Book of Esther Series - Part II.
( Re-read chapter 1 & pray )
Picking up where we left off:
Kingdom = The range of influence our life holds over other people & other things
Palace/Capital City= Our physical bodies
King = Out soul, the part of us that makes the choices.
Queen Vasti = The fallen unregenative spirit of man.
Esther = The renewed or born-again spirit with in us.
Mordecai = The Holy Spirit.
Haman = Satan.
This morning we will see Esther as a picture of the renewed spirit of man.
She is a picture of Gods unmerited favor.
His Redeeming grace
His willingness to give us a second chance.
Read vs. 10-12 in chapter 1
Here the king has over stepped his bounds: His pride has pushed him over the edge.
a. He had the right to show off his riches. 2. But not the right to flaunt his queen.
One was OK, the other wasn’t - But the king alone made the choice.
Just as in the Garden: Man was intended to enjoy all that God had given him, but that was not enough. His pride, when chided by satan, pushed him over the edge.
Literally He bit off more than he could chew.
Choices are the prerogative of the Soul - God has given man a free will.
Consequences are the fruit of our choices.
Adam chose to eat the fruit that God had forbidden the consequence was both spiritual and physical death.
Ahazerus chose to flaunt his wife, the consequence was the loss of the very one he chose to flaunt.
And uniquely enough the operative force behind both of their actions was none other than pride.
Friends constructive pride is not a necessary evil, ( Explain what you mean ) but the intoxicating form of pride that makes us lose sight of good sense is deadly.
Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Buzz in Hospital ( motorcycle wreck )
A. THE KING HAS SUMMONSED THE QUEEN - But she has refused to come!
He is very angry!
1. Typical - Of the struggle internally within a person before they have surrendered their life to Christ.
a. Soul is looking out for number one.
b. Fallen spirit - Unregenerate spirit of man, has loyalties to none.
2. The King / Soul : Does what so many do - He seeks ungodly advice.
#1 He Won’t acknowledge that he is wrong.
#2 He turns to the ungodly to counsel. (ungodly advice will fail you every time )
( Read vs. 13-18 )
Listen to what they had to say to him:
A. To the man, they insinuated that it was all the queens fault. ( Took away all his responsibility for it)
THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT. IT WAS THE WOMAN THAT YOU GAVE ME.
1. They filled his heart with the fear that he would lose face and that all the women would then
begin to disobey their husbands and in essence he would be at fault.
( The unregenerate soul is proud)
All of this is so typical of the fallen soul of man:
Is proud,
speaks without thinking,
compounds one mistake with another,
seeks ungodly advice
Refuses to admit any wrong doing.
His counselors lied to him even as Satan did to Eve.
1. Said this was the only way he could save himself.
2. Satan to eve, this is the only way to reach full potential.
He just never explained the consequences.
B. So an UNCHANGEABLE LAW WAS WRITTEN - Read 1:19
1. Letters were sent out to all the provinces - The search for the right mate. We all do this before
coming to Christ.
Important fact about the law of the medes and Persians - it had to be carried out.
a. How close a parallel to our own lives: Law of Sin & Death! read Rom. 7:4-5, 23-25
( wages of sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord)
b. When Adam chose desire of heart over fellowship with God:
He set in motion a string of circumstances that man has since been powerless to alter.
Death, sickness, guilt, alienation/separation, work, pain in child bearing, corruption, condemnation,
the list goes on and on. Man is helpless to change it. Its the Law of Sin & Death.
c. The result is the death or darkness of the human spirit. Much Like Queen Vasti’s sentence to
obscurity.
Man would be born with a spirit darkened in its knowledge of his creator... lonely... restless
( He would be soulish.... ego centered ) helpless to restore himself.
1. All insight, all his communion with God and His Holy Spirit would be gone.
But thank God the devil always goes one step too far.
II. THE STORY OF REDEEMING GRACE
a. Man cannot forget he is a spirit being. ( even though he or she is dead spiritual ) God put that there!
1. The Kings remembered: Ester 2:1 - Queen Vasti ( the cry of the spirit in man )
2. King cant be satisfied with the choice he has made. - His heart is empty now.
Prov. 15: 13 - A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.
Prov. 17:22 - A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Prov. 18:14 - A mans spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear.
Its in this condition that man seeks after something to fill the void. Just as the king sought after a new wife!
Drugs, success, knowledge, wealth, pleasure, but the search comes up empty.
c. His yearning search is portrayed in - Esther 2:2-4 ( turn and read )
d. The crushed soul - King / Soul driven by his loneliness ( it is the driving force in his search )
* God is not willing to abandon him because of his bad choice. ie.sin & self will over Gods will.
THE 2 MOSE IMPORTANT CHARACTERS OF THE BOOK ARE NOW INTRODUCED.
1. Mordecai: Through the book of Esther he is revealed to be humble, and unselfish. with a total
unwillingness to bow to the enemy.
Phil. 2:5-8 is the same spirit we will see in mordecai. He is a type of the HOLY SPIRIT!
2. Esther: Mordecai’s lovely cousin. She is symbolic of the renewed or born-again spirit in man.
The only one who can soothe the Kings crushed spirit.
Notice that Esther wasn’t the only one the king sought after to find a replacement, just as we try many things before coming to Christ.
Another clue here in Mordecai’s roll is in the fact that He has more or less adopted his cousin when she was left without family. In much the same way as :
Romans 8:14 and 15 tells us - because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you
did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received
the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry abba Father. The Spirit himself
testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
The Bond between Esther and Mordecai:
Is a description of the verses just read.
a. The work of the Holy Spirit begins the day one is adopted by faith, into the family of God
III. THE SEARCH
The king had to discover the lovely Esther!
a. The King was totally unaware that Mordecai was moving to bring he and Esther together.
1. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Isa. 55:6
2. He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Heb. 11:6
But it also reveals that :
3. It is the Holy Spirit that is really the one seeking. Read Jn. 6:44
He pursues her until she captured Him. Jn. 16:7-15
The Holy Spirit keeps tabs on us daily - Esther 2:11
a. Maiden after maiden is brought before the King - He rejects all of them Esther 2:15-17
it was Esthers natural beauty that won the kings heart.
Lastly lets look at the effects of this on his empire. Esther 2:18
1. The King had no right to this girl. special grace or favor was shown him that she would be
available. it was forbidden to inter-marry so this has even greater significance.
a. This just like salvation - is the conquering of the natural by the supernatural.
b. There was an immediate witness in his heart just as there is with ours.
c. He expresses His joy- this time in a proper banquet.
what have we learned:
1. We sometimes make bad choices
2. We need to turn to God not unsaved man for help and direction.
3. We need to be careful not to blame others for our actions.
Conclusion:
If your here this morning and are empty inside and are willing to give Jesus a try raise hand.
If your here and you’ve made a bad decision
if you’ve taken bad advice
if you’ve blamed others for your actions
if you need the guidance of the Holy Spirit
