MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
TEXT: The Book of Esther
(I have taken advantage of a message about Esther written by Reg Watson, a minister in Maryland.)
INTRO. My message this morning will be a reinforcement of what some of you already know. And I trust that for the rest of you I can tell the story simply & convince you that God is still active, listening, & pouring out his grace upon us today.
I believe God & His Holy Spirit have worked behind the scenes on a number of occasions that people say are "just coincidences." Someone has defined “coincidence” as “a miracle for which God chooses to remain anonymous.” I like that, & I'm convinced that can be seen in the Book of Esther!
One thing that makes the story of Esther thrilling is the fact that it is not fiction. It really happened. The Book of Esther describes actual events that took place among Jews living in the Persian Empire.
The story occurs during the reign of Xerxes, ruler of Persia. In fact, at that time no ruler on earth was as powerful as he. His empire included all of what is now northern Greece, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, northeastern India, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, & Libya.
And in order to control this vast kingdom it had been divided into 127 provinces with nobles, officials & military leaders in each province.
A. Our story begins with King Xerxes, in the third year of his reign, proclaiming a national festival. Esther 1:4 says, "For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom & the splendor & glory of his majesty."
Historians tell us that Xerxes had brought together all these nobles, officials & military leaders from throughout his kingdom for this festival to impress them & to gain their support for the raising of a "million-man army" to invade Greece.
Well, after this 6-month-long extravaganza, Xerxes hosted a royal banquet that lasted 7 days. And according to Esther 1:5, every man was invited “…from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa,” the capitol of his kingdom.
Esther 1:7-8 tells us, "Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, & the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king's liberality.
"By the king's command each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished."
You see, his goal was to demonstrate the wealth of the kingdom, & make them aware of his greatness, & to make his enemies afraid of him.
Esther 1:10-11 tells us that on the last day of this tremendous banquet - when the King was “in high spirits from wine,” (in other words - when he was drunk) he ordered his servants "to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people & the nobles, for she was lovely to look at."
Think about it. He was drunk, & His motive was to impress. In fact, every-thing he had done was for show - the glory of his palace, the gold & silver couches, the beautiful garden & its tapestries, the golden goblets, & the lavish servings of food & drink.
And now, suddenly, when he obviously was not thinking clearly, he orders his wife to come out & display herself in front of his drunken guests. She is offended by the order & refuses to do it.
How did the king respond? Look at vs. 12, "Then the king became furious & burned with anger." By the way, if you read about the life of Xerxes you will find that he had a terrible temper, & did some very foolish things.
Evidently he felt that Vashti had embarrassed him in front of his guests. She had made him look weak when he wanted to look strong. So he turned to his advisors, & they told him that Vashti had done a terrible thing.
“If the Queen can refuse to obey the King's command, then other wives might follow her example & disobey their husbands too.” They tell Xerxes that unless he does something quickly, "There will be no end of disrespect & discord." (Est. 1:18)
King Xerxes promptly removes Vashti as Queen & then gets busy preparing to conquer Greece. He raises his "million-man army" & his personal bodyguard of 10,000 elite warriors called "The Immortals."
They invade Greece & make their way south. They are slowed down at Thermopylae by 300 brave Spartans who fight to the death. Continuing on, they take Athens & the city is burned.
But then things turned very bad for the Persians. An unusually terrible storm with extreme winds forced the Persian ships to bunch close together in a narrow strait. A few Greek ships with “Greek fire” attacked. Soon the entire Persian fleet was on fire. And what the fire didn’t destroy, the terrible storm did.
Over 400 Persian ships were sunk – their entire navy. Now the “million-man” army had no supply line. And to make matters worse, rebellions had broken out in Babylon & Egypt. So Xerxes decides he has to get his army out of Greece as best he could, & stamp out the rebellions.
Now with the storm being described as an “unusually terrible storm with extreme winds,” how can we explain it happening at just the right exact time to end King Xerxes’ invasion of Greece? Not a week earlier or a week later? Was it just a coincidence or God at work?
B. Four years pass by & Xerxes is finally back home. The rebellions are over, his kingdom is secure, & he has decided to forget about Greece. Now it is time for him to stay home & enjoy life. And that includes finding a replacement for ex-Queen Vashti.
