The Unsung Heros and Familiar Villains
God Remembers • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Have you ever heard of the phrase UNSUNG HERO.
An Unsung Hero is someone who does something heroic or significant, YET DOES’NT RECEIVE ANY RECOGNITION FOR IT!
Vasili Arkhipov
Vasili is an unsung hero that saved countless lives and PERHAPS EVEN THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT.
It was 1962
The world was on the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were at an all-time high, and the threat of global annihilation looms large.
In the depths of the Caribbean Sea, a Soviet submarine, the B-59 (UNDER STRICT ORDERS TO REMAIN UNDETECTED), is detected by U.S. Navy forces.
The US started dropping practice Depth Charges forcing the SUB to the SURFACE.
The Submersion was prolonged causing very High Temperatures and Carbon Dioxide Issues
The Captain, cut off from communication with Moscow, was certain the WAR HAD ALREADY BROKE OUT!
Under immense pressure and fearing for their lives, the officers on board consider launching a nuclear torpedo in retaliation.
The decision rested in the hands of three men, and it must be unanimous.
Two of the officers were ready to launch, but one man, Vasili Arkhipov WOULD NOT GIVE HIS CONSENT.
Vasili’s decision was not well known, but marks a significant event that saved many lives!
Today, as we come to Esther 2:19-3:15, we will start out seeing MORDECAI AN UNSUNG HERO.
And while one might seem like an UNSUNG HERO, GOD REMEMBERS HIS PEOPLE!
19 When the virgins were gathered a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the King’s Gate.
20 Esther still did not reveal her family background or her ethnicity, as Mordecai had directed. She obeyed Mordecai’s orders, as she always had while he raised her.
21 During those days while Mordecai was sitting at the King’s Gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, became infuriated and planned to assassinate King Ahasuerus.
22 When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she told the king on Mordecai’s behalf.
23 When the report was investigated and verified, both men were hanged on the gallows. This event was recorded in the Historical Record in the king’s presence.
1 After all this took place, King Ahasuerus honored Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite. He promoted him in rank and gave him a higher position than all the other officials.
2 The entire royal staff at the King’s Gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded this to be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.
3 The members of the royal staff at the King’s Gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?”
4 When they had warned him day after day and he still would not listen to them, they told Haman in order to see if Mordecai’s actions would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing down or paying him homage, he was filled with rage.
6 And when he learned of Mordecai’s ethnic identity, it seemed repugnant to Haman to do away with Mordecai alone. He planned to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout Ahasuerus’s kingdom.
7 In the first month, the month of Nisan, in King Ahasuerus’s twelfth year, the pur—that is, the lot—was cast before Haman for each day in each month, and it fell on the twelfth month, the month Adar.
8 Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom, keeping themselves separate. Their laws are different from everyone else’s and they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.
9 If the king approves, let an order be drawn up authorizing their destruction, and I will pay 375 tons of silver to the officials for deposit in the royal treasury.”
10 The king removed his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.
11 Then the king told Haman, “The money and people are given to you to do with as you see fit.”
12 The royal scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded. It was intended for the royal satraps, the governors of each of the provinces, and the officials of each ethnic group and written for each province in its own script and to each ethnic group in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the royal signet ring.
13 Letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces telling the officials to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jewish people—young and old, women and children—and plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.
14 A copy of the text, issued as law throughout every province, was distributed to all the peoples so that they might get ready for that day.
15 The couriers left, spurred on by royal command, and the law was issued in the fortress of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, while the city of Susa was in confusion.
I. There is a FAMILIAR, yet DISGUISED enemy.
I. There is a FAMILIAR, yet DISGUISED enemy.
In our passage today, his name is Haman. (3:1-14)
He is filled with PRIDE and ANGER (5)
Haman was upset that Mordecai WOULD NOT BOW to him.
This was also causing conversations in midst of the ROYAL STAFF
His anger was not only against Mordecai BUT ALL OF HIS PEOPLE!
