Esther: A Call for Action
Notes
Transcript
I have enjoyed looking at chapter 25 of Matthew as we study Esther’s story. I think that the way Esther was written and how God’s lack of mentioning creates this feeling of absense and waiting compared to the parables Jesus is teaching fit nicely together. We talked about how it is important for us to have a character and integrity that honors God no matter our circumstances and we have talked about having boldness and the courage to share the Gospel even when it is uncomfortable. Tonight we are continuing that idea of being faithful in that we are answering a call for action. When we are in these times of waiting, when God seems silent, when our circumstances are painful or uncomfortable, how should we respond?
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
“All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’
“Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Again Jesus is sharing a parable about silence and waiting. In the first parable it was the group of women awaiting the grooms return. We had those who acted with wisdom and brought extra oil for their lamps and we had those who acted foolishly and had to go back to get oil and missed the grooms return. In the second parable we had the master who gave talents to his servants. All but one invested the masters money and brought a return for it while one acted in fear and buried it in order to not offend the master.
This third parable is about a lifestyle of service to God. On one side you have those who cared for the needy. They fed the hungry and thirsty, they cared for strangers and those who needed clothes or were sick or in prison. On the other side you have those who did not care for others in need. What we can see from this parable is that if the Gospel has transformed us it will express itself in caring for others. It is a call to action, not as a form of self-righteousness or as a means of salvation, but in response to how God has been faithful to us. Jesus says when we serve others it is as if we were serving God Himself. We love because Jesus first loved us. He cared for us when we were hungry by giving us the bread of life. When we were thirsty He offered to us living water. When we were a stranger He adopted us into His family. When we were naked He clothed us in righteousness. When we were sick He healed us, when we were in prison He set us free. There is not a thing God calls us to do that He has not already done for us.
The first night we talked about the call we have to live with integrity, our call to character. We talked about how it is a matter of heart condition. Today we are going to be talking about our hands. Serving is about loving people internally and externally. Serving with our heart and serving with our hands are both rooted in the confidence and courage we have in Christ. Just as God gives us the courage to have integrity, He also equips us with the courage to act. So tonight is answering the call to act.
This third act of Esther picks up three days after her conversation with Mordecai. It is interesting to me how detailed the author is with his dating of this book. He narrows things down to the exact months and days that events happen. It is clear that whoever wrote this is trying to give a detailed and chronological account of what happens with Esther.
Now it came about on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace in front of the king’s rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room, opposite the entrance to the palace.
When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter.
Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you.”
I love the casualness of Ahasuerus in this passage. If he only knew the sleepless nights, countless prayers, and anxiety that had taken place over the last three days. I think it is a testament to God’s care and provision over Esther. It can be hard to see God working when our circumstances are so dire. Esther enters into the room unsure of what awaited her. Would she be exiled? Put to death? How would the king respond? And here we see Esther and Mordecai’s prayers answered. The king extends his scepter and welcomes his queen into the throne room. Not only that but he offers her up to half his kingdom. Here is Esther’s moment. Here is her chance to save her people.
Esther said, “If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”
Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly that we may do as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared.
As they drank their wine at the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.”
So Esther replied, “My petition and my request is:
if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and do what I request, may the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king says.”
Rather than making her request Esther invites the king and Haman to dinner. Ahasuerus, a man who never turns down a party, quickly agrees to her invitation. Again after a good night of eating and drinking Ahasuerus offers Esther anything she asked of him and again she asked Ahasuerus to dinner. Esther’s repeated banquet invitation doesn’t appear to be a strategy. Esther is really putting herself out there. I imagine she’s stalling. She knows what she has to do but she is afraid to do it. Either way Ahasuerus is captivated by his queen, and Esther holds Ahasuerus to his word. At the next banquet Esther will make her request.
Ahasuerus’ character seems very different from how he is depicted in the early chapters of Esther. This vengeful and hard hearted man has become a big softie when it comes to Esther. No heart can resist the soverign work of the Lord. God is in control of this situation. Although Esther is the only one who can take a stand for Israel it does not mean she is alone in her endeavor.
As we approach our call to action it is important to understand the support we have. Jesus tells us in the great commission
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
This task that Jesus calls us to is a monumental task. It is one that is impossible to accomplish on our own, but Jesus promises to never leave us or forsake us. Esther was afraid to enter into the king’s throne room, but the Bible says we can approach the throne of our king with confidence.
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
God is not far away or absent, instead He is with us working through us to be salt and light in the world around us.
In chapter 6 we continue to see God working through Ahasuerus.
During that night the king could not sleep so he gave an order to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.
It was found written what Mordecai had reported concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who were doorkeepers, that they had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.
The king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” Then the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”
So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace in order to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared for him.
The king’s servants said to him, “Behold, Haman is standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.”
So Haman came in and the king said to him, “What is to be done for the man whom the king desires to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?”
Then Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king desires to honor,
let them bring a royal robe which the king has worn, and the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed;
and let the robe and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble princes and let them array the man whom the king desires to honor and lead him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.’ ”
Then the king said to Haman, “Take quickly the robes and the horse as you have said, and do so for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate; do not fall short in anything of all that you have said.”
So Haman took the robe and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.”
Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried home, mourning, with his head covered.
Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him.”
While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hastily brought Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.
