WEBVTT

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Today we start on a whole new journey together

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into the Old Testament. And so over the next,

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I don't even know how many months, because I

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never know. That's up to the Lord. We're going

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to be studying years. No, not years, I promise.

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But we're going to be studying the book of Esther.

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And I think it's going to be an engaging series

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because Esther has so many interesting features

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to it. First and foremost, it is a very historical

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book. filled with ancient Near East personalities

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and cultures. It is deeply rooted in archaeology,

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which we'll see some of those images today. Esther

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is also a very controversial book, whether you

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knew that or not. In fact, multiple controversies

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abound over this particular book. For example,

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why is there no mention of God anywhere in the

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text of Esther? Does it belong in the Old Testament

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canon? Some have questioned that. Is it more

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apocryphal than it is inspired? And then what

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about its main characters? They're Jewish, but

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are they practicing Jews or are they secular

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Jews? That's an important question. Why are they

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living in a foreign land when they could have

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gone back to the promised land? So a lot of questions.

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We're going to explore all of them throughout

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the series. So much for us to learn primarily

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about. how God is always at work behind the scenes.

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That is really the big idea of Esther. God is

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always at work behind the scenes, guiding all

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of human history, including our lives, not just

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the big people that we like to think of, but

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the little people like us, guiding our lives

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for his glory and for his purposes. And sometimes

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God's hand is involved in just the ordinary moments

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of life, and sometimes... right at the moment

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of big life decisions. That's why you see the

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subtitle we gave to this series is God's Providence

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in Dark Times. Now, we chose that word providence

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for a reason. We often talk about sovereignty

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here at Oak Hill. And rightfully so, because

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God is sovereign. But for this series, we felt

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like providence was a better fit, and I'll tell

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you why. When we think about sovereignty, sovereignty

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is defined as God's absolute right and power

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to do all that he purposes to do. Let me say

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it again. God's absolute right and power to do

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all that he purposes to do. He has supreme authority

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and control over all of creation and over all

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creatures. And he has the sole right to govern

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our world and deal with humanity as he pleases.

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And of course, nothing down here on earth happens

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outside of his will. We're going to see that

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clearly in the book of Esther. So why use the

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term providence? Because providence is about

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how God exercises that power. How he accomplishes

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all that he purposes to do in a wise, purposeful,

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and caring way. In other words, when we talk

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about providence, we're talking about the Lord's

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active guiding of all things in our lives towards

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the end of all things that he has decreed. And

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he does that. He is sovereign. He is providential

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for two reasons that we talk about all the time

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at Oak Hill. First of all, for his own glory.

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And second of all, for the good of his people.

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That's why he does this. And that means we can

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be assured as believers that God's plans are

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not just supreme and sovereign, but they're also

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good and loving. Amen? That's an important foundational

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truth that we need to trust. Yes, God is sovereign,

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he's powerful, and he does all that he pleases,

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but he's also good and loving and caring for

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his people. Now, we're going to ease into the

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study this morning. What I'm going to try to

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do is introduce you to the main characters of

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the story of Esther as they are introduced to

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us in the text. Today is all about the main character,

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the main human character, God is the main character,

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the main human character who is the Persian king.

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He is the one mentioned most often in the book

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of Esther. And then in the following weeks, we're

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going to get to know the other main characters,

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Esther and Mordecai and Haman. And we boo when

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Haman comes up, right? Boo, right. We'll get

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to that as well. So Esther is historical. It's

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controversial. And the last thing I'll say about

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the book of Esther is it's a crisis book. It's

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been called a crisis book. As the story unfolds,

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it moves from crisis. to crisis, to crisis. So

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throughout the series, I'm going to keep coming

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back to a couple key themes. First of all, do

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you see God's providential hand in each one of

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these crises that comes up? Do you see how God

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is at work? From a human perspective, it looks

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dark. It looks difficult. But God is always at

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work. Can you see how he's at work? Second of

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all, I want you to put yourself into the story,

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slip on those ancient sandals, if you will, and

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ask the question in each of these crises, how

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would I have responded to this? Would my faith

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have held up in the midst of what these characters

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are going through? Okay, so we're probably going

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to start where you expected me to start, and

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that is with timelines and maps. That is coming.

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I want to say, anybody who's visiting or newer

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to Oak Hill, this is an unusual message, doing

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an introductory sermon like this. I'm going to

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give you a fire hydrant of information. about

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the backdrop of this book. But what I'm trying

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to do is set the stage so that we can understand

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it more and more as we go along. So I appreciate

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your grace on that. Here's the thing we'll all

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start with. I have found over the years that

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very few Christians are truly aware of the importance

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of the Persian kings in the life of the Jewish

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people. We tend to know something about the Assyrians.

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We've heard the word Assyria. We know a little

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bit more about Babylon and the name Nebuchadnezzar

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that comes up. But a lot of us are fuzzy about

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the Persians. So we're going to start this morning

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with a couple of important timelines that are

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going to look a little bit like this as my clicker

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starts to work. Here it comes. And there it is.

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Okay, good. Fantastic. I want to start with an

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overview of the succession of empires that ruled

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the ancient Near East back in this time, including

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the Jewish people, including the land of Israel.

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From the late 10th century BC all the way to

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the 7th century BC, it was the Assyrians who

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dominated the region. And you see there on the

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screen that this period aligns with biblical

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history. Those are just some of the Old Testament

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books that correspond with the period of Assyrian

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rule. power. Probably the most to recognize there,

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the prophecy of Isaiah, and of course, the book

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of Jonah, directly related to the Assyrians.

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But then in 609 BC, we have the Babylonians come

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on the scene. Now, not Nebuchadnezzar yet. His

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father, great name, Nabopolassar, is the one

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who rolls in and brings down the mighty Assyrians.

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And the Babylonians had a strong run under the

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leadership of Nebuchadnezzar. Remember, he was

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the king who invades Israel, destroys Solomon's

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temple in 586, and takes the Jewish people captive

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into exile. So the Babylonians have a short reign,

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but a very... very important reign in the history

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of the Jewish people. And you see three important

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Old Testament books there that correspond with

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the Babylonian exile, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and

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Daniel. But unfortunately for Nebuchadnezzar,

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Babylonian dominance doesn't last long, primarily

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because his descendants, the guys who come after

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him, are absolutely useless as kings. And so

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in 539, we have another shift in the dominant

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region. in the area, and that is the Persians.

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In 539 BC, Babylon is conquered by Cyrus, who

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is the king of the Medes and the Persians, and

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he is the man. So Nebuchadnezzar took the Jews

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into exile. It's Cyrus, king of the Medes and

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Persians, who are going to send the Jews back

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to the land. And because of that, you see a list

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of what we call the post -exilic books that are

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up there, the post -exilic writings, including

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at the top, you see Esther. One of the post -exilic

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books of the Old Testament. Now, the great Persian

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empire started by Cyrus lasts over 200 years

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until a guy by the name of Alexander the Great

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swept through the ancient Near East and turned

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everything in that part of the world Greek. But

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his life was short, 33 years. And when he died,

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his kingdom was divided up and weakened. And

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eventually, who came next? New Testament, right?

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The Romans. The Romans began to expand into the

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east and around the year 150 BC, they conquered

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the last vestige of Greek power. And eventually

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the Romans then rolled into the Holy Land in

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the year 63 BC when they conquered the city of

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Jerusalem about 60 years before the incarnation

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of Christ. So that's just a really quick, that

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is the overview from 30 ,000 feet so that you

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can see how God has put these empires in place,

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ruling over the Jewish people, some for their

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detriment, some for their good. And we'll get

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to that as we go along. What I want to do next

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is zoom in on the Persian Empire to see where

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the book of Esther fits into the timeline and

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where Esther fits into the history of the Persian

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kings. And there's a purpose behind this, so

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hang with me. First, before the Persians arrive

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on the scene, go back in your mind to the time

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of the Babylonians. Recall that Judah was invaded

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by Nebuchadnezzar in a series of three waves

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of attacks. But it's the year 605 when Daniel

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and his friends and other Jews are first taken

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into captivity and shipped out to Babylon. Eight

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years after that, Ezekiel is taken captive, along

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with 10 ,000 other Jews, and they also are exiled

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and carried away. The third attack happens in

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586. That's when Nebuchadnezzar destroys Solomon's

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temple. Just a heartbreaking moment in Jewish

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history. Solomon's glorious temple leveled by

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the Babylonians. They're in Babylon now with

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all these people carried away. The Jews were

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forced to build new lives for themselves and

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their families. And we know from history and

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archaeology that the Jews in exile built homes

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and they engaged in businesses and they began

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to meet in synagogues. And recalling that Jeremiah

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had prophesied very specifically that they would

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be in exile for how long? 70 years, faithful

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Jews. and waited for their deliverance to come.

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And how was the Lord going to restore his people

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to the land? It would have looked hopeless back

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in that day, but that's where the Persian kings

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come into play. And the first one we have to

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talk about is Cyrus the Great. He's a very important

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character. Look, I found pictures of him. Isn't

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this great? No, you know, artists are getting

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better and better. They look at physical descriptions

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from historians. They look at... portraits that

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are found in palaces and such, and they can begin

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to sort of put together at least some type of

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an image of what these guys would have been like.

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If I showed you a palace relief from 600 BC,

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that wouldn't help you bring these guys to life.

