I’m excited to announce that I’m launching a podcast in January called Three Theology Questions. Each episode will feature a short interview that will ask three questions on topics related to theology and culture. The podcast will be available on all major podcast platforms and it will also be available on YouTube.
Each episode will engage with topics relevant to the Christian faith and to be a resource that educates, entertains, and enlightens. One episode, might talk about a new book that’s just been released. Another episode, might talk about a current event that’s impacting the news. Another episode, might have a guest who has a fascinating life story. I’m inviting guests from a range of fields including seminary professors, authors, journalists, podcasters, filmmakers, missionaries, and more.
Because life is busy, that’s part of the reason why each episode will be three questions. It’s meant to keep the episodes fairly brief. For the month of January, the plan is to release two episodes a week.
If you’re interested in the Podcast, you can keep up with the podcast at ThreeTheologyQuestions.com or like my podcast on Facebook. As with everything else I do, you’re always invited to share posts or episodes.
First episode drops Tuesday, January 5.
Thanks so much for reading! If you have any questions about the podcast, or suggestions, please leave me a comment!
On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. 2 And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.”
4 And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” 5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared. 6 And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 7 Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is: 8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”
9 And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. 12 Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king.
13 Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” 14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.
6 On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4 And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
5 And the king’s young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” 6 So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” 7 And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set.
9 And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’ ” 10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” 11 So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”
12 Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. 13 And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”
14 While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared.
7 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”
5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” 6 And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
7 And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. 8 And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face.
9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.
Prayer
Our Heavenly Father,
“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”
Lord, may the praise of your goodness, glory, and majesty never be out of our hearts.
Lord, today, may we remember and pray for the persecuted church and for Christians in other parts of the world who suffer greatly for the cause of Christ, who are forced to worship in secret for fear of retribution. We pray for these Christians and churches. Lord, we pray for your nearness to them. Lord, we pray for their faith and reliance on you.
And we pray for this church as well, that we would love you above all else, hope in you, and worship you alone. May we not take for granted the rights and privileges we have. May we not be complacent about faith, but may we grow in faith.
Lord, may we continue to pray for our community, in spite of the challenges that we are facing. You are the God in the sunshine and in the rain. You are our God in the stillness and in the bleakness.
Lord, we continue to pray for this advent season. Lord, may we remember great Biblical themes of hope, joy, peace, and love during advent. May those be present in our hearts and in our actions.
May we remember that our only hope as people and a world is in your Son, our Lord Jesus.
May we rejoice that the light has come into a dark world.
May we be peacemakers. May we be uniters, not dividers in a fallen and divisive world.
And may we be pointed to greater love for you, for our neighbor, for our community.
Lord, we ask that you bless our time in your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Introduction
We’re continuing our advent series in the Book of Esther this morning.
Last week, when we left off, the major conflict of the story was developing. Haman had put forward plans of extermination against the Jewish people throughout the Persian Empire. Which would have effectively wiped out the Jewish race.
Esther is the Queen of Persia. Her cousin Mordecai has explained these plans to her. At first, she wants to pass the buck. Yes, she’s the queen but she has no real authority. Approaching the king unrequested could put her at risk of a capita punishment.
Nevertheless, Mordecai persuades Esther. He argues that she is in this place of royalty in that time for this purpose when he says: And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
At the end of our scene, Esther instructs Mordecai to have all of the Jews in Susa fast for three days.
One thing I’ve said over the last couple of weeks is that I look at the scenes in Esther like a play. This week, we see the climax of the story as the plot is thwarted.
I mentioned a moment ago, that there was to be a three day fast.
And that’s where chapter 5 begins.
On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace.
She goes before the king.
Now, we’ve seen in this story that the king is somewhat volatile. Unpredictable.
And Esther is taking a risk by going to him.
And also keep in mind that Haman has a plot against the Jews. The king doesn’t know that Esther herself is Jewish.
So there really are risks that she’s taking.
In verse 2, we see that the king responds favorably to Esther.
And he makes a grand offer to her.
5:3: the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.”
We see a similar scene to this in the Gospel of Matthew.
Half of the kingdom.
