SPEAKER_00: First, if you do nothing sooner or later, they will find out that you are a Jew and you too will die.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: Second, the Jewish race will survive, for God's promises to his people is greater than your willingness to be involved.
29:39
SPEAKER_00: If God has to, God will simply use someone else.
29:43
SPEAKER_00: And third, this threat to God's people could explain why you were elevated to such a high position.
29:49
SPEAKER_00: So cool.
29:50
SPEAKER_00: The Book of Esther shows us that when that even when God's people are far from him and are disobedient, like they were because of the exile, they are still the object of his concern and his care, always, even up to today.
30:11
SPEAKER_00: And that he's always working out his purposes for them, through them.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: You know what that's called?
30:18
SPEAKER_00: It's called divine providence.
30:21
SPEAKER_00: Providence.
30:23
SPEAKER_00: Providence is one of the main themes in the book of Esther.
30:27
SPEAKER_00: Our sovereign God is going to accomplish his objectives with or without us.
30:33
SPEAKER_00: That's what we see here.
30:34
SPEAKER_00: He calls us not calls us not out of his need for us, but for our need to fulfill, be fulfilled and find fulfillment in serving him.
30:48
SPEAKER_00: His redemptive promises will be carried out through all of time.
30:53
SPEAKER_00: If we're going to be part of it, it's because we choose to be part of it.
30:59
SPEAKER_00: We see how Esther handles this in Esther chapter 4.
31:03
SPEAKER_00: Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai, Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me.
31:10
SPEAKER_00: Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my attendants will fast as you do.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions.
31:27
SPEAKER_00: We see some really cool things here with Esther.
31:30
SPEAKER_00: Esther is really coming in to her own.
31:34
SPEAKER_00: Notice how her outlook changes in this chapter.
31:37
SPEAKER_00: She goes from fear to faith.
31:40
SPEAKER_00: She goes from reluctance to resolution.
31:45
SPEAKER_00: She goes from concern for only herself to concern about her people.
31:51
SPEAKER_00: And she goes from following Mordecai's orders to giving orders.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: Esther is definitely coming into her own.
32:01
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure you've noticed in your life how trying circumstances can be that fertile soil that God uses to develop character.
32:14
SPEAKER_00: Character is born out of adversity.
32:17
SPEAKER_00: And this is what we see.
32:19
SPEAKER_00: And especially if we let it, if that's the choice that we make.
32:24
SPEAKER_00: Notice one more thing.
32:26
SPEAKER_00: Esther waited.
32:28
SPEAKER_00: She waited.
32:29
SPEAKER_00: She gave God time to work, but it was a waiting that was filled with activity.
32:35
SPEAKER_00: She fasted and she had all of the people fast and all of her servants fast.
32:40
SPEAKER_00: Notice it didn't say fast and pray.
32:43
SPEAKER_00: Usually those two words go together: fast and pray.
32:46
SPEAKER_00: Fasting and prayer.
32:48
SPEAKER_00: But even though it's not there written that they prayed, we have to know that they cried out to Yahweh God in prayer.
32:57
SPEAKER_00: Esther's waiting was active.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: Timing is everything, and by not rushing into Xerxes in tears, but rushing to God instead, she gave God the opportunity to work out his plan.
33:12
SPEAKER_00: If we don't wait on the Lord's timing, but we rush ahead of him with our own plan, then we can't have the confidence that we would have if we waited for him to open the door and then walk through the door that he opens.
33:29
SPEAKER_00: There's great confidence in that.
33:32
SPEAKER_00: That God has heard, that God has moved, that he's worked, and that we can have confidence in him.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: That's also what we see here with Esther.
33:42
SPEAKER_00: Great courage.
33:43
SPEAKER_00: Chapters five through seven carries us to the climax of this story, and it shows us how God providentially preserves his people.
33:53
SPEAKER_00: Esther chapter five.
33:55
SPEAKER_00: On the third day, Esther put on her royal panties and robes, I mean royal robes, and stood in the inner court of the palace in front of the king's hall.
34:06
SPEAKER_00: The king was sitting in his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance.
34:10
SPEAKER_00: When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand.
34:18
SPEAKER_00: So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
34:21
SPEAKER_00: Then the king asked her, What is it, Queen Esther?
34:24
SPEAKER_00: What is your request?
