WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.580 So I was going to preach all the way through 00:00:01.580 --> 00:00:03.799 chapters 5, 6, and 7 this morning. And the reason 00:00:03.799 --> 00:00:06.660 for that is these three chapters fit together 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:10.000 really well as one pericope, as we say in theology, 00:00:10.179 --> 00:00:14.900 one single cohesive story within the larger narrative 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:16.739 of the book. And I mentioned last week that we've 00:00:16.739 --> 00:00:20.260 gotten to a place in this study where we've done 00:00:20.260 --> 00:00:23.530 the hard work of of laying out the historical 00:00:23.530 --> 00:00:25.910 and cultural context of the book such that we 00:00:25.910 --> 00:00:29.230 can now bite off larger chunks as we go along. 00:00:29.589 --> 00:00:31.670 And so I wanted to do that this week, but then 00:00:31.670 --> 00:00:34.130 I dug in. And first of all, I thought, if I do 00:00:34.130 --> 00:00:36.710 three chapters on a Sunday, you guys would all 00:00:36.710 --> 00:00:39.829 die of a heart attack. I mean, that would be 00:00:39.829 --> 00:00:41.530 the first time in the history of Oak Hill. But 00:00:41.530 --> 00:00:43.549 more importantly, there would just be too many 00:00:43.549 --> 00:00:46.229 application points for one sermon. So here's 00:00:46.229 --> 00:00:49.030 what we're going to do. Chapters 6 and 7 in Esther 00:00:49.030 --> 00:00:51.859 really are the pinnacle of the story. And I am 00:00:51.859 --> 00:00:54.020 dying to get to them, but I'm going to be patient. 00:00:54.939 --> 00:00:57.359 Today will be about setting that up, setting 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:00.119 it up well by getting through carefully chapter 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.000 five. Now, as I say that, here's the thing. If 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:06.640 you don't know, Tanya and I are about to get 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:09.120 on an airplane and go out of the country for 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:14.560 two weeks in Scotland. And yep, celebrating 35 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:17.099 years of marriage, she deserves a trip to Europe. 00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:20.400 So over the next three Sundays, you're going 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:23.400 to have the privilege of hearing Adam continue 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:26.120 in his series in Ecclesiastes, which has been 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:29.219 amazing. And then I'll be back in the pulpit, 00:01:29.260 --> 00:01:31.219 and I will be coming straight from a Reformation 00:01:31.219 --> 00:01:34.459 tour in Scotland, Lord willing, standing in John 00:01:34.459 --> 00:01:37.659 Knox's pulpit, and come here, and as we do every 00:01:37.659 --> 00:01:40.579 year, spend a couple of weeks. celebrating the 00:01:40.579 --> 00:01:44.040 Reformation and our historical roots. And this 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:45.959 year talking about the Reformation in Scotland 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:48.939 and England. So excited about all that. But the 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:51.719 point of me saying all this is after today, we're 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:54.439 not going to be back in Esther for a while. Not 00:01:54.439 --> 00:01:58.299 until November. Right? It's scary, right? And 00:01:58.299 --> 00:02:00.060 that means this morning we have to set up chapter 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:02.680 6 and 7 really well. We'll come back in November 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:05.319 right before we get into Advent and Christmas, 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:08.580 right? I mean... The calendar just flies by, 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:10.500 doesn't it? Or is it just me getting old? I don't 00:02:10.500 --> 00:02:13.639 know, but it's coming up quickly. Okay, let's 00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:14.979 look at chapter five. Where did we leave off 00:02:14.979 --> 00:02:17.539 last Sunday? In chapter four, remember we looked 00:02:17.539 --> 00:02:20.000 at this frantic back and forth communication 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:24.120 between Esther and Mordecai. Esther's inside 00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:27.500 the king's palace, not able to leave. Mordecai 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:31.319 is out in the city of Susa wailing in sackcloth 00:02:31.319 --> 00:02:33.659 and ash, and they're sending messages back and 00:02:33.659 --> 00:02:36.120 forth by the king's servants. And of course, 00:02:36.139 --> 00:02:40.699 the issue was Mordecai had become aware of Haman's 00:02:40.699 --> 00:02:43.500 edict, this edict that had now gone out to every 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:46.400 province in the kingdom, promising a total and 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.139 complete annihilation of the Jewish people. And 00:02:49.139 --> 00:02:53.180 in his grief and despair, Mordecai says to Esther 00:02:53.180 --> 00:02:56.699 that you have to go into the king. This is our 00:02:56.699 --> 00:02:58.939 only hope. You've got to go into the king. Remember, 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:03.900 she hesitates. She's like, yeah, but it's against 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:06.520 the king's law, and he hasn't called on me for 00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:10.479 30 days, and she hesitates. And so you see Mordecai 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:15.020 get a little bit more aggressive, and he challenges 00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:18.000 her to consider whether or not God has placed 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.159 her in this position as queen for such a time 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:24.599 as this. And so after ordering three days of 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:27.639 fasting and prayer, Esther comes out of that 00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:29.900 and she counts the cost and she commits her life 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:32.560 to it. She says, I will go into the king and 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:36.520 if I perish, I perish. That's a dramatic moment. 00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:38.460 So we pick up the story now in chapter five. 00:03:38.659 --> 00:03:42.139 Now it came about on the third day that Esther 00:03:42.139 --> 00:03:45.960 put on her royal robes and stood in the inner 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:48.539 court of the king's palace in front of the king's 00:03:48.539 --> 00:03:51.349 rooms. And the king was sitting on his royal 00:03:51.349 --> 00:03:54.870 throne. Can you picture it? Sitting on his royal 00:03:54.870 --> 00:03:57.810 throne in the throne room opposite the entrance 00:03:57.810 --> 00:04:01.349 to the palace. Now, how many times have we tried 00:04:01.349 --> 00:04:04.169 to do this so far? As hard as it is, put yourself 00:04:04.169 --> 00:04:07.449 in Esther's sandals here. Try to imagine the 00:04:07.449 --> 00:04:10.669 fear and the anxiety that she must have felt 00:04:10.669 --> 00:04:13.650 as she steps into this giant grand throne room 00:04:13.650 --> 00:04:16.189 and makes eye contact with the most powerful 00:04:16.189 --> 00:04:19.329 man in the world. And she's got to be thinking, 00:04:19.430 --> 00:04:22.470 okay, is this a good time? Right? Have you ever 00:04:22.470 --> 00:04:24.750 known I've got to have a hard conversation? Is 00:04:24.750 --> 00:04:29.790 this a good time? Is he in a good mood? Am I 00:04:29.790 --> 00:04:31.889 wearing something that is pleasing to him? All 00:04:31.889 --> 00:04:33.949 these thoughts are going through her head. How 00:04:33.949 --> 00:04:36.509 do I start this conversation? What do I say? 00:04:37.689 --> 00:04:39.870 So there's a lot going on in this moment. And 00:04:39.870 --> 00:04:42.269 my guess is, this is just my guess, that she 00:04:42.269 --> 00:04:45.410 is shaking, both inside and out. She's shaking. 