WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.220 How many of you guys are familiar with Fiddler 00:00:02.220 --> 00:00:06.540 on the Roof? Okay, good. This won't be shocking 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:10.119 to you. It is one of my all -time favorite theater 00:00:10.119 --> 00:00:14.160 productions. I've seen it multiple times in multiple 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.460 places with all kinds of different casts. I've 00:00:16.460 --> 00:00:21.679 watched the classic, you ready, 1971 movie. For 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:25.660 you young 'uns, 1971 movie, many times. The music. 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:31.480 The choreography, the humor involved, it just 00:00:31.480 --> 00:00:35.259 kills me. The setting, a small Jewish village 00:00:35.259 --> 00:00:37.619 in Eastern Europe at the turn of the 20th century, 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:40.479 and all the real -life themes that are sort of 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:42.719 woven throughout the story. You have challenging 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:46.140 family dynamics. You have generational divides. 00:00:46.659 --> 00:00:49.719 You have this effort to try to preserve traditions 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:53.770 in the middle of societal change. And of course, 00:00:53.789 --> 00:00:55.450 sort of looming in the background of the story 00:00:55.450 --> 00:00:59.030 is the precarious nature of Jewish life in a 00:00:59.030 --> 00:01:01.969 world of displacement and a world of heartache. 00:01:02.670 --> 00:01:06.609 And if you're like me, I never expected this 00:01:06.609 --> 00:01:09.629 to happen, but as I get older, I have begun to 00:01:09.629 --> 00:01:12.810 identify with the lead character, Tevye, the 00:01:12.810 --> 00:01:17.129 papa. I didn't expect that to happen. Much of 00:01:17.129 --> 00:01:19.870 the story revolves around how he navigates the 00:01:19.870 --> 00:01:23.359 non -traditional marriages of his daughters, 00:01:23.540 --> 00:01:25.659 who, of course, don't value tradition in the 00:01:25.659 --> 00:01:28.140 same way that he does. They just want to do their 00:01:28.140 --> 00:01:31.280 own thing their own way, and that can be disconcerting 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:34.319 for a papa. So his oldest daughter ignores the 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.680 traditional path of using the village matchmaker, 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:40.920 and she makes her own match and marries her childhood 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:43.959 sweetheart, who is a very poor tailor. Then the 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:45.939 second daughter moves even further from tradition 00:01:45.939 --> 00:01:48.379 when without asking permission at all from the 00:01:48.379 --> 00:01:51.439 papa, she chooses to marry a young Jewish man 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:54.400 who is a radical revolutionary who is destined 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:57.620 for trouble. And finally, his third daughter 00:01:57.620 --> 00:01:59.620 does the unthinkable. She falls in love with 00:01:59.620 --> 00:02:03.260 a Gentile and runs away with him, a complete 00:02:03.260 --> 00:02:05.400 violation of everything that Tevye stands for. 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:08.060 And it's at that important turning point in the 00:02:08.060 --> 00:02:11.740 production that his sort of lighthearted, funny 00:02:11.740 --> 00:02:16.020 nature begins to shift towards despair. And that 00:02:16.020 --> 00:02:18.479 leads me to why I'm sharing that this morning. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:21.199 Early in the play, there's a scene where the 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:23.800 family gathers around the Shabbat table, and 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:27.860 as Tevye's wife lights the candle, she sings 00:02:27.860 --> 00:02:32.159 a prayer over her daughters. And here's how it 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:37.960 sounds. It says, may you be like Ruth and like 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:44.580 Esther. May you be deserving of praise. Strengthen 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:47.919 them, O Lord. Here it is. And keep them from 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:52.900 the stranger's ways. May you be like Ruth and 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:56.240 like Esther. That's the surprising part of this 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.319 prayer. Which, by the way, further research found 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:01.259 out that is not the traditional Shabbat prayer 00:03:01.259 --> 00:03:05.120 in most Jewish homes. But in the play, they name... 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:08.259 Ruth and Esther, which is ironic because both 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:12.319 of those women married outside of their ethnic 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:16.300 identity. Ruth, a Moabite woman, marries Boaz, 00:03:16.300 --> 00:03:20.340 an Israelite, and Esther, a Jew, marries Xerxes, 00:03:20.379 --> 00:03:23.599 a pagan king. Now you might excuse Ruth because 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:26.419 at least she converts to Judaism, right? But 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:31.180 how do you explain Esther? Is this a prayer that 00:03:31.180 --> 00:03:33.740 you would pray over your daughter? May you be 00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:39.020 like Esther. I'm not so sure. So let's find out. 00:03:39.020 --> 00:03:41.639 Grab your Bibles. Let's go to Esther chapter 00:03:41.639 --> 00:03:46.539 2. By the way, do you guys need any more historical 00:03:46.539 --> 00:03:51.020 context on this book? That's a joke. You now 00:03:51.020 --> 00:03:54.340 have two 55 -minute sermons worth of historical 00:03:54.340 --> 00:03:57.900 context from the last two Sundays. And by the 00:03:57.900 --> 00:03:59.699 way, if you missed either one of those, you should 00:03:59.699 --> 00:04:01.599 catch up and listen to them. It's important for 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:03.800 the rest of the series. You can listen to them 00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:06.860 on Spotify or YouTube. Also, I posted the slides, 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.180 the visual slides that go with those two sermons. 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:12.259 which will be super helpful as you listen, and 00:04:12.259 --> 00:04:15.120 those are on the All Church group in the Resources 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:17.959 tab. That will help a great deal. So I'm not 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:20.040 going to rehash any of those details this morning. 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:22.680 I promised I wouldn't go back into it. We should 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:24.399 all be up to speed at this point about who the 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:26.680 characters are in this drama and why they are 00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:30.319 in Susa, why they are there, the royal capital 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:34.120 of Persia, circa 480 B .C. That's what's going 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:36.079 on. So we're going to focus our attention on 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:38.800 verses 8 through 18 this morning. But I want 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:40.600 to go back up to verse 1. Let's read this whole 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:43.139 thing in context so that we're getting the flow 00:04:43.139 --> 00:04:46.360 of the narrative. So verse 1, after these things, 00:04:46.540 --> 00:04:50.699 and that is after the events of chapter 1, and 00:04:50.699 --> 00:04:55.339 after Xerxes' failed invasion of Greece, after 00:04:55.339 --> 00:04:57.860 these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus 00:04:57.860 --> 00:05:02.279 had subsided, he remembered Vashti. and what 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:05.339 she had done and what had been decreed against 00:05:05.339 --> 00:05:07.939 her. So I mentioned this last week after returning 00:05:07.939 --> 00:05:10.720 from Greece and hearing that his forces had been 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.259 defeated on the field at the Battle of Plataea. 