It’s a figure of speech. The point isn’t that the king is going to literally portion off half of the kingdom. The point is that the king wants to be generous to someone in whom he has found favor.
And that’s the offer the king makes to Esther.
Instead of explaining the situation, or advocating for the Jews, or talking about the wickedness of Haman, Esther does something most unexpected.
Verse 4: Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.”
She wants to have Haman over for dinner.
The man who’s seeking to kill the Jews.
The king responds by summoning Haman. Haman comes and they have a feast.
As a brief aside. It’s worth noting that there’s a lot of eating in the Book of Esther.
The book opens with a feast, and then the king throws another feast for various dignitaries. Vashti has a feast. When Esther is selected as queen in chapter 2, there’s a feast.
And here we have another feast.
At this feast, the king offers again to give Esther whatever she wants, up to half his kingdom. Second time he’s made this offer to her.
So is that the time when Esther will explain the situation?
No.
She asks for…
Wait for it.
Another feast.
The next day and for Haman to be invited to that one as well.
Haman is elated. He’s feeling pretty good about things.
The queen is showing him favor. He’s already one of the most powerful people in the kingdom. And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai.
Haman is on top of the world, but he lets his anger towards Mordecai continue to gnaw away.
Haman goes home, and he stews about this to his wife, Zeresh. 14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.
Zeresh tells her husband to have Mordecai killed.
She suggests he have a gallows built 50 cubits, 75 feet, hight.
That’s what we call overkill. Massively high.
It’s an ironic scene. Haman is seeking to have Mordecai killed and then go to a feast. There’s no indication that Esther knows about the plot to have Mordecai executed.
Haman is plotting against Mordecai. Esther is plotting against Haman.
With that, we come to the end of chapter 5.
Chapter 6 begins. This timeline really matters to the story. It’s later that evening.
And the story takes a most unexpected turn.
6:1: On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.
What’s happening?
The king can’t sleep.
And he’s like “read me a story.”
And so the chronicles of the events of his reign are read to him.
Brief pause.
It’s worth remembering where we’ve been in the Book of Esther.
At the end of chapter 2, Mordecai discovers a plot to kill the king. He reveals this plot and the perpetrators are executed.
I had mentioned at the time that it was customary in the ancient world to reward such an act. The reason for that was you wanted to incentivize people in the kingdom to look out for the wellbeing and safety of the king.
But Mordecai was never rewarded.
Ok, now back in chapter 6.
Verse 2-3: 2 And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”
So you have Mordecai, whom Haman is plotting to have killed off.
Also, if you read Esther and pay attention to the dates that it’s giving, Mordeai had saved the king’s life five YEARS before.
But on the eve of the night when Haman plans to have Mordecai killed, the king learns of Mordecai’s effort to save him.
Why?
Why does he remember?
Because they’re reading him his chronicles because he can’t sleep.
As I keep saying, God isn’t mentioned in Esther, but he’s present. And he works in mysterious ways.
Some of the most important events are the moments where their importance is not realized at the time.
Back in our story.
4 And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
Lots of situational irony in the story.
Had Haman asked a few hours earlier, this request might have been granted.
But the king has just been reminded that Mordecai is his savior.
The king and Haman are both thinking about Mordecai, but for different reasons, and neither knows what the other is thinking.
Verse 6: So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”
Do you see what’s happening?
The king is almost thinking out loud. What should I do for someone I want to honor?
And Haman thinks “whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”
He thinks the king is talking about him!
Because Haman is a bit of an ecomaniac if you’ve been paying attention to the story.
Verse 8, Hama responds: let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set.
Mordecai tells the king the things that he would want.
He wants to be paraded around like a king and celebrated.
But the irony is that he’s actually suggesting the treatment for his hated nemesis.
Haman continues going on and on and on about the great procession that should be given. We won’t read the whole section.
But he wants all the trappings of royalty, not realizing that the king is asking for ideas for Mordecai and not for himself.
10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said,
I’m pausing in the middle of this verse.
Haman is like “Yes. This is what I’ve always wanted.”
The king says: and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.”
Haman has to be shocked.
And everything Haman had wanted for himself is given to Mordecai.
So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”
What a story!
Haman heads back home.
He tells his wife.