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And I think these images actually bring them

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to life so you can see what they would have looked

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like, at least partially. Now, if you look at

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this and you roll your eyes, you're tempted to

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think, well, why do I need to know about Persian

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history? What you have to know is all three of

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these guys are, are you ready for it? Biblical

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characters. All three of them are found in your

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Bibles sitting in your lap. Not Jews, not worshipers

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of Yahweh, pagan men that God used mightily to

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accomplish his sovereign purposes in the life

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of his people, which is amazing. Now, the king

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at the center of the book of Esther is the third

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guy you see up there. His name is Xerxes I. But

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before we can talk about Xerxes, you have to

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talk about his much more famous predecessors.

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Both the guys on the left in the middle are known

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as greats. Just as we have Alexander the Great,

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we have Cyrus the Great, and we have Darius the

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Great. Both of them sort of earn that reputation

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based on what they do. They are at the top of

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a dynasty of Persian kings we call the Achaemenids.

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If you know anybody today who is Iranian, they

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will talk about their pride in the Achaemenid

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dynasty. This was really the height of Persian

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power and Persian influence in the world. So

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this is one family line that ruled over the Persian

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Empire from the 7th to the 4th century, right

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up until the time of Alexander the Great, who

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is the man who will extinguish the final Persian

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king. So Cyrus. His name in Old Persian was Kouros,

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which was translated into Hebrew as Koresh, then

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into Greek as Kouros, Latin in Kairos, and then

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in English, Cyrus. So if you've ever wondered,

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where do we get these funny names? They're all

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transliterated through all of these languages,

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and so we call him Cyrus. Nobody back then would

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have called him Cyrus, but that's okay. We can

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get past that. He rises to prominence in the

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year 559 B .C. And through marriage and military

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conquest, he is able to unite two ancient, powerful

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kingdoms, the Medes and the Persians. And he

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spends two decades building his kingdom and his

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armies, but he's got an eye towards a particular

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kingdom to his west, the Babylonians. And in

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539, he marches his army across the Tigris River

00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:38.679
to attack the Babylonians. And he takes them

00:13:38.679 --> 00:13:41.820
down relatively easily. Why? Because, again,

00:13:41.899 --> 00:13:44.440
the neglectful leadership of the kings of Babylon

00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:47.139
at this time. And, in fact, this was God's plan.

00:13:47.220 --> 00:13:50.299
Daniel, in his prophecy, tells us about the story

00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:52.940
of Babylon's fall. How many of you guys remember

00:13:52.940 --> 00:13:55.500
the story of the handwriting on the wall? This

00:13:55.500 --> 00:13:59.789
is when this takes place. So while King Belshazzar

00:13:59.789 --> 00:14:03.149
of Babylon is hosting this drunken party for

00:14:03.149 --> 00:14:05.850
his nobles on the final night of his life, he

00:14:05.850 --> 00:14:08.950
was being betrayed by people within his own city.

00:14:09.190 --> 00:14:12.070
And at that party, God announces through Daniel

00:14:12.070 --> 00:14:16.389
exactly how Belshazzar is about to die. This

00:14:16.389 --> 00:14:19.129
is what it writes. This is just a survey of Daniel

00:14:19.129 --> 00:14:21.909
5. It says, you have not humbled your heart.

00:14:22.429 --> 00:14:25.190
King Belshazzar, you have exalted yourself against

00:14:25.190 --> 00:14:27.789
the Lord of heaven and God has numbered your

00:14:27.789 --> 00:14:30.750
kingdom and put an end to it. That is not the

00:14:30.750 --> 00:14:33.509
news you want to hear at a party. You have been

00:14:33.509 --> 00:14:36.129
weighed on the scales and found deficient and

00:14:36.129 --> 00:14:38.929
your kingdom has been divided and given over

00:14:38.929 --> 00:14:41.590
to the Medes and the Persians. So Daniel tells

00:14:41.590 --> 00:14:43.750
them exactly what's about to happen. And that

00:14:43.750 --> 00:14:47.190
very night, Persian soldiers come in, they slaughter

00:14:47.190 --> 00:14:49.710
him and his guests at the palace. and they take

00:14:49.710 --> 00:14:52.929
hold of the capital city of Babylon. The Babylonian

00:14:52.929 --> 00:14:56.330
empire is no more. And the people welcome Cyrus

00:14:56.330 --> 00:15:00.549
as a man who is a much better leader. They're

00:15:00.549 --> 00:15:03.129
frustrated with their own king, so they throw

00:15:03.129 --> 00:15:05.490
the gates open to the Persians and say, please

00:15:05.490 --> 00:15:08.789
govern us. What's interesting is not only does

00:15:08.789 --> 00:15:11.350
Scripture tell us this story, that it's true,

00:15:11.549 --> 00:15:14.289
but the facts are recorded on court records.

00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:17.799
of King Cyrus himself. In fact, this very famous

00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:20.179
artifact is called the Cyrus Cylinder. It's in

00:15:20.179 --> 00:15:23.539
the British Museum today. It was dug up in 1879.

00:15:23.879 --> 00:15:26.139
And in the court records, they tell the same

00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:29.799
story that Daniel tells in his prophecy in Daniel

00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:33.039
chapter 5. And that's Akkadian. I'm sure everybody

00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:35.220
can read it, right? But there are actually people

00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:37.720
that can read ancient Akkadian. He tells the

00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:40.879
same story about how he took the city. Fascinating.

00:15:41.210 --> 00:15:43.950
Now, here's what makes Cyrus stand out as such

00:15:43.950 --> 00:15:46.590
an important character in the biblical narrative.

00:15:46.830 --> 00:15:51.070
For his day, Cyrus is a very different kind of

00:15:51.070 --> 00:15:54.669
king. The empires that went before him, the Babylonians,

00:15:54.730 --> 00:15:57.490
the Assyrians, they had a reputation. When they

00:15:57.490 --> 00:16:00.179
took a city, they just... They scraped it. They

00:16:00.179 --> 00:16:02.120
washed, they just conquered everything. They

00:16:02.120 --> 00:16:04.820
destroyed things. They took the population, made

00:16:04.820 --> 00:16:07.059
them slaves, shipped them out of the cities.

00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:10.080
Awful, awful. You read the stories of the Assyrians,

00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:13.139
the most brutal people you can imagine. But Cyrus

00:16:13.139 --> 00:16:16.820
does not have that same mindset. He wants to

00:16:16.820 --> 00:16:19.840
rule his empire in a different way. So over time,

00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:23.259
he proves to be not just a very successful general

00:16:23.259 --> 00:16:26.639
and warlord, he was, but also a man who knew

00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:29.740
how to win the peace. and how to make his subjects

00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:32.480
happy. And one of the previously conquered people

00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:35.659
groups who benefited from Cyrus' benevolence

00:16:35.659 --> 00:16:40.100
was the Jews. Now, when Babylon fell, they fell

00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:42.259
under the jurisdiction of the new Persian king.

00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:45.039
And this Persian king decided to send the Jews

00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:48.899
back to the land. How long had they been in exile?

00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:51.940
Not quite 70 years, but if you look at the math,

00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:55.460
from the year that the temple fell to the year

00:16:55.460 --> 00:17:00.330
that it's rebuilt, Exactly 70 years. 586 to 516.

00:17:00.409 --> 00:17:03.529
70 years without a temple is basically how it

00:17:03.529 --> 00:17:06.109
played out. So in the year 538, going back to

00:17:06.109 --> 00:17:10.130
our timeline, 538, Cyrus issues a royal decree

00:17:10.130 --> 00:17:12.990
that gave the Jews permission to go back to their

00:17:12.990 --> 00:17:16.289
land, to go back and rebuild Jerusalem, which

00:17:16.289 --> 00:17:19.490
had been destroyed, and to rebuild their temple.

00:17:20.140 --> 00:17:23.039
And for that reason, Cyrus is prominently mentioned

00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:26.140
in the pages of the Old Testament. His name appears

00:17:26.140 --> 00:17:30.119
20 times in the scriptures. He's even called,

00:17:30.359 --> 00:17:35.759
you ready for this, a Mashiach. Cyrus, an unbeliever,

00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:38.480
is called God's anointed servant in the book

00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:41.619
of Isaiah because of this role that God had marked

00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:45.039
out for him. To basically save the Jewish people,

00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:47.920
to send them back to the Holy Land. I'll give

00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:51.480
you the passages. This is from Isaiah 44. Thus

00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:54.319
says the Lord, your Redeemer, I the Lord and

00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:57.140
the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens

00:17:57.140 --> 00:18:00.640
by myself and spreading out the earth all alone.

00:18:00.859 --> 00:18:04.519
It is I who says of Cyrus, he is my shepherd

00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:09.700
and he will perform all my desire. And he declares

00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:12.660
of Jerusalem, she will be built and of the temple,

00:18:12.779 --> 00:18:16.490
your foundation will be laid. God's sovereignty

00:18:16.490 --> 00:18:19.390
working through Cyrus. And then here's the passage

00:18:19.390 --> 00:18:22.369
I referenced from Isaiah 45. Thus says the Lord

00:18:22.369 --> 00:18:26.549
to Cyrus, his anointed, whom I have taken by

00:18:26.549 --> 00:18:30.029
the right hand. To do what? To subdue nations

00:18:30.029 --> 00:18:33.690
before him and to loose the loins of kings. To

00:18:33.690 --> 00:18:36.470
open doors before him so that gates will not

00:18:36.470 --> 00:18:39.470
be shut. I will go before you and make the rough

00:18:39.470 --> 00:18:42.559
places smooth. I will shatter the doors of bronze

00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:45.059
and cut through their iron bars. That's what

00:18:45.059 --> 00:18:47.619
God did for Cyrus in making a way for him to

00:18:47.619 --> 00:18:51.079
come in and easily conquer the Babylonian empire

00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:54.359
and free the Jewish people. He goes on, I will

00:18:54.359 --> 00:18:56.880
give you the treasures of darkness and hidden

00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:59.619
wealth of secret places so that you may know

00:18:59.619 --> 00:19:04.230
that it is I, the Lord, the God of. Israel, not

00:19:04.230 --> 00:19:07.390
Babylon, not Persia, the God of Israel, who calls

00:19:07.390 --> 00:19:10.950
you by your name for the sake of Jacob, that's

00:19:10.950 --> 00:19:14.450
Israel, my servant, and Israel, my chosen one,

00:19:14.670 --> 00:19:16.990
I have also called you by your name. Now look

00:19:16.990 --> 00:19:20.250
at this. I have given you a title of honor, though

00:19:20.250 --> 00:19:24.450
you have not known me. He says this to Cyrus.