00:04:46.329 --> 00:04:49.389 This is a big moment. Her life is literally hanging 00:04:49.389 --> 00:04:51.730 by a thread. Remember, that's what she told us 00:04:51.730 --> 00:04:54.310 back in the last chapter. She said, any man or 00:04:54.310 --> 00:04:57.230 woman who comes to the king in his inner court 00:04:57.230 --> 00:05:01.149 who is not summoned, the king has one law for 00:05:01.149 --> 00:05:05.350 such a person, death. Oh, that's all, just death. 00:05:06.589 --> 00:05:09.649 Unless, unless the king holds out to him the 00:05:09.649 --> 00:05:12.810 golden scepter indicating that he's willing to 00:05:12.810 --> 00:05:16.009 spare that life. So now here is Esther stepping 00:05:16.009 --> 00:05:20.540 into this grand throne room uninvited. And she 00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:22.879 knows she's breaking the king's law, but that's 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:26.220 just one small piece to this. Remember, the king 00:05:26.220 --> 00:05:29.319 doesn't know that she's Jewish at this point. 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:32.579 She has hid that from him, but now it has to 00:05:32.579 --> 00:05:35.339 come out. And she's going to have to confess 00:05:35.339 --> 00:05:38.220 to the king, at least by omission, that she's 00:05:38.220 --> 00:05:40.360 deceived him in not disclosing the full truth 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:43.300 about who she is, about her ethnic identity and 00:05:43.300 --> 00:05:46.160 religious identity. And with a king like Xerxes, 00:05:46.730 --> 00:05:49.709 How he responds to that, how he reacts to that 00:05:49.709 --> 00:05:51.629 kind of deception is completely unpredictable. 00:05:52.350 --> 00:05:54.529 And he can do as he pleases. He is the king. 00:05:55.410 --> 00:05:57.649 Also, if she doesn't just die by coming into 00:05:57.649 --> 00:05:59.870 the room, she's then going to have to go on and 00:05:59.870 --> 00:06:03.230 convince the king that Haman, his chief vizier, 00:06:03.269 --> 00:06:05.769 the man that he seems to trust more than anybody 00:06:05.769 --> 00:06:08.850 else in the kingdom, is actually not trustworthy. 00:06:09.509 --> 00:06:14.949 And he needs to trust her over Haman. So bottom 00:06:14.949 --> 00:06:17.449 line, it's going to take something very dramatic 00:06:17.449 --> 00:06:21.689 here and miraculous for this to succeed, for 00:06:21.689 --> 00:06:24.490 the Jews to be saved. And so what a tense moment 00:06:24.490 --> 00:06:27.829 for this young woman, right? We sometimes forget 00:06:27.829 --> 00:06:30.750 these are three -dimensional characters. She's 00:06:30.750 --> 00:06:34.449 a young woman. She's got to be absolutely out 00:06:34.449 --> 00:06:36.949 of her mind with fear, having to work up the 00:06:36.949 --> 00:06:39.589 courage to walk into that room, just hoping that 00:06:39.589 --> 00:06:41.649 the first sign from the king will be a good one, 00:06:41.709 --> 00:06:44.649 that he's going to receive her well. By the way, 00:06:44.670 --> 00:06:46.689 before we move on to verse two, look at the very 00:06:46.689 --> 00:06:49.050 precise language here in verse one about the 00:06:49.050 --> 00:06:51.389 layout of the palace. I know this is a small 00:06:51.389 --> 00:06:53.470 thing, but I'm a historical nerd on you for a 00:06:53.470 --> 00:06:56.670 second. It says the inner court in front of the 00:06:56.670 --> 00:06:59.269 king's rooms. Why add that? Why does that matter? 00:06:59.889 --> 00:07:02.290 In the throne room opposite the entrance to the 00:07:02.290 --> 00:07:05.250 palace. Well, it tells us that the author is 00:07:05.250 --> 00:07:08.029 somebody who has been there, who has seen it 00:07:08.029 --> 00:07:11.089 with his own eyes. He knows exactly how the rooms 00:07:11.089 --> 00:07:14.350 of the palace were situated. By the way, it lines 00:07:14.350 --> 00:07:16.470 up with all the archaeological work that was 00:07:16.470 --> 00:07:19.649 done in the city of Susa in the 19th and 20th 00:07:19.649 --> 00:07:21.990 century. I showed this picture a long time ago. 00:07:22.459 --> 00:07:24.879 time ago to you guys and we've seen the this 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:27.079 is the artist's rendering of what the archaeological 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:31.240 dig has has shown us in susa on that spot and 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:33.639 we've looked at these various parts of the of 00:07:33.639 --> 00:07:35.899 the the artist's recreation we've looked at the 00:07:35.899 --> 00:07:38.379 king's gate multiple times we've looked at the 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:40.259 court of the garden the banquet hall where these 00:07:40.259 --> 00:07:42.459 banquets have been taking place and now we're 00:07:42.459 --> 00:07:44.699 talking about the inner court the very heart 00:07:44.699 --> 00:07:47.490 of the palace That's where this scene takes place. 00:07:47.610 --> 00:07:49.569 And I show that to you just so that you understand 00:07:49.569 --> 00:07:52.149 that when we read a book like this, it lines 00:07:52.149 --> 00:07:54.769 up with history. It lines up with archaeology. 00:07:54.889 --> 00:07:57.490 And it gives us a greater sense of the veracity 00:07:57.490 --> 00:08:00.149 of Scripture. It's very important. Okay, verse 00:08:00.149 --> 00:08:04.029 2. When the king saw Esther, the queen, standing 00:08:04.029 --> 00:08:07.089 in the court, that's the big moment, it says 00:08:07.089 --> 00:08:11.670 what? She obtained favor in his sight. Right? 00:08:12.089 --> 00:08:16.009 That's the moment. And the king extended to Esther 00:08:16.009 --> 00:08:18.589 the golden scepter, which was in his hand. So 00:08:18.589 --> 00:08:21.529 Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter. 00:08:22.050 --> 00:08:24.769 How many times, you guys, have we seen already 00:08:24.769 --> 00:08:27.750 in this story, Esther finding favor with people? 00:08:28.290 --> 00:08:30.810 Over and over again, right? Everywhere she goes, 00:08:30.889 --> 00:08:33.529 she finds favor in her relationships. In fact, 00:08:33.610 --> 00:08:36.289 back in chapter two, it said, quote, Esther found 00:08:36.289 --> 00:08:40.720 favor in the eyes of all who saw her. She's got 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:42.580 something about her. I don't know, call it the 00:08:42.580 --> 00:08:44.840 it factor, whatever it is. Obviously, she's beautiful 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:47.200 on the outside. That's why the king chose her, 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:49.740 but beautiful inside as well. And it seems that 00:08:49.740 --> 00:08:53.279 the Lord has gifted her in this way. And it was 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:55.559 found in the way that she carried herself, how 00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:59.259 she related to people. Perhaps she had that sense 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:01.940 of humility, as Peter says, and a gentle and 00:09:01.940 --> 00:09:05.620 quiet spirit. And once again, it's another evidence 00:09:05.620 --> 00:09:07.980 of the unseen hand of God working behind the 00:09:07.980 --> 00:09:11.159 scenes, gifting Esther to be this way, working 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:14.840 out his plans and purposes. So the key here is 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:18.480 that as she appears in the throne room, she makes 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:20.720 a connection with the king. She touches his heart 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:23.980 and he extends that scepter to her and spares 00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:27.080 her life. Now the golden scepter is interesting. 