Esther 2 (Esther 3:1-15)

In the first message from the book of Esther, chapters 1 and the first 18 verses of chapter two set up the story. We were shown a very powerful king, his queen, a young beautiful woman, and an Uncle who was caring for this young woman.

All of these people played a very important role in God’s plan to redeem his people from the curse of sin.

I told you that there the Bible is one story. It is a story of God’s plan to repair what was spoiled by Adam and Eve in the garden.

So if you think about out it…it’s one story from beginning to end, but it is divided into 4 parts. (Creation Genesis 1-2) (Fall Genesis 3 through the rest of the Old Testament) (Redemption Matthew- 3 John) (Restoration Revelalation) But all four parts come together as one story.

Genesis 1:31 the last verse of the chapter completing God’s sixth day of creation, the Bible says

Genesis 1:31 (ESV)

31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

It was perfect. God had created the land, the sea, the sky, animals, bird, bugs, man and woman…and it was perfect…a paradise. There was no sickness and no sin. Perfect!

Adam and Eve had communion with God. Also in Genesis it says that God would come into the garden and walk with Adam ad Eve “in the cool of the day.” He would fellowship with them, and they would fellowship with him…in his presence. They could be in the presence of God because there was no sin.

But then sin came into the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Now there was a seperation. They could no longer have a relationship with God because of sin. It separated them from his presence.

Something had to happen to bring God and his creation back together. God was holy and man was sinful, the two could not be together.

How would this happen?

Jesus. Jesus, God in the flesh, sent down to heaven would make a way.

The Apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament...

Romans 5:6–8 (ESV)

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus would come, die for mankind, and make a way to bring sinful man, back into relationship with a holy God.

But, it would be 4000 years between the sin of Adam and Eve and Jesus coming into the world. 4000 years. But that was God’s plan.

And part of God’s plan in bringing his Son Jesus into the world was that he would be a Jewish man. He wasn’t a white. He wasn’t German, European, American. He wasn’t African, Chinese, Japanese, or Russian… he was Jewish. The events of the Old Testament, the beginning of the world, took place in what we know as modern day Israel. Palestine to be more specific.

So as Adam ad Eve were set out of the garden because of their sin, they began to multiply and the world began to be populated.

And as part of his plan to REDEEM man back to him, his plan began with one man…Abraham.

How did God choose Abraham? He told Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. In Genesis 26:4

Genesis 26:4 (ESV)

4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

He will multiply his people…and all the earth will be blessed. Today, we know that the nation of Israel came from Abraham (multiply is people) and that the nations of the earth will be blessed (because Jesus Christ would come as a Jew)

Thousands of years after Abraham, God told King David through Nathan...

2 Samuel 7:16 ESV

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”

Paul wrote of this after Jesus had ascended into heaven...

Romans 1:3 ESV

3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh

Jesus, God in the flesh, came into this world, to save the world and offer salvation to bring back mankind into fellowship with God.

So what does all of this have to do with a powerful king, his queen, a young beautiful woman and her uncle? Everything.

Because what we will see today, the events that happened thousands of years ago here in the book of Esther, could have stopped Jesus from ever coming into this world. Satan was trying to defeat God. Satan was trying to stop God’s plan, like he always does.

But just as we mentioned in the first message, even though we don’t see God’s name in the book of Esther, we see him working. And I will even add, even though we don’t see Satan’s name in the book of Esther, he is always working. But the good news is, we know who is more powerful. We know who is superior. We know who wins.

Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians, that our God is faithful, he will surely do it. His plans will succeed. His will will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

.......

THE BIBLE IS THE WOrD OF GOD

THE TRUTH OF THE BIBLE WILL CHAGE MY LIFE LORD OPEN MY HEART AD AWAKEN MY MIND AND GIVE ME GRACE TO RESPOND

CHANGE ME FOR YOUR GLORY AND MY JOY AMEN.

Let’s look at God working....

Esther 3:1 (ESV)

1 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him.

What are these things?

Chapter 1 of Esther told of a powerful king who had a big party that lasted 6 months. In this party all of the important men gathered. His name was Ahasuerus. While he had his own party, his wife, the queen Vashti had her own party for her lady friends. While the King was having his party, he called for the queen to come to his party so he could show all his friends how beautiful she was. She wasn’t happy with this, so she refused. This made the King very unhappy and his closest friends told him, you need to remove her as queen and find someone else.

