A few weeks ago, Sigfrido spoke here about the different ways in which stories are told. There are some that begin with the end and then it goes "a couple of years prior. .
. " and then that's when the story unfolds. There's many, many different ways to tell stories.
And yet, I don't know if in any moment any of you have had the chance to read a book where the name of the main character is never mentioned and yet they are present in every single page. Well, in the Bible there's a book like that and it's precisely the book we have before us. The book of Esther.
The main character of this book is not Esther from which it takes its title. Rather, the main character is God. However, he is not named in any of the many titles used in Scriptures.
It is a very unique book, so much so in fact, that at a point in history many questioned whether this book is truly inspired by God. An author put it this way, "In it there is no mention of God's name, there is no mention of worship or faith, there is no direct prophecy regarding the Messiah, there is no mention of Heaven or Hell. In short, there is nothing religious in the book, at least on the surface.
But it is a thrilling story, that one would expect to find in the pages of Reader's Digest, not the Bible. " However, brethren, the presence of God is felt throughout the whole book displayed through His providence. From the first moment to the last.
That is why someone said, very accurately, "God's name is not written but His fingerprints are everywhere. " When we speak of God's providence, we refer to the unwavering care God has of the universe he created. Our God is a God who controls history, who has control over everything that happens, be it big or small, and who drives them sovereignly according to his will, in other words, to the fulfillment of His purposes.
Which means that, the entire universe, the world, our own lives, are not governed by chance, or destiny, or luck. But rather, by a sovereign God. Let's take a look at this story, then.
From the beginning, in the first verse, we are told the time these events were taking place in. We are told that what happened took place in the days of King Ahasuerus Those were the days of the Persian Empire, after 70 years of exile, you recall that Daniel had interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. About the succession of empires that would exist.
Well, the Babylonian Empire took God's people captive due to their sin. And during that time of captivity for the Jews, the Medo-Persian Empire conquered the Babylonian Empire. So they already had many years in captivity.
And this story takes place, after King Cyrus allowed a group to return to their land, back to Palestine. If you want to locate it in the book of Ezra, the events narrated here are told from chapters 6 through 9, between both groups. It had been approximately a hundred years since they had been exiled to Babylon.
However, even when they were allowed to return, not all of them did so. There were many who decided to stay behind in Persia, because they had been born there, had grown used to its culture, or for whatever reason, decided to stay. And that is the case of Mordecai and Esther, both of them very important characters in this story.
Additionally, Ahasuerus, rather than a name, seems to be more like a title, like the Pharaoh in Egypt. Pharaoh is a title, Assuerus seems to be one as well. The story tells us that King Xerxes was ruler during this time, son of Darius the First, also Darius the Great.
He was a king who ruled from 486 to 465 A. D, that is to say, over the span of 21 years. And we are reminded, because it's important, the extension of the Persian Empire, which was the largest Empire to ever exist, up to that point in history at least.
We are told that Assuerus ruled from India to Ethiopia, over more than 120 provinces. So that in the first verse, not only are we given a context for the story, but it also mentions the first out of five main characters that appear throughout the book. From verse two through nine, the story of what happened in the days of King Ahasuerus starts to unfold.
In the third year of his reign, he celebrates a great banquet in Susa, the administrative capital of the empire. We have already heard of Susa in Scriptures. Daniel was there, and further on so was Nehemiah.
So it is there where this events take place. The banquet was made for all of his court, for all of his officials. And even though it was very usual for the time to host banquets, the sheer duration of this one was most unusual.
It says the banquet lasted one hundred and eighty days. Brethren, that is six months. Half a year, holding a huge party.
That's for us to get some context here. We don't know if everyone stayed for the six months, or if they came by groups to the celebration. What's for sure is that it was a grand celebration, that had a very defined purpose.
Verse four tells us that the purpose was to display "the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness. . .
" The main purpose of this rave was to show to everyone the greatness of Ahasuerus, King Xerxes, and all of his empire. This possibly included not only material possessions, but also slaves of the conquered nations. I don't know if you recall that incident in the time of the judges, when Samson was held prisoner.
And in the middle of a party, it occurred to them to bring Samson to amuse themselves. Well, we don't know if there were, put on display like war trophies, some of the prisoners from the nations that had been conquered. But additionally, some historians think that there could be another reason for this celebration.
