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Introduction
Good morning and welcome!
And of course Happy Mother’s Day!
This morning I’d like for you to start turning in your Bibles to the Book of Esther and start looking for chapter 9.
In just a moment I will be reading , in what may seem to be a bit odd for a Mother’s Day message.
Odd because it is not a Scripture we typically look at on Mother’s day and maybe even more odd because we have no record of Esther having children.
However, the reality is that even though we have no record that Esther had any biological children, the Scripture is clear that she was responsible for many children.
And these children were the children of Israel.
And as we go through the Scripture we’ll see just a bit about these children and how Esther cared for them.
And I will tell you up front that this morning’s message is not as much about giving advice on how to be a “good mother,” but rather I want it to be an encouragement to all the women with us today.
Whether you have biological children or not, that does not define who you are as a mother or a woman for that matter.
And I say that because what I found as I was studying for this message was a lot of advice to women and really not a lot of encouragement.
It all seems to be centered on things like....
What it means to be a good mother.
The Signs of a Good mother.
How to be a good mother.
And on, and on, and on....
And what I also found was that a lot of this stuff has been written by middle aged white men who have no idea what it means to be a mother or a woman in our modern society.
And I will readily admit, I don’t consider myself middle aged yet but there is no way that I can personally relate to how things are for women in our society.
Things are better than they used to be, but they are no where near where they need to be.
One of the most popular passages on Mother’s day comes from Proverbs, which is all about a righteous and Godly mother and how we should honor her.
Which is nice, but we don’t listen to it.
Sure, every so often, but not every single day.
But this morning we are going to look at a time when Israel’s entire existence was saved by the courage, resolve, and work of a woman.
So, if you have found in your Bibles, I’d invite you stand with me if you are able.
Starting in verse 1 . . .
Scripture Focus
Background
Now, I read to you toward the end of this ordeal that the Israelites were facing and how the Israelites had overcome their enemies.
And if you will notice the passage mentions King Xerxes, who was the King of Persia.
And it is important to note this because this was a time in Israel’s history when they were under control of the Persian Empire.
The Persians had come in and defeated the Medes and had also carried Israel off into bondage with them.
So, Israel at this point was not a sovereign nation that was standing on it’s own.
It was fully under the control of a another government, ruled by a King that was not a believer in God.
And if we go all the way back to the first chapter of Esther we learn that the King had a wife, Queen Vashti, who had undermined and disrespected the King and all the nobles.
And this being a very strict Patriarchal society that placed no value on women, the penalty for this was pretty harsh.
Esther 1:19
And just to give perspective of how little value they placed on women . . .
Esther 1:21
And the word ruler here does not mean “head” as we take it, but it means just the way it sounds.
Ruler, or “master” with the wife or concubine in their days as sub-servant, slave state.
So, now we have this dynamic at play and we also have an issue that comes up.
The King needs a new queen to take Vashti’s place.
So, they form a search committee . . .
Esther 2:
And to make a long story short, they happen upon Esther, who is brought into the “Queen’s Training Program” that consisted of . . .
Esther 2:
And we know that the King chose Esther, this Jewish slave girl, whom he didn’t know was either at that time, as his next queen.
And this was a big secret, because if Esther had revealed who she really was, they could have killed her, or at the very least had her banished.
But here is the deal, Esther was exactly where God wanted her to be.
Because a plot was afoot to wipe the Jews out.
And what happened was that one of Xerxes’ nobles, named Haman had been elevated to a place of honor and he was demanding that everybody bow down to him.
However, Esther’s uncle Mordecai refused to do it because Jews bowed to no one but God.
And Haman was so angry, it wasn’t enough for him to just kill Mordecai, but rather he was determined to wipe out all of the Jews.
And he goes to the King . . .
Esther 3:8
And the King could care less either way . . .
Esther 3:
So, now the people’s fate is sealed.
They are marked for destruction.
And their absolute only hope is Esther.
However, it’s not that easy for her either.
Remember, she is a woman in this society.
She is also a Jew, who has been keeping it secret.
And the only way she can help is if she goes to the king, which even though she is the Queen isn’t as simple as just walking in and having a talk with him.
She has to ask permission and then be granted permission.
And once she starts telling him who she really is, there’s a real chance that she could be lined up with the rest of the Jews.
So, Esther has to make a decision.
Is she going to keep quiet and save her own skin and watch the destruction of her own people.
Or is she going to step out into where God is calling her, risking herself for the sake of others, which I will tell you is really what mother’s do.
Regardless of whether they are looking out for their kids or somebody else’s, that maternal instinct kicks in and most women have a tendency to put other’s needs before their own.
Which all of us could take a lesson from.
So, we know Esther makes her choice . . .
Esther
And, she goes and the King grants her an audience.
But Esther is smart enough to not only approach the King to save her own people, but also to deal with the main one causing problems.
So, she has the King invite Haman to a banquet for the next day and when Haman hears that he is all giddy until he sees his sworn enemy Mordecai, which makes him mad.
So, he has some gallows built so he can personally hang Mordecai as a symbol of his own power and to mark the beginning of the destruction of the Jews, so he thinks but . . .
Esther 6:1
Which goes to show us all that regardless of how difficult a task is, if we are called to it, God is working on the other end.
God had brought the Mordecai and what he did for the King earlier to the Kings attention and while Haman was out preparing to kill Mordecai, the King had in mind to honor him.
And if we read on, the King even orders Haman to take Mordecai and parade him through the city as a tribute and honor.
However, the kicker comes the next day at the banquet.
Esther 7:1-
And his begging didn’t work, because when the King came back he saw Haman and thought he was trying to take advantage of the Queen.
And the end result was that they took Haman and hung him from the gallows he had built himself to hang Mordecai from.
And as we go on through Esther we see Esther again asking the king to withdraw the command to wipe out the Jews, which he does.
Application
And the end result was what we read in the very beginning.
Result
Altar Call
And I know we have went through pretty much the entire Book of Esther in about 20 minutes, but the point is two fold.
First, for the women-regardless of what others and what society tells you-you can accomplish anything that God gives you to accomplish.
Second, you have a voice.
And even if there are those in society who do not listen.
God hears your voice.
And I will tell you all, if it were not for the voice and prayers of women over the years, there would be many a church that would not be here today.
There would be many people who are Christians today, alive and dead, that would not be if it were not for the women in their lives.
Third, to everyone else if you are of the mindset or habit that women are beneath you in some way or that you are more important than them to God, you need to change your attitude.
God uses who God uses, when God uses them and it doesn’t matter to God if they are man, woman, old, young.
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