Sept. 28, 2003 Esther 10
“Epilogue”
INTRODUCTION
His name is Muhammed Ali, and they call him “The Greatest.” With good reason. As an amateur, he had 108 boxing bouts. Because of his wins in those fights, he gained 6 Kentucky Golden Gloves championships, two National Golden Gloves championships and two National AAU titles all before he was 18 years old. Just months after his 18th birthday in 1960, he won the Olympic Gold Medal in Rome. During his professional career, he won 56 of 61 fights, 37 of them by knockout. Three different times, he gained the heavyweight boxing crown for his own. – from the official Muhammed Ali web sight
In an April, 1988 edition of Sports Illustrated, their was a story titled “Ali and His Entourage”. Sports writer Gary Smith went to Ali’s farmhouse to interview the three-time world champion. On the floor leaning against the walls, were mementos of Ali in his prime. Photos and portraits of the champ punching and dancing. Sculpted body. Fist punching the air. Championship belt held high in triumph. But on the pictures were white streaks – bird droppings. Ali looked into the rafters at the pigeons who had made his gym their home. And then he did something significant. Perhaps it was a gesture of closure. Maybe it was a statement of despair. Whatever the reason, he walked over to the row of pictures and turned them, one by one, toward the wall. He then walked to the door, stared at the countryside, and mumbled something so low that Smith had to ask him to repeat it. Ali did. “I had the world,” he said, “and it wasn’t nothin’. Look now.”
Muhammed Ali’s story is a great story. That’s probably why they recently made a movie out of it. It has good times and bad. Unforeseen twists and turns. There are moments that you want to stand up and shout out of excitement and moments that you hang your head in shame wondering what in the world he must have been thinking when he responded the way he did. It’s kind of a mixed bag. His story grows sadder the closer that it gets to the end, and the end is almost here.
For many reasons, Ali’s story reminds me of Esther’s. For nine weeks now (or for the sake of the analogy, we could call then nine rounds), we have been calling the play by play on the only fight that Esther ever fought. She wasn’t fighting for a crown (although she got one in the process); she was fighting for her survival and the survival of her people. Though she had entered this fight against her will, she sacrificed her morals and put in some below the belt moves in order to stay in the fight and win the favor of the king so that she could become his bride. God used this situation to put Esther in just the right position for her to be able to block the blows of her opponent – the evil Haman – who was intent on destroying the Jewish people. For a while, it looked like Haman had Esther and her people on the ropes. But with a surprise move that only God could orchestrate, Haman was defeated with a knockout blow. The fight lasted nine rounds. Esther, Mordecai and the Jews were victorious over their enemies. And they, like any world champion, threw a party to let the world know that they were indeed the champs. Now, all that is left to do is to publish the newspaper article that will summarize the champ’s activities after the big fight. That is exactly what we have here in chapter 10, the last chapter of Esther. Let’s read the 3 verses that complete the book. [read them]
Don’t you love a great ending? These verses are like the epilogue at the end of a book or a movie. An epilogue in a story usually has no great action. It simply ties up some loose ends and tells you how everything worked out. It helps everything to wrap up neatly. The epilogue is usually just a tag on the end of the story. You could skip it without doing any harm to the overall story or without missing anything of real importance. We are not going to skip this epilogue. There’s something important here for us to see. And according to the statement made in 2 Tim 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed [or inspired] and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,...” Believing that to be true, let’s see what these last three verses have to teach us.
THE STORY
As we read those verses a few moments ago, I hope that you noticed a word right in the middle of vs. 2. The word is “greatness.” Everything that we’re going to talk about today centers around that word and how we are to define greatness.
The greatness of Xerxes (vs. 1-2)
This chapter begins with an examination of the greatness of Xerxes. The last thing that we are told about Xerxes is that he imposed a new tax on all the people of the kingdom. Usually, taxes decrease the standing of political figures. They make you look anything but great in the eyes of the people. Xerxes had been the king of the Persian Empire for about 10 years before he instituted this tax. Why did he choose this time in his reign to impose this tribute as it was called? Something must have happened either within Xerxes or within the kingdom to cause him to take this action. Maybe he had gotten word that an enemy was amassing an army to invade the empire, and he had to raise funds to build up defenses and train more soldiers. Maybe he had just gotten the catering bill for all the banquets he had hosted throughout the first ten years of his reign. Or maybe he decided that now was the right time to work on beautifying the kingdom internally. With the Jewish crisis past and no other major crises brewing, now was the time to make a name for himself by constructing buildings, monuments and planting gardens. All of that took money. But he succeeded in getting his name in the history books. Look at vs. 2 – “And all his acts of power and might...are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia?” Xerxes had his name written down for all time as someone who accomplished something. He made sure that he would not be forgotten. Apparently though, this raising of taxes and other actions did not please everybody. Ten years later, someone finally accomplished what two of Xerxes’ officials had planned back in chapter 2 of Esther. Xerxes was assassinated.
