The Gospel in Esther

Intro:

It is easy to read the Story of Esther as just that, a story!

Even if you recognize that it is a true story and actually occured in history.

It is a simple story:

We have a young Jewish woman who finds herself in the Royal Palace while there is impending doom facing her people.

And Her older cousin urges her to go before the King in which she does in effort of saving her people.

But I believe Esther is much more richer than that!

There is a parallel here to the Gospel!

Humanity is under the impending doom of destruction….

Not from an earthly king, But due to the consequences of SIN AGAINST THE KING OF the UNIVERSE.

Man is DEPRAVED, CURUPT and WICKED

BUT GOD, IN HIS DIVINE PROVIDENCE, HAS A PLAN

A plan of a KNOWING AND WILLING SACRIFICE!

A plan of BRINGING HOPE to the Hopeless

We can see the Gospel in Esther, and thats what I want to look at Today!

I. We must ACKNOWLEDGE Our Own Despair (Esther 4:1-4)

Esther 4:1–4 CSB

1 When Mordecai learned all that had occurred, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, went into the middle of the city, and cried loudly and bitterly. 2 He went only as far as the King’s Gate, since the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering the King’s Gate. 3 There was great mourning among the Jewish people in every province where the king’s command and edict reached. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. 4 Esther’s female servants and her eunuchs came and reported the news to her, and the queen was overcome with fear. She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear so that he would take off his sackcloth, but he did not accept them.

Modecai Acknowledged his own Despair.

He LEARNED that they would PERISH

An EDICT went out to every province.

I can only imagine….. “Here Ye, Hear Ye….on the 13th Day of the 12th Month, the month of Adar….the Jews are to be destroyed, annihilated”

And here’s Mordecai, a Jewish Man, hearing the words of destruction from this edict.

He MOURNED at the promised Destruction.

This was not just a sadness, but a DEEP and INTENSE SORROW

He TORE HIS CLOTHES

He used SACKCLOTH and ASHES

He went in the midst of the city CRYING OUT LOUDLY and BITTERLY

The Jews from every province JOINED HIM in this MOURNING…

They FASTED, WEPT, LAMENTED, and laid in SACKCLOTH and ASHES

We see this custom throughout the Old Testament

Daniel 9:3 says

Daniel 9:3 CSB

3 So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

This is what JONAH told NINEVEH to do…

Jonah 3:8 CSB

8 Furthermore, both people and animals must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God. Each must turn from his evil ways and from his wrongdoing.

There was REASON to MOURN!

Esther tried to send clothes for Mordecai to put on in place of the Sackcloth!

But he was not having it!

There was reason to Mourn!

Their people were just told that they would be annihilated!

Apart from an act of God, They would remain in DESPAIR!

We too, Apart from Christ, are in Despair.

We too must LEARN of this Despair.

While we don’t have an edict from an earthly king…

We have a Devine Edict, proclamation from the King of Kings, the Creator of the Universe.

It’s called SCRIPTURE.

Scripture teaches us of this Despair

Jeremiah 17:9 CSB

9 The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?

Ephesians 2:1–3 CSB

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.

Romans 3:23 CSB

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

Romans 6:23 CSB

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the revealing of the Despair, the Spirit brings us to a place of MOURNING and even REPENTANCE

And there is an individual response here.

One should mourn at the condition of their own heart apart from Christ.

But there is a corporate response here as well.

When we are in Christ, we should recognize where the Lord has brought us FROM!

Unfortunately, it seems as if there is an underlying thought that WE ARE ALL PRETTY GOOD, WE JUST NEED JESUS TO BE REALLY GOOD!

But that is not the TRUTH,

There is no good in us, and we are in despair outside of Christ.

It doesn't matter what your world looks like on the inside….

Apart from Jesus, there is no hope for you!

And this is such a powerful revelation that even when we come to Christ….

And we can NOW SAY like Paul said, 2 Corinthians 4:8 “8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair;” …

BUT WE STILL MOURN for those that are still in Despair.

What should happen is that Our DESPAIR should turn into DESPERATION

Despair and Desperation come from the same root word.

But while Despair means you are Hopeless...

Desperation means You hold onto the one thing that BRINGS HOPE…..Jesus Christ

Anchor - “Desperate for God in Prayer”

PRAY!!!

II. Submitting to the Hidden Hand of God LEADS us to a PROVIDENTIAL PLACEMENT (Esther 4:5-14)

Esther 4:5–14 CSB

5 Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who attended her, and dispatched him to Mordecai to learn what he was doing and why. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the King’s Gate. 7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened as well as the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay the royal treasury for the slaughter of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa ordering their destruction, so that Hathach might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and command her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead with him personally for her people. 9 Hathach came and repeated Mordecai’s response to Esther. 10 Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to tell Mordecai, 11 “All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned—the death penalty—unless the king extends the gold scepter, allowing that person to live. I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the last thirty days.” 12 Esther’s response was reported to Mordecai. 13 Mordecai told the messenger to reply to Esther, “Don’t think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the king’s palace. 14 If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”

Once Again, We See the HIDDEN HAND of God’s PROVIDENCE

We see His hand in this Story:

God’s Hand is at work through HATHACH

WHO HAS EVER HEARD OF HATHACH before….

