Esther: The Providence of God

SERMON TITLE: Esther: The Providence of God

TEXT: Esther 4:1-17 (ESV)

SPEAKER: Josh Hanson

DATE: 3-10-24

TURN MIC ON / WELCOME

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or are joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We are finishing our Finding Jesus series this weekend. When I first became the senior pastor — here at Gateway — I had the goal of preaching a sermon on each book in the Old Testament. And — today — we will have completed this goal. I had this goal as I find it common for the Old Testament to be a challenging part of the Bible for people to understand. So I thought doing a series like this — where I introduce you to a book of the Bible that you may or may not be familiar with — give you an overview of the book — followed by a closer look at a particular section of it — and then show you how to find Jesus in the Old Testament — would be a resource that could be used for years to come.

So — if you’re ever reading in the Old Testament and want a quick overview of the book — be sure to go to our website — gatewayepc.org — and search for our Finding Jesus series.

Now — I just mentioned how one of my goals has been to show you how to find Jesus in the Old Testament. You see — here at Gateway — we believe that the Bible is telling one story — the story of Jesus. The entire Bible — not just the gospels — but the whole Bible is pointing us to him. And here’s why we believe this.

There’s an interesting story near the end of the gospel of Luke where — after Jesus was killed on the cross — he appears to two men who thought he was still dead. Somehow Jesus hid who he was from them — so they have no idea who they’re talking to. And Jesus gives them — and us — a hint as to how we’re to read and understand the whole Bible.

Luke 24:17–27 (ESV)

17 And he (that’s Jesus) said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And (verse twenty-seven is key because this is why we’ve done this series — this is how we know that the whole Bible tells one story — watch what Jesus does. And...) beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Why do we believe the whole Bible is pointing us to Jesus? Because he tells us the Bible is about him.

In this iteration of our Finding Jesus series — we’ve been finishing the group of books that are to as the history section of the Old Testament. What these books have in common is that they cover historical events in the life of God’s people. Some of the books cover hundreds of years while others cover a brief period of time — but — together — they tell the historical account of God’s people. And — today — we’ll be looking at the book of Esther. So if you have your Bible, please turn with me to Esther chapter four.

BACKGROUND OF ESTHER

And — as you’re finding Esther chapter four — let’s take some time to get our bearings in the book — and I hope you’ll see that Esther is a book you’ll want to go read for yourself.

First, let’s get our bearings with where we are in the story of the history of the people of God. The books of history pick up where the books of Moses end. After being rescued out of Egypt — the people are led by Moses to the edge of the Promised Land. They send spies into the land to scope out their new home — only to be told a report from the majority of the spies that causes the Israelites to distrust God’s promise to them. So the people wander in the wilderness for forty years until an entire generation dies. Moses — along with Joshua and Caleb — the two spies who did trust God’s promise — arrive with the next generation of Israelites at the edge of the Promised Land. However, Moses’ time on earth has come to an end and God appoints Joshua to be the leader of the Israelites.

Under Joshua’s leadership, the Israelites enter and conquer the Promised Land — which we looked at in the book named after Joshua a few weeks ago. After Joshua — there was a brief period of the people faithfully serving and worshiping the One true God. But then we came to the book of Judges which contains the history of the people turning their backs on God — they commit apostasy again and again. Yet God — demonstrating his love and faithfulness to his people — raises up judges who act as saviors for his people. Delivering them from the consequences of their rebellion. These judges turn the people back to God again and again.

And — it’s during the time of the judges — that the story of Ruth takes place. A love story of an outsider welcomed into the family of God. And the book of Ruth ends by telling us that the son born to her — would have a descendant who would be king of God’s people.

Back in the book of Judges there’s a recurring phrase — “in those days there was no king in Israel” — foreshadowing that a kingship was to come. And the books of Samuel begin by recording the transition between the time of the judges to the time of the monarchy. Samuel is a prophet of God who’s called by God to anoint the first king of Israel — his name is Saul. Things don’t turn out well for Saul — he’s a proud man who refuses to repent of his rebellion and sin so God removes his anointing from Saul and tells Samuel to go to the house of Jesse to anoint Israel’s next king — whose name is David. And the remainder of the books of Samuel record the lives of these first two kings of Israel.

