Last week, we started studying the book of Esther. What we intend is to cover the entire book in four Sundays. Let's not forget what is the central idea of this book.
In a providential way, God is delivering his people from extermination, so that his promise of a Savior who would come from them would be fulfilled. Last week, we saw the problem that arose in the king's court, after Ahasuerus summoned Queen Vashti and she refused to come. His wise men's recommendation to find a replacement And how, in God's providence, Esther, a young Jewish woman in exile, that is to say, in Persia, came to be the queen.
Chapter two ended with a seemingly incidental event, in which two of the king's eunuchs got angry and were plotting to murder the king. Mordecai denounces the scheme, which, in turn, is investigated, and they're tried and condemned. So we get to chapter three, and we could imagine that it's going to start with Mordecai being praised for what he had done.
And yet, no. Mordecai is not mentioned immediately. Rather, we see someone else being praised, someone who becomes the fifth main character in the book.
And as it often happens in the kingdoms of this world, the one who receives honor is not who deserves it, but he who somehow gets in the good graces of the people in power. Chapter three verse one says, "After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman. .
. and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. " Seven head princes had been mentioned in the first two chapters, and yet King Ahasuerus, for a reason not explained in the text, takes this man and advances him to prime minister, over everyone else, except for himself.
He was placed in such prominence, that everyone bowed down before him by the king's direct instructions. In verse two, it says "for the king had so commanded concerning him. " But, just like it had happened a few years before, when it wasn't the Persian Empire, but rather the Babylonian Empire.
You remember Daniel 3, when in the midst of a great crowd, there were three young men who refused to bow down before the statue. Here, too, we find an exeption. The Scriptures say that Mordecai didn't bow down or kneel.
Even though honoring and respecting our authority is something that is clearly instructed in the Bible, in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, This worship-type of showing reverence is also clearly forbidden by God's law. It wasn't long before the king's servants noticed Mordecai's behavior and began to insist that he obey the imperial command. “Why do you transgress the king's command?
” Mordecai reveals that he's a Jew, so they finally decide to denounce him, as the text says, "in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. . .
" Isn't that similar to what happens to us in some occasions or contexts, when we declare that we're Christians. And we go against certain practices in different institutions, and somebody comes up and says, I want to see if your words hold up. And they start denouncing.
And how many Christians have sacrificed their jobs for being honest and obeying God despite the consequences. But it's in verse 5 of chapter 3 where the all hell breaks loose. Our topic today is "A ray of light in the midst of the storm.
" Dangerous times are beginning to unfold, hardships not only for Mordecai but for all of God's people. Because when Haman sees that Mordecai doesn't bow down before him, the Scriptures say that he was filled with fury. And the word from with fury is translated, means violent rage with a desire for vengeance.
Not like when we say that someone got "pissed off. " No, no. It's that he got so angry that his heart was filled up with a desire to do Mordecai harm.
We've already established that there are five main characters in the story, however, here we encounter a non-human protagonist, who shows up for the third time and reveals the state of these pagans' hearts. Rage, anger. This shows up so many times in this book.
First Ahasuerus, then, the eunuchs, and now, Haman. However, anger is never a good counselor. And we can see that even though his decisions contributed to God's plans, objectively, these decisions weren't good nor wise.
On the other hand, rage is the most natural reaction for egocentric human beings who believe they're the center of the universe. And when things don't go according to their ideas, they get angry. Let's analyze the times we get angry about something, and we'll be shocked to discover that on most occasions, it's simply because we didn't get what we wanted, or because things aren't the way we want them to be.
And it's that, even if we don't say it deep inside our hearts, we believe we are very important. We think it's important for things to happen the way we want them to. Haman's fury was so big, that he sought to punish not only Mordecai, but all of the Jews.
Now we ask, is it logical that at a certain moment, if someone does something you don't like, and you find out their nationality, and you decide to punish him and his entire nation, that doesn't even know what's going on? Was this a blind, reckless rage, or did it have some other root? Well, even though not everyone agrees with this, many do think that there was something more.
