Oct 15 2023 Esther - For such a time as this
15th October 2023
Esther 4:9 Hathach came back and related Mordecai’s words to Esther. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and ordered him to reply to Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court who is not summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days.” 12 They related Esther’s words to Mordecai.
13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”
Esther Plans to Intercede
15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.” 17 So Mordecai went away and did just as Esther had commanded him.
5 Now it came about on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace in front of the king’s [a]rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the [b]throne room, opposite the entrance to the palace. 2 When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter. 3 Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you.” 4 Esther said, “If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”
5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly that we may do [c]as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared. 6 [d]As they drank their wine at the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” 7 So Esther replied, “My petition and my request is: 8 if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and do [e]what I request, may the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do [f]as the king says.”
Haman’s Pride
9 Then Haman went out that day glad and pleased of heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate and that he did not stand up or [g]tremble before him, Haman was filled with anger against Mordecai. 10 Haman controlled himself, however, went to his house and [h]sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 Then Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, and the [i]number of his sons, and every instance where the king had magnified him and how he had [j]promoted him above the princes and servants of the king. 12 Haman also said, “Even Esther the queen let no one but me come with the king to the banquet which she had prepared; and tomorrow also I am [k]invited by her with the king. 13 Yet all of this [l]does not satisfy me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” 14 Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Have a [m]gallows fifty cubits high made and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go joyfully with the king to the banquet.” And the [n]advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.
Let’s pray – Tony had surgery a couple weeks ago – and may need to have a transfusion – and he is really discouraged, having been in the hospital so long. And also to pray for the Middle East – for peace there.
Lord, we ask, for Tony – that the issues he is having – that You would heal him. I pray that his blood counts would come back to normal – give the doctors wisdom – and bring healing powers to their hands. Be with Tony – encourage him – that Your grace, mercy, and strength would be known to him – and give Sue peace and grace. I ask too for the situation in Gaza – situations too big for us – but please protect the innocent. You will judge the wicked, but our job is to pray for peace. May Your hand be with people and may You be known in that situation. Amen.
One of the main themes of Esther – living as aliens and strangers, being in the world, but not of it. I want to look at the apostle Paul – as he had a view – as in this passage in 1 Corinthians – look at how Paul teaches us to adapt to the world’s situations without compromising and conforming.
1 Cor. 9: 19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. 23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel
Paul lived in his world, but not of his world. A couple things to learn – being in, but not of the world is circumstantial and contextual. That means that different situations call for different levels of adaptation. Depending on the situation you are in – that situation will determine how much you accommodate yourself. In some contexts, Paul adapts fully to the world – He is all things to all people – complete accommodation in some situations.
In some contexts, he adapts partially – to those under Torah – lives AS under the Torah – THOUGH I am not under Torah – so he adapts partially.
And in some contexts, Paul does not adapt at all. (Those without the Law – lives AS without the Law – but not being under the Law of God, but under the LAW of CHRIST – no room for adapting there – living under the law of Christ always under every situation no matter what.
SO how do we do these? How do we discern our context – All things? Some things? Or a context of NO things?
As Paul is writing this – and as Jesus talks about being of but not in the world – it is not – as a Christian – what can I get away with? Go to certain movies, or bars with a friend, or a certain store to shop? Why do you do things? It is a question of purpose! TO do whatever can win and save as many as possible. That is the foundation for our decision making.
Second – personal convictions and conscience. Can you do it in faith with a clear conscience and not judge yourself or others?
That must be true about the situation.
Third – it takes wisdom and discernment. There are no bible verses to tell you what to do in every situation – but you do need wisdom and discernment. Esther is a wisdom book – It is off the charts with wisdom.
We just heard the story -
Esther
Mordecai: order her to go in to the king to implore his favor and to plead with him for her people.
for her people. for her people. – He is telling her to reveal her identity to the king.
You might think – He originally told her – don’t tell that you are a Jew – but realize 2-4 years have gone by at this point. There is a chance they have not had other face-to-face conversations. She must think – boy, this is a change!
(Esther's Reply)
11 for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court who is not summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live.
Now, some – and not a small some – her hesitation causes some to be critical of Esther at this point – some would say she is being a coward. But we know nothing about her motive here. I would tend to think differently – here is what I think is happening. She knows her way around the palace! She knows how it works – she gets all the political goings-on at this point – she is really smart and she has figured it out. I think she might be trying to clarify with Mordecai – give him as much information as he needs. She knows the law – and she is compliant – she obeys what she is told. If any of you are law-keepers… I struggle to go over 70 mph! It is a fight.
If you are that kind of person – this is really hard! Doing this, I might die! Sure, there is fear – but being afraid does not mean you are a coward! God says, I am with you – but it is only natural and right, when you are in danger, to have fear.
Esther 4: 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews. 14 "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish.