His advisors recommend that a search be made for the most beautiful young women in the provinces, & after a year of careful grooming in the palace, that the king choose one of them to be his new Queen.
One of those chosen was a young Jewish woman by the name of Esther. When she was just a little girl Esther became an orphan. An older cousin, Mordecai, raised her as if she were his own daughter.
Well, everyone in the palace who came to know Esther was captivated by her charm, & so was the king. Esther 2:17 says that "The king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, & she won his favor & approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head & made her queen..."
Once again we wonder, was the choosing of Esther to be Queen out of at least 126 other beautiful candidates a lucky coincidence, or God at work? Or, for that matter, that she was even chosen out of all the other women in Susa, the capitol of the kingdom, to be their candidate?
Her cousin Mordecai had a job working near the King's Gate. One day he overheard two officials plotting to assassinate Xerxes. He reported this to Esther, who passed it on to the King’s guards, giving credit to Mordecai.
Esther 2:23 says, "When the report was investigated & found to be true, the two officials were hanged on a gallows. All this was recorded in the Book of the Annals in the presence of the king."
Now how about someone overhearing the secret plotting of two officials to kill the King, and that someone was Mordecai who passed the information on to Esther in order to save the king? Another coincidence, or the work of God?
C. Now as the 3rd chapter of Esther begins, we're introduced to a villain. He is an ambitious, arrogant, & cruel noble named Haman. Haman was a favorite of the king & had been given a seat of honor higher than any other noble.
Esther 3:2 says, "All the royal officials at the King's Gate knelt down & paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor."
Mordecai, as a righteous Jew, would not bow down to anyone other than God. He flatly refused to bow down to Haman. And when word of Mordecai's behavior got back to Haman he was enraged. So Haman devised a plan to exterminate not just Mordecai, but all the Jews in the kingdom.
Esther 3:6 says, “Having learned who Mordecai's people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom …”
Haman tells Xerxes that there is a group of people in the kingdom whose customs are different from all other peoples, & who do not obey the king's laws. And he says, "It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them." (Esther 3:8)
Then Haman adds, “If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them...” (Esther 3:9) Xerxes tells Haman to do as he pleases & gives Haman his royal seal to authorize it. So an edict is sent out with the king’s seal “...to destroy, kill & annihilate all the Jews – young & old, women & little children - on a single day...” (Esther 3:13)
When Mordecai learns of the edict, he tears his clothes & sits in ashes, weeping for his people. But Mordecai isn’t the only one weeping, because all throughout the kingdom Jews were weeping too.
Meanwhile, Esther is secluded in the palace unaware of what is happening. But she hears that Mordecai is weeping & sends an attendant to find out why. Mordecai sends her a copy of the edict & begs her to go before King Xerxes & plead for mercy for the Jews.
But Esther explains that this is not a good time to approach the king. In fact, there's never a good time to approach the king because he is a very tempera-mental man, & she might be putting her own life in danger.
You see, royal protocol dictates that no one, including the queen, is allowed to enter the king’s presence without his personal invitation. And it had been 30 days since she had been invited into his presence. So without an invitation she really had good reason to fear approaching her husband, the king.
When Esther’s answer was reported to Mordecai, he replied: (Esther 4:12-16) “Do not think that because you are in the kings’ house that you alone of all the Jews will escape.
"For if you remain silent at this time, relief & deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you & your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"
"Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai, 'Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa & fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I & my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.'"
D. Up to this time Esther had followed Mordecai's instructions not to tell anyone she was a Jew. But now was a time for action, & she decided to put her life in God's hands.
So, during the three days of fasting, Esther devised a plan. If the king will see her, she will host two private dinners, & invite Haman also.
Then if everything goes well, on the second day she would expose Haman for the cruel man he is. She wants to get the king to repeal Haman’s order to have the Jews exterminated.
Well, the first part of her plan works beautifully. The king welcomes her & gladly accepts her invitation. And Haman does too.
Is it just another coincidence that the king, after a month of ignoring her, & we don’t know why, welcomes her interruption & gladly accepts her invitation, & even accepts her suggestion that Haman be invited, too? Or did God have a hand in this, too?
After the first dinner Haman heads for home feeling very good about himself. He is the only one who has ever been invited to a private dinner with the King & Queen.