The book of First Kings begins by covering the end of David’s life and then records the history of David’s son — Solomon’s reign as king of Israel. Solomon is the last king to reign over a unified nation because — his son Rehoboam — will make a foolish decision which results in a split. The nation of Judah is formed with Jerusalem as its capital and has the descendants of David as its king — whereas the nation of Israel goes it separate way — with Samaria its eventual capital and Israel will have a long list of evil men as its kings.

And it’s during this time period — in the history of God’s people — that the role of the prophet becomes really important. We meet some of these prophets in the books of the kings. The main role of the prophets was to 1) Speak on behalf of God, 2) Make sure the king and the people remember the covenants, 3) Call out idolatry and injustice, and 4) Call the king and people to repentance. The prophets had the Law of God — the writings of Moses — in mind as they fulfilled their role.

The two main prophets — that we encounter in the books of kings — are Elijah and Elisha — they serve in the northern kingdom — Israel. You may be familiar with Elijah because of his encounter with the evil king Ahab and his wife, Jezebel. The king and his wife had led the people into gross idolatry — particularly the worship of Baal. And — there’s this amazing encounter between Elijah and the prophets of Baal — where God rains down fire to prove that he was the true God — not Baal — and that Elijah was his prophet.

As Elijah’s time on earth comes to an end — he hands off his responsibilities to Elisha. Elisha asks for a blessing — to have a double anointing of what Elijah had. And — as if to make this clear — the author of the books of Kings — records seven miraculous acts performed at the hands of Elijah and fourteen miracles performed by Elisha.

Now — as far as the two nations go — you’ll read of king after king, and conspiracy after conspiracy, and betrayal after betrayal in the northern kingdom. The nation of Israel never recovers — there’s only evil kings for this nation — leading to the nation’s eventual defeat by the Assyrians and the people being sent into exile — resulting in the northern kingdom being no more.

Why did God allow the nation of Israel to be destroyed? Israel is destroyed because of its 1) idolatry, 2) injustice, and 3) its covenant unfaithfulness. The kings and the people would not listen to the prophets God had sent to call them to repentance and to turn back to him. And — now — our attention is on the nation of Judah — the southern kingdom — and its eventual demise. Though this nation does have some good kings — like Hezekiah and Josiah — Judah has some horrific kings — like Manasseh — who introduces idolatry and even child sacrifice. Other prophets arise at this time — most notably the prophet Isaiah among others — who call the kings of Judah to repentance. Yet — though there were a few good kings — the evil kings eventually lead the nation so far from God that it too is conquered — this time by the Babylonians. And the books of the kings end with the people of God being led to go live in exile in Babylon. And this all leads us — the readers — to wonder if this is it for God’s people. Have they finally gone so far that God’s done with them?

The book of Esther picks up about a hundred years the Babylonian exile. So some of the Israelites have returned to Jerusalem — what we saw in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah — the past two weeks — has already taken place. And — though some Jews returned to Jersualem — many Jews remained living in the land of their exile. The book of Esther narrows in on Jews living in the capital of Persia — the city of Susa.

The book has a few key individuals in it. Esther — who the book is named after. Mordecai — Esther’s uncle — they’re both Jewish — by the way. There’s the king of Persia. And — finally — there’s the Persian official named Haman who’s the villain.

Additionally, the book has an interesting fact about it: God isn’t mentioned. Not even once in the book. Which is interesting because the Bible is about God. So what is the author of the book — in case you’re wondering we don’t know who wrote the book — but what is the author trying to accomplish in recording Esther’s story without mentioning God? We’ll get to that a bit later — for this is going to be our way of finding Jesus in the book of Esther.

OVERVIEW OF ESTHER

So that’s the background of the book — now — let’s turn to the content. The book begins with the king of Persia throwing an elaborate party that lasts about half a year. For some of us — the office Christmas party lasts too long. If that’s you — be glad you don’t work for the king of Persia. The king has thrown this party to make much of his greatness — kings tend to have egos — there’s only one King I can think of who was truly humble — and on the last day of his party — after having too much to drink — the king demands that his wife make an appearance to show off her beauty to all of the guests. And she refuses.