In chapter three, verse one, there was a detail that I didn't mention on purpose, but that I will mention now. Verse one says that Haman was an Agagite, meaning a descendant of Agag. And who was Agag?
Well, I don't know if you remember, in First Samuel chapter fifteen, When Saul was going to battle the Amalequites, that Samuel emphatically told him to destroy all of them, to spare no one. But when Samuel arrives, he realizes that Saul had decided to spare the Amalequite king named Agag. So possibly, these Agagittes were descendants of this king.
And why had God given such a harsh command? Well, we'd have to go back to chapter seventeen of the book of Exodus. When the people had crossed the Red Sea, and they were going down toward Mount Sinai, the Amalequites rose against them.
Do you remember that famous scene when they were in battle, and when Moses lifted his stick, they prevailed, and when he lowered it, the enemy gained the upper hand? Well, precisely, that was against the Amalequites. That's why, from that moment on God had said, "I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.
" When Saul forgave Agag, Samuel not only tells him from God, that he would be cast away because of his disobedience, but Samuel himself executes Agag. So, probably, the descendants of Agag grew up hearing this story and cultivating hatred toward the Jews. As has been the case with other peoples throughout history who have grown with ancestral disputes, that remain to this very day.
History as it is told by the feuding peoples is always very different. If you study communities that are enemies, and the same events are told from different perspectives. Which is why, maybe, Haman had grown up hearing this story.
And cultivating in his heart a strong a hatred toward the Jews. The point is that Haman planned one day for the Jews to be exterminated. And he chose it by casting lots.
In verse seven of chapter three, it says that they cast lots to determine which day their evil plan would be carried out. This process of casting lots was very common in the Middle East, and very similar to what's done nowadays with throwing dice. We're not saying it was exactly the same, but it was similar.
Because pagans believed in destiny, in luck, and in chance. Perhaps someone who's very familiar with Scriptures could say, Pastor, but there's cases where God's will was sought by casting lots. Yes, but for the Jews it was very clear what Proverbs 16:33 says.
"The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. " We see this in the book of Acts, when the apostles decided to replace Judas. It says they cast lots to choose which of the two would be his substitute.
In this case that we're studying, in what date did the lots fall? Well, it says in the twelfth month, the month of Adar. If we calculate that these events occurred in the first month, then we reach the conclusion that the day would come eleven months later.
And we can see God's hand behind all of these things, giving time and opportunity for things to work out. Now, Even though Haman had a lot of authority as Prime Minister, it wasn't enough to take such measures, without the king's permission. That's why he approaches the king and he says, "King, there's a people scattered all over your kingdom's provinces.
" It's interesting that he doesn't say which people it was. He says, "There is a certain people. .
. " Then he adds, "Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king's laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them. " You know, when children want to ask for permission, and they know there's a big chance that their parents will refuse due to certain reasons.
. . Well, they tend to ask for permission without mentioning the elements that they know will possibly tilt the scales the other way.
Throughout history, we know that the Jewish people prospered wherever it went. And not only did they prosper, but they became an important part of the society and economy of the countries they inhabited. So, possibly, we really shouldn't doubt, that the Jews' contribution in the Medo-Persian Empire was significant.
On the other hand, The way Hama says it, it's a testament to something that the Jews themselves didn't want to testify. He says, "It's a people whose laws are different than ours. They're very strange, different from us.
" Well, of course they were different, wasn't that what God had called them to be? Doesn't the Old Testament tell us that God had chosen Israel particularly to set it apart from all other peoples? And precisely because of their resistance to be different, and for wanting to be like other peoples and disobey God was exactly why, in this moment in history, they found themselves scattered all over the earth.
And thus, Haman turned his personal interests into interests of the estate. That sounds familiar, doesn't it? Not only in our nation, that's something that happens no matter the political system.
How often do we see so many of the things that are being told about this totalitarian monarchy such as this one, happening in our days, independently from the reigning political system. Because the problem is not in the system, but in man's heart. So, Haman has a personal issue with the people of Israel and against Mordecai.