00:09:27.379 --> 00:09:29.539 This is, guys, this is not a made up, this is 00:09:29.539 --> 00:09:31.840 not like King Arthur's sword. This is not some 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:34.629 made up legend. In fact, the scepter of the Persian 00:09:34.629 --> 00:09:38.750 kings is depicted many, many, many times in their 00:09:38.750 --> 00:09:42.110 own wall carvings and paintings. In fact, I'll 00:09:42.110 --> 00:09:43.789 give you an example of this because we're going 00:09:43.789 --> 00:09:47.950 to nerd out again. This carving is from the archaeological 00:09:47.950 --> 00:09:51.929 dig at Apadana Palace in Persepolis in Iran. 00:09:53.029 --> 00:09:56.830 What you see there is Xerxes' father, Darius 00:09:56.830 --> 00:09:59.210 the Great, who we looked at before, seated on 00:09:59.210 --> 00:10:02.600 his throne, and he's receiving a foreign... The 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:05.279 kings of Persia, even Assyria and Babylon, they 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:07.340 would depict these great events on their walls 00:10:07.340 --> 00:10:10.299 of their palaces. And in his right hand, see 00:10:10.299 --> 00:10:14.639 the arrow, is his scepter. And you see this all 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:17.799 the time in their pictures. They carry this scepter 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:21.039 in their right hand. And by the way, the gentleman 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:23.259 behind him is the crown prince, that's Xerxes, 00:10:23.379 --> 00:10:27.720 in Darius' palace. So this is a very consistent 00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:30.120 thing. Notice, by the way, how they make themselves 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:33.259 larger. than the foreign delegation they're receiving. 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:36.460 There's some propaganda here as well, right? 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:39.799 But that Xerxes behind him. So again, lots of 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:42.940 historical veracity to this particular text. 00:10:43.100 --> 00:10:46.820 Let's look at verse three. Then the king said 00:10:46.820 --> 00:10:49.200 to her, what is troubling you, Queen Esther? 00:10:49.899 --> 00:10:53.440 He instantly sees that she is upset. Again, I 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:56.340 think she's probably shaking, and he sees it. 00:10:56.840 --> 00:10:59.940 And what is your request, the king asks. Even 00:10:59.940 --> 00:11:01.860 to half of the kingdom, it should be given to 00:11:01.860 --> 00:11:06.440 you. Now, read that as a proverbial expression. 00:11:06.659 --> 00:11:08.559 Don't take it literally. This is the king's way 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:11.279 of assuring Esther, I'm interested in fixing 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:14.159 whatever is bothering you, and how can I make 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:16.279 you happy again? He literally doesn't mean I'll 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:18.600 give you half the kingdom, but how can I make 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:21.840 you happy again? Verse four, Esther says, if 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:24.980 it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come 00:11:24.980 --> 00:11:27.639 this day to the banquet that I've prepared for 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:31.370 him. So clearly Esther has thought this out. 00:11:31.450 --> 00:11:34.169 After three days of fasting and prayer, she's 00:11:34.169 --> 00:11:37.470 formulated a plan in her mind. And I think it 00:11:37.470 --> 00:11:39.850 shows great discernment that she doesn't just 00:11:39.850 --> 00:11:42.970 rush into the situation and blurt out her request. 00:11:44.129 --> 00:11:46.450 And this is what fasting and prayer and asking 00:11:46.450 --> 00:11:49.529 for guidance and asking for patience and all 00:11:49.529 --> 00:11:52.830 that, that's the fruit of this. She shows discernment. 00:11:52.830 --> 00:11:54.610 She just doesn't rush in there and go, I got 00:11:54.610 --> 00:11:58.340 a problem. Remember, she told Mordecai in chapter 00:11:58.340 --> 00:12:01.139 four, I haven't seen the king in a month. So 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:03.360 she can't even be sure she walks into the room 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:07.220 how he feels about her. So my guess is before 00:12:07.220 --> 00:12:11.139 bringing up such a gigantic issue, she first 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:13.440 wants to see the king with her own eyes, engage 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:17.399 his heart and win his heart over again. And we'll 00:12:17.399 --> 00:12:19.820 find out later that she definitely wants Haman 00:12:19.820 --> 00:12:22.120 to be at this banquet so that she can ultimately 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:24.830 expose. His wickedness. So she's thought this 00:12:24.830 --> 00:12:26.909 out. I think she's, again, Adam mentioned it 00:12:26.909 --> 00:12:29.129 earlier. We were hard on Esther in the first 00:12:29.129 --> 00:12:31.210 couple chapters because of some compromise we 00:12:31.210 --> 00:12:33.649 see in her life. But now we're seeing her make 00:12:33.649 --> 00:12:37.629 good and godly decisions. This is good. Verse 00:12:37.629 --> 00:12:39.710 five. Then the king said, bring Haman quickly 00:12:39.710 --> 00:12:42.750 that we may do as Esther desires. So the king 00:12:42.750 --> 00:12:45.929 and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had 00:12:45.929 --> 00:12:48.509 prepared. So picture the scene now. No doubt 00:12:48.509 --> 00:12:50.769 Esther has put together an amazing spread. She 00:12:50.769 --> 00:12:53.870 knows what the king likes. And she lays it out 00:12:53.870 --> 00:12:57.110 for him. She knows how fond Xerxes is of banquets. 00:12:57.210 --> 00:12:59.009 We've already looked at four banquets in the 00:12:59.009 --> 00:13:01.889 first two chapters of this book. They like banquets 00:13:01.889 --> 00:13:04.289 and they like wine, right? We've seen this multiple 00:13:04.289 --> 00:13:07.649 times. So Esther's smart, right? Again. This 00:13:07.649 --> 00:13:10.470 is discernment. This is wisdom. The king likes 00:13:10.470 --> 00:13:12.870 these things, and I want to make sure that he 00:13:12.870 --> 00:13:15.970 is being blessed by me, by his queen, by his 00:13:15.970 --> 00:13:19.090 wife. And so she's just showing smarts, right? 00:13:19.210 --> 00:13:22.149 And that's okay. The way God operates, that's 00:13:22.149 --> 00:13:24.409 good. We can actually use the brain that God 00:13:24.409 --> 00:13:26.830 has given us and be wise and be clever in the 00:13:26.830 --> 00:13:30.230 way that we do things. Verse 6, as they drank 00:13:30.230 --> 00:13:34.649 their wine at the banquet, a lot of wine. As 00:13:34.649 --> 00:13:36.730 they drank their wine, the king said to Esther, 00:13:36.909 --> 00:13:39.830 what is your petition? For it shall be granted 00:13:39.830 --> 00:13:42.610 to you. And what is your request? Even to half 00:13:42.610 --> 00:13:46.049 of the kingdom, it shall be done. So again, she 00:13:46.049 --> 00:13:48.409 gets every assurance that he's ready to give 00:13:48.409 --> 00:13:51.370 her anything. And this is where it gets interesting, 00:13:51.470 --> 00:13:54.450 right? This is where all the scholars start scratching 00:13:54.450 --> 00:13:56.190 their heads and going, what is happening here? 00:13:56.370 --> 00:13:59.409 The wine is flowing. I'm sure things are getting 00:13:59.409 --> 00:14:03.340 a bit looser. And this is the moment. you'd expect 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:06.960 Esther to say, Haman's trying to kill me. But 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:11.080 she