But while Haman is on his way home he sees Mordecai & becomes enraged all over again. When his wife sees how angry he is, she suggests, "Have a gallows built, 75 feet high, & ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go with the king to the dinner & be happy." (Esther 5:14)
Haman likes that suggestion. So he ordered the gallows to be built, & went to bed a happy man.
But that same night the king just couldn’t fall asleep, so he called for the book of the Annals of his reign to be read to him. As he listens, he is reminded how Mordecai had saved him from assassination by the two palace officials.
“What honor & recognition has Mordecai received for this?' the king asked. 'Nothing has been done for him,' his attendants answered." (Esther 6:3) So the king decided, "I need to do something to honor Mordecai. After all, he saved my life.
The next morning Haman arrives at the palace, eager to get permission to hang Mordecai. But before he can do that he is summoned by the king, & Xerxes asks him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” (Esther 6:6)
Haman doesn’t have a clue that the king is asking what should be done to honor Mordecai. He even thinks the king might be wanting to honor him. So Haman suggests a parade. “Clothe the man in your royal robes, put him on the king's own horse, & place a royal crown on his head.
“Then let him be led through the streets by one of the king’s nobles. And as he is being led around, let it be shouted, ‘This is being done for the man the king delights to honor!’”
Can you imagine how Haman felt when he ends up being the one who has to lead Mordecai through the streets shouting, “This is being done for the man the king delights to honor!”?
Again, was it just a coincidence that the King had insomnia on exactly the right night, causing him to be reminded about Mordecai saving his life, & resulting in saving Mordecai from Haman? Coincidence, or God at work?
D. Well, after parading Mordecai around the city, Haman rushes home to tell his wife & friends what happened. But while he is talking, the king's servants arrive to escort him to the 2nd banquet Esther had prepared.
It’s a wonderful feast, & the king really enjoys it. Feeling quite generous, King Xerxes asks Esther again, (Esther 7:2-5) “What is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted."
Esther seized the opportunity, “If I have found favor with you, O king, & if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life - this is my petition. And spare my people - this is my request. For I & my people have been sold for destruction & slaughter & annihilation.”
"King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, 'Who is he? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?' Esther said, 'The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman.'"
In a rage, the King leaves the room, possibly to summon some guards. Haman, realizing his life is hanging by a thread, throws himself on the couch where Esther is reclining to beg for his life. About that time the king comes back in, sees Haman on the couch by the Queen & exclaims, “Will he even molest the Queen while she is with me in the house?”
The king's guards drag Haman away, a victim of his own evildoing. Someone tells the king about the gallows that Haman had erected in his own yard for Mordecai, & the king says, “Hang Haman there!” Haman is carried away screaming, & is hanged on the gallows he intended for Mordecai.
Esther then asks the king to do something about the edict sent out by Haman to kill all the Jews. The king happily agrees, & a new royal edict is issued that all the Jews throughout his kingdom are to be protected, & to have the right to defend themselves from any & all attackers.
Esther continues to find favor with the king. Mordecai is given all the property & position that Haman previously had. And the Jews in every province celebrated. There was joy & feasting because the Jews had been spared.
What an ending to a story full of twists & turns, which resulted in an amazing deliverance of God’s people.
APPL. So what lesson can we learn from the story of Esther? Well, there may be many, but I believe one major lesson is that oftentimes things that happen in life are not just coincidences, but rather that God is at work!
We sometimes think God is not involved in our daily lives because miracles seem to be so rare. But Esther’s story reminds us that God can be as active today in our daily lives as He was in the past.
INVITATION: God & His Holy Spirit are still working! We have all sinned! We may call them little sins or big ones, but we have all done things we knew were wrong when we did them. I have, & I’m sure you have, too.
So God sent His Son to be the answer, to show us that God still loves us, to show us the way home & to take our punishment.
I have acknowledged His love, repented of my sins, followed the example & command of Jesus in baptism, & am now joyfully trying to live a new life in Jesus. Now how about you?
If you haven’t yet, you should. Will you come now to accept His love, realizing your need, asking His help, & then follow His example in baptism, beginning a whole new relationship with Him? Will you come as we stand & sing?
INVITATION HYMN:
