Esther: Providence of Time

So what?

If you will, go ahead and get your Bibles out and turn to Esther chapter 4 as we continue our lesson on Esther and Ruth.

We started two weeks ago looking at the beginning of Esther and talking about how she ended up as queen and found herself in the King’s court. This would have ben unexpected and out of place for someone in exile to end up in such a prestigious place.

And yet, we talked about and you discussed in your small groups how God is sovereign over the places we end up. We all are here tonight because God wanted us to be. You attend the school you attend because God wanted you there.

But we are not in those places just because God wants us to be there, but because he has something for us to accomplish. He has something he wants us to do.

And this week is not much different, but we are going to look at how God is sovereign not just in the places we find ourselves, but also at the exact time we are there.

We all heard the saying, when nothing is going right, “wrong place at the wrong time”? and just the opposite in “right place, right time”?

Right? I mean I can think of a hundred different TV shows and Movies where the protagonist could say about his life, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A couple weekends ago I took to sitting down and watching all the Lord of the Rings movies again, and at the very beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf is speaking to Frodo about the ring he inherited from his uncle Bilbo. And as they are talking, Gandalf hear’s something outside of the window.

But instead of me trying to describe what’s happening: let’s watch

[movie clip]

What ends up happening, is Samwise is roped into being a part of this journey that Gandalf is sending Frodo on. And of course, Sam could never have imagined what exactly this quest would have entailed. He might have said that he was just in the “wrong place at the wrong time.”

But, if we believe in God, and we trust in the Word, that is the Bible, then truthfully, wrong place, wrong time is a farce. It’s not real. It cannot be true.

Let’s read our scripture today:

Scripture

Let’s Read from our passage today in :

12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

We already know part of Esther’s story. We know that she ended up as the Queen of Persia and wife to Xerxes. And we briefly talked about how there was a plot forming from within the government to destroy the jewish people.

And we talked about how if it wasn’t for her position she never could have seen her people rescued from destruction.

But that is not the entire story of God’s plan and work

It is not just about the place we are in

But Just before the passage we just read, Esther hesitates to go before the king. She hesitates because she knows that she has been lifted to a place of power. She knows that she finds herself in the kings palace, which could never have happened apart from God.

And yet, even knowing that she has been raised to such a place, not by her will, but by Gods, she doesn’t trust that the timing of it all is right.

She talks about how she cannot go before the king because to go before the king could mean death if she hasn’t been summoned to him. Meaning, the king had to request the queens presence in order for her to go before him and she has not gone before him in thirty days.

So she begins to question the timing of her rise to such a place. to such a position. But God, God is so much greater than just putting us in position, in a place, he also orchestrates the timing of it all.

God Sovereign Time

Mordecai reminds Esther that God’s timing is perfect. That he hung the stars in the sky, makes the earth, rotate, feeds the birds of the air, and leads the sheep into green pastures.

He says to Esther, reminding her that position will not save you if destruction comes. God established your position, but he also orchestrates the events.

You see Mordecai reminds Esther “and who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

This is where we flip the “wrong place, wrong time” over and see rightly the Character and power of God and say, “right place, right time.”

God, in His infinite wisdom knew that the time was coming and approaching that the Jews would be in danger of destruction.

So, no only did he foresee, He had the plan in place to redeem.

Esther was not just put in her position because God wanted a powerful Jew in Persia. No, he wanted a Jew in power in Persia so that she could be the voice of their redemption.

If Esther was not raised to her position when she was, then what would have been the path to the salvation of the Jews.

How can we see this for us?

How might this take place in our lives? How can we see right place, right time for each of us?

Well, I don’t think it can be any more stated in my life than the grace of God that has brought me to MCC.

Most of you have heard the story about how I ended up at MCC. but for those that haven’t heard it it’s pretty crazy.

When MCC was first launching their youth group, they were making a hire for a youth director. And I was one of the applicants. And after going through a few interviews, I knew that MCC is where I was supposed to be. I just felt in my bones.

But then, I didn’t get the job. Drew was hired over me because he had TONS more experience than I did.

To say the least, I was a little heart-broken because I was sure that MCC is where I was supposed to be at. I knew the place, but what I didn’t know then and know now, is that God is about place AND timing.

So, I trusted. I believed that God was still working and I took a job elsewhere. In the mean time, God was using Drew to do a work that I couldn’t have to bring me in when he did to do the work that was for me.

God is sovereign. His timing is perfect. Trust it, believe in it.

Right Place, Right Time does not mean EASY

I want us to notice one more things though before we move on from here. It is that recognizing and knowing that its the “right place, right time” will not mean that it’s going to be easy.

Esther listened to her uncles words. Remembered the power and strength of God in his sovereign will.

But her response to knowing and realizing God’s sovereignty did not make the possible outcome easier to bear.

She proceeds to make plans to go before the king without being summoned before him. She knows that what she is about to do could mean her death.

But she also knows that even in her death, that God is moving and working because she was raised to the king’s palace for such a time as this. God put her there. God worked the timing. Do you think God will let her down? She doesn’t believe so.

I have good news too, After going before the king and telling him about the plot, her people, and those conspiring against them, Xerxes put an end to the plotters.

Conclusion

So as we read in Esther, God is in control. God was sovereign then, and He is still sovereign now.

Going back to Lord of the Rings: Sam may have thought “wrong place, wrong time” at that moment. But the journey he took, the adventures he had, the encounters he experienced, by the end of the third movie he reveals to Frodo he wouldn’t have had it any other way. Now go watch them if you have never seen them.

God is sovereign. His timing is perfect. Trust it, believe in it.