In a 1939 essay, get this, on the subject of
fairy stories, J .R .R. Tolkien, the famous author
of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, coined
a term that to our knowledge had never been used
up to that point. He invented a word. In fact,
here's what that word is. Eucatastrophe. Say
it with me. Eucatastrophe. Well done. The basis
of that word comes from the biblical language
of Koine Greek. You take the word catastrophe,
which refers to a sudden turn, and then you put
the prefix you on it, and it becomes a good turn
of events. That's what he meant. He believed
that this was the ingredient that makes a good
fantasy story a great fantasy story. Eucatastrophe,
he said, refers to, quote, a sudden... happy
turn in a story which pierces you with the kind
of joy that brings tears. In other words, a massive
turn of events from a seemingly impossible situation
to an unforeseen victory and the reversal of
a tragic ending that ultimately prevents evil
from winning. And as I say that, maybe you can
recognize that in some of the books that he has
written. Well, guess what? That's exactly what
we're going to see this morning in the book of
Esther. Up until this point in the story, things
have been pretty rough for Mordecai, for Esther,
for the Jewish people living in Persia. But with
last Sunday's revealing of the wickedness of
Haman and his execution, there is now a new sense
of hope on the horizon. Today, we come to chapter
8, and we're going to see God's eucatastrophe.
We're going to see it unfold in all of its sovereign
glory. And the people in the story who were once
condemned to death, will not only be saved, but
given permission to conquer and plunder the enemy.
Does that ring a bell in your ear as I say that?
Listen again. A people who were once condemned
to death are not only saved, but made conquerors
over their enemy. Grab your Bibles. If you haven't
gone there yet, we're going to Esther chapter
8. That was just a wee bit of a hint on where
we're going this morning. Hopefully you picked
up on it. Very subtle. So let's recall how chapter
7 ended last week. Haman, the Persian king's
chief vizier, was dragged from the palace with
a bag over his head, taken away to face justice
in the most ironic way possible. The last verse
in the chapter, chapter 7, says, They hanged
Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for
Mordecai. That is ironic. Well, we shouldn't
be surprised at the downfall of this man. The
wisdom literature of the Old Testament describes
the symptoms of a man like Haman. He follows
the path of foolishness, not wisdom. He lives
for himself. He pursues his desires and ambitions
without concern for other people. He is greedy
for his own honor and glory. But in the end,
all that he desperately wanted in his life, all
that he aspired to be, is taken from him. Pay
close attention to the wisdom literature in the
Old Testament. It will describe the wicked man.
As we read last Sunday in Psalm 7, the wicked
man digs a pit and ends up falling into it. The
trouble that he creates returns upon his own
head. So this morning what we're going to do
is we're going to read right through the entire
chapter, chapter 8. We're going to go straight
through it. We're going to divide it into four
sections. I'll give each section a title. I'll
use some alliteration. Huh? Huh? I mean, I don't
often do this, but man, this was good this week.
I get so excited. I'm like, honey, I got alliteration
this week. It's great. And then we'll come back
to each one of these four sections and we'll
work through them. So the first section we're
going to look at is just verses one and two,
and I'm calling this the reward. Look at the
text. On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house
of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther.
And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther
had disclosed what he was to her. The king took
off his signet ring, which he had taken away
from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther
set Mordecai over the house of Haman. That's
the reward. The second section is the request,
verses 3 through 8. Then Esther spoke again to
the king, fell at his feet. Wept and implored
him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite
and his plot which he had devised against the
Jews. The king then extended the golden scepter
to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the
king. Then she said, if it pleases the king and
if I found favor before him and the matter seems
proper to the king and I'm pleasing in his sight.
Verse 6. Verse 7. So King Ahasuerus said to Queen
Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, behold, I have
given the house of Haman to Esther and him they
have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched
out his hands against the Jews. Now you write
to the Jews as you see fit in the king's name
and seal it with the king's signet ring for a
decree which is written in the name of the king
and sealed with the king's signet ring may not
be revoked. So we had the reward and now the
request. Part three is the reversal, verses 9
to 14. So the king's scribes were called at that
time in the third month. That is the month of
Sivan. On the 23rd day, and it was written according
to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, to
the satraps, to the governors, to the princes
of the provinces, which extended from India to
Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to every province according
to its script and to every people according to
their language, as well as to the Jews according
to their script and their language. Verse 10.