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:16.199 With that humiliation now weighing heavily on 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:18.660 Xerxes, he is looking for a way to cheer himself 00:05:18.660 --> 00:05:21.519 up. And in this depressed state, how many guys 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:23.079 have ever been depressed and you thought about 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:29.379 an old flame? I mean, it happens, right? In this 00:05:29.379 --> 00:05:31.819 depressed place, he begins to remember his beloved 00:05:31.819 --> 00:05:35.199 former queen, Vashti. But remember, she had publicly 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:38.560 defied him years earlier. But you get a sense 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:40.660 here that he's longing for her and maybe longing 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:44.060 for better times in the past. So you can almost 00:05:44.060 --> 00:05:46.339 picture him sitting on his golden throne in this 00:05:46.339 --> 00:05:49.240 massive, glorious palace, but still feeling very 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:52.439 much alone. feeling the sting of defeat on the 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:54.740 battlefield and now a sense of loneliness too. 00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:57.060 But he can't go back on time. Remember, upon 00:05:57.060 --> 00:06:00.060 the counsel of his princes, he had passed legislation 00:06:00.060 --> 00:06:04.079 that could not be retracted. Vashti was a former 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:06.920 queen and nothing was going to change that. And 00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:08.899 so with his spirits in the dumps, his servants 00:06:08.899 --> 00:06:11.699 come to him with a plan to cheer him up. Verse 00:06:11.699 --> 00:06:14.709 2. And the king's attendants who served him said, 00:06:14.870 --> 00:06:17.470 let beautiful young virgins be sought for the 00:06:17.470 --> 00:06:19.990 king. So there you go. Does this not give us 00:06:19.990 --> 00:06:23.790 some insight? These servants know the king and 00:06:23.790 --> 00:06:26.110 they know this is going to cheer him up. But 00:06:26.110 --> 00:06:28.029 how do you go about finding these women? Verse 00:06:28.029 --> 00:06:31.350 three, let the king appoint overseers in all 00:06:31.350 --> 00:06:33.550 the provinces of his kingdom. Remember, there 00:06:33.550 --> 00:06:38.180 were 127 provinces. This is a big search. all 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:40.040 the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:42.540 every beautiful young virgin to the citadel of 00:06:42.540 --> 00:06:46.360 Susa, to the harem, into the custody of Hege, 00:06:46.459 --> 00:06:49.839 the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women, 00:06:49.899 --> 00:06:52.480 and let their cosmetics be given to them. So 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:54.500 that's the plan. All these officials are going 00:06:54.500 --> 00:06:56.540 to find all the most beautiful women in their 00:06:56.540 --> 00:06:59.120 particular province and make sure they get handed 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:02.540 over to the chief eunuch who will help them get 00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:06.069 prepared for meeting the king. Verse 4, then 00:07:06.069 --> 00:07:09.149 let the young lady who pleases the king be queen 00:07:09.149 --> 00:07:12.110 in place of Vashti. And the matter pleased the 00:07:12.110 --> 00:07:15.430 king. And he did accordingly. Now, what's interesting 00:07:15.430 --> 00:07:18.449 about this is we know historically how ancient 00:07:18.449 --> 00:07:21.050 Near East kings chose their wives. And it's a 00:07:21.050 --> 00:07:23.589 time -honored tradition across all cultures and 00:07:23.589 --> 00:07:26.529 all periods of time. You go out and you seek 00:07:26.529 --> 00:07:28.350 a wife who is going to strengthen your rule. 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:31.560 And the best way to do that is to marry, pick 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:33.939 the daughter of a noble family in the kingdom 00:07:33.939 --> 00:07:36.959 in order to build an alliance. That strengthens 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:40.439 your power. So the fact that Xerxes doesn't consider 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:42.939 this, but goes straight to the bottom with this, 00:07:42.980 --> 00:07:46.100 he listens to his servants when they suggest 00:07:46.100 --> 00:07:50.300 this kind of Miss Persia pageant show, and he 00:07:50.300 --> 00:07:52.980 agrees to that, it tells you about his ego. And 00:07:52.980 --> 00:07:55.339 it tells you about his lack of wisdom and probably 00:07:55.339 --> 00:07:57.899 something about his lustful desires as well. 00:07:58.320 --> 00:08:00.120 By the way, something I should point out historically, 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:03.360 I wondered if I should talk about this, but we're 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:05.199 gonna pass over this multiple times, so I might 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:07.040 as well just get it out there. What is a eunuch? 00:08:08.939 --> 00:08:11.060 I may have assumed that people know that historically, 00:08:11.220 --> 00:08:13.560 but that may not be the case. So without getting 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:16.420 graphic or going too deep into the details, a 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:20.920 eunuch was a castrated male servant. Most units 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:23.000 in the ancient world were foreign men who would 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:27.079 be captured in war and taken as slaves, and then 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:29.420 they would set aside the most trustworthy of 00:08:29.420 --> 00:08:31.920 these men, castrate them, and then train them 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:35.820 for service in the king's palace. And so there's 00:08:35.820 --> 00:08:37.980 an obvious benefit to this, right? Their condition 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:40.919 made them perfect for supervising the king's 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:44.529 harem. and for guarding, being the gatekeepers 00:08:44.529 --> 00:08:46.990 of the royal bedrooms. And generally, eunuchs 00:08:46.990 --> 00:08:49.450 were involved in all the most private affairs 00:08:49.450 --> 00:08:51.509 of the king and his family. And it's interesting, 00:08:51.710 --> 00:08:55.230 even though these men were most often foreigners, 00:08:55.610 --> 00:08:58.350 history is replete with stories of eunuchs who 00:08:58.350 --> 00:09:01.389 became very powerful, very influential, because 00:09:01.389 --> 00:09:04.289 they're on the inside of all the palace intrigue 00:09:04.289 --> 00:09:06.789 that happened in that kind of a culture. And 00:09:06.789 --> 00:09:10.379 this guy, Hege, is... is clearly the chief eunuch 00:09:10.379 --> 00:09:12.919 for the king. So he's a powerful man, and you 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:15.759 have to know that going into the story. So verse 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:18.340 five, now there was at the citadel in Susa a 00:09:18.340 --> 00:09:20.960 Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Yair, 00:09:21.179 --> 00:09:24.639 the son of Shemi, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. 00:09:25.340 --> 00:09:28.159 who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:32.039 with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah, 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:34.679 king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king 00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:37.539 of Babylon, had exiled. Now that's a reference 00:09:37.539 --> 00:09:40.139 back to his great -grandfather Kish. Kish was 00:09:40.139 --> 00:09:42.539 the one taken out of Babylon, and now we're several 00:09:42.539 --> 00:09:45.950 generations down the line with Mordecai. So let's 00:09:45.950 --> 00:09:48.590 talk about Mordecai. And once again, I came up 00:09:48.590 --> 00:09:50.909 with some AI images for you guys. Because I like 00:09:50.909 --> 00:09:54.690 having faces. Get a face so that you can sort 00:09:54.690 --> 00:09:56.750 of picture what this looks like. Yes, I have 00:09:56.750 --> 00:09:58.929 an Esther. It's coming up. So just take a deep 00:09:58.929 --> 00:10:02.350 breath. All right. So notice how he is called 00:10:02.350 --> 00:10:05.610 in verse 5, a Jew. And this is what he's going 00:10:05.610 --> 00:10:08.470 to be called throughout the story of Esther, 00:10:08.509 --> 00:10:12.399 which is... Most Israelites, most Jews are called 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:16.340 by the father or son of so -and -so. But all 00:10:16.340 --> 00:10:17.840 throughout this book, he's going to be called 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:20.399 Mordecai the Jew, which means he's being described 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:23.299 as a member of the diaspora. That's really important 00:10:23.299 --> 00:10:26.779 to know. And listen, this is a unique identification 00:10:26.779 --> 00:10:30.080 to this period of Old Testament history. Maybe 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:31.700 you've noticed this before. Maybe not. Maybe 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:34.720 you've read right past it. But this particular 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:37.600 ethnic group, this chosen nation that God picks, 00:10:38.190 --> 00:10:40.169 they're called different things throughout the 00:10:40.169 --> 00:10:41.870 Bible. Have you noticed this? At first they're 00:10:41.870 --> 00:10:44.889 called Hebrews, named after the language that 00:10:44.889 --> 00:10:48.830 they speak. And then in Genesis 32, Jacob, Abraham, 00:10:48.929 --> 00:10:52.690 Isaac, Jacob, Jacob is renamed what? Yisrael. 