00:19:24.730 --> 00:19:28.289
Do you hear in all of that the sovereignty of

00:19:28.289 --> 00:19:33.109
God, even using an unbelieving king? To accomplish

00:19:33.109 --> 00:19:35.769
his purposes. Sovereign over all historical events.

00:19:36.349 --> 00:19:39.710
Using kings that don't worship him. Amazing.

00:19:40.170 --> 00:19:43.230
And so Cyrus becomes this chosen tool in Yahweh's

00:19:43.230 --> 00:19:45.849
hand to free his people from exile in Babylon

00:19:45.849 --> 00:19:48.549
and to get back to the homeland. And we know

00:19:48.549 --> 00:19:51.910
that right away in 538, a first wave of Jews

00:19:51.910 --> 00:19:55.269
took advantage of Cyrus's decree and they went

00:19:55.269 --> 00:19:57.730
back to the land under the leadership of a man

00:19:57.730 --> 00:20:02.829
named Zerubbabel. Okay, now. This is key to understand

00:20:02.829 --> 00:20:05.970
in terms of the book of Esther. The vast majority

00:20:05.970 --> 00:20:10.049
of Jews chose not to go back to the Holy Land,

00:20:10.170 --> 00:20:13.470
but to stay behind in the places where they had

00:20:13.470 --> 00:20:16.670
built lives, in Babylon, in Persia. Now, why

00:20:16.670 --> 00:20:19.210
would they make that choice? Again, this is one

00:20:19.210 --> 00:20:20.670
of those moments where you've got to slip on

00:20:20.670 --> 00:20:23.309
some ancient sandals. Why would they not go back?

00:20:23.430 --> 00:20:25.529
You just got permission from the king to go back

00:20:25.529 --> 00:20:28.410
to Israel. Why would you not go back? Well, first

00:20:28.410 --> 00:20:31.339
of all, It's interesting, Jeremiah had told the

00:20:31.339 --> 00:20:35.200
exiles to settle into life in exile. This is

00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:37.839
what Jeremiah said. He said to them, to the exiles,

00:20:37.940 --> 00:20:41.700
build houses and live in them. Plant gardens

00:20:41.700 --> 00:20:44.259
and eat their produce. Take wives and become

00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:47.440
the fathers of sons and daughters. Multiply there

00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:51.019
in Babylon and do not decrease. Seek the welfare

00:20:51.019 --> 00:20:53.220
of the city where I have sent you into exile.

00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:56.960
and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its

00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:01.740
welfare you will have welfare. So the Jews became

00:21:01.740 --> 00:21:05.279
a diaspora, a dispersed people, and many found

00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:08.119
success and contentment in their new lives. So

00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:10.000
when the call came that, hey, you can go back

00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:13.619
to Israel, a lot of them said, no thanks, including

00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:17.819
Esther. Including Esther. More on that next week.

00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:21.680
The other reason was quite practical. Going back

00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:23.220
to the land was going to be really, really hard.

00:21:23.959 --> 00:21:26.660
It had been wiped out and squatters had moved

00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:29.400
in. And so you had to go back and rebuild homes

00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:32.039
and rebuild the city and try to rebuild a temple.

00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:35.660
It is a monumental feat. And so if you were going

00:21:35.660 --> 00:21:38.000
to go back to the land with Zerubbabel in 538

00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:41.359
BC, you were signing up for hardship, for suffering

00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:45.380
and possible death. So in a practical sense,

00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:47.619
you could sort of see why they would say, you

00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:50.259
know what? I'm good here in Babylon. I'm good

00:21:50.259 --> 00:21:53.400
here in Persia. No, thank you. I'm not excusing

00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:55.539
it, by the way. I'm just giving you the practical

00:21:55.539 --> 00:22:00.740
application of it. So after the death of Cyrus,

00:22:00.900 --> 00:22:03.839
who had done all this great work on behalf of

00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:06.920
the Jews, he had a son named Cambyses who had

00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:10.299
a very short reign. He died in a riding accident,

00:22:10.420 --> 00:22:13.500
and that brought our second king to the throne,

00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:16.779
and his name is Darius. Darius comes to power

00:22:16.779 --> 00:22:21.170
in 522. His old Persian name is Darius. And he

00:22:21.170 --> 00:22:23.890
is known for being not so much the general that

00:22:23.890 --> 00:22:27.430
Cyrus was, but being a master of planning and

00:22:27.430 --> 00:22:30.349
vision and administration. Darius is the king

00:22:30.349 --> 00:22:33.690
who expands the empire to its greatest limits,

00:22:33.849 --> 00:22:36.490
its greatest size. He's the one who builds all

00:22:36.490 --> 00:22:39.970
the great palaces at Susa and Persepolis. He

00:22:39.970 --> 00:22:42.430
builds a canal in Egypt that connects the Nile

00:22:42.430 --> 00:22:46.130
River to the Red Sea. He's known for... organizing

00:22:46.130 --> 00:22:49.529
his kingdom into taxable provinces and increasing

00:22:49.529 --> 00:22:52.849
the treasury of Persia. He standardizes coins

00:22:52.849 --> 00:22:55.329
and weights and measures. Tons of study done

00:22:55.329 --> 00:22:58.349
about what a good governor Darius was in his

00:22:58.349 --> 00:23:01.210
day. Now, Darius is also prominent in the Old

00:23:01.210 --> 00:23:04.230
Testament. He is mentioned 16 times in the scriptures,

00:23:04.609 --> 00:23:07.309
10 of which are found in the book of Ezra, where

00:23:07.309 --> 00:23:10.930
he is spoken of very favorably. Now, think about

00:23:10.930 --> 00:23:13.069
the story. You guys know something about the

00:23:13.069 --> 00:23:16.099
Jews coming back to the land. Those Jews had

00:23:16.099 --> 00:23:20.079
come back with Zerubbabel or Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel?

00:23:20.839 --> 00:23:26.619
Zerubbabel? It's Zerubbabel. And it's Darius.

00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:30.819
But anyway, we don't know. Okay. These names,

00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:34.480
the names. Oh, my goodness. Okay, I need, yeah,

00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:38.259
I need Yael's help with some of the names. See

00:23:38.259 --> 00:23:42.029
me afterwards. Okay. So the Jews who had gone

00:23:42.029 --> 00:23:45.390
back to the land, they now faced opposition in

00:23:45.390 --> 00:23:47.150
their attempts to rebuild the temple. Remember

00:23:47.150 --> 00:23:49.650
all the surrounding people groups, the squatters

00:23:49.650 --> 00:23:53.450
who moved in? All kinds of opposition. And when

00:23:53.450 --> 00:23:56.589
the enemies of the Jews saw that they were building

00:23:56.589 --> 00:23:58.609
their temple, they wanted them to stop. And the

00:23:58.609 --> 00:24:00.990
Jews were like, we're not stopping. And so these

00:24:00.990 --> 00:24:03.869
people groups appealed to King Darius and said,

00:24:03.890 --> 00:24:07.210
make them stop. They don't belong here. Do you

00:24:07.210 --> 00:24:10.809
guys remember what Darius did? He decided in

00:24:10.809 --> 00:24:12.849
response to this appeal from the enemies of the

00:24:12.849 --> 00:24:16.490
Jews to search the royal archives to see what

00:24:16.490 --> 00:24:19.230
he should do. He was a great governor. He searched

00:24:19.230 --> 00:24:21.130
the royal archives and guess what he found there?

00:24:21.250 --> 00:24:22.950
By the way, this is all in the book of Ezra.

00:24:23.529 --> 00:24:26.210
What did he find? He found the decree of Cyrus

00:24:26.210 --> 00:24:29.470
that gave the Jews permission to go back to the

00:24:29.470 --> 00:24:32.130
land to rebuild the city and rebuild the temple.

00:24:32.269 --> 00:24:35.529
And he said, sorry, it's a matter of law. And

00:24:35.529 --> 00:24:37.549
he came to the support of the Jewish people.

00:24:38.089 --> 00:24:40.630
King Darius issued a decree of his own, commanded

00:24:40.630 --> 00:24:42.990
all those enemies of Israel who were opposing

00:24:42.990 --> 00:24:46.690
them to stop interfering and to let the temple

00:24:46.690 --> 00:24:49.710
progress. Let them build it on the original site.

00:24:49.809 --> 00:24:53.150
Not only that. Darius reached into his own imperial

00:24:53.150 --> 00:24:55.789
treasury, gave money to the Jews to help them

00:24:55.789 --> 00:24:58.230
build it, and told all those people that were

00:24:58.230 --> 00:25:00.869
getting in the way that they needed to supply

00:25:00.869 --> 00:25:02.930
whatever the Jews needed to finish the temple.

00:25:03.170 --> 00:25:05.569
And by the way, if you don't, if you don't follow

00:25:05.569 --> 00:25:08.109
my decree, I will either kill you or take away

00:25:08.109 --> 00:25:11.710
your property. Now, again, this is a Persian

00:25:11.710 --> 00:25:15.210
king coming to the rescue of the Jewish people

00:25:15.210 --> 00:25:18.250
in order to get the city built and to get the

00:25:18.250 --> 00:25:19.970
temple built. Are you getting the picture here?