Do you know what’s worse than an earthly king with lots of power? A drunk earthly king with lots of power! Since his wife won’t come out and show off her beauty to his guests — he gets rid of her. And — to find his next queen — he puts together a plan that the Bachelor stole its whole premise from. Just kidding — sort of.

This is where Esther and Mordecai enter the story. Esther is one of many women that the king is considering to give his final rose too. And Esther — this Jewish woman — who’s been hiding the fact that she’s a Jew the entire time — gets the rose. And she becomes queen. Shortly after Esther’s been named queen, Mordecai hears some men plot to kill the king. He lets Esther know of the plot — she tells the king — and the men’s plan is stopped.

Next we meet Haman. He’s an official of the king who’s power hungry and full of himself — which explains why he demands that all people kneel when in his presence. Well…Mordecai refuses to kneel — which makes Haman mad. Similar to a spoiled child — Haman goes to the king and gets the king to write a decree that will result in the death of all Jewish people because he found out that Mordecai was Jew. A dice is thrown to pick the date when the Jews will be killed on a date eleven months later.

What comes next is the passage that we’re going to look at more closely — but here’s what comes after our text. Esther will throw a banquet for the king and Haman. They have a lot to drink — but before they leave — she invites them back to another banquet on the following day. So drunk Haman leaves the banquet and as he heads home he sees Mordecai and his rage and anger rise to the surface again. He orders for a giant pole — a sharp stake — to be built on which he plans to impale Mordecai on the next day.

Interestingly, that night the king can’t sleep. So he has one of his servants read to him to try and bring the sleepy time zzz’s on. What’s read to the king is the recording of the plan to kill the king that Mordecai warned Esther about. And the king remembers that dicey moment and asks, “What reward did Mordecai get for saving my life?” And the servant said, “Nothing. No reward was given to Mordecai.”

In the morning — Haman comes to the king expecting to request permission to kill Mordecai. But — instead — the king asks…

Esther 6:6b–10 (NLT)

6 “What should I do to honor a man who truly pleases me?” Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?” 7 So he replied, “If the king wishes to honor someone, 8 he should bring out one of the king’s own royal robes, as well as a horse that the king himself has ridden—one with a royal emblem on its head. 9 Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. And let him see that the man whom the king wishes to honor is dressed in the king’s robes and led through the city square on the king’s horse. Have the official shout as they go, ‘This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!’ ” 10 “Excellent!” the king said to Haman. “Quick! Take the robes and my horse, and do just as you have said for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the gate of the palace. Leave out nothing you have suggested!”

And Haman does what he’s told. He put royal robes on Mordecai. He has him ride on one of the king’s horses. Haman led Mordecai throughout the city shouting, “This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!” And — when it was all over — Haman was humiliated. And…

Esther 6:13–14 (NLT)

13 When Haman told his wife, Zeresh, and all his friends what had happened, his wise advisers and his wife said, “Since Mordecai—this man who has humiliated you—is of Jewish birth, you will never succeed in your plans against him. It will be fatal to continue opposing him.” 14 While they were still talking, the king’s eunuchs arrived and quickly took Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.

During this second banquet, Esther reveals to the king that she’s Jewish and that Haman has tricked the king into writing a decree that will have her — and her uncle, who saved the king’s life — and her people — killed. Now the king’s been drinking and he gets really angry. He storms out of the room — and while he’s outside gathering his thoughts — Haman tries to plead with Esther for his life. And — as the king returns — he thinks that Haman is assaulting his wife and orders Haman to be impaled on the pole that he had built to kill Mordecai on.

Haman’s death doesn’t end the fact that the day is coming of the decree ordering the death of all Jews. Esther and Mordecai get to work to try and stop the decree but — in the traditions of the land — the king can’t revoke a decree he’s already made. But — a king can make a counter-decree. So a new decree is sent throughout the land giving Jews the right to defend themselves and the right to destroy all of their enemies. The Jews celebrate. They defend themselves. They destroy their enemies. And Mordecai was made second in the land — only the king was considered as having a higher position of authority than Mordecai. And — all of this — became part of an annual two day celebration for the Jewish people.

