!0 Week series on the " Book of Esther " Part 1
INTRO :
Hidden away in the obscure corner of the Old Testament, Esther is a beautiful story of human love & palace intrigue. The setting is in the days of Israels captivity under the Medo-Persian empire. Its the account of a captive jewish maiden who amazingly is elevated to the throne of the persian Queen....
Its a story of how God used her and her circumstances to preserve His people against a Hitler like attack.
It is the point in history from which the Jewish feast of Purim commerates its lasting memory. And yet among the books of the Bible it is one of the least preached upon and more importantly least understood
portions of Gods Holy Word. (Pause)
What most often preflexes the reader is the fact that there is no mention of God throughout the book. There is no mention of worship or faith. No predicition of the Messiah & no mention of heaven or hell.
Nothing religious is discussed.
So why is it there ? - To show how God works behind the scenes to preserve His people in peril.
The book is chock full of typology. ( explain typology) So keep notes through the entire series
I Cor. 10:11 & Romans 15:4 = Noah as a type of the conditions at the return of Christ.....
Jonah as a type of Christs resurrection.....
Abrahm & Issac type of the Father and the Son
I. THE STORY CENTERS AROUND A KINGDOM & ITS KING - Fix that in your mind!
A. Scripture records the magnificence of the Kingdom. ( Est. 1:1-4 )
1) Kings name is never given:
a. Ahazereus / Xerxes - title like czar or emperor... meaning vererable father!
b. Most probably : " Darius the Mede," in bk of Daniel, who took the kingdom
from Belshazzer on the night of his drunken orgy.
2) We find the kingdom lying at peace.... 6 month feast - like Feb. to July / 180 Days
( do overhead of area included)
a. KING - was free and had nothing else to attend to. ie. War.
He had only to display his glory and the glory & riches of his kingdom.
b. Scriptural Signifigence : Like man when there is an absence of turmoil in his life he
has only to look on the good things that he has, but fails to
recognize the author of those good things. God. and the usual
outcome of such vain thinking is an over-indugence in self
pride.
Im going to be giving you types from here on out that will carry through out the book of Ester. If you wish to gain the maximum benefit from this study you will need to write them down and periodically make notes either in your Bible on on what ever else you may have to write on.
The Empire = The range of influence that our life holds over other people and other things.
Example - Those people or places that are affected by us and our behavior. Our family
friends, co-workers, friends & enemies. Every one or everything that
our lives touch.
The Capitol City = Susa / Shusham Our own bodies . Brain, heart, nervous system. Just as the capitol
city takes the most interest in protecting the king, so our bodily parts do the best to
meet the needs of the King who dwells on the throne in our domain. That is our
soul. Just as those in the capital around the king do the best to keep him appraised
of what is going on in the empire, so our body provides the stimuli for our though
life.
But what about the King who doesnt serve God ?
At this point in time Ahazereus was a man without loyalty to anyone but himself !
II. LETS LOOK AT THE TYPEOLOGY BEHIND THE KING
THE KING : That part of each of us that controls the direction of our own personal Kingdoms.
In Ahazereus: The desires of his heart. The king is the one calling
the shots. The king is a type of the soul of man. That part of each one of us that
cannot be seen with the naked eye. Yet it is the soul that in the end makes all the
choices as to what is going to go on in our capital ( our bodies ) and in our empire.
( That area and those people whome we have influence over )
We use such words as INTELLECT - EMOTIONS - WILL to describe the operation of the soul.
Encompassing all of that part of us that learns, that feels and that responds to what it learns and feels.
The soul holds sway over all the decisions that are made in the Capital ie the body.
The King in Ester is a type of the soul. Holding sway to do both good & evil.
A. God made man : Body ( capital city) Soul ( King ) and spirit. More on spirit in a min.
B. Thoughout Ester - Ahazereus will be symbolic of the soul of man. We will see the things that effect
the way he thinks, and the decisions he makes. At the end of the series we will
have a better grasp of our own lives and what will or will not make us more godly
1. Remember whatever the king does affects his whole kingdom.
a. This is the place God has given to man. ( Psalm 8:3-8 ) In its own right it is neither bad
nor good.
b. Unfallen Adam in the garden : like Ahazereus. The whole empire lay at rest. He was
free to do nothing. He could just bask in the riches of the kingdom he had inherited. He
could choose to do basically whatever he pleased.
III. THE QUEEN - The spirit part of body - soul - spirit !
Illis: The spirit in man in the vehicle through which God communicates from His Holy Spirit to us, just
as the flesh is the vehicle through which the devil tries to get the souls attention.
