Esther
Esther 4:1-16
The Book of Esther takes place nearly 2500 years ago in the city of Susa, just north of the Persian Gulf, and East of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is modern day Iran. The exiles from Judah had spent nearly 70 years as captives of the Babylonians. After Babylon’s defeat by Persia and King Cyrus, he began to set those captives free. (2 Chron. 36:23) The first wave of Israelite exiles returned to Jerusalem to begin rebuilding the city, its walls and the Temple. The story of Esther covers a 10 year period between the first wave led by Zerubbabel and second wave led by Ezra. But not all of the Jews returned to Judah. Others remained in settlements throughout the Persian Empire. Life was hard in Judah, think post-Katrina, while life for the Jews in Persia, now the world’s dominant economic and military power, was much more comfortable in many of the magnificent cities of Persia. In addition, the culture of Persia was considered the most advanced of its day with an enhanced legal system, modern postal system and wealth flowing through the empire raising the standard of living for most. Many of the Jews who chose to stay did so because they were accumulating wealth as evidenced by the gifts they sent back to Jerusalem. They also had increasing power as evidenced by Esther’s influence on public policy. Even moreso, what we see in both the stories of Daniel and of Esther today is that those Jews who stayed behind had the opportunity to be witnesses of the one true God.
That leads us to our first lesson from Esther: Heroes take advantage of the opportunities placed before them. Erwin McManus in his book, ‘Seizing Your Divine Moment’ writes, “What if you knew somewhere in front of you was a moment that would change your life forever, a moment rich with potential, a moment filled with endless possibilities? What if you knew there was a moment coming, a divine moment, one where God would meet you in such a way that nothing would be the same again? What if there was a moment, a defining moment, where the choices you made determined the course and momentum of your future? How would you treat that moment? How would you prepare for it? How would you identify it? Moments are as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands of the sea, any one of them could prove to be your most significant divine moment… However mundane a moment may appear, the miraculous may wait to be unwrapped within it. You rarely know the eternal significance of a moment. When a moment is missed, you have a glimpse at an opportunity lost. When you dream, you look to a moment still to come. Yet the only moment that you must take responsibility for right now is the one in front of you… There may well be many moments waiting behind this one, and though the most significant moments of your life may still be moments away, the moment you are in right now waits to be seized…” Esther seized her moment by taking advantage of God’s timing, place and opportunity afforded her.
It happened like this. King Xerxes was in the 3rd year of his reign which began in 486 BC and was a man focused on power, money and sex. He had a violent temper and often acted without thinking. The Book of Esther begins with Xerxes holding a grand festival lasting for over 6 months designed to exhibit the power and wealth of his Kingdom. At its conclusion, he held a 7 day feast filled with food and drink. By the 7th day, he was quite drunk and called for his beautiful queen, Vashti, to come and parade before his guests. She was offended by his request and promptly refused. Now in those days refusing a command of the King was tantamount to writing one's death sentence. Mercifully, Xerxes instead signed a decree that she never appear before him again. Her house is taken away and probably everything she owns as well. At the urging of his counselors, he holds a beauty contest to choose a new queen. The historian Josephus records that 400 virgins were brought to the palace to live for a year before the contest. Hearing of the decree, Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, brings her before Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the king's harem. Hegai is immediately taken with Esther and gives her 7 maidens, the best part of the house of women to live in, and all the perfumes and ointments a girl could dream of! When she appears before the king, Xerxes is also captivated by her and selects her to become the Queen of Persia. (Esther 2:17). Esther’s Jewish heritage is not revealed.
One of Xerxes advisors Haman is promoted over all the king's princes. Haman's promotion goes straight to his head, and he considers himself above others. The King commands that all the people of the land bow before Haman just as they would bow to him. Day after day Haman passes by Mordecai who refuses to bow down to him. Haman's anger grows each time he has to pass Mordecai. Haman's hatred may also be fueled by the fact that he is an Amalekite and Mordecai is a Jew. The Amalekites and Jews were bitter enemies since Israel's wanderings in the wilderness. Therefore, Haman devises a plan that will not only get rid of Mordecai but all of the other Jews as well. He pleas with the King not just to kill Mordecai but all of the Jews of the land and so a decree is written and sent to all the provinces that all Jews must die. When Mordecai learns of Haman's plot, he tears his clothes and goes into bitter mourning, lying in sackcloth and ashes at the king's gate. This is as close as he can get to Esther, for it is unlawful for anyone to enter the palace grounds in sackcloth (Esther 4:2). As the king's decree spreads throughout the kingdom, many other Jews also put on sackcloth and ashes, weep and fast.
Esther's servants bring word to her of her cousin's state, so she sends him new clothes to cover him. But Mordecai refuses her tokens of comfort. So Esther sends a servant to find out why he is mourning. Mordecai tells her the reason and sends along a copy of the king's decree. Then he instructs Esther that she must use her position and influence over the king to intervene on behalf of her people. Mordecai also warns Esther that even she will not be safe from Haman. Mordecai’s faith, however, never wavers, for he tells Esther that if deliverance for the Jews does not come through her, it will arise from somewhere else. And that is critical for heroes to understand that the opportunity before them is a choice to participate in God’s plan of salvation. And if they don’t, they will miss out. But God’s plan will never be thwarted. God will just raise up another servant who says, “Yes, here I am, send me!” Heroes understand they have been given a time and a place and an opportunity to be witnesses of the one true God and to do God’s work, no matter the sacrifice. Esther responds, “And if I perish, I perish.” 4:16
Second, heroes seek God’s will through prayer and fasting. Esther sends word to Mordecai to fast and pray for 3 days along with all the Jews in Shushan and then promises she will as well. When you’re facing a problem and you’re not sure how to handle it, where do you turn? So often, we turn to friends, family, spouse or even co-workers. Why is it that so often the one who is All-Knowing and All-Seeing is the last one we consult? Heroes know they need to get serious about their prayers and seek God’s guidance. And that prayer is only enhanced when you fast. Isaiah 58:6-8 says, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” In other words, in your prayers we should also be fasting which creates in us a heightened sensitivity and hearing and then step back and see what God can do. Heroes listen for the voice of God and the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit to lead them and invite others to do so with them.
