WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.180 All right, as of today, we are four weeks into 00:00:02.180 --> 00:00:04.799 our series in the book of Esther, and if you're 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:06.240 one of those returning students, you may need 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:08.859 to go online and listen to some of the past couple 00:00:08.859 --> 00:00:10.539 of weeks worth of messages that will help to 00:00:10.539 --> 00:00:12.300 bring you up to speed, but we are four weeks 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:16.519 in, and we are moving fast. As I've shared in 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:18.559 recent weeks, this is one of those books that 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:20.780 moves quickly. It jumps from scene to scene. 00:00:20.980 --> 00:00:24.500 It jumps from crisis to crisis, and in some places, 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:26.739 we're gonna see this soon, it jumps years ahead 00:00:26.739 --> 00:00:29.739 in advance. But what the author is doing throughout 00:00:29.739 --> 00:00:32.780 the book of Esther is leading us toward a really 00:00:32.780 --> 00:00:35.340 important conclusion about the way he operates 00:00:35.340 --> 00:00:38.960 behind the scenes in our world, how he defends 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:41.960 his people, how he sustains us, how he guides 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:44.640 his people, even when, and we should be thankful 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:47.060 for this, even when we're not as obedient as 00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:49.799 we should be. And perhaps you've noticed something 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:52.060 already in the first two chapters of the book. 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:54.600 It's subtle, but it's sitting there in the back 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:57.659 of the text. There is a spiritual war going on 00:00:57.659 --> 00:01:01.079 in the book of Esther between two kingdoms. Adam 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:02.719 just talked about it, the kingdom of darkness 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:04.780 and the kingdom of light. On the one side, you 00:01:04.780 --> 00:01:07.560 have Persia, the dominant empire on the earth 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:10.560 in that day, and you have a ruler in Xerxes who 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:13.599 we're told rules over the entire known world, 00:01:13.700 --> 00:01:18.159 127 provinces, it said, from India to Ethiopia. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:21.540 And Xerxes claims ownership over all the power 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:24.840 and all the wealth in his domain. He issues sovereign 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:27.019 decrees that cannot be challenged in any way. 00:01:27.079 --> 00:01:30.069 In fact, we read this a few weeks ago. And we 00:01:30.069 --> 00:01:32.109 sort of went through it quickly, but it's important 00:01:32.109 --> 00:01:34.530 to listen to the language we hear. This is chapter 00:01:34.530 --> 00:01:37.409 1, verse 4. We're told of Xerxes, are you ready 00:01:37.409 --> 00:01:43.890 for this? Royal glory. His great majesty. And 00:01:43.890 --> 00:01:45.890 I'm convinced that those terms are used to grab 00:01:45.890 --> 00:01:48.510 the attention of the reader to help us understand 00:01:48.510 --> 00:01:52.310 the arrogance of kings like Xerxes. Men who claim 00:01:52.310 --> 00:01:54.450 for themselves things that belong to God alone. 00:01:55.049 --> 00:01:58.680 Glory and majesty. The Persian kingdom is obviously 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:01.799 visible and tangible. It puts its wealth and 00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:04.659 opulence on display for human beings to marvel 00:02:04.659 --> 00:02:08.280 at. It loudly proclaims how magnificent it is. 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:11.199 And in contrast, from the standpoint of human 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:14.000 senses, the kingdom of God is the opposite. It 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.340 is silent and invisible, operating behind the 00:02:17.340 --> 00:02:20.699 scenes. Both kingdoms make ultimate claims on 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:23.639 their citizens. Xerxes over his Persian subjects, 00:02:23.819 --> 00:02:27.250 Yahweh over his elect children. Both kingdoms 00:02:27.250 --> 00:02:30.050 claim the power to declare their decrees and 00:02:30.050 --> 00:02:33.849 laws to be binding and immutable. Both rulers 00:02:33.849 --> 00:02:36.849 possess the power of wrath. We also saw this 00:02:36.849 --> 00:02:39.370 in chapter 1, verse 12. It talked about Xerxes' 00:02:39.550 --> 00:02:42.449 wrath. And the word there in the Hebrew is hemah, 00:02:42.590 --> 00:02:45.110 the same word that's found in many Old Testament 00:02:45.110 --> 00:02:48.150 passages and used almost exclusively to speak 00:02:48.150 --> 00:02:51.710 of God's wrath. So the challenge is being laid 00:02:51.710 --> 00:02:54.449 before us. This king of Persia claims for himself 00:02:54.449 --> 00:02:58.430 glory. and sovereignty and law -giving and wrath. 00:02:58.990 --> 00:03:01.830 And yet, and this is another subtle part of the 00:03:01.830 --> 00:03:04.330 story we've already seen, but it's there, this 00:03:04.330 --> 00:03:06.930 boastful king is actually quite self -deceived. 00:03:06.990 --> 00:03:09.610 He's not nearly as powerful as he thinks he is. 00:03:09.710 --> 00:03:12.210 Remember, first he struggles just to get his 00:03:12.210 --> 00:03:15.030 own queen in his own palace to obey his commands. 00:03:15.889 --> 00:03:19.189 It's one thing to say, oh, I have 127 provinces. 00:03:19.229 --> 00:03:22.080 What about your own palace? He can't make that 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:23.759 happen. And then when he wants to make a ruling 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:26.159 about her rebellion, what does he do? He has 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:30.360 to turn to his legal counselors for advice. That's 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:33.060 very different than Yahweh. In the kingdom of 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:37.020 God, Yahweh governs in ways that he can move 00:03:37.020 --> 00:03:39.000 the hearts and minds of any human being on earth, 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:42.479 including kings. And Yahweh is all -powerful. 00:03:42.500 --> 00:03:44.719 He's all -knowing. He has no equal. And so, therefore, 00:03:44.819 --> 00:03:49.009 he has no need of any counselor or advice. So 00:03:49.009 --> 00:03:51.330 this is the contrast that the author of Esther 00:03:51.330 --> 00:03:53.409 is setting up for the reader right from the get 00:03:53.409 --> 00:03:56.030 -go. It is the contrast between the highly visible 00:03:56.030 --> 00:03:59.770 but ultimately fragile kingdom of Persia versus 00:03:59.770 --> 00:04:02.150 the kingdom of God, which silently and effectively 00:04:02.150 --> 00:04:05.069 accomplishes everything that Yahweh wants it 00:04:05.069 --> 00:04:08.000 to accomplish. And then we have our main characters. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:10.740 And they each, Mordecai and Esther, have a foot 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:13.419 in both of those two kingdoms, right? On the 00:04:13.419 --> 00:04:14.979 one hand, they're trying to hide their Jewish 00:04:14.979 --> 00:04:17.480 identity from those in power. Even though they 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:19.639 can't escape it, at the core of who they are, 00:04:19.740 --> 00:04:23.939 they are Jews. That is the core of who they are 00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:25.720 in terms of identity. But on the other hand, 00:04:25.720 --> 00:04:28.819 they're obviously trying to find a way to become 00:04:28.819 --> 00:04:32.240 successful in diaspora living there in Persia. 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:35.170 So they've got one foot in Susa. and one foot 00:04:35.170 --> 00:04:37.290 through their ancestors still in the land of 00:04:37.290 --> 00:04:39.889 Judah. Now today we're going to dip our toes 00:04:39.889 --> 00:04:42.430 into chapter 3, and we're going to find a massive 00:04:42.430 --> 00:04:45.509 development take place. So far, Mordecai and 00:04:45.509 --> 00:04:47.709 Esther have done a pretty good job navigating 00:04:47.709 --> 00:04:50.990 the culture that they're living in, albeit with 00:04:50.990 --> 00:04:53.490 some spiritual compromise. We saw that last week. 00:04:53.790 --> 00:04:56.089 But in today's passage, the kingdom of Persia 00:04:56.089 --> 00:04:59.399 is going to become openly hostile. toward the 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:01.379 kingdom of God and its citizens. We're about 00:05:01.379 --> 00:05:04.699 to be introduced to Xerxes' chief vizier, his 00:05:04.699 --> 00:05:07.040 right -hand man, as we might call him today, 00:05:07.180 --> 00:05:10.660 a uniquely vicious man who has historical roots 00:05:10.660 --> 00:05:13.439 that go back to a unique people who are the sworn 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:16.220 enemy of the Jews. And no longer are we going 00:05:16.220 --> 00:05:17.759 to be talking about, oh, well, there's cultural 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:20.779 differences here. Now we're talking about genocide. 00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:23.579 We're talking about the darkness of the Persian 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:27.180 kingdom about to be exposed. So grab your Bibles. 