The Moment of Truth
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Does everyone have a communion packet?
INTRO: Alright, How many of you husbands out there have asked their wife what it is that she wants for her birthday or Christmas? Ok, now how many wives have actually answered that question?
Well, in our study this morning, we are going to dinner with the queen and king of Persia as well as the top-ranking official in the whole land, a man by the name of Haman.
Now we know that these banquets that Esther is putting on for the king are part of her plan to intercede on behalf of the Jewish people because of the gruesome plot of Haman to annihilate the Jewish people. But this is not known to the king or Haman.
In fact, in chapter 5, we see that the king asks Esther 2 times what she desires, and promises that she would receive whatever she wanted up to half of the kingdom!
This is like saying, Babe, what gift can I give you? Anything you want, so long as I still have half of my possessions. You want a new car? A new ring? A new house? Name it!
Of course, as we know, Esther did not bring here concerns before the king during this first banquet, but instead asked for the king and Haman to return the next day for another dinner party. She tells the king that she will indeed make her request known on that day. - I don’t know about you, but if I was hoping to get my wife a gift and she wanted to cook me a meal and tell me how I could bring joy to her through a gift, well, I’d be excited about that! I love to give my wife gifts that I know she will like!
Last week, we studied about that which took place between the first banquet and the second- how Haman was humbled and Mordecai honored. And we left with a bit of tension as Haman’s wife and friends spoke an ominous warning that things would not end well for Haman.
And so as we pick up the story in chapter 7, I want to encourage you to have your sermon guide and bibles out in order to follow along with me as we walk through these 10 verses together. I’ve broken this section up into 3 sections- The appeal, the indictment, and the execution.
We begin with that familiar question posed by the king to Esther for the 3rd time, and indeed this time we see Esther’s response. This is what we will call
The Appeal (3-4)
The Appeal (3-4)
Esther is very gracious in her appeal to the king. Let’s look at how she goes about this: (read v. 3)
First, she appeals to the king based on his favor. Esther had, as we are told, found favor with the king. She may not have deserved it, but it was given to her anyway. It is this privilege that she seeks to affirm.
She did not appeal to the king’s morals nor on what might be considered “fair or just”
It is the king’s choice to give favor and it would be his choice on how to respond.
This shows Esther’s humility and deference to the king. She was bold to approach him, but that does not mean that she was not humble.
She uses the king’s own words- “Petition” “Request” (read v. 4)
This helps the reader and the king know that she is staying within her bounds. She is not making an appeal that is unsought. No, instead, she is answering the king’s question directly.
In her request and petition, she did not automatically point out the offender. She did not throw Haman’s name out there.
She wanted the king to see the problem from as an objective viewpoint as possible. This reminds me of how the prophet Nathan confronted King David - he brought the facts of the offense before naming the offender.
Esther uses the exact phrasing of the edict that went out from Haman in the king’s name.
She makes an interesting comment- “If it had only been that the Jews were sold as slaves… it would not have been worth bothering you with this”
This shows that Esther is appealing to the king’s own worth and the loss that he would suffer- both in manpower throughout the kingdom, and also in the loss of his queen!
As Christians, we should draw a parallel here: Esther was able to approach the king, as we saw in Esther 5:2, because she obtained favor in the eyes of the king. Likewise, you and I can approach the throne of God boldly, yet humbly, because we have obtained the favor of God through Jesus Christ!
Listen, we get to approach the throne of God with the understanding that He hears us and desires to do good for us.
Discuss: How does Esther’s appeal to the king display both boldness and humility?
From this appeal, the king responds in shock, “Who would dare to do such a thing?”
Now, we have to wonder how the king could have forgotten about this edict, but remember he did not know what people group Haman was talking about… Would someone dare to make a run at the queen in such a manner?
Well, as the king asks this, Esther names Haman as the enemy, not just of the Jews, but of the king. And this calls us to look at
The Indictment (5-7)
The Indictment (5-7)
Haman is being accused of a plot to kill the queen and all her people. Now, this is the right-hand man of the king, and this is a major charge.
The king is shocked, confused, disgusted… so much that he has to walk out of the room to process this.
We must understand how conflicted the king must be. This was an assault on the kingdom!
