A Wonderful World?
Notes
Transcript
Bible Passage: Esther 1-2
Bible Passage: Esther 1-2
Claim (of the passage): God’s people are not free from the world - they can be abused and used for the worlds purposes - but they can still remain faithful to God.
Focus (of the sermon): The world often looks amazing, but as Vashti finds out it doesn’t last for long, the goal then is to live in it but not for it.
Function (for the congregation): to remain faithful to God, trusting in His purposes and His plan for your life, even when the world abuses you!
Pray
1. Worldly Paradise
1. Worldly Paradise
Esther 1:1-9
In the morning services we’ve been going through the book of Daniel and seeing something of the powerful Babylonian Empire that defeated Jerusalem, and carted off God’s people, including Daniel, to Babylon.
But for all Babylons worldly glory,
King Xerxes who we meet in Esther, is A king beyond splendour and power.
Xerxes is King of the Persian Empire - the Empire Destroyer! He reigned from 486-465BC in our history books,
Babylon to the West, and Egypt to the south west beyond, both now under the Persian Empires control following their defeat under under Xerxes predesessors. and Father Dairius,
But Xerxes saw off rebelions from both nations - perhaps leading to the extravagant celebrations we read in this chapter.
Persias partners in crime, Media have become their lap dog - giving Xerxes control of part of Asia to the west.
The Greeks to the north east hate him and his power, but even they according to history admire his splendour and glory like no other.
He’s not a Trump - for no court would try him - but many people do appear to love him -
and , and he’s not a Kim Jung Un - becasue he’s not afraid of foreign nations if he steps too far out of line.
He’s the best, or worst of both - depending on your thinking.
He’s in the 3rd year of his reign and he is throwing massive parties.
the first - 6months long for dignitaries, as in v3-4.
He follows that with a all inclusive buffet and drink party that is ‘all inclusive’ to all who live in the capital city Susa.
When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa.
Rich or poor - come and drink and be merry!
Why - to see the Kings glory and splendour!
The world he the King has created in magnificent!
The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones. Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality.
There’s yet another party - His wife,
Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.
What would you be thinking if you were invited to one of these week long, or even 6month long celebrations of opulence, and wealth and success.
Would it depress you to see how little you have,
would you be thrilled to have a free and indulgent taste of it all.
Would you love the King, or resent him.
I guess we love to fantasies about being glorious don’t we,
We love to follow celebrities,
We love to dream of being rich,
We desire our holidays to be year long realities.
The World does dangle paradise before us - and it looks so good.
How ironic we admire the rich and famous, the influencers,
When in reality, as wonderfol as their paradise might seem,
it’s not actually ours,
and it’s not actually attainable.
And more darkly - they are parading it in front of us and giving us a taste not for our good,
but for their glory.
emphaisies ‘he’ His
For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendour and glory of his majesty.
Like returning from a sunny holiday to a freezing Britain - it was just a glimpse for all but the king.
But apparently - even for the King - there is trouble in paradise:
2. Trouble in Paradise
2. Trouble in Paradise
Esther 1:10-22
As if all the feasting, drinking, palaces, splendour, deceoration, servants partying wasn’t enough - the King wants to further impress his guests.
On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas—to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at.
IN a drunken state - you can imagine the scene.
I’m not only richer and more powerful, than anyone any of you here - nobel or peasant,
Now, let me parade my sexy wife before you as well!
You can all gawp at her - she’s ‘lovely to look at’.
LIke a trophy, an object, like a slave - he sends for her.
Presumably Queen Vashti is at her own party with all the women in the royal palace when she gets the order
- come and parade your body before the whole city - and put on your crown so everyone knows you’re the kings property.
But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.
It’s a very bold move.
And it’s going to end with her removal from being queen. But the text doesn’t give us much of a clue as the reasons or thinking of the queen. We’re supposed to learn something else.
The king may be powerful - but’s he not all powerful.
He may make demands, but he isn’t actually sovereign.
He may have a wonderful world in some ways - but there is trouble in paradise.