00:05:27.980 --> 00:05:30.439 And we're going to dive into it. Let's go to 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:36.800 Esther chapter 2. Esther chapter 2. We left off 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:38.720 at verse 18 last Sunday, but we're going to back 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:41.319 up to verse 17. We'll start reading from the 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:44.540 point where Esther is chosen as queen to replace 00:05:44.540 --> 00:05:47.019 Vashti. And again, for those of you returning 00:05:47.019 --> 00:05:49.740 from break. You might need to go back and listen 00:05:49.740 --> 00:05:51.740 to the first three messages. It'll be super helpful. 00:05:51.860 --> 00:05:53.399 By the way, I know for some of you, I'm just 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:55.060 going to, we're going to put something on the 00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:56.579 table here this morning. For some of you, last 00:05:56.579 --> 00:05:59.519 week's message was really hard. It was really 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:02.120 hard. Because we talked about the sin and the 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:05.040 compromise of both Mordecai and Esther. Got some 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:06.720 really good feedback from a bunch of you guys. 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:08.740 I love getting feedback. Got a few objections 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:11.779 from people too, which is fine. And then there 00:06:11.779 --> 00:06:13.480 was the thread that appeared on Church Center. 00:06:14.740 --> 00:06:25.420 If you didn't see it, it's this. So thanks to 00:06:25.420 --> 00:06:29.420 Josh C. for the best meme of 2025. Well done. 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:33.220 Listen, we have to remember that even our greatest 00:06:33.220 --> 00:06:37.220 biblical heroes were sinners that fall short 00:06:37.220 --> 00:06:40.079 of the glory of God, right? It's true of all 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:43.300 of them. Abraham, right? The sin of Abraham, 00:06:43.500 --> 00:06:49.050 Jacob, David, both Peter and Paul. Right? All 00:06:49.050 --> 00:06:50.910 of them had serious sin in their life, and that 00:06:50.910 --> 00:06:52.870 is true of the women in the Bible as well. You 00:06:52.870 --> 00:06:56.189 have Sarah, and you have Leah, and Rachel, and 00:06:56.189 --> 00:06:59.250 yes, Esther, she is one of us. She is in need 00:06:59.250 --> 00:07:01.769 of grace, right? And even though each of those 00:07:01.769 --> 00:07:03.910 women I just mentioned, I know, because one of 00:07:03.910 --> 00:07:06.410 the objections was, well, they live under a patriarchal 00:07:06.410 --> 00:07:08.149 system. I understand that, but that doesn't mean 00:07:08.149 --> 00:07:12.209 we take away the agency of women, right? Because 00:07:12.209 --> 00:07:15.230 they live in that difficult situation. You know, 00:07:15.230 --> 00:07:17.250 we don't take away their responsibility before 00:07:17.250 --> 00:07:20.269 a holy God. So as we go through the narrative 00:07:20.269 --> 00:07:22.110 of Esther, we're going to keep calling out sin 00:07:22.110 --> 00:07:23.930 where it's appropriate, and also we're going 00:07:23.930 --> 00:07:26.290 to keep calling out where we see Esther begin 00:07:26.290 --> 00:07:29.350 to grow in her courage and her faith. As we say 00:07:29.350 --> 00:07:31.329 in the sports world, we're going to call balls 00:07:31.329 --> 00:07:33.709 and strikes as we see them, based on the text 00:07:33.709 --> 00:07:37.290 that we have before us. Amen? Okay, verse 17. 00:07:39.370 --> 00:07:41.310 I'm going to take that off the screen. Yeah. 00:07:42.009 --> 00:07:45.009 This is too funny. Verse 17, the king loved Esther 00:07:45.009 --> 00:07:48.509 more than all the women, and she found favor 00:07:48.509 --> 00:07:50.649 and kindness with him more than all the virgins. 00:07:50.730 --> 00:07:52.949 Now, last week we noted that this seems to be 00:07:52.949 --> 00:07:55.569 one of two things that Esther had going for her. 00:07:55.649 --> 00:07:58.189 First of all, the Lord had gifted her with exquisite 00:07:58.189 --> 00:08:00.589 beauty. But secondly, there was something about 00:08:00.589 --> 00:08:03.509 her character. probably developed in her upbringing, 00:08:03.649 --> 00:08:05.649 maybe even through the suffering of losing both 00:08:05.649 --> 00:08:08.670 of her parents, that brought about in her a measure 00:08:08.670 --> 00:08:11.149 of humility and a measure of submissiveness. 00:08:11.430 --> 00:08:14.170 And the combination of those two things, external 00:08:14.170 --> 00:08:17.649 and internal attractiveness, caused her to find 00:08:17.649 --> 00:08:19.709 favor among all the people that she comes into 00:08:19.709 --> 00:08:21.970 contact with, whether it's the chief eunuch in 00:08:21.970 --> 00:08:24.870 the harem or the king himself. If you were an 00:08:24.870 --> 00:08:26.629 outside observer, you might look at Esther and 00:08:26.629 --> 00:08:28.990 say, man, that girl has a natural charm about 00:08:28.990 --> 00:08:31.550 her. She's pretty inside, she's pretty outside. 00:08:32.169 --> 00:08:34.490 And clearly, Xerxes thought the same thing, right? 00:08:35.049 --> 00:08:37.889 The verse continues. So that he, the king, set 00:08:37.889 --> 00:08:40.769 the royal crown on her head and made her queen 00:08:40.769 --> 00:08:44.870 instead of Vashti. Now, poor Vashti. Historically, 00:08:44.870 --> 00:08:47.450 we have no firm evidence of what happened to 00:08:47.450 --> 00:08:50.409 her when she was replaced. There are some sort 00:08:50.409 --> 00:08:53.529 of fictional tales within rabbinical, you know, 00:08:53.529 --> 00:08:55.789 the Talmud and stuff, but we have no good historical 00:08:55.789 --> 00:09:00.169 evidence about what happened to her. Imagine 00:09:00.169 --> 00:09:03.870 the scene now. We have a Jewish queen in Persia. 00:09:04.049 --> 00:09:05.929 Now, that hasn't been disclosed yet, but we have 00:09:05.929 --> 00:09:08.590 a Jewish queen in Persia. Verse 18. Then the 00:09:08.590 --> 00:09:10.850 king gave a great banquet, Esther's banquet, 00:09:11.049 --> 00:09:14.110 for all his princes and his servants. He also 00:09:14.110 --> 00:09:16.570 made a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts 00:09:16.570 --> 00:09:19.889 according to the king's bounty. So he spoils 00:09:19.889 --> 00:09:23.049 his new queen. Now, on to the passage for today, 00:09:23.129 --> 00:09:42.970 verse 19. So she's going to continue to be submissive 00:09:42.970 --> 00:09:45.629 to Mordecai's wisdom as her older cousin, even 00:09:45.629 --> 00:09:48.870 as queen of Persia. So this is basically a reset 00:09:48.870 --> 00:09:51.789 of the situation. Mordecai is operating in some 00:09:51.789 --> 00:09:55.230 official capacity in the royal court. He is sitting 00:09:55.230 --> 00:09:57.289 at the king's gate. Remember this image we put 00:09:57.289 --> 00:09:59.789 up a couple weeks ago? This is a recreation of 00:09:59.789 --> 00:10:01.669 what the palace at Susa would have looked like 00:10:01.669 --> 00:10:04.230 based on archaeology. And that gate there at 00:10:04.230 --> 00:10:06.830 the front is where Mordecai would be sitting. 00:10:06.889 --> 00:10:08.909 That is the security gate that runs from the 00:10:08.909 --> 00:10:13.179 palace to the king's gate. Remember, that is 00:10:13.179 --> 00:10:15.960 the place where business was often transacted 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:19.039 or legal matters were dealt with. So we're reminded 00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:22.539 that here in this passage that Esther is Jewish, 00:10:22.580 --> 00:10:24.840 but she's kept it quiet, following the instructions 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:29.159 of Mordecai, who has some good reason. It's unstated, 00:10:29.159 --> 00:10:31.639 but must have some good reason why they should 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:34.399 hide their ethnic background. But note the word 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:38.259 yet in verse 20. Esther had not yet. made known 00:10:38.259 --> 00:10:40.919 her identity as a Jew. Soon that's going to have 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:43.360 to come to the surface. We're going to see that 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:46.679 take place. Now in verses 21 to 23, we're given 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:49.799 a very short but important historical anecdote 00:10:49.799 --> 00:10:53.139 that takes place once Esther becomes queen. Verse 00:10:53.139 --> 00:10:56.019 21, in those days while Mordecai was sitting 00:10:56.019 --> 00:10:59.700 at the king's gate, Bigthon and Teresh, two of 00:10:59.700 --> 00:11:01.820 the king's officials from those who guarded the 00:11:01.820 --> 00:11:05.659 door, Guarded the door, became angry, and sought 00:11:05.659 --> 00:11:10.700 to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. So these two 00:11:10.700 --> 00:11:14.659 guys are part of the king's security team at 00:11:14.659 --> 00:11:17.559 the king's gate there. And listen, for any ruler 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:19.460 in history, there's nothing more dangerous than 00:11:19.460 --> 00:11:22.179 when your security turns against you because 00:11:22.179 --> 00:11:25.000 they protect you. History is replete with stories 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:27.600 of kings and emperors being assassinated by their 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:31.139 own bodyguards. Philip of Macedon, Alexander's 00:11:31.139 --> 00:11:34.179 father, was killed by his bodyguards. Caligula 00:11:34.179 --> 00:11:37.279 was killed by his. In fact, the Roman Praetorian 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:39.899 Guard is well known. They grew so powerful as 00:11:39.899 --> 00:11:43.919 a unit that if they came to distrust or lose 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:47.399 favor with the particular emperor, they would 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:49.639 just take care of the problem by assassinating 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:52.340 him. And as a reminder, historically, at this 00:11:52.340 --> 00:11:55.200 point in the story, Xerxes is about 14 years 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:58.539 away. from being assassinated himself by a man 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:01.580 named Artabanus who was one of his chief officials. 