00:10:53.009 --> 00:10:55.330 And from that point forward, this same people 00:10:55.330 --> 00:10:58.610 group who were Hebrews are now called Yisraelites, 00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:01.470 right? But now when we get to this period, the 00:11:01.470 --> 00:11:04.029 period of the exile and the return, they're called 00:11:04.029 --> 00:11:08.740 Jews. Now why? It's simply a shorthand for Judeans, 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:11.620 people that come from the land of Judah. Now, 00:11:11.620 --> 00:11:13.539 you may never have thought of that before. Like, 00:11:13.539 --> 00:11:15.120 why are people called Jews today? Because they 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:18.000 come from Judah. Remember, the 10 tribes of the 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:21.139 north had been conquered and scattered and ethnically 00:11:21.139 --> 00:11:23.740 cleansed out of existence. All that remained 00:11:23.740 --> 00:11:26.159 were the two tribes in the south from the land 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:29.059 of Judah. So anybody from this ethnic people 00:11:29.059 --> 00:11:33.120 group today are referred to as Jews. So that's 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:35.759 Mordecai. His family had been taken from Jerusalem 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:40.639 into exile in Babylon, and as part of the people 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:43.259 of Judah, some had gone back to the land, but 00:11:43.259 --> 00:11:45.960 Mordecai had not. Okay, so that's just a little, 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:48.159 I can't help it. A little more historical context 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:50.419 for you. Okay, now I mentioned this in passing 00:11:50.419 --> 00:11:52.620 last Sunday. We're gonna find out that Mordecai. 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:56.080 held some kind of official position there at 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:58.919 the citadel in Susa. We're not told exactly what 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:01.720 he does, but it's said that he is sitting at 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:05.580 the king's gate, and that's important. In ancient 00:12:05.580 --> 00:12:08.659 Near East cities, men who sat at the gate were 00:12:08.659 --> 00:12:11.820 the most respected men of the land. That is where... 00:12:12.330 --> 00:12:15.129 Commercial transactions took place. At the gate 00:12:15.129 --> 00:12:18.330 is where judicial matters were often settled. 00:12:18.509 --> 00:12:20.909 So scholars have suggested that Mordecai might 00:12:20.909 --> 00:12:24.289 have been somehow involved in the judicial system 00:12:24.289 --> 00:12:27.990 of Persia in some way. So he's an important man. 00:12:28.129 --> 00:12:31.110 You should know that. Now look at verse 7. He 00:12:31.110 --> 00:12:34.120 was bringing up Hadassah. That is Esther, his 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:37.200 uncle's daughter, or as I love how you guys reasoned 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:39.340 with me together in the sermon, that's a cousin, 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:43.299 right? An older cousin, probably a solid, you 00:12:43.299 --> 00:12:47.799 know, almost generation above Esther. So his 00:12:47.799 --> 00:12:49.799 uncle's daughter, for she had no father or mother. 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:52.500 Now the young lady was beautiful of form and 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:54.440 face, and when her father and her mother died, 00:12:54.759 --> 00:12:58.240 Mordecai took her as his own daughter. So let's 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:02.309 talk about Hadassah, her Hebrew name. which means 00:13:02.309 --> 00:13:05.570 myrtle. And so this beautiful flowering shrub 00:13:05.570 --> 00:13:08.409 that grows in the Middle East and up in Galilee 00:13:08.409 --> 00:13:11.029 and even into Iran where the story takes place, 00:13:11.190 --> 00:13:13.870 that is what she is named for. Her Persian name, 00:13:13.929 --> 00:13:16.009 Esther, mentioned this last Sunday, probably 00:13:16.009 --> 00:13:18.950 comes from the root word Ishtar, which is connected 00:13:18.950 --> 00:13:23.269 with the Mesopotamian fertility goddess or goddess 00:13:23.269 --> 00:13:26.750 of beauty, Ishtar, which is so interesting. Now, 00:13:26.870 --> 00:13:31.009 this is so funny. After church last Sunday, I 00:13:31.009 --> 00:13:33.610 went to talk to our resident expert on Orthodox 00:13:33.610 --> 00:13:37.230 Judaism, Yael. And she hates when I do this to 00:13:37.230 --> 00:13:39.830 her, but thank you for letting me do this. And 00:13:39.830 --> 00:13:42.029 she mentioned something to me I'd never heard 00:13:42.029 --> 00:13:44.549 before. She said, as I was growing up in an Orthodox 00:13:44.549 --> 00:13:48.330 Jewish home, we were told that Esther's name, 00:13:48.409 --> 00:13:51.129 even though it's a Persian name, has a crossover 00:13:51.129 --> 00:13:57.100 meaning into Hebrew. And so I looked it up. I 00:13:57.100 --> 00:13:58.860 did the research this week, and she's not wrong. 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:00.980 That shouldn't be a surprise. She's not wrong. 00:14:01.899 --> 00:14:04.759 There is a crossover meaning in Hebrew. There 00:14:04.759 --> 00:14:07.019 is a Hebrew tradition that says the name Esther, 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:09.820 though it's Persian, is linked to the Hebrew 00:14:09.820 --> 00:14:13.200 word sather, which means, you ready, to hide 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:17.299 or to conceal. And it's a word you'll find 82 00:14:17.299 --> 00:14:19.279 times in the Old Testament. And if you look at 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:21.879 the two, The two words and listen to them, you 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:24.679 may be able to see and hear the connection, Sather 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:28.799 and Esther. Remember, biblical Hebrew is a language 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:31.720 of consonants. And so both words are built upon 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:36.419 the same consonants, S -T -R, Samech, Tav, Resh. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:39.299 The only difference is you have Esther gets an 00:14:39.299 --> 00:14:42.399 Aleph at the front of that. But they appear to 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:44.779 have the same root. Now, here's the interesting 00:14:44.779 --> 00:14:47.200 connection in all this. Sather means hide or 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:50.080 conceal, and that's exactly what Esther does 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:53.340 throughout most of this story. She hides her 00:14:53.340 --> 00:14:56.139 Jewish identity. And not only that, as we've 00:14:56.139 --> 00:14:58.679 already talked about, this book is famous for 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:02.480 not explicitly mentioning God's name, suggesting 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:06.000 that his presence is also. hidden or concealed 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:08.320 from the reader. So there's all kinds of interesting 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:11.220 connections here, both in Persian and in Hebrew. 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:14.559 So who was Esther? What do we know about her? 00:15:14.620 --> 00:15:17.019 Well, first of all, everybody likes to speculate 00:15:17.019 --> 00:15:20.279 about her age, but we don't know. We don't know 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:23.019 how old she was at this time. Is it possible 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:26.529 she was a teenager? Culturally, yes, it is possible 00:15:26.529 --> 00:15:28.769 that she was a teenager at this point. But if 00:15:28.769 --> 00:15:31.350 you look at Talmudic tradition, they like to 00:15:31.350 --> 00:15:33.309 talk about her being quite a bit older, even 00:15:33.309 --> 00:15:36.529 up to the age of 40. So we just don't know for 00:15:36.529 --> 00:15:38.970 sure. But one thing we are told is that she was 00:15:38.970 --> 00:15:42.059 an orphan. We're not told how, but both of her 00:15:42.059 --> 00:15:44.360 parents died. There's no mention of siblings, 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:47.279 so she's left in the care of this older cousin, 00:15:47.340 --> 00:15:49.700 which, by the way, was incredibly important to 00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:52.620 her life because in the ancient Near East, young 00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:55.379 women without male protection are not going to 00:15:55.379 --> 00:15:57.279 survive for long. They are going to end up in 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:00.159 a very bad place. So it's important that Mordecai 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:02.759 comes to her rescue. So here's a girl, young 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:05.480 girl, who we can assume has gone through a measure 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:08.460 of suffering. And as we know by our own lives, 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:11.820 sometimes suffering is what shapes us. It shapes 00:16:11.820 --> 00:16:14.720 our personalities and our character, and I think 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:16.840 it did with Esther. One gift that we're also 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:19.960 told about is that she was given by God physical 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:23.179 beauty. But we shouldn't limit her attractiveness 00:16:23.179 --> 00:16:25.620 just to what we see on the outside. What we're 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:27.440 going to see as we work through this story is 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:32.279 that Esther has this ability to earn the favor 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:35.309 of everybody she comes into contact with. It's 00:16:35.309 --> 00:16:36.789 very interesting. We'll see it over and over 00:16:36.789 --> 00:16:39.090 again. So the best way to understand it, I think, 00:16:39.090 --> 00:16:41.990 is she has a measure of humility and submissiveness 00:16:41.990 --> 00:16:45.830 that sets her apart from other women. And by 00:16:45.830 --> 00:16:47.409 the way, these are the things that God often 00:16:47.409 --> 00:16:50.149 uses in his people to accomplish his purposes, 00:16:50.309 --> 00:16:53.470 right? Both suffering and what comes out of suffering. 