She was the one who just told him to have these massive gallows built.
But she’s not really going to give him a shoulder to cry on.
Verse 13: “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”
Translation: that’s not good.
Chapter 6 ends with the king’s servants arriving at Haman’s house. Why?
To take him to the feast. Remember. Esther wanted to invite him to a feast.
What a reversal of fortunes we’ve seen in this chapter.
And it was all sparked by what?
By the king’s insomnia.
Some of the most important events are the moments where their importance is not realized at the time.
That can be true with the events which transpired which brought us to faith in Christ. It was a series of events. And on the road to faith, there are lots of events that can be seemingly insignificant, but are important steps in our Spiritual journey.
Maybe it was an interaction you had with someone, a sermon you happened to hear.
In the Book of Esther, the Jewish people are on the brink of a holocaust, and that is turned upside down because of a bad night of sleep.
There are places in the Bible where we see dazzling miracles. The signs that God brings on Pharaoh before the Exodus. God parting the waters of the Red Sea.
We see miracles during the ministry of Jesus and in the early church.
But miracles are actually primarily concentrated in three different periods in the Bible. The time of the Exodus, the ministry of Jesus, and the ministry of Elijah and Elisha.
For the rest of the Bible, God is no less God. He is no less sovereign. But he often works providentially through other means.
In the Book of Esther, the main turning point, something so simple as a restless night’s sleep is something that God providentially uses on behalf of his people.
And we should keep that in mind in our own lives as well. Yes, God is God of the big things.
But he’s also God of the little things. He’s also God of the seemingly random things. He’s also God of the seemingly insignificant things.
I think of some of the events surrounding my niece’s birth a few weeks ago. My sister-in-law had switched doctors and instead of having the baby in a small, rural hospital, she had the baby in a city with more resources. I think of the 25 minutes the doctors spent reviving her. If they had stopped a minute or two earlier. She would have died.
I think about when Kari and I met.
Before we had met, a chain of events had already happened that made it possible. We were living on other ends of the country. She in Atlanta, I in Minnesota. She had a boyfriend and was getting ready to move closer to him, to sign a lease. But shortly before she did that, they broke up. The same week that happened, her dad accepted a job in St. Louis. They asked Kari if she wanted to go. Since she didn’t have anything keeping her in Atlanta, she said “sure.”
We met online. Living in a rural area in Minnesota, I had expanded my search radius on eHarmony. It included St. Louis, but not Atlanta. Kari created her profile, saying she lived in St. Louis but still living in Atlanta.
Had her relationship not ended when it ended, we might not have ever met. Had her dad not taken a job in St. Louis, we might have never met. Had she not agreed to move to St. Louis, we might never have met.
Ironically, she ended up moving from Atlanta to Minnesota.
Had that not happened, I probably wouldn’t be standing here today.
So many things work together as the Lord works out his sovereign plans.
God is at work. He’s at work in our community, he’s at work in our lives, he’s at work in our world.
And he has been at work throughout history.
Before the birth of Christ, God used an angel to communicate with Mary and a dream to speak to Joseph. Here he used a sleepless night to work his plans through the king of Persia.
At the birth of Christ, God used Roman laws to orchestrate Jesus being born in Bethlehem. Just like the vain and insecure Haman, when Jesus was born, you had the cruel Herrod who saw the advent of the Chrsit as a threat to himself. Just like Haman, he was a genocidal leader, but God brought Jesus and his parents to safety in the Gospel of Matthew when they went from Israel to Egypt, and coming from Egypt fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy.
God is sovereign over his creation.
And here, God is working on behalf of Esther and Mordecai and on behalf of his people.
With that, we come to chapter 7. I feel like the previous two chapters took their time at building up the story. We see a fairly rapid climax to the book in chapter 7.
They’re at the feast that Esther has thrown.
The king again asks Esther what she wants, up to half his kingdom.
3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”
This is the first time in the story where Esther is publicly revealing that she’s Jewish.
She doesn’t say it in those terms. But it’s obvious as she talks about the plan of destruction against her people.
Where she say they have been sold to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated, she’s referring to Haman’s bribe of the king.
Verse 5, the king responds: Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?”
