For Such A Time as This
Esther 4
The book of Esther is set in the fifth century BC, in the Persian Empire during the reign of Xerxes, son of Darius and grandson of Cyrus. Xerxes reigned from 486-465 BC. We know quite a lot about his kingship from secular sources.
Those dates may not mean much to us, so let me put this in biblical perspective. The book of Esther occurs after the Exile. Remember, the Babylonians conquered the Jewish people, destroyed Jerusalem and carried many people captive back to Babylon to live. That was 586 BC, or 100 years before Xerxes.
The Jewish people lived in exile for 70 years. The book of Daniel records some of the plight of the deported Jews during those years.
Just before those 70 years were up, in 539 BC, Babylon fell to the Persians, and soon afterward, Cyrus, king of Persia and grandfather of Xerxes, allowed deported peoples to return to their home towns to rebuild their temples. The Jews did so, and the book of Ezra records the work of Zerrubabal and Ezra. Later, Nehemiah returned to returned to rebuild the walls.
The events of the book of Esther happen between the work of Ezra and that of Nehemiah.
The story of Esther is a fascinating story. Let me give you the Cliff Notes version of what you need to know for this morning.
King Xerxes is throwing a big celebration, probably around planning the invasion of Greece. One day he summoned his Queen, Vashti, but, for some reason we are not told, she does not come. As a result, Vashti was deposed and a new queen sought. (I toyed with preaching about the dangers of wives not obeying their husbands, but Dean thought it might not go over very big—especially with Doris.) The method for finding the new queen begins with inviting all the beautiful young woman of the empire to go through a year of beautification and then Xerxes would pick one.
We need to know that Many Jews who had been carried to Persia stayed there, even after they were allowed to return. Life there had been good, for the most part. Some had risen to respectable positions in commerce and government. One such Jew was Mordecai. He served in the King’s court. Mordecai had an orphaned cousin whom he raised. Her name was Hadassah, or more commonly known as Esther.
Well, short version here. Esther is chosen as Queen. After a few years, Mordecai learns of plans by the evil Haman to lead a pogram against the Jews. He alerts Esther, and she agrees to tell the king. We read this part in Chapter 4 for our reading this morning.
Esther, taking significant risk, enters the king’s chamber, and alerts him to the plot. In a strange twist of events, the evil Haman has to honor the righteous Mordecai, and then Haman is impaled on the very stake he had prepared for Mordecai.
Anyway, the Jews are saved, and the feast of Purim is born, which Jewish people celebrate until this very day.
What’s in this account for us today? Well, it is Mother’s Day, and although Esther was not a mother, she is a woman who made a significant contribution to our world. I thought it might be fun to look at her life for a lesson today.
As I read and reread this book over the last few weeks, I came to see four overarching things we learn from the story of Esther. Let me share them with you.
The Sovereignty of God assures us that we are where he wants us to be
One of the interesting facts about the book of Esther is that it nowhere even mentions God. That’s unusual, since the book of Esther is one of 66 books that comprise a larger work, called the Bible, that is all about God. However, even though his name does not appear in the book of Esther, it is clear that God shows up on every page. One way we see him his through the lens of his sovereignty.
The events of the book of Esther are not random or without plan or purpose. God’s presence hovers over the book like the Spirit of God hovered over the waters of creation. So it is with God, and with life as we know it. There are no coincidences and no accidents in God’s scheme.
To speak of God’s sovereignty does not mean we believe in fatalism. Fatalism is the idea that God maps out every choice and event and we have nothing to do but march through life like Eveready bunnies.
Not at all. Trusting in the sovereignty of God means we walk in the confidence of knowing that God hovers over our lives at every turn. No choice we make takes God by surprise. Every choice we make—and they are truly our choices—are factored into the plan of God for our lives. God does not determine our every action, but his will for our lives takes every one of our actions into consideration.
It is good for us to remember this when life gets boring or mundane or we feel trapped in our circumstances.
Esther may have spent long days in the palace wondering why she ever followed Mordecai’s advice and entered that dumb beauty pageant.
But God had a plan.
Likewise, you may think you made a wrong decision—you married the wrong person, or took the wrong job, or bought the wrong house. Maybe you did, but it is the right one now, because God knew of your choice before the foundation of the world and factored it into his plan for you.
Hosea could have spent long hours beating himself up over his marriage choice—but God had a plan, and he redeemed Hosea’s situation for his purposes.
Stop second guessing God. You are not a mistake. You may have made some bad choices, but God has factored them in—he still loves you and wants to make the best of your life.
God has a plan.
Seek him, ask his counsel, look for his blessing and presence, pray, and God will show you the way forward. Then, of course, obey.
Routine faithfulness to our responsibilities honors God
From the time of Queen Vasti’s removal from her position in the palace until the crowning of Hadassa as Queen Esther, four years had passed (cf. 1:3 and 2:16). Four long years, and for one whole year of this time Esther did nothing but go to the spa every day for her beauty treatment. (I know to a woman that might sound like heaven, but for me that would be …).
Then from the time of Esther’s crowning as Queen until the evil Haman hatches his plot to launch a pogram against the Jews, another five years pass (cf. 2:16 and 3:7). Five long years filled with endless days of routine activity in the palace.
Esther spent five years waiting for the “such a time as this” for which God had placed her in the palace. So it often goes.