00:16:53.710 --> 00:16:56.450 Be that humility, submissiveness, whatever it 00:16:56.450 --> 00:16:58.590 might be. These are the things that God often 00:16:58.590 --> 00:17:02.240 uses. So the story goes on in verse 8. So it 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:04.099 came about when the command and decree of the 00:17:04.099 --> 00:17:07.039 king were heard and many young ladies were gathered 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:10.519 to the citadel of Susa into the custody of Hege, 00:17:10.579 --> 00:17:13.759 that Esther was taken to the king's palace into 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:16.480 the custody of Hege, who was in charge of the 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:19.039 women. So we're getting this reinforced idea 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:22.140 that this guy who takes charge of the women is 00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:25.259 very important and very powerful. So officials 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:27.720 from every one of the provinces of this vast 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:30.680 Persian empire scoured the land for beautiful 00:17:30.680 --> 00:17:33.259 and fitting young women, and they escort them 00:17:33.259 --> 00:17:36.759 to the capital of Susa for inspection. And here's 00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:39.740 where we have to consider one of the most controversial 00:17:39.740 --> 00:17:43.240 questions in the entire book of Esther. Look 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:46.160 at the language here in verse 8. Many young ladies 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:51.619 were gathered to Susa. What does it mean? Does 00:17:51.619 --> 00:17:54.819 it mean they were captured? Does it mean that 00:17:54.819 --> 00:17:58.299 they were forced against their will to come to 00:17:58.299 --> 00:18:01.819 Susa? Could it mean that they volunteered to 00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:04.339 be part of this pageant? Or is it a mixed bag? 00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:07.000 Maybe some volunteered, but others were actually 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:11.319 grabbed and taken away against their will. And 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:13.519 this obviously matters because Esther is a Jewish 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:16.619 woman. And being gathered into this pageant is 00:18:16.619 --> 00:18:19.420 going to require her to violate a whole number 00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:22.079 of Torah commandments, which we'll get to in 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:24.839 just a moment. Now, I explained this last week. 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:27.000 I'll say it again. Historical narratives often 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:29.400 don't give us all the details we really want 00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:32.519 to have, right? Because why? Because the details 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:35.079 aren't the important part of the story. But this 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:37.539 one seems pretty important because it goes to 00:18:37.539 --> 00:18:40.059 Esther's character. So I'm going to give you 00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:42.299 my opinion on this without being dogmatic. And 00:18:42.299 --> 00:18:44.079 I could be wrong on this. There are scholars 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:46.940 on both sides of the debate. But to me, the language 00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:50.000 here leans toward the idea that Esther was chosen. 00:18:51.099 --> 00:18:53.880 Not that she volunteered because she had some, 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:57.380 you know, her sights set on becoming queen, that 00:18:57.380 --> 00:19:00.279 she was chosen and taken. I don't think she's 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:02.859 a social climber that really has said, hey, that's 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:06.920 where I want to be in the citadel at Susa. And 00:19:06.920 --> 00:19:08.779 I say that because the Hebrew verb here used 00:19:08.779 --> 00:19:11.740 for gathered, kavatz, has a whole range of meaning. 00:19:11.819 --> 00:19:15.480 Yes, it can mean gathered, it can mean assembled, 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:18.980 but it can also mean to be grasped or to be collected. 00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:22.359 even taken away. So there's a range of meaning 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:25.299 here. In the Greek Septuagint, which is helpful 00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:27.059 for people like me because I'm better at Greek 00:19:27.059 --> 00:19:29.880 than Hebrew, the translators use the verb sunago 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:32.859 and it's written in the passive form. What that 00:19:32.859 --> 00:19:35.940 tells me is the author is subtly trying to indicate 00:19:35.940 --> 00:19:39.200 this was a royal command that had to be obeyed. 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:42.400 She didn't have a choice. At least some of the 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:45.779 women that were gathered to Susa and maybe Esther. 00:19:46.460 --> 00:19:48.660 Did not have a choice. They were simply collected 00:19:48.660 --> 00:19:52.059 and brought to the city. Again, there's different 00:19:52.059 --> 00:19:54.619 opinions on this. Now, I still have questions. 00:19:55.740 --> 00:19:58.319 The more I read this this week, the more questions 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:00.940 came to my mind. And a lot of them about Mordecai. 00:20:02.299 --> 00:20:04.680 I hold him more responsible than I do Esther 00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:07.740 because he's the guardian. He's the man. And 00:20:07.740 --> 00:20:09.579 he's going to have more power in this situation. 00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:12.720 He's an official of the kingdom. So was Mordecai 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:15.859 involved in Esther being discovered and selected? 00:20:16.579 --> 00:20:19.039 Is it possible that he actually approved of that, 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:22.420 knowing how beautiful she was? Or as her guardian, 00:20:22.500 --> 00:20:26.119 did he hide her? I mean, right? Think about it. 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:30.079 Dads, dads, you have a beautiful young daughter, 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:34.559 and the knock on the door comes. Do you hide 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:37.000 your daughter? Do you protect her in that moment? 00:20:37.900 --> 00:20:40.319 Did Mordecai try to do that? We're just not told. 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:42.779 But if Mordecai has any love for God's word, 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:45.799 he would have tried to prevent Esther from being 00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:47.720 gathered into this pageant. On the other hand, 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:50.380 if you take the negative view, and some scholars 00:20:50.380 --> 00:20:53.599 do, that Mordecai is a social climber, he was 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:56.160 the one saying, hey, I've got a beautiful adopted 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:59.900 daughter. You should consider her for this. But 00:20:59.900 --> 00:21:03.460 that's something that we just don't know. But 00:21:03.460 --> 00:21:05.880 I have questions. No question about it. Here's 00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:10.319 the thing. Consider the criteria for the new 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:13.680 queen. How is she gonna be chosen? This is not 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:16.759 like Miss America where the women come out in 00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:18.839 formal gowns and then swimsuits and they do an 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:21.500 interview in front of a panel of judges. This 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:24.059 one is much, much different, right? The criteria 00:21:24.059 --> 00:21:26.799 for this pageant is pleasing just one man, the 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:29.579 king, and to please him in every way. We'll get 00:21:29.579 --> 00:21:33.119 to this later, but that includes sexually. So 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:35.000 that's coming, just so that you know. Look at 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:38.319 verse nine. Look at how Esther now deals with 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:42.079 the king's eunuch. Now the young lady pleased 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:45.619 him, that's Haggai, and found favor with him. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:48.940 So he quickly provided her with cosmetics and 00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:52.019 food, gave her seven choice maids from the king's 00:21:52.019 --> 00:21:55.759 palace, and transferred her and her maids to 00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:59.250 the best place in the harem. Now, as you read 00:21:59.250 --> 00:22:01.869 that word harem, don't be confused. The Hebrew 00:22:01.869 --> 00:22:04.549 word there is just the standard word for house. 00:22:04.789 --> 00:22:06.670 So what they're talking about when they say harem 00:22:06.670 --> 00:22:09.529 are the women's apartments, the women's residences 00:22:09.529 --> 00:22:13.309 there within the palace structure. But this verse 00:22:13.309 --> 00:22:15.509 gives us insight into Esther's character. By 00:22:15.509 --> 00:22:18.369 the way, again, there's a range of opinions on 00:22:18.369 --> 00:22:22.730 the reason behind why she built this relationship 00:22:22.730 --> 00:22:26.589 with Hege. Those who prefer to see her in a negative 00:22:26.589 --> 00:22:29.349 light say, okay, see, here she was. She's a conniving 00:22:29.349 --> 00:22:32.529 woman who's aiming to become queen, so she took 00:22:32.529 --> 00:22:35.269 it upon herself to sort of manipulate this eunuch, 00:22:35.309 --> 00:22:38.490 this man, in order to get an advantage. But I 00:22:38.490 --> 00:22:43.190 think that is way over the top. I don't see that 00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:44.950 at all. I think that reads far too much into 00:22:44.950 --> 00:22:48.049 the text. Esther just seems to have an effect 00:22:48.049 --> 00:22:51.660 on people. including, we'll find out, on the 00:22:51.660 --> 00:22:54.339 king. Everywhere she goes, she finds favor with 00:22:54.339 --> 00:22:57.700 people. And listen, this isn't just outside beauty. 00:22:57.900 --> 00:23:00.259 Do we not know beautiful women who are completely 00:23:00.259 --> 00:23:05.220 unlikable? Yes, we do. So this is not just about 00:23:05.220 --> 00:23:07.180 physical beauty. There's more going on here. 00:23:07.220 --> 00:23:10.539 That is not Esther. She seems to combine physical 00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:13.839 attractiveness with this sort of gracious, demure 00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:18.319 demeanor that draws people to her. That's not 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:20.160 to suggest that it's out of the question that 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:23.920 she would develop a strategy to make friends 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:28.259 with Hege so that using her charm and her demeanor 00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:30.319 in order to sort of get an advantage over the 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:33.900 other women, that's possible. And I'm gonna give 00:23:33.900 --> 00:23:36.299 you a controversial take on this. Think about 00:23:36.299 --> 00:23:39.380 this. If you've been gathered into this pageant 00:23:39.380 --> 00:23:42.619 and you've chosen to submit to it without resisting, 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:47.240 would it not be the wisest thing to win? The 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:51.619 pageant rather than lose? Now, hold that thought 00:23:51.619 --> 00:23:53.400 because as we go along, you might agree with 00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:56.779 that. But if you've chosen to be gathered and 00:23:56.779 --> 00:23:58.319 you're like, I'm not going to push back against 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:00.359 this. I'm going to go through the process. It 00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:03.019 probably makes more sense to win than to lose. 00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:06.119 Hold that thought. Ultimately, what we can say 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:08.539 is that this favor that Esther won from this 00:24:08.539 --> 00:24:11.019 eunuch. Comes from the sovereign hand of God. 00:24:11.099 --> 00:24:13.380 He is at work behind the scenes, right? I know 00:24:13.380 --> 00:24:15.259 he's hidden, concealed, whatever you want to 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:17.700 say, but he is at work even in building that 00:24:17.700 --> 00:24:20.460 relationship between Esther and the eunuch. And 00:24:20.460 --> 00:24:22.920 yes, Esther now has an advantage, right? Think 00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:25.220 about that. She's just been given the best apartment 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:28.240 in the complex. She's been given all the food 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:30.960 and all the cosmetics she needs. And she's been 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:34.059 given seven assistants to help her in that process. 00:24:34.299 --> 00:24:37.160 That's pretty incredible. Now, I'm going to read 00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:39.440 verses 10 and 11, but I'm going to save my commentary 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:42.500 for the end because this is very controversial 00:24:42.500 --> 00:24:45.960 as well. Look at verse 10. Esther did not make 00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:49.819 known her people or her kindred. She did not 00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:53.279 disclose her Jewishness, for Mordecai had instructed 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:58.240 her that she should not make them known. So it's 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:01.130 Mordecai's decision. Every day Mordecai walked 00:25:01.130 --> 00:25:03.190 back and forth in front of the court of the harem 00:25:03.190 --> 00:25:08.009 to learn how Esther was and how she fared. Now, 00:25:08.069 --> 00:25:11.069 back to the harem, verse 12, we get insight into 00:25:11.069 --> 00:25:13.970 the pageant process. Verse 12, now when the turn 00:25:13.970 --> 00:25:17.890 of each lady came to go in to King Ahasuerus, 00:25:17.970 --> 00:25:21.210 after the end of her 12 months under the regulations 00:25:21.210 --> 00:25:23.980 for women, For the days of their beautification 00:25:23.980 --> 00:25:26.900 were completed as follows. You ready? Six months 00:25:26.900 --> 00:25:29.460 with oil of myrrh and six months with spices 00:25:29.460 --> 00:25:33.380 and the cosmetics for women. This is the ultimate 00:25:33.380 --> 00:25:37.880 spa treatment, right? This is a full year of 00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:41.279 doing nothing but making yourself more beautiful 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:44.839 just for one night with the king. Incredible. 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:48.160 But don't read past what appears to be, it looks 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:50.200 like a simple phrase, but it's loaded with meaning. 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:53.579 It says, when each young lady went into the king's 00:25:53.579 --> 00:25:57.099 chambers. That is exactly what the language infers. 00:25:57.559 --> 00:26:00.160 And that's important. And here's how they would 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:03.000 go in. Verse 13, the young lady would go into 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:06.160 the king in this way. Anything that she desired 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:09.400 was given her to take with her from the harem 00:26:09.400 --> 00:26:12.480 to the king's palace. So catch this now. She 00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:14.160 goes through a year's worth of beautification. 