And he presents it to the king by hiding some of the details, and by camouflaging his personal wishes with the kingdom's interests. And he tells the king, "It is not to the king's profit to tolerate them. " As in, it's not for MY sake, king Ahasuerus, it's for YOUR sake.
It's not convenient for you. Haman was so obsessed with destroying Mordecai and his people, that he was willing to pay 10,000 talents of silver for the king's treasury. He didn't only look for authorization, but also attempted to motivate him.
Here's 10,000 talents of silver. Now, when those numbers show up in the Scriptures we get a little bit disoriented sometimes. Because we have no notion of how much or how little it really was.
So when we speak of 10,000 talents we're speaking of 375 tons of silver. In those times, silver was the monetary standard in Persia. And ten thousand talents would be 375 tons of silver.
If you want to know how many pounds that is multiply 375 by 2,000, and you'll get an astronomical amount. Greek historian Herodotus, who we mentioned last week, said that that amount was approximately two thirds of the Persian Empire's annual profit. In other words, it was worth what the Persian Empire earned in the span of eight months.
And was Haman rich enough to do that? Well, he definitely was rich. Once again let me say this, in every system when a man is close enough to power he'll find a way to get rich.
And this is not speculation, for, further on, in chapter five, when he gets back to his wife and friends to boast about the invitation he'd received. It says he began speaking of his glory and possessions. So he probably had a couple of towers, among other influences.
But definitely, that was too much money for one person so it's very likely that he was planning to pay that money with the spoils he was going to get from the Jews from all over the empire. Well, we surely expect that the king of an Empire would be a little bit wiser and realize that there's something strange there. So we stay a little bit hopeful of the answer to Haman's request.
But when we reach verse 10 we are disappointed. King Ahasuerus doesn't even ask. He doesn't even ask nor does he investigate.
He simply, in an act of royal foolishness hands him his signet ring, used to seal decrees. This ring was not a common one, a simple one like the ones we use for a wedding. These were rings that had an inscription.
These decrees were written in a sort of parchment, then they were rolled up and sealed with a sort of soft clay. And on top of that soft clay the ring was pressed so that the inscription was imprinted, serving not only as a seal but as a way to say this is a command from the king. And in Media and Persia, whatever was sealed by the king couldn't be revoked.
Such was their power. It's already a big deal when somewhen receives a check, signed, but without any amount, a blank check. That was practically what Ahasuerus was doing.
What caught my attention was the way the sacred author, as in the writer of the book of Esther, for the first time in the story, refers to Haman differently. In verse ten it says that Haman was the enemy of the Jews. In that time, to say enemy of the Jews, was exactly the same as saying enemy of God's people.
And it is precisely to this enemy that this king with absolute power, that he's handing them over to, giving him freedom to do whatever he liked. Now, what is interesting is that the king was giving his authorization, and he's absolutely oblivious to the fact that he was supporting and signing his own wife's death sentence, something that even Haman didn't know. But God did, because he was always there working behind the scenes.
The decree was written and sent to all the authorities all across the Persian Empire. And it was very specific. What was the purpose of this decree?
Here's how verse 13 explains it, "to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews. . .
young and old, women and children, in one day. . .
" And it added, "and to plunder their goods. " Do you know what this entailed? Not only that anyone who felt even the slightest animosity towards the Jews would rise to annihilate them.
But instead, that with the last part instructing to plunder their goods, it could motivate even those that felt no animosity towards the Jews, but whose hearts were greedy and unscrupulous, to join in the execution of this holocaust. People like that don't exist only in present times. Once again, we need to remember that the problem lies in man's heart.
It's surprising how it says that "the couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king," when you hear this it gives the impression that it had to be solved promptly because the time was coming. No, no. There were still eleven months left.
The day that had been decided was twelve months later, Why the hurry? We don't know, We don't know if Haman wanted to torture the people emotionally, or to establish right away that that people was not regarded with favor in the eyes of the king, We don't know. But definitely, there was a wickedness, and a thick fog surrounding the people of God.
This chapter, chapter three, ends with a very strong contrast. The last verse says that while "the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was thrown into confusion. " Brethren, let's think of this: These nations were different from us, they were used to wars, and deaths.