doesn't. Verse seven. So Esther replied, 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:15.019 my petition and my request is if I have found 00:14:15.019 --> 00:14:17.919 favor in the sight of the king and if it pleases 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:20.639 the king to grant my petition and do what I request, 00:14:21.019 --> 00:14:23.679 may the king and Haman come to the banquet which 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:27.100 I will prepare for them and tomorrow, tomorrow 00:14:27.100 --> 00:14:29.860 I will do as the king says. So for a second time. 00:14:30.950 --> 00:14:33.529 Esther doesn't bring up the issue, even though 00:14:33.529 --> 00:14:36.009 the king has assured her twice that she's on 00:14:36.009 --> 00:14:38.809 a good footing. And so it raises the question, 00:14:38.909 --> 00:14:42.049 what's going on here? Why the delay? Why the 00:14:42.049 --> 00:14:45.529 dramatics, right? The intrigue. Now, it'd be 00:14:45.529 --> 00:14:47.690 nice if the author took us into the mind of Esther, 00:14:47.750 --> 00:14:50.549 but he doesn't. So we have to sort of speculate 00:14:50.549 --> 00:14:53.870 on what's going on. And four different ideas 00:14:53.870 --> 00:14:56.389 have been suggested about this. Number one, in 00:14:56.389 --> 00:14:59.679 that moment, she just got cold feet. Right? She 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:01.659 got cold feet. The fear of the moment sort of 00:15:01.659 --> 00:15:04.059 overwhelmed her. And maybe that's happened to 00:15:04.059 --> 00:15:07.019 you. You go somewhere and you're like, I need 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:09.259 to have a hard conversation with somebody. And 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:13.059 then you get there and you chicken out. You're 00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:17.279 like, oh, I got too scared and I didn't say it. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:20.120 That's one possibility. Number two, Esther is 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:23.299 intentionally drawing this out to pique the king's 00:15:23.299 --> 00:15:26.759 interest. Maybe she knows he likes the chase. 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:29.399 And the more she sort of teases him with it, 00:15:29.460 --> 00:15:33.159 the more interested he is in giving her what 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:36.379 she wants, right? That he's more willing to grant 00:15:36.379 --> 00:15:38.000 the request. That's number two. The third thing 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.320 is, in that moment, something just didn't feel 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:44.100 right to her, right? She just got that spidey 00:15:44.100 --> 00:15:46.539 sense thing, right? She discerns that something 00:15:46.539 --> 00:15:49.080 in the king's disposition or Haman's disposition 00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:51.480 that caused her to think in that moment, you 00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:54.419 know what, this is not the right time. I shouldn't 00:15:54.419 --> 00:15:57.059 do this right now. And number four, and this 00:15:57.059 --> 00:15:59.860 is my opinion, this was the work of God's spirit 00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:03.840 guiding her. Because the Lord has a plan here 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:07.220 that's going to require this exact delay. And 00:16:07.220 --> 00:16:09.299 we find this out later. It's during the period 00:16:09.299 --> 00:16:11.299 between the first banquet and the second banquet 00:16:11.299 --> 00:16:13.720 that the Lord is going to move in ways that nobody 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:16.159 could have expected. So I think this is just 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:18.580 the spirit guiding her in this. Remember. Recall 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:20.919 what Proverbs 21 says. This is a great verse. 00:16:21.139 --> 00:16:24.100 The king's heart is like channels of water in 00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:26.600 the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he 00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:29.720 wishes. And we're going to find out that is exactly 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:32.559 what's going on. More than we even know, God 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:36.240 is going to turn the heart of the king. Okay, 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:38.139 now the scene changes as we come to verse 9. 00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:41.460 The banquet is over. Haman is heading home. It 00:16:41.460 --> 00:16:44.700 says, then Haman went out that day glad and pleased 00:16:44.700 --> 00:16:48.159 of heart. So the effect of being invited to this 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:50.519 private banquet with the king and the queen has 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:55.100 made him so happy, so proud and arrogant. He 00:16:55.100 --> 00:16:57.600 actually thinks at this point he's in good graces 00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:59.899 with Esther, which is so interesting, right? 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:03.100 But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate 00:17:03.100 --> 00:17:06.519 and he did not stand up or tremble before him, 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:10.339 Haman was filled with anger against Mordecai. 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:13.500 So this shows us, you guys, what a miserable 00:17:13.500 --> 00:17:15.579 man this is. Here's a guy who's just been honored 00:17:15.579 --> 00:17:18.920 by the king and the queen of Persia, yet he allows 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:22.140 the disapproval of this one man to fill him with 00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:26.099 rage. What a perfect description of how empty, 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:28.619 at the end of the day, how empty the applause 00:17:28.619 --> 00:17:32.750 of the world is, right? Haman's deep -seated 00:17:32.750 --> 00:17:35.250 insecurity, his need to be honored by absolutely 00:17:35.250 --> 00:17:38.529 everybody, especially this one Jew, means that 00:17:38.529 --> 00:17:40.910 he will never be happy. He will never be satisfied. 00:17:42.049 --> 00:17:44.569 Like all of humanity apart from Christ, he's 00:17:44.569 --> 00:17:47.589 got a corrupted soul. He's got a void in his 00:17:47.589 --> 00:17:49.829 heart that needs to be redeemed. He needs new 00:17:49.829 --> 00:17:54.730 life, or he's never gonna be satisfied. Verse 00:17:54.730 --> 00:17:57.970 10, it says, Haman controlled himself, however. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:01.119 Now, why would he do that? Because he gleefully 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:04.319 knows the day is coming. My Egypt has gone out. 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:07.400 It's not going to be taken back. The Jews are 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:10.500 going to be wiped out. Mordecai with them. So 00:18:10.500 --> 00:18:12.460 he can control himself for now. And honestly, 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:15.339 this is, again, another evidence of God's handiwork, 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:18.380 right? He's not going to allow Haman's fury to 00:18:18.380 --> 00:18:20.680 get out of control in that moment because God 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:23.660 is putting pieces on the chessboard to handle 00:18:23.660 --> 00:18:27.779 this the way God purposes. Haman controlled himself, 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:31.559 however, verse 10. He went to his house and sent 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:35.339 for his friends and his wife Zeresh. Then Haman 00:18:35.339 --> 00:18:38.880 recounted to them the glory of his riches and 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:42.640 the number of his sons and every instance where 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:45.859 the king had magnified him and how he had promoted 00:18:45.859 --> 00:18:48.519 him above the princes and the servants of the 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:52.180 king. Haman also said even Esther the queen. 