As Xerxes’ popularity went down, Mordecai’s went up. Unlike his boss, even after the crisis was over, he did not allow his concern to be diverted away from the concerns of the Jews. Mordecai’s attention remained focused on his people.
The greatness of Mordecai (vs. 2-3)
Look at vs. 2-3. [read them] Xerxes forced the people to give him tribute, but the people willingly gave tribute (of a different sort) to Mordecai because he did whatever he could to benefit the people.
Haman, who had held the position of Prime Minister until his execution by the king, had used this position to benefit himself personally. Mordecai used the same position for the benefit of his people. Because of that, he was judged to be “great”. Sounds a lot like the attitude of people in WV toward Sen. Robert Byrd because of all the government finances that he has sent our way. And like Sen. Byrd, he benefited because of his service to his people.
Look a little closer at what these verses say about him. Mordecai had...
Position – “second in rank” to the king; “preeminent among the Jews”. The king had elevated him to his political position in the kingdom. Along with his political position in the empire, he also carried a political position among the Jews. It’s almost like being on the board of directors in two major companies. With the two positions that he held came...
Power – Mordecai’s word was law, because he, like his evil predecessor still held onto the king’s signet ring. He carried almost as much power as the king did. Remember what it said of him back in 9:4 – “Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.” He was so powerful that the other officials in the kingdom refused to go against his wishes and did whatever they could to help the Jews because of their fear of Mordecai. Power often turns good people into bad people, but in Mordecai’s case, at least as far as the Jews were concerned, he used his power to serve. That gave him...
Popularity – “held in high esteem”. Everybody liked him, at least every Jew did. And why not? They finally had someone who stood up for them. Since Mordecai had power, they had power. Take a look at that last phrase: Mordecai “spoke up for the welfare of the people.” That phrase literally says, “He spoke shalom to the people.” “Shalom is the ancient word for [peace], health, security and material plenty.” – Esther, p. 193 So Mordecai spoke peace to the people. He went to them and said, “Hey guys, no more worries. Be at peace. I’m in control now. No one is going to hurt you, because in order to hurt you, they have to come through me.” And a big collective sigh of relief could be heard in the whole nation of Israel.
That brings us to the end of Esther. By the standards of literature, Esther is a great story, especially since it is a true story. By the standards of that day’s society and probably even of today’s society, Xerxes and Mordecai were great men. And by our own standards, most of us would agree that this is a great ending to the story. If it was written as a modern day novel, we could close the book and put it down with a sigh of satisfaction knowing that things worked out as we thought that they should. But how do we judge greatness? What standard are we supposed to use? Let me give you some suggestions that our text suggests.
THE LESSONS – How do you judge greatness?
1. Do you judge greatness by power?
Xerxes had the power to impose tribute on his entire kingdom – some provinces of which were thousands of miles away from the capitol city and know that his wishes would be carried out. That’s power. His word influenced the whole world. Mordecai had the power to use his influence to first rescue and then change the social status of a whole nation of people. That’s power. But if we accept that the possession and use of power made these men great or makes any powerful man great, then we must acknowledge that Hitler was great. Along with Hitler, we can add Hussein, Stalin, Alexander the Great (he even had “great” put into his name) and the Pharaohs. Though these men might have been called “great” by those who benefited from their power, I doubt that any of us would agree with that assessment. We can safely say that power does not make one great.
A word of encouragement. Since power does not make one great, then you don’t have to be powerful in order to be great.
2. Do you judge greatness by accomplishments?
Xerxes had great accomplishments. He was the king of an empire composed of 127 provinces. There was peace in the empire – quite an accomplishment considering all the warring that is happening in our world today. With the tribute money, I imagine that he built great buildings – maybe even had his name or image carved into those buildings. Mordecai, with a little help from Esther, accomplished the rescue of an entire nationality. Good, attention grabbing accomplishments, but did it make them great?
In his high school days, James Dobson was apparently a pretty good tennis player. One day, he had opportunity to go back to his old high school. He took a look at the trophy case and found that the trophies he had won were no longer there. He later found them thrown away in a trash heap. They had been removed to make room for new ones. Writing about that experience, he says, “It made me realize that all human accomplishments are really nothing but trash that will not stand the test of time."