Some commentators think that the king is trying to divest himself of any responsibility. He’s the king. He ultimately gave permission for this to happen.
And here at the feast with Haman who thought he was being honored by Esther, who thought he was to be honored by the king is called out by name.
6 And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
The king leaves the room. Full of fury.
Haman pleads with Esther for his life.
In the process, he falls down on a couch just as the king walks back into the room. The king thinks of that as Haman trying to assault the king, and that seals Haman’s fate.
9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.”
The unnecessarily high gallows that Haman had constructed for Mordecai, are the very place where Haman would be his end.
That’s just too ironic.
That’s like how when the French developed the guillotine, King Louis XVI suggested they make it with oblique blade instead of a crescent blade, and then Louis XVI was later executed by guillotine.
It’s amazing to consider Haman’s life.
He had been on top of the world. The king’s number 2 in the superpower of that day.
And in one night, he lost it all.
Life is fleeting.
Blessings can come when we least expected. Life can change in an instant.
And that can be true for better or for worse.
Our lives are finite and fragile. We’re always one event from our lives or our families lives being turned upside down.
Haman was powerful, and at the end of this chapter, he’s dead. Judgment does come for those who oppose the Lord and his people.
Even when justice seems far off or like it doesn’t come, it will in this life or in the afterlife.
And when we’re suffering or struggling, things can change. Again, maybe not always on the timeline we want, or in the way we expect.
And that too will not always happen on this side of eternity.
Sometimes things change, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes things get better, sometimes they don’t.
It can all seem random, and cruel, and unforgiving.
And when things seem unfair, or cruel, or random, we must have a theology of who God is to fall back on.
But what the Book of Esther should remind us is that it that nothing is random, nothing is meaningless in our lives.
If God can use the unjust killing of his son for the good of the world, he can use the difficulties and injustices in our own lives for his ultimate purposes.
Because in our lives, in the good times, the bad times, and the in between times, what we need to do is to remember our God, to live for him, serve him, and know that he is working all things to his plans, he is working all things to his glory, and he is working all things for our good.
My favorite Disney movie is the Little Mermaid, and part of why I love the movie so much is because of tall of the gospel themes.
The longing of the human soul
Ariel has it all. She’s a princess, she lives in a palace. she’s beautiful, she has an amazing singing voice, great friends, she’s adored. Yet what she really wants is a world that’s above (literally).
While her hope and aspiration is to be part of our world, her understanding of it is imperfect. She finds various items and turns to her seagull friend Scuttle to explain the things of the world to her. He’s well-intentioned but often ill informed as he tells her a fork is used for hair and a tobacco pipe is a musical instrument. We also see her imperfect knowledge of the world in the song “Part of Your World” where she keeps repeating “what do you call ’em?” “what’s that word?”
None of that changes Ariel’s desire to know our world. A world where they walk, where they run, where they stay all day in the sun. Sun is noteworthy in her association with the world as light is a nearly universal religious symbol of truth and righteousness. She desires the illumination of the world above over the dark world of the seas.
A sinful heart
Ariel has a loving father, the king, but she is also disobedient to him. She goes up to shore in spite of being forbidden. She complains about her father’s rules in “Part of Your World” when she sings: “Bet’cha on land they understand, bet they don’t reprimand their daughters.”
A deal with the devil
In order to make it to land, Ariel makes a deal with Ursula, the Sea Witch, who’s a demonic figure. Many had come before Ariel and made various deals with Ursula, only to lose and be turned into polyps.
Ariel is betting on herself. But it’s a bet she will lose. She cannot ultimately prevail in becoming part of the world.
A savior
Ariel was always a pawn in Ursula’s game. Ursula wants to rule the world of the seas. When Ariel loses her deal, her father Triton intervenes. There’s only one thing that can save Ariel. Triton exchanges himself for her and is turned into a polyp. He sets aside his crown so that Ariel can live.
Victory
Ursula is powerful. But she’s not all-powerful. In the end, she is defeated. There’s a resurrection of the people who’s lives she had taken. Triton gives Ariel what she could not give herself. He gives her entrance into the human world. The movie ends like the Bible ends, with a wedding celebration and a choir (only time in this movie) singing: Now we can walk, now we can run, now we can stay all day in the sun. Just you and me and I can be part of your world.