00:18:52.890 --> 00:18:55.809 Let no one but me come with the king to the banquet 00:18:55.809 --> 00:18:58.349 which she had prepared. And tomorrow also I'm 00:18:58.349 --> 00:19:03.809 invited with her to the king. I mean, have you 00:19:03.809 --> 00:19:06.390 ever known somebody like this? You get together 00:19:06.390 --> 00:19:07.730 with them and they just want to recount their 00:19:07.730 --> 00:19:10.410 glory. And you just sort of eye roll like, okay, 00:19:10.589 --> 00:19:13.890 here we go again. That's what's going on. See, 00:19:13.990 --> 00:19:17.069 Haman, he's gotten home to his own little palace, 00:19:17.309 --> 00:19:21.009 right? And he's basking in the glory of the moment. 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:23.599 And his wife and his friends are willing to put 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:25.059 up with it again. My guess is he's done this 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:29.279 before. They're like, oh, okay. Yeah, you're 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:33.759 great. You're awesome. You're the man. So he 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:35.599 has to tell the story again of how honored he 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:38.000 is. I'm sure it was more detailed than this. 00:19:38.180 --> 00:19:40.460 He boasts of his possessions, his sons, all this. 00:19:40.660 --> 00:19:44.319 This is his moment, you guys. This is the pinnacle 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:48.299 of Haman's life. It's the moment of all who reject 00:19:48.299 --> 00:19:50.380 the living God. This is the best it's ever gonna 00:19:50.380 --> 00:19:53.789 get for Haman. It's never going to get better 00:19:53.789 --> 00:19:57.250 for all eternity because what awaits him when 00:19:57.250 --> 00:20:01.089 he passes from this life is judgment. So he needs 00:20:01.089 --> 00:20:04.690 to enjoy it now. Finally, he boasts of yet another 00:20:04.690 --> 00:20:07.509 banquet that he gets to attend. It's one glory 00:20:07.509 --> 00:20:12.009 after another payment until what? Again, he remembers 00:20:12.009 --> 00:20:14.789 Mordecai and you can see his countenance change. 00:20:14.950 --> 00:20:18.910 Verse 13, yet all of this, look at, underline 00:20:18.910 --> 00:20:23.519 it, does not satisfy me. Every time I see Mordecai 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.160 the Jew sitting at the king's gate, I'm dissatisfied. 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:31.819 So the day hasn't been a total success. Like 00:20:31.819 --> 00:20:33.880 he said, there's still this issue of Mordecai 00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:37.079 and the bitterness, the bitterness of this one 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:40.440 man refusing to honor him is eating him alive. 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:44.160 And the truth is, Haman is the archetype of every 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:46.920 man who lives from moment to moment based on 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:49.359 his emotions and his feelings. If things are 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.960 going his way, he's all smiles. I want to be 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:54.859 around a guy like that. He's so happy. But when 00:20:54.859 --> 00:20:57.640 things don't go his way, he's a bear to be around 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:02.619 because he is going to whine and complain over 00:21:02.619 --> 00:21:05.500 and over again. So there's a restlessness to 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:08.140 him, an instability to him. He's the type of 00:21:08.140 --> 00:21:10.180 guy that when you approach him, and maybe you 00:21:10.180 --> 00:21:11.920 know people like this, you first want to check 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:14.539 which version of this man am I going to get today? 00:21:15.299 --> 00:21:19.400 The boastful happy one or the despairing angry 00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:22.940 one? These are people that are difficult to be 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:26.160 around. Now Haman's wife and friends have an 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:29.700 easy solution. Verse 14, then Zeresh, his wife, 00:21:29.740 --> 00:21:32.200 and all his friends said to him, have a gallows, 00:21:32.259 --> 00:21:36.480 50 cubits high made, and in the morning ask the 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:40.400 king to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go joyfully 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:42.519 with the king to the banquet. How dark is that, 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:46.920 by the way? How dark is that? Have this guy put 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:51.390 on this high stake, have him. Killed and then 00:21:51.390 --> 00:21:54.309 go joyfully. As if nothing has happened, go to 00:21:54.309 --> 00:21:59.230 the banquet and have a ball. The wickedness in 00:21:59.230 --> 00:22:04.829 the heart. But for somebody with that mindset, 00:22:04.970 --> 00:22:07.369 with that heart, this is not unreasonable. This 00:22:07.369 --> 00:22:10.329 is a logical solution. Why wait for the appointed 00:22:10.329 --> 00:22:12.130 day way down the road when the Jews are going 00:22:12.130 --> 00:22:14.450 to get wiped out? Just handle it now. Get rid 00:22:14.450 --> 00:22:17.619 of them tomorrow. Order your men to have the 00:22:17.619 --> 00:22:20.599 platform built. Make it really, really tall and 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:24.160 really visible so that you can humiliate Mordecai 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:29.380 and his death so that everybody can see it. And 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:32.420 the advice pleased Haman, it says. So he had 00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:36.839 the gallows made. Okay, so that's the setup for 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:39.079 six and seven. The great reversal, we call it, 00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:41.920 right? You probably know something about what's 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:44.420 coming. But let's make some observations of what 00:22:44.420 --> 00:22:47.839 we've seen in this chapter here. First of all, 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:49.720 we can talk about the obvious. This is the theme 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:51.220 that we have been pointing to throughout this 00:22:51.220 --> 00:22:53.799 entire preaching series, right? The sovereignty 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:56.819 of God. The sovereignty of God in our world. 00:22:57.500 --> 00:23:01.380 In every aspect of life, he is the monarch of 00:23:01.380 --> 00:23:05.440 this universe. And he does as he pleases. Which 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:07.220 always brings us back to the verse you see on 00:23:07.220 --> 00:23:11.539 the screen, Romans 8, 28. And we know, catch 00:23:11.539 --> 00:23:15.480 that, Believers, we have to know this and believe 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:18.220 it and trust in it day to day, coming back to 00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:20.779 it over and over again. We know that God causes 00:23:20.779 --> 00:23:25.920 some things in life to work together for good. 00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:31.839 Not all things. We know this, that God causes 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:34.619 all things to work together for good. To whom? 00:23:34.740 --> 00:23:37.819 To everybody? No. to those who love God, and 00:23:37.819 --> 00:23:41.980 to those who are called according to his purpose. 