34:25
SPEAKER_00: Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you.
34:28
SPEAKER_00: Now this is hyperboil and from the king, but really what it means is I will grant even a very large request.
34:36
SPEAKER_00: That's basically what he's saying to her, because he repeats that like three times.
34:39
SPEAKER_00: As a result of fasting and prayer, God had prepared the king's heart.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: And when he saw her, he he moved.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: In these coming verses, we're gonna see how how Esther shows great wisdom in disarming Haman by making him think that he is the center of attention.
34:59
SPEAKER_00: I love this.
35:01
SPEAKER_00: She says, My petition and my request is this.
35:10
SPEAKER_00: What poise?
35:11
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
35:12
SPEAKER_00: By putting off the answer or even her request until the next day, she actually builds the king's and Haman's anticipation.
35:23
SPEAKER_00: Haman leaves the palace happy and in high spirits, but then he sees Mordecai at the king's gate, and he notices that he doesn't bow down in fear to him in his presence, and he's filled with rage against Mordecai.
35:39
SPEAKER_00: In his pride and in his arrogance, he brings his friends and his family all together, and he boasts about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways that the king has honored him, and how he's going to be elevated tomorrow at Esther's banquet.
36:01
SPEAKER_00: Sonic Light says, Haman boasted of four things that proud men usually boast about his wealth, his children, his position, and his greatness with the ladies.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: Then he adds, but that's not all.
36:15
SPEAKER_00: Wait, I have more.
36:17
SPEAKER_00: I'm the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave.
36:23
SPEAKER_00: And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow.
36:27
SPEAKER_00: But all of this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew, Mordecai, sitting at the king's gate.
36:36
SPEAKER_00: Seeing how much this affects Haman, his wife and his friends come up with a brilliant solution.
36:42
SPEAKER_00: They say, Have a gallows built 75 feet high and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it.
36:50
SPEAKER_00: Then go to the king, go with the king to dinner and be happy.
36:55
SPEAKER_00: This suggestion delights Haman, and so he has the gallows built.
37:02
SPEAKER_00: It's amazing.
37:03
SPEAKER_00: God tells the best stories, doesn't he?
37:06
SPEAKER_00: Chuck Swindell says, woven through the fabric of this story are four threads of truth.
37:13
SPEAKER_00: When faced with an unprecedented event, take time to wait on the Lord with prayer and with fasting if necessary.
37:25
SPEAKER_00: When you are dealing with an unpredictable person like Haman, depend on God to give you direction.
37:33
SPEAKER_00: There's a dynamic confidence that you can have when we know that the Lord is directing all of our steps or that he's giving us the words to say.
37:44
SPEAKER_00: And we see that confidence with Esther.
37:47
SPEAKER_00: When working through an unpleasant situation, trust in the Lord to give you perspective and patience.
37:54
SPEAKER_00: When standing against an unprincipled enemy, ask the Lord for invincible courage.
38:01
SPEAKER_00: Pretty great advice, right?
38:04
SPEAKER_00: Haman doesn't know this, but his plans are about to run headfirst into the providence of God.
38:14
SPEAKER_00: And that collision is going to take a toll on him.
38:20
SPEAKER_00: Next we see Mordecai.
38:21
SPEAKER_00: That night the king could not sleep.
38:25
SPEAKER_00: So he ordered the book of the Chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.
38:32
SPEAKER_00: It was found, recorded there, that Mordecai had exposed Big Thana and Teresh, the two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway and who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?
38:47
SPEAKER_00: The king asked.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: Nothing has been done for him, his attendants answered.
38:51
SPEAKER_00: The king said, Who is in the court?
38:54
SPEAKER_00: Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impalling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him.
39:04
SPEAKER_00: His attendants answered, Haman is standing in the court.
39:07
SPEAKER_00: Bring him in, the king ordered.
39:10
SPEAKER_00: There are five indications that God is totally at work behind the scenes.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: What are those indications?
39:18
SPEAKER_00: The first one is the king's insomnia.
39:20
SPEAKER_00: He wakes up, he can't sleep.
39:22
SPEAKER_00: The second one is his choice of entertainment.
39:24
SPEAKER_00: Bring the books that tell me about how great I am and let me read about it.
39:29
SPEAKER_00: Third, the servant's choice of books, the exact one that tells about what Mordecai has done.
