Setting the Stage

If you have a bible turn with me to Esther chapter 1, before we dive into an introduction and this first chapter please pray with me…

I have titled the message this morning, “Setting the Stage” In plays the term setting the stage means someone is sets the stage for an event to take place, and chapter 1 does that very thing…

Other than reading through Esther a few times when I have read through the bible I have not spent much time studying this book until this sermon series, I remember a class or two on it in bible college and in seminary, but other than that I have never dived deep in this book like I will with you all the next few months or so…

Esther as a book of the bible is truly one of kind. There is no other book like it, because this book does not mention the word God once. And you might ask how can a book of the bible not include one reference to God, and be considered inspired by him. Well as we unpack it together we will see how God though never mentioned is at work in this book, and it is truly amazing what he does through out it.

Out of all my study of commentary’s and going back through my notes from school, Esther summary can be best described as one man said it, and this is in your notes as well, and you might file this away as we continue our study going forward. Because its an important statement.

Through his providence and in keeping with his promises God places Esther and Mordecai in positions of power to preserve his people and punish his enemies.

That is your main summary of this book, now you heard me list two important individuals in this book, but there are two others. King Ahasuerus or King Xerxes which I will refer to him as, and Haman. These four people will be key characters in this book, and all have significant roles.

Now in this book the Jew’s existence is in Jeopardy after a series of events that we will see together. Now we are talking total extinction of them all together, but we know from other places in scripture that God will never let his people die out, but will preserve them and we will see that very thing.

Now in this book we will see God work in what may seem mysterious way’s over and over again, but really its in his total sovereignty that he is orchestrating these very events.

Two quotes I want to give you that I found about this book that were helpful in my understanding of what’s happening the first is this..

1st Apart from believing that God actively and sovereignly rules over our world, the book of Esther becomes a mere (liberation of Mordecai's wisdom, Esther's courage, and, most of all, simple chance and luck. ... This book was written to show that God himself acts to achieve the total defeat of his foes and the safety of his people. (Ibid., 456).

2nd.. The book of Esther is not simply a morality tale about a few faithful Jewish people who stand up for God in the midst of a pagan land. More fundamentally and splendidly, it is the story of God's desire to glorify himself and make his Son beautiful in the lives of alienated, weak exiles from covenant faithfulness--like us.

As we study this book we will see that these people who are Jews are not your typical faithful Jews. There is nothing about this that makes them quote on quote model citizens, and we wont get the theological richness that we got from our study of John.

One Scholar said, In Esther we have all the information we need but not all the information we want. There are going to be times when we study this book that you will just want more, no explanation is given on things that we think should and this happens over and over again.

Yet God does something that he can only do, and that is use a few nobodies, and save his people.

This book has significant love from the Jew’s because of that very reason. They even set aside a day every year called Purim. (Paw-ruhm ) where they give gift’s dress up, and read this book, I was reading that during the Holocaust Nazis forbade its reading in the crematoria and the concentration camps. In the dark days before their deaths, Jewish inmates of many camps wrote the Book of Esther from memory and read it in secret on Purim. Both they and their brutal foes understood its message. This unforgettable book teaches that Jewish resistance to annihilation, then as now, represents the service of God and devotion to His cause. In every age, martyrs and heroes, as well as ordinary men and women, have seen in it not merely a record of past deliverance but a prophecy of future salvation.

While God is not mentioned in this book, many Biblical themes are, and it applies well into our own day and age as well. Cause if you think about we live in a Godless society where the elites try to rule the world without the influence of their creator, yet God is still working. Though he may never be mentioned just like he is not in this book.

This book has something we see that is important as well, and that is a great reversal of the fate of the Jews though all seems hopeless. The good news of the gospel, is God takes what is headed for destruction, and hell, and turns it the other way.

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

And in this day we live in we must understand that God has us where we are living and placed us in our own situations so that we will live for God no matter what the cost may be, or who is leading our world..

Now the most famous line in this book that I am sure most of you already know is Esther 4:14

Esther 4:14 ESV

14 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?”

I love that last part.. Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this.. You know who know’s God knows.. And I have preached to you over and over again only you can live the life God has called you to, and the messiness of this book, is something we can all relate to, but more importantly I hope we can relate to being faithful to God in the situations he puts us in…

My favorite bible verse has changed over time, it use to be Romans 8:28 which I still love very much that says…

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

and Mark Dever said this… Esther is one of the longest sustained meditations on the sovereignty and providence of God in the whole bible. It really is just one long narrative illustration of Romans 8:28. I love that..

Now the main Idea for chapter 1 as we dive into it can simply be this…

The queen disobeying the king at his feast leads to the selection of a new queen.