Because Assuerus had been planning to invade Greece, and recently he had suppressed a rebellion in Egypt, and he thought that he could do the same with the Greeks. However, history tells us that he failed tremendously. But definitely, the picture we have here it is evident that the king had a great, to use a modern term, self-esteem.
He had a very high opinion of himself. So much so, that in many archaeological findings the king referred to himself in different ways. To himself.
"The great king. " "The king of this great land. " "The king of the lands inhabited by many races.
" And listen to this one. . .
"The king of kings. " Not only by the end of the book, but by the end of the two chapters we're going to study today, We will notice that, yes, there is a King of kings, and it's not Ahasuerus. We will notice that.
Not satisfied by this six-month banquet, the king decides to make another one, for seven more days. And it says it was for all the people in the citadel of Susa. The decorations were extremely luxurious, drinks were abundant, served in golden vessels.
So we could imagine our National Palace being opened up for the people, and there would be people who have probably never seen a golden vessel in their lives, being offered bottomless drinks in those golden vessels. That's the scene we're being presented. Now, in verse nine, we are introduced to a second character out of the five prominent ones in this story.
King Ahasuerus' wife, Queen Vashti. While he was hosting this great feast, Vashti was hosting a separate one for the women. And this was very common at the time, that segregation, It wasn't appropriate for men and women to spend time together according to the customs of the time.
Therefore, the wives or any other relative of those who attended the king's feast were with Queen Vashti. And it is in this environment of drunk, or at least tipsy, men. that the king gets a very unfortunate idea.
that is found from verses ten through twelve. It was the last day of the feast for the people, when he gets the idea of calling his wife over. Verse ten says, "when the heart of the king was merry with wine.
. . " What a nice way of saying it, of speaking of someone who's smashed, eh?
The man was already out of control, as probably most of them were, And he gets the idea of having his wife called over. Oh, but how nice, a man so powerful who appreciates his wife! Hold on a second.
His motivations are explained once again. Verse eleven, "in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. " In other words, the king wanted to put his wife on display, like another trophy of his greatness, and for her to come with her royal crown.
To be honest, not all scholars agree on what exactly the king was asking of her. Some think she had to come with her face uncovered, without her veil. Others that she had to come wearing only the crown.
But whatever it was, when one reads this text naturally, do you get the impression that this was a good request? A group of drunk men, with drinks and sensual music, and possibly, even though they weren't guests, there were women dancing sensually. No, no, it definitely couldn't have been a good motivation.
It's difficult to think that the king only wanted to show that she was a beautiful woman. Oh, just look at how pretty she is! It's difficult to think that those were his intentions.
Now, brethren, what's truly impressive is the queen's response. Queen Vashti refused to go. Brethren, do not see this as a casual occurrence in a normal marriage I'm sure that every married couple here, even if you've been married for a week, have experienced a situation where the husband asks the wife to do something, and she simply says, "No".
We will not talk about what follows, but it's possible that you've all been through it. But brethren, this was not the case! She was saying no to one of the most powerful men in the world in those times.
And not only that, they had six months celebrating, and do you think that courtiers spend feasts pointing out to the king's his flaws? No! You know how things are, same as nowadays.
Praising and flattering him. "Truth is, Sir, that you are powerful! " "I'm so impressed with what you've achieved, Sir, there's no one as great as you!
" Any similarities with the present are mere coincidences. And in that moment, this woman tells him, "No, I won't go. " "No, no way.
I refuse to go there. " And verse twelve says, "At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him. " It says the same thing in two ways.
He became enraged, and his anger burned within him. It wasn't just momentary annoyance. No.
He got very angry. To the point that it was obvious to everyone. Greek historian Herodotus was contemporaneous with Asahuerus and he describes him in his writings, as impulsive, with bad temper, lecherous, and cruel.
And he even wrote down some stories of his cruelty that we don't have time to go over right now. Now, before going into the next section of the book I want us to delve deeper into Vashti's action. A 19th century Scottish pastor described it like this, "Regardless of what the king's order was, the courageous queen refused to obey it.
her beauty belonged to herself and her husband, and was not to be displayed before hundreds of tipsy men. " Brethren, if you know Scriptures and know this church, you know that we try to be as faithful to Scriptures as possible. And we firmly believe that when God established marriage, he also established roles.
and a wife's main responsibility, according to Scriptures, is to respect her husband and to submit to his authority. Yes, I know that that is not very popular nowadays, but it's what the Bible teaches. And we are not called to be popular but to be biblical.