39:35
SPEAKER_00: And the king's, fourth, the king's delay in rewarding Mordecai.
39:40
SPEAKER_00: And fifth, the timely arrival of Haman.
39:44
SPEAKER_00: Coincidence?
39:46
SPEAKER_00: I think not.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: What or who could have been done this but the hand of God?
39:53
SPEAKER_00: We've seen over and over that God is not distant and disinterested.
39:59
SPEAKER_00: He sees, he cares, he takes action.
40:03
SPEAKER_00: His care and concern about us moves him to take action and intervene on behalf of his children.
40:10
SPEAKER_00: He always has.
40:13
SPEAKER_00: And he always will.
40:15
SPEAKER_00: He always will.
40:17
SPEAKER_00: As soon as the king hears that nothing has been done to reward Mordecai, he immediately works to right that wrong.
40:25
SPEAKER_00: And that is when Haman is in the wrong place at the right time.
40:29
SPEAKER_00: When Haman entered, the king asked him, What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?
40:35
SPEAKER_00: Now Haman thought to himself, Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?
40:39
SPEAKER_00: So he answered the king, For the man the king delights to honor, have him bring a royal robe the king has worn, and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on his head.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: Then let the robe and the horse be entrusted to one of the king's most noble princes.
40:57
SPEAKER_00: Let them robe the man the king delights to honor and lead him on the horse through the city gates, proclaiming before him, this is what is done for the man the king delights to honor.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: Great! Go at what he didn't say great.
41:12
SPEAKER_00: Go at once, the king commanded Haman.
41:15
SPEAKER_00: Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew who sets at the king's gate.
41:21
SPEAKER_00: Do not neglect anything you have recommended.
41:25
SPEAKER_00: And that is when Haman picks his jaw up off the floor where it has landed with a resounding whack, and he goes out to put into place this marvelous plan against his mortal enemy.
41:40
SPEAKER_00: This is God's providence at its finest.
41:46
SPEAKER_00: Esther chapter six.
41:47
SPEAKER_00: So Haman got the robe and the horse.
41:49
SPEAKER_00: He robed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, This is what the kids is done for the man the king delights to honor, with such enthusiasm, I'm sure.
42:02
SPEAKER_00: Afterward, Mordecai returned to the king's gate, but Haman rushed home with his head covered in grief and told Zarish his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him.
42:12
SPEAKER_00: His advisors and his wife Zara said to him, Since Mordecai, from before whom your downfall has started is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him.
42:24
SPEAKER_00: You will surely come to ruin.
42:25
SPEAKER_00: While they were still talking with him and saying those wonderful, encouraging things, the king's eunuch arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared.
42:35
SPEAKER_00: The blessings that follow the Jewish people was evident to Haman's wife and his friends.
42:42
SPEAKER_00: They knew you're doomed.
42:44
SPEAKER_00: You've come against the wrong people at the wrong time.
42:48
SPEAKER_00: They saw his humiliation before Mordecai as a warning of things to come.
42:54
SPEAKER_00: And the tide had turned, and Haman is going to get caught up in that swift moving current, and he does.
43:02
SPEAKER_00: Haman goes to Queen Esther's banquet, and the king asks her for the third time what she wanted.
43:08
SPEAKER_00: The first time he asked her was in the court, the second time was at the banquet the day before, and now this third time.
43:14
SPEAKER_00: And what has happened in between those times?
43:18
SPEAKER_00: The insomnia of the king, the revelation of Mordecai's actions in saving his life, and the exaltation of Mordecai at Haman's expense.
43:29
SPEAKER_00: The delay between the first and the second banquet was deliberate, both on Esther's part, but more importantly, on God's part.
43:38
SPEAKER_00: When Queen Esther answered, If I have found favor with you, your majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life, this is my petition.
43:48
SPEAKER_00: And spare my people, this is my request.
43:51
SPEAKER_00: For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated.
43:56
SPEAKER_00: If we had merely been sold as male and Female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.
44:06
SPEAKER_00: King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, Who is he?
44:10
SPEAKER_00: Where is he?
44:11
SPEAKER_00: The man who has dared to do such a thing.
44:14
SPEAKER_00: Esther said, An adversary, an enemy, this vile Haman.