He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed
it with the king's signet ring and sent letters
by couriers on horses riding on steeds sired
by the royal stud. In them, the king granted
the Jews who were in each and every city the
right to assemble and to defend their lives,
to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate the entire
army of any people or province which might attack
them, including children and women. and to plunder
their spoil on one day in all the provinces of
King Ahasuerus, the 13th day of the 12th month,
that is the month of Adar. Verse 13, a copy of
the edict to be issued as law in each and every
province was published to all the peoples so
that the Jews would be ready for this day to
avenge themselves on their enemies. And the couriers,
hastened and impelled by the king's command,
went out riding on the royal steeds, and the
decree was given out at the citadel in Susa.
The reward, the request, and the reversal. Finally,
we have rejoicing, verses 15 and 17. Then Mordecai
went out from the presence of the king in royal
robes of blue and white, with a large crown of
gold and a garment of fine linen and purple.
And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. For
the Jews, there was light and gladness and joy
and honor in each and every province and in every
city. Wherever the king's commandment and his
decree arrived, there was gladness and joy for
the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many among
the peoples of the land became Jews, for the
dread of the Jews had fallen upon them. Okay,
do you see the alliteration? Reward, request,
reversal, rejoicing. Let's dig into these. Now,
before we get into the text, and we're not going
to look at every single word this morning, but
we'll look at some of the big ideas here. Let
me make what I think is a really important observation.
After spending a very long week this week in
the text, I'm convinced that when this was written
down, God intended more here than what first
meets your eye. In this chapter, the human author
has obviously given us sort of a compressed historical
narrative, right? These are real things that
took place in the Persian court of King Xerxes,
and we've already sort of walked through this.
There are so many historical markers that tell
us that this is actual history, things verified
by historians, verified by archaeology. So this
is real history, but... As we're about to see,
there's a whole bunch of gospel foreshadowing
that takes place in this chapter. And so we'll
bring that as we go along. Let's start by talking
about this reward, this immense reward given
to Esther and Mordecai in verse 1 and 2. So the
dust settles on this previous drama that had
taken place in the court, right? This is Haman's
plot being exposed, and the king finally realizing
what's actually going on, and Haman is led away
to his death. And it says, On that very day,
that very day, the king, look at it, gave the
house of Haman to his queen. Imagine this. That
doesn't, by the way, just mean his house, his
structure of his house. It's much more than that.
This is his wealth. This is his entire estate,
all of his possessions, which would have been
considerable for a man in Haman's position. This
is a living snapshot of the principle that we
read about in Proverbs 15, where it says, the
Lord will tear down the house of the proud. He's
done that, and he's given it to Queen Esther.
Then it says that Mordecai came before the king.
For the first time, Mordecai, who's been serving
at the king's gate, is allowed to come into the
royal court and actually speak to the king. And
why is this suddenly possible? Look at the end
of verse one. It says that Esther had disclosed
what Mordecai was to her, which likely means
that she had explained to the king that Mordecai
was essentially, he's essentially my adopted
father. He has raised me. And so that combined
with Mordecai's previous show of loyalty in saving
the king's life, this elevates his status in
the eyes of Xerxes. And that leads to the stunning
event described in verse 2. The king takes off
his signet ring, which he had once given to Haman,
foolishly, right? And now he gives it to Mordecai.
And that is not just symbolic. That ring represents
absolute authority to act in the king's name
across the entire Persian Empire. It was a sign
that the king was making Mordecai his chief vizier
in place of Haman. He is now the second most
powerful man. in the Persian empire. And then
at the end of verse two, we see Esther making
another very wise decision. Rather than his queen,
her trying to manage Haman's estate, it says
Esther put Mordecai over the house of Haman.
She honors Mordecai by making him the steward
of all the things that the king was now granting
to them. Very wise, right? So how is that for
a reward? Does it get any bigger than that? Everything
that Haman had accumulated through his power
and his position now belonged to the very Jewish
man that he tried to destroy. Talk about reversal.
And that Jewish man was now ruling as vizier
from the very home in which Haman once had. See
what Yahweh has done here by his sovereign hand.