But, regardless we're speaking of the genocide of a people that is scattered all over the empire, and that possibly had done a lot of good to it. And in the midst of all this, what were Ahasuerus and Haman doing? Drnking!
Drnking. This is the opposite of what God says in Proverbs chapter 21 verses 4 and 5. "It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
" That was exactly what was going on. Exactly the same. Now, if we take a close look at this story, we realize that up until this moment the focus has always been on the king's court, and what happened in it.
But starting from chapter 9, the focus shifts, and is directed to those affected by this evil decree. When we reach the first five verses of chapter four, we see the reaction. It says that when Mordecai found out, "Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
" Let's put ourselves in his shoes. He had done the right thing. But sometimes doing the right thing, doesn't keep you from getting a sense of guilt, even if it's not true.
Maybe he was thinking, "It's my fault that all of this is happening! " And once again he thinks, "But I did the right thing! " The storm had been unleashed, because he had refuse to bow down before Haman.
And we see Mordecai here stricken with a profound pain manifested in the culturally accepted way to do so. The tearing of clothes is something we see throughout the Scriptures, frequently as a manifestation of sadness, of pain, and indignation. To put on sackcloth and ashes was to dress with a fabric made of Goat's hair, the one with which sacks are made nowadays, you go to a market and you find a sack of vegetables, carrots, plantain.
A potato sack. That was the fabric. When the Hebrews mourned, or there was something afflicting them tremendously, they dressed with this cloth, giving an impression of shabbiness, and neglect of their physical appearance; It was very loose clothing.
And sometimes they sat over a heap of ashes, whilst simultaneously throwing it over themselves. It was to give an appearance of abandonment. But not only that, it says that he went out in public, crying out and lamenting in a loud voice.
It was a culture that vas very expressive, emotionally speaking. I think that to this day, that region tends to be very expressive, in a cultural sense. In fact, you see it, independently, please don't read between the lines, you see the way they express themselves when they quarrel.
Maybe in the West, we say, "we're going to have a lot of trouble. " They say, " THE MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES WILL COME. " As in, it's a way that is very expressive.
I'm not saying who's right and who's not, I'm speaking of something that's merely cultural. And Brethren, allow me to digress. When we read Scriptures, we have to have very clear rules for interpretation.
And we must be careful of wanting to apply to our lives things that are not meant for us, because they are cultural expressions. We must learn to differentiate in Scriptures what is a cultural expression, from absolute principles. I say this because nowadays, there's a trend in many churches of starting to include things from Judaism and Jewish culture that have nothing to do with Christianity.
Which is why you might run into a believer, that in an evangelical context might say they're "doing sackcloth. " And that's what they call to lie on the floor or a very hard bed. Well, brother, if you want to do this, there's no problem, but there's no instruction nor command about it.
I've been in churches where someone shows up with a shofar. Listen carefully. A shofar.
That's a long horn, meant to be blown and played as part of the worship. And it may seem very spiritual, like we're going back to the origins, but those are just cultural expressions, that we have even in our own country. It's not the same to speak of a funeral in a fancy place in the city, than somewhere else.
There's places here where the tradition is that everyone has a breakdown. People faint and have to be carried outside. The point is that there's a part of our population, that has this tradition, and they say that other circles don't love their family, because they don't have a public breakdown.
These are cultural elements that we should try not to adopt, because they weren't given for that purpose. Now, having said that, let me say that not only Mordecai reacted this way, but all of the people did. Verse 3 says, "there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
" So, we don't know what state the people were in before this situation, but definitely, in this situation, in this national affliction, there had to be a greater unity among the people. And that's why an author says, "Suffering takes us out of our homes and puts us in touch with our neighbors. " And he quotes an acquaintance that was in Florida when Hurricane Andrew passed.
And this brother said, "the hurricane knocked down our fences and we finally had to meet our neighbors. " In other words, times of trouble bring people together. Esther's maidens and eunuchs inform her of Mordecai's state.
She lived in isolation, alone in the castle she didn't have a radio or a TV to hear the news on. They were different times, she didn't know what was happening in the outside world. When she found out, the Bible says that she was deeply distressed.