This sounds harsh. Maybe presumptuous. Or MAYBE – Mordecai knows Esther – and knows what she will do and what God is doing. I think it was clear to those who read it that they knew exactly what was going on. Mordecai is clarifying for Esther the reality of the situation – and then he says:
“And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?"
Mordecai gives her her purpose. Think of all the accommodating this Jewish teenager had to do! She was a young teen who has adapted and accommodated in so many ways – why? That the Jewish race may be saved. So, Mordecai is giving her courage and encouragement. And she takes courage from these words. And now, she is on her own – sort of. We will see that her wisdom takes over. I think that wisdom comes from the unseen presence of God – we don’t know how.
Esther, up to this point – has been given commands and she accommodates – and NOW – she starts giving the commands! She tells Mordecai:
"Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.“
(No cowardice there! Not concerned for her life!)
So Mordecai went away and did just as Esther had commanded him.
(I love this! IT’s great!)
So, what comes next is amazing – Esther’s plan and approach reveals three things
She has a wisdom from God
She has insider knowledge
And – God is guiding her through this.
We must appreciate the literary quality of this book – if we are to understand it. You know how – you watch a movie or read a book or listen to a song – and it just MOVES you? We don’t think about the practical applications of a song or book or movie – if you do – maybe you need therapy – but we all need therapy! No! It just MOVES us!
Esther 5: 1 Now it came about on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace…
And Vashti comes back into the picture – Esther enters in on the last day of fasting…
Remember the first time she went to the king? For her ‘audition’? She took only what the eunuch recommended. Now she knows exactly what to do. She puts on her royal robe because she knows there is only one way to approach this king.
3 Then the king said to her, "What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you."
And as we watch the play – we are like, YES! Let him know what you want! Go! But what does Esther do? She disappoints us! But it is genius. She knows that Persians love banquets – so what does she do? She invites the two most powerful men to a banquet. And they are giddy when they come. She removes the king from his place of power – and moves him to her place of power – her house! Her banquet!
We go back to when Vashti refused to come – what happened? The king sends out an edict that husbands are given undue power over their wives – and now this guy’s wife has control of the two most powerful men in the world.
It is kind of like the “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” thing – the husband is the head – but the wife is the neck and can turn the head whatever way she wants.
4 Esther said, "If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.“
So she has TWO banquets. This whole thing started with two banquets.
Esther is patient. Very patient. We would have tried to get this thing solved a lot quicker. She is methodical – she is NOT reactionary – we are so reactionary – and she executes this finely choreographed plan with excellence.
The king and Haman drink their wine and are so giddy – but Haman comes across Mordecai not bowing down – and it ruins his day –
Esther 5: 13 "Yet all of this does not satisfy me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." 14 Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, "Have a gallows fifty cubits high made and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go joyfully with the king to the banquet." And the advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.
From the beginning – who has been in control? Not the king. Not Haman. The two most powerful people in the world have no power. If anyone has power, it is only what God gives, and no more.
Somehow, Haman is totally clueless about Esther’s identity – no one puts it together.
This happened more than 2500 years ago. This past week – with all that is going on in Israel – it is like, wow – living out in front of us once again. We look at these events and it is perplexing. We think – how in the world?! And here’s the thing: All humans are sinners. That is theologically true. I know I’m a sinner. You know you are a sinner. And if you don’t the rest of us do. And because we are sinners, we are capable of great evil. But not all do great evil – but there are always some who are creating great evil in this world.
Satan is still god of this world. Jesus said it – and he still is. And his favorite sport is violence.
Third – the story of Jesus – the gospels – teach us that Jesus had a very different way of defeating evil than what we see in this world. It is the way of the cross – of weakness, sacrifice, and shame.
Nations will do what nations do – some better – some worse. We may agree or disagree – but it is the way of the world and that will not change until Jesus comes back and sets up a new kingdom. It may ebb and flow, but that is the way of the world. As individuals and as a community, we must learn to live like Jesus when it comes to violence and revenge. Be in the world but not of it.
When Jesus was coming to Jerusalem to die – “Oh, if you had only known the things that made for peace – but you did not – so destruction is coming.”
Christians must know what makes for peace in our lives and context and live fully as people of peace.
One last slide – like watching a series on Netflix – oh, gosh, we have to wait a week…
Esther 6:1
During that night the king could not sleep so he gave an order to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.
One last practical thing – where might God’s unseen presence and activity be in your context? Where might that be happening? In your job, family, relationships? TO know that – you need to try and discover and discern that. What happens – we get in the situation – and we start trying to deal with the situation – but we need to step back, look, listen, pray, and discover! Yes, there is a situation – but is there something God might be doing?
Twice, recently – pastors – outside of our church – talked about people – or they themselves – people who have struggled with church due to significant wounds or injuries in the past. We have learned a lot. You have learned a lot about that. There is a work of God going on in helping people who have been wounded by church – and God may be putting you and us in that situation -and we need to have our eyes open.