00:26:14.940 --> 00:26:17.079 And then at the end of that, her name gets called 00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:21.339 and she can choose any clothing to wear. She 00:26:21.339 --> 00:26:24.200 can choose any jewelry she wants, any perfume 00:26:24.200 --> 00:26:27.240 she wants, anything that she thinks might help 00:26:27.240 --> 00:26:30.019 her win the prize, she can take into the king's 00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:32.720 chambers. And the goal was that Xerxes would 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:35.700 remember her name in the morning. That's the 00:26:35.700 --> 00:26:40.200 goal. Verse 14, in the evening she would go in 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:42.420 and in the morning she would return to what? 00:26:43.019 --> 00:26:46.759 The second harem, hold that thought. To the custody 00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:50.720 of Shah Ashgaz, the king's eunuch, who was in 00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:55.839 charge of what? The concubines. She would not 00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:59.440 again go into the king unless the king delighted 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:04.259 in her and she was summoned by name. So there's 00:27:04.259 --> 00:27:07.519 the catch. There's the catch. If any of you ladies 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:11.940 were thinking, a year of a spa treatment. I could 00:27:11.940 --> 00:27:15.279 get used to that. I want you to see the bad news 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:18.420 here. What is the consequence of not winning 00:27:18.420 --> 00:27:21.259 the pageant? You get one night with the king 00:27:21.259 --> 00:27:23.900 and in the morning you're sent away, never to 00:27:23.900 --> 00:27:27.539 return unless he wants to see you again. That 00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:29.460 would put you in the second harem. That is the 00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:32.299 other women's quarters. So the women being prepared 00:27:32.299 --> 00:27:34.440 and the women who have spent a night with the 00:27:34.440 --> 00:27:37.099 king and are now shoved off into the concubine 00:27:37.099 --> 00:27:40.819 quarters. Now what is a concubine? Well, legally, 00:27:40.920 --> 00:27:44.680 a concubine is considered a wife of the king, 00:27:44.779 --> 00:27:49.960 but of a lesser rank, meaning she had to be available 00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:53.079 to the king upon his request, but she has zero 00:27:53.079 --> 00:27:56.539 power whatsoever and zero say or share in the 00:27:56.539 --> 00:27:59.619 household. The worst part was this. These women 00:27:59.619 --> 00:28:04.759 were basically made widows. You don't get a husband 00:28:04.759 --> 00:28:08.400 of your own. You don't get to go back home. To 00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:11.279 where you came from and you don't get a husband 00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:14.240 of your own. You stay in the concubine's quarters 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:21.019 until the king calls upon you or not. Sad. So 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:23.559 this entire scene, everything that we've read 00:28:23.559 --> 00:28:25.960 so far, the banquets in chapter one, this pageant 00:28:25.960 --> 00:28:29.619 in chapter two, this is a disgusting, sordid 00:28:29.619 --> 00:28:34.859 spectacle. It is an outflow of the fall of the 00:28:34.859 --> 00:28:39.220 garden. A sad tale of how ancient cultures operated 00:28:39.220 --> 00:28:42.099 where men are measured by wealth and power and 00:28:42.099 --> 00:28:44.559 women by their beauty and their sexuality. It's 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:48.539 all on display here in these two chapters. Now, 00:28:48.539 --> 00:28:50.819 with that context, how is Esther gonna handle 00:28:50.819 --> 00:28:54.579 the situation when her name gets called? Verse 00:28:54.579 --> 00:28:58.119 15 tells us. Now, when the turn of Esther, the 00:28:58.119 --> 00:29:01.099 daughter of Avahel, the uncle of Mordecai, who 00:29:01.099 --> 00:29:04.259 had taken her as his daughter, came to go in 00:29:04.259 --> 00:29:07.660 to the king, Listen now, she did not request 00:29:07.660 --> 00:29:10.799 anything except what Haggai, the king's eunuch, 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:14.420 who was in charge of the women, advised. And 00:29:14.420 --> 00:29:17.079 Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:20.339 her. Okay, there's that same statement reiterated 00:29:20.339 --> 00:29:22.880 for us. That's the author making sure you understand 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:25.759 she's getting more favor from those who see her. 00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:28.579 Now again, depending on who you ask, the choice 00:29:28.579 --> 00:29:31.279 that Esther makes here either proves that she 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:33.819 is just clever, she did whatever it took to win 00:29:33.819 --> 00:29:37.190 the pageant, or In my opinion, she just shows 00:29:37.190 --> 00:29:40.009 a sense of humility and wisdom here. This is 00:29:40.009 --> 00:29:44.589 just plain smart, isn't it? Right? As she's deciding 00:29:44.589 --> 00:29:47.769 about how to present herself to the king, she 00:29:47.769 --> 00:29:50.549 has a choice. She could rely on her own opinion, 00:29:50.630 --> 00:29:53.250 her own wisdom, and do what makes sense to her, 00:29:53.349 --> 00:29:57.089 or she could go to this man, Haggai, and say, 00:29:57.190 --> 00:30:00.490 you tell me what I should do. After all, who 00:30:00.490 --> 00:30:02.869 knows the king better than the chief eunuch? 00:30:03.490 --> 00:30:06.049 exactly what he likes, exactly what he wants. 00:30:06.529 --> 00:30:10.230 And so she asks him and does what he says. And 00:30:10.230 --> 00:30:12.009 I'll say it again. If you've chosen to submit 00:30:12.009 --> 00:30:15.509 to the pageant and not resist with the consequences 00:30:15.509 --> 00:30:19.190 being as bad as they are of losing, would it 00:30:19.190 --> 00:30:22.049 not be the wisest thing to go ahead and try to 00:30:22.049 --> 00:30:30.380 win? Okay. Verse 16. This is complex, isn't it? 00:30:30.380 --> 00:30:33.259 There's a lot going on. Verse 16. So Esther was 00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:36.880 taken to King Ahasuerus to his royal palace in 00:30:36.880 --> 00:30:39.259 the 10th month, which is the month of Teveth, 00:30:39.380 --> 00:30:43.839 in the seventh year of his reign. I know that 00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:47.140 the author here is not giving us the gory details. 00:30:47.299 --> 00:30:50.400 It's sort of sanitized for the reader, but make 00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:52.680 no mistake, as adults, we know what's going on 00:30:52.680 --> 00:30:56.559 here. She sleeps with the king. Now, my bride 00:30:56.559 --> 00:31:03.269 this morning. Bless her heart. She's like, is 00:31:03.269 --> 00:31:06.769 it possible that she didn't sleep with the king? 00:31:10.789 --> 00:31:15.390 Right, yeah, she's like, is it possible that 00:31:15.390 --> 00:31:17.349 nothing happened in the chambers because God 00:31:17.349 --> 00:31:19.869 protected Esther? And look, all things are possible 00:31:19.869 --> 00:31:26.829 with God, amen? But it's unlikely. We'll just 00:31:26.829 --> 00:31:32.309 leave it at that. Love you, sweetie. Verse 17, 00:31:32.450 --> 00:31:34.269 the king loved Esther more than all the women. 00:31:35.309 --> 00:31:37.730 And here's the same language again. She found 00:31:37.730 --> 00:31:42.289 favor and kindness with him. This brutal king, 00:31:42.470 --> 00:31:46.269 based on who she was, she found favor and kindness 00:31:46.269 --> 00:31:48.869 with him more than all the virgins so that he 00:31:48.869 --> 00:31:51.730 set the royal crown on her head and made her 00:31:51.730 --> 00:31:56.789 queen instead of Vashti. We'll stop there. The 00:31:56.789 --> 00:32:01.720 Jewish, Orphan becomes queen of the greatest 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:06.099 empire of that day. What a turn of events. And 00:32:06.099 --> 00:32:09.559 that's just the first of many. So the stage is 00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:11.460 now really set for the rest of the story. As 00:32:11.460 --> 00:32:14.440 we close here, let me just analyze a few key 00:32:14.440 --> 00:32:16.700 issues and we'll draw some parallels in our lives. 00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:20.160 Let's come back to that verse I sort of skipped 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:24.519 over. Mordecai's motives and choices. Back to 00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:29.079 verse 10. Why does he... carefully instruct Esther 00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:32.359 not to disclose her ethnic and religious identity? 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:35.400 Such an important question, and it's frustrating 00:32:35.400 --> 00:32:37.440 that the author doesn't give us the reason, right? 00:32:37.940 --> 00:32:40.640 It forces us to kind of speculate a bit. Again, 00:32:40.819 --> 00:32:43.819 we can't be dogmatic because we just can't know, 00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:45.519 but there's some things that we can consider. 00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:48.279 First of all, were the Jews a minority people 00:32:48.279 --> 00:32:53.500 living under the thumb of Persia? Yes. Yes, they 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:56.410 were. Were they potentially at risk of being 00:32:56.410 --> 00:32:59.450 persecuted if those in power found out that they 00:32:59.450 --> 00:33:03.930 were Jewish? Maybe. We can't say for sure. Again, 00:33:04.009 --> 00:33:06.490 the Persian kings were very good to the Jewish 00:33:06.490 --> 00:33:09.230 people, but it's possible, right? And listen, 00:33:09.349 --> 00:33:12.710 going back to Fiddler on the Roof, Jewish people 00:33:12.710 --> 00:33:15.589 have always struggled and suffered in the diaspora, 00:33:15.690 --> 00:33:20.029 in persecution. In every time period, everywhere 00:33:20.029 --> 00:33:22.470 they've gone, there has been hardship and persecution. 