He plans to DESTROY God’s People (6)
Haman doesn't just set out to sell them to slavery or exile them…
But rather, He desires to ANNIHILATE THEM!
He uses the casting of PUR….that is LOTS to determine the date of the Annihilation.
33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.
He is DECEPTIVE in his plans (8-9)
He gathered a following by presenting information in a manipulative way
“They dont Obey the Kings Law”…..
Which was simply not bowing down to Haman
“It’s not the Kings best interest to Tolerate them”…..
Which was really not in Haman’s best interest.
He seemed to have SUCCEEDED (10-15)
The King Approved the request for total Annihilation.
Copies of the Text were issued as Law to every Province.
The King and Haman sat down to Drink.
However, this ENEMY of God’s people had been around for a LONG TIME.
In fact, we see that this battle did not start with MORDECAI and HAMAN
Both of these men had the BLOOD of KINGS in their VEINS
Let me give you some History:
There were two brother name JACOB and ESAU
They were the descendants of Abraham, and then Issac
Jacob recieved the blessing (the promise) given to Abraham
The blessing of being God’s People who would be a blessing to the Nations leading them and eventually us too to the Promise Land
Jacob becomes known as ISRAEL
Esau did not receive that blessing and initially sought to kill Jacob, yet they reconcile later
Esau has a Grandson named AMELEK
Fast forward some, ISRAELITES are DELIVERED from Egypt to soon be ATTACKED by the AMALEKITES
This is the battle where Moses had to hold his hands up toward God for Israel to Prevail.
Aaron and Hur helped support his hands.
14 The Lord then said to Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.”
15 And Moses built an altar and named it, “The Lord Is My Banner.”
16 He said, “Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Then we come to a very important moment in History with the ISRAELITES and the AMALEKITES.
The Israelites were led by their chosen king SAUL
God told Saul to defeat the Amalekites completely and not to even take any spoil!
Well, Saul killed them all by sword EXCEPT FOR THE KING and he took the best of the livestock
And WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE AMALEKITE KING??
King AGAG
So CATCH THIS…..
Saul:
1 There was a prominent man of Benjamin named Kish son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite.
2 He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man. There was no one more impressive among the Israelites than he. He stood a head taller than anyone else.
Modecai:
5 In the fortress of Susa, there was a Jewish man named Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite.
Agag:
8 He captured King Agag of Amalek alive, but he completely destroyed all the rest of the people with the sword.
9 Saul and the troops spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and choice animals, as well as the young rams and the best of everything else. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things.
Haman
1 After all this took place, King Ahasuerus honored Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite. He promoted him in rank and gave him a higher position than all the other officials.
This battle is larger than Mordecai and Haman
This is a battle that God has continued to show HIS FAITHFULNESS IN even in OUR DISOBEDIENCE!
And while the AMALEKITES would be defeated later UNDER KING HEZEKIAH….
The Enemy Himself will continue to attack GENERATION AFTER GENERATION!
HOWEVER, GOD HAS WON EVERY TIME and WILL CONTINUE TO WIN….
For Now, This Enemy is still around and has the same TACTICS
He too is filled with PRIDE and ANGER
12 Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground.
13 You said to yourself, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly, in the remotest parts of the North.
14 I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the Pit.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows his time is short.
He too plans to DESTROY God’s People
This has been his plan wether presented as A SERPENT or as a DRAGON
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
17 So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.
He too is DECEPTIVE in his plans
1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”
44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.
He too seemed to have SUCCEEDED
He got Adam and Eve to DOUBT GOD and DISOBEY GOD
53 Every day while I was with you in the temple, you never laid a hand on me. But this is your hour—and the dominion of darkness.”
50 But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit.
II. There is an UNSUNG HERO in the Story.
II. There is an UNSUNG HERO in the Story.
It is amazing that at the end of chapter Two of Esther, we see a JEWISH MAN saving the life of the King.
And Chapter THREE is all about the Kings approval for a PLAN OF ANNIHILATION FOR THE JEWS!
