ESTHER

rest. Most people say to me before I leave, I hope you have a good rest or I hope you have a good

break, that sort of stuff. It's not so much sleep that I need. I tend to sleep fairly well. I've got

one of these Fitbit things that tells me when I need to go to bed and wakes me up at the right

time and what sort of quality of sleep I've had. It's more the freedom from deadlines and the

day-to-day burdens to be able to step out of those things and do something very different. That

is rest for me. And so tonight I will crawl into bed and not have my mind on work commitments for

the next day. And that will feel good. That will feel really good. I had experience recently for a

long weekend where I did that, crawling to bed on a Sunday night and I wasn't thinking about, oh,

I don't have to go to work tomorrow. That felt good. Now rest is a big theme in the Bible. Right

the beginning. God created the world and it says that he rested from all of his work in creating.

And the rest there is a picture of harmony and peace. Everything is as it should be. However,

the rejection of God and the devastating effects of sin destroyed that rest. And much of the Bible

from that point on is this process of God revealing his plan to undo that and to bring his people back to

a state of peace and rest with him. And as we come to the end of the story of Esther today, we notice

that the upshot of all that Esther has achieved was that she got rest for God's people from rest from all of

their enemies. And so let's track back a little bit. Remember what's transpired to this point.

Esther is the young orphan Jewish woman who became Queen of Persia around two and a half thousand years

ago. In the first couple of chapters, she hides her Jewish identity. She's compliant. She wins Miss

Persia beauty pageant 480 BC. And her prize is to be the wife of the most powerful man in the world at

the time, King Xerxes. In chapter three, she's living the high life in the palace when all of everything

turns bad. Having been convinced by the narcissistic Haman, Xerxes issues a decree to his whole empire

to kill, destroy and annihilate the Jews. They're Esther's people. They're God's people.

And this was all because Esther's older cousin Mordecai wouldn't acknowledge how important Haman was.

Chapters four and five, Esther finally does identify with her people, goes to Xerxes to mediate a plan on

behalf of those people, a rescue plan. She risks her life and uses her position in the palace to work to

save God's people. Chapter six, although Haman plots to execute Mordecai, Xerxes honors Mordecai in just the

time to save his life. And from that moment on, Haman's downfall is swift. In chapter seven, there's a sense of

poetic justice as he is executed on the stake that he himself had built to execute Mordecai on. And Mordecai

then rises to Haman's place of power. A counter edict is drawn up saying that the Jews could now defend

themselves when they are attacked and they could take the plunder of their enemies. Now, I suspect

that Esther and Mordecai would have been hoping with the, that edict, counter edict being drawn up, that they

could put the whole thing to rest and that people wouldn't be bothered now to attack the Jews.

And as we see in chapter nine, many tried anyway. The whole thing wasn't put to rest. There was an

enormous amount of bloodshed and many of the Jews were killed. Clearly, there were quite a few who were

willing to carry through on the original edict. They really did hate the people of God. And even in the

citadel, the seat of power and influence, there were more than 500 who wanted to kill the Jews.

This is in the palace, more than 500. In verse 16, we see that 75,000 were killed by God's people in one

day. And none of them are named, none of the killed were named, except in verses seven to nine, the 10

sons of Haman with names that are impossible to pronounce. Why are they named? I think for two

really important reasons. Firstly, at the end of chapter five, when Haman's ego was bruised by Mordecai,

he goes home, he gathers his family and his friends around him, and he just has a little boast session,

tells him how great he is. And he boasts about three things. His wealth, his authority, his sons.

In chapter seven, his position was taken away from him, given to Mordecai in chapter eight. In chapter

eight, his wealth is taken away from him and given to Esther. And in chapter nine, his sons are no longer.

They are hung on a pole as a public spectacle. The proud has been brought low. His boasting is gone.

There is nothing left to boast about. And secondly, I think the death of Haman's sons marks the reversal

and the end to a mistake the king saw make back in one Samuel chapter 15 that Deb spoke about a number

of weeks ago. God had instructed Saul to go and attack the Amalekites and to wipe them out and not to touch

their plunder. And Saul didn't wipe them out and he took the plunder. And with the death of Haman's sons,

we're meant to see the end of the Amalekites, the enemies of God's people.

God had not forgotten his plan to judge the Amalekites. He might take his time, but his justice

will end up catching up. He always punishes his enemies. And at the very least, we ought to all

at this point be considering our state before God very clearly. God's silence on our sin does not mean

his absence or his lack of care for it. Now, let's be frank. Many people struggle with these parts

of the Old Testament that portray God's people executing God's judgment on others.

But God's anger here at his enemies is not a cranky explosion. It is his settled opposition

to the cancer which is eating the insides of the human race, the race that he loves with his whole

being. The Bible says that God's anger flows from his love and his delight of his creation. He is angry

at evil and injustice because it is destroying the peace and the integrity of what he has made.

It's quite noticeable that a couple of times in chapter 9 that we are told here that the Jews did not

take the wealth of their attackers, even though the edict gave them permission to do so.