44:20
SPEAKER_00: Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
44:23
SPEAKER_00: Can't you just picture this scene?
44:25
SPEAKER_00: I mean, as soon as Esther starts talking, the color drains from Haman's face and turns him white as a sheet as he realizes where this is all heading.
44:37
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps his wine goblet crashes to the floor as the king's incredulous gaze slips from her and what she's saying to the stricken face of Haman, her enemy.
44:50
SPEAKER_00: So keep picturing that scene as we read this next section.
44:54
SPEAKER_00: The king got up in rage and left his wine and went out into the palace garden.
44:59
SPEAKER_00: But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.
45:06
SPEAKER_00: Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.
45:13
SPEAKER_00: The king exclaimed, Will he even molest the queen while she is here with me in the house?
45:17
SPEAKER_00: As soon as the words left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.
45:22
SPEAKER_00: Then Harbonna, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, Um, a pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman's house.
45:32
SPEAKER_00: He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke to help the king.
45:36
SPEAKER_00: The king said, Impel him on it.
45:39
SPEAKER_00: So they impelled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai.
45:43
SPEAKER_00: Then the king's fury subsided.
45:46
SPEAKER_00: And thus ends one of the most hostile anti-Semitic Jew haters to ever walk the face of the earth.
45:53
SPEAKER_00: And there have been many.
45:56
SPEAKER_00: Previously Haman had occupied that seat of honor and and Mordecai had been bound for the gallows, but in just 24 hours, all of that changed.
46:07
SPEAKER_00: And Haman's lifeless body is hanging there, and Mordecai is destined for honor.
46:13
SPEAKER_00: The providence of God.
46:15
SPEAKER_00: Even though Haman is now dead, the threat is not over because the edict still stands.
46:23
SPEAKER_00: So Esther asked the king to write the dispatch overruling the decree to destroy the Jews.
46:30
SPEAKER_00: So Xerxes tells Esther and Mordecai to write another decree in his name and seal it with his signet ring, because no document written in the king's name and sealed with his ring could be revoked.
46:45
SPEAKER_00: These kinds of edicts were irrevocable, and this new order gave the Jews the legal right to utterly destroy their enemies, anybody who was going to come against them, even down to the women and the children.
47:00
SPEAKER_00: And they were also given the right in that edict to pillage and plunder the enemy's material possessions.
47:08
SPEAKER_00: But the Jews show great restraint, and nowhere in Esther chapter 9 do we see women and children being affected.
47:16
SPEAKER_00: Only men were part of the retaliation.
47:19
SPEAKER_00: And also three times it tells us that they did not lay hands on the plunder.
47:25
SPEAKER_00: Modern Jews still celebrate Purim.
47:28
SPEAKER_00: That's what this story is called.
47:30
SPEAKER_00: Children come dressed as the characters in this story, and they have noise-making things, and they boo when Haman's on the scene, and they cheer when Mordecai and Esther are being talked about.
47:45
SPEAKER_00: It's a very celebratory time for them.
47:48
SPEAKER_00: This dark time for the Jews is at a point in their history during the exile.
47:55
SPEAKER_00: This is during the exile.
47:57
SPEAKER_00: And though the book of Esther never declares God's name, we know that he is working systematically throughout it behind the scenes to bring about what he has designed to do.
48:13
SPEAKER_00: And he comes to the rescue of his people.
48:16
SPEAKER_00: He sees, he knows, he cares about those who are his, no matter where they are, no matter who they are.
48:33
SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you, but I need to anchor my soul to that during this difficult time.
48:41
SPEAKER_00: Pray with me.
48:42
SPEAKER_00: Father God, thank you.
48:44
SPEAKER_00: We thank you so much for all of the things that we see in the story.
48:48
SPEAKER_00: How you work behind the scenes to bring about your desired outcomes.
48:53
SPEAKER_00: Because you have an agenda for the world, you have an agenda for us.
48:58
SPEAKER_00: Everything will end the way you say it will, because you will win and Satan will be defeated.
49:05
SPEAKER_00: And we give you praise today, God, that we see this clearly in your word.
49:11
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
49:12
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the book of Esther being placed in the canon of Scripture, and thank you for what you have encouraged us with this story today.
49:20
SPEAKER_00: It's in Jesus' name we pray.
49:22
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
49:23
SPEAKER_00: I will see you next time.