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:04.700 So this fits right in line with the history of 00:12:04.700 --> 00:12:07.860 the time. Verse 22, but the plot became known 00:12:07.860 --> 00:12:11.879 to Mordecai and he told Queen Esther and Esther 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:15.240 informed the king in Mordecai's name. Now the 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:17.240 narrative here is so brief that we're not told 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:21.360 how Mordecai discovered the plot. And did he 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:23.559 overhear a conversation he wasn't supposed to 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:26.080 hear? Did he watch these two guys whispering 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:29.860 in the corners of the gate over and over again 00:12:29.860 --> 00:12:32.480 and sort of get suspicious? I'm actually wondering, 00:12:32.539 --> 00:12:35.440 is it possible that they approached him to see 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:38.000 if he might be a part of this conspiracy? Whatever 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:40.899 the manner, though, God sovereignly has Mordecai 00:12:40.899 --> 00:12:43.580 in the right place at the right time to save 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:46.879 the king's life for God's purposes. And keep 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:49.279 this in mind as well. Mordecai had to know that 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:51.440 by saving the king, he was probably saving Esther 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:54.799 as well. Because again, most assassinations, 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:58.100 when an empress is killed, they kill his entire 00:12:58.100 --> 00:13:00.679 family, which would have included Esther. And 00:13:00.679 --> 00:13:02.759 even if they just killed the king, it's likely 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:05.519 the next king would reject Esther as queen. So 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:08.100 Mordecai realizes by saving the king, he's saving 00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:11.279 his own cousin. But he saves a day and he allows 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:14.450 Esther to be the conduit. for reporting the plot. 00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:16.370 And you can imagine that would have endeared 00:13:16.370 --> 00:13:19.049 Esther to the king more than ever because she 00:13:19.049 --> 00:13:21.470 now is the one who's able to go in and say, hey, 00:13:21.529 --> 00:13:26.909 my older cousin found this out. Verse 23, now 00:13:26.909 --> 00:13:28.929 when the plot was investigated and found to be 00:13:28.929 --> 00:13:32.450 so, they were both hanged on a gallows and it 00:13:32.450 --> 00:13:34.110 was written in the book of the Chronicles in 00:13:34.110 --> 00:13:36.830 the king's presence. So Mordecai's name, the 00:13:36.830 --> 00:13:39.190 names of the would -be assassins are written 00:13:39.190 --> 00:13:41.610 down in the annals of the king. And by the way, 00:13:41.610 --> 00:13:43.289 that was something that was huge in the ancient 00:13:43.289 --> 00:13:45.549 Near East. If you know anything about archaeology 00:13:45.549 --> 00:13:47.750 and all these sites that we find throughout the 00:13:47.750 --> 00:13:50.669 Middle East, oftentimes we dig up these books 00:13:50.669 --> 00:13:53.230 that are called annals and they record all the 00:13:53.230 --> 00:13:55.269 events and accomplishments in the lives of these 00:13:55.269 --> 00:13:57.730 kings. And so again, another really interesting 00:13:57.730 --> 00:14:01.309 historical tidbit in the narrative. And so Big 00:14:01.309 --> 00:14:04.870 Thon and Teresh were publicly executed as a warning 00:14:04.870 --> 00:14:07.289 to others. Now, there's a bit of interpretive 00:14:07.289 --> 00:14:09.389 work being done in the word gallows here in verse 00:14:09.389 --> 00:14:12.769 23. The word there in Hebrew for gallows is actually 00:14:12.769 --> 00:14:16.090 just the standard word for tree. But because 00:14:16.090 --> 00:14:19.250 these men were hung on a tree, the English translators, 00:14:19.250 --> 00:14:21.769 they think, well, we understand what being hung 00:14:21.769 --> 00:14:24.230 looks like on a tree. It probably was a platform 00:14:24.230 --> 00:14:28.379 with a noose around their neck. But that actually 00:14:28.379 --> 00:14:30.179 doesn't line up well with what we know about 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:33.139 how the Persians did things. It's likely these 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:35.659 two men were killed in a much more gruesome fashion. 00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:42.340 They were probably impaled on a stake. Ooh. Impalement 00:14:42.340 --> 00:14:45.019 in the Achaemenid dynasty was well documented, 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:48.360 both in Persian and Greek sources. And Darius, 00:14:48.539 --> 00:14:52.559 Xerxes' father, was famous for executing... traitors 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:55.259 in this way. In fact, they were proud of this 00:14:55.259 --> 00:14:57.820 method of execution. They actually carved it 00:14:57.820 --> 00:15:01.679 on their palace walls. There you go. You find 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:05.120 this carved on their own palace walls. You see 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:08.100 how they always, on the left, how they portray 00:15:08.100 --> 00:15:11.620 themselves as kings and then their enemies being 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:15.820 impaled on stakes on the walls. You can imagine 00:15:15.820 --> 00:15:18.580 the deterrent effect this would have had on everybody 00:15:18.580 --> 00:15:21.799 living in Susa to see these bodies hanging on 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:25.480 these stakes. And looking at that image, it helps 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:28.799 us maybe become more empathetic to Mordecai, 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:31.379 to put on his ancient sandals and to think, you 00:15:31.379 --> 00:15:33.059 know, maybe I shouldn't tell everybody I'm a 00:15:33.059 --> 00:15:35.940 Jew. Because who can I really trust? I don't 00:15:35.940 --> 00:15:37.659 want to end up like this. Does that make sense? 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:42.909 Okay, let's go over to chapter 3 now. As we do, 00:15:42.990 --> 00:15:44.750 I want you to stop and consider the situation 00:15:44.750 --> 00:15:46.870 that Mordecai and Esther find themselves in. 00:15:47.269 --> 00:15:49.750 Life in the Jewish diaspora was looking pretty 00:15:49.750 --> 00:15:51.830 good at that moment. Think about this. One of 00:15:51.830 --> 00:15:54.870 their own was now queen of Persia, and one of 00:15:54.870 --> 00:15:57.250 their own had just saved the king's life and 00:15:57.250 --> 00:15:59.970 was certain to be rewarded for that. So if you 00:15:59.970 --> 00:16:03.149 think humanly, this is about as secure as life 00:16:03.149 --> 00:16:07.110 in exile could be for Jewish people. But as every 00:16:07.110 --> 00:16:10.590 Jew even today will tell you, Things can change 00:16:10.590 --> 00:16:13.909 very, very quickly. Very quickly. And that's 00:16:13.909 --> 00:16:16.570 about to happen. Verse 1, chapter 3. After these 00:16:16.570 --> 00:16:20.029 events, okay, so after the events of the plot, 00:16:20.190 --> 00:16:23.389 here comes this surprising new development. King 00:16:23.389 --> 00:16:27.990 Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hamadathah, 00:16:27.990 --> 00:16:32.090 the Agagite, and advanced him and established 00:16:32.090 --> 00:16:35.629 his authority over all the princes who were with 00:16:35.629 --> 00:16:38.370 him. Now, this is surprising for this reason. 00:16:38.429 --> 00:16:40.610 In a typical narrative like this, we would think 00:16:40.610 --> 00:16:43.029 the previous story would bleed into this one, 00:16:43.129 --> 00:16:45.809 that the guy getting promoted would be Mordecai. 00:16:45.850 --> 00:16:47.750 After all, he just saved the king's life, right? 00:16:48.350 --> 00:16:50.850 But instead, we're told about this man, Haman. 00:16:51.090 --> 00:16:53.330 And we'll just call him Haman. That's fine, because 00:16:53.330 --> 00:16:57.129 that's the way we sort of pronounce his name 00:16:57.129 --> 00:16:59.990 in the English. Haman seems to appear out of 00:16:59.990 --> 00:17:03.629 nowhere, and he's given this super high position, 00:17:03.730 --> 00:17:05.910 higher than all the princes we just heard about. 