However, sin is certainly not included in this, Let me explain. . .
by no means does this submission involve obeying when it goes against God's direct commandments, or not doing something that God commands. For example. .
. If you're married to an unbeliever, and you're a Christian woman. you have to submit to him, as long as he doesn't stop you from doing what God has instructed.
The Bible says, for example, ". . .
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some. . .
" "But my husband doesn't want me to come to church! " You might not be able to come to every service, but you at least should come to one of the meetings on Sundays. Why?
Well, because God ordains it so. Yes, I know that some believe that one should submit anyway, but this is one of God's direct commands. Now, we're certainly not saying nor implying that Queen Vashti was a believer.
No. We're simply stating that a possibly pagan woman, had an exemplary integrity. She did the right thing, even if it brought her disasterous consequences.
As it did happen. In verses thirteen through twenty-two, we have the king's reaction to his wife's refusal. Enraged and annoyed, he consults his advisors about what should be done with the Queen in the face of such disrespect.
And they proposed that she be deposed and replaced. The reason given for this course of action was that Vashti had set a bad example that, if left unpunished, would be imitated by all women in the kingdom. On the other hand, said his advisors, if the king made a decree following their advice, the women would listen and thus they would honor their husbands.
We can't, by no means, expect a group of pagans to react like Christians. But we do know that a wife's submission is not achieved by force, because it is a matter of the heart. Even though there are some Christians who believe so.
"IN THIS HOUSE I WILL GET RESPECT BECAUSE I AM THE MAN. " Our wives should submit, but nowhere in Scriptures are we told to make them submit. We must pray for our wives to be convinced by God's Spirit that the best way of interacting with us is through respect and submission.
And we help them when we not only give the example, but also by serving them. Exercising leadership through service, as true Biblical leadership should be. But what also caught my attention, is that there's nothing new under the sun.
It struck me, when I was reading the wise men's discussion, how they, through the manipulation of language call good what is evidently wrong. When one reads the story, one realizes that, definitely, the drunk king made a bad decision. And that the one who acted with integrity was the queen.
But hear how they spoke during their discussion. They said that Vashti had insulted the king and the officials, as in, offended all of them for not wanting to come, possibly naked. Secondly, that she was to be deposed so that the noble women of Persia and Media wouldn't treat their husbands the same way, "with contempt and wrath in plenty.
" Third, they would look for another queen more worthy than she. So, Vasthi was the unworthy one, not the king's inappropriate request. And finally, so that all women would honor their husbands, because Vashti had not honored hers.
Doesn't it seem similar with what we're dealing with, when they want to impose a gender ideology on us that entails so many things, and you hear their advocates saying that, they only want to protect women's rights and stop people from getting mistreated because of their sexual orientation. But the thing is that, we also want that. We want women to be protected and we don't want anyone to be mistreated, despite their sexual orientation.
But language is manipulated, in order to make what is wrong seem good. The king thinks it's a good idea, because of course he does. And he proclaims the decree so "that every man be master in his own household.
" Now, brethren, let's not get lost in the details, because we could forget what the unnamed God is doing. From this decree a vacancy arose for a new queen. There was a vacancy for a new queen.
And now, we reach chapter two, and in the first four verses we see the search for a new queen. It's interesting how when we begin chapter two, it seems that the events described there come immediately after those told in chapter one. Because chapter two begins saying, "After these things.
. . " However, this is not so.
. . it's not.
In chapter two verse sixteen, we are told that Esther was taken before the king in the seventh year of his reign. And we were told in the first chapter that the banquet took place in the third year. So there was a four year time jump.
But we are also told in chapter two that before the women presented themselves to the king, they were prepared for a whole year. So there was, at the very least, a three-year difference between the events in chapter one and those in chapter two. And what happened during this interval?
Well, precisely, what we mentioned a while ago. That King Xerxes tried to subdue the Greeks, was defeated, and returned to his citadel. And it is precisely in that mood, having just returned from a defeat, that he remembers Vashti, as verse one from chapter two says.