00:33:23.049 --> 00:33:27.490 So it's almost like you can't say, well, Mordecai 00:33:27.490 --> 00:33:30.990 just is clueless here. He's not naive to the 00:33:30.990 --> 00:33:33.410 fact that that could be true. He's on the inside 00:33:33.410 --> 00:33:36.470 of the Persian empire. But we simply don't know 00:33:36.470 --> 00:33:39.150 what effect Esther's Jewishness would have had 00:33:39.150 --> 00:33:41.329 on her chances of being gathered into the harem 00:33:41.329 --> 00:33:43.750 or whether it would have made a difference between 00:33:43.750 --> 00:33:45.990 her winning or losing the pageant. We just don't 00:33:45.990 --> 00:33:48.750 know. But it does seem clear based on the text 00:33:48.750 --> 00:33:51.319 that Mordecai's at least concerned enough about 00:33:51.319 --> 00:33:53.440 her Jewishness to say, you know what, let's keep 00:33:53.440 --> 00:33:55.539 this on the down low. At least for now, let's 00:33:55.539 --> 00:33:57.299 keep this on the down low. And I do think it's 00:33:57.299 --> 00:34:00.640 possible also that Esther's Jewish identity being 00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:05.819 discovered might force his identity to come to 00:34:05.819 --> 00:34:07.299 light. And that could be a problem. Remember, 00:34:07.400 --> 00:34:11.199 he's an official in the palace. So if they find 00:34:11.199 --> 00:34:13.139 out she's Jewish, they make that connection that 00:34:13.139 --> 00:34:15.860 he's Jewish, is that somehow going to affect 00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:19.429 his job? So is he thinking about himself? as 00:34:19.429 --> 00:34:22.570 he's thinking about Esther, possibly. But all 00:34:22.570 --> 00:34:24.469 of this is another example of what we talked 00:34:24.469 --> 00:34:27.349 about last Sunday. As descendants of the exiles 00:34:27.349 --> 00:34:30.690 who chose not to return to Jerusalem when they 00:34:30.690 --> 00:34:33.489 could have, you've got Esther and Mordecai living 00:34:33.489 --> 00:34:36.110 in two different kingdoms at the same time, and 00:34:36.110 --> 00:34:39.579 that is an uncomfortable place to be. And this 00:34:39.579 --> 00:34:42.219 is for us as well, as strangers and pilgrims 00:34:42.219 --> 00:34:44.659 in this world that we live in, when we live with 00:34:44.659 --> 00:34:46.940 a foot in both kingdoms, God's kingdom and the 00:34:46.940 --> 00:34:50.860 world's, it's an uncomfortable place to be, right? 00:34:51.159 --> 00:34:53.559 They had one foot in the empire of Persia. They're 00:34:53.559 --> 00:34:55.840 trying to find their place in that world, but 00:34:55.840 --> 00:34:57.980 they've got the other foot in Yahweh's kingdom, 00:34:58.059 --> 00:35:00.579 remembering that they are children of Abraham, 00:35:00.820 --> 00:35:03.460 Isaac, and Jacob, a people called to be a light 00:35:03.460 --> 00:35:06.179 to all the other nations. But they've got feet 00:35:06.179 --> 00:35:08.239 in both worlds. And when the interests of two 00:35:08.239 --> 00:35:11.699 kingdoms clash, you've got to make a choice. 00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:16.400 Where do your loyalties lie? Which kingdom is 00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:18.199 going to prevail? And friends, you and I face 00:35:18.199 --> 00:35:20.920 these things all the time. Think about this. 00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:23.360 In your life, you face this all the time. You 00:35:23.360 --> 00:35:25.360 may not realize it all the time, but you do. 00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:29.179 Paraphrasing Joshua, we choose this day whom 00:35:29.179 --> 00:35:32.099 we will serve. Either we serve the Lord or we 00:35:32.099 --> 00:35:35.869 serve the gods of this world. And you will be 00:35:35.869 --> 00:35:39.289 confronted with those choices all the time in 00:35:39.289 --> 00:35:43.530 your life. Where do your loyalties lie? Mordecai 00:35:43.530 --> 00:35:46.030 and Esther had established themselves in successful 00:35:46.030 --> 00:35:50.849 diaspora living, much as we tend to sort of meld 00:35:50.849 --> 00:35:54.570 into our communities and our world and try to 00:35:54.570 --> 00:35:57.449 become a success in the world that we live in. 00:35:57.489 --> 00:36:01.269 But at what cost? We have to constantly be asking 00:36:01.269 --> 00:36:04.530 ourselves that question. At what cost am I melting 00:36:04.530 --> 00:36:09.630 into the population here in America? Mordecai 00:36:09.630 --> 00:36:11.530 seems to be more than willing to comply with 00:36:11.530 --> 00:36:14.690 the empire's commands rather than resist assimilation, 00:36:14.809 --> 00:36:18.849 to stand for Torah. The question is, are you 00:36:18.849 --> 00:36:22.469 and I doing any better than he was in the lives 00:36:22.469 --> 00:36:24.050 that we're living? That's an important question 00:36:24.050 --> 00:36:27.710 for us. I had to meditate on it a lot myself 00:36:27.710 --> 00:36:30.519 this week. as I was challenged with it. Am I 00:36:30.519 --> 00:36:33.400 melting into the population, or am I being a 00:36:33.400 --> 00:36:37.280 light? Now, having questioned all that, I don't 00:36:37.280 --> 00:36:39.980 think we should doubt Mordecai's love and care 00:36:39.980 --> 00:36:42.639 for Esther. We see the text makes it clear. He's 00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:45.400 sort of pacing all around the palace. He's looking 00:36:45.400 --> 00:36:48.000 into the courtyard, trying to maybe catch just 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:50.860 a glimpse of Esther to make sure that she's okay, 00:36:51.079 --> 00:36:55.780 that she's being cared for. Again, dads, imagine 00:36:55.780 --> 00:37:00.039 if your daughter were Esther, if she were in 00:37:00.039 --> 00:37:03.400 a situation like this, how hard would that be 00:37:03.400 --> 00:37:06.219 to know that she's in there in this harem and 00:37:06.219 --> 00:37:09.239 this is what she's facing and you've been cut 00:37:09.239 --> 00:37:11.739 off? Even as her guardian, Mordecai couldn't 00:37:11.739 --> 00:37:14.159 just go racing into the harem to see Esther. 00:37:14.699 --> 00:37:16.860 It must have been incredibly difficult for him. 00:37:17.599 --> 00:37:19.719 So I have more questions about Mordecai than 00:37:19.719 --> 00:37:22.360 I do about Esther because, again, he's in a more 00:37:22.360 --> 00:37:24.480 powerful place. She's in a more helpless place. 00:37:24.559 --> 00:37:29.019 But, guys, she's not. She's not without accountability 00:37:29.019 --> 00:37:32.099 in this. We need to be careful not to make her 00:37:32.099 --> 00:37:34.179 such a passive agent that she didn't have a choice. 00:37:34.380 --> 00:37:37.500 She's accountable. But before we get to the problems, 00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:39.940 let's revisit the good qualities. Esther is a 00:37:39.940 --> 00:37:44.159 mixed bag. She's a mixed bag like so many of 00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:48.300 us, right? Being honest, she's a mixed bag. First 00:37:48.300 --> 00:37:50.139 of all, there's some great things. She listens 00:37:50.139 --> 00:37:53.300 to her guardian's advice. She respects Mordecai's 00:37:53.300 --> 00:37:56.559 instructions. She listens to the advice of Hege, 00:37:56.639 --> 00:38:00.019 respecting his knowledge and his insight. In 00:38:00.019 --> 00:38:02.539 both of those cases, as she is faced with these 00:38:02.539 --> 00:38:04.860 difficult choices in the midst of highly complex 00:38:04.860 --> 00:38:08.099 circumstances, she welcomes counsel from those 00:38:08.099 --> 00:38:11.679 who are leading her. Let me say that again. She 00:38:11.679 --> 00:38:14.579 welcomes counsel from those who are leading her. 00:38:14.679 --> 00:38:17.460 Rather than raising a fist and saying, no, I'll 00:38:17.460 --> 00:38:19.420 do it my way. I know exactly what I should do. 00:38:19.500 --> 00:38:23.860 I'll do it. What does she say? She complies. 00:38:23.860 --> 00:38:26.699 She says, okay, I'll trust your leadership. And 00:38:26.699 --> 00:38:29.280 as a result, she finds success and favor with 00:38:29.280 --> 00:38:32.239 everybody she runs into. I think there's something 00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:36.460 there for us to learn, right? Now the ugly parts. 00:38:38.079 --> 00:38:41.099 I've literally read some opinions about Esther, 00:38:41.260 --> 00:38:45.780 and here's how it generally goes. Okay, do you 00:38:45.780 --> 00:38:49.780 really blame her for working the system? The 00:38:49.780 --> 00:38:55.599 answer is yes. The answer is yes. Even as we 00:38:55.599 --> 00:38:57.579 remember that, guys, the biblical character, 00:38:57.760 --> 00:39:02.840 how many biblical characters are sin free? They're 00:39:02.840 --> 00:39:06.199 all sinners in need of grace, right? What do 00:39:06.199 --> 00:39:08.260 we sometimes, what expectations do we lay on 00:39:08.260 --> 00:39:14.099 biblical characters? She's a mixed bag. She needs 00:39:14.099 --> 00:39:17.019 a savior. And there are multiple violations of 00:39:17.019 --> 00:39:20.340 Torah here. starting with the basic step of receiving 00:39:20.340 --> 00:39:26.260 and eating the empire's food, unclean food, then 00:39:26.260 --> 00:39:28.420 undergoing the empire's beautification treatment, 00:39:28.659 --> 00:39:31.739 indulging in all that, and for what purpose? 