• Moses spent 40 years in an Egyptian court and 40 more obscure years in the deserts of Midian before God called him to confront Pharaoh and deliver the people of Israel.
• King David spent long years and dark days on the run from King Saul before God placed him on the throne over Israel.
• John the Baptist sent long years in the desert before God called him to his ministry of being the forerunner of the Messiah.
• Paul spent three years in the Arabian desert doing, we do not know what, before he went up to Jerusalem to get the church leaders’ blessing to launch a ministry. And when that did not work out so well, he spent another 10 years back home in Tarsus before the church was ready for the ministry God had called him for.
• Even Jesus was 30 years old before he began his public ministry. His life prior to that was so routine and mundane that subsequent generations had to make up stories about what he did during those years, just because we mere humans could not imagine that his life would have been normal. (These stories are written in the Infancy Narratives that comprise part of the pseudopigrapha of the New Testament.)
The point here is simply to say that God is pleased with routine faithfulness and obedience to the tasks of life that lie within our areas of responsibilities.
Moms, before your baby grows up to find the cure for cancer, or to be the President of our country, there are a lot of diapers that need to be changed and snotty noses that need to be wiped—and God is pleased when you do those things with faithfulness.
Likewise, you may serve God in your marriage or workplace or family for years before you see the real reason God has placed you there. It may be a long time—if ever—before you are given any credit for the way you shaped the life of your children, or brought stability to your company, or influenced the life of a friend.
Esther knew that Patience pays, and it is a good lesson for us as well.
The kingdom of God is always more important than my comfort or my safety
Esther took a huge risk when she entered the King’s chamber without being summoned. It could have meant her death. She did so with confidence for several reasons:
• Of course she trusted in God to intervene
• But I think also she trusted in those years of routine faithfulness and joyful obedience.
She had given the King no reason to reject her. All those years of faithfulness to her responsibilities had built up credit with the King and she was now about to cash in on that credit.
How different it would have been if Esther was on the bad side of the King because just the month before she did something dumb. Think of it— the moment for which she was born burst upon her, but she had lost her favor and could not step out with confidence.
But that was not the case. Esther was ready.
Routine faithfulness, though it may seem mundane, never is. First responders, police and military troops, train constantly to hone skills that might be used only once or twice in a lifetime. But when they are needed, they are needed, and they make a difference.
Routine obedience prepares us for the next thing God has for us.
Jesus said
Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!
Matt 25:21
So Esther took great risk, and she could do so because of her years of faithfulness. But consider the risk. She knew what was at stake—the lives of many people hung in the balance. She took the risk—it could have meant her life—she trusted in God—because she knew that the kingdom of God called for her obedience.
It was the right thing to do—the noble thing—the brave thing. But nonetheless, it was still very dangerous.
You may be surprised to learn that as my family and I were preparing to leave for missionary work overseas, how many people said to me that they would never take their children to Africa to live because of the risks involved. And some of these people were church leaders, people of great faith. Friends, there are many good reasons for you not to pack up your family and take them to Africa—but your safety is not one of them.
I am not talking about taking foolish risks—I am talking about putting the kingdom of God ahead of your own comfort and safety.
Esther knew this and lived by it.
There are moments in life that weigh against eternity: faithfulness in these moments marks the difference between the mundane life and the fulfilled life.
Esther is known for one thing, and one thing only. Granted, her one act was huge—it stopped a potential genocide and saved a whole people group. But after this, she fades into the obscurity of history. And that’s OK.
Some of us are born for a lifetime of public recognition; but not many of us. Most of us will live out our lives and never do anything that places us in the limelight of our community. And yet, I believe, for all of us, there are moments in life that are critical moments—situations in which our response will make a difference for the long haul, maybe even for eternity.
These moments may not be of the scale that Esther faced, where her response saved a whole generation. But these moments are still important—maybe in the life of one of your children, or with a coworker or friend, or for the company for which you work.
I remember one such moment in the life of our son, Nathan. It was just after the attacks of 9-11. Those events deeply impacted Nathan. He had just begun his senior year of college. The savage invasion of our country created in Nathan a sense of responsibility—he felt he had to contribute to his country during this trying time. He came to us for our counsel—he wanted to drop out of college and enlist in some agency in which he could feel useful—he wanted to do his part.
This was a very noble response on the part of Nathan, and Doris and I were proud that we had raised a son who would feel that kind of compassion and responsibility. But he had less than a year of school left, and we knew how hard it was to go back when you drop out. And we personally were not keen on him making a military choice—not because of his safety but because of our convictions of what it means to follow Jesus in life. However, we would have loved and supported our son in whatever decision he made.
As we sat listening to Nathan share his heart, I remember feeling like we were at one of those moments that would weight against a lifetime. The counsel we gave and the decision Nathan made would have a huge impact on all of our lives. So we listened carefully; we prayed; and we shared our heart with him.
Esther faced one such moment faithfully and God was honored as a result.
Moments like these do not happen every day—actually they may be spaced far apart over the course of our lifetime. But they are there for all of us. The life we lived up to that point prepares us for that moment, and our faithfulness in the moment determines its outcome.
Esther was faithful, and history is different because of it.
Moms, today we honor you. You are woman who have and are making a difference in our world. Remember
Trust in God’s sovereignty
Serve faithfully during the routine times
Choose the kingdom over your own comfort
Honor God in those once in a life-time moments