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD

And — now — we turn to our passage in Esther that we’re going to look at more closely. We’re in Esther chapter four — beginning in verse one.

Esther 4:1–17 (NLT)

1 When Mordecai learned about all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on burlap and ashes, and went out into the city, crying with a loud and bitter wail. 2 He went as far as the gate of the palace, for no one was allowed to enter the palace gate while wearing clothes of mourning. 3 And as news of the king’s decree reached all the provinces, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and wailed, and many people lay in burlap and ashes. 4 When Queen Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was deeply distressed. She sent clothing to him to replace the burlap, but he refused it. 5 Then Esther sent for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been appointed as her attendant. She ordered him to go to Mordecai and find out what was troubling him and why he was in mourning. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the square in front of the palace gate. 7 Mordecai told him the whole story, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai gave Hathach a copy of the decree issued in Susa that called for the death of all Jews. He asked Hathach to show it to Esther and explain the situation to her. He also asked Hathach to direct her to go to the king to beg for mercy and plead for her people. 9 So Hathach returned to Esther with Mordecai’s message. 10 Then Esther told Hathach to go back and relay this message to Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days.” 12 So Hathach gave Esther’s message to Mordecai. 13 Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. 14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.” 17 So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

“Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” What a powerful statement. A statement of purpose. Of possibility. A statement acknowledging that there are things we don’t know — while acknowledging hope and confidence in God — “If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relier for the Jews will arise from some other place…”

Did you notice all of the times in the book of Esther that seem too improbable to be coincidental? Of all the women up to receive the king’s rose — Esther is chosen. Mordecai just so happens to overhear a plot to murder the king. The king just so happens to forget to reward Mordecai for saving his life. The roll of the dice to mark the date for all Jews to be killed just so happens to be months away. The king can’t sleep and just so happens to hear the story of Mordecai saving his life and is told that he failed to reward him for the good deed just happens to be hours before Haman hopes to have Mordecai killed. And Haman just so happens to have to honor Mordecai instead of having him murdered. And Haman just so happens to be killed on the pole that he had built for Mordecai’s death. It just so happened, and happened, and happened, and happened. Too many coincidences to be coincidental. Even down to “Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Oh, we know Mordecai, we know. Esther was made queen just for a time like that.

FINDING JESUS

If you don’t know — we have a church podcast. We answer your questions, discuss sermons, hear stories of folks who are part of this faith family, and so on. One of the topics we’ve been discussing is the Westminster Confession of Faith — which is a theological document that’s part of our church constitution. Next week, we’ll be discussing the confession’s chapter that covers the providence of God — which is the theological theme for this sermon. So…what is God’s providence? I won’t read everything the Westminster Confession of Faith has to say on God’s providence, but here are some highlights.

God, who created everything, also upholds everything. He directs, regulates, and governs every creature, action, and thing, from the greatest to the least, by his completely wise and holy providence. He does so in accordance with his infallible foreknowledge and the voluntary, unchangeable purpose of his own will, all to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. - 5.1

What we first learn about God’s providence is that all things — not only exist — but continue to exist — because God is actively involved in his creation. He’s not apathetic to what’s happening. He’s not aloof. He didn’t create everything and then abandon us to our own destruction — he’s passionately involved in his creation — even in books like Esther where he’s not even mentioned. As the author of Hebrews reminds us…

Hebrews 1:3a (NLT)

3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.

Right now — we — and everything else — continues to exist — because Jesus is sustaining all things. So — the age old question of “When will the sun stop burning” has an answer. The sun will stop burning when Jesus says so. The day of your last breath has already been determined by the One who made you. And there’s comfort — peace, really — in knowing that things like this aren’t left up to chance — or the roll of the dice — but are under the loving, kind, and gracious power of he who died for you.

In the book of Esther we see how God “directs, regulates, and governs every creature, action, and thing…by his completely wise and holy providence” which is what the confession teaches us. The Westminster Confession continues to explain God’s providence by stating…

God is the first cause, and in relationship to him everything happens unchangeably and infallibly. However, by this same providence, he orders things to happen from secondary causes. - 5.2

We see this throughout the Bible. For example we read…

Psalm 33:10–11 (NLT)

10 The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes. 11 But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.