With all that said let us dive into todays Text Esther chapter 1…

Listen to the first 4 verses..

Esther 1:1–4 (ESV)

1 Now in the days of Ahasuerus [ uh h AE z uh r uh s ] or as I will call him by his other name Xerxes, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, 2 in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel, 3 in the third year of his reign he gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him, 4 while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days.

Several points for you today but note this…

Xerxes was a powerful, and rich king.

Esther starts the book introducing this powerful King. King Xerxes. A king whose reign was from 486-456 BC, and he had this massive empire. Now this man’s empire was so large it consisted of lands as far east modern day India, to Pakistan, all the way down to Sudan in Africa, a very large empire indeed, it was the largest empire man had ever known at that time, but this story lands us in Susa which is in modern day Iran, in the third year of this kings reign.

And this king is having a party, a feast something we will see a few times in this book. And this feast was about him, and all his glory.

One man said, the invitation might say something like this if you were invited to the feast… Dear Important Person,

Your presence is commanded at the King's Feast, To give you an opportunity to bask in his glory and greatness, And to show you what true extravagance and power look like.

What a privilege this will be for you!

Please drop by the palace between noon and midnight any day over the next six months

Or stay for that entire time.

Also, please do not send your regrets; your absence will be to your everlasting regret.

See you soon.

This feast was truly about celebrating the King and all his glory, and sets up the rest of the chapter and book quite well, because it shows us the King is about himself, and what he wants.

Verses 5-9 say this..

Esther 1:5–9 ESV

5 And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king’s palace. 6 There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. 7 Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. 8 And drinking was according to this edict: “There is no compulsion.” For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired. 9 Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus.

So after he had one feast he caps it off with another… A true afterparty… And in these few verses you truly see the amount of fame, and wealth, and power King Xerxes has, it would be equivalent to the president of the united states being over many country’s not just one.

And he let those guests go at it, it would be an open bar of sorts… The King truly had everything and more.. So after all this partying the King makes a demand… And this demand, shifts the history of the world as we know it… Listen to these verses.

Esther 1:10–12 (ESV)

10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman m eh - h OO - m uh n, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him.

The Kings demand, and the queens defiance opens the door for Esther to be queen.

The King makes this demand that queen comes and shows her beauty. And he does this with a drunkened mind. As I was studying for this I learned that they had a totally different view of drunkeness than Christians do, they thought that it helped the spirits make good decisions, and we clearly see from the text, the queen did not respond to this command.

The Queen was beautiful according to the text, and she did not want to go and do as the king wished. We dont know why she said no, which I said would be a common theme in the book there is not alot of explanation on things.

But we do know it enraged the king with a burning anger. When you think about the party, the feast that was all about King Xerxes he wanted to show off his bride as the final piece of his glory. To make him look better. I can relate to that, my wife makes me look better, but ultimately his anger led him to seriously question what to do with his wife.

So he seeks the council of others..

Listen to the to text..

Esther 1:13–18 (ESV)

13 Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king’s procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, 14 the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and mumucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face, and sat first in the kingdom): 15 “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?” 16 Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For the queen’s behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ 18 This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty.

Another thing I want you to take note of is this....

God used secular advisors to bring about his sovereign plan to make Esther queen.

It was common during that time to have advisors despite the great power that Xerxes had, he consulted others for what to do in this situation, and this situation may seem minor to us if one of us asked our wives to come to something, and they said no, nothing would happen to the magnitude that is taking place here, but we see something take place here that impacts this whole book. Not only has Queen Vashti embarrassed her husband, but they say here behavior has done so much more than that…

laddies could you imagine this, They thought not only has the queen done wrong, but she did wrong by all of us, by not coming when you called her… And her behavior is going to lead to all these women disobeying their husbands…

He is saying you can’t let this happen you have to put your foot down, because if you don’t you will cause this to happen over and over again, to us your advisors, and extend all the way in your kingdom do you really want that?

So Mehuaman responds and so does the king..

Esther 1:19–22 ESV

19 If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. 20 So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.” 21 This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. 22 He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people.

You see this queen removed not only as queen, but from the presence of king Xerxes.. And its done so to instill a fear into the other women so they will do as they are told…

One Scholar happened to say these words… What was actually achieved by all this huffing and puffing?

Was the social order of Persia really threatened by this one woman's resistance? Even if it were, can such a principle of male authority in the household really be imposed by governmental decree? Are all men to exercise power in such a self-centered way as Xerxes did, and then expect instant obedience? Is every man supposed to banish his wife if she fails to submit to his will? (Esther and Ruth, 12)

the Scholar concludes that all the decree demonstrates in every language of the empire is that the one, who in Esther 1:1-10 seemed to possess incredible power, actually lacks "authority in his own household" (ibid.). Whether the decree actually had any impact on the homes in the empire is not recorded. So, will one "more worthy" than Vashti be found to serve as queen? Time will tell.