00:25:20.750 --> 00:25:24.049
Two Persian kings, not followers of Yahweh, yet

00:25:24.049 --> 00:25:27.390
being used by Yahweh to bless his people in extraordinary

00:25:27.390 --> 00:25:30.130
ways. You would not expect a king like Darius

00:25:30.130 --> 00:25:34.069
to act as he did unless God were sovereign. Amen?

00:25:35.150 --> 00:25:38.289
Now, as we come into the next chapter, we do

00:25:38.289 --> 00:25:40.410
have to talk about the one giant black mark on

00:25:40.410 --> 00:25:44.430
Darius' record. He ruled for 20 years, very successful

00:25:44.430 --> 00:25:47.730
rule. And then something weird happened. A revolt

00:25:47.730 --> 00:25:51.170
took place on the western edge of his empire

00:25:51.170 --> 00:25:54.130
in the land of Asia Minor. So first map, here

00:25:54.130 --> 00:25:57.930
we go. So first of all, all that sort of light

00:25:57.930 --> 00:26:00.029
green area, that's the Persian Empire. That's

00:26:00.029 --> 00:26:03.109
how big it is. And just for references, you've

00:26:03.109 --> 00:26:05.609
got the blue dot is Jerusalem. The red dot is

00:26:05.609 --> 00:26:08.880
Susa, which is... Darius' palace, which we'll

00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:11.759
come back to. But on the far western edge of

00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:15.079
his empire is Asia Minor, and the blue boundary

00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:19.660
there are the Greek city -states. Athens, Sparta,

00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:22.359
Macedonia, all those Greeks at Thebes, all those

00:26:22.359 --> 00:26:25.619
city -states, right? On the far edge of the Persian

00:26:25.619 --> 00:26:28.440
Empire. Now, Greece is the next nation to the

00:26:28.440 --> 00:26:29.980
west. They're not part of the Persian Empire.

00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:33.980
But on the other side of the Aegean, on the coast

00:26:33.980 --> 00:26:37.019
of Asia Minor, Those are primarily Greeks living

00:26:37.019 --> 00:26:41.680
under Persian rule. We call them Ionians. The

00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:44.339
Ionian Greeks living under Persian rule. And

00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:47.220
those Greeks living in the Persian Empire revolt

00:26:47.220 --> 00:26:51.380
against Darius in the year 499. And in particular,

00:26:51.460 --> 00:26:53.380
the purple dot, which is the Persian city of

00:26:53.380 --> 00:26:55.920
Sardis, that's where the center of the revolt

00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:59.500
is, and they burn that city. Now, that makes

00:26:59.500 --> 00:27:04.220
Darius very, very angry. He's greatly angered

00:27:04.220 --> 00:27:06.819
by this revolt. Any revolt against the king of

00:27:06.819 --> 00:27:11.359
Persia is the revolt against basically the order

00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:14.119
of the world. How dare you? And then Darius finds

00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:16.700
out something interesting. Guess who supported

00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:20.880
the revolt in Asia Minor? The Athenians from

00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:24.319
across the sea. This Greek city -state had the

00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:28.480
hubris to come and sponsor militarily and financially

00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:32.460
a revolt against the great king. And Darius committed

00:27:32.460 --> 00:27:37.559
to absolutely punishing the Athenians for daring

00:27:37.559 --> 00:27:40.680
to be insolent towards the great king of Persia.

00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:45.500
So, in the year 492, Darius says he puts together

00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:48.519
a fleet with troops and he sails towards Greece.

00:27:49.150 --> 00:27:51.910
with the plan of punishing the Athenians, but

00:27:51.910 --> 00:27:54.410
a storm hits and he loses most of his ships.

00:27:54.490 --> 00:27:57.009
It's an absolute failure. Now he's even more

00:27:57.009 --> 00:28:00.630
angry. Two years later, he sends another fleet

00:28:00.630 --> 00:28:03.970
with more troops to try it again. This time they

00:28:03.970 --> 00:28:07.029
land, the army and the troops, they unload on

00:28:07.029 --> 00:28:10.849
the coast of Greece and almost immediately they

00:28:10.849 --> 00:28:15.269
are met by a Greek army and they are routed at

00:28:15.269 --> 00:28:19.839
a very famous battle, the Battle of... The Battle

00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:23.440
of Marathon. The Persians sail all the way to

00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:26.880
the edge of their empire and are humiliated,

00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:31.220
embarrassed by a ragtag army of Greek hoplites.

00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:33.819
Well, Darius isn't going to live much longer.

00:28:33.859 --> 00:28:35.839
He's not going to live much longer. He's not

00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:39.279
able to exact his revenge. And he sort of dies

00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:43.380
as a disillusioned, angry king. And he leaves

00:28:43.380 --> 00:28:47.759
it to his son, Xerxes. to pick up that revenge

00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:50.980
against the Greeks. So it's going to be left

00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:55.119
to Xerxes. So 486, Darius dies. He was 64 at

00:28:55.119 --> 00:28:57.680
the time, sort of a bitter old man. He had done

00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:01.160
so well, helped the Jews in so many ways, but

00:29:01.160 --> 00:29:05.319
died with this anger at the Greeks. So we come

00:29:05.319 --> 00:29:07.900
to Xerxes now. Now, we need to stop for a second.

00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:10.660
We need to talk about there's a name situation

00:29:10.660 --> 00:29:14.549
here in the Old Testament scriptures. The name

00:29:14.549 --> 00:29:17.109
Xerxes is not found anywhere in your English

00:29:17.109 --> 00:29:20.250
Bibles, but the man himself is. So we need to

00:29:20.250 --> 00:29:23.670
talk about this. The name of the king in the

00:29:23.670 --> 00:29:26.430
book of Esther is the name you see there at the

00:29:26.430 --> 00:29:29.990
top, okay? But that name has gone through a long

00:29:29.990 --> 00:29:33.089
list of transliterations. So there's this old

00:29:33.089 --> 00:29:35.089
Persian name. I don't even know how to pronounce

00:29:35.089 --> 00:29:38.089
it. Don't ask me. But ancient Near East scholars

00:29:38.089 --> 00:29:41.369
tell us that that word in Persian means ruler

00:29:41.369 --> 00:29:45.099
over all men. Then we have a Babylonian name

00:29:45.099 --> 00:29:48.799
that gets translated into Hebrew and then into

00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:52.000
Latin. And somehow, and I can't even trace this

00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:54.880
down, how in Greek it comes down to us as Xerxes.

00:29:55.720 --> 00:29:59.119
Everybody get that? You don't have to. All I'm

00:29:59.119 --> 00:30:02.720
telling you is, as I read the text, I'm going

00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:05.599
to use the Hebrew pronunciation of the name because

00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:07.960
I think it's the best way to do it. I may get

00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:11.200
frustrated and just say Xerxes. Is that okay?

00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:14.599
Okay, good. All right, let's go back to our timeline.

00:30:15.579 --> 00:30:19.720
So Xerxes comes to power in the year 486. He's

00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:22.680
a fairly young man at the time. He's 32 years

00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:31.779
old. Younger than Adam. And Grant. And most of

00:30:31.779 --> 00:30:35.559
our elders. Anyway, 32 years old. And you're

00:30:35.559 --> 00:30:37.559
in charge of this massive empire, right? Now,

00:30:37.579 --> 00:30:40.339
according to Herodotus, anybody read Herodotus

00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:44.559
in college? Okay. the father of history, we call

00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:47.180
him, this Greek historian who writes extensively

00:30:47.180 --> 00:30:51.539
on the Persians. He says that Xerxes was so handsome

00:30:51.539 --> 00:30:55.119
that there was no man his equal in that generation

00:30:55.119 --> 00:30:58.339
of Persia. But, he says, in spite of what he

00:30:58.339 --> 00:31:01.140
looks like on the outside, Xerxes was a deeply

00:31:01.140 --> 00:31:03.160
flawed man. And we're going to see this in the

00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:05.680
book of Esther. He was known for being ambitious

00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:09.779
and impulsive. Very irrational at times, cruel

00:31:09.779 --> 00:31:12.559
towards his enemies, a man with a short temper,

00:31:12.779 --> 00:31:16.599
a man with a huge sexual appetite, and an absolute

00:31:16.599 --> 00:31:19.700
love for drinking and banquets. Most of the book

00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:22.779
of Esther is a bunch of banquets and feasts.

00:31:22.779 --> 00:31:25.140
We're going to see that. History tells us he

00:31:25.140 --> 00:31:27.440
didn't measure up to the brilliance of either

00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:30.680
Cyrus or Darius. Yes, he was formidable in the

00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:33.660
sense that he wielded so much power. But the

00:31:33.660 --> 00:31:35.960
record shows that he loved parties and adventure

00:31:35.960 --> 00:31:39.079
and harem intrigues more than he really cared

00:31:39.079 --> 00:31:42.160
about governing the empire, which sounds like

00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:46.099
a lot of our presidents. But anyway, I digress.

00:31:47.019 --> 00:31:49.039
So when he first comes to power, he immediately

00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:51.200
has to deal with two rebellions in his empire.