Still, people believe that accomplishments are the key to greatness, so they will do just about anything to get noticed for what they do. A recent news release told of a Charlotte, North Carolina, woman who set a world record while playing a convenience store video game. After standing in front of the game for fourteen hours and scoring an unprecedented seven and a half million points on the game called "Tapper," the woman was pleased to see a TV crew arriving to record her efforts for posterity. She continued to play while the crew, alerted by her fiancé, prepared to shoot. However, she was appalled to see the video screen suddenly go blank. While setting up their lights, the camera team had accidentally unplugged the game, thus bringing her bid for ten million points to an untimely end! The effort to publicize her achievement became the agent of her ultimate failure.
If accomplishing some great feat and getting noticed for it is the key to greatness, then Esther must not have been a great person. Did you notice that this book that bears her name does not even mention her name in the last chapter? We are told of the greatness of Xerxes and Mordecai and that their names were recorded “in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia, but no where does it say that Esther’s name was recorded along side theirs. Esther was there for a time. Once her time was passed, so did her notoriety. She faded from the scene.
In order to be great, you don’t have to accomplish great things and get your name published in the paper as some great benefactor. You don’t have to write a book or give away a million dollars or build a great building. In fact, the Bible says that if you do what you do in order to get noticed, then you are definitely NOT great in God’s eyes. (Matt. 6:1) Greatness does not come through accomplishments and notoriety.
3. Do you judge greatness by position?
The story has been told of a lion who was very proud of his position as the king of the jungle and decided to take a walk one day to demonstrate his mastery over all the other creatures. He strutted his way through the forest until he came across a bear, ‘WHO IS THE KING OF THE JUNGLE, BEAR? ‘Why of course you are mighty lion’. He went on until he found the tiger, ‘WHO IS THE KING OF THE JUNGLE, TIGER?’ ‘Why you are great lion’. Next the lion found the elephant, ‘WHO IS THE KING OF THE JUNGLE, FAT ELEPHANT?’ The elephant immediately grabbed the lion with his trunk and spun him around a few times and slammed him to the ground. He then stepped on him a few times and picked him up and dunked him in the water and then threw him up against a tree. The lion staggered to his feet and said, ‘LOOK, JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER IS NO REASON TO GET SO UPSET!’
Xerxes and Mordecai were people of position. They held the number one and number two spot in the whole world regardless of what the lion or the elephant might think about it. But if position makes a person great, then what happens when they lose that position?
A Proud young man walked into a room looking for his friend. He passed two blond young women near the door who looked him over and then looked at each other and said at the same time ‘NINE’. The prideful young man puffed out his chest and drew a big smile on his face, then walked over to his waiting friend. “You won’t believe what happened. When I walked in, these two attractive blond women looked me over and rated me a NINE’. His friend replied, ‘I hate to burst your bubble but those two women only speak GERMAN’. NINE MEANS NO IN GERMAN. Just as quickly as he had gained his position, it was gone.
Gov. Gray Davis has the great position of governor of California. But over a hundred candidates are vying to oust him from that position on Oct. 7. Pres. George W. Bush holds perhaps the most powerful position in all the world. But 10 different democratic candidates are circling to steal that position from him. If greatness is determined by the position that you hold, what happens when your position is handed off to someone else? Just ask Xerxes. Ten years after the closing of Esther, he was removed from his position by force. And Mordecai, being his Prime Minister probably suffered the same fate unless he had already been replaced by that time. Positions can’t make a person great because positions are never permanent.
4. Do you judge greatness by service?
Of all the qualifications for greatness that we have looked at so far, this is the one that we are most tempted to answer with a “yes”. There have definitely been some great servants in our lifetime. Think about Mother Teresa who has unselfishly served so many that no one else would touch. A reporter was with her and watched as she lovingly bandaged the open sores of a person dying with leprosy. He made the comment, “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars” to which she replied, “Neither would I.” What she did, she did for love, not for money or notoriety.
We don’t have to go to the shores of India in order to find great servants. “The weekend following September 11th, syndicated columnist and former presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan drove to Lower Manhattan to witness the relief effort taking place at Ground Zero. She found herself focusing on the convoy of trucks filled with rescue workers coming off their 12-hour shifts. The men in the trucks were construction and electrical workers, police, emergency medical workers, and firemen. It was a procession of the not-so-rich and famous. ... Noonan joined the growing crowd of onlookers cheering the workers with shouts of "God bless you!" and "We love you!" They clapped and blew kisses.
