Esther 8-10
Esther • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsWe are looking at the reversal that occurs in Esther 8-10
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
“Abba, Abba, how many more days until the feast begins? This is my favorite time of the year!”
Adonijah looked down and smiled at his daughter Katorrah. They had just finished up their shopping in the marketplace in downtown Jerusalem in the year AD 22. The sounds and smells of the marketplace never ceased to amaze and excite his little daughter.
“You know that the Feast of Purim is always on the 15th day of Adar Katorrah!” said Elishama, Adonijah’s 12 year old son.
“But I heard that those in the villages outside the city celebrate on the 14th day. Why is that Abba?”
“Katorrah, you should know this by now! After all, you’ve only been hearing the story of Mordecai and Esther since you were a few months old!” said Elishama rolling his eyes.
Adonijah laughed at the exchange of his two children. “We’ll talk about it when we get home Katorrah” he said warmly.
When they got home, Adonijah set Katorrah on his lap. Elishama sat down on the ground nearby, ready for the familiar story. Adonijah began, the words coming automatically, having memorized the story as a child so he would be able to tell his children one day. “Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus . . .”
Recap
Recap
Now, since it’s been about 9 weeks since we last were in the book of Esther together, so let’s do a quick recap before we finish up this book together this evening
-Judah has gone into captivity for the covenant unfaithfulness
-Babylon, led by Nebuchadnezzar, sacked Jerusalem destroying the temple and taking captives back to Babylon
-70 years after the captivity of the Jews, Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon and allows the Jews to go home
-This books takes place 50 years after this decrees during the reign of Ahasuerus
-There are many Jews who have remained in Exile
-For whatever reason, there were many who did not return to the land of Israel
-We’re not told the reasons necessarily, and the Scriptures do not condemn them for this, and so we won’t either
-During this time, Ahaseurus has a huge dinner party that lasts over 180 days
-During the time, he sends for his Queen Vashti to make an appearance to show off her beauty
-She refuses, and through the counsel of his advisors, Ahasuerus takes her from her royal position
-He later decides to hold a nationwide beauty contest to find Vashti’s replacement
-Esther, a young Jewish woman is one of the virgins chosen
-Her uncle is a man named Mordecai, who is a Benjaminite
-Esther wins the favor of the King, and she is made Queen
-Shortly thereafter, her uncle Mordecai, who is holds some position in the court, uncovers an attempt on the king’s life, but is not rewarded in any way
-We meet Haman, an Agagite, who is promoted by the king
-Mordecai, for reasons unknown to us, refuses to bow to Haman
-Haman is ticked, and decides to annihilate all of the Jews
-He casts the lot to determine the date, and then requests that the king allow all of the Jews to be destroyed on a certain day, to which the king agrees
-The Jews all go into mourning
-Mordecai sends to Esther, telling her to go to the King and beg for the life of her people
-Esther eventually agrees to do it, even though she could be killed for coming to the King uninvited
-She gains the favor of the King, and asks him and Haman to come to a feast, where she then invites them to another feast the next day
-After going home, Haman decides to have Mordecai hanged on 75 foot tall gallows
-That night, however, the king can’t sleep and he has the kingdom records read to him
-It just so happens that they read of the incident of Mordecai saving the king’s life
-King Ahasuerus is told that nothing was ever done to reward Mordecai for that
-At that exact moment, Haman comes in to the King
-The King then asks Haman what ought to be done for the man who the King desires to honor
-Haman can’t fathom anyone deserving honor more than himself, and so he tells the king that this man should be paraded around the city by a high-ranking official, wearing the king’s robes and riding the king’s horse, the said official heralding how this man is someone the king desires to honor
-The King likes the idea, and tells Haman to make haste and do that for Mordecai
-Haman is humiliated, and is afterwards whisked away to the second banquet for himself and the King given by Esther
-At this dinner, Esther reveals that she and her people have been sold to destruction by none other than Haman
-The King is furious, so in a rage he leaves to go to the garden
-When he comes back in, Haman has just fallen down on the queen’s couch to beg for his life, making it look like he’s about to violate the Queen
-The king then has Haman hung on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai
-Now, that brings us up to speed for the last 3 chapters of the book, which we’re going to look at today
-Many Christians may not be aware or may have forgotten that there are chapters 8, 9, and 10, because many people just remember Haman getting hung and nothing really after that
1. The Sovereign God delights to reverses the fortunes of His people
1. The Sovereign God delights to reverses the fortunes of His people
-Have you ever been driving somewhere, maybe a road trip or going on vacation, and you keep seeing the same billboards advertising the same thing over and over and over again?