He's taken a man, Mordecai, who felt the need
to hide his Jewishness. A man who was recently
sitting in sackcloth and ash, mourning outside
the king's gate, facing a decree of annihilation,
and purely by his grace, because Mordecai didn't
deserve this, right? Purely by his grace, Yahweh
has raised him up to a seat of great honor. From
rags to riches, from death to life, from ashes
of mourning to a place of royal power. This is
what the sovereign of the universe is capable
of doing. according to his will and purpose.
Do we believe that? Do we believe that God can
overturn things to that degree? This is what
he can do. And again, this fits within the scope
of the wisdom literature that we see all through
the Old Testament. Consider, for example, if
you're familiar with Hannah's song of thanksgiving
in 1 Samuel 2. Listen to what it says about what
God can do. It says, the Lord kills and makes
alive. Sometimes we don't like hearing about
that, right? But the Lord has the right to do
both, to kill and to make alive. He brings down
to Sheol and he raises up. The Lord makes poor
and rich. He brings low. He also exalts. He raises
the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from
the ash heap to make them sit with nobles and
inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the
earth are the Lord's. He owns it all. He's sovereign,
right? They belong to him, and he set the world
on them. That's what the creator has. That's
his right. He keeps the feet of his godly ones,
but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness,
for not by might shall a man prevail. Isn't this
exactly what's happened in the story of Esther?
And look at that last statement that's on the
screen. That is so important. Not by might. Shall
a man prevail? And that is so true in this story.
There is no way that Esther and Mordecai could
have pulled off this shift in power by their
own strength, by their own might, or by their
own cleverness. The odds were so stacked against
them. But what we learn is there's no enemy over
which the Lord cannot prevail, none. No king,
no politician, no nation, no army, no plot or
weapon can prevail over the Lord's sovereign
will and purpose. It's one of the things we're
supposed to take from this great story. And so
there's an important lesson here for us in a
very practical way for us living today in a crazy
world, right? Are you guys watching the news?
It's bonkers. The chess pieces are being moved
all over the globe right now. It's crazy. And
in our own nation, chaos, confusion. This is
a lesson here about facing long odds and facing
desperate situations. A lesson about overcoming
worry. about having patience and trust in the
Lord's power and in his timing. The scriptures
call us as saints to endure hardship and to not
lose heart. We're called to remember that God
is both sovereign and good and that we shouldn't
be surprised by the fiery trials that come our
way as if something strange were happening. We
should expect them. We're to be prepared to suffer
well. To sit in the ashes as Mordecai did at
times. And even to rejoice in the fact that when
we suffer, we get to share in the sufferings
of Christ himself. And then as Paul says, to
keep doing good. In due time, he says, we will
reap the benefits of this if we don't grow weary.
That's part of the lesson of the book of Esther.
And by the way, we've been given all these great
examples of scripture to look to, to see how
do we do this. Men and women who are patient
and faithful. in the midst of suffering, and
then we're rewarded for it. Think about Joseph
and Daniel and Ruth and Job and Hannah and Jeremiah
and Paul, and the list goes on and on. All of
them suffered but kept their eyes fixed on a
much bigger prize that awaited them. And in these
crazy days we live in, that's got to be our mindset.
That's got to be our posture. And of course,
here's where the story of Esther begins to foreshadow
the gospel story. What's the ultimate example
of suffering and reward? It's Christ himself.
Is it not? Here's God the Son, the Lord of glory,
rich beyond measure, becoming poor, condescending
to take on flesh, having to sit in the ashes
of humiliation and the dust of obedience and
death for our sake. But it didn't end there,
did it? Having borne our sorrows and sins on
the cross, Paul says that Jesus received the
greatest reward that any of us could ever imagine.
God highly exalted him, Paul says, and bestowed
on him the name which is above every name, so
that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord. Suffering and reward. We have all these
great examples. And Paul says, look, have this
same mindset that Jesus had in both suffering
and reward. Now, as we leave that behind, the
reward part, here's the thing we have to realize.
Yes, Haman is dead. That is true. But the effects
of his sin go on. The effects of that first decree
of annihilation against the Jews, that's still
out there. And this is another great lesson for
us. Even when sin is dealt with, The consequences
of it can go on and on, right? So that brings
us to part two, the request. Let's take a look
at this. If you think all the way back to chapter
one, back when Xerxes first deposed his queen,
Queen Vashti, you might recall that the king's
advisor said this. It said, let a royal edict
be issued and let it be written in the laws of
Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed.