Third, heroes overcome their fear by trusting in God. One of the major reasons why you and I might not step out in faith and do something great for the Kingdom of God is fear. Fear comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes. A psychologist at Yale once compiled a list of some of peoples’ most prominent fears: Fear of failure, fear of commitment, fear of trusting others, fear of speaking publicly, fear of commitment and fear of being alone. Fear is a very real emotion in people’s lives. It controls us, it limits us, and it enslaves us. And God doesn’t want that. Esther has lot to lose and a lot on the line. Esther has lived in the royal palace for several years, and this has detached her from the normal activities of the common citizen. She lives the good life with the world at her disposal. As queen, she has servants, the finest clothing, the choicest food and a great deal of time to pursue her interests. The king even tells her, "What do you wish….It shall be given to you—up to half my kingdom!" (Esther 5:3). But that’s not all! Esther initially tries to avoid becoming involved by sending word back to Mordecai, saying that if she goes before the king without being called, she may very well lose her life! At this point in the story, Esther shows us that her fears and ours can get the most of us. But God doesn’t want fear to rule her life and decisions nor ours. And so, repeatedly throughout Scripture, God tells us “Fear Not.” That command is found 365 times in the Bible, one for every day of the year. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. In other words, God doesn’t want a single day of our lives to be dominated by fear.
Fourth, heroes realize God is always at work. The Book of Esther is unique because it is one of only two books in the Bible in which the name of God does not appear, the other being the Song of Solomon. Yet despite this omission, Esther’s story tells us something that God is often at work both before and during the circumstances we face. Even though God is never mentioned which I think means even though we might not be aware of Him, He is always at work. This is seen in our understanding of grace. We believe in prevenient grace, which is God at workin our lives, even before we may know there is a God, before come to faith or before we become aware of God in our midst. Throughout Esther, there is a series of “providential events” (holy coincidences) that could only have been orchestrated by the one true God of Israel For example, the very circumstances leading to Esther’s selection to replace the fallen-from-favor former Queen Vashti were providential in nature. (Esther 2:18). God was evidently at work behind the scenes, preparing Esther for her nation-saving role! Heroes realize that they are never alone but rather God is working ahead of them and in concert with them when they step out in faith, embrace the opportunities set before them and then act on God’s behalf.
What about you? Are you ready to be hero for God? Bob Goff tells of his love for playing practical jokes on his buddies. His friend Doug made the mistake of telling him where he was celebrating his 10th wedding anniversary and the penthouse suite he had prepaid for. A few days later, he and his wife checked into the hotel as Doug and his wife. They were handed the key and then took the elevator straight up to the penthouse. They called room service and ordered lobster, and salmon and for desert they ordered Bananas foster which they had never had before. It was so good, they ordered seconds. After finishing dinner and taking in the panoramic views, they gave a huge tip to the waiter and the bill totaled more than $400. They tidied up the room and then left and Bob woke up the next day just thinking about Doug’s reaction when he was the room service bill as he checked out.
Doug has been trying to get back at Bob for years. A few years later, Bob received a phone from a man with a heavy Ugandan accent who said, “Bob I’m aware of what you’ve been doing with children in Ugandan prisons and our judiciary process and I want to thank you on behalf of the President. In fact, I am so please I want you to consider becoming the counsel of the Ugandan Government.” Bob’s mind immediately went to Doug, knowing this had to be his final payback. S o he decided to play along and everything that asked of him, he just said yes. Yes after yes left his lips during the conversation until the man on the other end of the line said he had to head back to Uganda but would call in a couple of months when he returned. The next two months were very busy and Bob had forgotten about the call. But then one day, the phone rang and it was the same gentleman on the phone asking Bob to fly to New York to meet him. Of course, Bob said “Yes!” So he flew to New York and headed to his hotel fully expecting a note to be handed to him from Doug and letting him on the prank, with the words, “Go ahead and get a lobster, it’s on me!” But then a car with Ugandan flag pulled up to the hotel and a man stepped out of the vehicle and introduced himself, “I’m Ambassador Kumminanwire.” And Bob said, “Of course you are.” And then he proceeded to introduce him to several Ugandan dignitaries. He said, “I’ve got all of the paperwork done for you to become special consul to the US for Uganda. All you need to do is give me a couple of passport pictures and I’ll get the Parliament to approve it. Four months passed and then word came that he had gotten approved. He got a call not long after that from the FBI who informed him they were doing a background check. A fw weeks later, he got his Diplomatic credentials and they had a big ceremony. And that is how Bob Goff became consul of Uganda to the U.S.
And then he writes, “I think God sometimes uses the completely inexplicable events of our lives to point us toward him. We get to decide each time whether we will lean in toward what is unfolding and say yes or back away. The folks who were following Jesus in Galilee got to decide the same thing each day because there was no road map, no program and no certainty. All they had was this person, an idea and an invitation to come and see….So the next time God asks you to do something that is completely inexplicable…(That) requires a decision or courage that way over your pay grade, something tat might even save lives, say “Yes!” Heroes say yes to the opportunities God gives. Amen and Amen