This of course is the problem with worldly paradises.
the amazing holiday always ends - and you couldnt afford the glimpse if you didn’t go home to work.
the job promotion brings extra stress,
The single person finding a spouse - finally - well is not as amazing as you thought,
The longed for children - come with emotional and physical exhaustion,
the second home comes with a roof problem,
the house extention doesn’t make home life any better or different (just a little more space to clean and argue in)
Worldly paradise is often VERY VERY impressive - and nothing wrong with much of it - but if you think that is what life is all about -
you’re going to be a very angry and disappointed person.
King Xerxes calls his official - what’s the plan!
All hell will break loose they basically declare!
Every woman in the country will now turn on their husbands and refuse to do anything they are asked.
So let’s double down on our arrogance - and stamp out any idea that a woman might have any moral value
22 He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be ruler over his own household, using his native tongue.
pause
Let us See how, if our god is ourself and our own glory and paradise - then you panic and fear any challenge!
The slightest thing that is not in line with what we think
or want
has to be blwon out of proportion and controlled and met with a tonne of bricks, angre, laws, retaliation.
It’s not just queen Vashti that gets punished - every woman in the empire is put well and truely in their place!
(This is not the sacrificial and loving headship that the Bible encourages men to have in their families,
and it is not the gentle submission and trust a woman is encouraged to have towards her husband in the bible.)
This is self-centred, domineering - do whatever I say - abuse.
And this is the natural end of a wonderful world that seeks self glorification.
Bitter, fearful, angry control.
Fighting, wars, domestic abuse, controlling relationships and the like.
Self glorifying people at the top, in fear of loosing control, abuse everyone below them.
Some of us have much repenting to do for our desire to be self glorified as we protect the paradise we want - and the means we use to gain it.
Manipulating relationships,
showing others how impressive we are,
demanding things are done our way to protect ourselves.
This is the way of the world.
If you want paradise on earth - this is how you will end up.
So what’s the alternative for a Christian, who doesn’t want their own glory and paradise on earth, but has to live in this world where most people live like this?
3. Entangled in Paradise
3. Entangled in Paradise
Esther 2:1-11
Once the King has calmed somewhat from his drunken and angry rage, he returns to his favourite subject.
Himself - and so, making sure he is seen and known to have the the most beautiful women
His advisors - likely fearful of his temper - make a plan which he likes..
Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them.
These women we read later were enrolled into 12 months of beauty treatment before being taken 1 at a time to spend a night with the King.
After which they were added to a separate section of the palace where the Kings Concubines lived.
The aim - that when the King finds a women he especially likes - he’ll ask for her again and make her the official queen to parade.
The text isn’t 100% clear as to how much say these girls,
all virgins, all beautiful,
had in the whole process. For me, the hints suggest they had little, if any choice.
v3 - the commissioners in every province where ‘to bring’ these young women - this is not parents or the girls themselves hoping to make it big by mixing with the the royal celebrities! Although some perhaps went happily for that reason - enticed by paradise.
They are placed under the care of Royal Eunachs - the suggestion being that they are not permitted to come and go, but to kept for the Kings pleasure.
And as we now meet and follow the story of Esther - we see her Cousin Mordecai, who has raised her as his own daughter after the death of both her parents,
sit at the city gates, and try to find out how she is everyday. In v 11
To me this suggests he was concerned for her, not overjoyed?
What all this has to do with us here today then,
is revealed as we discover that Mordacie and Esther, are Jews, entangled up in a very controlling, and abusive world - depsite being the chosen people of God.
Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah. Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
It’s easy to think that God’s people ought to be comfortable, free, blessed, strong in a world that God is sovereign over.
To live a life that is not morally complicated,
for our path to be clear,
and our decisions to be easy and straight forward.
But Esther is a vulnerable young woman,
groomed for an entire year to behave and look as beautiful as possible to please the King.
And racially a Jew - a despised nation in a foreign Empire.
Should she fight it everyday,
or should she accept the authority God has put over her,
should she risk the consequences and be of no use to God and her people,
or should she accept her lot and do the best she can.
Impossible questions to answer for us - but perhaps helpful for us to consider as we look at our own lives and that of others around the world.