Mordecai was an Unsung Hero for King Ahasuerus
He saved the Kings life and does not receive any recognition for this act.
In fact, things seem to get worse!
These can be the hardest SEASONS of life.
The times when you are really trying to do the right thing and THINGS SEEM TO BE GETTING WORSE!
And it is really difficult when it is the RIGHT THING THAT MAKES THINGS WORSE.
However, It is in these SEASONS that we must REMEMBER THAT HIDDEN HAND OF GOD’S PROVIDENCE!
The Lord is sovereign over the casted lots as well as EVERY JOT and TITTLE ever recorded!
Esther 2:23 (CSB)
23 This event was recorded in the Historical Record in the king’s presence.
This event of Mordecai saving the king will be read to the KING when….
HE JUST SO HAPPENS TO NOT BE ABLE TO SLEEP ONE NIGHT
HE JUST HAPPENS TO ORDER THE READING OF THE BOOK OF DAILEY HISTORY READ
AND THE SERVANT JUST HAPPENED TO READ THE EVENT OF MORDECAI SAVING THE KINGS LIFE
THE JUST HAPPENS CONTINUES….BUT TO ME….IT SOUNDS MORE LIKE THE HIDDEN HAND OF GOD’S PROVIDENCE
The problem though is that THE HIDDEN HAND OF GOD often leads to HIM BEING THE UNSONG HERO!
While God is always at work and sometimes UNSEEN, that work is not to go UNNOTICED.
10 “Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”
We are to KNOW THAT HE IS GOD AND AT WORK
He is to be EXALTED among the nations and on the Earth!
20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.
In fact, we are without EXCUSE….there is no excuse to not NOTICE GOD!
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge.
3 There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard.
4 Their message has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.
The Heavens DECLARE HIS GLORY
12 You will indeed go out with joy and be peacefully guided; the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
EVEN THE MOUNTAINS WILL SING and the TREES WILL CLAP
JESUS was never meant to BE YOUR UNSUNG HERO!
He was meant to be your HERO that the WHOLE WORLD (INCLUDING YOU) WILL SING ABOUT
We know this will be FULFILLED ONE DAY
The FAMILIAR ENEMY will be CAST OUT!
10 The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
And for those that are not IN CHRIST:
14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
And those in Christ:
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth—
11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
However, why not in the mean time say…YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
It is time to Sing the Praise that our HERO DESERVES!
1 Come, let’s shout joyfully to the Lord, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving; let’s shout triumphantly to him in song.
1 Let the whole earth shout triumphantly to the Lord!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
1 Hallelujah! How good it is to sing to our God, for praise is pleasant and lovely.
Conclution:
We are in the midst of a WAR THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME!
Dont forget, there is an ENEMY that is
Filled with Pride and Anger
Wants to Destroy God’s People
Is great at Deception
And seems to Succeed from time to time!
However, dont forget, that GOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN VICTORIOUS IN THIS BATTLE!
And one day, Lord may it be soon, WHERE HE BRINGS TOTAL VICTORY!
There are TWO QUESTIONS THAT ARE BEFORE YOU:
First: Have you recognized JESUS as the HERO OF YOUR STORY!
Not religion, the church, or yourself
But recognized HIM AS THE HERO!
The king did not recognize Mordecai as the hero until later….
We have a GREATER HERO….and maybe this is the day you have recognized him!
Second: Will you SING THE PRAISES of JESUS
Don’t let him be the unsung hero in your life that no one really knows about!
Don’t be someone that just CLAIMS SALVATION OF THE HERO but doesnt LIVE UNDER THE CONVICTION OF THAT SALVATION
If Jesus is really your HERO, then give your life unto CHRIST!
Jesus CANT BE JUST THE BACKGROUND OF YOUR LIFE!
HE CANT BE THE CURTAIN THAT YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE BEHIND
HE HAS TO BE THE MAIN CHARACTER IN YOUR LIFE!