Risky Faith, Esther 4:14
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Our focal verse has a phrase that has become familiar to many Christians. The phrase is “for such a time as this.” And this phrase is typically used in reference to leadership at what seem like pivotal moments in an organization, business, or nation.
The phrase comes from Esther 4:14, which reads: “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?”
What is the “time” that is mentioned here?
The Jews were enslaved to the Persians. The king of Persia elevated one of his court named Haman. After his promotion, when Haman went by the Kings Gate, all the men of the court would bow down to him. All of them that is, except for Mordecai. Mordecai was a Jew, and he was the uncle of Esther, the one the book is named after. When Haman asked Mordecai why he didn’t bow down, he said it was because he was a Jew.
Now, the reason that Jew wouldn’t bow down can be found in the 10 commandments. God instructed Moses that His people should not worship any other gods, nor should they bow down to any idols… Mordecai’s refusal to bow to the King’s commander is reminiscent of the faithfulness of Daniel and the other young leaders in their day.
And, like the circumstances Daniel and his peers faced, Haman was outraged that Mordecai refused to bow down. And, because it was his faith that kept him from bowing, Mordecai was equally enraged at all Jewish people.
What’a happening to the Jews that they need to be delivered from?
In Esther 4 we learn that Haman has set his sights on the Jewish people and intends to have all of them killed. All of this is because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman as he passed by. Haman had an edict written in the Kings name and distributed throughout the entire kingdom.
Esther 3:7–11 (ESV) says, 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.”
The Jews are going to be destroyed, and Haman is willing to pay for it. Esther 4 begins with Mordecai hearing of Haman’s plans and that the king has blessed them.
Esther 4:1–3 (ESV)
“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.”
Now before we go any further we need to make sure we know the rest of the people in this account. We have a king, his second in command, and Mordecai. But the book is named after Esther… Esther was a young woman that had been taken into the Kings heirem. The king liked Esther more than everyone else, in fact he was so enthralled with her that he made her queen.
Esther is a Jew, but the King doesn’t know it. In fact, Mordecai is her uncle, who has the responsibility of raising her, and he told her not to reveal that she was a Jew. And now, the queen of Persia is a Jew, and the second in command under the King has decreed that all of the Jews should be killed on a specific day.
Esther 4:4-11 (ESV)
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.”
Esther hears of the situation, and she tells Mordecai that she cannot do anything about it because she has not been called into the King’s presence or court in some time.
Esther 4:12-14 (ESV) says,
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?”
There are a couple of things to note here:
Mordecai tells Esther that this might be the entire reason that she is in the position that she is in. Mordecai believes that God will honor the covenant that He made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua. Mordecai believes the words of the prophets that remind God’s people of God’s promise of judgment and deliverance. If Esther doesn’t risk her life on behalf of her people, Mordecai warns that her ethnicity will one day be discovered and she will die. But, even if she stays silent, Mordecai believes that God will deliver His people from the hands of the Persians.
What Happened?
Esther takes the risk.
Esther 4:15–17 (ESV)
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.
Again, this moment in Esther’s dialogue is so familiar to the way that Daniel and his peers stood for the Lord. It harkens back to the days of Jospeh, the son of Jacob who risked imprisonment or even death to do what was right.
Then… through a series of events and opportunities Esther leverages her influence and her power for the glory of God and the good of His people.
Through Esther a plot to destroy the Jews is uncovered Mordecia, a Jew, is placed as second in command of the empire. Those who were plotting throughout the Empire are given over to the Jews for destruction and vengeance. The Jews are saved, and Esther reigns as Queen, and Mordecai is celebrated as he sought the welfare of his people and worked for peace on their behalf.
What can we learn from this?
Being in the right place at the right time can be risky.
We typically talk about being in the right place at the right time in reference to rewards, not risk. For instance, right place right time to get a job, to make $, to meet the love of your life, to witness a historical moment…
But, here, Esther is in the right place at the right time to take a risk. You have to change the filter you use to determine if you are on the right path and moving in the right direction. All throughout the Bible the men and women who walk with God and stand for Him when everyone else bows down to the world face risky and dangerous situations.