That was an unavoidable truth. The law of the
Persian court, which by the way, just archeologically
has been verified in the modern day digs in Susa
and Persepolis over the last 200 years, they
found these royal edicts buried in the dirt with
signet ring marks on them. This is very historical.
Royal edicts, once sealed by that ring, are set
in stone. They cannot be overturned. We learn
this from the text itself. So that means in spite
of Haman's execution, In spite of Mordecai coming
to power, the Jews are still scheduled to be
annihilated in nine months' time. That's still
out there. And the only way to avert that type
of disaster would be for the king to issue a
second edict that would sort of counteract the
first. But keep in mind, at this point, Xerxes
has acted in love for his queen and for his gratefulness
to Mordecai, but he still hasn't done anything
about the Jews as a whole in the nation of Persia.
So Esther is once again gonna have to come and
approach the king uninvited. We looked at that
months ago, right? To come uninvited by the king
is to risk death. She's gonna have to do this
again to deal with this first edict that Haman
had issued. She's gonna have to beg him to do
something about it. And what we see in verses
three to six is Esther showing again, we've seen
this, right? This trajectory of Esther's wisdom
growing. We see her growing in her boldness and
her trust. but also in cultural wisdom to say
and do the right things at the right times. So
first of all, it says that she falls at the king's
feet in tears and she shows him the honor that
he requires. And once again, he extends that
golden scepter, which says that her request is
being accepted. Now, here's the thing in this
scene, at this request in the court, it's actually
a dicier situation than you might think. I want
you to think about this. Esther is about to ask
the king to override a previous law that he had
given approval to. Right? I know Haman fooled
him, but he's still responsible. What if the
king feels like Esther's request is going to
cause him to lose face in his court? After all,
he did authorize that edict through Haman. He's
responsible. And if he feels offended by Esther's
request that somehow she is questioning his judgment
in that first law, this could backfire spectacularly.
So look, she chooses her words so carefully,
right? And as we saw last Sunday, she uses this
submissive court language to sort of flatter
the king. If it pleases the king, she says in
verse five. If I've found favor before you, she
says. She heaps it on. If the matter seems proper
to the king, she's now going to defer to his
wisdom. But last, she says, if I am pleasing
in your sight, knowing that he loves her and
she is going to plead based on that love that
he has for his queen. If all those things are
true, she says, then revoke those letters devised
by Haman that were sent out to every province
in the kingdom. In common language, do something
about this, king. You got to do something. And
then she pours out her heart for her people.
How can I endure to see my people destroyed,
she says through tears. And the king grants her
request in verse 8. And he gives her and Mordecai
authority to write the second decree and to use
that signet ring. Now, before we go on to the
reversal. I want to point out a couple aspects
of what I see here as gospel foreshadowing in
this section. First of all, there's clearly a
picture of intercession happening here, right?
Right? She is going before the king and interceding
for her people. Now I want you to think about
the parallels here. The Jewish people in Persia
are at risk of death. And they need to be saved.
But they have a problem. They have no standing
before the king. True. They have no opportunity
to plead their case in front of the one man that
can actually do something about it. So being
unable to save themselves, they have no hope
except somebody intercede for them. Someone who
does have standing to enter the throne room of
the king where mercy can be found. Does that
sound familiar? Now, I don't want to carry the
analogy too far. Esther is... not a high priest.
She is not a savior. But the principle here is
very real. None of us are righteous. We cannot
save ourselves. So we are as helpless prior to
knowing Christ as the Jews were in Persia. We
need an intercessor. We don't have a standing
before the king as unbelievers. So we need an
intercessor. We need a high priest who can go
into that throne room, go to God on our behalf.
Otherwise, we perish. But thankfully, we have
God the Son as our mediator, right? One who sits
at the right hand of the Father and who always
lives to intercede for us. Do you see the parallel
here? It's very important. Second thing to see
here. Consider how every sinner born into this
world is corrupted by original sin and how we
all stand guilty before the holiness of God because
of our own personal sin, all of us having fallen
so short of God's glory. And so for every unbeliever,
prior to knowing Christ, every one of us, there
is an edict of guilt hovering over our name that
demands our death. Right? Just as the Jews in
Persia were facing death. Romans 8 .2 actually
gives it a title, the law of sin and death. And
it's only a matter of time before the day comes
when the debt is due. And listen now, it's a
law established by the king of the universe.
