When God Seems Far Away

INTRO: America is a different kind of place today than it was even 20 years ago. The influence of Hollywood and politics seems to be greater than the influence of the church. In fact, you are probably coming to the realization that, as true Christians, we are a minority viewpoint. Our ideals and values are mocked. Our beliefs and teachings are constantly under attack. And you might be wondering, “Where is God- He seems so far away”

Well, indeed we live in a culture that does not always represent our values and beliefs. But we are not the first to ever deal with this kind of situation, nor are we the only ones living that reality now.

Today, we will begin a new series through the book of Esther. Many of you have heard Esther’s story and will be familiar with the elements. But even as we begin to look at this text that is about 2500 years old, we must understand that we are not as far away from Esther as we’d like to think… One interesting fact is that throughout this book, God’s name is not mentioned, but that does not mean that He is not there. And so, like Esther, it is important that we learn to trust God even when He seems far away.

SETTING: The book of Esther is written during the Exile period- The Jewish people had been defeated by foreign armies, and they were dispersed all across the region. The Babylonians who originally defeated Israel had been overtaken by the Persian Empire. While some Jews were returning to Jerusalem to rebuild and resettle, many remained scattered about, either because they had lost their identity as God’s people or because they lacked the means or desire to go to Jerusalem. Some scholars place the book of Esther between Ezra 6-7.

This book has all the elements of a great drama: There are heroes, villains, humor, irony, tragedy, tension, etc. And we have to approach this book in a way that reminds us of a bigger picture. This is a descriptive, historical book, which we must approach differently than we would an epistle or other books that are explicitly meant for teaching. So, though there are 10 chapters in this book, I have tried to break them into about 5 teaching segments.

Indeed this is an unfolding saga, and so I invite you to step into this account with me as we anticipate God’s divine illumination and wisdom in applying His Word to our lives.

Chapters 1-2 set the stage and introduce us to 3 of our main characters.

A Secular King (Ch. 1)

We are introduced to the King- Ahasuerus (Better known by his Greek name, Xerxes). He is very powerful - his kingdom stretched over 127 provinces (today, 20 countries) and many different ethnic groups and languages. The opening scene here is a giant banquet for all the princes of these provinces that lasted for 6 months!

The purpose is unknown- perhaps it was partly to make a military strategy for the upcoming attack on Greece, but the text only says that it was to display the king’s riches and splendor. In other words, so that everyone could be amazed at how wonderful the king is.

ILL: This was one of those parties that people have so you will come and ooh and aah over them and their stuff… reminds me of that show “Lifestyles of the rich and famous” or “MTV’s Cribs”… only to the extreme… 6 months!!!

This 6 month party ended and the king decided he would let all the common folk of Susa get in on the admiration of his splendor, so he threw another banquet that lasted a week. At the same time, the queen threw a banquet for the concubines -… these were the king’s mistresses.

Indeed we see that this king and his kingdom are celebrating all the riches and material wealth that one could ever want. This is about as secular as it gets- these people were gawking over the the king’s ‘good life’ and King Ahasuerus was eating it up! The king had everything he ever dreamt of… but when he summoned the queen to come to his party so he could show her off as his most prized possession, she refused and thus shattered the ego of the king.

Why she refused is unknown- she may have forgotten that she was only the queen because she was married to the king… who knows? Her pride and the king’s pride could not coexist.

And this brings about a somewhat comical and extreme response.

First- the king basically ‘divorces’ queen Vashti. There is no redemption, no second chances… talk about cancel-culture! The king’s pride was not to be attacked in such a way - especially publically! This guy, to be the most powerful king of the known world, was very insecure. He could not have any attack on his power.

But, even this divorce was not enough. Because the king’s pride was attacked, all the princes and nobles suddenly reacted in a most-selfish and comical way.

“What happens if our wives hear about this? Why, they might disrespect us!!" So, the only thing they could think to do was to have the king send out a decree (Executive Order) that all women must give honor to their husbands.

So, what we see in Chapter 1, is a secular world, with secular values, secular problems, and secular solutions.

As Christians, we might take just a moment to recognize that worldly power and wealth does not equate to joy, peace, or security. Even with a law stating that wives must honor their husbands, the element of love is missing. These relationships were superficial and did not reflect marriage as God ordained it to be - two become one flesh.

Yet, even in this secular world, we must be reminded that God is present and working. What we cannot see now will be revealed in His timing.

Discuss: How does the king’s pride illuminate his weaknesses? Do you see yourself in King Ahasuerus?

But next, we’re introduced to

An Unlikely Queen (2:1-20)

Chapter 2 starts off with the same level of absurdity that chapter 1 ended with.

The king begins to regret his reaction to Vashti, but the thing about a king’s edicts were that they could not be reversed… even by the king (keep that in mind for later in our study).

