Esther 5:1-8:2 | Where is God when wrong is called right?
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Well, we have come to scene three in Chapter 4 of the book of Esther.
If you are joining us for the first time, we have broken the book of Esther into 5 scenes answering a particular question that surrounds the application of that text to our daily lives.
In Scene 1 - Chapters 1&2 we answered the question:
Where is God when those in charge are wrong?
Last week we look at scene 2 in chapter 3 and answered the question:
Where is God when evil surrounds me?
And each week we have found God to be:
Right here, as always, faithfully fulfilling His plans and purposes.
Review
So far in our story you have:
King Xerxes (the ruler of the known world of this time) in the middle of 5th century BC.
He ruled a huge portion of that side of the globe, except a section of Greece that he failed to conquer. Other than that, he is ruling over 127 provinces that span from upper Egypt to India. Following in the footsteps of his father, Darius the Great, Xerxes is all about everyone knowing how awesome he is.
So he throws a 6 month long party and invites many of the important people in his provinces to come celebrate him.
One day, Xerxes decides to have his wife, Queen Vashti, leave a party that she was hosting to come and show off her beauty to all of his friends. She refuses, and Xerxes is furious.
He receives some bad council from his advisors and they put a plan in place to banish Vashti and write an edict that would be sent to all the provinces that woman are to submit to their husbands.
After the rage (and alcohol) wear off, Xerxes misses his wife and slumps into some form of depression. His helpers devise a plan to bring in all the available young woman from all the provinces in order to refresh Xerxes by finding him a new Queen.
It just so happens, that Esther (an ethnic jew who remained back from the Babylonian Captivity) wins the favor of the King and becomes the next queen. It also is serendipitous, that Mordecai, Esther’s cousin who is also her guardian, overhears a plot against the King and is able to send a message to safeguard Xerxes life. The assassins are caught, and Mordecai’s name is recorded in the history records. And the curtain dropped on Scene 1.
Scene 2 opened with a new Character named Haman who was promoted to second in command of the whole kingdom.
And as the story progresses, we find that there is a long lineage of evil that surrounds Haman’s ancestors toward the ancestors of Mordecai and Esther.
For debatable reasons, as all the other prominant figures were bowing to Haman, Mordecai refiuses and ends up making Haman pretty upset.
So upset, in fact, that Haman decides to kill off Mordecai’s entire race.
Haman then devises a tricky plan to persuade the king to sign off on the masacre.
The king agrees, and Haman is given the power and authority to extenguish an entire people group.
An edict is written and sealed with the King’s ring and sent to all 127 provinces that all the Jews will be killed on a particular date about 11 months after the signing.
Scene 2 closes with the King and Haman drinking to their decision to get rid of these Jews while all the city is in confusion.
And that is where scene 3 picks up, as we see Mordecai and the other Jews in their:
As we approach chapters 5:1-8:2, we note five key components to our story as outlined by Christopher Ash:
1. Time has slowed. The story began in the third year of Xerxes’ reign (1:3), continued in the seventh year (2:16), and by chapter 3 is in the twelfth year (3:7). The events of chapters 1–3 have been selected from the many events that must have happened in the Empire over that nine-year period. What happens now takes place over just two days. We watch everything slowly and in detail.
2. These events take place at the heart of the Empire. We are in the citadel, the place from which absolute power governs the known world.
3. Things turn upside down. Watch for reversals, both in these chapters and continuing in chapter 8.
4. The hidden hand of God in His providential governing of events is perhaps more evident here than anywhere else in the story.
5. Unusually for Hebrew story-telling, we are given an insight into Haman’s heart.
Christopher Ash, Teaching Ruth and Esther: From Text to Message, ed. David Jackman and Jon Gemmell, Teach the Bible (Ross-shire, Scotland; London: PT Resources; Christian Focus, 2018), 225–226.
Why is it called when wrong is called right?
Sermon
The Patience of Esther (5:1-8)
1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace.
2 And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
3 And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.”
4 And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.”
5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared.
6 And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”
7 Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is:
8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”
The Prideful Plan of Haman (5:9-14)
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.
The Plot Twist (6:1-8:2)
Now, pay attention to how God works:
1 On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.
2 And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.
3 And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”
Coincidence, I think not!