He is not the Poster Boy of the STORY of ESTHER

He is simply a Messenger going back and forth between Esther and Mordecai

However, God had Providently Placed Hathach right where He was for this DIVINE APPOINTMENT

God’s Hand is in Mordecai’s COUNSEL.

Mordecai tells Esther that she NEEDS TO APPROACH THE KING and PLEAD WITH HIM

I believe God was guiding Mordecai on every word he was telling Esther

He also tells her “Dont think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the King’s palace.”

Mordecai was helping her fight the temptation of just putting her head under the sand.

So God’s Hand is in Mordecai’s Counsel.

God’s Hand is present through Mordecai’s FAITH

He says, even if you keep silent, RELIEF AND DELIVERANCE WILL COME TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE FROM ANOTHER PLACE.

Mordecai had FAITH that GOD REMEMBERS THEM!

He had the same FAITH THAT ABRAHAM HAD….

Genesis 15:6 “6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

Abraham Believed God would deliver on His promise….a promise of a SEED TO COME!

Galatians 3:16 “16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say “and to seeds,” as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed, who is Christ.”

And through God’s Hidden Hand of Providence, we see the PROVIDENTIAL PLACEMENT!

Esther 4:14 “14 Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”

We too must submit to the Hidden Hand of God’s Providence

He has worked in your own Story!

Maybe, he has used a Hathack character in your life.

Perhaps, God placed someone in your life in which HE USED TO CONNECT YOU TO SOMEONE ELSE OR EVEN HIMSELF!

At the time, you never gave it much thought…

BUT THE PROVIDENTIAL HAND OF GOD WAS AT WORK!

Maybe He has worked in your life through the COUNSEL OF SOMEONE ELSE!

Perhaps it was even counsel that you did not like…..but you needed to hear it!

In fact, It was God’s Hidden Hand at Work!

Or maybe He has worked through the FAITH of someone else!

You have see the Hand of God so evidently on them THAT GOD HAS IN FACT GUIDED YOUR LIFE WITH THAT SAME HAND!

YOU SEE….We too share this same FAITH with ABRAHAM and MORDECAI!

While they looked forward to the PROMISE!

WE LOOK BACK AT THE PROMISE!

Christ did come!

Christ died for us!

Christ Rose From the Grave!

Christ in place of Me!

And through God’s Hidden Hand of Providence, we see the PROVIDENTIAL PLACEMENT!

Esther 4:14 “14 Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”

What is God doing with you as HE HAS BROUGHT YOU TO THIS PLACE FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

SILENCE IN PRAYER (REFLECTION)

III. Because of this Placement, we too can APPROACH the King (Esther 4:11,15-17)

Esther 4:11 CSB

11 “All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned—the death penalty—unless the king extends the gold scepter, allowing that person to live. I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the last thirty days.”

Esther 4:15–17 CSB

15 Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.” 17 So Mordecai went and did everything Esther had commanded him.

Because of Esther’s Providential Placement, Esther says, “I WILL GO TO THE KING”

She knew that she had NO RIGHT to go before the King

It was actually a law that she would receive the Death Penalty if he did not receive her

But it was no longer about her.

She Knew that God had called her to this Place!

Preparations were made for her before she went to the King.

The Jews would be gathered together.

They would pray and fast for THREE DAYS

And she and that female servants would fast for the same THREE DAYS!

Because of our Providential Placement, we should say, “We too Can GO to the King”

As an unholy and sinful people, we have no right to ever stand in front of the King!

However, OUR PLACEMENT WAS GIVEN BY SOMEONE ELSE STANDING IN OUR PLACE!

The Death Penalty that WE DESERVED that would have came as we stood before the KING OF KINGS….was taken by JESUS CHRIST

Jesus stood before the Father on a cursed Tree and took the FULL WRATH OF GOD FOR US!

And the Ability to stand before the FATHER that only JESUS DESERVED was GIVEN TO US TO BE ABLE TO APPROACH THE KING!

Preparations have been MADE!

While the Jews fasted for 3 DAYS before Esther approached the King….

Jesus laid in a TOMB for 3 DAYS so that we could approach the King!

We don’t have to look for the ROYAL SCEPTER to be extended!

Jesus is from the LINE OF JUDAH where the SCEPTER WOULD NEVER DEPART FROM!

And that Scepter HAS ALREADY BEEN EXTENDED THROUGH THE WORK OF CHRIST!

Romans 5:8 CSB

8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 Peter 2:9 CSB

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

And we do not have to approach the King with HESITATION or TIMIDNESS wondering if we will find favor from the King!

Hebrews 4:16 CSB

16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

We know what AWAITS us as WE APPROACH THE KING.

Because of Jesus,

GRACE awaits us!

Mercy Awaits us!

The Favor of God is upon us.

INVITATION:

We have spent time ACKNOWLEDGING OUR OWN DESPAIR apart from Christ!

We have spent time SUBMITING TO THE HIDDEN HAND OF GOD SEEING that it LEADS TO A PROVIDENTIAL PLACEMENT

We are here for such a time as this!

So my question NOW is, will you APPROACH THE KING TODAY!?