Hence the verse the spirit is will, but the flesh is weak.
In the garden of Eden the spirit of man became damaged goods. Gen. 2:15-17 / 3:1-3
The restoration of that fallen spirit is seen in JOHN 3:5-8
Here in Esther we will see in the position of Queen, both the spirit in its fallen state and in its renewed state.
In Chap 1 - vs’s 5-9 we have seen that the King and his Queen Vasti each had their own agenda.
He had his party, she had hers, he wanted to showcase her as one of his trophys, she would
have no part of it. She had her own plans.
This is a picture of the fallen soul & spirit of man. ie. THE HUMAN SPIRIT.
Out of sinc..... non submissive..... boastful & arrogant, and in general unworkable.
Consider who the queen was supposed to be....................
Soul mate to the King, the one with whome he could be intimate, with whome he could share his
deepest feeling, his fears, and his hopes.
The human spirit was designed by God to be a place of communion between the soul of man and the Holy Spirit of God.
A. THE HUMAN SPIRIT IS ETERNAL ( It will never die )
1. Things get out of sinc : Requiring a change if the Kingdom is to survive & reach its full
potential. ( ESTHER 1:15-21 )
The relationship between the king & his queen had become untenable.
More properly this is known as the absence of peace one feels when they are not right with God.
When he is not able to speak to the soul through the spirt, by His HolySpirit.
Humanists say: Man is no more than an animal. Discounts soul & Spirit.
But God says they we are body soul and spirit and we are made in His Image
and likeness. Eccl. 12:7 says... and the spirit returns to God who gave it!
Paul in His writings to the Thessalonians said - I thess. 5:23b
May your whole spirit soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To the Corinthians he said: ( II Cor. 7:1 )
Let us purify ourselves from every thing that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
The relationship between our soul and spirit is the deepest, most intimate natural relationship we know in life, in much the same way as the relationship that should exist between a husband and his wife. (DEE )
There are at least 2 things that divide them. 1. The lies of satan 2. The Word of God
HEB. 4:12 For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
This is often the case of the conflict we find within. The two are at odds, but its not until we apply Gods Word that we are able to see the cause of the conflict.
There has got to be a right relationship between body soul and spirit with God for everything to be right in the Kingdom. If not, then there must be a change.
This is exactly what we see in chap 2 when we seen the entrance of Esther to take the place of Vasti as queen. ( 2: 1-4 ) ( We will discuss that in more detail next week )
Quick Review:
King = Soul of Man, Intellect, emotions, and will.
Empire = Sphere of our influence on the people and places around us.
Capital City = Our bodies, the physical place where the King ie. soul resides.
Queen = The spirit of man, closely bonded to the king, his most intimate friend
yet capable of being divided with him. Both in the fallen state and the
renewed state.
Conclusion
IV. THE PICTURE OF FALLEN MAN 1:10-12
A. In the garden of Eden, man was intended to display, in his own person, the majesty, glory &
wisdom of God, who dwelt with in man. But he stepped beyond what was allowable in
attempting to be equal with God as opposed to being the centerpiece of Gods creation.
Pride was at the very heart of it.
1. Ahazereus - Likewise was not satisfied with displaying all that God had allowed him to have &
use. His pride went so far as to want to exhibit his soul mate. The Queen.
a. Just as Adam & Eve : through pride did wrong and became spiritually seperated from God
King Ahazereus :through pride did wrong and became physically seperated from the Queen.
b. Just as the fallen spirit of man - that which is born of the flesh, has to be replaced with the
Renewed spirit - that which is born of the spirit.
So to the fallen relationship between the King and Queen had to be replaced with a new pure Queen . Hence Queen Esther.
In a later study, we will see more symbolic connections to other characters found in the Book of Ester.
Two in particular - Mordecai = Holy Spirit Haman = Satan
In closing : Let me make a few brief observations that will help us.
1. We just as Ahazereus, just as Adam & Eve are ourselves sometimes vicitims of self. Of soul against
God.
2. Soul gone astray.
3. Thats why the scripture admonishes that we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
4. In the conflicts of life we often lose direction, have spells of turmoil, confusion, hurt, disallusionment.
5. Mostly because our soul steps beyond the boundries that God has set for us.
But this book of Ester reveals what all of scripture tells over and over. God had a plan in the wing.
He was not going to let man remain lost forever. He has a new queen / born again spirit to bring into our life. He has a Mordecai / the Holy Spirit to give us guidance and counsel, to keep us safe from the assassins of our soul. There is also a Haman or satan in each of our lives looking out for his own good, but convincing the king that it is really in his best interest to promote haman.
Close with appeal
