God’s care
Reading: Esther chapters 2 verse 5-11..
Ill:
Top 6 things that people tend to forget:
• 6: faces
• 5: what was said
• 4: words
• 3:telephone numbers
• 2: where something is
• 1: names!
Be assured of this:
• God not only knows you by name, but he will never ever forget it!
• ill: “Stand up & sat down” (Psalm 139 verses 1-2).
• ill: “Hairs on our head are numbered” (Matthew chapter 10 verse 30).
Ill:
• Charles Spurgeon (18th century Baptist preacher & author);
• Once went down to visit a friend in the country.
• His friend had built a new barn,
• And above it he had placed a weather-vane bearing the text, "God Is Love".
• Spurgeon did not like for he thought it gave the impression;
• "That God’s love is as changeable as the wind?"
• But his friend said that it was the complete opposite;
• "It means that God is love, whichever way the wind blows!"
• The Old Testament book of Esther is a beautiful illustration of that;
• Before we look at our passage we need to get some background.
(a). The plot.
Ill:
• In 46 days time it will be Bonfire Night (November 5th )
• Some people will take an effigy of a man called Guy Fawkes & burn it on top of a bonfire.
• The reason we do that is because in 1605;
• He hid 1.5 tonnes of gunpowder under the Houses of parliament,
• As well as blowing up the building,
• His plot was to blow up the entire government.
• As if it wasn’t for a man called Francis Tresham who gave the game away,
• He might have succeeded!
• Instead he was caught, arrested and imprisoned & tortured in the Tower of London.
• On January 31st 1606 along with seven other men;
• Was executed opposite the very building he tried to blow up.
• Ever since then we have celebrated that occasion each November 5th;
• With bonfires and fireworks and many still even make a ‘guy’ (stuffed dummy).
Years before Guy Fawkes Existed:
• Another plot took place;
• This time it was not to exterminate a group of politicians but a whole race of people.
• That is the story contained in the Bible book called Esther;
• We have recorded their the story of a plot to exterminate every Jewish person:
Ill:
• Throughout history many world leaders and dictators have tried to do just that;
• From Pharaoh in the book of Exodus, to Adolph Hitler’s holocaust in the 2nd World War.
• And there are many alive in our world today;
• Who are trying to, or would love to see the Jewish people destroyed!
• That is the situation that occurs in this book called Esther.
• We know that the plot failed,
• But Esther is the gripping story of how her peoples future survival depends on her!
Note:
• Had the plot succeeded and the Jewish nation been exterminated!
• Think of what this would have meant to world history and to especially to you and me!
• No more Jews and therefore no Bible (one Gentile wrote 2 books, the rest is Jewish).
• And most of all no Jesus!
• And therefore no salvation!
(2). The Time.
• Historically it took place in the 5th century B.C. (From 486 to 465 B.C).
• Biblically the story fits in between Ezra chapters 6 and 7.
• Ill: Boy Arlo used to say when you told him things;
• “Is that in real life daddy?” meaning of course “or is it pretend”
• The story of Esther may read like an ancient novel,
• But like Guy Fawkes we are dealing with real historical people in real situations.
(3). The Characters.
These first four chapters of the book introduce us to the 4 main characters in the drama.
• KING XERXES – the Barak Obama of his day – major player on the political world scene!
• The kingdom that Xerxes ruled was vast. It stretched from India to Egypt.
• All this, he ruled from his palace in the capitol city of Susa,
• Which is in modern day Iraq.
• ESTHER who the book is named after (and the star of the show);
• SHE will replace the old queen Vashti & will eventually become the saviour of her people!
• HAMAN the enemy:
• Quote:
"To this day the Jews have never forgotten the man named Haman. They’re reminded of him each year at the Feast of Purim. ’During the dramatic reading of the Book of Esther in a Jewish synagogue at the Feast of Purim, the congregation may be found taking the part of a chorus and exclaiming at every mention of the name of Haman. "May his name be blotted out," "Let the name of the ungodly perish," while boys with mallets will pound stones and bits of wood on which the odious name is written”.
