Untitled Sermon

Overview

Key People

Esther- She was an orphan—raised by her cousin Mordecai.

Mordecai- Esther’s cousin, guardian and Jewish leader

Hathach- A eunuch who served King Ahasuerus and was appointed to oversee (or assist) Esther. Hathach is the messenger Esther sent to Mordecai; Hathach is the one who informs Esther of Haman’s plot to commit genocide against the Jewish people

A eunuch who served King Ahasuerus and was appointed to oversee (or assist) Esther. Hathach is the messenger Esther sent to Mordecai; Hathach is the one who informs Esther of Haman’s plot to commit genocide against the Jewish people

Major Contributors and Editors. (2016). Hathach. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Haman- A Persian official who plotted to kill all Jews throughout the Persian Empire

Major conflict

A new law has been passed as a direct order from the king to kill every single Jew in the kingdom.

Introduction

We have been looking at this plan that God had for His people. God has a plan to use HIs people for great things . There was a time when the great word of God was largely being passed on and on by word of mouth. Strong, God following families would raise their children to know God and His word. One of those God loving men was known as Mordecai. He loved God and he raised his little cousin named Esther to do the same.

Esther had quite a few challenges in her life.

She was an orphan

Raised by her cousin Mordecai.

Esther belonged to an immigrant family, which means she was part of a religious, racial, and cultural minority. The dominant culture in Persia was so unfriendly to Jews that Mordecai and Esther felt the need to hide their cultural identity. Esther knew what it meant to be an outsider.

The dominant culture in Persia was so unfriendly to Jews that Mordecai and Esther felt the need to hide their cultural identity. Esther knew what it meant to be an outsider. Esther was taken from Mordecai as a young girl. Selected for her physical beauty and exploited by King Xerxes, the world’s most powerful ruler at the time, she was forced into marriage to a violent and unstable man.

Esther was taken from Mordecai as a young girl. Selected for her physical beauty and forced into marriage.

One of Xerxes’ closest advisers, Hamaan, hated Mordecai and the Jews. He disliked their ethnicity, their culture, and their religious beliefs. Hamaan convinced the king that the resistance of some Jews to embrace Persian culture was a threat to the Persian way of life. So he used his closeness to the king to convince him into signing an edict that called for the extermination of the Jewish people throughout the Persian Empire. The date was set when the Persian military and citizenry would be mobilized to kill Jews in every city and province in the kingdom ().

English Standard Version Chapter 4

When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.

4 When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.

Mordecai, Esther, and the Jewish people faced certain death because they loved and followed God. There appeared to be no way out and no way to change their circumstances. They were terrified and worried for themselves and their people. Yet God had a plan, and they all had a part to play in that plan.

When Mordecai received the news of the king’s order to kill the Jews, he was understandably upset. Even though he was a man of faith, Mordecai did not choose to live in denial concerning the dangerous situation he and his people were in. As word began to spread about the coming destruction of everyone who believed in God, the Jewish people throughout Persia became worried about the coming threat.

Most likely, none of the Jews living in the provinces surrounding the Persian capital of Susa had ever been to Israel. They had never seen the temple, or the palace in Jerusalem, and they had never set foot in the promised land. But even in this time of crisis, God’s people were determined to seek after Him.

When have you felt like an “outsider” because of your faith? How do you respond in these situations?

MORDECAI BELIEVED IN GOD’S SOVEREIGN PLAN FOR DELIVERANCE.

Unlike some others who followed God, Mordecai didn't think it was all over. He hoped that Esther would rely on her position to seek protection for their people. Mordecai recognized the role he had in God’s plan to preserve His people, and he recognized the role Esther might have as well.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”

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?”

Throughout the Bible, God’s plan is displayed with the actions of people. In other words, God works in and through meaningful human choices to accomplish His purposes. The same principle is woven throughout Esther’s story. Neither Esther nor Mordecai attained their positions of access to political power by accident. God put them there on purpose. Even though God had “appointed” Esther to be queen, she still had to make a personal choice to exercise faith and courage in order to fulfill her part in God’s plan. This was her “defining moment” as an individual, and her choices carried massive consequences that extend far beyond what she could possibly imagine. Her life was at stake, but so was the fate of Jewish people everywhere.

Continue next week

We are going to continue this story of Esther next week, but this week, right now, we have some things to talk about. God clearly placed Esther and Mordecai in their positions so that He could use them.

Even when everything seemed al bad, God had a plan to used them Ether and Mordecai. We are going to take this same focus that we are putting on Esther and Mordecai, and we are going to put that focus on our lives. I want to give yall a challenge this week. Try and find where God is working in your life. Try and see what God has planned for you even when things aren't looking great sometimes. That is my challenge to you.

Now, get in your small groups and talk together about Esther’s story.

Group Discussion

God’s Story has always been designed to connect with your story. It is because of His Story that our stories make sense, have meaning, and carry on into eternity. Use the questions below to help think through how His Story connects with your own.

Story time! Share about a time in your own life when God seemed distant during a difficult situation. What happened?  

How can we encourage each other to seek the Lord when His plan is not obvious to us?  We can remind each other of stories like this where we see God at work in the midst of difficult circumstances.

What are some ways that God has used you to make you more effective in serving Him?  

What are some examples of people taking risks to follow Christ? When have you had to risk your own safety in doing what God called you to do?  

In what ways is Esther’s story similar to your own?  

How does her story strengthen your confidence that God is near and cares for you?  

Have you ever heard someone say they don’t “feel” God’s presence? Why is it dangerous to rely solely upon our feelings in answering the question of God’s closeness?  Because we are fallen individuals who live in a fallen world, our feelings can deceive us and lead us away from truth. This is why our faith doesn’t rest upon a personal “feeling,” but upon the work of Jesus on our behalf.

What are some Bible verses that you can point to for encouragement when wondering if God is near?  

Who are some other people throughout history whose life circumstances and position made it possible for them to change the world?  

When have you felt like you were put somewhere “for such a time as this” to do God’s will?