00:31:51.380 --> 00:31:53.960
Remember, the world was watching when his father

00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:57.059
Darius got whooped by the Greeks. And so now

00:31:57.059 --> 00:31:59.400
there's a revolt in Egypt and there's a revolt

00:31:59.400 --> 00:32:02.559
in Babylon. And Xerxes has to put those down

00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:05.720
and he puts them down with absolute brutal force,

00:32:05.940 --> 00:32:08.660
very different from his father. He wanted to

00:32:08.660 --> 00:32:10.980
show his subjects that you cannot rebel against

00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:14.490
the Persian empire. Herodotus tells us that Xerxes

00:32:14.490 --> 00:32:18.509
punished the Babylonians by absolutely wreaking

00:32:18.509 --> 00:32:21.089
havoc, destroying the city of Babylon, pulling

00:32:21.089 --> 00:32:23.789
down its walls, pulling down its temples, its

00:32:23.789 --> 00:32:27.470
statues, stealing the treasury for himself. And

00:32:27.470 --> 00:32:30.490
without even realizing it, Xerxes was fulfilling

00:32:30.490 --> 00:32:33.470
a prophecy in the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 13,

00:32:33.630 --> 00:32:36.769
it says, Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the

00:32:36.769 --> 00:32:40.029
glory of the Chaldeans' pride, will be as when

00:32:40.029 --> 00:32:43.359
God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never

00:32:43.359 --> 00:32:46.900
be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation,

00:32:47.099 --> 00:32:49.640
nor will the Arab pitches tent there, nor will

00:32:49.640 --> 00:32:52.380
shepherds make their flocks lie down there. Have

00:32:52.380 --> 00:32:55.079
you seen Babylon these days? It still looks like

00:32:55.079 --> 00:33:01.099
that. And so basically Babylon got its recompense

00:33:01.099 --> 00:33:04.440
for what it had done to the Jewish people. They

00:33:04.440 --> 00:33:07.240
got paid back for the way Jerusalem was destroyed,

00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:09.720
the way the temple was leveled. And once again,

00:33:09.779 --> 00:33:13.539
God used this awful pagan man Xerxes to carry

00:33:13.539 --> 00:33:17.279
out his purposes as prophesied by Isaiah. Amazing.

00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:20.740
Now, in general, what is Xerxes most known for?

00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:25.799
How many of you guys saw the movie 300? Trash.

00:33:29.400 --> 00:33:33.589
Just so bad. There's a kernel of truth to the

00:33:33.589 --> 00:33:37.950
history, but trash. Just so frustrating for anybody

00:33:37.950 --> 00:33:41.710
that knows the story. But in 480 BC, so Xerxes

00:33:41.710 --> 00:33:44.630
has been in power for six years now. He finally

00:33:44.630 --> 00:33:47.170
has time to turn his attention to getting revenge

00:33:47.170 --> 00:33:50.289
against the Greeks. He is on a mission to honor

00:33:50.289 --> 00:33:56.049
the legacy of his father and to get revenge against

00:33:56.049 --> 00:33:59.049
the Greeks. And so to do so, he puts together

00:33:59.970 --> 00:34:02.130
Even to this day, one of the most stunning military

00:34:02.130 --> 00:34:05.430
operations ever seen in the world. He marches

00:34:05.430 --> 00:34:09.289
somewhere around 300 ,000 soldiers all the way

00:34:09.289 --> 00:34:13.929
across his empire to invade Greece. It's amazing.

00:34:14.090 --> 00:34:15.610
I don't have time to walk through all the details,

00:34:15.789 --> 00:34:17.610
but I'll give you a couple things you may have

00:34:17.610 --> 00:34:19.489
heard about. First of all, he had to get all

00:34:19.489 --> 00:34:22.150
those soldiers across what's known as the Hellespont.

00:34:22.679 --> 00:34:25.260
which is, or the Dardanelles, which is this body

00:34:25.260 --> 00:34:28.300
of water between Asia Minor and Greece. And he

00:34:28.300 --> 00:34:31.199
was able to do that to get us supplies and hundreds

00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:33.199
of thousands of troops across the Hellespont.

00:34:33.300 --> 00:34:35.119
Never been done in the history of the ancient

00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:38.039
world. And then, remember, you guys know the

00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:41.139
story, he gets bogged down at the pass of Thermopylae

00:34:41.139 --> 00:34:44.139
when he's confronted by King Leonidas of Sparta.

00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:48.320
And Leonidas' troops drag out this fight of...

00:34:48.860 --> 00:34:51.480
It's not 300. It's probably about 5 ,000 or 6

00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:56.139
,000 soldiers against 300 ,000. But because the

00:34:56.139 --> 00:34:58.860
pass at Thermopylae is so narrow, Leonidas holds

00:34:58.860 --> 00:35:02.039
him off for three full days and kills 20 ,000

00:35:02.039 --> 00:35:05.519
of Xerxes' soldiers in those three days. But

00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:08.980
eventually, Xerxes gets past Thermopylae, and

00:35:08.980 --> 00:35:12.800
he rolls south into the city of Athens. Now,

00:35:12.800 --> 00:35:14.900
Athens knew he was coming. They knew they couldn't

00:35:14.900 --> 00:35:17.780
stop him, so they completely evacuated the city.

00:35:18.300 --> 00:35:20.639
And what did Xerxes do? He turned his troops

00:35:20.639 --> 00:35:23.820
loose to loot Athens and then to burn it to the

00:35:23.820 --> 00:35:28.099
ground, which he did. Now, you may think, well,

00:35:28.260 --> 00:35:31.400
okay, the Persian king got his revenge. He punished

00:35:31.400 --> 00:35:33.840
Athens for what they had done to his father.

00:35:33.920 --> 00:35:36.699
But the problem is his victory didn't last long.

00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:41.179
Within a month, the entire Persian navy was destroyed

00:35:41.179 --> 00:35:44.659
in a surprise attack. By the Greek Navy, they

00:35:44.659 --> 00:35:47.480
lost about 300 warships at what's called the

00:35:47.480 --> 00:35:51.280
Battle of Salamis. Huge setback, so much so that

00:35:51.280 --> 00:35:54.780
Xerxes realizes his security isn't what he thinks

00:35:54.780 --> 00:35:56.880
it is, and he has to go back home. He has to

00:35:56.880 --> 00:35:59.659
flee back to Persia because he's no longer physically

00:35:59.659 --> 00:36:03.010
safe. So the king left the battlefield. He put

00:36:03.010 --> 00:36:05.190
his cousin Mardonius in charge of the rest of

00:36:05.190 --> 00:36:07.389
the battle. And then within a couple of months,

00:36:07.449 --> 00:36:10.690
even Mardonius was routed by the Greeks on land

00:36:10.690 --> 00:36:14.929
this time in the Battle of Plataea. So again,

00:36:14.989 --> 00:36:18.369
massive loss for the Persians. Yeah, they burned

00:36:18.369 --> 00:36:21.789
Athens. And by the way, a long time later, Alexander

00:36:21.789 --> 00:36:25.329
the Great will burn Persepolis and say, I did

00:36:25.329 --> 00:36:28.179
that in revenge for you burning Athens. So these

00:36:28.179 --> 00:36:30.739
guys had massive egos and long memories. All

00:36:30.739 --> 00:36:34.280
of them did. Interesting guys. So that's the

00:36:34.280 --> 00:36:37.179
last gasp of the Persians trying to subdue the

00:36:37.179 --> 00:36:39.199
Greeks. The Greeks turned out to be a very resilient

00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:42.139
people. And like his father, Xerxes never fully

00:36:42.139 --> 00:36:46.179
recovers from that humiliation at Plataea. He

00:36:46.179 --> 00:36:48.039
tries to roll out a whole bunch of things for

00:36:48.039 --> 00:36:50.440
his people to make them happy, but all he does

00:36:50.440 --> 00:36:53.559
is add to the debt. that the Persian empire has.

00:36:53.840 --> 00:36:57.119
He takes more wives and more concubines. He throws

00:36:57.119 --> 00:37:00.679
more parties and he gets on the wrong side of

00:37:00.679 --> 00:37:03.420
the noble families of Persia. And eventually

00:37:03.420 --> 00:37:07.300
a plot was hatched to assassinate the king, led

00:37:07.300 --> 00:37:11.239
by his own vizier, his own captain of the royal

00:37:11.239 --> 00:37:16.079
bodyguard, plotted against him. And in 465, Xerxes

00:37:16.079 --> 00:37:19.559
was murdered in his own palace from within and

00:37:19.559 --> 00:37:23.159
his eldest son as well. He was 53 years old at

00:37:23.159 --> 00:37:25.960
the time. So tragic ending for this man that

00:37:25.960 --> 00:37:31.260
God had used. Now, you all right? Everybody okay?

00:37:31.960 --> 00:37:34.219
Important question, when does the book of Esther

00:37:34.219 --> 00:37:38.280
take place in the life of that man, Xerxes? Well,

00:37:38.280 --> 00:37:39.840
you should know that the book of Esther covers

00:37:39.840 --> 00:37:43.760
12 years of Xerxes' reign, 12 years. Chapter

00:37:43.760 --> 00:37:45.900
one, which we are gonna read in just a second,

00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:48.059
I promise you. Y 'all have your Bibles open,

00:37:48.119 --> 00:37:53.730
good job. Chapter one takes place prior to Xerxes

00:37:53.730 --> 00:37:57.989
invading Greece. The rest of the book takes place

00:37:57.989 --> 00:38:01.530
after he comes back, having failed to subdue

00:38:01.530 --> 00:38:03.150
the Greeks. We'll talk more about that later.