The gospel
There are great themes in this movie. But it also is just a shadow of the real story. That we are sinful and need grace. Jesus is the one who took the penalty of our sin for us so that we could be forgiven and have our true home in another world.
Thanks for reading! If you liked, please comment and share :)
Last week, the Supreme Court overruled an executive order from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo which limited attendance at religious services in certain areas which have been especially hard hit by Covid. This decision changed a previous ruling from the court which sided with governors. With the New York case, it was new justice Amy Coney Barrett casting the vote which reversed the previous decision.
Coronavirus is a highly contentious subject both politically, economically, socially. And some people are indeed critical of this new decision, citing the risks of churches being epicenters for spread of the virus.
Essential business
I find it fascinating that casinos are open in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. That’s ok. Every weekend, I watch college football games with thousands of people in the stands. That’s ok. In much of the country, restaurants are still open for dine-in seating. We had lots of cases this summer too and large protests happened all across the country. But churches are the problem. Lots of businesses are designated as “essential” and open.
I’ve heard people argue that churches should just stream their services online. Ok. And instead of allowing dozens of people to go to the grocery store, why not issue people boxes of food or make people order online? If it’s so essential to limit churches to “slow the spread” and “flatten the curve.” If it’s so essential that churches not meet, why isn’t it important enough for us all to sacrifice on going to the grocery store in person? Sincere question.
Essential churches
Church is essential. And more importantly, it’s constitutionally protected. Most churches in America have 60 or fewer people attending on the average Sunday (and that’s in non-Covid years). Those numbers are almost certainly down this year as some people are choosing not to go to church.
I’m not someone who acts as though Covid is nothing. I appreciate the dangers of this virus and the impact that it’s had. But I also recognize that there are other significant costs in combatting this virus. Societal and Spiritual costs also matter.
I see a lot of contempt for people who dare question or push back against restrictions. As if doing that means you actively want to kill people. I feel like our society deserves a little bit of credit. We have a virus where most people are not in an at-risk group; where most people are not at an age where they’re statistically likely to die or to have major complications; and where the vast, vast, vast majority of people who test positive survive. We’ve all had our lives and society turned upside down for most of this year. And I see the contempt for anyone who would have the audacity to want to live like a free person in a free society.
Again. All of the businesses that politicians (who regularly disregard their own commands) have decided are “essential,” and yet the desire to go to church is somehow extra reckless or uncaring? It’s insanity.
Church is not a privilege. It’s a right.
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19 Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 20 Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. 21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai.
23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.
3 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage.
3 Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” 4 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them.
9 If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”
12 Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring.
13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.
4 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said.
10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”
12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
Prayer
Our heavenly father,
We thank you for this day and the opportunity to come together to praise your glorious name.
Lord, may we be ever mindful of the wonders of your goodness. May we love you with all of our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength.
And we thank you for your son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has come into the world to bring your kingdom, to shine as light, and to reconcile sinful humanity. It is Jesus alone who is the author and perfecter of our faith. Lord, we pray for your nearness. May we not be people who are stressed by the concerns and worries of the world but let us be people who walk in faith everyday.
We again pray for our time in your word. I thank you for every person here and I pray that we can again be encouraged, edified, exhorted, and enlightened through your Word. And most importantly, I pray that we can be pointed to your gospel.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
We’re continuing in our Christmas series through the Book of Esther.
Last week, we were introduced to the main characters of the Book.
The opulent king Ahaseurus and the great feast that he threw.
His wife, Queen Vashti and her standing up to her husband when he wanted to put her on display.
The king’s advisors influencing his decisions.
The introduction of Esther and Mordecai and Esther’s selection as queen.
And the secret she harbored. That in the Persian Empire, she was Jewish.
I had said last week that I look at the major events of Esther similar to scenes of a play.
Last week was act 1: the introduction of the characters.
This week, we come to act 2 and see the major conflict of the story. Haman’s Plot of genocide.
We’re going to look at this story in three scenes.
In the first scene of this passage, it’s the end of chapter 2.
Mordecai catches wind of a plot against King Ahaseurus.