00:23:43.700 --> 00:23:46.200 That's the people God is working for, all things. 00:23:46.539 --> 00:23:48.720 And those who are called by the Lord are what 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:51.059 Scripture calls the elect, chosen before the 00:23:51.059 --> 00:23:54.279 foundation of the world, was even laid and set 00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:57.940 apart to glorify God in their lives. And then 00:23:57.940 --> 00:24:00.490 within time and space, The elect are drawn into 00:24:00.490 --> 00:24:02.769 relationship with the living God. He breathes 00:24:02.769 --> 00:24:05.549 life into our dead hearts. He causes us to be 00:24:05.549 --> 00:24:08.710 born again. And then, beauty of beauties, he 00:24:08.710 --> 00:24:11.750 changes our affections from within such that 00:24:11.750 --> 00:24:16.509 we turn to him and are saved. What a gracious 00:24:16.509 --> 00:24:19.869 God. And we give our lives to him and we die 00:24:19.869 --> 00:24:22.869 to ourselves over time in this process of sanctification 00:24:22.869 --> 00:24:25.730 that will last in our lives until the very day 00:24:25.730 --> 00:24:28.730 he calls us home and we get to be with him forever. 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:34.220 And for these, the scripture says, the Lord is 00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:37.380 constantly and progressively working out his 00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:43.220 plan in human history for our good. He was doing 00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:45.880 it in the fifth century, B .C., in Esther's day. 00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:48.400 He's doing it today. And sometimes, guys, how 00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:49.799 often do we look at the Bible and go, well, we 00:24:49.799 --> 00:24:51.700 see God working in the Bible, but is he really 00:24:51.700 --> 00:24:56.420 doing this today? Yes. in our lives, in the lives 00:24:56.420 --> 00:24:58.240 of those who he calls according to his purpose. 00:24:58.579 --> 00:25:02.240 And what amazes me the most is how he uses unbelievers 00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:05.099 like Haman, whose motives and actions are purely 00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:08.759 selfish and wicked and totally contrary to everything 00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:12.220 God stands for, but somehow God takes the sin 00:25:12.220 --> 00:25:14.279 and the wickedness and the rebellion of men like 00:25:14.279 --> 00:25:17.500 that, and he shapes it into his will for our 00:25:17.500 --> 00:25:22.259 good. Don't ask me how he does it. The hard drive 00:25:22.259 --> 00:25:26.470 God has to have. Right, to process billions of 00:25:26.470 --> 00:25:29.210 people and to be shaping all things. Our God 00:25:29.210 --> 00:25:32.490 is beyond what you can fathom. But aren't you 00:25:32.490 --> 00:25:36.690 glad? He's shaping it all into his will and nothing 00:25:36.690 --> 00:25:39.269 hinders his plan and nothing interrupts it. God 00:25:39.269 --> 00:25:42.190 is in control from beginning to end. Even when 00:25:42.190 --> 00:25:45.630 men who don't love him are doing their best to 00:25:45.630 --> 00:25:50.309 try to defeat his promises. It won't work. Xerxes 00:25:50.309 --> 00:25:52.430 is a great example of this. This guy's the most 00:25:52.430 --> 00:25:54.589 powerful man in the world in that day. He is 00:25:54.589 --> 00:25:57.289 as sovereign as human beings get. Yet again, 00:25:57.390 --> 00:26:00.349 going back to Proverbs 21, his heart is in God's 00:26:00.349 --> 00:26:02.710 hand. God turns the heart of the most powerful 00:26:02.710 --> 00:26:06.990 man on earth in any way he chooses. It's amazing. 00:26:08.150 --> 00:26:10.150 So sovereignty is number one. The second one 00:26:10.150 --> 00:26:12.809 is providence. And we talked about this at the 00:26:12.809 --> 00:26:14.630 beginning of the series. There is a slight difference 00:26:14.630 --> 00:26:17.829 between those two terms. Providence refers to 00:26:17.829 --> 00:26:20.890 the practical way in which God is working. It's 00:26:20.890 --> 00:26:24.430 his invisible hand skillfully working behind 00:26:24.430 --> 00:26:28.029 the scenes to order everything in every thought, 00:26:28.069 --> 00:26:30.650 in every plan, in every action and reaction, 00:26:30.930 --> 00:26:33.450 in every conversation, and at the end of the 00:26:33.450 --> 00:26:36.269 day, in every single outcome. That's his providence. 00:26:36.730 --> 00:26:39.029 And it's a wonder to behold. But guys, we have 00:26:39.029 --> 00:26:41.170 to see it through the eyes of faith. This is 00:26:41.170 --> 00:26:43.329 a great challenge for us. When we read Esther, 00:26:43.430 --> 00:26:45.349 even though God's name isn't mentioned in this 00:26:45.349 --> 00:26:47.650 book, we see his hand all over the place, right? 00:26:48.190 --> 00:26:51.349 Why? Because of our faith. Because we trust God's 00:26:51.349 --> 00:26:53.670 word. But the unbeliever would read this book 00:26:53.670 --> 00:26:57.769 and not see God at all. Only see human beings 00:26:57.769 --> 00:27:00.009 doing what they feel like they should do. They 00:27:00.009 --> 00:27:03.869 would not see God at all. And sadly, this is 00:27:03.869 --> 00:27:06.970 a warning for us. That condition can come upon 00:27:06.970 --> 00:27:09.589 a professing believer if we're walking in the 00:27:09.589 --> 00:27:13.349 flesh and not by the Spirit. When he or she isn't 00:27:13.349 --> 00:27:15.210 seeing life through the eyes of faith, isn't 00:27:15.210 --> 00:27:18.609 trusting the promise of Romans 8, 28, but instead 00:27:18.609 --> 00:27:21.730 is agonizing and worrying and falling into despair 00:27:21.730 --> 00:27:24.430 and trying to scheme their way out of their problem 00:27:24.430 --> 00:27:27.329 rather than turning to the Lord who promises 00:27:27.329 --> 00:27:29.849 that he will be our shelter and our guide through 00:27:29.849 --> 00:27:33.309 the storm. But we've got to have eyes of faith. 00:27:33.450 --> 00:27:36.549 We've got to walk in the spirit in order to see 00:27:36.549 --> 00:27:40.289 God's hand in these things. Friends, God's word 00:27:40.289 --> 00:27:43.730 will not let you down. So trust it. His purposes 00:27:43.730 --> 00:27:46.950 will not fail. His promises to his chosen children 00:27:46.950 --> 00:27:51.349 will always be fulfilled. Trust him. And let 00:27:51.349 --> 00:27:53.609 the book of Esther be an example of these principles 00:27:53.609 --> 00:27:55.690 that you can come back to over and over again 00:27:55.690 --> 00:27:59.190 that show you that they're true. So God's sovereignty 00:27:59.190 --> 00:28:02.619 and his provinces. Providence, that's the word. 00:28:02.720 --> 00:28:06.079 Here's the third thing. God is sovereign. He 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:08.140 will providentially accomplish all that he's 00:28:08.140 --> 00:28:11.259 decreed, but that doesn't mean that we can be 00:28:11.259 --> 00:28:14.220 passive about the role that we play in living 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:17.660 out that plan. So many Christians fall into this. 00:28:17.700 --> 00:28:19.700 It's the whole let go and let God thing, right? 00:28:20.740 --> 00:28:25.099 No. No, we have a role to play in this. We don't 00:28:25.099 --> 00:28:26.980 have the luxury of just sitting on the couch 00:28:26.980 --> 00:28:29.079 and saying, I don't have to be concerned about 00:28:29.079 --> 00:28:32.339 that. God will make it happen. We can get so 00:28:32.339 --> 00:28:34.500 locked into sovereignty that we don't do anything. 