Sermon Tone Analysis

\\ ESTHER:

 

To those who are like Dr Burky, you will need no reminding that we will see a full moon tonight.

To the rest of us, we need to realize that there is simply a month until the Passover.

In fact sunset tonight starts the 14th Adar, so there is just one month until we gather for the Passover.

Most have already been making plans for the Passover and the Days of ULB.

Yet so often as we approach the Passover, the problems that arise seem to loom larger than normal.

Part of that is the process of examining ourselves, and most of us don’t like what we see.

We see sins and shortcomings that have been part of our lives for a long time; that we never seem to be able to overcome.

This can lead to discouragement if we are not careful and remain focused on our hope.

It really should be a time of rejoicing at the power of GOD to save us.

Tonight at sunset begins a festival that is recorded in God’s Word.

It is not a festival that we are commanded to keep, but one that helps reinforce to us the power of God to save us from all difficulties.

The Festival emphasizes the importance of our own actions as we approach the Passover.

The Festival is that of Purim or of Lots.

The details of it are given in the Book of Esther.

Very little use is made of the book of Esther for a couple of reasons.

In the past, it was noted that two principal problems exist.

Firstly, the name of God is never mentioned in the book yet the name of the king of Persia occurs some 127 times.

People are worried as to the absence of the name of God, either Elohim, Yahweh or other names that are used throughout Scripture.

Secondly, the book is not obviously referenced in the New Testament and hence Protestants commentators have questioned is validity.

Martin Luther was noted as stating that: “I could with that the book of Esther did not exist at all, for it Judaizes too greatly and has much pagan impropriety.”

Treatment of Women – disliked by feminists

 

With the first concern it has been noted that the name of YAHWEH does appear four times in the book, but as acrostics, a Hebrew literary pattern where the first letters of successive words or sentences spell out a name.

In Esther, this occurs four times.

Without a black board or Powerpoint to show you, it is not profitable to spend the time looking at this aspect of the book.

What it says more than anything else is that the writer that was inspired to write the book was a skilled person in understanding literary styles and those who heard the book read had a much greater appreciation of those styles than we may have today.

Let’s return to the proximity of Passover that I mentioned early on.

This Festival occurs exactly one month prior to the Passover.

There are so many similar details to the situation in the Book of Exodus.

1.

In captivity

          2.

Future of the nation is threatened

          3.

An Israelite ends up as part of the royal household

          4.

Deliverance is given at the expense of those who sought to destroy

 

Same conditions can hold true today.

Yet major differences are given as well.

In Egypt, the Eternal is orchestrating everything.

Moses delivers  YHWH’s messages and instructions.

Here God appears absent.

Esther and Moredecai appear to be on their own.

This is the major lesson I would like to focus upon today.

As we approach Passover, we would love to see God intervene in our lives to take all our problems away.

But it doesn’t happen that way does it.

Not all the time.

At first, God may appear very active in our lives.

I’ve heard of people who have had great miracles performed in their lives when they first came into the Church; miracles of healing or miracles relating to other parts of their lives.

Years down the line, and when they are anointed they aren’t healed as quickly or dramatically as they may have been at the first.

It’s easy to wonder, where is God in those circumstances?

We want God to be present to handle our trials, but he doesn’t appear.

That doesn’t mean that He is not in control of the situation.

We love to see God zapping our trials, removing difficulties, providing physical intervention in our lives and those of His people.

The book of Esther addresses that question.

What we must always appreciate is that we see things in an imperfect manner.

2 Kings 6:8-23 (ESV) \\ 8 Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him.

Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.

11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.”

It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”

14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

*15 **When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city.

And the servant said, “Alas, my master!

What shall we do?”** **16 **He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”**

**17 **Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.”

So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.** *18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.”

So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha.

19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city.

Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.”

And he led them to Samaria.

20 As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.”

So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

21 As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down?

Shall I strike them down?” 22 He answered, “You shall not strike them down.

Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”

23 So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master.

And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.[1]

Daniel 3:16-25 (ESV) \\ 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.

20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace.

22 Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste.

He declared to his counselors, *“Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?”

They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”** **25 **He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”*[2]

Did the three men know there was a fourth there with them or was it only Nebuchadnezzar who saw?

The events of Esther follow the same line.

Note the way events work out in Chapters 1 & 2.  There is the same level of background control here as we find in Exodus.

In what way was Moses a goodly child?

Is the Eternal making a statement that we don’t comprehend fully?

Despite the maneuverings of human beings, someone else is really in charge.

Notice the outcome of Esther.

From a situation that looked bleak to deliverance 4:12 ff and 9:1 “on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.”[3]

Two ways of living are being presented throughout the book: Haman’s way of chance, based on the roll of the dice or some other way.

Despite the lack of the name or instruction of God, there is a clear commitment on the part of Mordecai and Esther to God and His ways.

The Jews also knew how to respond to God when facing a trial and call upon Him for intervention.

Let’s look at some of the material that is given in the book

 

*Let’s start with Mordecai and Esther.

*

Mordecai puts Esther forward as a candidate for the Queen.

The reason is not known, but we know that he sees a greater purpose in their lives.

Their lives are not ruled by chance as is Haman’s.