Because she didn't know what was happening to Mordecai. So, out of concern, she sends him clothes for him to take off the sackcloth and get dressed. But it says that Mordecai would not accept it.
And this is the moment when Queen Esther enters the scene. Worried, she sent someone to figure out what was going on. And her cousin not only gives her every detail including that of the silver offered by Haman, including a copy of the edict.
But he also asks for a favor. And he says, Esther, we need you to intercede before the king so that the consequences of this decree are destroyed. But when the eunuch delivers Mordecai's message to Esther, she answers, Mordecai, everyone here knows that there's a law that requires that every person that comes before the king has to be called first.
If anyone dares to stand before the king without being called with a simple gesture from the king, that person would be executed. There was only one exception: If the king was in a good mood and held out his scepter to them. Only then that person would be spared.
I don't think it's a complete refusal, on Esther's part. I don't think the point was to say, ARE YOU CRAZY? NO, I WILL NEVER DO THAT.
That wasn't her point. It was more like. .
. Do you know what you're asking me to do? Are you aware of what it means?
We can assume that because she did what she had to do in the end. For us it may be difficult to understand. But it wasn't like the presidential couple of a democratic country, not even like a royal couple from a modern monarchy, no.
It was a type of totalitarian monarchy where the king had everyone else's life in his control. Standing before the king without being called was to put her own life at risk. If we put ourselves in her shoes, we can imagine what was going on inside her head.
A law that was against her. An man who was. .
. mentally unstable. From what we've seen.
A wrathful, violent, temperamental man. In other words, an unpredictable man. And aside from that, the moment was not the best.
I had been 30 days since she'd been called last. In other words, she could've thought, the king's not into me right now. He's not interested in me.
When Mordecai receives her message, he answers, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
” Brethren, I think this is the central passage of this book, and the most well-known. Mordecai had no doubt that God would deliver his people somehow. Because he knew that God would not allow his plans to be foiled by man nor by any empire.
It was impossible. And he knew that even if he and Esther were killed, in the end God would use somebody to save them and to finish carrying out his plan. He was convinced of that.
Mordecai knew that God doesn't need us to intervene and to fulfill his promises. Brethren, no one, NO ONE, absolutely no one, as useful as they may be or seem, is indispensable in God's plans. Because God can always use someone else.
So the privilege is ours of seizing the opportunities he gives us of being part of his plans and the amazing things he wants to do. That's why his answer to Esther is, "But, Esther, what if God put you there precisely for this moment? " So that you can become an instrument of salvation in His hands.
" It's as if he were saying, "Esther, cheer up, take heart. Fulfill your role, play the part you need to do well. Fulfill your responsibility and leave the results to God.
In God's providence, there will be occasions, places, specific situations, in which he places each and every single one of us, so that we act and don't remain quiet and passive. Wasn't the morning service about this same thing? Do you think that it's time, in this moment, to remain silent, passive, and indifferent, only praying?
Prayer is fundamental, if we're not going pray we might as well not do anything. Prayer is fundamental, but there are things that we need to do, because we don't know if we're going to be the tools used to stop Satan's agenda. Like someone said, "The home you were born in, the opportunities you've had, the culture, and the age in which you live, all of it is according to God's will and is for his purposes and his kingdom.
" And it is with that belief that we must live every second of our lives. Not everyone faces such dramatic situations, but we'll always have opportunities to be part of God's plan. Be it through prayer, through encouragement, or by giving the example.
Esther wasn't. . .
a great Jewish woman. Esther was a Jewish orphan, completely ordinary. And God chose her to carry out a great deliverance.
"Pastor, but I feel like I'm nobody. " It doesn't matter. And I don't deny it.
It's true, you're nobody. Me too. Me too.
But this is not about us. The one who sends us is not only Somebody, he's everything. He's sovereign, he's king.
He rules over all. Spurgeon says, "Even if you're meaningless, that is, extremely insignificant, God can still use you in spite of those things. Put a 1 in front of a zero and it becomes a ten.