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:08.880 In chapters one and two, right? Essentially, 00:17:08.940 --> 00:17:11.880 he makes Haman his, in that culture, we call 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:15.119 the chief vizier, his right -hand man. He becomes 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:18.099 the second most powerful man in the entire Persian 00:17:18.099 --> 00:17:22.059 Empire. So with Haman, we now have our four main 00:17:22.059 --> 00:17:24.859 characters. And if you've missed this, I've been 00:17:24.859 --> 00:17:27.279 putting these pictures up just so you can sort 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:29.460 of imagine maybe what some of these folks look 00:17:29.460 --> 00:17:32.259 like. We have King Xerxes, we have Mordecai, 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:36.359 and we have Esther. And now... We have Haman. 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:53.339 Oh, yes. Right? Okay. I mean. Okay, so who is 00:17:53.339 --> 00:17:57.799 this man? Haman the Agagite. Well, his name comes 00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:00.619 from a Persian word, Hamayun, which means, get 00:18:00.619 --> 00:18:04.390 this, illustrious or magnificent. And today we 00:18:04.390 --> 00:18:06.130 know he's anything but that. In fact, throughout 00:18:06.130 --> 00:18:08.589 the rest of the book, in this chapter, chapter 00:18:08.589 --> 00:18:11.609 7, 8, and 9, he is going to be described with 00:18:11.609 --> 00:18:14.730 these chilling words, Haman, the enemy of the 00:18:14.730 --> 00:18:17.849 Jews. And the reason for that is found in his 00:18:17.849 --> 00:18:20.269 ethnic and national background as an Agagite. 00:18:20.609 --> 00:18:23.150 Now, for you Old Testament scholars, does the 00:18:23.150 --> 00:18:26.549 name Agag ring a bell? You may know the story, 00:18:26.690 --> 00:18:30.589 right? Agag, the king of the Amalekites. And 00:18:30.589 --> 00:18:33.470 we mostly know his name from a chapter, 1 Samuel 00:18:33.470 --> 00:18:37.089 15. It's a familiar story to many of us. Once 00:18:37.089 --> 00:18:40.069 we dive in, it'll probably stir your mind. But 00:18:40.069 --> 00:18:42.029 before we get there, to understand that story, 00:18:42.190 --> 00:18:44.109 we first have to go all the way back to the book 00:18:44.109 --> 00:18:47.910 of Exodus. Did you all listen to Kenny read the 00:18:47.910 --> 00:18:50.210 call to worship this morning? Good. We've got 00:18:50.210 --> 00:18:53.549 to go back to that passage in Exodus 17 to fully 00:18:53.549 --> 00:18:56.390 understand what's happening in Esther. So let 00:18:56.390 --> 00:18:59.170 me just summarize this story for you just a bit. 00:18:59.769 --> 00:19:03.410 This story takes place after Moses leads the 00:19:03.410 --> 00:19:07.190 Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Remember, 00:19:07.329 --> 00:19:11.029 Pharaoh lets them go, and Moses sets out for 00:19:11.029 --> 00:19:13.390 the promised land of Canaan with the entire nation 00:19:13.390 --> 00:19:15.849 behind him. And remember, it says God himself 00:19:15.849 --> 00:19:18.710 is leading the people in a pillar of cloud during 00:19:18.710 --> 00:19:21.670 the day and a pillar of fire at night. And they 00:19:21.670 --> 00:19:25.509 miraculously escape, Pharaoh changing his mind 00:19:25.509 --> 00:19:28.750 and charging at them at the Red Sea. They escape 00:19:28.750 --> 00:19:30.789 that. Then they journey into the wilderness of 00:19:30.789 --> 00:19:33.529 Shur. Later into the wilderness of Sin. They 00:19:33.529 --> 00:19:36.190 struggle to find drinkable water. And as they 00:19:36.190 --> 00:19:38.170 go on, they start to grumble about a lack of 00:19:38.170 --> 00:19:41.130 food as well. And the Lord meets all of their 00:19:41.130 --> 00:19:43.730 needs. He provides drinkable water. And he provides 00:19:43.730 --> 00:19:47.170 quail and manna for them to eat. And then we 00:19:47.170 --> 00:19:50.069 come to Exodus 17. And this is where the passage 00:19:50.069 --> 00:19:53.690 becomes important. The entire nation of Israel 00:19:53.690 --> 00:19:56.839 now is camped at a place called Rephidim. It's 00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:00.180 about one day's march away from Mount Sinai where 00:20:00.180 --> 00:20:02.079 Moses is going to go up on the mountain and meet 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:04.640 with Yahweh. Now think about this. Up until that 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:07.759 point, the Israelites had not fought an enemy 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:11.839 in a combat sense. Remember? It was the Lord 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:13.920 himself who rescued them at the edge of the Red 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:16.400 Sea. But now they're about to face a new threat, 00:20:16.539 --> 00:20:18.319 and this time they're going to have to pick up 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:20.859 weapons and defend themselves. And the threat 00:20:20.859 --> 00:20:24.000 comes from this semi -nomadic tribe known as 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:27.769 the Amalekites. And they are named for their 00:20:27.769 --> 00:20:30.329 descendants of a man named Amalek, who was the 00:20:30.329 --> 00:20:37.869 grandson of Esau. Dun, dun, dun, right? So look, 00:20:37.990 --> 00:20:40.089 all of these folks in these stories, they're 00:20:40.089 --> 00:20:41.970 all kissing cousins, aren't they, in some way. 00:20:42.089 --> 00:20:45.950 They're related to each other in some way. So 00:20:45.950 --> 00:20:49.049 the Amalekites are actually genealogically linked 00:20:49.049 --> 00:20:51.670 to Israel, but they're on the enemy side of the 00:20:51.670 --> 00:20:54.759 Jacob -Esau divide. The Amalekites were known 00:20:54.759 --> 00:20:56.759 to live on the edges of agricultural society. 00:20:57.059 --> 00:20:59.200 They weren't big on building their own settlements. 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:02.019 What they liked to do was raid and plunder other 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:04.980 people groups. And in Exodus 17, they launched 00:21:04.980 --> 00:21:08.180 this unprovoked attack on the Israelites, and 00:21:08.180 --> 00:21:10.539 Moses and Joshua have to spring into action. 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:13.160 Remember the story? Moses climbs a nearby hill, 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:17.089 and he takes with him God's staff. And he looks 00:21:17.089 --> 00:21:19.990 down on the battlefield. Joshua leads the Israelites 00:21:19.990 --> 00:21:23.410 into combat. And the text says when Moses held 00:21:23.410 --> 00:21:26.450 up the staff, Israel would prevail. But whenever 00:21:26.450 --> 00:21:29.230 he got weary and his arms dropped, the Amalekites 00:21:29.230 --> 00:21:31.549 would prevail. And the whole point of that was 00:21:31.549 --> 00:21:33.789 the staff represented the power and the presence 00:21:33.789 --> 00:21:36.809 of Yahweh. And so Aaron, his brother, and a man 00:21:36.809 --> 00:21:40.089 named Hur go up and they hold his arms up. And 00:21:40.089 --> 00:21:43.789 they prop him up so that... His arms will continue 00:21:43.789 --> 00:21:47.809 to stay up, ensuring Israel's victory. And following 00:21:47.809 --> 00:21:50.369 the battle, God instructs Moses to document the 00:21:50.369 --> 00:21:52.250 event in this way. And this is important for 00:21:52.250 --> 00:21:55.130 our study in Esther. This is what Moses should 00:21:55.130 --> 00:21:58.230 say. Write down on a scroll as a reminder and 00:21:58.230 --> 00:22:01.470 recite it to Joshua. I, the Lord, will completely 00:22:01.470 --> 00:22:06.089 blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven. God 00:22:06.089 --> 00:22:09.410 was particularly offended by this attack. And 00:22:09.410 --> 00:22:11.970 this begins an ongoing biblical theme of hostility 00:22:11.970 --> 00:22:15.609 between Israel and Amalek. Chapter 17 ends this 00:22:15.609 --> 00:22:19.390 way. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from 00:22:19.390 --> 00:22:22.410 generation to generation. This is going to continue. 00:22:23.349 --> 00:22:26.500 Now, this account. It's very short. You heard 00:22:26.500 --> 00:22:28.279 Kenny read it this morning, just nine verses. 00:22:28.539 --> 00:22:31.779 But later on in Deuteronomy 25, we get more details 00:22:31.779 --> 00:22:35.539 about that particular attack and about the cowardly 00:22:35.539 --> 00:22:37.940 nature of the Amalekite people. Here's what it 00:22:37.940 --> 00:22:41.079 says in Deuteronomy 25. Remember what the Amalekites 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:44.019 did to you on the journey after you left Egypt. 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:47.539 They met you along the way and attacked all your 00:22:47.539 --> 00:22:51.619 stragglers from behind when you were tired and 00:22:51.619 --> 00:22:56.890 weary. They did not fear God. So this group of 00:22:56.890 --> 00:23:00.150 people targeted the weakest members of the caravan 00:23:00.150 --> 00:23:02.609 of the Israelites, those who were lagging behind. 00:23:02.890 --> 00:23:04.690 And they didn't do it because they were defending 00:23:04.690 --> 00:23:07.910 their lands. They did it simply to raid and to 00:23:07.910 --> 00:23:11.390 kill and to plunder. So this is what Moses says 00:23:11.390 --> 00:23:13.910 to the people then almost 40 years later as they 00:23:13.910 --> 00:23:16.670 stood now on the outskirts of the promised land. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:19.779 Moses says, when the Lord your God gives you 00:23:19.779 --> 00:23:23.059 rest from all the enemies around you in the land 00:23:23.059 --> 00:23:25.980 the Lord your God is giving to you to possess 00:23:25.980 --> 00:23:28.480 as an inheritance, here's what I want you to 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:31.680 do. Blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:39.099 Do not forget. If you have any Jewish friend 00:23:39.099 --> 00:23:42.960 or family and they know their history, they know 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:46.779 that verse. Do not forget. That echoes down through 00:23:46.779 --> 00:23:49.380 the centuries. Do not forget what Amalek has 00:23:49.380 --> 00:23:52.559 done. And rabbinic sources since that time have 00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:55.539 portrayed that name as an expression of pure 00:23:55.539 --> 00:23:58.680 and irrational hatred for the Jewish people, 00:23:58.759 --> 00:24:02.359 a cruel and irrational anti -Semitism that has 00:24:02.359 --> 00:24:05.920 endured across the generations. In fact, some 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:08.559 of you guys may know this. When Hamas blasted 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:11.680 their way out of Gaza and attacked southern Israel 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:15.940 on October 7, 2023, all the comparisons to Amalek 00:24:15.940 --> 00:24:20.400 became obvious. That attack on October 7th was 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:23.460 not limited to just a military operation. What 00:24:23.460 --> 00:24:26.380 did Hamas do? They went after the most defenseless 00:24:26.380 --> 00:24:30.480 members of the Jewish community. They went to 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:32.759 an open -air music festival where there were 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:35.599 no weapons, and they slaughtered and they raped 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:38.400 and they killed. They attacked families living 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:41.980 by nearby kibbutzes, butchering men and raping. 00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:45.920 and beheading women and children. And so it felt 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:48.799 very much like the Amalekite attack. And almost 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:51.319 immediately, Prime Minister Netanyahu explicitly 00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:54.759 mentioned that name in multiple press conferences. 00:24:54.859 --> 00:24:58.619 He quoted from Deuteronomy 25, said, do not forget 00:24:58.619 --> 00:25:02.819 what Amalek has done. So this still lingers even 00:25:02.819 --> 00:25:07.279 today. Now, let's get to our story of Agog. Fast 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:11.099 forward about 350 years from the days of Moses. 00:25:11.849 --> 00:25:15.230 to the monarchy of Israel, to the time when Saul 00:25:15.230 --> 00:25:19.069 is being crowned king over Israel. And who is 00:25:19.069 --> 00:25:23.769 it that crowns Saul? The prophet Samuel. So when 00:25:23.769 --> 00:25:25.890 you open up 1 Samuel 15, I'm going to put it 00:25:25.890 --> 00:25:28.029 on the screen. Here's what it says, 1 Samuel 00:25:28.029 --> 00:25:32.109 15. Samuel told Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint 00:25:32.109 --> 00:25:35.950 you as king over his people Israel. Now, listen 00:25:35.950 --> 00:25:37.970 to the words of the Lord. By the way, when a 00:25:37.970 --> 00:25:41.880 prophet says that, you should listen. This is 00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:44.640 what the Lord of armies says. I witnessed what 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:47.259 the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they 00:25:47.259 --> 00:25:49.259 opposed them along the way as they were coming 00:25:49.259 --> 00:25:53.839 out of Egypt. Now, Saul, go and attack the Amalekites 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:56.779 and completely destroy everything they have. 00:25:56.920 --> 00:26:01.440 Do not spare them. As harsh as that might sound 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:05.150 to our modern ears, Yahweh is fully just. in 00:26:05.150 --> 00:26:07.970 punishing this utterly wicked people. He wants 00:26:07.970 --> 00:26:10.750 none to survive to continue in their sin. He 00:26:10.750 --> 00:26:14.069 wants them scraped from the earth. No mercy is 00:26:14.069 --> 00:26:16.650 to be given, no spoils of battle were to be taken. 00:26:17.369 --> 00:26:19.750 And so the text tells us Saul puts together an 00:26:19.750 --> 00:26:22.569 army of more than 200 ,000 men and he sets an 00:26:22.569 --> 00:26:25.190 ambush for the Amalekites in a wadi or a valley 00:26:25.190 --> 00:26:28.309 outside their camp. And Yahweh gives Saul his 00:26:28.309 --> 00:26:31.450 great victory in battle. Not only did they overwhelm 00:26:31.450 --> 00:26:33.769 the Amalekite army and put them to the sword, 00:26:33.829 --> 00:26:37.069 but they capture the king of the Amalekites, 00:26:37.230 --> 00:26:44.369 whose name is? Say it, Agag. Agag. Now remember, 00:26:44.509 --> 00:26:46.970 what was the command from God? Completely destroy 00:26:46.970 --> 00:26:51.250 this people. Do not spare them. What does Saul 00:26:51.250 --> 00:26:55.589 do? He does not annihilate them entirely. Survivors. 00:26:57.199 --> 00:26:59.480 happen. He thought it would be advantageous to 00:26:59.480 --> 00:27:01.720 have the Amalekite king in his hands, a little 00:27:01.720 --> 00:27:04.259 toy to play with. So he spared his life. Oh, 00:27:04.339 --> 00:27:06.059 and he kept all of the best of the livestock 00:27:06.059 --> 00:27:10.240 as well. So Saul directly disobeys the Lord's 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:12.759 instructions for his own selfish reasons. And 00:27:12.759 --> 00:27:15.000 for that, God is going to reject him and remove 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:17.910 him as king. That's for another day. Here's the 00:27:17.910 --> 00:27:20.089 point for our story in Esther. Because Saul would 00:27:20.089 --> 00:27:23.109 not obey, Samuel the prophet has to take matters 00:27:23.109 --> 00:27:27.049 into his own hands. He calls for King Agag to 00:27:27.049 --> 00:27:30.210 be brought into his presence, and then Samuel 00:27:30.210 --> 00:27:32.990 delivers what I think is the coldest line in 00:27:32.990 --> 00:27:38.269 the entire Bible. He says to Agag, it is up there, 00:27:38.369 --> 00:27:42.630 as your sword has made women childless, so your 00:27:42.630 --> 00:27:46.509 mother will be childless among women. And the 00:27:46.509 --> 00:27:50.029 next verse says, then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces 00:27:50.029 --> 00:27:57.529 before the Lord. Now, here comes Haman. Haman 00:27:57.529 --> 00:28:01.289 the Agagite, a surviving descendant of Amalek. 00:28:02.230 --> 00:28:04.890 And adding to the intrigue, do you remember how 00:28:04.890 --> 00:28:06.970 we talked about Mordecai's lineage two Sundays 00:28:06.970 --> 00:28:12.569 ago? Both Mordecai and King Saul have a descendant 00:28:12.569 --> 00:28:16.269 in common. An ancestor, I should say. It's Kish, 00:28:16.289 --> 00:28:19.549 the Benjamite. So in this spiritual battle that's 00:28:19.549 --> 00:28:22.150 now revolving around Xerxes and Esther in 479 00:28:22.150 --> 00:28:25.069 BC, you have the renewal of this conflict between 00:28:25.069 --> 00:28:28.730 Saul and Agag, now being waged by Mordecai and 00:28:28.730 --> 00:28:31.809 his brand new boss, Haman. Everything comes full 00:28:31.809 --> 00:28:34.890 circle. And look at what's expected of Mordecai 00:28:34.890 --> 00:28:37.769 now. Go back to verse 2 in our text, Esther 3, 00:28:37.829 --> 00:28:41.549 verse 2. All the king's servants who were at 00:28:41.549 --> 00:28:45.769 the king's gate Bowed down and paid homage to 00:28:45.769 --> 00:28:48.769 Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning 00:28:48.769 --> 00:28:54.170 him. Ah, but Mordecai neither bowed down nor 00:28:54.170 --> 00:28:59.970 paid homage. Can you understand why? Now, I'm 00:28:59.970 --> 00:29:02.450 going to resist commenting on the morality of 00:29:02.450 --> 00:29:04.309 that further this morning. That is going to be 00:29:04.309 --> 00:29:07.430 the subject of next week's message. And it's 00:29:07.430 --> 00:29:09.960 perfect for Family Worship Sunday. This is a 00:29:09.960 --> 00:29:12.180 great message. Parents, great message for your 00:29:12.180 --> 00:29:16.759 kids. Don't miss this. Mordecai refuses to bow 00:29:16.759 --> 00:29:22.960 down. Good thing or not? Ah, stay tuned. Okay, 00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:25.680 that's the tease. Did you catch that pregnant 00:29:25.680 --> 00:29:30.220 pause there? Be good for us. Good for adults, 00:29:30.259 --> 00:29:34.289 good for kids. Okay, verse 3. Then the king's 00:29:34.289 --> 00:29:36.210 servants who were at the king's gate said to 00:29:36.210 --> 00:29:38.869 Mordecai, why are you transgressing or disobeying 00:29:38.869 --> 00:29:41.930 the king's command? Now it was when they had 00:29:41.930 --> 00:29:44.049 spoken daily to him and he would not listen to 00:29:44.049 --> 00:29:47.250 them that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai's 00:29:47.250 --> 00:29:49.849 reason would stand. And here's the key now. For 00:29:49.849 --> 00:29:52.890 he, Mordecai, had told them, his fellow officials, 00:29:53.029 --> 00:29:59.099 what? That he was a Jew. Uh -oh. Words out. So 00:29:59.099 --> 00:30:01.559 the other men at the king's gate, who I'm guessing 00:30:01.559 --> 00:30:03.900 Mordecai thought had become friends of his, they 00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:06.779 noticed that, you know, dude, why do you have 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:09.400 a problem with Haman? What's going on there? 