Esther Sermon - 2

Behind the Seen:

Esther 1:1-22

1. Introduction – This fall we are going on an epic journey through the book of Esther.

a. Esther is an incredible book-full of mystery and intrigue; full of twists and turns in the storyline.

i. And one could be tempted to think that this is just a cool story and that God is nowhere to be found in this here because God’s name is never mentioned or even alluded to.

1. But if we pay attention, we’ll see that God is actually all over this story – he is moving and working through ordinary events to bring the characters of the story to where they need to be.

b. And isn’t this how God works today? I don’t know about you, but God has never parted waters right in front of me – but he has led me from decision to decision to bring to where he wants me to be.

i. This is what Esther teaches us – God works behind the scenes and behind the things that are seen to bring history to its God-intended end.

c. But Esther teaches us one more thing. In verse 2 we are told that these events took place in Susa – Not in Israel or Jerusalem, these events took place when God’s people were living in a foreign land in exile. Esther teaches us how to be faithful to God while living in a world that is hostile towards God.

i. They were living in a land that was hostile towards God.

1. Esther’s story took place in a world that is a lot like ours – a world that is hostile or maybe completely indifferent towards the ways of God.

d. Esther is an incredible book; one that causes us to think.

i. It causes us to think about how God moves and works in history and in our own lives.

1. And Esther causes us think about what it looks like to be faithful to God in a land that doesn’t know much about him.

a. Now, let’s dive into the story.

2. Retelling the Scene – Earlier we read a rather lengthy passage, and sometimes it’s hard to pick up on all that’s going on.

a. However, when reference is made to some historical context and cultural practices; when the style of writing is pointed out, the story can really come alive for us today.

i. And really, chapter 1 can be divided in to 2 parts. Verses 1-9 set the scene for us. It describes the backdrop and setting and verses 10-22 give details of a specific circumstance involving King Xerxes and Queen Vashti.

b. Verse 1-9 describe for us a party that Xerxes threw for his nobles and military and political leaders.

i. Did you notice how long this party pasted for? 180 days – 6 months.

1. The party took place in Susa, the capital city of the vast Persian empire. In fact, the Persian empire was so vast – in had 4 capital cities. Xerxes was a lavish and powerful king of the most powerful empire the world had known – and he thought nothing of showing it all off.

c. Now Xerxes threw this party for 2 reasons. First, we are told in verse 3 that this party took place in the 3rd year of his reign – we are told in other ancient history books that this corresponds to a great military planning session that Xerxes had.

i. Even though his empire was the largest in the world had ever seen at that time – Xerxes wanted more land; he wanted to invade Greece.

1. So, Xerxes threw a big party/military strategy session to drum up support for his ambitious military dreams.

d. Also, Xerxes threw this party to glorify himself. He had unlimited resources, and he wanted all the nobles, elite and military and political leaders to see how rich and opulent he was.

i. And really, he threw 2 parties. First, he threw the 180 day military planning session, and then he threw a 7 day drunken party to top it all off.

e. The author of Esther goes into a stunning amount of detail about the setting. And besides a description of the Temple, no other biblical author goes in to such detail about the setting of the scene.

i. White cotton curtains, gold and silver couches – mother of pearl pavement.

1. Wine flowing like water – custom made wine goblets – its extravagant and opulent.

a. And honestly, we are supposed to be impressed by all of this – at the spare-no-expense opulence of Xerxes.

i. His palace is supposed to impress us, his power and might and prestige – we’re supposed to be impressed, but also a little revolted.

ii. And all this partying, all this wastefulness, is the backdrop to the next of the story.

3. Vashti’s Story – After 7 days of drinking, Xerxes that it would be a good idea to parade is wife around as some kind of sex object.

a. He wanted Vashti to get all gussied up and be parade around the party so Xerxes could get some sort of sick pleasure watching other men gawk at his wife.

b. And shocking – and in the historical context it actually is quite shocking – Vashti refuses to come when she is summoned.

i. Vashti’s role as queen was a pretty dismal existence; she lived to satisfy Xerxes’ every wish and desire.