Let a couple of zeros combine to serve the Lord, a couple of nothings like you and me, and with his direction, these nobodies become tens of thousands. " What is Esther's answer then, to Mordecai's last message? She says, alright, let's do this: “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf.
. . I and my young women will also fast as you do.
” Esther proposes to do for three days, what many were doing already, because in verse three of chapter four, it says that many had reacting not only by lamenting, but also by fasting. In fasting, Jews stopped eating and drinking for spiritual reasons. A matter as serious as this one, wasn't a motive for celebrating or partying and having fun, but for fasting and prayer.
And even though we're aware that nowhere in the book does it say specifically that they would pray, it's logical to think that they did, because prayer was an intrinsic part of fasting. The purpose was to seek God's aid, to seek his answer, and to display dependence on him, their willingness to wait in him, and crying out for strength and wisdom to do the right thing. After those three days of fasting, Esther would go to the king.
And I like the translation of the RV translation better than Las Americas, she says, "We will fast. And I will go to the king. And if I perish, I perish.
" I would love to see this in a movie. It would be so exciting, specially because of all the effects and dramatic music in the background. But even without music, just reading it, with our imaginations only, we can imagine how dramatic this scene was.
It wasn't like, "Lemme see how it goes with Ahasuerus. " NO! She knew she would have to put her life on the line.
"I will do what I have to do. . .
And if I trust in him, I know that he'll make me triumph. " Well. He'll always help you and me win, the thing is that he not always gives it as we imagine it.
Aren't these words similar, to the words of those three young men in Babylon when they tell Nebuchadnezzar, "Hey, we will not worship the statue because God can deliver us, and if he doesn't, in other words, we don't know if he will or not, but he is capable of doing so and we are sure of that. Brethren, I think that God's people today need to emphasize this a bit more, Because it's so often that we run into man-centered gospels, if they even qualify as gospels, centered in us. No, God doesn't promise that things will go according to our wishes, he promises that he will glorify his name in every circumstance in our lives.
As long as we obey. So Esther's answer was a brave one. It was an answer of faith, She did not say, "And I declare that the king will hold out his scepter.
" No, she didn't say that. She said, "I don't know if he will hold it out, but if I perish, I perish. " Mordecai agrees with Esther's plan of action.
And I love how the last verse of chapter four says it, "Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. " Isn't that strange? Up until this moment, who was in charge?
Mordecai, and Esther obeyed. However, here what Esther commands or suggests is not seen so much as a suggestion, but more like an order. "THIS is what we're going to do" Brethren, sometimes we have trouble, making distinctions in the different spheres of authority.
And we might face situations where in one area we give orders to someone, and in another it's the other way around. But in this context, she is acting like the queen that is going to take a great risk. It's in chapter five, then, where we see a bream of light through this deep darkness.
Because we are told that Esther finds favor in the king's sight. Three days later Esther puts on her royal robes and presents herself before the king. Brethren, look at that combination.
We pray and fast, and we take action. We take action. She didn't pray and then show up in her pajamas.
NO. She presents herself in her royal robes. She does everything she needs to do, everything that she could do.
And we can assume that she looked stunning, all dolled up. "My life is in danger, this is transcendental. I need to do the best I can.
" And when he sees her, this is the part of the movie where we would hear DUNDUN DUN. It says, "She won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. " Once again, we find proverb 21:1 being fulfilled in this scene.
"The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. " And not only a king, but also any president, including ours. God turns it wherever he will, Oh, then we just have to sit and wait for God to turn it.
God guides it wherever he pleases, and it pleases him to help and carry things out using us, his people. It seems that the king, was aware that if she had taken such a risk, there had to be a powerful motive behind it. That's why when he sees her he asks her right away, "What's troubling you?
What's your request? " And brethren, the grace God gave her was such, that he not only asks her what does she want. That without even knowing why she was there, he tells her, of his own volition, It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.
Wow, wow. This did not make her waver, thinking, I came to ask something, but half of the kingdom? Ooh.
" No, she did not hesitate. She knew exactly what she was looking for. So her request was very simple.