-Whenever we would go to Myrtle Beach as a family, as you get closer to the beach, you’re driving down this very long stretch of road
-And I always knew we were getting closer to the beach because we would begin to see tons and tons of billboards for this pirate themed attraction
-It’s like every few minutes, there’s another billboard for this pirate attraction
-Over and over and over again
-There must have been like 30 billboards all for this one attraction
-And after a while, you’re kinda like, “I get the point!” It all kind of seems like a bit of an overkill, but the point is to make sure this pirate attraction sticks in your head!
-And that’s really what’s going on here in chapter
-Here in chapter 8, the author goes through great pains to show us the huge reversal that has taken place in this story
-Everything in this chapter, and in many ways the whole story, leads up to 9:1
-That’s the destination
-That’s the point of really the whole story
-And so in chapter 8, the author lines the road with big flashing billboards, letting you know, making sure you don’t miss 9:1
-He is making sure that it sticks in your mind and that you don’t accidentally blow past it as you fly down the highway of the book of Esther
So, look at what’s going on here:
-Look at vs. 1-2
On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. So the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman.
Now, where does that sound familiar?
-Remember, back in 3:10, the king had taken off his signet ring and given it to Haman
-Now, the king takes of his signet ring, and gives it to Mordecai
-Esther takes all the estate that Haman had, and makes Mordecai in charge of all of it
In the next few verses (3-6), Esther begs the king to make a decree that will save her people
-So look verse 8
You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring no one can revoke.”
Now remember, the law of the Medes and the Persians just can’t be annulled
-So Ahasuerus gives Esther and Mordecai permission to enact another law that would help counteract the previous law of the king allowing people to wipe out the Jews
-Notice how he gives them permission to do as they please
-So what’s the plan going to be?
Look at verses 9-12
So the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, to every province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language. And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds.
By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions, on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.
These verses are almost identical to Esther 3:12-15! In your sheet, I’ve colored the different sections of both of those passages, and you can see how the author is so careful in his story-telling to highlight the reversal that is taking place
-Earlier in the story, the scribes were called, the decree was written by Haman, it was sent off to every province, and the order was for the Jews to be annihilated and their possessions taken
-And 5 chapters later, the scribes are called, the decree is written by Mordecai, it’s sent off to every province, and the order is for the Jews to assemble and to annihilate their enemies and take their possessions
Look at verses 15-17
So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor. And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.
Notice on the back page all of the flashing reversal billboards the author leaves us
-Mordecai goes from wearing sackloth to royal robes
-The city of Shushan, which was once perplexed, is now rejoicing
-And there mourning, fasting, weeping, and wailing of the Jews has turned into gladness, joy and honor
Back in chapter 3, no one wanted to be a Jew!
-Now, people are in so much fear of the Jews that many of them convert to Judaism
-It’s like those bandwagon sports fans, who make fun of your favorite team when they’re really bad, but then pretend they’ve always liked your team when they win the championship!
-The decree comes out, “We’re Jews now!”
All of this leads to the heart of the passage, and probably the whole book:
Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them.
Why, what’s the purpose of all of this?
Our Sovereign God delights in reversing the fortunes of His people!
That’s who God is!
This is what we read on Sunday from John in the upper room!
Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
This is what Paul says in Romans 8!
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
This is his point in 1 Thessalonians 4, when he tells the believers that their loved ones who are dead in the Lord, they won’t stay dead! They’ll actually rise first!
-Our Sovereign God is a God who delights to reverse the fortunes of His people!
-He comes along in His timing and rescues, nourishes, and honors His people
-Not because His people deserve that, but because that’s who He is
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
-Do you take comfort in that Christian?
-Do you think about that often?
-Do you understand and rejoice in the fact that God will wipe away all tears from your eyes?
-That all shame, and sorrow, and affliction will one day be passed?
-Our sovereign God delights to reverse the fortunes of His people
2. The Sovereign God causes His people to triumph over their enemies
2. The Sovereign God causes His people to triumph over their enemies
-Notice what happens next in Esther 9:2-5
The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people. And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.
-The Jews gather together throughout the province to fight against their enemies
-And in God’s providence, the officials throughout the land side with Jews and help them!