Or as Paul writes to the Christians in Ephesus…

Ephesians 1:9–11 (NLT)

9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ — which is to fulfill his own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ — everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

God is the first cause of all things. Meaning his will is ultimately behind all that’s happening in his creation. And his will — his plan — will be accomplished. For he has the power to frustrate the plans and schemes of the nations — just like he frustrated Haman’s many plans. But God’s plan stands firm. What God intends to happen will happen. Part of God’s plan is what Paul calls the mystery of the gospel. That — at the right time — Christ would come to save those whom God had chosen to be part of his people. And nothing — not even the death of Jesus — would stop God’s plan from being accomplished.

Jesus’ opponents — in their hatred for him — had him murdered on a cross — another pole used for death. And they thought they were doing God’s will by getting rid of a blasphemer. And — though they were mistaken about many things — who Jesus was, that their hatred was ungodly, that Jesus was not blaspheming but telling the truth — though they were mistaken about many things they were not mistaken in believing that they were accomplishing God’s will. They were just mistaken in what God’s plan was. For God’s eternal plan was that Jesus would die as the promised Savior at the hands of angry sinners.

The Westminster Confession goes on to say…

Just as the providence of God in general extends to every creature, so, in a very special way it takes care of his church and orders all things for its good. - 5.7

An example of this is found in the book of Romans.

Romans 8:28 (NLT)

28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Dear Christian, the hope for us — in these words of the confession — is that God so cares for his people that he orders all things to happen for our ultimate good. “Do you mean that God is going to use this cancer for my good?” Yes. “That he’ll use this betrayal by someone I thought was a friend for my good?” Yes. “That God’s going to use this ___ — whatever goes in your blank — parenting situation, work conflict, another contentious presidential election — for my good?” The answer is yes. This is what God has promised to his people. And God always fulfills his promises.

If this is hard for you to comprehend, know that you’re in good company. As I recently read, “There are lots of things about this world that I don’t fully understand, so it’s not hard for me to imagine that there are going to be an infinite number of things that can fit into God’s infinite mind that just don’t fit into mine.” - Greg Gilbert, Who is Jesus?, 65.

My puny, finite mind can’t comprehend how God is causing everything in this broken, rebellious, often crushing world to work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. I wish I could comprehend it — it would making being a pastor so much easier as I’d have so many more answers. But I don’t have all the answers — I don’t even know if I have many answers — but I do know that I have one answer: God is faithful — and he always keeps his promises to his people. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

A Heavenly Father, thank you for your providence. Thank you that nothing is left to chance. We may roll the dice but you determine how they fall. We make plans and often our plans fail. But your plan never fails. What assurance there is in knowing that the One whose plan never fails has determined to love and rescue us.

Spirit of God, give our hearts assurance that our trust in Christ for our hope and salvation is real and genuine. Not so we trust in ourselves — but so we trust more in you. Especially when life is hard and — like Mordecai — it feels like everything in the world is against us. Remind us in these moments — grab our attention by reminding us of the truths we’ve seen today: The nations may plan — people may scheme — but it is the Lord’s plan which will never fail.

And — Jesus — the plan determined in eternity past was that you would die for the sins of your people. Your opponents thought they were succeeding as they put you on trial, trumped up the charges, and had you killed. But all of it was you plan. For it was your choice to come to earth to die for our sins. It was your plan and nothing and no one — not the religious leaders, not your earthly enemies, not even Satan himself — would thwart your plan to rescue those whom you love.

If you believe in Jesus — receive these words — not even your doubt can thwart Jesus’ plan to rescue and love you. Sometimes we give our doubt, or our disobedience, or our depression or the darkness that we face way too much credit. Nothing can stop Jesus’ plan of rescue and love for you.

And — if you don’t believe in Jesus — but desire to be loved in this way — all you need to do is say, “Jesus, I want to be loved by you. I want to know that I’ve been called according to your purpose. Rescue me from my sin and from myself.” That’s all that’s required — it really is amazingly that simple. Father, Son, and Spirit — thank you for making it simple to receive your love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go trusting in God’s providence — that he is causing everything to work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.