“Noonan writes: ‘I looked around me at all of us who were cheering. And saw who we were. Investment bankers! Orthodontists! Magazine editors! In my group, a lawyer, a columnist, and a writer. We had been the kings and queens of the city, respected professionals in a city that respects its professional class. And this night we were nobody. We were so useless, all we could do was applaud the somebodies, the workers who, unlike us, had not been applauded much in their lives.… ‘
“This reversal Peggy Noonan witnessed is nothing less than a foreshadowing of what Jesus talked about. A day is coming when the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Citation: Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, Illinois; Source: Peggy Noonan, "Welcome Back, Duke," Wall Street Journal, (10-12-01)
Like Mother Teresa and these Ground Zero workers, Mordecai risked his life to serve people. But unlike them, he was only willing to give his greatest service to a select few – those that were like him – his fellow Jews. That puts him in the same category as political officials who serve the needs of their own special interest group, but back down when the entire nation or simply what is right needs their voice. It puts him in league with Jimmy Hoffa who was loved by the Teamsters’ Union because he served them by sacrificing the needs of others – Robert Deffinba.
You see, it is not service that makes you great – especially not service that is for a selective few and motivated by selfish goals. If service made a person great, then the man or woman that serves your table this afternoon is great because they serve all day long almost every day of the year. You ask, “How does that match up with the words of Jesus in Matt. 23:11 – ‘The greatest among you will be your servant’?” It matches perfectly. Service doesn’t make you great. Greatness causes you to serve.
5. Do you judge greatness by popularity?
Norma Jean was a person who appeared to have everything. The most famous men in the world courted her. Even presidents desired her. She made millions. Her name was splashed across almost every newspaper in the country. Yet, she died from an overdose, and she choked to death on her own vomit, ruled a suicide by the doctor. Most of you don’t know her as Norma Jean, but rather as Marilyn Monroe, her stage name. She appeared to have everything going for her, to be great, but she didn’t, and she wasn’t.
Mordecai was judged to be “great” because he stood up for the people. But what happens when that person stands up for what is right even if it isn’t popular and doesn’t benefit his people? Would he still be considered “great”?
Popularity, like position and the power that comes with it are gone just as quickly as someone faster, better looking and more qualified comes along.
TRAN: If none of these things determine greatness, what does? Like Marilyn Monroe and Mordecai, Saul, the first king of Israel was very popular. He was given an assignment by God, and he disobeyed. When he returned from the assignment that God had given him, the prophet of God met him and gave him these words: "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Sam 15:22)
God judges greatness by obedience!
As great as things were for Mordecai, Esther and the Jews, things could have been better. They were still in Persia. They were supposed to have gone back to Canaan with those who had already returned. Now, with Mordecai in his position of power and the favor that the Jews had, they were even less likely to pack up their bags and head to Canaan. Things were good now. Why should they leave? As great a “feel good” ending this is to the story, it is not the ending that it should be. A better ending might go something like this: “Under the leadership of Mordecai who resigned as Prime Minister, all of the remaining Jews, recognizing that it was God’s merciful hand that had rescued them, decided to give up what they had in Persia and move back to Canaan to help with the rebuilding of the nation.” Does it sound arrogant of me to say that I could write a better ending? I think God would agree that it could have been better. God doesn’t record things as He would like them to be but as they are.
“In that day, there were two kingdoms. One was the great and glorious kingdom of Persia. The problem is that this kingdom was temporal, and even worse, it was a kingdom under the influence of Satan (see Daniel 10:20). The other “kingdom” was the earthly and eternal kingdom of God. It was in Jerusalem that God promised to dwell and to manifest His presence. It was to Jerusalem that people of all nations were to come to worship Him. While the earthly kingdom was far from impressive, it was the place of God’s presence and blessing. It is the kingdom which the Persian Jews rejected, choosing to remain in the prosperity and splendor of this pagan realm.” – Robert Deffinba
Was Mordecai great? You’ll have to ask God about that one day. He is the only one who judges greatness, and His standard is the only one that matters.
INVITATION
Esther’s story is over, and we know how it ends. One day your story will be over. How will your story end? “He was loved, had a big house, and was important...but he lived his life outside of the will of God.” Or “He didn’t have much and was unnoticed... except by God who was pleased with him because he lived in obedience.” You can be great without power, accomplishments, position or popularity so long as you have obedience. But without obedience, even if you have all those other things, it is impossible for you to be great. The deciding factor will be your decision about whether you want to be great in the eyes of God or great in the eyes of the world. My prayer is that you and I both will be able to echo the words of Paul who said at the end of his life, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:7-8)
You may say, “I’m not very great right now in God’s eyes. I certainly haven’t been living in obedience.” Well, your story is not over. You can change the ending if you will simply allow God to become the author of your life. Hand Him the pen, and let Him write into or scratch out of your life whatever He wants. The first and most important step to having a great ending to your story is to let Him write your name in the Lambs’ Book of Life. Having your name recorded there will make you greater than having your name recorded in all the encyclopedias in all the libraries in all the world. It will make you a child of the King of kings, and what could be greater than that?