• MORDECAI the protector;
• Along with Esther he is the good guy, the hero of the story.
(4). The surprise.
• Esther’s claim to fame e.g. bible quiz question;
• ‘What makes Esther different from all other books of the Bible?’
• The answer is: ‘That God is not mentioned by name!’
• Never read the name of God anywhere in the book.
• And we never read of anyone praying;
• I am sure they did but it is not recorded anywhere!
• Note: Although God is not mentioned by name
• His fingerprints are all over the book.
Ill:
• Alfred Hitchcock the famous director always appeared in each one of his films,
• Normally it was just for a few seconds or minute (e.g. a cameo role)
Ill:
• In contrast to Hitchcock; William Shakespeare never appears in any of his plays;
• Yet, his presence is very, very pervasive,
• It is there in every act, every line of dialogue, bears the imprint of his pen,
• He is the genius behind all the characters, each twist of the plot, every poignant ending.
• In much the same way throughout the book of Esther is God!
• Although not mentioned, he is very much in this story,
• He is the invisible God,
• Who is arranging circumstances for his purpose and plans.
• Although we never hear or see God in the story of Esther;
• Be assured he is just off stage, cueing the characters and orchestrating the drama.
• The message of the book of Esther is;
• Though God is invisible, he is invincible!
(2). Esther the New Queen (Chapter 2)
• We are breaking into the story at a low point for king Xerxes;
• He has just returned home from a disastrous military campaign.
• He has returned home a depressed, bitter man,
• And he is trying to find some kind of comfort in his own home, to uplift his spirit.
Verse 2:
• At this moment in time he is without a queen.
• Chapter 1 tells us how queen Vashti had been dethroned;
• Of course, as a powerful ancient king he had many women in his harem,
• But he missed the companionship and closeness of Vashti his beautiful queen.
Noticing this the kings advisors recommend him to seek another queen.
• They needed to make sure that Vashti never got back on the throne,
• If she did, then their days as his advisors were numbered,
• She would certainly have taken revenge and punished her husband’s counsellors.
• And so thus began the great search for a new queen, an ideal queen,
• And this is where Esther comes in to the story.
Question: What de we know about Esther?
Answer: A number of significant things.
(1). She was an orphan (verse 7a)
“Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother”.
• Her Jewish name was "Hadassah” (‘Ha DAH sah’ meaning’: ‘Myrtle tree’),
• But like all Jews taken in to captivity she was given a new one "Esther" meaning "star".
• We are not told how her parents died;
• But her uncle Mordecai looked after her since she was a child;
• And he raised her like his own daughter.
(2). She was beautiful (verse 7b).
• N.I.V: “This girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features”
• The Message: “The girl had a good figure and a beautiful face”.
Ill:
J. Stowell in his book ‘Fan The Flame’.
• Tells of when he was in Timbuktu in West Africa;
• In that culture the larger the women were;
• Then the more beautiful they were thought to be.
• One young missionary who had a small, trim wife;
• Was told by the nationals that she was a bad reflection on him;
• He obviously was not providing well enough for her.
• They also have a great proverb in that part of Africa which says;
• “If your wife is on a camel and the camel cannot stand up, your wife is truly beautiful.”
Quote: A. Lincoln
“The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is the reason he made so many of them”
Verse 2:
• The kings advisers come up with a clever idea.
• Let’s have a Miss Persia contest!
• And so they scoured the lands to see who the best looking women were;
• They had to be virgins, which meant they had to be young (married early in culture)
Whether by choice or by force:
• Esther is chosen as a contestant to join the other young women;
• With the dream prize of being the new queen.
• After a year of special preparation (verse 12),
• Esther was presented to the king,
Verse 15 says that "she asked for nothing";
• That is, she did not decorate herself with gaudy jewels as did the other women.
• She depended on her beauty and her personality alone...........and she won!
• She was made queen in the year 479;
• And verse 18 says a great feast was held in her honour.
(3). She was a Jewess (verse 10)
“Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so.”