00:38:03.489 --> 00:38:06.010
And by the way, I do need to do one more historical

00:38:06.010 --> 00:38:08.889
PS because this is important. One of Xerxes'

00:38:09.090 --> 00:38:12.909
sons did survive that palace coup. In fact, he

00:38:12.909 --> 00:38:15.750
fights his way back to the throne. He puts to

00:38:15.750 --> 00:38:18.449
death those who plotted the coup and he takes

00:38:18.449 --> 00:38:21.570
power and his name is Artaxerxes. There's his

00:38:21.570 --> 00:38:24.050
name up there on the end. Artaxerxes, he too

00:38:24.050 --> 00:38:26.170
is an important biblical character that you should

00:38:26.170 --> 00:38:28.789
know about. 14 times he's mentioned in the Old

00:38:28.789 --> 00:38:31.550
Testament. He is the king who will oversee the

00:38:31.550 --> 00:38:34.869
next two waves of Jews who return to the land.

00:38:35.769 --> 00:38:39.329
Artaxerxes is the king who grants Ezra permission

00:38:39.329 --> 00:38:43.050
to return in 458 BC, gives him the resources

00:38:43.050 --> 00:38:47.170
he needs to build the temple. And then Nehemiah

00:38:47.690 --> 00:38:51.670
was Artaxerxes' cupbearer in the palace at Susa.

00:38:52.090 --> 00:38:54.489
And remember, Nehemiah comes to him. He's burdened

00:38:54.489 --> 00:38:56.329
to get back to the land to rebuild the walls.

00:38:56.530 --> 00:38:59.989
It's King Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, who

00:38:59.989 --> 00:39:04.170
then sends Nehemiah back in 440 BC to rebuild

00:39:04.170 --> 00:39:07.869
the walls of the city. So again, another king,

00:39:07.909 --> 00:39:11.750
four kings, Persian kings, that God uses to overwhelmingly

00:39:11.750 --> 00:39:15.570
bless his people. All right, you getting the

00:39:15.570 --> 00:39:21.139
theme? Okay, grab your Bibles. Tanya was laughing.

00:39:21.179 --> 00:39:23.039
She's like, so you're doing a 45 -minute intro?

00:39:23.340 --> 00:39:27.539
Yes. Yes, I am. No, we're just going to read

00:39:27.539 --> 00:39:29.800
12 verses. I'll give you some commentary, and

00:39:29.800 --> 00:39:31.420
then we're going to leave it at that. I promise

00:39:31.420 --> 00:39:33.599
you. How are we doing on time? No, not too bad.

00:39:33.860 --> 00:39:36.679
Okay. We're going to go 12 verses. You ready?

00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:39.480
We're just going to set the stage for what comes

00:39:39.480 --> 00:39:43.579
next Sunday. Verse 1. Now it took place in the

00:39:43.579 --> 00:39:48.440
days of Ahashverosh. There you go. Yael, was

00:39:48.440 --> 00:39:52.679
that even close? Oh, she's not here. Oh, no.

00:39:52.800 --> 00:39:56.500
Okay, I'll talk to her afterwards. The Ahashverosh,

00:39:56.659 --> 00:40:01.360
who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces.

00:40:02.349 --> 00:40:06.050
In those days, as King Ahasuerus sat on his royal

00:40:06.050 --> 00:40:08.829
throne, which is at the citadel in Susa. Okay,

00:40:08.909 --> 00:40:13.250
so again, how big is this kingdom? It is absolutely

00:40:13.250 --> 00:40:16.570
massive. This is the largest empire the world

00:40:16.570 --> 00:40:18.989
had known up until this point, stretching over

00:40:18.989 --> 00:40:23.349
127 provinces, which is a callback to how Darius

00:40:23.349 --> 00:40:26.699
had organized the empire. From India to Ethiopia.

00:40:26.699 --> 00:40:29.400
Now you see India on the far right. Ethiopia

00:40:29.400 --> 00:40:31.519
is not even on the screen. It's south of Egypt.

00:40:31.659 --> 00:40:34.900
But basically saying this is the entire breadth

00:40:34.900 --> 00:40:38.320
of the Persian Empire. Absolutely massive. Moving

00:40:38.320 --> 00:40:40.860
right to left or east to west, you see that the

00:40:40.860 --> 00:40:44.000
Persian Empire includes India and Parthia, all

00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:47.099
of Mesopotamia, which included Babylon and the

00:40:47.099 --> 00:40:50.010
old Assyrian lands. Today, by the way, that's

00:40:50.010 --> 00:40:54.409
Afghanistan and Pakistan and Iran and Iraq, all

00:40:54.409 --> 00:40:56.889
the way north up to Armenia. So it is a massive

00:40:56.889 --> 00:41:00.130
land. Then you go south and west and you have

00:41:00.130 --> 00:41:03.429
Syria and Israel and Egypt, all the way through

00:41:03.429 --> 00:41:07.050
Asia Minor or Turkey today, even across the Aegean

00:41:07.050 --> 00:41:09.769
Sea into what's called Thrace, which today is

00:41:09.769 --> 00:41:13.309
Bulgaria. So all the way to Europe, this empire

00:41:13.309 --> 00:41:16.849
stretch from India to Europe. Think about what

00:41:16.849 --> 00:41:20.079
it took to... to just govern an empire this massive.

00:41:20.840 --> 00:41:23.320
Now let's talk about the citadel at Susa at the

00:41:23.320 --> 00:41:26.019
end of verse two. In old Persian, the city is

00:41:26.019 --> 00:41:29.099
called Shushan. Today it's called Shush, Shush,

00:41:29.179 --> 00:41:32.579
in modern day Iran. I'll put some references

00:41:32.579 --> 00:41:36.239
on the map just so you can see. There's Jerusalem,

00:41:36.679 --> 00:41:39.179
the blue dot. The green dot is where Babylon

00:41:39.179 --> 00:41:42.420
is, the city of Babylon. I put the yellow dot,

00:41:42.440 --> 00:41:44.519
that's Nineveh, the capital of the old Assyrian

00:41:44.519 --> 00:41:47.900
empire, just for reference. The red dot is Susa.

00:41:47.900 --> 00:41:49.420
That's what we're going to talk about. And I'm

00:41:49.420 --> 00:41:53.099
going to reference to the east is Persepolis,

00:41:53.099 --> 00:41:55.780
another royal palace in the orange dot there.

00:41:55.840 --> 00:41:59.480
We'll talk about that as well. So Susa is about

00:41:59.480 --> 00:42:02.599
200 miles north of the Persian Gulf, about 150

00:42:02.599 --> 00:42:06.599
miles, about 200 miles east of Babylon. And again,

00:42:06.639 --> 00:42:08.599
you can go visit it today. It's quite an archaeological

00:42:08.599 --> 00:42:12.500
site if you can go to Iran safely. What else?

00:42:14.889 --> 00:42:18.269
In Esther's day, Susa, how many of you guys,

00:42:18.269 --> 00:42:20.070
when you think of Iran, you just think of a desert?

00:42:21.250 --> 00:42:24.250
We've sort of been conditioned. It's not. They've

00:42:24.250 --> 00:42:26.489
actually got amazing mountain ranges, and there's

00:42:26.489 --> 00:42:29.110
beautiful lands in Iran, and you'd be surprised.

00:42:29.230 --> 00:42:31.869
In Esther's day, Susa was considered a garden

00:42:31.869 --> 00:42:35.150
paradise. Streams and mountains and abounding

00:42:35.150 --> 00:42:37.550
in flowers and vegetation. In fact, the word

00:42:37.550 --> 00:42:40.250
Susa in Persian means lilies. It was known for

00:42:40.250 --> 00:42:44.010
this particular flower that grew in that region.

00:42:44.670 --> 00:42:47.190
And Darius originally built it as his winter

00:42:47.190 --> 00:42:51.389
palace. 12 acres, 12 -acre footprint, filled

00:42:51.389 --> 00:42:53.730
with security. And this was the place where he

00:42:53.730 --> 00:42:56.869
could go to in the cooler months of the year

00:42:56.869 --> 00:42:59.690
and live comfortably. And what's neat about this

00:42:59.690 --> 00:43:03.630
particular site is the archaeology behind it

00:43:03.630 --> 00:43:07.269
is well -documented. Back in 1880, a whole team

00:43:07.269 --> 00:43:11.170
of French archaeologists found the site. of the

00:43:11.170 --> 00:43:13.449
palace of Susa and began to dig it out of the

00:43:13.449 --> 00:43:15.909
earth. Now, the problem is they cut everything

00:43:15.909 --> 00:43:17.769
up and they took a bunch of it back to France

00:43:17.769 --> 00:43:20.489
and they really messed up the site. So today,

00:43:20.550 --> 00:43:22.050
if you go there, I'll show you some pictures.

00:43:22.869 --> 00:43:25.150
This is most of what's left, but look at the

00:43:25.150 --> 00:43:27.929
size of the base of that column. You can see

00:43:27.929 --> 00:43:29.869
how grand this palace would have been back in

00:43:29.869 --> 00:43:32.610
the day. All the mosaics that were on the walls

00:43:32.610 --> 00:43:35.570
and the floor were taken out of the site, and

00:43:35.570 --> 00:43:37.530
a whole bunch of them are in the Louvre today

00:43:37.530 --> 00:43:40.190
in Paris. You can go see them. The beautiful

00:43:40.190 --> 00:43:42.969
colored mosaics that came, that were literally

00:43:42.969 --> 00:43:46.710
found intact under the earth in this site in

00:43:46.710 --> 00:43:52.670
Susa. Beautiful stuff. You can see here that

00:43:52.670 --> 00:43:56.250
there's the footprint of the size of the palace.