Now, to be fair, Haman did not likely know that Esther was a Jew and his intentions were aimed solely at Moredecai. But, that does not matter. What it equated to is the same.
And while the king is pondering this, Haman, who was so puffed up a day earlier, finds himself hysterically pleading for Esther to retract her indictment. What a difference a day can make!!
I for one, find it interesting what it took in order to get Haman’s attention. It was not until he realized that he had indeed offended the king that he realized his wrong.
Haman was guilty, but he pled for his life to one whom he hoped would intercede for him.
In his begging and pleading, he was falling all over the couch where Esther was. I imagine he looked like a crazy person- what else was he to do? His emotions were no-doubt overwhelming- fear, shame, dread…
Have you ever thought about this? Fear is a powerful motivator and can make people do things they never thought they would do.
But here’s what I want us to see: Haman was completely ok with his actions UNTIL he came to the understanding that his actions were an affront to the king and that the king’s power and authority were so great that his own position and authority were of no consequence.
Friends, I think that’s how so many walk around in this life. We desire for people to give their life to Jesus, to be repulsed by their own sinfulness, but that does not happen until people come to the place of acknowledging the king. We do not dislike sinfulness on our own accord- simply because we don’t like it or we feel uneasy over it. Sin is sin because it is an affront and indeed is contrary to the character and person of God Almighty!
When sinners understand that they stand before the Almighty King, THEN they will be driven to mourning and weeping over their sinfulness. It is here that we see what it is to FEAR the Lord, not because He is scary, but because He is just and unconquerable.
Hey, I wonder if that’s you this morning. Have you come to that place where you recognize WHO the King is? Do you realize that you are a sinner and that your presence before the king ultimately will bring about judgment? Friends, just as Haman sat indicted for his evil plot, you and I are guilty of sin that separates us from God and warrants our judgment.
Discuss: What does it mean to fear the LORD? Are you repulsed by your sinfulness?
Haman’s indictment would now lead to
The Execution (8-10)
The Execution (8-10)
In the midst of Haman’s hysteria and pleading, the king returns. Now, I don’t know what the king would have done to Haman had he returned and Haman was not in the middle of an all-out breakdown, but to the king, it looked as if Haman were even so brash and evil as to attempt to assault the queen even with the king so close by.
This sealed the fate of Haman. If there were any chance that the king would show mercy on Haman, it was gone. The king no longer had to decide if he would believe his wife or his right-hand man. This action of Haman was evidence of his guilt.
Haman would die for his sins.
And, here again, we see irony. Harbonah, a servant of the king, points out, just as Haman is condemned, that there is a perfectly suitable ‘gallows’ that Haman had built for Mordecai, who by the way, prevented your assassination o king...
Haman should have known that gambling on Mordecai had very “high stakes”!
(Get it? The stakes were high… I worked all week on this joke, y’all - I guarantee Haman got the point! )
Anyway, the very apparatus Haman had constructed to destroy Mordecai became the instrument of his own death.
This, again should remind us that it was the instrument that the Roman soldiers constructed, deceitfully employed by Jewish leaders to destroy Jesus that indeed became the instrument through which death would be defeated!
Friends, Haman paid for his sins, but you and I do not have to. That has been done through Jesus Christ!
As, Paul writes in
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Though the book of Esther does not mention God’s name, it points us to the wondrous reality of our Savior… how desperate we are for Jesus! We often try to place ourselves in the shoes of a character when we read these Scriptures… You might have done that subconsciously - But friends, you are not Esther and you are not Mordecai. If we are anyone, we are Haman. We deserve death and judgment.
BUT we have been given the favor of the king because of Jesus Christ! And it is this reality that we must focus on this morning. I hope to do this as we conclude our service by observing the Lord’s Supper.
Discuss: How is God’s providence evidenced in this event?
I’d like to invite you, as we prepare to take the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, to spend a moment in prayerful reflection. [MUSIC/ PRAYER]
We observe this ordinance of the church as a covenant body. We are united in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, through whose death and resurrection our salvation is secured. Jesus instructed his disciples in the taking of the Lord’s Supper. The apostle Paul teaches us to remember Christ’s death in 1 Corinthians 11.
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
