Lessons from the life of a stakeholder

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Sermon

Caution needs to be taken, when reading and making application from Old Testament Narratives, for a few reasons. One warning, is that we are not always told specifically, if the character or characters have acted morally or ethically so it is not always clear, whether they are setting a good example or a poor example for us. Second, some have approached the narratives, such as the book of Esther, from the standpoint that they are metaphorical or allegorical, and therefore, suggest we must look for the underlying, or hidden messages that the storyline creates.

Review- The main point of the Book of Esther, which I hope you have been able to see, is that God our Father is a promise keeping, loving provider for His people. We saw in Chapter 1, that God’s will was being played out, even as the king made some poor, and immoral choices.

We saw Esther, a young Jewish orphan, brought into the Palace of the King, who ruled over the entire Persian Empire, the largest empire of the world at that time, and she gains favor in the sight of the king’s eunuchs and the king himself. Not your typical path to a becoming a Queen.

We observed the faith, which Mordecai had, in the Lord God, keeping His promise to preserve His people, despite the threat of destruction, based upon Haman’s decree.

We considered, Esther’s response, as she evaluated what her role should be, in seeking salvation for her people and potentially for her own life.

Next, we considered the fact that Our timing, is not nearly as important as God’s timing, in any and every situation, so therefore we must always wait patiently, yet expectantly for God to do what is good and right and beneficial for those who love Him, ultimately bringing Him glory and honor and praise.

Last week we looked at a few verses in both Esther 5 & 6, which revealed to us some things about Esther. Specifically, about her approach in revealing her request to King Ahasuerus. Her approach may have seemed to some of us, to be painstakingly slow and drawn out. However, as I mentioned last week, as the situation unfolded, it became abundantly clear, that God was leading her, and allowing certain events to take place, before she revealed to the king, what she so desperately sought from him.

Today, we will look primarily at Esther 7, but hopefully, you recall what has happened in the chapters preceeding this.

Esther went before the King, uninvited, after spending three days, fasting and praying and then when the king asked her what she wanted, she simply invited him to a banquet, along with Haman, his chief advisor. The king and Haman accept the request, and again ask what her wish is, and again, she says, in essence, if you come to a dinner tomorrow, that I have prepared, I will tell you what it is that I desire.

It is during the time that several interesting things take place, that you need to take note of.

Haman leaves banquet 1 and is offended once again by Mordecai, so he builds a gallows 75ft tall.

The king has a hard time sleeping, so he decided to read some old news stories, and is reminded that Mordecai foiled an assassination attempt, and was never rewarded for it.

Haman, is asked, what should be done to a man that the king wished to honor. So Haman, assuming the man to be none other than himself, tells the king, exactly what he would want, but it turns out that the king wishes to honor Mordecai.

Esther 6:12–7:6 ESV

12 Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. 13 And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.” 14 While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared. 1 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” 6 And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.

This morning I want to draw our attention to the contrast between two of the main characters in the book of Esther. Though I’ve have not ignored this contrast in earlier sermons, this week, I felt it would be helpful to highlight, and focus on these differences.

The contrast between Esther and Haman. The contrast of attitude, which I believe reveals a contrast in their heart’s desires, and the object of their faith and trust.

Lessons from the life of a stakeholder

Now, if you’re familiar with the story of Esther you may quickly pick up the dual meaning, in the sermon title. If not, that’s OK, I’ll explain it as we go along.

Define a stakeholder and a stake holder

1.)A stakeholder is any person, organization, social group, or society at large that has a stake in the business. Thus, stakeholders can be internal or external to the business. A stake is a vital interest in the business or its activities. ... Be both affected by a business and affect a business.

Someone who owns stake in something, whether their stake, or their investment, be in a corporation, in a plan, a policy, or an opinion; a stakeholder has “skin in the game” so to speak.

2.) a stake holder (two separate words) would be a person who is holding a stake. (Hold Up a Stake to visualize).

Back to the contrast between Haman and Esther.

Where is Esther’s Stake?

self-sacrificing, fasting and prayer for three days, at a cost to herself and to her people, seeking God’s favor and wisdom and for His will to be done.

She sought to spare her people from execution, and quite possibly herself. Trusting God and her adoptive father, Mordecai.

Honestly and Humbly requesting “If it please you, king . . .”