00:28:34.740 --> 00:28:36.960 We're like, oh, God will make that happen. Hey, 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:41.900 he wants to use you. So get off the couch. Don't 00:28:41.900 --> 00:28:45.819 be passive in this. He works through secondary 00:28:45.819 --> 00:28:48.039 causes. God is the great cause of all things. 00:28:48.119 --> 00:28:51.240 He works through secondary causes within time 00:28:51.240 --> 00:28:54.119 and space. That's us, his servants, those who 00:28:54.119 --> 00:28:56.460 he loves, those who are called according to his 00:28:56.460 --> 00:29:00.049 purpose. Paul tells us in Philippians 2 that 00:29:00.049 --> 00:29:04.529 we are to work as God works in us. That's that 00:29:04.529 --> 00:29:08.069 cooperative role that we play. So we strive to 00:29:08.069 --> 00:29:10.569 obey his commands with the power that he gives 00:29:10.569 --> 00:29:14.109 us. And so we pray and we preach and we witness 00:29:14.109 --> 00:29:17.589 and we serve and we give and we proclaim, et 00:29:17.589 --> 00:29:20.230 cetera, et cetera. We do all of those things 00:29:20.230 --> 00:29:22.369 knowing that at the end of the day, it's not 00:29:22.369 --> 00:29:24.369 our flawless works that are gonna bring about 00:29:24.369 --> 00:29:27.369 God's purposes. We trust that he's gonna go way 00:29:27.369 --> 00:29:30.970 beyond our efforts, even use them supernaturally 00:29:30.970 --> 00:29:34.089 to direct all things for our good and his glory. 00:29:35.470 --> 00:29:39.829 We work as he works in us. We can't be passive. 00:29:40.049 --> 00:29:42.809 And you see this in the story of Esther. Mordecai 00:29:42.809 --> 00:29:45.589 and Esther don't just grieve and then sit on 00:29:45.589 --> 00:29:48.990 their hands. Mordecai says, you've got to take 00:29:48.990 --> 00:29:51.670 action. Esther prays and goes, I've got to take 00:29:51.670 --> 00:29:55.029 action. And she goes and does something. But 00:29:55.029 --> 00:29:59.230 is the result in their hands? No. The result 00:29:59.230 --> 00:30:02.470 is in God's hand. He determines them. But he 00:30:02.470 --> 00:30:05.730 will use their striving by the power he gives 00:30:05.730 --> 00:30:09.480 them. to bring about that result, amen? Good, 00:30:09.640 --> 00:30:12.059 that's number three. Number four is this, God's 00:30:12.059 --> 00:30:15.839 timing is always perfect. Oh, do we believe that? 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:20.640 This will come out more next time we're in Esther, 00:30:20.759 --> 00:30:23.539 but every detail of this great reversal that's 00:30:23.539 --> 00:30:27.099 coming is walking down a path in God's timeline. 00:30:27.779 --> 00:30:30.539 The timing of Esther's entrance into the king's 00:30:30.539 --> 00:30:33.779 presence, God orchestrated that. The timing of 00:30:33.779 --> 00:30:36.079 the two banquets that she's gonna host, For the 00:30:36.079 --> 00:30:38.920 king and Haman, he's put that together. The timing 00:30:38.920 --> 00:30:42.839 of Haman's order to build the gallows, yes. That's 00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:46.099 on God's timeline as well. See, one of the problems 00:30:46.099 --> 00:30:52.039 we face as Christ followers is impatience. I 00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:56.880 mean, I'm with you. Impatience. We want things 00:30:56.880 --> 00:30:59.839 always to happen either more quickly than they 00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:03.660 do or just in our own time frame. We say, God, 00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:08.319 make it happen. And then we add, according to 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:13.519 your will. But what do we really mean? Yeah. 00:31:15.619 --> 00:31:18.980 Come on, we all do this, right? So we want results 00:31:18.980 --> 00:31:22.339 now. We don't want results over seasons of time. 00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:26.200 That's not fast enough. We want things to get 00:31:26.200 --> 00:31:29.220 better quickly, not learn the slow lessons that 00:31:29.220 --> 00:31:32.799 God has for us sometimes. We like to hastily 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:36.539 check things off our lists. Not slow down and 00:31:36.539 --> 00:31:40.279 pray over them and see how God might move. Sitting 00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:44.619 quietly before him and watching. So let the book 00:31:44.619 --> 00:31:46.440 of Esther be a comfort that God is always at 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:49.700 work, behind the scenes, his invisible hand. 00:31:51.019 --> 00:31:54.460 His timing is good and perfect, such that Psalm 00:31:54.460 --> 00:31:57.519 27, 14, one of my favorite verses, wait for the 00:31:57.519 --> 00:32:02.440 Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage. 00:32:02.660 --> 00:32:05.839 So notice that, wait for the Lord. Don't be passive. 00:32:05.900 --> 00:32:10.480 Don't be scared or in fear. No, be strong. Let 00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:12.519 your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord, 00:32:12.619 --> 00:32:15.579 knowing he's always at work, right? And then 00:32:15.579 --> 00:32:18.180 Adam read the call to worship from Psalm 37 earlier. 00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:20.779 Look at the language. Be still before the Lord. 00:32:20.880 --> 00:32:24.579 Wait patiently for him. While you're doing that, 00:32:24.619 --> 00:32:29.440 refrain from anger and forsake wrath. Fret not 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:34.579 yourself because it tends towards evil. And evildoers 00:32:34.579 --> 00:32:36.519 will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord 00:32:36.519 --> 00:32:41.140 shall inherit the land. God's timing is perfect. 00:32:42.460 --> 00:32:46.819 Okay, last thing. I want to point to the character 00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:50.319 of Haman for a moment and let it be a warning 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:52.880 for us. Let's talk about this idea of bitterness 00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:56.539 because Christians can be susceptible to this 00:32:56.539 --> 00:33:00.119 as well. Where is this bitterness leading Haman? 00:33:01.130 --> 00:33:03.369 Well, bitterness has been defined as an emotional 00:33:03.369 --> 00:33:07.369 state characterized by feelings of anger, resentment, 00:33:07.529 --> 00:33:11.190 and a sense of being either let down or just 00:33:11.190 --> 00:33:14.849 plain wronged by somebody. It's often distinguished 00:33:14.849 --> 00:33:17.829 from anger alone because with anger, anger comes 00:33:17.829 --> 00:33:20.369 up quickly, but sometimes it subsides quickly. 00:33:20.890 --> 00:33:25.630 But bitterness tends not to go away unless it's 00:33:25.630 --> 00:33:28.779 dealt with. It's a long -term thing that can 00:33:28.779 --> 00:33:32.500 get stuck deep within the heart, and it causes 00:33:32.500 --> 00:33:38.799 us to not be able to move past something. Have 00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:40.619 you ever had this before? It's just, I can't 00:33:40.619 --> 00:33:46.500 move past this thing. Instead, it does the opposite. 00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:50.059 Not only won't help you get past it, it feeds 00:33:50.059 --> 00:33:53.920 and nurses whatever is stuck in the heart, makes 00:33:53.920 --> 00:33:57.819 it worse. And it manifests in all kinds of ungodly 00:33:57.819 --> 00:34:01.980 ways, in flashes of anger, in despair, in paranoia, 00:34:02.059 --> 00:34:05.819 in antagonism or hostility towards other, in 00:34:05.819 --> 00:34:09.119 the holding of grudges. Does that not sound like 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:13.119 Haman? As an adjective, the word bitter means 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:15.860 sharp like an arrow or pungent to the taste. 00:34:16.119 --> 00:34:19.500 It can mean venomous. Because if it's not dealt 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:22.159 with, it's something that over time, it corrodes 00:34:22.159 --> 00:34:26.119 the heart from within. It eats away at a person's 00:34:26.119 --> 00:34:28.260 soul. One author I read this week described bitterness 00:34:28.260 --> 00:34:31.860 as a poison concoction that stays in the bloodstream. 