00:43:56.920 --> 00:44:00.179
And again, they found all the outer walls, and

00:44:00.179 --> 00:44:02.519
they are slowly digging into the earth. But you

00:44:02.519 --> 00:44:05.280
can see the size of it, 12 acres of the palace

00:44:05.280 --> 00:44:08.340
complex. And based on the dig, scholars have

00:44:08.340 --> 00:44:10.480
been able to recreate images of what it would

00:44:10.480 --> 00:44:12.579
have looked like back in the day. And this is

00:44:12.579 --> 00:44:14.800
a really good artist's rendering of what it would

00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:18.320
have looked like in the days of Esther. And this

00:44:18.320 --> 00:44:21.840
is the site of chapter 1. This is basically where

00:44:21.840 --> 00:44:25.019
all of this is taking place. So they found the

00:44:25.019 --> 00:44:28.670
royal banquet hall. Which is this structure here

00:44:28.670 --> 00:44:31.250
in the front. The pillars, the columns were almost

00:44:31.250 --> 00:44:35.360
seven stories tall. Absolutely massive. The very

00:44:35.360 --> 00:44:38.079
spot of the king's throne was identified, this

00:44:38.079 --> 00:44:40.679
stone base of this massive chair that was located

00:44:40.679 --> 00:44:43.480
right in the center of the biggest columns in

00:44:43.480 --> 00:44:45.699
the room. So they believe that's where the throne

00:44:45.699 --> 00:44:48.840
of King Darius was when he first built it. We

00:44:48.840 --> 00:44:50.780
also know the palace has this structure in the

00:44:50.780 --> 00:44:53.280
very front that's known as the king's gate, and

00:44:53.280 --> 00:44:55.559
that shows up in chapter two of the book of Esther.

00:44:55.719 --> 00:44:57.980
So it's so cool. You've got ancient writings,

00:44:58.139 --> 00:44:59.860
you've got the book of Esther, and you've got

00:44:59.860 --> 00:45:02.119
archeology, and they all come together to say,

00:45:02.219 --> 00:45:04.960
we have a very good idea. what this looked like.

00:45:05.019 --> 00:45:08.280
And one other thing worth noting is found in

00:45:08.280 --> 00:45:11.500
the ruins was an actual inscription written in

00:45:11.500 --> 00:45:14.199
Acadian that describes how the palace was built.

00:45:14.840 --> 00:45:17.900
And this is what the court administrators would

00:45:17.900 --> 00:45:19.780
do. They would record for the glory of the king

00:45:19.780 --> 00:45:23.260
how this was built in all the places, 29 locations

00:45:23.260 --> 00:45:25.380
throughout the empire where they brought all

00:45:25.380 --> 00:45:27.780
the building materials to build this amazing

00:45:27.780 --> 00:45:30.739
palace. And it's interesting, one of the things

00:45:30.739 --> 00:45:33.000
that we don't understand because we're Westerners

00:45:33.000 --> 00:45:35.920
and we tend to study history from a Western perspective,

00:45:36.260 --> 00:45:39.199
we just don't have an understanding of how wealthy

00:45:39.199 --> 00:45:42.059
and how culturally advanced the Persian Empire

00:45:42.059 --> 00:45:44.460
was during this time. They were head and shoulders

00:45:44.460 --> 00:45:46.599
above the rest of the world. They built the most

00:45:46.599 --> 00:45:49.159
beautiful things. And I wish we could go back

00:45:49.159 --> 00:45:51.079
and see what they look like, but wow, amazing.

00:45:51.280 --> 00:45:54.239
And just as an example of that, six years after

00:45:54.239 --> 00:45:58.000
Darius built Susa, he built a palace at Persepolis.

00:45:58.400 --> 00:46:00.460
further to the east, and it was even larger.

00:46:00.559 --> 00:46:03.079
In fact, a lot of it remains today. Look at the

00:46:03.079 --> 00:46:06.360
size of the archaeological dig at Persepolis

00:46:06.360 --> 00:46:09.340
today. And look at the size of some of these

00:46:09.340 --> 00:46:12.920
buildings. See the people? This isn't even the

00:46:12.920 --> 00:46:15.000
main structure. This is just the outbuildings

00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:18.840
in the palace complex, how big and majestic these

00:46:18.840 --> 00:46:22.079
things were. An artist rendering of Persepolis,

00:46:22.199 --> 00:46:24.320
this is probably what it looked like back in

00:46:24.320 --> 00:46:27.320
the day. Isn't that wild? So the Persians did

00:46:27.320 --> 00:46:29.219
it right. So as we're reading in the book of

00:46:29.219 --> 00:46:31.559
Esther, I want you to understand who this king

00:46:31.559 --> 00:46:35.840
is and exactly what he was dealing with back

00:46:35.840 --> 00:46:39.300
in the day. Okay, that's enough of that. Let's

00:46:39.300 --> 00:46:41.440
keep going. Verse three, we're gonna finish here.

00:46:42.579 --> 00:46:46.599
In the third year of Xerxes' reign, he gave a

00:46:46.599 --> 00:46:49.639
banquet for all of his princes and attendants,

00:46:49.679 --> 00:46:53.420
the army officers of Persia and Media. the nobles

00:46:53.420 --> 00:46:55.760
and the princes of his provinces being in his

00:46:55.760 --> 00:46:58.880
presence, and he displayed the riches of his

00:46:58.880 --> 00:47:01.719
royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty

00:47:01.719 --> 00:47:04.639
for many days. Look how long this banquet was.

00:47:05.519 --> 00:47:11.980
Six months. 180 days. Now, in chapter 1, we're

00:47:11.980 --> 00:47:13.719
going to see three separate banquets. This is

00:47:13.719 --> 00:47:16.539
just the first one, and it lasts six months.

00:47:16.699 --> 00:47:19.980
It's critical for you to see who's there, who's

00:47:19.980 --> 00:47:24.530
present. Princes and army officers. Now that's

00:47:24.530 --> 00:47:27.690
interesting. Scholars have suggested, and this

00:47:27.690 --> 00:47:30.030
makes sense, that this was more than just a party.

00:47:30.170 --> 00:47:32.530
You can't party for six months, right? There's

00:47:32.530 --> 00:47:34.829
got to be something else going on. But this is

00:47:34.829 --> 00:47:37.829
Xerxes displaying his hospitality. Remember,

00:47:37.929 --> 00:47:39.949
he's a newer king at this point. He's a young

00:47:39.949 --> 00:47:42.889
man, and he's trying to instill confidence in

00:47:42.889 --> 00:47:45.610
his leadership and rallying these important men

00:47:45.610 --> 00:47:48.750
to get behind the goal of what? I'm going to

00:47:48.750 --> 00:47:52.679
invade Greece. And I need you with me. I need

00:47:52.679 --> 00:47:55.179
you to see how great I am, how powerful I am,

00:47:55.260 --> 00:47:58.679
and get behind this invasion of Greece. In fact,

00:47:58.739 --> 00:48:01.340
scholars believe that the six months, much of

00:48:01.340 --> 00:48:04.099
that time was war planning. That's why the army

00:48:04.099 --> 00:48:06.780
officers are there. They're planning this military

00:48:06.780 --> 00:48:10.340
operation to Greece. But then comes the second

00:48:10.340 --> 00:48:13.280
banquet, verse five. When these days were completed,

00:48:13.480 --> 00:48:15.860
the six months, the king gave a banquet lasting,

00:48:16.000 --> 00:48:20.030
oh, just seven days. seven days for all the people

00:48:20.030 --> 00:48:22.769
who were present at the citadel in Susa from

00:48:22.769 --> 00:48:25.010
the greatest to the least in the court of the

00:48:25.010 --> 00:48:27.789
garden of the king's palace, which also has been

00:48:27.789 --> 00:48:30.590
found. That open air structure right there is

00:48:30.590 --> 00:48:32.690
known as the court of the garden. So we held

00:48:32.690 --> 00:48:35.630
a second banquet in that particular area. Now

00:48:35.630 --> 00:48:39.010
this banquet is shorter. Who's there? Well, it's

00:48:39.010 --> 00:48:41.409
all the people that... that live and work in

00:48:41.409 --> 00:48:44.329
the citadel, which is the palace complex. So

00:48:44.329 --> 00:48:47.670
servants and staff, and again, noble men of the

00:48:47.670 --> 00:48:50.550
kingdom, probably hundreds of people. And this

00:48:50.550 --> 00:48:52.849
was sort of a special gift from this young king.

00:48:52.929 --> 00:48:55.409
He's trying to impress people. So he holds this,

00:48:55.449 --> 00:48:58.349
you know, the seven -day banquet. Verse six.

00:48:58.829 --> 00:49:01.309
Look how opulent it is. So he didn't spare any

00:49:01.309 --> 00:49:03.789
of the opulence of his kingdom. There were hangings

00:49:03.789 --> 00:49:07.429
of fine white and violet linen held by cords

00:49:07.429 --> 00:49:10.590
of fine purple linen on silver rings and marble

00:49:10.590 --> 00:49:14.570
columns and couches of gold and silver on a mosaic

00:49:14.570 --> 00:49:18.130
pavement of porphyry, marble, mother of pearl,

00:49:18.210 --> 00:49:21.230
and precious stones. Drinks were served in golden

00:49:21.230 --> 00:49:24.070
vessels of various kinds, and the royal wine

00:49:24.070 --> 00:49:26.469
was plentiful according to the king's bounty.