1. And so, it’s shocking to think that Vashti refused Xerxes when he order her to come.

c. Now, usually Esther is touted for her bravery, but we must also commend Vashti for hers.

i. She probably knew the inevitable consequences of her decision, yet she refused to be treated like a sex object in front of the Persian elite.

1. And what the rest of the chapter is, can only be described as the author using satire and comedy to show his audience that Xerxes isn’t as in control of things and he may appear to be.

ii. Remember…God’s people are in exile not in the Promised Land, they are ruled by a ruthless and godless tyrant.

1. Xerxes most likely struck fear into the people – but here the author shows his readers that Xerxes isn’t a figure to be feared; he shows that Xerxes is actually a bit of a buffoon.

iii. Again, remember, Xerxes is the most powerful man in the world…

1. Ruled from India to Ethiopia… 127 provinces…able to throw 6-month long parties convincing people he needed control of more land.

a. He’s there with the elite, the nobles, the military and political leaders – showing off for them, trying to get their support…

i. And in the midst of it all, Xerxes shows that he doesn’t even have control of his own household. His wife doesn’t even listen to him.

iv. And what happens next is downright comical, because Xerxes takes what should be a domestic issue and turns it into an empirical crisis.

d. To solve this crisis – Xerxes calls in his closest advisors. Again, here’s the most powerful man in the world, and he’s a man that needs outside advice on how to handle this situation.

i. And his drunk advisors, and especially the one that speaks up – Memucan – prove that they are full of as much buffoonery as Xerxes is.

1. Xerxes was foolish to call Vashti in the first place, even more foolish to call in his advisors – and even more foolish to listen to their advice.

a. Xerxes, most powerful man in the world – is portrayed as a man who drinks too much and thinks too little.

e. I don’t want to look at this scene in very much detail, I simply want to point out the inconsistencies of Xerxes’ edict – and how ironic it all really is. As we go along, you’ll see this gets pretty funny.

f. First – this all started because Vashti decided on her own that she didn’t want to go into the king’s presence to be gawked at.

i. So how did the advisors suggest punishing Vashti? Well, her punishment was she could no longer come into the king’s presence.

g. Second – The advisors were called in because Xerxes couldn’t control his wife with a decree. He ordered her to come in and she refused to be ruled by such a decree.

i. What did the advisors suggest? They told Xerxes to out letter trying to control all the women of the Empire with a decree.

h. Finally, when the legal advisors heard why Xerxes called them in, they were terrified that word will get out about what Vashti did.

i. They feared that there would be an empire wide epidemic of wives not listening to their husbands’ orders.

1. So, what was their solution? They send out a royal order to the entire empire, written in all the various languages, detailing to everyone what Vashti had done.

a. I don’t know how much Xerxes paid his advisors, but whatever it was, it was too much.

i. The author uses satire to show that Xerxes isn’t really in control. He shows his audience that the Persian empire wasn’t run by Xerxes and the Magnificent Seven – it was more like Xerxes and the Seven Dwarfs.

4. Where is God? So, where God is God in this story? Esther isn’t in the story yet, and God’s name ever appears in the story – so why does this book begin with a scene from the king’s court?

a. It would be easy for to say God is nowhere, he’s not mentioned, his power is not invoked, he’s not in this story at all. But the truth is, he’s everywhere.

i. He is orchestrating the events that led up to Esther becoming queen – giving her power and influence to deliver God’s people.

b. In the face of such lavish opulence; in the face of such a powerful emperor, it would be easy to brush off God as invisible and irrelevant or not caring about people.

i. But, God is even working in the inner politics of the Persian court – he is working to bring about his purposes.

c. Even though his name is never mentioned, there is God – working in the background, even working through a drunk king and his advisors…

i. Is it a coincidence that Xerxes calls Vashti, Vashti refuses to come, that she then gets banished, and a search committee is formed to find her replacement?

