Esther | For Such a Time as This

Several months ago, we began a year’s long journey to discover the heart and character of God as revealed to us through Scripture.

I believe this endeavor could be the single greatest act that we could ever do together as a church community, for everything that you can know and study about your faith flows out of your understanding of this collection of letters.

It is a pointer to the God of the universe who left every boundary, who endured the pain and suffering of a servant, to rescue you from your sin and sorrow.

It has been my honor to serve here and open the Scriptures with you. I am amazed every week by how God moves in your life, and while Stacy and I feel excited to return home to our families, we feel sad to say goodbye to a church that we dearly love… … …

However, leaving does come with its perks! For instance, with 14 days left on my clock, I can literally do anything I want - what’s the worst that could happen? I get fired? I lose my bonus? I don’t get a one! I get a poor recommendation? I’ve already been hired someplace else!

Therefore, since I can literally do anything I want, I need a volunteer to join me on stage.

(DICE ILLUSTRATION)

Ever leave life up to chance? To a roll of the dice? To the directions of a Magic 8 Ball? Do any of you believe that life is merely a random set of unique coincidences colliding together?

Believe it or not, everything you just witnessed perfectly illustrates one of the great slices of history from Scripture: the Book of Esther.

If you’re sitting on the outside edge of your row, then please take the Bibles from underneath your seat and pass them into the people on your row. Open with me to the Book of Esther, found on page ________ . Hold that place with your finger.

A brief word about the context and how the Book of Esther connects with the larger narrative of Scripture.

In 586 BC, the Babylonian empire invaded the Southern Kingdom of Judah and exiled the Israelites to Babylon. The Lord commanded that this exile last 70 years.

But during those 70 years, the Persian empire conquered the Babylonians, took over the exiled Southern kingdom, and moved them further east to the capitol city of Susa - just like Daniel predicted would happen.

As Steve spoke about last week, the King of Persia, Cyrus, in act of goodwill, allowed all of the Jews to return home, if they wished. Yet, only 50,000 Jews returned to Jerusalem.

Why would they not all return home?

The vast majority of Jews stayed in Susa for a number of reasons: first, Susa is about 700 miles away from Jerusalem - that’s about a 2 hour flight - imagine walking it; second, many of the Jews who lived during the time of Esther were second and third generation exiled Jews - and much like immigrants or refugees today - they simply called Persia their home.

In the opening chapter 1 of Esther, we meet the new King of Persia, Xerxes 1, who had just finished hosting a 180 day party to display his grand wealth and power. But Xerxes didn’t stop there, after that one ended, he threw a week long after party for his guards in the citadel. This ought to give you an idea into the life and personality of Xerxes.

Think “frat party” - only with unlimited wealth and resources.

During the after party, he summoned for his wife, Queen Vashti, to visit the guys and display her beauty by wearing only her royal crown.

But she refused!

And as a result, Persian law demanded that she be put to death for disobeying the king.

But on that day, the king did not kill her. Instead, he divorced her, stripped her of everything she owned, and then sent her away from the palace.

Call it an act of kingly goodwill… resulting in a vacancy for the Queenship.

To solve this problem, The king conducted a try out for the position of Queen by inviting every young and beautiful lady in Persia to go on a date with him. This literally took years to complete… and finally he chose none other than the young and most beautiful, Esther, as his new Queen.

Esther was an orphaned Jewish girl. She was raised by her older cousin, Mordecai, who made Esther promise to keep her identity a secret to Xerxes for fear that he might kill her for being part of the exiled Jewish nation.

Mordecai loved Esther like she was his own daughter. He was a man of high character and integrity. Soon after Esther became Queen, he unwittingly discovered an assassination plot to kill the king. As a man of integrity, he told Esther, who then saved the life of the king.

Now, let me ask you, what that a Coincidence? A lucky roll of the dice? Or was it the provision of God?