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:12.279 And it seems that they wanted to warn him, this 00:30:12.279 --> 00:30:14.819 is not going to end well, but Mordecai's mind 00:30:14.819 --> 00:30:19.099 was made up. I will not bow to that man. And 00:30:19.099 --> 00:30:21.099 it seems that he told his fellow officials the 00:30:21.099 --> 00:30:24.640 reason. He's like, look, I'm a Jew, and I'm not 00:30:24.640 --> 00:30:26.240 going to bow down to an Agagite. I'm not going 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:33.049 to do it. And so these weasels, these rats, run 00:30:33.049 --> 00:30:38.329 to Haman to see, hey, boss, is this a legitimate 00:30:38.329 --> 00:30:40.250 reason not to bow down to you? Now, up until 00:30:40.250 --> 00:30:41.990 this point, we don't think Haman's even noticed 00:30:41.990 --> 00:30:45.529 this, but now he does. And guess what? This doesn't 00:30:45.529 --> 00:30:48.539 end well. Verse 5. When Haman saw that Mordecai 00:30:48.539 --> 00:30:51.240 neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman 00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:53.339 was filled with rage. Of course he was. This 00:30:53.339 --> 00:30:55.920 is a fragile guy. This guy's ego, right? This 00:30:55.920 --> 00:30:57.819 is a personal insult. It's an affront to his 00:30:57.819 --> 00:31:01.880 ego. And now he recognizes this isn't actually 00:31:01.880 --> 00:31:05.259 an attack upon my own ethnic identity. He gets 00:31:05.259 --> 00:31:19.430 it. Verse 6. All of the Jews, the people of Mordecai, 00:31:19.529 --> 00:31:22.650 who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. 00:31:24.670 --> 00:31:27.970 Instantly, so Haman has this, it's not just a 00:31:27.970 --> 00:31:30.210 personal response in mind. He knows, hey, look, 00:31:30.269 --> 00:31:33.170 I can handle Mordecai anytime I want to. I want 00:31:33.170 --> 00:31:35.690 more than this. I want historical vengeance. 00:31:36.470 --> 00:31:39.150 I want to annihilate this old enemy. By the way, 00:31:39.230 --> 00:31:41.569 historians have looked at the numbers here. It's 00:31:41.569 --> 00:31:44.990 likely at this point there's about 750 ,000 Jews. 00:31:45.789 --> 00:31:47.910 living in the Persian Empire. So that's three 00:31:47.910 --> 00:31:50.869 quarters of a million Jews about to face what? 00:31:51.069 --> 00:31:55.430 Being rounded up, put to death for no other reason 00:31:55.430 --> 00:31:58.049 other than their ethnic and religious identity. 00:31:58.289 --> 00:32:03.089 Does that sound historically familiar? The old 00:32:03.089 --> 00:32:06.390 hostilities had resurfaced and the ancient spiritual 00:32:06.390 --> 00:32:08.589 battle between the kingdoms of this world and 00:32:08.589 --> 00:32:11.410 the kingdom of God was about to spill out right 00:32:11.410 --> 00:32:14.599 there in the citadel of Susa. and Esther is caught 00:32:14.599 --> 00:32:17.359 in the middle of it. And it all goes back to 00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:20.619 Exodus 17. The Lord will be at war with Amalek 00:32:20.619 --> 00:32:24.940 from generation to generation. So we're going 00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:26.839 to wrap up our message today by talking about 00:32:26.839 --> 00:32:30.980 how this same ancient truth is spilling out today, 00:32:31.140 --> 00:32:36.339 how it's affecting our culture, even here in 00:32:36.339 --> 00:32:38.799 America, the spirit of Amalek, anti -Semitism 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:42.180 all around the world and in our country. So on 00:32:42.180 --> 00:32:44.259 every page of human history, you will find men 00:32:44.259 --> 00:32:48.079 like Haman. Men who are moving up in the ranks 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:50.759 of power, but secretly they're filled with this 00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:54.720 deadly combination of ambition and wickedness 00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:57.140 and hate. And one of the threads that runs consistently 00:32:57.140 --> 00:32:59.920 through human history is an incredibly unique 00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:03.799 hatred for this one people group. This one people 00:33:03.799 --> 00:33:07.079 that Yahweh set his eye upon 4 ,000 years ago. 00:33:08.299 --> 00:33:11.099 Moses describes God's particular love for Israel 00:33:11.099 --> 00:33:14.119 as they're gathered outside the promised land 00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:16.420 in Deuteronomy 7, and it's worth looking at the 00:33:16.420 --> 00:33:18.740 language here so that you understand the depth 00:33:18.740 --> 00:33:21.420 of God's love for his people Israel. Here's what 00:33:21.420 --> 00:33:25.920 it says. You are a holy people belonging to the 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:30.359 Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you 00:33:30.359 --> 00:33:33.940 to be his own possession out of all the peoples 00:33:33.940 --> 00:33:37.200 on the face of the earth. The Lord had his heart 00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:40.180 set on you and chose you, not because you were 00:33:40.180 --> 00:33:42.140 more numerous than all peoples, for you were 00:33:42.140 --> 00:33:44.900 the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord 00:33:44.900 --> 00:33:48.220 loved you and kept the oath he swore to your 00:33:48.220 --> 00:33:51.099 ancestors. He brought you out with a strong hand 00:33:51.099 --> 00:33:53.539 and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from 00:33:53.539 --> 00:33:58.279 the power of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know that 00:33:58.279 --> 00:34:02.549 the Lord your God is God, the faithful God. who 00:34:02.549 --> 00:34:06.890 keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for how long? 00:34:06.930 --> 00:34:10.610 A thousand generations with those who love him 00:34:10.610 --> 00:34:13.570 and keep his commands. But, listen carefully 00:34:13.570 --> 00:34:16.630 now, he directly pays back and destroys those 00:34:16.630 --> 00:34:20.389 who hate him. He will not hesitate to pay back 00:34:20.389 --> 00:34:25.570 directly the one who hates him. A strong language 00:34:25.570 --> 00:34:28.449 about God's love for his people. Now, you recognize 00:34:28.449 --> 00:34:33.190 some of these faces, don't you? Haman, Antiochus 00:34:33.190 --> 00:34:37.650 Epiphanes, Adolf Hitler, Yasser Arafat, Louis 00:34:37.650 --> 00:34:43.750 Farrakhan, Yahya Sinwar, all archetypes of genocidal 00:34:43.750 --> 00:34:48.769 Jew hatred. Century after century, anti -Semitism 00:34:48.769 --> 00:34:51.949 has risen its ugly head in nearly every single 00:34:51.949 --> 00:34:54.969 place that the Jews have tried to lay their heads. 00:34:56.139 --> 00:34:58.219 Whether that's all throughout the Middle East, 00:34:58.300 --> 00:35:00.139 whether it's North Africa, whether it's Europe 00:35:00.139 --> 00:35:04.059 as well, the history is unmistakable. Think about 00:35:04.059 --> 00:35:08.559 this, crusader mobs, crusaders with crosses on 00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:12.320 their shields, attacking Jewish communities all 00:35:12.320 --> 00:35:14.460 across Europe as they head towards the Holy Land, 00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:19.019 raping, slaughtering, forcing conversions among 00:35:19.019 --> 00:35:23.420 Jewish people. Jews routinely labeled by so -called 00:35:23.420 --> 00:35:26.929 Christians as Christ killers. Medieval accusations 00:35:26.929 --> 00:35:30.369 of blood libel, the absurd claim that Jews capture 00:35:30.369 --> 00:35:33.210 and murder Christian children for their own ritual 00:35:33.210 --> 00:35:36.650 purposes. During the Black Death of the 14th 00:35:36.650 --> 00:35:39.150 century, Jews accused of being the ones who caused 00:35:39.150 --> 00:35:42.730 the plague by poisoning the water system, sparking 00:35:42.730 --> 00:35:45.489 torture and executions by villagers who didn't 00:35:45.489 --> 00:35:48.130 know better, living in fear. And you think about 00:35:48.130 --> 00:35:49.909 all these stories, and that's just, I mean, I'm 00:35:49.909 --> 00:35:53.650 just touching the surface of it. Is it any wonder 00:35:53.650 --> 00:35:57.230 that evangelism is nearly impossible among Jews 00:35:57.230 --> 00:36:01.829 who understand their own history? Is it any wonder 00:36:01.829 --> 00:36:04.670 that when Jews even today in Israel hear the 00:36:04.670 --> 00:36:08.329 name of Christ, the images they conjure up are 00:36:08.329 --> 00:36:12.150 despicable? Since the 7th century then with the 00:36:12.150 --> 00:36:14.690 rise of Islam, Jews have been targeted by Muslim 00:36:14.690 --> 00:36:17.809 societies as well in every place in the world 00:36:17.809 --> 00:36:20.900 that the Muslims have conquered. Forced legal 00:36:20.900 --> 00:36:24.260 discrimination, social segregation, forced Islamic 00:36:24.260 --> 00:36:27.239 conversions, sporadic massacres, and over the 00:36:27.239 --> 00:36:29.940 past 100 years, the expulsion of nearly a million 00:36:29.940 --> 00:36:33.440 Jews from places that they are indigenous to 00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:37.639 in the Middle East. A million Jews taken away, 00:36:37.659 --> 00:36:39.800 just pushed out of those lands. As an example, 00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:42.659 75 years ago, the population of Jews in Iraq 00:36:42.659 --> 00:36:48.429 was 150 ,000. Today, it's a few dozen. The Jewish 00:36:48.429 --> 00:36:52.289 population in Egypt today is less than 20. Same 00:36:52.289 --> 00:36:55.750 in Syria and Lebanon. Why? Because it's too dangerous 00:36:55.750 --> 00:36:59.030 for them. They live constantly under the threat 00:36:59.030 --> 00:37:02.869 of Islamic retaliation. So where have they gone? 00:37:03.050 --> 00:37:04.570 Well, most of them have trickled into Israel. 