00:49:27.739 --> 00:49:32.059
Spares no expense. This is a party. Now, this

00:49:32.059 --> 00:49:33.679
must have been very impressive to the people

00:49:33.679 --> 00:49:36.039
that were there. And that was the point, to let

00:49:36.039 --> 00:49:38.860
everybody know, I am the new king. I am richer

00:49:38.860 --> 00:49:41.679
and greater than my father Darius. That's basically

00:49:41.679 --> 00:49:44.460
what's happening here. Look at verse 8. The drinking

00:49:44.460 --> 00:49:47.280
was done according to the law. There was no compulsion,

00:49:47.280 --> 00:49:50.380
for so the king had given orders to each official

00:49:50.380 --> 00:49:52.780
of his household that he should do according

00:49:52.780 --> 00:49:55.559
to the desires of each person. Now, I know that

00:49:55.559 --> 00:49:58.039
sounds weird, but according to ancient Persian

00:49:58.039 --> 00:50:01.320
custom, if you came to a party, you had to have

00:50:01.320 --> 00:50:04.900
a drink with the host or leave. But that was

00:50:04.900 --> 00:50:08.400
compulsory. But here, Xerxes opened things up

00:50:08.400 --> 00:50:11.289
and says, hey. Let every man drink as much or

00:50:11.289 --> 00:50:13.309
as little as he wants. He's free to do as he

00:50:13.309 --> 00:50:17.130
pleases. Again, Xerxes is trying to please the

00:50:17.130 --> 00:50:20.909
folks. And a third banquet is taking place at

00:50:20.909 --> 00:50:24.369
the same time. This is for ladies only, and it's

00:50:24.369 --> 00:50:26.769
hosted by Xerxes' queen, whose name was Vashti.

00:50:27.530 --> 00:50:30.050
Verse 9, Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for

00:50:30.050 --> 00:50:33.010
the women in the palace which belonged to King

00:50:33.010 --> 00:50:35.650
Ahasuerus. And we know that the women's quarters

00:50:35.650 --> 00:50:37.090
were somewhere in the back, and that's where

00:50:37.090 --> 00:50:40.059
that party is taking place. Okay. Deep breath.

00:50:40.119 --> 00:50:43.239
I mentioned earlier, this is a crisis book. We're

00:50:43.239 --> 00:50:45.500
about to bump into the first crisis. Here it

00:50:45.500 --> 00:50:48.800
comes, verse 10. On the seventh day, when the

00:50:48.800 --> 00:50:52.159
heart of the king was, what, merry with wine,

00:50:52.420 --> 00:50:56.539
he commanded, oh boy, here come the names, Mehumon,

00:50:56.639 --> 00:51:02.320
Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Avagtha, Zether, and

00:51:02.320 --> 00:51:06.840
Karkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence

00:51:06.840 --> 00:51:10.199
of King Ahasuerus. If you were going to attend

00:51:10.199 --> 00:51:14.119
to the queen, you needed to be a eunuch. I'll

00:51:14.119 --> 00:51:18.500
leave it at that. Verse 11, what were they commanded

00:51:18.500 --> 00:51:21.539
to do? To bring Queen Vashti before the king

00:51:21.539 --> 00:51:24.880
with her royal crown in order to display her

00:51:24.880 --> 00:51:27.760
beauty to the people and the princes, for she

00:51:27.760 --> 00:51:33.940
was beautiful. Uh -oh. This is a bad idea, isn't

00:51:33.940 --> 00:51:36.739
it? Right? Every guy in this room should cringe.

00:51:37.659 --> 00:51:42.360
That's a bad idea. Here's the young king, and

00:51:42.360 --> 00:51:45.179
he's feeling merry. And the Hebrew word there

00:51:45.179 --> 00:51:47.460
is just tov. It just means he's feeling good.

00:51:47.860 --> 00:51:51.059
He's at least mildly drunk at this point. And

00:51:51.059 --> 00:51:53.980
my guess is a conversation happened with his

00:51:53.980 --> 00:51:56.420
nobles, and somebody, you know, he was boasting

00:51:56.420 --> 00:51:59.000
about the beauty of his wife, and maybe somebody

00:51:59.000 --> 00:52:02.579
spoke up and said, well, let's see it. And so

00:52:02.579 --> 00:52:04.559
what does the king do? His authority is not to

00:52:04.559 --> 00:52:06.760
be questioned and he snaps his fingers at his

00:52:06.760 --> 00:52:11.059
eunuchs and he says, go interrupt the queen's

00:52:11.059 --> 00:52:14.400
banquet and get her in here and tell her to look

00:52:14.400 --> 00:52:17.119
her best. Tell her to put on her crown. Tell

00:52:17.119 --> 00:52:21.179
her to come in here and show herself to these

00:52:21.179 --> 00:52:25.059
men who'd been drinking for seven days. Big yikes,

00:52:25.119 --> 00:52:29.199
right? So according to the custom of that day,

00:52:29.800 --> 00:52:33.960
Vashti's job in that moment was to obey, to publicly

00:52:33.960 --> 00:52:36.619
display her royal beauty in order to bring glory

00:52:36.619 --> 00:52:39.099
to her husband and to the king. And she would

00:52:39.099 --> 00:52:41.599
have known that. That was at least the idea.

00:52:41.699 --> 00:52:46.400
Verse 12, but Queen Vashti refused. She refused

00:52:46.400 --> 00:52:49.800
to come at the king's command delivered by the

00:52:49.800 --> 00:52:52.739
eunuchs. She says, I'm not doing it. I'm not

00:52:52.739 --> 00:52:54.579
coming. Now the text doesn't give us the reason,

00:52:54.619 --> 00:52:57.099
but there's a couple, we can probably guess,

00:52:57.179 --> 00:52:59.929
right? By the way, some scholars have said it's

00:52:59.929 --> 00:53:02.289
possible she was pregnant at this time and just

00:53:02.289 --> 00:53:04.329
didn't want to appear pregnant in front of the

00:53:04.329 --> 00:53:06.829
others. We don't know that for sure. More likely,

00:53:06.929 --> 00:53:10.769
it's just a matter of her dignity, right? She's

00:53:10.769 --> 00:53:13.190
a woman of noble birth. She is the queen of the

00:53:13.190 --> 00:53:16.409
empire. To put herself on display before these

00:53:16.409 --> 00:53:19.750
drunk men would be humiliating. So she says no.

00:53:20.769 --> 00:53:22.849
Even though she must have understood the consequences

00:53:22.849 --> 00:53:26.079
of that. And she probably knew her life was now

00:53:26.079 --> 00:53:29.579
at risk. It's that serious. And so predictably,

00:53:29.579 --> 00:53:32.159
verse 12 continues, then the king became very

00:53:32.159 --> 00:53:36.860
angry and his wrath burned within him. Why? Because

00:53:36.860 --> 00:53:39.800
this is public defiance. What was the purpose

00:53:39.800 --> 00:53:42.820
of the banquet? To impress people. Now we have

00:53:42.820 --> 00:53:45.599
public defiance. We have a public embarrassment

00:53:45.599 --> 00:53:49.980
of the king. So what are all the household staff,

00:53:50.179 --> 00:53:52.400
what are all the nobles to conclude from this?

00:53:52.519 --> 00:53:54.760
Well, this young king doesn't have his house

00:53:54.760 --> 00:53:58.679
in order. And it's made him look weak in front

00:53:58.679 --> 00:54:01.780
of everybody. That's the point I'm leaving you

00:54:01.780 --> 00:54:04.679
at today. Because that's the crisis. There's

00:54:04.679 --> 00:54:07.639
coming a crisis. And next week, we'll see Esther

00:54:07.639 --> 00:54:09.639
come onto the scene. And there's some very important

00:54:09.639 --> 00:54:12.760
reasons why. And we'll see the way Xerxes responds.

00:54:12.840 --> 00:54:14.619
And we'll see the way God works in and through

00:54:14.619 --> 00:54:18.920
this situation. You guys feel okay about that?

00:54:19.059 --> 00:54:23.460
Got a background? Okay. I'm exhausted. Let's

00:54:23.460 --> 00:54:30.900
pray together. Father, help us. Help us, help

00:54:30.900 --> 00:54:34.599
us, help us. As we study history and we study

00:54:34.599 --> 00:54:37.750
the way that you have worked. In the annals of

00:54:37.750 --> 00:54:39.889
human history, Lord, as we look at your text

00:54:39.889 --> 00:54:43.289
and we compare the things that we know from archaeology

00:54:43.289 --> 00:54:46.710
and from historians and we look at the divine

00:54:46.710 --> 00:54:49.110
truth of your inspired word that tells us the

00:54:49.110 --> 00:54:52.170
absolute facts about what happened on the ground.

00:54:52.309 --> 00:54:54.630
As we put all those things together, Lord, we

00:54:54.630 --> 00:54:58.389
marvel. We marvel at your sovereignty. We marvel

00:54:58.389 --> 00:55:02.329
at your care for your people, Israel. The way

00:55:02.329 --> 00:55:06.030
you took such care of them during these difficult

00:55:06.030 --> 00:55:08.949
years in exile and brought Persian kings into

00:55:08.949 --> 00:55:11.489
their lives in order to bless them in extraordinary

00:55:11.489 --> 00:55:14.329
ways, Lord. I pray that today, God, we would

00:55:14.329 --> 00:55:16.489
just seal these truths in our hearts, get our

00:55:16.489 --> 00:55:19.110
minds and hearts ready for what comes next. as

00:55:19.110 --> 00:55:20.989
we continue in the story. Thank you for your

00:55:20.989 --> 00:55:23.269
word. Thank you for how practical it is. Thank

00:55:23.269 --> 00:55:26.449
you for how glorious it is, Lord. And now, Father,

00:55:26.550 --> 00:55:29.730
as we come back and we sing and we worship, Lord,

00:55:29.789 --> 00:55:32.110
work in our hearts by your spirit. May you be

00:55:32.110 --> 00:55:34.289
glorified in our midst, we pray in Jesus' name.

00:55:34.489 --> 00:55:34.849
Amen.