Some time later, a man named Haman became the second in command over the entire kingdom of Persia. Haman was a brutal, arrogant man who hailed from the Amalekites and traced his lineage directly to the infamous King Agag.

Haman demanded that all of the people of Persia bow down to him as they would the king. Mordecai, however, refused.

Infuriated, Haman insisted that not only Mordecai be killed for his lack of reverence, but the entire nation of Israel, as well!

WOW! Talk about the punishment not fitting the crime…

So, why the rage against Mordecai and the Jewish people?

Well, let’s rewind for a moment and bring the whole narrative together:

Think back to the very first King of Israel… Saul.

God asked Saul to completely destroy all of the Amalekites because of their persistent evil behavior, including the sacrifice of their own children.

But Saul disobeyed the Lord’s command. He killed many of them, but not all of them. Consequently, a remnant of the Amalekites survived, and King Agag pledged one day to seek vengeance upon the people of God.

Haman is a descendent of King Agag. And Mordecai is a Jew. See how the stories collide.

Thus, Haman devised a wickedly clever and seemingly fool-proof plan to kill every single Israelite in Persia.

And this is how it went down:

One day, Haman brought to King Xerxes a stack of decrees that required his approval. Amidst the stack included a decree that on one day within the coming year, all of the Jews in every one of the 127 provinces of Persia must be killed and their possessions given to their murderers.

Haman slipped the paper in front of the king, the king stamped it with his signet ring, sealed it with wax, and in doing so, sealed the fate of the entire Jewish nation exiled in Persia.

To determine the day, Haman took the Pur, the Hebrew word for dice, rolled it, and determined that the 13th day of the 12th month - Adar 13th - sometime around March 7 on our calendar - would be the day of destruction, a time 11 months away from the issue of the decree.

Couriers sent out this decree to every person in Persia, including the Jews…

What you would feel upon hearing this decree? Terror? Futility upon hearing that a mad man with a pair of dice just sealed your fate?

Ever feel like that? Like life is a random act of unlucky decisions? Like a cosmic roll of the dice? Sometimes, life gets lucky and you roll a 7, but other times the house wins. You get a pie smashed in your face! Disease prevails. Relationships disintegrate. Economies crash. And in the midst, we can be left wondering: Where is God? Does God exist? Does God even care at all about my life or my family? Is my life at the mercy of a mad man with a pair of dice?

9 months before Adar 13 - Mordecai sent word to Esther. Let’s pick up the narrative here, beginning in chapter 4, verse 7:

So Hathak (one of Queen Esther’s eunuch’s) went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.

9 Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned, the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”

12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer [[[some of the most famous words in all of Scripture]]]: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place [[[a testament to the secure provision of God]]], but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.[[[true courage and conviction when you trust in the promises of God]]]”

This reminds me of the great passage from Paul in his letter to the Philippian church in chapter 1, verse 21 - to live is Christ and to die is gain.

17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

Three days later, Esther makes good on her promise to Mordecai, who now held the fate of her people. She dared to do the unthinkable, Esther entered into the room of the king without being summoned.

What do you think the king did?

On this particular day, the king not only received her, but he told her in chapter 5, verse 3:

“What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”

WOW! What an odd and unprecedented response by the king!

Coincidence? A roll of the dice? Or the provision of God?

Esther told the king that she would like a small dinner with just him and Haman. Let’s continue with the narrative there, beginning in chapter 5, verse 9:

Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.

Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, 11 Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. 12 “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. 13 But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”

14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits [[[about 75 feet tall]]], and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up.

That night, however, as Haman’s family constructed the pole, the king could not sleep, so he asked that his journal be read aloud for him to hear.

His servant read an entry from an earlier time that detailed an instance when Mordecai uncovered an assassination attempt against the king.

Coincidence, perhaps? A lucky roll of the dice? Or the provision of God?

King Xerxes asked the servant if an entry showed that honor had been displayed to Mordecai for saving the king, but the servant said no.