"No, king, the only thing I want is for you and Haman to come to a feast that I've prepared. Brethren, she had been fasting for three days, and at the same time, she'd been busy preparing the banquet. Perhaps not her personally, but with all the resources that she had available.
So after three days of fellowship with God, she doesn't rush things. If it had been us, what would we have done? Look, I don't know about you guys, but I've got a feeling that you're very much like me.
I need to think of myself, because I can't make assumptions about anyone else. But, if the king had said that to me, he holds out the scepter, offering me even half of the kingdom. I'd say, "No, I don't want half of the kingdom, I only want you to cut off Haman's head.
Only that. " I don't think I would've waited at all. But of course, I speak like this because I didn't fast for three days.
Three days of fasting, in God's presence, get you in tune with the Lord, and teach you to rest and wait in him. Proverbs 15:23 says, "A word in season, how good it is! " Brethren, I think it's good for us to ask the Lord to show us and help us to always have a sense for opportunity.
To known when things should be said, when they should be done, and to know when to speak, and when to remain silent and stay still. The king likes the idea. If there's anything we've seen the king likes, throughout the book, it's banquets.
So, if someone holds a feast for six months, would we ever think that they don't like banquets? And then he gave one for the people. No, she would please him with something she knew he liked.
"King, I have a banquet for you and Haman only. No one else. " And the king likes the idea, "Call Haman!
" Now, the king is not naïve, and he knows that there's a hidden motive, so he asks her again, that same day, "Esther, what is your wish? " And he tells her again, "I'll give you even half of my kingdom. " And once again, this doesn't distract her.
Instead, she tells him, "No, king, my only request is that tomorrow you come again, Tomorrow I will prepare you another banquet. " And then we reach verses 9 through 13, where we find a man with conflicted emotions. Haman leaves that banquet happy.
"Do you know what that's like? The president, me, and the first lady. Just the three of us.
" You can imagine someone saying that, right? He was happy because of the honor and exclusivity that had been granted to him, So much so, that he called over his wife and his friends. And the text says what for.
"And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches. . .
" You see what we had said before? ". .
. the number of his sons, (and) all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. "Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared.
"" "And you know what? That's not all, Tomorrow there's another banquet, and guess who's invited? Only the king and I.
Wow! " We all know that type of person, right? Conceited; and when you're with them you're just waiting for an opportunity to say, "Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom," or anything to get out of there.
Because everything's about them. "I did this, I did that. .
. " Well, I can imagine his wife and friends sitting there, listening to this man boasting. If only he'd known what God was doing through that invitation, he would've trembled, instead of gloating in front of his friends.
But not all was good for Haman. There was an element that was stronger than all the honor and glory he had received. The presence of Mordecai every time they crossed paths.
Because Mordecai still, in spite of everything did not bow down like everyone else did. He had left the palace joyful, "But when Haman saw Mordecai," says verse nine, "that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. " Have you seen something like that, in one instant, feeling happy, feeling ecstatic, and five minutes later, you're in the opposite place.
Completely uncomfortable, irritated, angry, enraged. And we don't even have to imagine, how Haman was feeling. Because the text says it.
In verse thirteen, he says, "Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. " "Nothing that I said before matters, I forget it when I see that man who is not capable of bowing down when he sees me. Brethren, the egotistic and proud person, cannot conceive why others don't treat them as they think they deserve.
A proud person's moods are influenced by the way others perceive or treat them. Their identity is determined by what they possess, by the people they spend time with, and the recognition and applause of men. They're the same who we see boasting about what they possess.
Be it openly or in a hidden way. When he manifests his unease, that resentment and anger, before his wife and friends. .
. they get an idea. And his wife Zeresh tells him, "Oh, c'mon.
Stop talking so much about Mordecai. Aren't you an authority? Deal with the problem yourself.
Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made tonight. Tomorrow morning you tell the king, hang him, and then go to your banquet afterwards. " Oof.
Oof. The cruelty of this group is such, that what they advised him was, "Make a gallows, kill a human being in the morning," and hear how verse 14 says it, "Then go joyfully with the king to the feast. " Wow.
That's what you call a stiff heart, pagan, callous. " Concentrated in itself. But something caught my attention.