It's rooted in his holiness, in his perfectly
righteous standard. That means it cannot be revoked.
The law of sin and death cannot be repealed.
It's rooted in his holiness. In a similar way
to this first law established by Xerxes, it cannot
be wiped away. There's an edict of death that's
coming for every person born into this world.
But, There's a remedy. God himself solved the
problem. And he didn't solve it by compromising
the first decree, which was utterly righteous,
right? The decree for eternal justice. He met
his own righteous standard by laying that debt
upon his own son. Do you see it? He can't cancel
out the old law. It's impossible. But he can
issue a new law that turns condemnation into
mercy and turns death and defeat into life and
victory. So catch this, Jesus is God's new law.
His counter decree, which saves us from the first
one, the law of sin and death. Isn't that fascinating?
It's right, it's literally, the parallels are
right here in this, what looks like just a normal
historical narrative. This gets spelled out so
clearly in Colossians chapter two. Paul writes
this, when you were dead in your transgressions,
And the uncircumcision of your flesh. He, Jesus,
made you alive together with him, having forgiven
us all of our transgressions. Look at this now.
Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting
of decrees against us. Did you doubt that we
had a decree at one time against us? It's right
there. Which was hostile to us, he says. And
he has taken it out of the way, having nailed
it to the cross. Amen. Hallelujah. It's been
nailed to the cross, but that was there. Or as
going back to Romans 8, 2, very simply, it says,
the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus
has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Amen and hallelujah, right? A new law, a new
edict is now in effect for those who believe.
And now we can say, I've been crucified with
Christ. It's no longer I who live. Right? But
Christ lives in me. Man, the gospel right here
in the Old Testament, right? Okay, so now beginning
of verse 9, we come to the great reversal. Let's
take a look at this. So Esther and Mordecai have
now been rewarded. They've been honored by the
king. Esther is now successfully interceded for
her people. And the king, for his part, has told
Esther and Mordecai that you are now in a position
to counteract the wicked deed of Haman by writing
your own. A second law. And so the royal scribes
are called, right? And Mordecai, the new vizier,
drafts a second law addressed to both the Jews
and to the government officials across all 127
provinces of this vast Persian empire. And he
seals this new edict with the king's ring and
he grabs the fastest horses, right? And he sends
out the messengers so that everybody gets this
new message. What does the second edict say to
the Jews and to the Persian officials? Well,
let's look at it. Look at verse 11. This is where
the controversial aspect of this text comes into
play. Verse 11, it says, in them, meaning the
letters that were sent out to the provinces,
the king granted the Jews who are in each and
every city three things. They're on the screen
as a summary. Three things. The right to assemble
and to defend their own lives. Second, to destroy,
kill, and annihilate any army or any people which
might attack them, including children and women
who attack. And third, to plunder their possessions,
to take their possessions on one day, the same
day, right? The 13th day of the 12th month. Now,
next Sunday, when we get into the next chapter,
we'll look at what the Jews did with those permissions.
But for today, I just want you to hear. When
you see that, an echo of the edict that came
from Haman in the first place way back in chapter
three. Look at the language in it. Here it is
again, chapter three. Letters were sent by couriers
to all the king's provinces to destroy, to kill,
and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and
old, women and children, in one day, the 13th
day of the 12th month, and to seize their possessions
as plunder. You hear the echo? This second decree
is written, For the purpose of demonstrating
God's complete reversal. A complete inversion
of the plot that was laid out by Haman, who is
called the enemy of God's people. And keep in
mind, that first law had gone out. It had been
out there for about two months now. So you can
imagine, those who had received it two months
ago, right, they were planning to attack and
plunder the Jews. I'm sure they've been licking
their chops. They're looking at all the assets
that the Jewish people in their city own and
thinking this is going to be easy. This will
be a great day. We're going to grab a whole bunch
of stuff. No problem. Now it's a problem, isn't
it? Why? Because according to the second law
that they just got in their hands, the king is
now squarely behind the Jewish people. And that's
a game changer. This is the eucatastrophe. This
is the good turn. of events for God's people.