So the next morning, the king summoned Haman to his room. Before Hamon could ask for permission to kill Mordecai, the king asked Haman how the king should honor a person in whom he delights. Let’s read how Haman responds in Esther chapter 6, verse 6 and following:

Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” 7 So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, 8 have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’”

10 “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested… for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”

11 So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”

12 Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, 13 and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him.

Sweet justice! Do you call that coincidence? A roll of the dice? Or the provision of the Lord for his people?

Afterward, King Xerxes and Haman arrived at the banquet hosted by Queen Esther. Let’s pick up the narrative there in chapter 7:

So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, 2 and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”

3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”

5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”

6 Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”

Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.

8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. [[[He tripped over himself and fell on Queen Esther]]]

A coincidence? A roll of the dice? Or the provision of God?

The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”

As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”

The king said, “Impale him on it!” 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided. [[[The irony!]]]

Afterward, King Xerxes elevated Mordecai to Haman’s former position as second in command of Persia and gave all that Haman owned to Esther who then gave it to Mordecai.

A coincidence? A roll of the dice? Or the provision of God?

But what about Adar 13th? Though Haman is dead, the decree still stands.

As second in command, Mordecai now faced the daunting problem of how to save his people from destruction.

In a stroke of sheer brilliance Mordecai decreed another edict that would legally allow the Jewish people to band together and defend themselves against any attack on the day of Adar 13.

The day comes, and men and women from all of the 127 provinces of Persia seek death for every living Israelite in the name of pillage and greed.

Yet, through the bravery of Queen Esther and Mordecai, the Jews legally defended themselves against a 24 hour long attack, killing 75,800 Persians who attempted to steal their lives and possessions.

A coincidence? A roll of the dice? Or the provision of God?

To commemorate their salvation, Mordecai established a feast that Jews from around the world celebrate every year between February and March called the Festival of Purim - literally translated as the Festival of Dice.

During this festival, the entire Book of Esther is read aloud and the provision of God is honored.

What an astounding slice of history that Scripture provides us.

We learn from the lives of Esther and Mordecai that though life can feel like a roll of the dice or a shake of the Magic 8-Ball, in actuality that kind of reality could not be further from the truth, especially for those who trust in the God who created all things and knows all things… who knows your heart and promises your redemption in Jesus Christ.

Solomon wrote in Proverbs chapter 16, verse 33:

We may throw the dice,

but the Lord determines how they fall.

Nothing - no part of your past, present, or future - happens apart from the knowledge, care, and provision of the Lord.

Recall Mordecai’s words to Esther before she entered into the king’s room:

“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews WILL ARISE from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS?”

God would NEVER allow some chump like Haman to thwart his promises of salvation and redemption for his people. God makes true on his word, even going to death on a cross and life through resurrection to make true on his promise of redemption.

Life does not come about through coincidence or the lucky roll of the dice. Rather, life happens solely and completely through the provision of God… every single day.

Everything belongs to God!

Perhaps instead of doubting the existence of God, what if you said: I trust you with my pain. I trust you with my confusion. I hurt right now, God, but I will praise you because you know me and love me and made a way for me through Jesus Christ!

Therefore, my question for you this morning is this: How might God use you for such a time as this?

Perhaps for such a time as this you might confess your sin, surrender your desire to live like the god of your own life, and trust Jesus as your Savior.

Perhaps for such a time as this you might take a risk and live the great adventure of faith.

Get involved in one of the many areas of our church where you can participate in the provision of God for someone else! You might be exactly who God wants to use to lead a teenager to trust in Christ, to mentor a young married couple, to love on a child, to lead this church on the board, or to make meals for people in crisis.

You might be exactly who God wants to use to share the Gospel with those who live in our Marin community.

How might God use you for such a time as this?

I pray that you say yes to God - just like Esther did - and take a risk to walk into a room where you don’t belong.

I pray that you leave your comfort aside to do something amazing with your faith.

Lives depend on it for such a time as this.

Let’s pray together…