-They know that the top-ranking official in the Kingdom is a Jew, and so no one seems eager to risk getting on his bad side
-You can almost imagine the governor of city coming to the Jewish leaders in the weeks leading up to the big day offering to let them use whatever weapons they want out of the armory
-Maybe the governor offers to let them use the citadel of the city as their headquarters to keep their women and children
-Maybe as the day approaches, he gathers up the local militia and gets them battle ready
-He doesn’t want word to get back to Mordecai that any Jews died in his city
-His militia is expendable, the Jews are not
-And so God sovereignly grants the Jews strength and outside help to defeat their enemies all over the Empire!
-In the citadel at Shushan alone, the Jews kill 500 of their enemies!
-And this includes all 10 sons of Haman, whom he was bragging about back in chapter 5
-As a matter of fact, the destroying of their enemies goes so well, that Esther asks if the Jews in Shushan could have another day of killing the following day!
-And so on the 14th day of Adar, the Jews in Shushan get to destroy more of their enemies, and they end up killing another 300 in Shushan
-And this is the reason that rural Jews feast on the 14th day of the month when celebrating Purim, whereas Jews in cities celebrated on the 15th day of the month
-In total, throughout the Empire, the Jews kill 75,000 people who are their enemies, although they do not take their plunder
Why is this important? Why is this significant?
Because our Sovereign God will ultimately triumph over His enemies!
-Now maybe you think that this is kind of a barbaric and cruel thing, and you’d kinda rather we don’t discuss this kind of unsanitary stuff in the Bible
-Well as writer put it, don’t think that you can run over into the NT and get away from this kind of thing
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
God will triumph over His enemies, and this is something that is righteous of Him
which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you,
Do you understand that?
-God says that it is just and righteous for God to repay those who trouble His people
-That’s not a part of the Bible for Christians to be embarrassed about
-This is who our God is
“I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
It’s not that we as Christians should desire anyone around us to go to hell, but was as Christians should rejoice that God will punish His enemies and those who hurt His people
-Brothers and sisters, do you understand and take comfort in and worship God that He will justly and righteously punish His enemies?
-Do you thank God for His perfect justice in overcoming all His adversaries?
3. The Sovereign God appoints an Protector for His people
3. The Sovereign God appoints an Protector for His people
-The question the reader may have after all this could be “Ok, so the Jews were able to escape this time and triumph! But is there anyone to lead them and look after them?”
-Look at Esther 10:3
For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.
-Not only have the Jews triumphed, but they have someone to watch out for them
-Someone to lead them
-Someone to plead their case to the King for them if need be
-Someone to protect them
Imagine the comfort of having someone who that close to the King
-Someone who is one of your own
-An Advocate for the good of your people and a Protetor
Brothers and sisters, we have an Advocate with the Father, do we not?
-Jesus Christ the Righteous
-He is the One who reverses our fortunes!
-He is the One Who will triumph over His adversaries in the end!
-He is the One who seeks the good of His people and speaks peace to all His countrymen!
-He is our Protector
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.
-Brothers and sisters, do you take comfort in the fact that the One who will wipe away every tear from your eye
-The One who will justly punish those who trouble you
-Is Jesus Christ Himself
-We ultimately have a greater reversal in store for us than for 5th century BC Jews
-We have a great triumph
And we have a far, far better Captain and Advocate
Conclusion
Conclusion
“And that Katorrah and Elishama, is why we celebrate the great Feast of Purim!” Adonijah finished with a smile.
Katorrah gave her father a big hug. Beaming, she looked up at him and said, “Thank you Abba!”
Elishama his son, however, gazed off in the distance with a look that was a mixture of concern and longing in his eyes.
“What’s wrong my son?” Adonijah asked his 12 year old boy.
“Well Abba, it’s just that we’re under Roman domination. Sometimes it seems that Yahweh has abandoned us. Do you think that another Mordecai will rise up and take care of our people and give us victory over our enemies.”
Adonijah understood the longing in his son’s eyes. His heart yearned for a deliverer as well.
“My son, we know that Yahweh will send us a Messiah one day. And this Messiah he will send will be even greater than Mordecai!”
“Greater than Mordecai??” exclaimed Elishama with eyes wide with astonishment. “How could someone be greater than Mordecai??”
“My son, when the Messiah comes, he will reverse the fortunes of His people, not just for a few decades, but for all eternity!”
To which we all say, “even so, Lord Jesus, come.”