The Power of Providence (Esther)

Formal Elements / Descriptive Data

Text: Esther

CIT: God protects His people and demonstrates His sovereignty over the affairs of the world

Proposition: Holding an unwavering faith in the power of Providence enables you to press forward with hope in the most dire of circumstances.

Statement of Purpose:

(1) MO – Devotional

(2) SO – To encourage you to examine your own life's events, and look with scrutiny in faith anywhere you may even see a hint of His divine hand, and not hesitate to attribute every good one of them to Him directly, though however obscure He may seem to be involved.

Title (Topic/Name): The Power of Providence

Informal Elements / Rhetorical Data

Introduction:

· Quote- "There is no situation in human life or experience for which a message of God cannot be found through the Book. I do not care whether it be a personal, social, national, or international situation. And about the future, this Book has no hesitation. There is much it does not reveal, but the reality of it is insisted upon from beginning to end. The great fundamental things that we need to know in this preparatory life are all here in this Book." —G. Campbell Morgan.

· Esther is a Book of Crisis - drama, non-fiction, genuine

· Esther has five main characters - Ahasuerus (Persian Monarch), Vashti (dethroned Queen), Haman (Racist Jew-hater), Mordecai (Jewish leader), and the Star (literally) Esther (Jewish girl made queen).

· Esther’s backdrop - The Royal Persian Palace fixed within Susa, the capitol of the Persian Empire; along with several million Jews scattered throughout the King's domain.

· Esther is a Book Centered on Esther - pivotal

· Esther’s timing - covering about 12 years

· Develop the CIT and Proposition above

Body – Development – Outline:

I. A Story of Providential Preservation

EXP: (See J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book)

A. Providence Defined

· Lat. - pro + video = to see or know before

· Not just seeing, but acting on what is pre-known

B. Providence Deciphered

1. Deciphering The Absence of God's Name

· God - 21 times in Neh. 13, then NONE, then resumes again in Job 1.

ILL: Quote- "...above all, we are meant to see, in the natural outworking of events, how, without violating human free will, and without interrupting the ordinary ongoing of human affairs, a hidden Power unsuspectedly [SIC] but infallibly controls all things." --J. Sidlow Baxter

· The power of Divine Silence

· The Name of Jehovah (JHVH) in Esther:

· Esther 1:20 = initial letters left to right (Gentile speaker)

· Esther 5:4 = initial letters right to left (Jewish speaker)

· Esther 5:13 = final letters left to right (Gentile speakers)

· Esther 7:7 = final letters right to left (Jewish speakers)

ILL: Quote- "Yes, God is in this Book of Esther, not in so many syllables, but in events; not in miraculous interventions, but as guiding the wheels of providence; not in open communication, but as the unseen Power overruling all." - J. Sidlow Baxter

2. Deciphering the King Ahasuerus

· Archaeology has confirmed his historical reality

· Known outside of the Bible as Xerxes, reigned 485-465 B.C. (Greek form of Persian name)

· Ordered bridge built over Hellespont which was destroyed by tempest, so he commanded 300 stroke scourge on the sea, a pair of fetters thrown in at Hellespont and the builders beheaded.

· Was offered by Pythius a massive sum of money toward the expenses of a military expedition, enraptured by the loyalty, returned the money with a generous gift, only later to deny the same Pythius his request to spare only one (his eldest) son from the expedition to support his old age, instead in fury had the son cut in two pieces and the army march between them.

· Dishonored the remains of heroic Spartan, Leonidas.

· The fairest and stateliest world leader of his day (according to Herodotus)

· An unstable moral mixture of passionate extremes, hence a perfect historical fit for the dethronement of Vashti, giving the decree for Haman's Jewish Massacre Plot, but then swinging to the other side to sanction Jewish vengeance on thousands of his other subjects.

C. Providence Demonstrated

1. Crisis Anticipated - Esther 1-5

· Covers many years quickly moving to the climax of Haman's gallows being built by the end of chapter 5

· Chapter 6 brings the sudden turn of events

APP: Demonstrates that God was orchestrating things even long before Esther was ever even born

2. Crisis Averted & Cruelty Avenged - Esther 6-10

APP: God sees before – prevision; God acts for our good and His glory - provision

Conc: By understanding a biblical definition of providence, and looking with eyes of faith at your life's circumstances to decipher where the hand of God is seen, either clearly or not so clearly, and attributing those things you find to God's demonstrating both His foresight and provision, you are in the best place to hold an unwavering faith in the power of Providence which will enable you to press forward with hope in the most dire of circumstances, for such a time as this.