Now, the main idea of the text is not that noticeable in the translation, it's not like, he recalled Vashti's terrible actions and decided to look for a wife. The idea is that in that defeated mood, he possibly started to feel her absence, and possibly remembered what had been done to Vashti with nostalgia, and maybe even regret. When his courtiers saw him like this, they decide to start the search.
"No, no, no, Sir. We'll find you a queen. " And they set the requirements.
. . it sounds like one of those job ads, that I think are banned now, but that we saw for many years.
They said: "Young and good-looking people required. " Remember? What was often understood was, they may not be qualified, but they must be good-looking.
Well, that's what was required here. They were looking for "beautiful young virgins. " What the courtiers where suggesting was to gather beautiful women from all over the empire and to bring them before the king, for a kind of beauty pageant where at the end the king would choose his queen.
Jewish historian Josephus wrote that more than four hundred women participated in this event. Now, brethren, beware, because sometimes, if we don't know a culture, we are blind to some of the elements implied in this. There were some truly unpleasant aspects involved in this choosing process.
Why? Because the moment a woman joined the king's harem, she couldn't get married any longer, in the case that she wasn't chosen queen. We're speaking here of more than four hundred young women, taken when only one of them would be chosen, and the others would be destined for the concubine harem, confined there for life.
But not only that, before being able to be chosen by the king, they had to sleep with him. Brethren, the schemes of fornication made up and justified by unbelievers are not a new thing. It's been happening for a long time.
So, after being "tasted" by the king, they became concubines destined to spend the rest of their days in the harem. that's why, perhaps while reading quickly, you didn't notice that in chapter two there are two different harems. The first harem, in verse eight, of which Hegai was in charge of, and then later, a second harem in verse fourteen, that somebody else was in charge of.
In other words, this was the process: All virgins were in one harem, and the king called them one by one. . .
if he didn't like one, another one went. And where did she go? She didn't return to her old harem, she passed from the harem for the virgins, as it says here, to the second one.
Which one was that? The one for the concubines. Forever.
So, this wasn't a simple process. It wasn't an innocent beauty pageant, but to be honest. .
. Even present day ones are probably not very innocent either. Because one only hears the rumors of what goes on behind the scenes.
From verse five, and in the middle of the description about the choosing process for the new queen, we are introduced to two new characters, out of the five main ones. So far we've met four out the five. Characters' whose role is key to our understanding of future events.
Verse five says, "Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai. . .
" And then verse seven says, " He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther. . .
" In the case of Mordecai, we learn that he wasn't a prominent figure, he was a common Jew living in Susa, because his family had been taken captive several generations before. So he was probably born and raised there. In what once was Babylon, and had become the Medo-Persian Empire.
Hadassah, which was the Jewish name for Esther, which was the Persian name, was an orphan. It's said explicitly that her parents were dead. And her oldest cousin has decided to adopt her as a daughter.
What the inspired text says about her is that, she "had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at" And if we were to translate it literally, it would be like this: She had a beautiful body and was desirable. She definitely was a beautiful woman. Now, you've probably got a logical question.
Excuse me, pastor, but. . .
did Esther sign up for the contest? Did she apply? Well, brethren, verse eight says that she was taken, and that verb is in passive form.
Furthermore, that same verb is employed in other parts of the Bible and it means "taking something by force. " So we can assume, even though we don't have enough information to be dogmatic, and it is not illogical to suppose that she didn't want this, and that she probably didn't go willingly, She was a young woman, the word used here refers to someone between childhood and adolescence, in other words, Esther was twenty years old at most. At most.
And that's interesting. You know why? Because when one reads the rest of the book, one must reach the conclusion that, yes, God can also use young women for his purposes and his glory.
Don't give excuses. God can use whoever he wants, including committed young women. But other than that, Mordecai was the only family she had.
Would she have really wanted to be separated from him to go to a harem? And both outcomes were complicated. Either she wasn't chosen, and spent the rest of her days alone in a harem, and either way participating entailed sleeping with a pagan.
Well, brethren, the truth is that there are some cultural situations that are too complicated to grasp. But let's think of this. If you or me had known what was going to happen beforehand, I'm convinced that none of us would have chosen two people like them, like Mordecai and Esther, to save the people of Israel from complete extermination.