Amen? And the reality is, guys, from the very
beginning, things have not been as they would
have seemed in a physical sense. The beginning
of the story, evil was prevailing. Do you see
evil prevailing in our world today? Of course
we do. It was back then as well. God's people
were suffering. They were struggling. They were
facing genocide. But friends, Learn this from
Esther. An unseen reality was actually governing
everything. The sovereign hand of God, the providential
hand of God. Yahweh was keeping his promises
to his covenant people even when things looked
dire. All along he was doing this. He planned
to punish the wicked. He planned to save his
people through the eucatastrophe. Just as he
had done many times before, by the way, did he
not do that with Joseph, who was at one point
in a pit and then is raised to the palace of
Egypt, right? Did he not do this in the Exodus
where God's people were slaves and then they
were taken to a promised land? Did he not do
this with Job, who went from the most severe
amount of suffering you can imagine and then
is completely restored? God has a habit of doing
this. And most importantly, the cross. The cross
from death to resurrection. Talk about a eucatastrophe,
a turn of good events. From death to resurrection.
In fact, Tolkien actually spoke of this. He said,
quote, the resurrection is the greatest eucatastrophe
possible. The event in human history that produces
the most essential human emotion, Christian joy.
Think of Haman for a second representing Satan,
representing death itself. When he was executed,
when death was put to death on the cross, when
the great enemy of our souls was defeated and
the grave's power of us was broken, that all
happened when God the Son rose from the grave
in triumph. The great reversal. The great defeating
of Satan. In the future, guys, whenever you read
the story about Esther and Mordecai and you see
this great reversal, let it remind you of the
greatest reversal of all time. When the Redeemer
of our souls made satisfaction for sin. When
he overcame death and rose in glory for our good.
Amen? You see the gospel in this? Okay, lastly,
we're going to come to rejoicing. Look at the
last three verses. In verses 15 to 17, first
of all, we see the Persian capital city of Susa
come to life, and they celebrate with shouting
and rejoicing. They're not only aware of this
power shift dynamic that's happened, but they
seem to approve of it. Remember, the last time
they saw Mordecai publicly, what was he doing?
He was at the front of the king's gate in sackcloth
and ash, and he was mourning, showing his grief
publicly. And that must have been troubling to
the people of Susa. They couldn't understand
what was going on. And then they hear about this
genocidal order of the Jewish people. And it's
just confusing to them. And now being aware that
it came from Haman, that he's a wicked man, to
see him die, to see Mordecai being promoted to
that same position, this is a sign of relief
for the people of Susa. And they are excited
about it. They are celebrating with rejoicing.
And then it says they see Mordecai then dressed
in royal robes. He's got a golden crown on his
head, which means that had to be given to him
by King Xerxes himself. And they realize that,
wow, the king is now 100 % behind Mordecai and
the Jewish people, and they're very popular Queen
Esther. This is the total reversal, right? But
then verse 16, it gives us some really key words.
It says, for the Jews, there was light and gladness
and joy and honor across every province of the
Persian kingdom. And I know, because I know that
this text was written under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, that those four words were chosen
carefully. You have the word light, orah, representing
God's presence and salvation. You have gladness,
simcha, representing community celebration. You
have joy, shashon, a word that carries messianic
overtones. And you have honor, yachar, symbolizing
the dignity and worth of God's people. And all
of these words taken together, sort of compressed
into this one sentence, reflects this stunning
turn of events. The Jews who were once this vulnerable
minority in the kingdom of Persia are now being
recognized with royal dignity. What a turnaround.
What a eucatastrophe this is. Now, let me point
out another interesting foreshadowing of the
gospel here. Notice that the gladness and joy
of the Jews came long before the actual day that
was appointed for them to defend themselves.
That is still nine months off. But because of
the king's decree in their favor, they celebrate
in the present. Why? Because when the king is
in favor of you, you're assured of victory. Ah.
The gospel, right? What does it remind you of?
In a similar way, Christ followers who've been
saved by the king's decree, we can celebrate
in the present. Even though the fullness of our
salvation is still in the future, we rejoice
in the present. We can rejoice now because of
the confidence that we have in our king, the
confidence we have in his edict in our favor.
See, the moment Haman was exposed and defeated,
the moment he was hung on his own stake, the
people of God had already been rescued in principle.