The king couldn’t sleep so he gave orders for this book of memorable deeds and events from his life to be read. The story they happened to read that night was that of Mordecai saving the king all those years before. The king decides he wants to honor Mordecai so he asks his right hand man Haman for advice. Haman was so full of himself he thought, who would the king honor other than me? Surely its not the guy I hate more than anyone in this whole world! Surely the king wouldn’t ask my help to honor my arch nemisis. So Haman lays out this amazing procession. He pulls out all the stops and advises this great man should wear the kings crown and robes. He should be paraded on hourseback through the city. In one of the greatest moments of the Bible, Haman is dealt an amazing uno reverse card. He has to be the one who parades Mordecai through the city. Haman walked into that room ready to hang Mordecai on a spike and walked out with the kings robes. Haman was so humiliated he cried all the way home. Even his wife and family thinks he is in for it. He doesn’t even have time to finish his conversation before he is led off to Esther’s banquet.
Haman’s humiliation is very satisfying to see. He has been a horrible person to our protagonists the entire time he has been in the story. The beauty of this story is that the humiliation Haman faces is nothing compared to the humiliation our enemy will suffer. When Christ returns Satan will be destroyed. He will watch Christ conquer and reclaim the universe He created and there is nothing he can do to stop it. I love this story because it gives me a glimpse at the hope I have in Christ.
So Haman is summoned to the banquet.
Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen.
And the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine at the banquet, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.”
Then Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request;
for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the annoyance to the king.”
Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?”
Esther said, “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.
What an emotional rollercoaster for Haman. He went from king of the world to rock bottom and then from rock bottom to the center of the earth.
Esther finally speaks on behalf of her people. No more stalling. The king again made the same offer but she doesn’t ask for wealth or power. She asks for her life. In a story where Ahasuerus is told by everyone what he should do, Esther is the first person to ask a request from him and she doesn’t have only her agenda in mind. Her request would certainly benefit her but she comes before the king seeking the welfare of her people. She even says the only reason she came before the king with this issue is because lives were in jeaopardy. She would have been silent had it not been a matter of life and death.
I think it is important to remember why exactly we share the Gospel. We don’t do it for selfish reasons. It isn’t about making ourselves feel good or getting anything out of it. We share the Gospel because it is a matter of life and death. Eternitys are at stake. The price is too high for us to remain silent. It requires more of us than just living a holy life. We must proclaim the good news of the Gospel. Without the proclamation of the good news people will think we are nice people while remaining dead in their sin. It is only the Gospel that has the power to change lives.
for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?
How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
We have a call on our lives to take action. To go into all nations and make disciples. We have a responsibility to preach the good news of the Gospel. Many may refuse. Maybe only a few will recieve it, but the outcome isn’t up to us. We just have a responsiblity to share. Esther didn’t know how the king would respond but she had a responisibility to act anyway. She not only pleaded on behalf of her people but she told the king exactly who was to blame: Haman.
The king arose in his anger from drinking wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king.
Now when the king returned from the palace garden into the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even assault the queen with me in the house?” As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king said, “Behold indeed, the gallows standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai who spoke good on behalf of the king!” And the king said, “Hang him on it.”
So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.
Without hesitation the king chooses his queen over Haman. There is no confusing his feelings towards Haman. Ahasuerus is filled with wrath towards him. Haman is in distress. He was having a very bad day. Thankfully for him it would be his last. The beam that Haman planned to have Mordecai impaled on would now be used for him. He was hung fifty cubits high. Everyone would be able to see what happened to Haman. After Haman was dead it says the king’s wrath subsided.
This tends to be where the story of Esther gets concluded. Esther interviened and saved her people, Mordecai is honored by the king and was made second in command in Persia and served his people well the end. It wasn’t quite that simple. A king’s decree cannot be undone. Once it has been sealed with the king’s ring it is permanent. The king’s hands are tied. The only thing he can do is issue a new decree to allow the Israelites to defend themselves against any who would attack them. This was good news to the people. When the day came for the Jews to be destroyed they took up arms and destroyed all who fought against them including Haman’s family. It says all the governors and officials helped the Jews because they were afraid of Mordecai.
The story’s ending envokes some parallels that are helpful to us in understanding the Gospel we are called to share. The king’s wrath was only satisfied when justice had been payed for what Haman did to his bride. The good news of the Gospel is that God’s wrath was satisfied when justice had been payed for what sin had done to his bride. We were enemies to God. We deserved death like Haman but Jesus took our place and payed that penalty for us. Christ was lifted up so that all who look to Him and believe can have new life forever. After paying the penalty of our sins Christ rose again on the third day and ascended to heaven where He sits at the right hand of the father with the name that is above every other name.
A king’s seal cannot be undone. Christ has sealed our eternity by giving us the Holy Spirit to live inside us. If Ahasuerus cannot undo a decree than how much more so will God be faithful to His word.
When hearing the good news of the king’s new decree Israel was called to take up arms and fight. We under this New Covenant have heard the good news and have been called to take up the Gospel and fight against the darkness. The war we wage is not against flesh and blood but against the darkness. We fight by loving others by caring for those in need. We feed the hungry and the thristy. We clothe those who are naked and in care for those who are sick and in prison. We do these things not just physically but by offering them the same hope spiritually that Christ has given us.
How will you answer the call to action?
Who has God put in your live to love and serve?