“Go somewhere it’s dangerous to preach the gospel, others will somewhere it becomes dangerous because you preach the gospel.” - Russell Moore, paraphrase
Jesus prays in John 17 that we will stay faithful to Him when it feels risky.
John 17…
Mordecai points out that Esther can miss this opportunity to act for the good of her people and the glory of God.
Missed opportunities aren’t guaranteed to come back around.
Now, I am not saying that the world hinges on you saying yes or no to an opportunity. But, I am saying that God is working, and your choices impact whether or not you are a part of what God is doing in a given moment or person’s life.
You shouldn’t avoid the risk because you believe God will do it anyway. You should act in faith because you desire to be a part of what God is doing, and when you don’t act in faith, you miss that opportunity and it’s not guaranteed for you.
Being an instrument of God’s plan requires faith and a choice
(God is sovereignly working out His plans to)
2 Timothy 2:20–22 (ESV says, “20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
Esther was taken captive, made queen, and beloved by the King for such a time as this… and yet she had a choice…You too have a choice to choose Christ over the world and your flesh. But, your choice must be grounded in your faith as the source of your reward. What I mean is that your choice shouldn’t be motivated by the hope of a bigger reward in heaven… the reward is Jesus and He is giving out eternal life.
Because you belong Christ, you follow the example of Mordecai and refuse to bow down and stay faithful to the Lord. Paul said it a little differently than 2 Timothy when he wrote Romans 6:13 (ESV), “13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”
Choosing to be an instrument for God’s kingdom begins with presenting your life like a blank check to God rather than the world. (It also denotes purity and holiness)
“For such a time as this” refers to the advancement of the gospel and God’s kingdom
This phrase can be used for whatever you want… sports, social issues, politics, organizational or institutional leadership, government, etc. But, this phrase is used to aim our hearts and minds to the sovereignty and glory of God.
Sovereignty because Mordecai reminds Esther that she is right where God wants her. Everything that has unfolded in the nation of Israel and even the circumstances of Haman, Mordecai, and Esther are all under the reign and rule of God. Mordecai reminds Esther of this great truth, and we need to take it to heart today as well. God is sovereign over everything in your life. I undertand the magnitude of this statement, but it pales in comparison to the true depth and scope of all that God is and does.
The glory of God because it’s the goal of all that God is doing.
Isaiah 42:8 (ESV) says, 8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
There is no one more deserving than God. In fact there isn’t anyone who is on the same plain as God. He doesn’t share His glory because nothing and no one else is worthy of it. God made the world to be filled with His glory… and through Christ He is bringing that to fruition. The praise that was lost in the Garden of Eden will be replaced for all eternity.
God’s plans cannot and will not fail.
Mordecai’s faith that God will deliver are so helpful! God’s plans cannot and will not fail… and we learn that alongside this truth, we see that God’s promises depend on Him… not us.
This doesn’t excuse us from being faithful, it does the opposite. It means that God is going to deliver and redeem mankind from sin and have an opportunity to be apart of it.
I’ve never understood why some people think a high or biblical view of God’s sovereignty will result in a lack of evangelism or faithfulness to His Word… it should produce the exact opposite. The plans and promises of God are guaranteed. We believe that God is saving people and working their lives… as a result we should be committed to the ongoing work of God.
It is this certainty that drives us forward as a church… we aren’t driven by the charisma of our leadership or a compelling vision… we are driven by the guaranteed love and faithfulness of God.
For such a time as this you have the opportunity to live by faith
For such a time as this we have the opportunity to be faithful as a church
For such a time as this is the choice between being used by God for His eternal purposes or pursuing your own temporary and earthly rewards.
Jesus said in Matthew 16:25–26 (ESV), “25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
You have the opportunity today to respond by faith… this can mean:
Repent of your sins and be saved by the grace of God Repent of choosing self over God in recent days, months, or years Resolve/commit to being faithful for such a time as this