00:37:04.630 --> 00:37:06.769 It's the only place left in the Middle East where 00:37:06.769 --> 00:37:11.159 they can live in safety. supposedly until one 00:37:11.159 --> 00:37:14.179 of the 17 neighboring Islamic countries commits 00:37:14.179 --> 00:37:16.619 to fulfilling its fantasy of a Palestine from 00:37:16.619 --> 00:37:19.000 the river to the sea, and they start lobbing 00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:21.780 missiles, and they start trying to attack the 00:37:21.780 --> 00:37:25.500 land, which they've tried to do in 1948, 1956, 00:37:26.099 --> 00:37:33.900 1967, 1973, 1987, 2000, and 2023. That's the 00:37:33.900 --> 00:37:38.030 history. Now, sadly, anti -Semitism is on the 00:37:38.030 --> 00:37:41.550 rise again in 2025, and it's not just among Muslims. 00:37:42.409 --> 00:37:45.929 It's among Western countries as well. Now, part 00:37:45.929 --> 00:37:47.769 of that is due to the war that's going on right 00:37:47.769 --> 00:37:50.369 now and the fact that Israel is losing the media 00:37:50.369 --> 00:37:53.869 propaganda war. They're trying to eradicate Hamas 00:37:53.869 --> 00:37:56.269 from the territory of Gaza to try to get their 00:37:56.269 --> 00:37:58.929 hostages back. It's an almost impossible war 00:37:58.929 --> 00:38:03.880 to win, both combat -wise and in the media. But 00:38:03.880 --> 00:38:05.739 for me, the saddest development right now goes 00:38:05.739 --> 00:38:07.840 beyond just what's happening in the West. The 00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:10.820 spirit of Amalek, anti -Israel, anti -Jewish 00:38:10.820 --> 00:38:14.559 sentiment is growing within the church again. 00:38:16.980 --> 00:38:20.239 Covenant theology, amillennialism among some 00:38:20.239 --> 00:38:22.380 of our brothers and sisters has in some cases 00:38:22.380 --> 00:38:25.840 morphed into extreme cases of what we call replacement 00:38:25.840 --> 00:38:28.940 theology where it's claimed that all of God's 00:38:28.940 --> 00:38:31.369 promises In both the Old and New Testaments have 00:38:31.369 --> 00:38:33.590 now been given to the church and that Israel 00:38:33.590 --> 00:38:36.650 has been completely and forever rejected by Yahweh. 00:38:37.909 --> 00:38:40.710 That's becoming so common in the church today. 00:38:41.329 --> 00:38:43.550 And so there's this massive spiritual battle 00:38:43.550 --> 00:38:45.969 going on over eschatology and the future of the 00:38:45.969 --> 00:38:48.309 Jewish people. And it's raging all over Christian 00:38:48.309 --> 00:38:51.110 Twitter and Christian YouTube and in churches 00:38:51.110 --> 00:38:54.840 even in our own backyard. A lot of it is born 00:38:54.840 --> 00:38:56.699 out of our country's current temperature about, 00:38:56.840 --> 00:38:59.139 hey, we should just pull out of all foreign wars, 00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:01.820 and I understand that. I get the whole idea that 00:39:01.820 --> 00:39:03.460 we want peace, that we don't want to send our 00:39:03.460 --> 00:39:07.039 own kids into battles. But a lot of it's born 00:39:07.039 --> 00:39:08.699 out of that we just need to get out of Israel, 00:39:08.800 --> 00:39:11.460 even if they get wiped out by the neighboring 00:39:11.460 --> 00:39:14.800 Islamic countries. Far too much of it is coming 00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:18.599 from conspiracy theorists, theories that are 00:39:18.599 --> 00:39:20.980 being pushed by monetized personalities on social 00:39:20.980 --> 00:39:24.429 media, Twitter, and YouTube. And so my warning 00:39:24.429 --> 00:39:27.349 this morning to all of us is to make sure that 00:39:27.349 --> 00:39:30.190 we're careful. Do not be influenced by the loudest 00:39:30.190 --> 00:39:33.210 and most controversial voices that you hear out 00:39:33.210 --> 00:39:36.409 there. But instead, in every case, when you hear 00:39:36.409 --> 00:39:39.469 something, check the facts. Make sure there's 00:39:39.469 --> 00:39:42.429 clear evidence for what you're hearing, not just 00:39:42.429 --> 00:39:44.769 a tantalizing opinion, because there are many 00:39:44.769 --> 00:39:48.000 out there. We all know, right? If you're on YouTube 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:50.139 or Twitter, the things that you can hear. Are 00:39:50.139 --> 00:39:52.880 you listening? Are you discerning? Are you not 00:39:52.880 --> 00:39:56.199 just ingesting that as facts without looking 00:39:56.199 --> 00:39:58.820 for real evidence? Because, guys, the misinformation, 00:39:59.340 --> 00:40:01.800 the just plain bad history, it is everywhere 00:40:01.800 --> 00:40:05.719 today. So here's how I'm going to wrap up. Since 00:40:05.719 --> 00:40:08.699 I've been asked this question countless times 00:40:08.699 --> 00:40:12.099 by you guys. By the way, I'm really glad that 00:40:12.099 --> 00:40:14.980 you asked questions rather than, you know. just 00:40:14.980 --> 00:40:17.659 go off onto YouTube and spend a day and a half 00:40:17.659 --> 00:40:21.719 trying to figure it out for yourselves. Most 00:40:21.719 --> 00:40:24.139 of this stems from a ridiculous podcast confrontation 00:40:24.139 --> 00:40:26.579 that took place about a month ago between Tucker 00:40:26.579 --> 00:40:30.159 Carlson, who recently has revealed a deep -seated 00:40:30.159 --> 00:40:33.519 hatred for Israel, and Senator Ted Cruz, who 00:40:33.519 --> 00:40:36.119 has a well -meaning but poorly informed understanding 00:40:36.119 --> 00:40:38.860 of the scriptures. Some of you guys know exactly 00:40:38.860 --> 00:40:40.599 what I'm talking about. You can look it up for 00:40:40.599 --> 00:40:43.650 yourselves. Many of you asked me about it. Here's 00:40:43.650 --> 00:40:46.170 the thing. The current spirit of Amalek keeps 00:40:46.170 --> 00:40:50.090 posing a few questions as a way to divide the 00:40:50.090 --> 00:40:52.909 church and to foster hatred of Israel and the 00:40:52.909 --> 00:40:55.730 Jews inside the church. And here are the three 00:40:55.730 --> 00:40:57.989 questions. I'm going to give you really short 00:40:57.989 --> 00:41:01.530 answers, but this can be really good in sort 00:41:01.530 --> 00:41:04.469 of fodder for future conversation and debate. 00:41:04.610 --> 00:41:06.809 Number one, are the Jews God's chosen people 00:41:06.809 --> 00:41:11.070 today? That is being asked at every quarter of 00:41:11.070 --> 00:41:13.639 the church right now. Number two, are those in 00:41:13.639 --> 00:41:15.739 the modern nation state of Israel the same Jews 00:41:15.739 --> 00:41:18.719 as those in the Old Testament? And number three, 00:41:18.739 --> 00:41:21.559 must we as Christians unconditionally support 00:41:21.559 --> 00:41:24.699 Israel lest we be cursed by God according to 00:41:24.699 --> 00:41:29.400 Genesis 12? We should know answers to these questions 00:41:29.400 --> 00:41:32.760 because they're being asked a lot today. So I'm 00:41:32.760 --> 00:41:34.380 gonna give you about short seven, eight minute 00:41:34.380 --> 00:41:38.199 answers to those questions. Adam's already looking 00:41:38.199 --> 00:41:39.659 at me going, this should be a whole sermon, I 00:41:39.659 --> 00:41:42.219 know. If you wanna talk more about it, Get on 00:41:42.219 --> 00:41:44.440 my Calendly page. We can have a FaceTime or a 00:41:44.440 --> 00:41:46.179 phone conversation. If you want to debate me 00:41:46.179 --> 00:41:48.460 on it, love it. These are good conversations. 00:41:48.780 --> 00:41:51.019 So the answer to the first question depends on 00:41:51.019 --> 00:41:53.860 definitions. And this is so important, guys. 00:41:53.980 --> 00:41:56.280 What do you mean by the word chosen? And in what 00:41:56.280 --> 00:42:00.579 context? Okay? Clearly, Israel was chosen by 00:42:00.579 --> 00:42:03.500 God. We literally read that just now in Deuteronomy 00:42:03.500 --> 00:42:06.860 7. We say, the Lord your God has, what? Chosen 00:42:06.860 --> 00:42:09.679 you. To be his own possession. The Lord has. 00:42:10.139 --> 00:42:12.420 had his heart set on you and chose you. That 00:42:12.420 --> 00:42:15.739 is not in dispute. But having said that, in this 00:42:15.739 --> 00:42:18.559 context, we have to be really careful with our 00:42:18.559 --> 00:42:21.179 definitions. Does chosen mean the same thing 00:42:21.179 --> 00:42:24.300 as saved? Does chosen mean the same thing as 00:42:24.300 --> 00:42:28.880 elect? Paul is very clear about this in Romans 00:42:28.880 --> 00:42:34.860 9. Not all Israel is Israel, correct? In other 00:42:34.860 --> 00:42:37.139 words, physical descent as an Israelite or a 00:42:37.139 --> 00:42:41.019 Jew does not save anybody. Salvation is a matter 00:42:41.019 --> 00:42:43.019 of circumcision of the heart, not of the flesh. 00:42:44.239 --> 00:42:46.780 In all times, it is only by grace that anyone 00:42:46.780 --> 00:42:49.579 is saved, Jew or Gentile, through faith and that 00:42:49.579 --> 00:42:52.219 not of ourselves. It is an unmerited gift of 00:42:52.219 --> 00:42:56.380 God. Amen? So Israel was chosen by God in the 00:42:56.380 --> 00:43:00.079 past, and they remain greatly loved by God as 00:43:00.079 --> 00:43:03.739 a nation and a people today. Paul was very clear 00:43:03.739 --> 00:43:06.360 about that as well. And guys, go home and read 00:43:06.360 --> 00:43:09.530 Romans 11. Read it three times. Here's what he 00:43:09.530 --> 00:43:11.650 says in Romans 11. From the standpoint of God's 00:43:11.650 --> 00:43:15.289 choice, the Jews are beloved for the sake of 00:43:15.289 --> 00:43:17.989 the patriarchs. That's Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:43:18.329 --> 00:43:20.630 Listen now, for the gifts and the calling of 00:43:20.630 --> 00:43:24.670 God on the Jews' lives are what? Irrevocable. 00:43:26.489 --> 00:43:29.289 God will not revoke those promises that he's 00:43:29.289 --> 00:43:32.750 given to Israel. But Paul also relays this important 00:43:32.750 --> 00:43:35.170 truth to us in that same chapter. He says, I 00:43:35.170 --> 00:43:37.349 do not want you to be uninformed of this mystery, 00:43:37.550 --> 00:43:40.489 he says. that a partial hardening has come upon 00:43:40.489 --> 00:43:43.250 Israel until the full number of the Gentiles 00:43:43.250 --> 00:43:47.070 has come into the kingdom. That's right now. 00:43:47.670 --> 00:43:50.570 So God's ultimate plan for the Jews is irrevocable, 00:43:50.610 --> 00:43:53.289 but for a time, their hearts have been hardened 00:43:53.289 --> 00:43:55.789 while the gospel goes out to the Gentile nations. 