And God has always, throughout his Story, chosen weak vessels, because his power is always "made perfect in weakness. " They weren't prominent figures, of great influence and power. No.
Do you know what they were like? Just like you and me, ordinary and common people. From verse nine of chapter two through verse twenty, it's impressive how Esther is described as someone who found favor wherever she went.
That is the keynote of that portion. According to a dictionary, to be charming is to be likeable, attractive in a sweet and captivating way. In other words, it is an aspect of one's personality.
However, the Bible tells us that there's also a part that God gives. God, through his sovereign will, helps us to find favor. There's a Dominican saying that encapsulates it well, It says that it is much better to be liked than to be funny.
In other words, it is better to find favor, than to be a charming, charismatic person. And we have seen this in the Bible before, do you remember when Daniel arrived at the Babylonian court? Daniel 1:9 says: ".
. . God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs.
. . " The same could be said about Joseph when he was in Egypt.
God can shift the hearts of those around us so that we can find favor. Now, in Esther's case, as in most cases, both sides play a part. Her personality, on one side.
. . but on the other side, there's also God's special favor.
When she gets to the virgins' harem, she finds favor with the chief of the eunuchs. So much so, that verse nine says that Hegai assigned her seven young women from the palace and quickly provided her with cosmetics and food. He also advanced her to the best place in the harem.
We're saying that, despite there being a high chance that Esther went there against her will, she found favor with the person who was in charge, something that can't be obtained with a bad attitude. What happened, happened. It was in God's hands, and all there was left to do was to move forward, doing things the right way.
We can only imagine the environment in the harem, with all types of women. They were virgins, but some of them probably had let their imagination run wild, though obviously not in practice. A place whose purpose was to worship beauty and to look as good as possible, for which they had all the resources at their disposal.
Perfumes, clothes, jewelry. Anything they asked for was given to them, so that they could present themselves before the king. But as soon as she arrived she began to stand out, and found favor.
Sometimes people my age use illustrations that are totally outdated. Sometimes we say things and people just stare at us in confusion, so i hope this expression is used still. But, back in my day, when I was in school, when somebody was really liked by the teacher.
. . we called them teacher's pet.
Do people say that still? A teacher's pet, that's when you knew the person was a huge hypocrite, but the teachers always spoke wonders of them. And one was always left to wonder what was so special about that person that the teacher loved so much.
Well, all the women in the virgin's harem were probably left wondering what was so special about Esther in Hegai's eyes. Well, we know that God's favor was with her. Further on, when it's finally her turn, she also finds favor with the king.
And verse seventeen says that "the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins. . .
" What was so different about Esther from the rest of the women there? In sddition to her character, God's grace was with her. God was guiding her steps.
The king loved her and chose her as queen, he set the royal crown on her head and celebrated a great feast that even had a name, "Esther's feast. " And he proclaimed a national holiday in her honor "There's no work tomorrow! " The king was thrilled about his new queen.
And truly, Esther was a woman who found favor with everyone. Look at what the second part of verse fifteen says. It says that "Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.
" And brethren, it's true that this is because of God's sovereignty, but it's also true that it was due to her exemplary behavior. Esther was a woman knew her place, who was always obedient to her uncle Mordecai. In verses ten and twenty, it says that she had not revealed her nationality because Mordecai had instructed her not to.
And it's noteworthy, because she didn't reveal it when she first got to the harem, but after she became queen. . .
She didn't let her new position get to her head. "Uncle, I understand you but now I am queen. " She didn't say that.
In verse twenty it's said specifically that she kept obeying her uncle. When it was her turn to go before the king, what does the text say? She could've asked for anything in order to impress the king.
Verse fifteen says very specifically that "she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king's eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. " Who would know more about it than the eunuch in charge? "Look, don't go all crazy.
. . I know the king, he doesn't like such and such.
" He told her what to do, and she was willing to do it, she wasn't going to ask for anything. "Anything you tell me to do or get, I'll do it. " Brethren, what we're saying right now is that Esther did not find favor because she was beautiful, but because of her behavior.
And I think this is important for every woman to hear. . .
What got her people's favor wasn't her outward beauty but her behavior. She was a woman who followed advice, who wasn't rebellious. .
. and from what we can see, she was a woman of whom could be said what the Apostle Peter said about the women in the primitive church, that she had a tender and serene spirit. or as one translation says, "a gentle and quiet spirit.