It’s easy to cast judgements on people from the comfort of our own towers of righteousness.
But we simply often don’t know the full picture.
What we do know, is that despite the moral complicated situation before Esther,
she deceides to be respectful to those she’s under the authority of.
And one way or another - as we’ll see in the coming chapters
- God will use this very socially, economically, racially, culturally weak young lady, to be the saviour of all the Jewish people living under the Persian empire.
We must be careful not to think that in our own weaknesses, God is therefore going to use us for great things, that simply may not be the case.
Many of God’s people die having seemingly achieved nothing glorious for the Kingdom.
God has called home his children who were aborted in their mothers wombs,
Some of God’s people will have died in desperate and weak situations having never influnenced anyone or anything.
The point of Esther’s example is not to say - don’t worry - God will use you for somehting mighty - even if right now you feel weak.
The point of Esther for now is that we’re to extect this side of heaven to be very morally complicated - and so Gods people are to honour God as best as they can in the worst and best of situations.
We are entangled in the world that often looks like paradise - we can’t avoid it.
So we submit to the political and legal authorities above us, so long as we don’t directly go against God’s Word for us.
And secondly - we’re to not put our hope in the wonderful world around us however tempting and good it can be and may look
- never put your in it
- becasue if we do - we’re ultimately putting our hope in our own glory — and so there will be trouble in paradise - as selfgloryfiers protect themsleevs.
and thirdly - we see here something very interesting about God.
His ways are very mysterious,
God does not reveal himself where we might expect.
The world looks for beauty and fame, and power.
But God uses something else to win.
4. Weakness Overcomes Paradise
4. Weakness Overcomes Paradise
Esther 2:12-23
End of v15
The Holy Bible: New International Version (Anglicised Edition, 2011) (Chapter 2)
And Esther won the favour of everyone who saw her. 16 She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favour and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
The King thinks he’s chosen the most incredible trophy wife in the Empire.
She’s Beautiful on the Outside.
Yet he knows nothing of her weak and humble beginnings.
But the God above, who cares for His people - despite what it may have looked and felt like for Esther and Mordacie - has plans of salvation for his people.
And so we start to see a different hand at work in this whole story - a hand that the King knows nothing about,
a hand that Esther knows of, but has no way of understanding the big picture,
the hand of God,
to ultimately save and deliver his people through the weakest of people.
20 But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.
21 During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 22 But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. 23 And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles
Xerxes looked - as he does with all things - for paradise that glorifies hiimself - look at my new queen!
What he’s actually chosen is a humble and faithful and very vulnerable and weak Jewish family.
Mordacie, whatever he thinks of the goings on with Esther and Xerxes - shows he is a faithful and respectable man - who as God’s command requires, honours the leaders he is under.
And he saves the King from an assassination plot.
But that’s just the start of a much bigger plan of salvation God has for the Jewsih people as a whole.
We wont spoil the future of this amazing story - but we will end with something these 2 chapters leave us with.
Might God delight in saving His people through someone who is in a position of weakness and complication,
Could this tragic story be preparing us to see that spiritual and eternal salvation will not come at first in power, but weakness - to shame the strong of this world?
perhaps yes, even the weakness and foolishness of a man, Jesus, dying on a cross?
A baby boy born to a poor family from a despised village in an underprivileged region of a great Empire.
A young man who goes all the way down to death on the cross.
There is a great contrast between the obscurity of Jesus and all the grandeur and power of the Roman Empire and the Jewish leaders.
But yet, as we hear that this man is the true source of power in the universe, come in weakness - we can begin to wonder if , after all, Jesus is better than all this world has to offer.
Jospeh - sold into slavery but saves his nation,
David the shepherd boy defeated the mighty giant Goliath,
Esther the orphaned, exiled, slave will defeat the Persian empires plan to kill all the Jews
Jesus the carpenter boy, has saved all those who repent and believe in him from sin, death, judgement and the world - and delivered us into true and eternal paradise.
Let us not seek our own glory - let us seek our Lord Jesus’ glory.
His paradise will never see trouble.
Pray