Esther Sermon - 10

Lars Janssen

Esther Series • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Behind the Seen: Something Worthy Celebrating

Esther 9:20-10:3

1. Introduction – Today we come to the end of Esther’s story and to the beginning of a celebration.

a. And it’s today that we finally come to understand the reason why Esther’s story was written. Why is Esther in the canon of Scripture?

i. Esther was written and included in the Hebrew Scriptures and subsequently in our Bibles, because it tells us of the origins of the festival of Purim.

1. Esther was written to show subsequent generations how this yearly festival got started and why it is celebrated.

b. At this point in their history, all other Jewish festivals were prescribed by God in the Law. They were to celebrate Passover, the festival of firstfruits, booths, the day of atonement, and some others that I can’t remember.

i. These celebrations were prescribed by God to Moses when he was giving him the law – and they were to be kept and upheld.

1. But Purim celebrations started almost spontaneously – and it wasn’t dictated by God, but started by people – by Mordecai and Esther.

a. And think about who they are – they aren’t prophets, they are priests or miracles workers like Moses was.

i. Mordecai wore the signet ring of a Persian king, and Esther was that Persian king’s wife.

1. But they instituted this Purim, and it quickly gained in popularity, so it was necessary to have a written history describing how it all began.

2. Purim – So what is Purim? Why is it called Purim? How is it celebrated?

a. The passage answers a lot of these questions for us.

b. Purim, or the singular pur, are a lot like our dice or die. Remember back when Haman was trying to figure out a day to carry out his decree???

i. Remember that Haman cast lots, or in the Persian language – purim, to decide the fateful day.

1. Purim were used in divination to determine the will of the gods.

c. Seems like an odd name for a festival – hey, let’s name it after a tool of divination that was used to determine the potential day of our annihilation. Why name a festival Purim?

i. Well, many who read the story of Esther might be tempted to think that the little turns of event were nothing more than good fortune.

1. But by naming the festival Purim, it points people to something deeper. It reminds people that the lot, in this case meaning the destiny, of God’s people will never be determined by the Hamans of this world or the gods they serve.

a. The destiny of God’s people is determined by God and God alone; he determined how things turn out for his people on earth.

d. Purim is an annual reminder that God and God alone is in control; it was true back in ancient Persia, and it is true for every succeeding generation, no matter what they go through.

3. Why its Celebrated – Purim is a reminder that on that day, Adar 13, the Jews were marked for annihilation, but through the actions of Esther and Mordecai, Haman’s plot backfired.

i. He was killed and the Jews were saved.

b. Purim is a reminder in the same way as Passover. In fact, Passover and Purim are bookends to the Jewish calendar year.

i. The Jewish calendar runs from Nisan to Adar – or from our April to March.

1. We’ve seen earlier in this study that Passover is celebrated in Nisan and now we know that Purim is celebrated in Adar.

ii. Passover is a memorial meal celebrating the fact that God brought the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt.

1. He passed over their houses and spared them from the tenth plague. Passover reminds the Jews that God is there God and they are his people and that he bought their freedom.

iii. Purim, as we’ve seen also celebrates deliverance – this deliverance in the land of Persia against the evil desires of Haman.

1. So, think about it this way – the year begins and end with celebrations marking God’s providential care of his people.

a. A yearly reminder of God’s redemptive work in the lives of his people.

4. How is it Celebrated – But Purim is a rather odd festival in that it is marking and remembering and celebrating a day of deliverance; it marks something rather serious – but it does so in an almost carnivalesque fashion.

a. In the 12th century, Purim was celebrating with the performance of plays, parodies and frivolous monologues.

i. In the 14th century, children began using rattles and stones to drown out the sound of Haman’s name.

1. In some places effigies of Haman were burned remembering his fateful destruction.

b. Even today, Purim is still celebrated by sending fits of food to friends and loved.

i. The book of Esther is read in its entirety in the synagogue and during the reading people cheer at Mordecai’s name and boo and hiss at the mention of Haman.

c. It’s a day when masks are donned to conceal ones’ face; childish tricks are played on each other and children paint their faces and go house to house singing and dancing.

i. It’s like a combination of Christmas, Halloween, and April Fool’s Day all rolled in to one.

1. It’s levity and joy stand in stark contrast to the grim circumstances of its origin.

a. But perhaps that’s thy Purim has had such enduring power.

i. It reminds people that no matter what one’s lot in life may be, God is in control and there is always a reason to celebrate.

5. Without God??? – But there’s something interesting I want to point out about the festival of Purim.

a. Like the rest of the book of Esther, even in the celebration and remembrance of deliverance – God’s name isn’t mentioned or even alluded.

i. But like we’ve seen through this study and from what we’ve looked at this morning, we can see that even though his name isn’t overtly mentioned, God’s is present through Esther and the celebrations of Purim.

