Sermon Tone Analysis

In last weeks message we noted that:

1.

It is at our weakest points when we are most Dependent on the Power of God to Sustain us .

2. God does permit, and sometimes even puts us into situations that are more than we can handle.

But the key is they are more than we can handle on our own.

Those times take place to bring us to the point of complete reliance on Him.

3. God’s timing isn’t always convenient, but it is always perfect.

We need to trust that He is sovereign and always in control, even when we may not see His Hand in ways we would like to.

We were also reminded of the truth that:

Repentant Hearts Always Move the Heart of God.

And that:

Whenever the Heart of God Moves, the Hand of God Follows.

This week we conclude our study in the Book of Esther.

I sure hope you have enjoyed this journey through the pages of Esther as much as I have!

This has been a rich study of the faithfulness of God, of His providential Hand always at work, sometimes behind the scenes, in a way designed to bring glory to His holy name.

Of His power at work and of His perfect timing in all things.

This morning, as we finish the Book of Esther, we will be looking at chapters 8-10.

If you haven’t already, turn to Esther 8 in your copies of God’s Word.

It is page 525 in the Pew Bibles.

To begin with we find out in verses 1-6 that while: Next Slides

The Perceived Enemy was Dead and Gone, The Real Enemies Plan was Still In Pay.

You may recall from our study a few weeks ago that we determined that Haman ultimately was not the real enemy, but more of a tool in the hand of the real enemy, who is Satan himself.

We talked about how we need to be careful looking at individuals, even those who may oppose us and our walk with Christ, as our enemies.

That we should be careful to not harbor any bitterness or hatred towards these individuals, but instead be praying for them.

While this may not be something we see in the Book of Esther, it is something that was patterned for us by Jesus as He hung on the cross.

Additionally, there is likely a very important reason of why the Book of Esther shows no compassion on the household of Haman.

You may recall from early in our study of the Book of Esther, that Haman was a decedent of King Agag, an Amalekite king.

The Amalekites were sworn enemies of the Nation of Israel, not just Israel but also God Himself, and were the first people to attack Israel after they escaped their slavery in Egypt.

Because of that, God promised that one day they would completely be destroyed.

Many Biblical scholars believe that the Amalekites represented sin, and that was the reason why they were to be completely destroyed.

This destruction was supposed to take place when King Saul battled against them, but Saul disobeyed the command of God, as a result the Amalekites were still in existence in Haman.

When Saul refused to honor the command of God, he was basically saying that he didn’t want to rid the Nation of evil, of sin.

So here in the Book of Esther, when we see no compassion being given to the family of Haman, it is representative of Mordecai and Esther saying, we will finally fully obey the command of God and destroy the Amalekites.

This is a key lesson for us in the Book of Esther.

Esther teaches us that we are to rid ourselves of all sin, Next Slides

Victory in the Christian Life will never come if we Hold onto sin.

just as they rid themselves of Haman and all of his son’s.

We will never win in our battle against sin if we allow sin to remain in our lives.

With those things in mind,

Let’s look at these verses together.

Esther 8:1-6

As we look at these verses, let’s review what we have learned in the past weeks about an edict of a Persian King.

An edict of a Persian king cannot be reversed.

Simply put: Next Slides

Satan’s Plan to Destroy the Nation of Israel and Thus God’s Plan for Redemption was Still in Play.

Let’s read on:

Esther 8:7-8

I’m not sure King Xerxes knew what to do at this point, because he understood he couldn’t reverse his own edict, but Mordecai had proven himself to be both loyal and wise, so he left the decision up to Mordecai.

Next Slides

The providential Hand of God is at play in Mordecai.

as we see in verses 9-14.

Esther 8:9-14

While the edict of destruction could not be withdrawn, this new edict permitted the Jews to assemble together and to fight any who tried to destroy them.

By the way, this brings to light an other important truth for us as believers.

The Jews were told to “gather and defend their lives”.

The important truth for us is this: Next Slides

We are Stronger Together, Than We are On Our Own.

This life we live as believers is not meant to be lived alone, we need each other.

In Hebrews 10:25 we read: Next Slide

Hebrews 10:25

As we read on in verse 17:

Many Biblical scholars believe that what is taking place here is that the fear isn’t so much of the Jew’s themselves, but of the God of the Jews, who in 70 days had completely undone the plans of the wicked Haman.

They had watched as the Jews had been saved and how their mourning had been turned to rejoicing and they wanted to be a part of that.

None of the gods they bowed to could accomplish what the God of the Jews had accomplished.

That brings us to another important truth for us: Next Slides

When the Joy of the Lord is Present in Our Lives, People are Going to be Curious.

and their curiosity will in many cases open the door for us to share about our Awesome God.

Esther 8:17

About 8 months have passed between the end of chapter 8 and the beginning of chapter 9.

In the story of Esther, we have now reached the day Haman had arranged to have all the Jews killed.

We see in chapter 9 a complete reversal of the expectations of Haman and Satan, the one who ultimately controlled Haman.

Of course this is a regular theme in the Book of Esther: Next Slides

God Thwarting the Plans of Satan.

(Esther 6:11 & 13; 7:8 & 10; 8:9-10)

I want you to notice 2 phrases in verse 1 & 2 of chapter 9 that I believe are very telling: Vs. 1 “the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.”

& Vs. 2 “And no one could stand against them”.

When we read in verse 1 that “the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.”

The Hebrew phrase used here implies a complete power or dominance—like that of a king over a land.

The picture we see in these two phrases is that the favor of God was now resting on His people.

Of course we need to remember that the only reason God’s favor was now resting on them was because they had all participated in a time of fasting & prayer which most certainly included repentance.

Their hearts had changed, and as we have said several times now:

Repentant Hearts Always Move the Heart of God.

And that: Whenever the Heart of God Moves, the Hand of God Follows.

As we read on in chapter 9 we see God give the Jews great victory over all of their enemies throughout the Persian empire.

In the end 75,800 of their enemies were killed.

On top of Haman being hung at the end of chapter 8, his 10 sons were killed in chapter 9.

God had accomplished so much in the days following their fasting, prayers and repentance that they instituted a special feast on what was the be the day of their destruction, to this day they continue 2 days of a special celebration.

This special feast is called: Next Slides

The Feast of Purim.

Purim is from the word Pur, which was the casting of lots.

That is what Haman did to determine the day of destruction for the Jews.

What was to be a day of destruction had now become a time of feasting and celebration.

You see that is what our God does, He takes the plans of our enemy Satan and He turns them on Satan’s head.

Oh we may not see it happening, because God’s time table is perfect, and there are many times it appears that Satan is winning, but in the end, like we see in the Book of Esther, God wins, and He wins big.

His providential Hand is at work, often times behind the scenes, in His time and for His glory.

And that brings us to the end of the Book of Esther.

In conclusion, I’d like to read you John McArthur’s concluding statement for the book of Esther, I really love what he wrote;

“Where is God in the book of Esther?

Well, the real hero in the story, the real power behind the story, is never mentioned, but it is God.

His hand of providence is manifest in every single tiny detail.

His presence is more powerfully and dominantly visible here than maybe in any other story of this complexity in Scripture, though He’s never mentioned.