But it gets better!
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.
5 And the king’s young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.”
6 So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”
7 And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor,
8 let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set.
9 And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’ ”
Good plan, right!
10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.”
11 So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”
This is so good!
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.
Remember the request at the first meal she prepared?
Come back tomorrow…
God’s providence is truly something to awe at in this story as the Theological Antinomy we saw last week is at work again (God’s Sovereignty/Human Responsibility):
The king couldn’t sleep
The chronicles were read
Haman builds the gallows
Mordecai is honored
And now, as Haman sulks at home, the carriage shows up to take Mordecai to the second meal.
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.
Can you imagine for a moment what Haman is thinking and feeling here?
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.
God has avenged Mordecai.
But He isn’t done.
1 On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.
2 And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
Magnificent story of how the roles and rule was reversed.
There is a plot twist of who is in charge in the known world.
As we zoom out and consider the rest of Scripture, we see who is in charge of the whole world.
This story in Esther helps point us to the good news of the Gospel, doesn’t it? As we consider the story of the whole bible, we can’t help but remember the ultimate reversal that changed the course of humanity forever.
Paul writes about it in Philippians 2:5-11:
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Throughout the course of the OT, we see the people of God anticipating the coming Messiah who would make all wrongs right. The One who would fulfill the OT law. The One who would relieve them from the tyrannical rulers of their day and reign as King of the Universe.
And although it didn’t happen exactly how they thought, the Messiah did come. And Jesus did conquer the tyrannical rule of sin and reigns at the right hand of the Father waiting for the day when he will return.
The rule reversal we read of in Esther, helps point us to the rule reversal of the resurrection.
And both proclaim the emphatic truth that:
God rules the universe. God rules the universe. Can you read that with me church:
God rules the universe.
And this truth challenges our faith in two ways:
1. It challenges our faith in a culture that consistently calls wrong right.
Just because a vocal majority may believe that something is right, does not make it right. Just because a ruling official decides something (like exterminating a whole race here in Esther) is right, doesn’t make it right.
The bible is our ultimate authority for faith and right living because it comes from God - and God rules the universe. Therefore, the Bible defines morality, not our culture. The bible defines gender, not our culture. The bible defines at what stage a life becomes a life, not our culture. The bible defines what marriage is, not our culture.
As we get to know God through the Bible, we learn what He has to say about the details of our faith and right living, and as we submit to what he says, we respond rightly to the truth that God rules the universe.
Not only does the truth that God rules the universe challenge our faith in a culture that consistently calls wrong right, but it:
2. But it challenges our faith as our own hearts call wrong right.
Our affections leak.
We tend to view the sins of others much more severly than we view our own.
So we look at the sin of homosexuality as something morbid, all the while we have heterosexual relationships and desires outside of God’s plan of marriage and think we are ok.
We look at the sin of abortion as grotesque, all the while we hold on to our hatred for those who have wronged us, as if it is justified.
We look at those who sin differently than us, and point our boney self-righteous fingers, and never stop to see our own sin as an afront to God’s rule.
Friend, God rules the universe, and this truth confronts
1. The our culture that consistently calls wrong right
2. Our own hearts that call wrong right
As Ash reminds us:
In every decision I make, I need to know—and remember—who rules the universe. Will I tell the complete truth? Remember who rules the universe. Will I be sexually pure? Remember who rules the universe. Will I forgive? Remember who rules the universe. Will I entrust my career, my family, my marriage, my health, to the one who judges justly? Remember who rules the universe. Will I be trustworthy? Remember who rules the universe.
Christopher Ash, Teaching Ruth and Esther: From Text to Message, ed. David Jackman and Jon Gemmell, Teach the Bible (Ross-shire, Scotland; London: PT Resources; Christian Focus, 2018), 242–243.
Where is God when wrong is called right?
God is here, as always, faithfully fulfilling His plans and promises.
Now, as we finish up today with verse two of chapter 8 in Esther, we could think that all is well in Persia. But remember, the edict that was sent out to all 127 provinces to annhilate the Jews still stands. And as the hour glass gets closer to their extinction, in two weeks, we will see what happens next in scene 5.
PRAY