All that remained was for that redemption to
be lived out in practice. The death of death
at the cross. This confidence is what Paul described
in Romans 8. We read it as part of our call to
worship. Look how certain this is. Those whom
God predestined, he also called. And those whom
he called, he also justified. Those he justified,
he also glorified. All of those terms are written
in the aorist tense, meaning they are completed
actions, completed by the power of God. We have
been predestined, called, justified. We are already
glorified. It's certain. Absolutely certain.
And it's been sealed for us by the gift of the
Holy Spirit within us as a promise of what's
to come. All of that is done. And if the Jews
living in Persia in 5th century BC could rejoice
at an earthly promise of a military victory from
just a political king, it's worth asking the
question of us, who've been given so much more,
an eternal spiritual victory from the king of
the universe, the question should be asked, do
we live with the same sense of confidence and
celebration as Christians today? Should we? Are
our daily lives filled with light, gladness,
joy, and honor? Are we living with a deep sense
of awareness of the glory that awaits us? And
if not, why not? If not, why not? What enemy
has caused us not to celebrate in this way? Last
verse, verse 17. Many among the peoples of the
land became Jews for the dread of the Jews had
fallen on them. Now this, we could do a whole
sermon on this because there's all kinds of opinions
about what this actually means. And the opinions
range from extremes, from, oh, this is true conversion
to, no, this is just a pragmatic choice for the
sake of survival. And the truth is probably mixed
in between. As the verse seems to indicate, it's
true. Many Persians would have been terrified.
by this turn of events. There's the body of Haman
sitting on the stake, and now Mordecai's in that
seat, meaning the king is behind the Jews, and
for them, this was terrifying. And so they made
a political calculation. They tested the political
winds and said, I want to be Jewish. Is it true
conversion? No. It's a political calculation.
But other Persians witnessing this turnaround,
we're more than likely persuaded to come under
the umbrella of the God of the Jews because this
is a God that clearly protects his people. As
I shared last Sunday, there was in Persia this
well -known history about how their beloved King
Cyrus had blessed the Jewish people and sent
them back to their land. They understand who
Yahweh is to some extent, so I have no doubt
that some Persians recognize the true power of
Yahweh in that day, and they did decide. that
he was worth worshiping and trusting in. And
by the way, it's a documented fact that since
the days of the exile, there has always been
a continuous community of Jewish believers in
Persia. However small it might be, in Iran today,
ironic in what's going on in Iran right now,
correct? There is still a Persian, or it's still
a Jewish population there, although they've suffered
greatly under the hands of Muslim rulers. They
still exist even today. God has sustained them.
Okay, let's wrap up with a few closing thoughts.
I'm gonna surprise you with one of them. That's
called a teaser. I love this part of the story.
I've been looking forward to chapter eight for
so long. And again, I'm convinced that the language
of eucatastrophe was given to us here to show
us the beauty of the gospel that we have in Christ
Jesus. to remind us of the law of sin and death,
how it's been decisively defeated by the cross
and by the empty tomb, and that a great reward
awaits us if we refuse to grow weary in the days
that we're given on the earth. It's all wrapped
up here. Our God is in the business of reversing
wickedness for the sake of his people. Amen?
So we gotta be patient, and we gotta suffer well.
And when various trials come into our lives,
we want to learn from them because God's shaping
our character. And we want to make sure that
we're growing in our trust of his sovereignty
and his goodness. Because as we read in the call
to worship, if God is for us, who can be against
us, right? Right? Just tape that verse to your
mirror and look at it every morning. If God be
for us, who can be against us? In the meantime,
and this is the surprising part. Don't neglect
to see that there's an important part of the
reversal in this story, something we don't always
talk about, and that is plundering the house
of our enemy. Plundering the house of our enemy.
What do I mean by that? I'm going to close with
this thought. Again, we live in crazy times right
now, right? I've shared this before. The battle
for truth and civilization is literally on our
doorstep right now. Are we just going to play
defense? Are we going to go on offense and plunder
the house of the enemy? Once again, think of
Haman representing Satan. See him as a man who
embodies satanic opposition to the people of
God. In this book, the king delivers him over
to destruction. And then all that remains is
for his house to be plundered. All of his possessions
to be given to the people of God. And that's
where we find ourselves in history today. Christ
has won the war in principle. Satan was defeated.