00:39:33.179 --> 00:39:37.000 To be able to sleep with the king. Deuteronomy 00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:39.360 7 is clear that no Israelite should enter into 00:39:39.360 --> 00:39:42.340 marriage with a pagan Gentile, which Esther does. 00:39:43.039 --> 00:39:45.280 And it should be obvious that God's word prohibits 00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:47.880 having a sexual relationship outside of marriage, 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:51.719 which Esther submits to. And in the ultimate 00:39:51.719 --> 00:39:54.219 sense, what she does is she violates God's command 00:39:54.219 --> 00:39:57.920 for his people Israel to be a holy and distinct 00:39:57.920 --> 00:40:00.619 people set apart from all these pagan practices 00:40:00.619 --> 00:40:05.739 that the nations involve themselves in. By the 00:40:05.739 --> 00:40:07.820 way, this is why we had Adam read from Daniel 00:40:07.820 --> 00:40:11.940 chapter one today. It gives us a contrast. between 00:40:11.940 --> 00:40:14.739 Daniel and Esther, right? Listen again to the 00:40:14.739 --> 00:40:19.599 words. Daniel made up his mind, committed himself 00:40:19.599 --> 00:40:23.340 to do what? That he would not defile himself 00:40:23.340 --> 00:40:26.940 with the king's choice food or with the wine 00:40:26.940 --> 00:40:29.239 which he drank. So he sought permission from 00:40:29.239 --> 00:40:31.139 the commander of the officials that he might 00:40:31.139 --> 00:40:35.239 not defile himself. He took a stand. He said, 00:40:35.260 --> 00:40:39.610 I'm not going to do it. And what was the result? 00:40:39.730 --> 00:40:42.090 It says God granted Daniel favor, there's that 00:40:42.090 --> 00:40:44.809 word, and compassion in the sight of the commander 00:40:44.809 --> 00:40:48.469 of the officials. Now, let me be clear, standing 00:40:48.469 --> 00:40:51.010 up for truth and resisting the enemies of God 00:40:51.010 --> 00:40:53.829 does not guarantee that everything will work 00:40:53.829 --> 00:40:56.670 out okay. Doesn't guarantee safety and security. 00:40:56.769 --> 00:40:59.030 In fact, when you stand up for truth, you might 00:40:59.030 --> 00:41:03.409 suffer for it. But that's where our truest loyalties 00:41:03.409 --> 00:41:06.789 get tested, right? In the fires of persecution. 00:41:07.269 --> 00:41:09.650 And we would love to see Esther at some point 00:41:09.650 --> 00:41:13.110 in this chapter stand up and say, no, I'm not 00:41:13.110 --> 00:41:15.429 going to do it. You'll have to kill me first. 00:41:16.610 --> 00:41:18.690 Because that's what Daniel was saying. You'll 00:41:18.690 --> 00:41:20.969 have to kill me first. I will not defile myself. 00:41:22.429 --> 00:41:24.789 We'd love for Esther to be a Daniel, but she 00:41:24.789 --> 00:41:30.010 never does that. Now I know Daniel is a high 00:41:30.010 --> 00:41:32.949 standard, right? You can find all kinds of... 00:41:33.340 --> 00:41:35.179 Daniel is one of those biblical characters where 00:41:35.179 --> 00:41:38.500 you're looking for cracks. He is an amazing standard. 00:41:39.559 --> 00:41:42.199 But Esther isn't a Daniel. She's a mixed bag. 00:41:43.000 --> 00:41:45.219 Instead of trusting in the God she can't see, 00:41:45.380 --> 00:41:48.380 Esther submits to the lesser gods that she can 00:41:48.380 --> 00:41:52.019 see, and she submits to the empire's agenda without 00:41:52.019 --> 00:41:56.000 really pushing back, as far as we can tell. It 00:41:56.000 --> 00:41:57.619 would have been better for Esther to marry the 00:41:57.619 --> 00:42:00.900 poorest Jewish man in Persia than to enter into 00:42:00.900 --> 00:42:03.679 the chambers of the king. It would have been 00:42:03.679 --> 00:42:05.840 better for her to resist the demands of the pageant 00:42:05.840 --> 00:42:09.159 and suffer for it, even if it meant death, because 00:42:09.159 --> 00:42:11.139 even in death, she would have honored the Lord 00:42:11.139 --> 00:42:16.380 and received her reward in heaven. Now, that's 00:42:16.380 --> 00:42:19.340 the question for you and I, right? Would you 00:42:19.340 --> 00:42:23.460 or I have done any better than Esther? What are 00:42:23.460 --> 00:42:25.880 you willing to endure for the sake of truth, 00:42:26.139 --> 00:42:28.440 for the sake of your witness for Christ? Death? 00:42:31.820 --> 00:42:34.940 I pray that we'll never have to make that choice, 00:42:35.119 --> 00:42:38.019 you or I, but it's an interesting question. Could 00:42:38.019 --> 00:42:41.699 I do it? Would I be Esther or would I be Daniel? 00:42:43.639 --> 00:42:46.340 There's a reason last Sunday I made the observation 00:42:46.340 --> 00:42:49.579 that both Mordecai and Esther seem to be, I call 00:42:49.579 --> 00:42:52.380 them cultural Jews, probably non -practicing. 00:42:53.139 --> 00:42:55.619 But that makes them very similar to many professing 00:42:55.619 --> 00:42:58.500 Christians in America today. Let's be honest, 00:42:58.599 --> 00:43:00.360 there are lots of folks in churches even this 00:43:00.360 --> 00:43:03.719 morning who have caved under far less pressure 00:43:03.719 --> 00:43:07.679 than what Esther faced. How many of us are guilty 00:43:07.679 --> 00:43:11.239 of hiding our identity as Christians in the workplace 00:43:11.239 --> 00:43:14.619 or in our neighborhoods? Going along with the 00:43:14.619 --> 00:43:17.019 world system out of fear or going along with 00:43:17.019 --> 00:43:19.619 the world system even worse for our own personal 00:43:19.619 --> 00:43:23.329 advancement? If the day comes when we have to 00:43:23.329 --> 00:43:25.329 make a hard choice like the one Esther faced, 00:43:25.489 --> 00:43:27.889 I pray that we'll have the courage to be a Daniel 00:43:27.889 --> 00:43:31.630 and glorify the Lord regardless of the consequences. 00:43:31.670 --> 00:43:35.050 Amen? So I'll wrap up with this. Last week I 00:43:35.050 --> 00:43:38.050 closed with a reminder that neither Mordecai 00:43:38.050 --> 00:43:40.110 nor Esther are actually the main characters of 00:43:40.110 --> 00:43:43.010 the book. God's always the main character. Today 00:43:43.010 --> 00:43:45.190 I'll close with this. The big idea behind the 00:43:45.190 --> 00:43:49.179 book of Esther really isn't to condemn. our choices 00:43:49.179 --> 00:43:51.659 in morally difficult situations, the big idea 00:43:51.659 --> 00:43:54.940 is how God sovereignly operates behind the scenes 00:43:54.940 --> 00:44:00.420 in spite of our choices, in spite of us. It's 00:44:00.420 --> 00:44:03.179 very good news that salvation doesn't ultimately 00:44:03.179 --> 00:44:07.400 depend on our faithfulness, but on his. Because 00:44:07.400 --> 00:44:09.960 we're all tempted to cave when the pressure comes. 00:44:10.920 --> 00:44:13.340 Now, that doesn't excuse blatant sin on our part. 00:44:13.440 --> 00:44:15.420 We should always be careful not to fall into 00:44:15.420 --> 00:44:18.219 the trap of knowingly violating God's law and 00:44:18.219 --> 00:44:20.860 then presuming upon God's grace. But at the same 00:44:20.860 --> 00:44:23.559 time, let it be a comfort to you that God can 00:44:23.559 --> 00:44:26.840 and does work through our poor choices, that 00:44:26.840 --> 00:44:29.539 he can and does work through our compromises 00:44:29.539 --> 00:44:32.780 for two purposes, to complete his work in us 00:44:32.780 --> 00:44:37.099 and to accomplish his eternal purposes. That's 00:44:37.099 --> 00:44:40.489 good news, isn't it? Know that while Mordecai 00:44:40.489 --> 00:44:42.989 and Esther were sinfully positioning themselves 00:44:42.989 --> 00:44:46.309 in the palace of Susa, God was sovereignly planning 00:44:46.309 --> 00:44:49.670 to use Esther in that same palace to save his 00:44:49.670 --> 00:44:54.349 people. He's at work. He might be hidden, he 00:44:54.349 --> 00:44:57.409 might be concealed, but he is always at work. 00:44:57.510 --> 00:45:00.389 So more on that next Sunday. Let's bow our heads. 00:45:06.989 --> 00:45:10.829 Lord, you are a great God that sometimes we look 00:45:10.829 --> 00:45:14.329 at the pages of scripture and it does look like 00:45:14.329 --> 00:45:16.590 you're hidden, but we know better. We know the 00:45:16.590 --> 00:45:20.409 truth about how you work in this world in ways 00:45:20.409 --> 00:45:23.210 that sometimes we can completely see and completely 00:45:23.210 --> 00:45:26.250 sense in other ways and other times when we're 00:45:26.250 --> 00:45:29.329 just not sure. And so we trust what your word 00:45:29.329 --> 00:45:31.349 says about your goodness and about your love 00:45:31.349 --> 00:45:34.510 for your people. And we just say, Lord, thank 00:45:34.510 --> 00:45:38.699 you that you are a gracious God who sees our 00:45:38.699 --> 00:45:43.059 failures and sees our compromises at times, but 00:45:43.059 --> 00:45:46.139 you don't give up on us. You continue to bless 00:45:46.139 --> 00:45:49.559 us and do your work in us to complete this process 00:45:49.559 --> 00:45:52.300 that you've started. So we're grateful, Lord, 00:45:52.340 --> 00:45:54.280 for that grace. We're grateful people today, 00:45:54.360 --> 00:45:57.679 even as you challenge us with this text in our 00:45:57.679 --> 00:46:01.320 minds to consider hard decisions that we might 00:46:01.320 --> 00:46:04.260 face in the future. Could we stand for truth, 00:46:04.420 --> 00:46:07.380 Lord? Help us to process through that question, 00:46:07.519 --> 00:46:10.400 even in the coming days, and to take that to 00:46:10.400 --> 00:46:13.460 you and to say, Lord, strengthen me to be a Daniel. 00:46:14.159 --> 00:46:16.099 I pray that you'd do that in my life, Lord. Thank 00:46:16.099 --> 00:46:18.500 you for our time together this morning. We pray 00:46:18.500 --> 00:46:20.820 in our Savior's name, Jesus Christ, amen.