In chapter 2 we meet Esther and her uncle Mordecai. They were Jews, but kept that secret. After a while, Esther would be chosen as the new queen. But still, she did not say she was a Jew, because the King was not Jewish. Now even while Esther was taken into the palace with the King, Mordecai was still hanging around outside checking to see if Esther was ok inside. And while he was outside he heard something.

Esther 2:21–23 ESV

21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.

So now, in Chapter 3, verse 1....

Esther 3:1–15 ESV

1 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. 3 Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” 4 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. 7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. 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. 9 If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.” 12 Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

There will always be opposition to God.

Why did Haman hate teh Jews and Modecai? Was it because Mordecai would not bow before him? That may have some of the reason, but there was another. The Scripture here says that Haman was an Agagite. Keep your place there in Esther and turn back to 1 Samuel 15.

At this time Saul was King, and God told Saul to attack and kill the Amalakites. Why? Look at verse 1.

1 Samuel 15:1–11 (ESV)

1 And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ” 4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. 10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night.

Saul, the Jewish king, killed all the Amalikites, but allowed teh King Agag to live. Because he was allowed to live, Agag woudl have decedents…the Agagites. One of those decendents was Haman. So Haman hated the Jews because they had killed the Amalkites years before. And now, he had the power to kill all the Jews.

These actions by Haman were in opposition to God’s plan. One person stands in the front i opposition to God…Satan. Satan uses different people in different times to oppose God’s plan, but he will never succed.

Today Satan uses people to oppose God’s plan. He tries to get beleivers to tur away from God. He uses wealth, possessions, and temporary things to try to pull people away from servig God. Satan will also try to confuse those unbeleivers by making them thik that there is no God, or that the Bible is not true. You don’t have to look very far, Satan is active and in opposition to God and his plan.

2. Even in opposition, the faithful will remain strong.

Look what all of this caused. Haman wanted all Jews to be killed. He had the King make a law that all Jews would die. And in verse 15 it says that when he made that law, he sat down and had something to drink. Some people believe that it wasn’t just a drink, but a meal. In his mind everything was ok, he was doing the right thing. But look what happened while he was at peace having a meal.... the city was thrown into confusion.

Here is the difference between the strong believer and one who is weak.. when Satan attacks, their faith will hold strong.

The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church in Ephesus and he encouarged them to stay strong in their faith, beig careful not to get pulled away from a false teaching or false beleif. He used these words.... (don’t get ....tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.) Eph 4:14

When a beleiever who is pulled away easily from the teachings of the Bible to a false belief, there faith is weak? Why, because their foundation of their faith is week. How can we avoid being tossed to and fro?

Next week we get more into Chapter 4, but I want to show you how Haman, Esther, and the Jews there showed how they would not be moved

Esther 4:1 ESV

1 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, 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.

His heart broke. It brought him big sadness. In that culture when someone tore their clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, they were mourning.

Sackcloth and ashes were an outward sign of mourning or repentance, .... It was a type of cloth made of black goat’s hair that was thick, rough, and coarse material. It was uncomfortable to wear, and later it was used as a sack. It was also used as an outward sign of mourning and submission

Mordecai was heartbroken. And he expressed this heart break before the Lord. That was Mordecai, what of Esther?

In Chapter 4 verses 15 & 16, Esther fasted and instructed the Jews to do the same.

They were heartbroken, and where did they go for help when there was opposition? To the Lord.

How do we respond to a world that is confused, without God? Do we tell them the gospel? Yes. Do we lives our lives in front of them as children of God? Yes. But before we do all that, we have to have our lives focused on Him. We should first make sure that we are spiritually ready … individually. Are we taking time to read his word. No matter how busy we are, do we hunger for his word? Do we seek to worship him, not just on Sundays…but living a life of worship with a life dependence on Him?

Because, I believe that you will never be able to have a heart for the unbeleivers until you have a heart for God. A heart of worship and a heart for his Word.

God used Mordecai and Esther. He gave them a heart to save the Jewish people from Haman. Next week we will see that Esther put herself in danger to save her people and God’s plan. What about you? Would you be willing to do the same?