• Under Xerxes reign were thousands of Jews,
• That number included Esther & Mordecai
• Esther & Mordecai were ancient ‘asylum seekers’,
• Foreigners in a foreign land.
• They were Jews and as I mentioned earlier;
• That nationality would cause her and her people enormous problems.
If the kings advisors knew she was a Jewess;
• Then she may at best have been chosen to be in the kings harem,
• But she certainly would not have been made the new queen.
(4). She was courageous (vs 10).
Ill:
• Hugh Lattimer was the bishop of Worcester,
• And he would eventually become a martyr for the faith.
• Once preached before King Henry VIII.
• Henry VIII was greatly displeased by the boldness of Lattimer’s sermon,
• He ordered him to preach again on the following Sunday;
• And to include an apology for the offence he had given.
The next Sunday, after reading his text, he thus began his sermon:
• “Hugh Lattimer, dost thou know before whom thou are this day to speak?
• To the high and mighty monarch, the king’s most excellent majesty,
• Who can take away thy life, if thou offendest.
• Therefore, take heed that thou speakest not a word that may displease.
• But then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou comest;
• Upon Whose message thou are sent?
• Even by the great and mighty God,
• Who is all-present and Who beholdeth all thy ways & Who is able to cast thy soul into hell!
• Therefore, take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully.”
• He then preached the same sermon he had preached the preceding Sunday;
• Only this time with considerably more energy and passion.
Esther too was a courageous woman:
• When told by her uncle not to reveal her nationality,
• And she obeyed him,
• Again and again throughout this narrative;
• She willingly and courageously went along with all that was asked of her.
• That included marrying a cruel and capricious king;
(3). The Application:
God’s providence reveals God’s care.
• The word comes from Latin providential:
• “Pro” means “before” --- “Video” means “to see”. Providence means “to see before”
• This means that God sees before and plans accordingly.
• Providence, is the sovereignty, superintendence,
• Or agency of God over events in people’s lives and throughout history
• In other words for the Christian; “My times are in his hand!”
• And that means when circumstances are bad as well as good!
Ill:
• If you study the whole book of Esther;
• You will note coincidence after coincidence after coincidence (world would say!)
• As a believer we should say;
• Look what God did, it is providence at work in our lives.
Ill:
A few examples.
• (1). Esther being chosen queen over all the other candidates, 2:15-18;
• (2). Mordecai discovering the plot to kill the king, 2:21-23;
• (3) When they cast lots to decide which day they should destroy the Jews people;
• It falls on a date late in the year, giving time for Mordecai and Esther to act, 3:7-15;
• (4). The king’s welcome to Esther after ignoring her for a month, (5:2).
• (5). The king’s patience with Esther in permitting her to hold another banquet, (5:8).
• (6). The king’s insomnia;
• That brought to light Mordecai’s deed of kindness, (6:1)
• (7). The king’s apparent lapse of memory in 6:10-14,
• That led him to honour one of the Jews he had agreed to slay;
• (8). The king’s deep concern for Esther’s welfare,
• When he had a harem to choose from, (7:5)
Ill:
• In the1800’s George Mueller built many orphanages at Ashley Down, Bristol, England.
• He cared for 10,024 orphans in his life
• He did this without a personal salary,
• He prayed in the supply the money and food needed to support all those children.
• He was a man of radiant faith (not read his story shame on you!)
• Mueller kept a motto on his desk;
• Which for many years that brought comfort, strength, and uplifting confidence to his heart.
• It simply read, “It matters to Him about you.”
• Mueller believed that those words captured the meaning of 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 7,
• “Cast all your care (anxiety) on him because he cares for you”.
• And he rested his claim for divine help on that truth.
• He testified at the end of his life that the Lord had never failed to supply all his needs.
By contrast to Mueller:
• John Underhill tells of his brother Ron had a dog named Lucy.
• She often would bury all the food her owner gave her,
• And one time buried the bowl along with the food.
• She didn’t realize that as long as she belonged to Ron,
• She would be fed.
• She need not worry over tomorrow by hoarding food away;
• All she need to realise was that she had a loving master;
• Who would daily take care of her needs.