Verses 21-22: In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai.
In the beginning of the passage, we see something important. While Mordecai and Esther aren’t Persians, we see them acting in loyalty to the king.
The would-be killers are taken to the gallows and executed.
Customs in the ancient world would have called for some sort of reward for Mordecai. He had saved the king’s life, but here, he gets nothing. That’ll be relevant in the immediate context of the story and in the overarching story line that we’ll see come to greater fruition next week.
For now, let’s just focus on the fact that Mordecai is responsible for saving the king’s life and he gets nothing.
Scene 2 – the wicked promoted
We come to a second scene, where we see the last major character of the story introduced.
Quoting from the beginning of chapter 3: After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite
So instead of Mordecai getting the promotion that he would be expected to receive, this new character Haman appears in the story and receives a promotion.
A brief family tree is given for Haman. He’s not an Israelite.
When the story calls Haman an Agagite, he’s probably an Amelkite, who were one of the ancient tribes with whom the Israelites had a long and contentious history.
We see the primary conflict of the story introduced.
On numerous occasions, Mordecai does not pay the homage to Haman which Haman feels owed.
3:3: all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage.
It can be tempting to think that this was for religious reasons. Not bowing down to pay homage to anyone but God.
I question if that’s what’s happening here.
We see other instances in the Old Testament of Israelites bowing and showing respect for officials.
When people meet Queen Elizabeth, men generally bow and women generally courtesy. We stand for the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance.
How is any of that different?
It simply seems that Mordecai didn’t like or respect Haman.
I mentioned a moment ago that Haman received a promotion when one appeared to be in order for Mordecai.
This is a common cry of lament in the Bible. Questioning why God allows the wicked to prosper.
We see it in Psalm 94:3:
3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
One of the greatest examples of these questions in the Bible is found in Psalm 37.
The Psalm begins with explaining the judgment for those who oppose the Lord. It’s a 40 verse Psalm which goes back and forth in talking about ultimate judgement upon those who oppose the Lord and calls the people of God to patience and trust.
Just to give a few examples.
Verses 1-2: 1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! 2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.
Verses 10-13 again talks of divine judgment.
10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. 12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
There are so many more examples we could look to in this Psalm. But I want to look at how Psalm 37 ends.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
It’s a reminder that God is just.
In world events, we see the wicked prosper. We see tyrannical leaders in other nations. We see powerful people who abuse others.
Perhaps we’ve seen examples in our own lives of people prospering when it didn’t seem right. Perhaps we’ve had someone get ahead of us in school, in work, in another situation but they didn’t do it honestly, or they cheated or broke the rules but didn’t get caught.
Those things happen.
And we see it happen in the Book of Esther.
God can seem distant when those things happen. The world can seem unjust when those things happen. But God is sovereign over the events of the world.
As I’ve said multiple times about this book, God isn’t mentioned in Esther, but he’s present. And while we might not always see God at work in every situation in our lives, while we might not always feel God’s presence, he is no less active in our world today.
Unrighteousness and sin will be dealt with by a just and righteous God. It doesn’t always happen on the timeline that we prefer, but it is no less true that God is working out his perfect justice.
In verse 7, it talks of Haman casting lots. Casting lots was a practice similar to flipping a coin or throwing dice. He was doing it to find what was – in his mind – the right time to go forward with a plot he had.
And that plot is introduced in verse 8.
3:8: Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them.
Haman tries to turn the king against the Jews.
Just as a reminder, at this time, Israel is in the territory of the Persian Empire.
He brings up the different lifestyle of the Jewish people when he talks of their laws being different.
Historically, this has long been a justification for anti-semtiic thought. Especially among observant Jews, they can be very much cloistered in their own communities. Observant Jews have laws that impact their worship, which is different than the pagan world. They have laws that affect their diet, their calendar. Especially for men, their dress and appearance.
And so Haman appeals to the differences betwween the Jews and the Persians and he uses that as a justification for genocide.
And to make the offer all the more enticing to the king, Haman makes him an offer he can’t refuse.
Verse 9: If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.”
The ancient historian Heroditus estimated the total annual GDP of Persia to be like 14,000 talents of silver.