Death was overcome. And what remains now is for
us as Christ followers to live out that truth
in practice, plundering the house of Satan and
the kingdom of darkness. Who's up? Who's up for
it? Who will ride into that battle with me? Now,
I don't want you to think wrongly about what
I'm talking about. I'll describe what I'm talking
about in just a second. But sometimes I hear
Christians speak as if the battle hasn't been
won. That somehow we're getting pushed around.
We're on the defensive. We need to shy away from
hard conversations because we might lose to Satan.
I hear that defeatist language a lot. That is
not the case. The victory is won. We've got to
get that through our heads. And now every day
we have opportunities to advance the kingdom
of God in personal ways. And slowly but surely,
moment by moment, day by day, we take ground
from the enemy. Remember, the gates of hell cannot
prevail against the church. Gates are defensive.
We're charging those gates. Are we? Are we charging
them personally? By the way, Satan hates to hear
this preached because he wants you deluded. He
wants you weak. He wants you to feel defeated.
But you're not as a Christ follower. Every time
you repent of sin, you plunder his house. Did
you know that? Every time you repent of sin and
you get up and you walk in the light again, you're
plundering the house of the enemy. Every time
you come to the throne of grace and you pray,
you're plundering his house. Every time you share
the gospel with somebody, the word goes out,
truth goes out, you are plundering the kingdom
of darkness. Every time you love your spouse,
Every time you put the needs of others before
your own and you serve them, every time you teach
your children by word and example what it means
to walk with Christ, you are plundering the house
of the enemy. Let me remind you of how we fight
from 2 Corinthians 10. For though we walk in
the flesh, we don't war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare, by the way, this
assumes that you're fighting. This assumes that
you have the weapons of warfare. They're not
of the flesh, but they're divinely powerful for
the destruction of fortresses. We're destroying
speculations and every lofty thing raised up
against the knowledge of God, and we're taking
every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
This is a description of how the believer goes
on offense. We destroy fortresses that are set
up by the enemy. We tear down his lies. We destroy
falsehoods with truth. we take ground from Satan
and we plunder his house. We practice what we
know is true, remembering who we are, children
of God, who overwhelmingly conquer through him
because of his unbreakable love for us. We are
overwhelmingly conquering, are we not? This is
what we do every Sunday when we gather together
with one spirit in unity in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. we go on offense and we celebrate
his victory with rejoicing. This is what we do
and together we come and we start as Adam led
us this morning, when together we confess our
sins, first of all, and we repent of those things.
Then when we join our hearts together in prayer,
when we lift our voices in worship, when we do
what we're doing right now, listening to the
proclamation of biblical truth as the Holy Spirit
teaches us, we're plundering the house of the
enemy. Whether you realize it or not, right now
we are feasting together on God's word and we
are celebrating King Jesus over the smoking ruins
of Satan's defeated kingdom. How many of us think
that way? We're walking out in practice what's
been done in principle. And so friends, realize
that Sunday worship is no mundane thing. Realize
that every daily choice that you make as you
abide in Christ and walk with him, it is not
insignificant. Quite the contrary, all of it
has cosmic significance in the hands of a God
who's in the business of reversing things. Do
you believe it? That's the question. And if you
believe it, live it. Amen? Let's pray about that.
Lord, thank you for hearing our prayers this
morning. Thank you for being in our presence.
Thank you that we get a chance to glorify you
in our hearts and minds as one people, that we
get to plunder the house of the enemy as we confess
our sins and just reiterate our trust in you
and the blood shed on the cross, how it cleanses
us from all unrighteousness. As we do that, Lord,
the enemy shakes. And we sing praises to you
and we love each other in fellowship and all
of it, God, is such an incredible opportunity
that we've been given. Father, I pray that we
will continue to see the beauty of the gospel
in this chapter in the book of Esther, that your
spirit would continue to show us these things.
and seal these truths in our hearts and convict
us and encourage us all the things that the Spirit
does. And God, that we would step into the world
this afternoon realizing that the victory's been
won, that we don't have to shy away from it.
We can step into it and have conversations and
we can step into it, Lord, and proclaim your
goodness with confidence. Thank you that you've
given us the victory. Thank you that death for
us has been put to death. And so now we overwhelmingly
conquer. Lord, seal these truths in our hearts.
Strengthen us, God, to walk with confidence and
strength this week. Thank you, Lord Jesus. We
love you. We praise you in your precious name.
Amen.