. . " In other words, Esther was not only beautiful on the outside, but also on the inside.
And let me tell you this, my dear sisters in faith, as beautiful as a woman might be, if she's vain, manipulative, unhelpful, whiny, complicated, and quarrelsome, she won't ever find favor permanently with anyone. Nowadays, people are obsessed with outer beauty, and there are many men who know how much trouble they've had to go through for only looking at physical appearance, and not what's on the inside. Because as beautiful and stunning as she might be, nobody can put up with a woman like that.
Sisters, do you feel like God didn't give you a lot of that outer beauty? Do not worry, you have no control over that, but you do have control over your inner beauty, and that one is more valuable than precious stones. The author of Proverbs says, "Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.
" It's a harsh proverb. "Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion. " Whoever marries a woman thinking only of her physical appearance what will come out later is how she really is not who she seems to be.
The gold ring falls out and you're left with the pig. Ask around and you'll find many who've experienced this. Many women here wonder what the men in this church are looking for.
And, look, it could be. . .
and I believe it's true, that Christian men are lacking in many ways. But you know what? It could also be.
. . that you're a handful.
That you're a bit too complicated. Someone tries to approach you and it's only a matter of time before there's a problem. Because of something you saw, or didn't, or because of something you're looking for.
. . You don't like this and that, you like this other thing.
. . Well.
. . my only recommendation is that you try to be more like Esther.
Try to have a quiet and gentle spirit. In the meantime, even after Esther was crowned queen, Mordecai still came to sit at the king's gate. And this was a place where many things were done, from legal to commercial negotiations.
Do you remember in the book of Ruth, that many transactions and deals were settled at the gates of the city that's where Boaz went to deal with Ruth's relative. Some even think that Mordecai held a position in Ahasuerus' government. The last verses of chapter two register a seemingly incidental event.
What does "incidental" mean? Well, a dictionary defines it as something of little importance relating to something else. For example, if I start talking about a project I had two years ago, where I traveled through the country, supervising and working on some buildings.
And while I'm telling the story, I say, "By the way, in one of my stops I ran into a childhood friend. " That part is incidental. It has nothing to do with my main story.
Well, this is apparently incidental, what does it have to do with anything? Well, we're told that two of the king's eunuchs were angry with him to the point that they were plotting to murder the king. But somehow, this information reaches Mordecai and he decides to tell Esther so that she would warn the king.
We see it as a simple matter, of course, it was the right thing to do. But well. .
. let me tell you, someone who's capable of trying to assassinate a king with so much power, is probably someone who's very dangerous. I remember a robbery that took place many years ago, that was almost movie-like, that actually happened on one of our streets, where two security guards were killed from an armored truck.
I remember hearing of someone who saw everything from their apartment. And he debated whether to inform the authorities or not, and the advice he received everywhere was "don't get involved in that. " Because you don't know if you end up denouncing them to an accomplice within the police department.
And who knows what could happen to you. So it's not as simple as "it was the right thing to do. " And yet, he did what he had to do.
God's providence led him to find out about the situation, but his responsibility and integrity led him to do the right thing and denounce the plan. Once the king had received the message, an investigation was carried out, the information proved to be true, and the two eunuchs are consequently imprisoned and hanged. Maybe you're thinking of a normal gallows, from which people are hanged with a rope.
But a scholar points out that instead of them being hanged from the neck in a modern-type gallows, the men were probably impaled or pierced with a stake, like birds on a skewer or like pigs are spit-roasted on Christmas, And he says that this wasn't an uncommon execution type in the Persian Empire. It was a way of dissuading people from ploting against the king. So the chapter ends with this brief detail that is very important for the future.
The last words of the second chapter are the following. . .
"It was written down in the Book of the Chronicles in front of the king. " And it stayed there. .
. for now. What is the main lesson we get from this exciting story?
Brethren, this book's main purpose is to show that God always keeps his promises, his covenants, and his purposes. And even when it doesn't seem like it, he is always, ALWAYS, controlling all of history's outcomes, guiding them according to his will. Since the Fall, in Genesis chapter three, He had promised a savior.
And as time went by, he kept making promises and adding details about his coming, and about how he would save his people. And so, God promised Abraham that he would make him into a great nation, out of which the Messiah would come, Christ. And this nation was the people of Israel.