Well Over time we will see that God will find a worthy queen for his glory.

Now believe it or not though God is not mentioned in this text we have a-lot of things we can apply in our own context..

Actually this text has much more application than most of my sermons, because you see the wickedness of man, and the absence of God and his word, and you think if God was just somehow intervening or he had good council this whole situation would have unfolded differently.

Few things I want you to take home today..

You can have all the authority, and power in the world, yet God is in control..

Want a powerful example of this??

Acts 12:20–23 ESV

20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

You saw in this text a powerful man, who had every possession, all the power, and a beautiful women. Most men would only dream to have a life like that, but at the end of the day God is in control of this story, and will always carry out his purposes, and he does that through the proud, and through the humble.

2nd thing this morning is this…

You can be one who boasts in all your greatness or you can be one who serves..

Mark 10:42–45 ESV

42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

In Mark chapter 10 Jesus confronts two of his disciples who are wanting to be the greatest, and he corrects them, and says the one who would be great will serve, King Xerxes lived to be serve, and Jesus teaches us we live to serve, and he served us unto his death..

3rd…

Drunkenness can lead you down a path of wrong decisions.

Clearly Xerxes acted in a wrong, and his drunkenness led him down a path to make wrong choices. Friends, I have had many friends, and family members ruin their lives, marriages, jobs, and futures, because of being drunk with much wine, beer, drugs, and power.

And God calls us in 1 Peter 5:8-9

1 Peter 5:8–9 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

One of the keys to fighting the enemy is to be sober minded, not drunk.

4th..

Christians should be accountable to faithful Christian brothers and sisters.

One I want to say if you need that accountability come see me or my wife, we will help you with that… Xerxes had advisors that were more concerned with themselves than doing the right thing… No Christian would be like you know what because your spouse didn’t do what you wanted when you were drunk, leave em, better yet let them never be in your presence again. We all have sin and mistakes in our lives, as brother’s and sisters in Christ we are to give good wise counsel to one another. One of our core missions as this church is to encourage one another, and encouragement sometimes comes in accountability. Who knows the instruction Xerxes would have gotten if this story was focused on God, we will never know, but be good accountable to faithful Christian brothers and sisters so that when you come into situations were you need instruction they will be there for you, and you will be there for them.

Final point this morning is the best one.

Only God gives the grace that forgives all sins when we make mistakes.

You read this first chapter and you say man this guy is a jerk… His wife doesn’t appear to deserve to loose her crown as queen she just didn’t want to be paraded around as trophy.

Yet her husband who is suppose to be the one who loves her most treats her like a piece of property seeking bad council, and in a drunken rage writes something to his whole empire causing a ripple effect..

And don’t you think for a moment that couldn’t be you in that place. And before you say it couldn’t be listen Jesus brother James..

James 2:10 ESV

10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

All of us are just like King Xerxes without Jesus Christ. Naturally in the flesh we love power, we love being praised, we love partaking in the quote on quote good things in life, and using our influence to get what we want don’t we. To partake in the sinful pleasures of this world. Even if that means throwing those who we love to the side to make a point.. That stings a little doesn’t it, because those application points I gave you are not what the flesh wants are they. Our flesh wants the power, wants the glory, wants to partake in un Godly things, and act how we please, but we all have to answer to God one day, the one who is in control, and the reality is Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We might have earthly glory like king Xerxes, but his glory is but a dim light compared to God, and in his glory he did not forgive his wife for not coming, but guess what the one who has all the glory forgives sinners when they mess up, and if you come to him through Jesus Christ , and noone else you can be forgiven..

2 Corinthians 5:18–21 ESV

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Christ is not like the one who banished his bride for a mistake, rather he died for his bride, can I say that again with a few more amens?

And in the story of Esther, God is going to send one who will save his people temporary from perishing, but there is only one who can keep you from perishing forever, and that is Jesus Christ, who came to live a life quite differently than that of Xerxes, who lived a lavish lifestyle partaking in the pleasures of this world. Jesus though has an infinite amount of more treasures than Xerxes could have ever known, yet he came through a regular virgin girl Mary did not partake of the pleasures of this world, lived a sinless life dying on the cross, a place only the worst of the worst go was buried, and rose again so his people could be fully rescued throughout time. Nothing is better than that and you don’t know him today trust in him, not the rulers of this age to save you, and you can have eternal life, and forgiveness through him. Let us pray…