And it's his wife's support. There's wives that help, there's some that don't. Valuable wives are those who dare to tell us, not what we want to hear, but what we need to hear.
And all of us manly men, who are married, know that on many occasions we don't want our wives to tell us something against what we believe is right. But remember that they are helpers placed there by God. A valuable wife is capable of helping us see things straight.
And with love and respect, point out to us our mistakes or bad choices. So, brothers, if you have a wife that every time you get a crazy idea, she tells you, "Honey, I really don't think that's the best option. " Don't get angry or call her disrespectful for challenging your authority.
No. Tell her, "Thank you, sweetheart, because you are a valuable helper. " However, Zeresh was not like that.
Nor was Job's wife. "Do you still want to bless God? Curse God and die.
" Wow, may the Lord grant us wives like Abigail, Nabal's wife, who was a stubborn man, and that woman behaved with all due respect, while also trying to persuade him to do the right thing, even though he was not seeking it genuinely. Those are the women we need. But also his friends.
True and good friends are not the ones who say yes to everything we come up with. That are servile, that are always there to encourage our mistakes, in our sins and our weaknesses. No, true friends are those who are capable of telling us what we need to hear, even though they know we're not going to like hearing it.
That's a true friend. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy," says the book of proverbs. We need friends like that, and wives like that.
Evidently, with a man like this, says verse 14, "This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made. " Now, brethren, a gallows fifty feet high. .
. Do you know what it'd be? Around seventy-five feet high.
For you to have an idea, like a building seven or eight floors high. Man, it wasn't Goliath that they were going to hang. Because, c'mon, why make it so big?
Well, possibly, they wanted it to be visible everywhere. To stimulate people to obey, like a warning that the king's decree is firm. It was a display of power and authority.
Now, this portion of these three chapters, begins with the arrival of adversity against Mordecai, and all Jews, and ends in chapter five with Mordecai's imminent execution in a gallows. It seems that things can't get any worse. But in the midst of the story, a beam of light appears, and the next chapters will show how it grows.
There's a common saying, that says that the night is always darkest just before the dawn. I don't know if it's true or not, but it's very popular. I hear a Christian version that I loved.
That says, "The grace of God always shines the brightest when the background is darkest. " "God's grace always shines the brightest when the background is darkest. " Lord willing, next Sunday we'll see what's going to happen, Will Mordecai be hanged?
Do you think it's funny that he'll get hanged? Well, yes, I'm using that resource to tell you that if you want to know, you can read it in your Bibles, but you can also come next Sunday to hear it. Just one more thing, before finishing.
I don't want to expand to much here, but, I want to bring your attention once again, even though I already mentioned it, to the fact that God's plan will be fulfilled against all odds, Nobody can stop God's will. And most of the time, the instruments he uses to foil and confuse the devil's plans, are simple men and women like you and me. Each one of us can be an important piece in God's diverse purposes, if only we act according to the light we've received.
And out of love for God and his people, over everything else. The prophet Jeremiah wrote God's words when he said, "Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her.
" If there's only one who seeks truth and does my will, I will forgive the whole city. We probably aren't in such a dramatic situation. But brethren, there's moments when we mustn't think collectively, "Imagine.
Who am I to protest? " Let's do what we need to do, and leave the results to God. We're living in critical times in our country right now.
And I think it wouldn't only be sad, but even shameful, if at a certain moment we have to show, as citizens and Christians, That we DON'T want a hellish system to be imposed upon us. And that some don't participate, because after all, someone else will go. Brethren, we don't know what the Lord can do, if we put ourselves in his hands.
And that entails not only prayer, but also action. An author says, "Does it matter if I get involved or not? Yes, it matters a lot.
It's true that God has other people he can use, but our indifference does not frustrate his plans. And if that happens we're the ones who are missing out. If we've been called for times like these, how tragic it would be if we don't answer.
May God help us wherever we live, to be like Esther and Mordecai, each one of us in his hands, so that his glory is manifested. Because he'll do it anyway! What a privilege, if we say yes, when he calls us.
May the Lord bless you all.