1. It was God to directed the fortunes of his people. It was God who worked behind the scenes and the things that are seen to orchestrate his plan.

a. It was God who brought people exactly to where he wanted them to be so that he could use them to once again deliver his people from a tyrant.

b. And before we get up in arms about a celebration forgetting God, we see just how easy it is do for this to happen every year when December rolls around.

i. Come December we get laser focused on giving, getting and feasting. But where’s God?

ii. Come December, we get obsessed with getting the coolest and hottest toys for our kids, maybe even work overtime to be able to afford.

1. We stress about getting that perfect gift for our spouse.

a. We have to find the right outfit for our work Christmas party.

i. We think “Oh I have to get together with so and so…”

1. We have to throw the most memorable Christmas party for our friends.

2. Our Christmas dinner has to be a culinary masterpiece that even world class chefs would be proud of…

a. We get ourselves all worked up, all stressed out; our schedules get crammed full of gotta do this, gotta get that, gotta be here – but where’s God?

c. Since it’s coming up, I’m using Christmas as our example. Do we even take time remember exactly what we’re supposed to be celebrating?

i. In the midst of feasting and celebrating and giving and getting – do we make space for God?

1. And its true with all of our annual festivals.

a. Easter, not about bunnies or eggs or presents – it’s about new life and resurrection.

i. Thanksgiving, New Years, our birthdays – do we take time to remember and celebrate the God who has made all of it happen?

ii. And at Christmas is not about Santa and reindeer and toys and gifts and holiday cheer.

1. At this time of year, do we stop long enough to remember the fact that light broke into the darkness.

a. Do we stop long enough that it wasn’t a normal baby born that night? Do we stop long enough to remember and celebrate that the Saviour of the world was born – and he grew to be a man, a man who would eventually die on a cross to save us from death and futility.

d. How easily we get wrapped up in the commercialization of Christian holidays. Honestly, how easily we forget to leave God out of celebrations.

i. How easily we forget to stop and give thanks where thanks is due. So I would encourage you, as you make your way through time of year, as we get ourselves closer and closer to Christmas – don’t forget the greatest gift of all – and don’t forget the God who made it possible.

6. A Purim Lifestyle – but, on the flipside of that – don’t forget to celebrate.

a. We have a lot to celebrate, don’t we?

i. What the festival of Purim reminds us is that we can have joy and levity and celebrations even during the hard circumstances of life.

b. Purim was a celebration of God’s deliverance while his people were in exile. And so today, Purim continues to be relevant to us, because we live in exile today.

i. Exile is the experience of disorder, displacement and chaos.

1. It’s a time when nothing makes sense, home is far away, and the world is not as it should be.

c. But the idea of Purim reminds us that beneath the chaos and the uncontrollable, God is still in control. He is working behind the scenes to work out his plan.

i. Purim is about meeting the pain of our exile with the celebration of God’s providence.

1. The Jews in Persia celebrated spontaneously on that first Purim because they had a lot be celebrate.

a. And for us today, as people who believe God’s Messiah has come, that sins can be forgiven and freedom has been won – how much more do we have to celebrate?

d. Light has come into the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. Jesus took on that great enemy of death and has defeated it.

i. God offers salvation to all who come to him in humble and genuine repentance, and if you have accepted God’s offer of salvation – shouldn’t we live everyday of our lives in party mode?

1. Shouldn’t we live everyday of our lives celebrating what God has done for us through Jesus?

a. We shouldn’t minimize evil or trivialize suffering – but as people who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, we should have a deep and abiding joy in our lives that not circumstance should ever influence.

e. But far too often, Christians can be stoic and stuffy and afraid to show genuine emotion.

i. Far too often, we take ourselves far too seriously. Purim reminds us to not take ourselves too seriously.

1. It reminds us that even during the hard circumstances of life we can live with levity and even playfulness because our hope is undergirded with the promises of God.

f. Purim reminds us that we should be so overwhelmed with the providence of God, so overwhelmed with the good news that Jesus has come, that Jesus reigns and that Jesus is coming again, that we hold our lives with a looser grip than we often do.

i. Because of what Jesus has done for us, the spirit of Purim should be alive and well in the hearts of Christians – with all its joy, playfulness, delight and even fun.

7. Don’t Forget – So as we close our study of Esther – here’s the lasting picture.

a. God is in control. God is working; sometimes he works overtly and blatantly, but sometimes he works slowly and softly.

i. He works behind the scenes and behind the things that are seen.

b. And don’t forget to celebrate! Don’t forget that, as God’s people, we have something worth celebrating.

i. There’s nothing wrong with decorating or exchanging gifts at Christmas.

1. There’s nothing wrong with having turkey and pies at Thanksgivings or celebrating our birthdays.

a. But don’t forget about God – don’t forget about our gracious heavenly father who has done so much for us.

ii. Take time to give thanks to God for sending Jesus.

1. Take time to give thanks to Jesus for taking our sins upon himself on the cross.

a. Take time to give thanks that you have the Holy Spirit residing inside of your.

iii. We have so much to celebrate, and the spirit of Purim reminds us to live with joy and levity – even during our trials.

c. Next week is the 1st Sunday of Advent, so we’ll be looking once again at the story of our Saviour’s birth.