Examples from Biblical Leadership

Positional Leader

Personality Leader

Competence Leader

Character/Example Leader

Esther & Mordecai, both lead by character and example at least to some extent, especially in the middle portion of the book. But let’s take a look at the contrast from their character, and that of Haman.

Where is Haman’s Stake?

He is proud, arrogant, and wicked, and wants nothing but praise for himself and his family. He becomes bitterly angry when one person fails to bow to him (Mordecai). So angry that he plots to wipe out all the Jewish people in the Persian Empire, not just the one guy who wouldn’t bow to him.

Esther 5:9–14 ESV

9 And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. 12 Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. 13 Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” 14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.

Esther 6:4 ESV

4 And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

He becomes so enraged, that he decides to not wait until the proclaimed execution date, and now builds a gallows (tall, pointed tree or beam of wood, upright) and as we just read, plans to hang Mordecai on the “gallows”.

I haven’t even mentioned the lies and deceit that Haman promoted to the king, in order to enact the proclamation to kill all the Jews.

Now when we think of gallows, or at least, when I hear that word, I think of the gallows seen in movies, where a person is hung by it from a rope. Gallows that are drawn, when playing the children’s game, “Hangman” is what I picture. But most historians and commentaries, identify these gallows as something different. They identify the gallows as a simple beam, or tree, standing upright with a point at the top, upon which something us hung, or impaled with.

Haman so hated Mordecai, that he could wait no longer, for him to be executed, simply because he refused to bow to him.

Haman appears to have been leading by position and maybe personality. He certainly wasn’t leading by character/example, at least not righteous character or a good example.

Where is Haman’s stake?

Well, his stake or his interest is in himself, his own selfish pride and arrogance. But we will see his stake “the gallows” that he built for Mordecai are not where he expected them to be. Well they didn’t move, but their purpose is about to change drastically from what his expectations.

Near the beginning of the sermon, I read up to Esther 7:6, now I want you to follow along as I read the next part of the story. I’ll begin in verse 5 just to remind us where we left off, earlier.

Esther 7:5–10 ESV

5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” 6 And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. 7 And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. 8 And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.

Where is Haman’s Stake? It is in himself.

Literally, the Haman’s stake is in himself. Wow! Wow! WOW!!! What an incredible change of events.

Where is Esther’s Stake?

It is in saving her people. It is in honoring her husband. And notice, she does not request that Haman be killed, she simply requested that her life and the lives of her people be spared from the “WICKED” Haman.

Proverbs 12:12 ESV

12 Whoever is wicked covets the spoil of evildoers, but the root of the righteous bears fruit.

Written by Solomon, or at least spoken approximately 970BC by him 500 years prior to the writing of the book of Esther

Micah 2:3 ESV

3 Therefore thus says the Lord: behold, against this family I am devising disaster, from which you cannot remove your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster.

Written by the Prophet Micah, in 735-710BC

Jeremiah 15:21 ESV

21 I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”

Jeremiah is speaking to the children of God, His people, the sons and daughters of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The ones who worshipped the One True God. Now in Esther we see this happening.

Esther 7:10 ESV

10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.

627-586BC,

While Esther was written around 470BC over a hundred years later, the promise hasn’t changed. God will deliver His people from the wicked, and redeem them from the grasp of the ruthless. That statement is just as true and relevant for today as it was 2500-3000 years ago, when the Old Testament saints were receiving those promises from the prophets of God.

James 4:6 ESV

6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Where is your stake?

What have you invested your life in? Is it in your own personal reputation, in making sure that others, recognize how wonderful and powerful you are? Are you trying to lead, like Haman? Do you rely on your position and status in life, and become angry and bitter, when people don’t “bow down” and give you the things you desire?

Or do you exemplify, Esther’s character, which in this case is godly character.

The book of Esther is written primarily so that we can see, what a Faithful, Loving and Gracious Heavenly Father, we have, but I believe a very clear, secondary lesson for us, what we can learn from Esther and Mordecai. Their faith and knowledge of the character of God, lead them, or allowed them to respond to the circumstances they were facing, with grace and humility.

This is a lesson for us. It is an encouragement for us to live our lives in a similar fashion as Esther. Humble and submissive to the will of the king.

Putting our self interest aside for the good of others.

Willing to speak the truth, even though it may appear that doing so, may cost us our lives.

Humbly approaching authorities with our appeal.

Confident, that God will keep His promises, and protect His people.