So, the king’s servants in all their brilliance come up with the idea to have a beauty pageant to pick the king’s new, better wife. Crazy… and you thought that the Hollywood idea for “Bachelor” was original… Does this really work?

Anyway, you should know that the king had a whole houseful of concubines/ mistresses. But, he’s the king and he needs a queen. So, the word goes out over all the 127 provinces that they should send their most beautiful virgins to be considered by the king. They would be brought to Susa, given a year to tone up those imperfections, clear up any acne, grow their hair out, and put on some makeup.

This is where we meet Esther. Well, her real name is Hadassah, but she would take a Persian name so people would not know that she was a Jew.

Esther was a orphan- we don’t know what happened to her parents exactly, but we do know that she was adopted by her cousin, Mordecai. Mordecai had a royal Israelite lineage - he was a descendent of King Saul and likely held a position among the Persian officials, though we do not know what position. We’ll talk about him later though.

Back to Esther: This young lady had no parents, no material wealth, and no position of honor. But, she was beautiful. Her beauty was striking… I am thinking she must have been at least half as beautiful as my wife… maybe. It appears as though she was very meek and agreeable, obedient to Mordecai and those who were in charge of the pageant. This is in contrast to Vashti.

And Esther “found favor”- she found favor everywhere she was, though she was a relatively passive agent in this. Esther even found favor enough to ‘win’ the title of queen. Admittedly, this was a weird contest. The women would spend a night with the king… if they were good enough, they would be lucky enough to be a member of the king’s concubine club. Esther, wowed the king and was given the crown that once belonged to Vashti.

We might ask a number of questions.

Why did Esther conceal her heritage?

Why compromise morals and have sex outside of marriage?

Well, I don’t think we have to agree with Esther’s actions here. This is not a prescription for our behavior, but rather a historical account.

Even so, we have to wonder what is going on. Where is God in this?

As we reflect upon this section of Scripture, we must, as Christians, see that God was moving throughout Esther’s actions and decisions. Despite her moral judgment, God placed Esther where He determined her to be. In God’s sovereignty, He ensures His plan will prevail.

You and I need to remember that even though we may not have much to offer or we may have a bit of baggage and mistakes in our path, God will work out His will in spite of our failures. Esther found favor, and like Joseph in Genesis, would find that this favor was not just for her own personal benefit.

God is still working in our secular world, even though we cannot see it, and He will use whomever He desires to bring about His will, no matter what their background or failures.

Discuss: In what ways was Esther an unlikely candidate for queen? What unlikely role has God placed you in?

But now that we’ve been introduced to the King and his secular world and Esther, the unlikely new queen, now we turn to see another hero, Mordecai. Mordecai, the cousin of the new Queen, though this is not known to the king or others, is here presented as

An Unrewarded Rescuer (2:21-23)

In this section, two of the king’s guards are angry with the king- who knows why, but anyone who is that arrogant and who takes what he wants, demands all you have, etc. is bound to make people angry. These men were plotting to assassinate the king. This is not uncommon and in fact, eventually the king would sucomb to such an attack. But not this time.

This time, Mordecai overheard the plot. Now, I am sure that he could have thought of a number of reasons to mind his own business. But, he chooses to tell Esther of this plot.

I want to pause for a moment here. I know that some of you listening might be thinking about how you would respond to this. If you had a king/ president whom you did not like, would you interfere with a plot to end him? I believe that Mordecai understood what the prophet Jeremiah wrote concerning how he should live in this exile. Let me read a few verses for you:

Jeremiah 29:4–7 NASB95

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’

So, Esther tells the king, who in turn investigates the claim. These two guys end up impaled on the end of some large stakes.

Now, Mordecai gets his deed recorded, but the king promptly forgot about this act. This does not upset him, for he did what he knew was right.

Again, we wonder, “What is God doing here?” We don’t see god’s people benefiting from this. We don’t see any advancing of God’s law or re-establishing of a Jewish worship.

But here is what we need to note:

God is faithful. The King did not deserve to have this assassination plan foiled, but God was going to use him anyway. Mordecai did not intervene to get rewarded, but as an act of his own character. He was not perfect, but God would use him anyway.

You see, church, we are living in a time where we may not see what God is doing. The world around us seems increasingly secular. Christendom is no longer centered in America. And you and I are called to live here just as Esther and Mordecai were called to live in Persia.

Discuss: What can we learn from Mordecai’s example?

We must trust that God is present and working even in the midst of all this. And I want to leave you today with these instructions:

If you have found favor in the eyes of people around you, trust that God will leverage this for His will through your obedience to Him.

Do you believe that God cannot use you? Trust that He takes the broken and empty and raises them up for His purposes in spite of these things.

Seek the welfare of your city/ country by doing what is right. Don’t wait for an opportunity for you to be rewarded, but trust that God will be honored through your obedience to Him.

Even when God seems far away, we know that He is near. Friends, I want to encourage you to walk in this truth this new87 year.