So Haman has pledged an enormous amount of money to the king, who – just as a reminder – is coming off of an unsuccessful military campaign.
So we don’t so much see animus from the king towards the Jews, but we see once again that he is impressionable and easily swayed.
The king gives Haman his signet wring. Basically royal authority in issuing this decree.
And word is sent out to the entire Persian Empire: Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. (3:13)
It’s a holocuast. The entire Jewish race is to be plundered and killed.
The timing of this event providentially corresponds to the time of Passover. And from the time of the edict, it’s still a few months away.
Again, keep in mind that Esther is a relatively short story but the book covers several years in time.
It is interesting timing.
When you consider the original Passover.
God had miraculously intervened and saved the Israelites from the Egyptians.
But once the Israelites had entered the Promised Land, they continued to sin. And God brought judgement upon the Israelites by allowing them to be conquered and to lose the land.
Was this a further judgment? Would God intervene? What was the plan?
Chapter 4 begins by telling us of Mordecai’s response to this decree.
It should be no surprise but he’s beside himself. He’s absolutely devastated by this horrific news.
When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
We see a similar response when Esther gets word of this.
Yes, she’s the queen. But it’s not like she had a role in advising the king on these matters.
Verse 11, communicating through messengers, Esther explains to Mordecai that she doesn’t even have the authority to approach her husband without being requested.
“All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”
The idea that a law existed where the King of Persia could not be approached is corroborated by the historian Herodotus. By the way, Herodotus wasn’t Jewish. He was Greek.
The passage tells us that it’s been about a month since Esther has even interacted with the king.
Perhaps part of Esther’s hesitancy to bring this before the king was that it would potentially force her to reveal her own Israelite origins.
But Mordecai doesn’t want to accept that as a dead end. She’s still the person who’s in a unique position. If anyone can help the Jewish people, it’s Esther.
13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Again, Mordecai doesn’t tell this to Esther directly. They’re communicating through others.
But he has given her a powerful message.
Mordecai has said a lot, but I want to focus on three things.
First, he tells her no one will protect her either if this plan against the Jews goes forward. Yes, she would be taking a risk by approaching the king. But she’s also taking a risk by doing nothing.
Secondly, we see tremendous faith from Mordecai when he says: relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place.
He’s clearly putting pressure on Esther but he’s also expressing ultimate faith in God’s deliverance for the Jewish people. Mordecai has the hope that this deliverance will come, one way or another, with Esther or without her.
Today, is the first Sunday of advent.
The first Sunday of advent is traditionally associated with the theme of hope.
We see that from Mordecai. And it is an important reminder to trust in God’s promises.
We too should have hope. In God. In his promises. In his plans.
God isn’t mentioned in Esther, but he looms over this book. It is because Mordecai knows that the Lord God is his God and that the Israelites are God’s people that he can have total certainty that the Lord will bring deliverance.
And we too should have tht hope.
There’s been a lot of stress this year.
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells Peter:
I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The third thing that Mordecai tells Esther, and this is probably the most well known verse in this book.
who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
What he’s saying is that “perhaps the reason why you’re the queen is for this moment, and to act on behalf of the people.”
Sometimes we get pushed into moments where it’s required of us to do great things.
I think of major events like 9/11. People rose to the occasion.
A time such as this.
We all have meaningful moments in our lives.
We don’t always ask for those moments.
Perhaps not moments that will impact entire nations.
But we have moments that are still significant and that can impact our lives and the lives of others.
Sometimes those moments call for us to make sacrifices. Sometimes those moments call us to take risks.
Ordinary people get pushed into situations where sometimes they’re in a position to save a life.
Ordinary people get put in situations where sometimes they have the opportunity to stand up for someone else or advocate for someone who’s faced an injustice.
In those moments, there’s a choice to keep on minding your own business or to stand up for someone else.
What do you do in time such as those?
That’s the challenge that Mordecai gives to Esther.
15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
They round up the Jews to fast. That’s about the only Spiritual activity we see in this book where God, prayer, prophecies, and miraculous signs are absent.
Let us not lose sight of the faith of Esther in this story either.
For her to rise to the occasion at a time such as this, she was risking her own life.