1. Coincidence??? Or is it God working in and through these human decisions and situations to bring about his intended end?

a. The point is that God works is subtle, indeed very subtle ways.

d. In contrast to the pomp and glamour and wastefulness of the Persian Empire, God works in his kingdom in ways that are sometimes hard to perceive.

i. The temptation is to look around, not see any visible sign of God’s working, and mistakenly think he’s not there.

1. The Jews in Susa probably felt like God had abandoned them. When they looked up to the heavens, all they saw was Xerxes’ palace staring back at them.

ii. Or think about the Jews of Jesus’ day, or Christians in the early church, who lived under the shadow of the Roman Empire.

1. God’s people in those days needed a reminder – that despite what circumstance present – God is the one who is in control.

e. Jesus said that God’s kingdom is not like the kingdoms of this world – where might makes right, wealth is wasted and kings live lavishly while their people live in squalor.

i. God’s kingdom doesn’t make loud and grandiose statements about itself.

ii. In fact, Jesus says that God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed – it starts off small; it’s tiny and imperceptible.

1. But it grows and will continue to grow – despite a world that is trying to hold it down.

f. One of the biggest ironies of the book of Esther is that by the time it was written…

i. Xerxes had already been defeated by the Greeks, Xerxes was actually dead, and the Persian Empire had fallen to the Greeks.

1. And when we read Esther in the 21st century…the Greeks fell to the Romans and the Romans fell to the Barbarians and worldly empires have come and gone, but God’s kingdom is still standing, it is still expanding.

a. God’s kingdom has worked in and through human history in often invisible and inscrutable ways.

g. Don’t fall prey to the trap of thinking that God isn’t working today. We don’t often see what he is doing in present circumstances or why he allows certain things to happen or certain people to come in to power…

i. But we need to know that despite what our world shows us, God is in control – he is working in our world, and he is working in your life.

5. Compare and Contrast – The author of Esther is begging us to make these kinds of comparisons. We’ve compared and contrasted Xerxes’ kingdom with God’s kingdom.

a. Next week, and the weeks that follow, we’ll compare Vashti and Esther.

i. But as we close this morning – I want to make one more comparison between the two kings of Esther 1…Xerxes and God.

b. Xerxes is a king, but he is reckless with his power; he is reckless with his wealth.

i. He is insecure in his decision making and he is a control freak.

1. He made decrees to get what he wanted and used those decrees to control people.

a. He even made a decree about how much people should drink. That’s not a king who has the best interest of his people in mind – that’s a reckless and controlling buffoon.

c. God is also a king. God also makes laws and decrees that cannot be challenged or repealed.

i. God rules over all things great and small; there are consequences for disobeying God.

1. But God makes laws and decrees, not to control people; God’s laws are beneficial to us.

a. And we obey God’s commands, not out of a sense of duty or fear of punishment – we obey God’s laws out of our love for God – a love he first lavished on us.

d. You see, unlike Xerxes, God’s doesn’t use people as disposable commodities. God graciously invites people into a loving relationship with himself.

i. If we come to God through faith and humble repentance, we can rest assured that God will never banish us from his presence.

1. In fact, he longs for us to be in presence.

2. This is who God is; a loving and good Father, a lavish and gracious king – who pours is love out on us continually – and who works subtly in life to bring us to where he wants us to be.

e. What brought you here this morning? Maybe you came because we had a baby dedication today. Maybe you came because you always come to church on Sunday…

i. But I’ll tell you, it’s not a coincidence you are here this morning – God wanted you here today. And he moved and worked and orchestrated in your life to bring you here to this very moment.

1. He wanted all of our lives to intersect today for a very special purpose.

a. God brought you here today – he wanted to sing the songs and he wanted you to hear this message.

i. God brought you here today so that he could move and work in your heart. He brought you to where he wanted you to be.

6. Conclusion – We’re taking a break for next week, we’re out at ISBC for their anniversary service, so for 2 weeks from now, I would like you to read Esther 2 –

a. familiarize yourself with the flow of the chapter and we’ll study that chapter when we gather back in this place in two weeks.