But time passed, and they were taken captive for their sins and in this historical moment in which we find ourselves now, it is about to be exterminated at the hand of their enemies. And if the people of Israel had been destroyed back then, how was the promise of a Jewish messiah going to be fullfilled? The book of Esther narrates this story, about how God stopped his covenant and promises from being thwarted.
Today, we only studied the first two chapters out of ten the book has in total. But in them, we can already perceive God's hand at work, directing events both big and small. For what purpose?
To preserve his people. First event: A drunk king's unusual idea, and his wife's refusal. Second event: His wise men's advice to depose Vashti, for they could've agreed on another punishment.
Third. . .
The idea of how to get a replacement for the queen. Fourth. .
. that Mordecai and Esther were in Susa and not anywhere else in the Empire. Fifth, which could be overlooked.
. . Esther's beauty.
. . Which led her to be one of the contestants.
If she hadn't been beautiful, she probably wouldn't have been taken. The Lord, in his grace and sovereignty, used that. Sixth: That Ahasuerus chose Esther over more than four hundred women.
Seventh: That Mordecai found out about the plotting against the king and decided to share them. And eight, that what he did was registered in the Book of the Chronicles. And that it was left there.
Brethren, what this tells us is that God is always, ALWAYS, present, even if we can't see him. There is no place or situation, as difficult as it might seem, that is not under his control. That's why somebody said that God is in the most unlikely places.
In the worst situation that we could imagine, God is present. God is there, ruling, controlling, and carrying out his will. This means that for our God, there's no such thing as coincidence, for him there are no accidents.
And even when speaking about the world's most powerful nations, it's not an issue, our God still reigns. And that's the lesson the great king Nabuchadnezzar learned, when, after God made him eat grass, he regained consciousness, This great king had to proclaim that ". .
. he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done? ”" So, through this book, and throughout this series, we'll be considering what we've already begun to explain, and that is the principle expressed in Proverbs 21:1.
it says, "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. " "He turns it wherever he will. " Brethren, we have all experienced, could be experiencing, and will probably experience a lot of hard situations on this side of the sun.
And frequently, we wonder why God put us in that situation, why did he put us in that spot? Well, brethren, I doubt that anyone can give you a specific answer, but every Christian that knows God's Word can tell you that God does everything with a purpose and directs all things to the fulfillment of his will, and how good it is to know that God's will is always good, pleasant, and perfect. He's not a whimsical God.
God was going to use both Esther and Mordecai to save and preserve his people in order to fulfill his promise of a Savior who would come from that nation. There were still about four hundred years left before that happened. .
. but God was there back then, orchestrating everythng according to his purposes. There are many moments when we do not know what God is doing, if it seems like he's doing anything at all, because sometimes we get the impression that he's busy working with other people who are a bit more complicated.
It's as if we felt neglected by God, and we want him to take care of our situation. Because sometimes we don't understand what's going on, nor do we see his hand. But remember, brethren.
We don't walk by sight, we walk by faith. And it's by faith that we must believe what we do know already, and it's that God is always active and present ruling the word with his providence and guiding it according to his plans. But Pastor, you might say, in my particular case my suffering comes from someone else's sins.
Well, even that is under God's sovereign control. Joseph didn't become the savior of his father and his family, without dealing with the sins of others. His brothers' sins.
The sin of Potiphar's wife. It's impressive how there is no sin committed by any man or woman that can thwart God's will. Brethren, that should give us hope.
Sometimes we feel, and especialy nowadays, that our rulers are going to subdue us. Nothing will happen that God does not allow. Listen, nothing will happen.
That does not exclude our responsibility, Later on, Mordecai tells Esther that if she didn't do the right thing, God will find someone else to carry out his will, Of course, he doesn't say God, because the book doesn't mention Him. He says, "''Something' will happen. " So we must do our duty, carry it out with earnestness and fervor.
But you know what? At the end of the day, the results are not in our control. The results are in God's hands, and what he wants to happen will happen.
Let's make sure that in that process, we don't become guilty of irresponsibility or sin. Brethren, when we read this book, it's OBVIOUS that there's a king of kings, and it's not Ahasuerus, it's God. This must give us comfort in the big things, as well as the small things.
May God help us.
