Queen Esther Sermon Ii: Doing The Right Thing Series

ESTHER: THE RIGHT THING

WHAT GOD’S PEOPLE WITH MORAL CONVICTIONS DO

Once a person with moral convictions determines in his or her heart that a certain course of action is the right thing, such a person will do the right thing no matter the personal consequences.

At what point in her life Rosa Parks became aware of the role that would be hers in the civil rights movement, she could not recall for certain, but one thing she did know was that she felt the serenity, the peace of mind, the strength and courage that only God can give long before she took a stand for right over wrong by sitting down in a seat at the front rather than in the back of a bus.

None of us can say for sure exactly when it was, back yonder in those early days of our pilgrimage, that we experienced that “aha” moment when we realized that God was at work in our lives to bring about that which would be good for all of God’s children.

Even at our current age and stage in life, it is not too late for you and me to ask God to give us courage to do the right thing - to take a stand, or if the situation calls for it, to take a seat - for a worthy cause.

With all my might, Lord, as tiny as it may seem to me, if I find myself in the right place at the right time, give me courage to do the right thing, notwithstanding the personal consequences of my moral choices.

Folks: God has a plan for your life. Satan has a plan for your life. The choice of whose plan to follow is yours. Satan uses evildoers to devise schemes that will lead to the demise of good and the rise of evil. God uses doers of good to design strategies that will lead to the rise of good and the demise of evil.

Esther was a Jewish woman of strength and courage who found herself in the right place at the right time after being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

To give context to her story, please recall that God’s plan for His people had been sidetracked by His people’s rebellion against God, serving other gods, which left the Lord their God no choice but to punish them by allowing their enemies to take them into captivity.

The flip side of their dilemma is that God had a plan of salvation for them; therefore, He would bring them back home from captivity.

In fact, a much larger plan was in the making in that a Savior would be born to a Jewish family in due time – in Bethlehem - and this Messiah would be named Jesus because He would save His people from their sins.

Before any of that could occur, however, God would of necessity work it out for His people to be released from captivity and to return to their homeland.

However, 37 years before Nehemiah would lead the return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls, thereby setting in motion the “rest of the story” that would set the stage for the coming of the Messiah, a fascinating series of events occurred, and was written down on a scroll known to us as the Book of Esther – the totality of these events giving us a glimpse of how God works in and through individuals and their situations to bring about His intended purpose for all people.

The writer of Esther’s story began by telling about a party that King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) threw for elitists from 127 provinces ruled by him. Toward the end of their binge drinking the king ordered Queen Vashti to appear before all the men to show off her beauty. The queen refused, so the king dethroned her and ordered her out of his sight forever.

Xerxes regretted his revengeful act but, due to pride would not take her back; to pander to the king, his aides suggested a beauty contest to find a replacement. It was so ordered.

The winner turned out to be a Jewish maiden named Hadassah (“Myrtle”) whose cousin Mordecai had raised her in the Jewish tradition of virtuosity and family values. Humbly she accepted her new role as Queen.

Truth be told, King Xerxes probably did not care where she was from, but anyhow she kept her promise to Uncle Mordecai to conceal her ethnicity – and, to further hide her nationality, Mordecai had given her a Persian name - Esther.

Queen Esther apparently helped Mordecai get a job at the palace because we are told that, while on duty at the palace gate, he uncovered a plot by two of the king’s servants to assassinate King Xerxes.