00:43:56.530 --> 00:43:59.570 And so today in what Luke calls the time of the 00:43:59.570 --> 00:44:02.909 Gentiles, under the new covenant, the chosen 00:44:02.909 --> 00:44:05.969 people of God in a salvific sense are those who 00:44:05.969 --> 00:44:12.590 are found in Christ. Let me say that again. Today, 00:44:12.590 --> 00:44:14.590 in what Luke calls the time of the Gentiles, 00:44:14.590 --> 00:44:16.849 under the new covenant, the chosen people of 00:44:16.849 --> 00:44:20.489 God, in a salvific sense, are those who are found 00:44:20.489 --> 00:44:23.449 in Christ. They are true believers, both Jew 00:44:23.449 --> 00:44:25.869 and Gentile, who are a part of the invisible 00:44:25.869 --> 00:44:30.429 universal apostolic church. Now, here's the big 00:44:30.429 --> 00:44:34.489 question. And by the way, a lot of covenant theology 00:44:34.489 --> 00:44:37.130 guys, a lot of amillennialists will agree with 00:44:37.130 --> 00:44:39.960 that statement. But here's the key. Does the 00:44:39.960 --> 00:44:42.659 fact that Christians today are God's chosen people, 00:44:42.860 --> 00:44:46.199 does that nullify his plans and intentions towards 00:44:46.199 --> 00:44:50.519 Israel? Absolutely not. Because the gifts and 00:44:50.519 --> 00:44:54.739 the calling of God are irrevocable. Friends, 00:44:54.820 --> 00:44:58.039 there are many, many promises in the Old Testament 00:44:58.039 --> 00:45:03.880 given to the Jews which remain unfulfilled. And 00:45:03.880 --> 00:45:07.099 unless you want to make God a liar, or a deceiver 00:45:07.099 --> 00:45:10.119 in his promises, we would do well to look to 00:45:10.119 --> 00:45:12.699 the future and anticipate that God is going to 00:45:12.699 --> 00:45:15.820 faithfully fulfill every single one of them to 00:45:15.820 --> 00:45:19.659 his people Israel. Rather than write off the 00:45:19.659 --> 00:45:21.760 Jews and say, ah, they rejected the Messiah, 00:45:21.760 --> 00:45:23.940 they don't matter anymore. That is a terrible, 00:45:24.099 --> 00:45:28.340 terrible mistake to make. Okay, answer number 00:45:28.340 --> 00:45:32.079 two. This is easier and shorter. Yes, the vast 00:45:32.079 --> 00:45:34.440 majority of Israelis who live in the modern nation 00:45:34.440 --> 00:45:37.260 state of Israel have Jewish blood and Jewish 00:45:37.260 --> 00:45:40.699 DNA that go back many generations to those who 00:45:40.699 --> 00:45:43.260 are scattered all over the region. Survey after 00:45:43.260 --> 00:45:47.039 survey has proven that fact. Yes, they are Jews. 00:45:47.880 --> 00:45:50.739 In addition to that, we have to remember that 00:45:50.739 --> 00:45:53.780 the land of Israel matters to God. How many times 00:45:53.780 --> 00:45:56.119 in our series in the Psalms did we see that God 00:45:56.119 --> 00:46:00.199 has a passion for Zion? He loves Zion. The land 00:46:00.199 --> 00:46:03.860 matters. And don't forget that in Genesis 17, 00:46:04.179 --> 00:46:07.340 God told Abraham that all of the land of Canaan 00:46:07.340 --> 00:46:10.659 would be for him and his descendants, what? An 00:46:10.659 --> 00:46:15.719 everlasting possession. Everlasting. Will not 00:46:15.719 --> 00:46:19.199 be revoked. It's a possession given to the descendants 00:46:19.199 --> 00:46:22.400 of Abraham. And I don't think the Lord, and this 00:46:22.400 --> 00:46:24.760 is maybe the objection you would get. Some would 00:46:24.760 --> 00:46:26.980 say, well then, the land of Israel has been given 00:46:26.980 --> 00:46:30.550 to the church. Really? I don't know any Christian 00:46:30.550 --> 00:46:32.070 that's claiming that, that we should all get 00:46:32.070 --> 00:46:34.809 up from Los Angeles and move to our land that 00:46:34.809 --> 00:46:39.269 belongs to us. That land is for Israel. Always 00:46:39.269 --> 00:46:41.969 has been, always will be. By the way, it's the 00:46:41.969 --> 00:46:43.530 place where Christ is going to return someday. 00:46:44.969 --> 00:46:47.349 Zechariah prophesies his feet will stand on the 00:46:47.349 --> 00:46:50.130 Mount of Olives. And the expectation of Scripture 00:46:50.130 --> 00:46:53.210 is that on that day, when his feet are on the 00:46:53.210 --> 00:46:55.050 Mount of Olives, there will be an unbelieving 00:46:55.050 --> 00:46:59.309 nation called Israel in the land. And they will 00:46:59.309 --> 00:47:02.289 collectively, according to Zechariah, look upon 00:47:02.289 --> 00:47:04.829 the one whom they have pierced, and they will 00:47:04.829 --> 00:47:07.590 mourn for him as one mourns for an only son. 00:47:08.949 --> 00:47:11.369 And when that happens, Paul says in Romans 11, 00:47:11.690 --> 00:47:14.449 all of Israel will be saved. When the deliverer 00:47:14.449 --> 00:47:17.989 comes from Zion and removes ungodliness from 00:47:17.989 --> 00:47:20.530 Jacob. That is the future plan that God has for 00:47:20.530 --> 00:47:23.429 the Jewish people in the land, and it will be 00:47:23.429 --> 00:47:27.429 glorious, but, big but, it comes through tribulation. 00:47:28.880 --> 00:47:33.000 Great tribulation. Final answer to number three. 00:47:34.159 --> 00:47:37.500 No, as Christians, we dare not support Israel 00:47:37.500 --> 00:47:41.619 unconditionally. That's not how we make decisions 00:47:41.619 --> 00:47:44.880 because we're never called upon to support wicked 00:47:44.880 --> 00:47:48.019 things and the Israeli government sometimes does 00:47:48.019 --> 00:47:51.800 wicked things as every single government, including 00:47:51.800 --> 00:47:56.880 our own, does wicked things. Do we unconditionally 00:47:56.880 --> 00:48:01.650 support any president? I hope not. Because all 00:48:01.650 --> 00:48:03.510 governments do wicked things. So we need to be 00:48:03.510 --> 00:48:06.349 discerning. Now, is it wise to generally support 00:48:06.349 --> 00:48:09.170 Israel in a geopolitical way? Of course. They're 00:48:09.170 --> 00:48:12.650 the closest thing to a democracy in that neighborhood 00:48:12.650 --> 00:48:15.190 of the Middle East. And all of their Islamic 00:48:15.190 --> 00:48:17.329 enemies that they're at war with, they're our 00:48:17.329 --> 00:48:20.710 enemies too. So that makes sense generally. But 00:48:20.710 --> 00:48:22.869 be reminded, and I don't know how many times 00:48:22.869 --> 00:48:25.510 I've said this from this pulpit, Israel today 00:48:25.510 --> 00:48:29.869 is a disbelieving nation. It is not believing 00:48:29.869 --> 00:48:33.269 Israel. Less than 2 % of Israelis have trusted 00:48:33.269 --> 00:48:36.510 in their own Messiah. So we cannot unconditionally 00:48:36.510 --> 00:48:39.409 support what an unbelieving government like that 00:48:39.409 --> 00:48:41.469 does. Just unconditionally say, well, whatever 00:48:41.469 --> 00:48:44.750 they want to do, we approve of it. No, no, no, 00:48:44.769 --> 00:48:46.550 that's not how we operate as Christians. Amen? 00:48:48.469 --> 00:48:51.730 Friends, do not let the spirit of Amalek, the 00:48:51.730 --> 00:48:55.780 spirit of Haman, infect your thinking. in these 00:48:55.780 --> 00:48:58.119 difficult days. There is a lot of confusion out 00:48:58.119 --> 00:49:00.539 there. So if you have to, turn off the podcast. 00:49:01.940 --> 00:49:05.679 Be discerning. Go back to Scripture. Look at 00:49:05.679 --> 00:49:07.340 some of these chapters I've mentioned today. 00:49:07.380 --> 00:49:10.400 If you need more, I can give you plenty. Go back 00:49:10.400 --> 00:49:13.679 to Scripture. Turn off the noise. And may the 00:49:13.679 --> 00:49:15.920 Lord bless your studies as you seek what is true 00:49:15.920 --> 00:49:19.380 and what is good. Amen? Let's bow our heads. 00:49:23.230 --> 00:49:26.429 Father, heavy subject for this morning, but we 00:49:26.429 --> 00:49:29.269 know something that is so important to you, so 00:49:29.269 --> 00:49:33.989 much your heart for the way you're operating 00:49:33.989 --> 00:49:39.809 in this world, Lord. As a mostly Gentile church, 00:49:40.030 --> 00:49:42.989 Lord, we are so grateful that we have been grafted 00:49:42.989 --> 00:49:46.489 into the great olive tree of Israel, and you've 00:49:46.489 --> 00:49:48.670 saved us, and you've broken off branches in order 00:49:48.670 --> 00:49:52.190 to save us, and we are... We don't always understand 00:49:52.190 --> 00:49:53.829 why you would do that, Lord, but we're grateful 00:49:53.829 --> 00:49:55.829 that we're here and that we know you and we know 00:49:55.829 --> 00:49:59.690 your son. But Lord, help us to be humble about 00:49:59.690 --> 00:50:02.429 that. As Paul says in Romans 11, not to be arrogant 00:50:02.429 --> 00:50:04.349 towards those branches that were broken off. 00:50:06.050 --> 00:50:09.849 Help us to submit our minds and our hearts to 00:50:09.849 --> 00:50:13.429 what you say in scripture about this time of 00:50:13.429 --> 00:50:15.030 the Gentiles where we've been brought into the 00:50:15.030 --> 00:50:17.449 kingdom, not because of anything good in us, 00:50:17.489 --> 00:50:20.619 but because of your mercy. And Lord, help us 00:50:20.619 --> 00:50:22.460 have a right perspective on the end times to 00:50:22.460 --> 00:50:25.239 look to see what your plan is to bring your people 00:50:25.239 --> 00:50:28.619 Israel back front and center in your plan. It's 00:50:28.619 --> 00:50:30.500 a mystery to us, Lord. We don't understand it 00:50:30.500 --> 00:50:33.440 all, but we trust you because we know that you're 00:50:33.440 --> 00:50:36.159 a faithful God who both makes promises and fulfills 00:50:36.159 --> 00:50:39.559 promises. So Lord, work in our hearts, sear these 00:50:39.559 --> 00:50:42.059 truths, help us to process well, even when we 00:50:42.059 --> 00:50:44.380 process with each other over difficult subjects 00:50:44.380 --> 00:50:46.940 and be glorified in our conversations. We love 00:50:46.940 --> 00:50:49.340 you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.