00:34:33.400 --> 00:34:36.480 A poisonous concoction that stays in the bloodstream. 00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:39.800 You get the point, right? Haman's bitterness 00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:42.599 towards Mordecai and the Jewish people was stronger 00:34:42.599 --> 00:34:44.739 than all of the wealth and power that the king 00:34:44.739 --> 00:34:49.320 had given to him. He just cannot enjoy everything 00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:52.059 unless all the Jews are destroyed. That is what 00:34:52.059 --> 00:34:54.340 a root of bitterness will do to a human heart. 00:34:54.460 --> 00:34:57.480 And it's going to be his undoing. So be warned, 00:34:57.519 --> 00:35:01.260 it's going to be his undoing. The biggest danger 00:35:01.260 --> 00:35:03.699 you and I face in succumbing to bitterness and 00:35:03.699 --> 00:35:06.679 letting it rule our hearts is that it ends up 00:35:06.679 --> 00:35:09.920 in a spirit that refuses to forgive and refuses 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:13.199 to reconcile. And there is a... If you talk to 00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:15.079 somebody in biblical counseling, they'll tell 00:35:15.079 --> 00:35:17.539 you there's a recognizable pattern to this. It 00:35:17.539 --> 00:35:19.880 starts as an infection that enters into the body 00:35:19.880 --> 00:35:22.659 through a wound. And oftentimes, it doesn't have 00:35:22.659 --> 00:35:24.960 to be a big wound, but something that gets in 00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:27.420 there. Maybe it's a critical word from somebody 00:35:27.420 --> 00:35:29.980 or it's a heated argument. It's a simple misunderstanding. 00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:33.840 It's an injustice or a betrayal, but it's a wound. 00:35:34.900 --> 00:35:37.659 And wounds that don't get dealt with fester, 00:35:37.739 --> 00:35:41.420 don't they? One important thing to note about 00:35:41.420 --> 00:35:43.380 wounds, they can also be real or they can be 00:35:43.380 --> 00:35:46.739 perceived. Even imagine. Sometimes we get wounded 00:35:46.739 --> 00:35:49.199 by something very obvious. Somebody says something, 00:35:49.280 --> 00:35:51.659 boom, it just hurts us, right? At other times, 00:35:51.679 --> 00:35:53.780 we get wounded about what we think someone did 00:35:53.780 --> 00:35:56.119 or what we think motivated them, but we really 00:35:56.119 --> 00:35:58.539 don't know the motive, but we perceive it, and 00:35:58.539 --> 00:36:01.300 so that wound hits us, and then we don't deal 00:36:01.300 --> 00:36:05.170 with it. When the wound isn't treated, it festers 00:36:05.170 --> 00:36:07.849 and it gets worse. And it leads to disappointment 00:36:07.849 --> 00:36:10.889 and anger and resentment and sometimes silent 00:36:10.889 --> 00:36:14.949 hostility. Gossip and slander towards the person 00:36:14.949 --> 00:36:18.809 who's hurt you. And like Haman, every time you 00:36:18.809 --> 00:36:20.489 see that person or think of that person, you're 00:36:20.489 --> 00:36:25.210 irked by it. It's that guy. And something rises 00:36:25.210 --> 00:36:29.309 up within you that's so ugly. It's that person. 00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:32.420 And then pretty soon you're plotting their downfall. 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:35.019 Or if you can't do anything about it, you're 00:36:35.019 --> 00:36:38.340 wishing for it. Maybe someday they will feel 00:36:38.340 --> 00:36:42.579 the pain that they've made me feel. It's ugly, 00:36:42.679 --> 00:36:46.219 isn't it? It's a spirit of hatred and a spirit 00:36:46.219 --> 00:36:48.739 of unforgiveness. And guys, it's something that 00:36:48.739 --> 00:36:52.679 the devil loves to exploit in believers to try 00:36:52.679 --> 00:36:55.739 to just cut off our sanctification, to make us 00:36:55.739 --> 00:36:59.789 angry. Hatred and unforgiveness are two things 00:36:59.789 --> 00:37:02.730 that mark the life of an unredeemed man or woman, 00:37:02.809 --> 00:37:06.750 not a Christ follower. So my closing exhortation, 00:37:06.789 --> 00:37:10.409 guys, is be on alert. Guard your heart diligently, 00:37:10.670 --> 00:37:13.650 the scripture says, for from it flows the heart, 00:37:13.809 --> 00:37:18.869 right? Guard your heart diligently. That means 00:37:18.869 --> 00:37:22.869 not allowing any root of bitterness to get planted 00:37:22.869 --> 00:37:26.230 in the heart or grow. Cut that off before it 00:37:26.230 --> 00:37:29.289 does, right? Ephesians 4 .31 says that you and 00:37:29.289 --> 00:37:32.530 I must get rid of all bitterness, all rage and 00:37:32.530 --> 00:37:35.230 anger, brawling and slander, along with every 00:37:35.230 --> 00:37:37.510 form of malice. And then you see on the screen 00:37:37.510 --> 00:37:40.369 in the next verse, we get the complimentary truth. 00:37:41.090 --> 00:37:45.949 Instead do this, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, 00:37:46.170 --> 00:37:50.090 forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave 00:37:50.090 --> 00:37:55.539 you. Man, is that not the key? How dare we withhold 00:37:55.539 --> 00:38:01.019 forgiveness? Do we expect to be forgiven at the 00:38:01.019 --> 00:38:04.659 judgment seat? How dare we withhold our forgiveness 00:38:04.659 --> 00:38:09.880 this side of heaven? Be tenderhearted, forgiving 00:38:09.880 --> 00:38:12.599 one another as God and Christ forgave you. We 00:38:12.599 --> 00:38:14.760 extend lavish amounts of grace and forgiveness 00:38:14.760 --> 00:38:17.599 towards others because that's what we've received. 00:38:18.059 --> 00:38:21.519 And how much is God's forgiveness? Seven times 00:38:21.519 --> 00:38:25.170 70? Ours should be the same towards everyone 00:38:25.170 --> 00:38:30.949 else, right? So learn a lesson about Haman. Learn 00:38:30.949 --> 00:38:34.949 a lesson about Esther. Fasting and praying, discernment, 00:38:34.949 --> 00:38:39.190 wisdom, right? Trusting the Lord. She's taken 00:38:39.190 --> 00:38:43.349 a really good and godly step, has she not? But 00:38:43.349 --> 00:38:44.949 Haman's going the other direction, isn't he? 00:38:45.170 --> 00:38:47.670 He's getting angrier and more bitter, and it's 00:38:47.670 --> 00:38:50.349 gonna be his undoing. We're gonna learn a lot 00:38:50.349 --> 00:39:02.320 from these two, amen? Let's pray. Father, you 00:39:02.320 --> 00:39:06.780 are our master teacher. In a narrative like this 00:39:06.780 --> 00:39:08.639 where we look at this story and we say, what 00:39:08.639 --> 00:39:10.679 do you have for us here, Lord? There is so many 00:39:10.679 --> 00:39:14.179 layers of application for us as we look at the 00:39:14.179 --> 00:39:17.280 character of Esther and we look at the character 00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:20.440 of Haman. You have so much for us here, Lord. 00:39:20.519 --> 00:39:25.059 May we be on guard in our hearts, in our minds, 00:39:25.139 --> 00:39:29.539 not to fall into this pit that we see described 00:39:29.539 --> 00:39:32.650 here. May we do the opposite, Lord. May we be 00:39:32.650 --> 00:39:36.170 like Esther with a gentle and quiet spirit, one 00:39:36.170 --> 00:39:38.989 who is sensitive to your spirit's leading. May 00:39:38.989 --> 00:39:41.070 we seek your face through fasting and prayer 00:39:41.070 --> 00:39:44.909 when we get into a tough spot. Father, I pray 00:39:44.909 --> 00:39:47.050 for myself, pray for my brothers and sisters 00:39:47.050 --> 00:39:49.150 that we would constantly be on guard against 00:39:49.150 --> 00:39:53.550 bitterness and against anger. And all these things, 00:39:53.650 --> 00:39:57.389 Lord, that are not a fruit of your spirit, protect 00:39:57.389 --> 00:40:00.440 us. Give us the strength to guard our own hearts, 00:40:00.539 --> 00:40:03.739 Lord. Do a work in us for your glory. Thank you 00:40:03.739 --> 00:40:05.440 for this time this morning. We pray in Christ's 00:40:05.440 --> 00:40:05.539 name.