Esther Spills The Beans Series

For Such a Time as This: Esther Spills the Beans

Esther 7-8

Jefferson M. Williams

Chenoa Baptist Church

9-06-2020

Radar Trap

In the 1930s, Scottish physicist Robert Alexander Watson-Watt was looking for ways to help airman detect and avoid thunderstorms.

His system Radio Detection and Ranging, or “radar” for short, was approved by the RAF in 1939 and turned the tide in the Battle of Britain.

Watts was knighted and awarded $140,000 dollars, the largest sum ever awarded for a war time invention.

Years later, he was pulled over for speeding in a radar trap!

Pastor Alistair Begg shares a verse that Watt wrote about this event:

Pity Sir. Watson-Watt

Strange target of his radar plot

And thus with others I could mention

A victim of his own invention.

This morning we are going to watch things go from bad to worst for Haman as he becomes a “victim of his own invention” and we will see the truth of Proverbs 26:27 play out in real life:

“Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.” (Prov 27:26)

Review

Let me give you a short review of what we have learned so far.

Xerxes has a series of banquets to prepare for war with Greece. At the end of a drunken seven day party, he summons queen Vashti to come to the hall dressed in her royal crown, and only her royal crown. She refused and Xerxes advisors recommend that she be disposed as Queen.

Xerxes goes off to war against the Greeks and returns four years later, beaten and humiliated. In order to cheer the king up, his attendants suggest holding a contest to find him a new queen.

Remember this wasn’t a “Miss Persia contest.” 400 girls were kidnapped and taken to the king’s harem were they were systematically raped night after night.

Esther finds favor with not only the eunuch in charge of the harem but she wins the king’s heart and becomes the new king.

Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, learns of a plot to assassinate the king, and tells Esther who warns Xerxes. The plot is averted, the conspirators executed, but nothing is done to reward Mordecai.

Haman is elevated to second in command in the empire and is absolutely enraged that Mordecai will not bow.

If you remember from our study, Haman was an “Agagite” and Mordecai was a descendant of King Saul. The Amalekites and Israelites had been enemies for thousands of years. Mordecai simply could not, would not bow to Haman.

In respond to this slight from Mordecai, Haman decided to commit genocide on every Jew in the empire! He talks Xerxes into signing off on this edict, although he doesn’t tell him what group of people would be slaughtered.

The edict went out to all the provinces provoking public weeping and mourning in sackcloth and ashes.

Mordecai sent word to Esther that she needed to go to the king and beg for her people’s lives. Up until this time, Mordecai had encouraged her to keep her Jewish nationality a secret.

After sending Mordecai a message stating that she can’t go to the king uninvited because she will be killed, Mordecai says some of the most famous words in the Bible;

“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:4b)

It’s time for Esther to make a decision. She’s been trying to walk the line between being a Jew and a Persian Queen.

The die is cast. She commands Mordecai to gather the Jews and fast for her for three days. She will do the same with her attendants, which means she will tell them she’s Jewish. At the end of the three days, she will go to the king uninvited and with courage she said, “If I perish, I perish.”

At the end of the three days, she approached the king uninvited and he held out his golden scepter and asks her what is it she desires.

Esther was subtle and shrewd putting her plan into action. She invited Xerxes and Haman to a feast that night. At the end of the dinner, the king again asked what she wants and she invites both of them to another banquet the next night!

On the way of the palace, Mordecai refused to bow to Haman and after drunkenly ranting about how important he is to his family and friends a suggestion is made to build a pole 75 high and impale Mordecai it. He stays up all night supervising the building of this absurdly tall pole in his front yard.

Haman wasn’t the only one who stayed up all night. Xerxes couldn’t sleep and asked his attendants to bring him the book of the chronicles. As the attendants droned on, suddenly Xerxes sat straight up in bed.