And that just helps us see here, just for a moment, that this bloodshed here was simply an act of

self-defence. It's an act of justice on wrongdoers. This bloodshed was not an imperial action by which

they were enriching themselves and increasing their power. They were simply wanted and needed relief

from their enemies. And that's what they get in chapter 9, verse 17. They rested and made it a day

of feasting and joy. And at this point, they ended up consecrating a new annual celebration to remember

the time that they got relief from their enemies. And yet, they've been here before, many times.

God's people have a track record of getting rest that doesn't last.

Moses gave it to them for a little while. Joshua gave it to them for a little while. David gave it to

them for a little while. Solomon gave it to them for a little while. Esther and Mordecai gives it to

them for a little while. But this, even this rest that they have in this moment does not last.

Tacked on the end of Esther is this awkward little postscript in chapter 10.

Just a few verses. It's kind of awkward. It reads,

King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire to its distant shores and all his acts of power and

might together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai whom the king had promoted.

And at first glance, it appears, what's that there for? Why end with those words? What's the purpose of it?

But if you put them in the big picture of the enormous reversal which has been experienced in the book of Esther,

they show us that in the end, not a lot has actually changed.

Xerxes is still king.

And don't forget, it was his cold indifference that saw him write a law that allowed for the destruction of the Jews

throughout the whole empire.

And he's still on the throne.

His personal interests still remain paramount regardless of the cost to his subjects.

That's what it means when it says here that he imposed tribute throughout the empire.

A tribute is not a...

Good on Mordecai.

A tribute is a new tax.

It's a new tax.

Or, and most likely both together, it's also conscripting people into forced labour.

God's people have received rest from all of their enemies

except Xerxes.

And he's still on the throne.

It's a temporary rest.

It's a fragile rest.

And that's why the later prophets in the Old Testament, like Isaiah and Daniel,

began to prophesy that someday the Messiah would come

and he would give God's people the ultimate rest,

the final rest,

the final peace that God longs for.

In fact, Daniel chapter 7 talks about the Son of Man

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

who comes and he wages war,

just warfare against all evil and injustice

and who will bring final rest.

And along comes Jesus.

Jesus, 500 odd years after Esther and says,

I am the Son of Man.

But he wages war against God's enemies differently.

In Luke chapter 9,

Luke 9 · chapter mention

there's a place where some people reject Jesus

and they show themselves to be enemies of Jesus

and enemies of God's people.

And the disciples turn to Jesus

and ask Jesus whether he wants them

to call down fire on these people.

It's like the disciples are sort of saying to Jesus,

you know, Jesus, you're the Son of Man, right?

And you've come to wage war,

you know, final warfare

on all of the enemies of God's people

and to give us rest.

So do you want to start now

on these people?

Because we don't like them.

Fire down on these people?

That'd be good.

And Jesus rebukes him.

He says,

love your enemies.

Forgive your enemies.

And it doesn't make sense.

How can that bring us rest from our enemies?

And then at the very end,

when his enemies come for him

at the Garden of Gethsemane,

the disciples finally got it.

And that's when they ran.

When they got it.

This is the moment when Jesus,

the Son of Man,

is arrested

and Peter

draws his sword

ready to die for Jesus

because he thinks

that this is the moment

where we are going to bring destruction

upon the enemies of God.

It's finally a rise.

This is the moment

when Jesus is going to rise up

and he's going to defeat the Romans.

And Jesus says,

Peter, put your sword away.

And Jesus goes with his enemies

and he dies on a cross.

He utters incredible words

from the cross.

He says,

Father, forgive them

for they don't know

what they are doing.

He forgives his enemies.

Now, it's at this point

that many people think

there's a difference

between the God of the Old Testament

and the God of the New Testament.

You may have heard it before.

The God of the Old Testament

is a bloodthirsty God

who's angry,

capricious,

evil.

He doesn't like evil injustice

and he's just always smiting things.

Always obliterating things,

annihilating things.

But he's mellowed a bit

by the time he gets

to the New Testament.

Gotten a bit older or something.

Mellowed a bit

and Jesus is love.

Jesus just loves everybody.

He just accepts everybody

and little kittens

and children

and lambs love him.

And yet Jesus believed

in the judgment of God

on evil.

Jesus talked more about

hell and judgment

than everyone else

in the Bible put together.

Of course he believed

in the reality of hell

and the judgment of God

on all sin

and evil injustice.

And what we have

on the cross

is Jesus Christ

loving his enemies,

forgiving his enemies,

dying for his enemies.

And yet it's the ultimate

warfare

and judgment

on evil and injustice.

He is concerned about

destroying the sin

and the evil

and the injustice

that he's eating away

at the world

that he loves.

Galatians 3.13

says that Jesus

was hung on a pole.

He was on display

as a public spectacle.

It says,

Christ redeemed us

from the curse

of the law

by becoming

a curse for us.

For as it is written,

cursed is everyone

who is hung

on a pole.

He redeemed us

in order

that the blessing

of Abraham

might come

to the Gentiles

through Christ Jesus

so that by faith

we might receive

the promise

of the Spirit.

You see,

Jesus trades places

with us

and becomes

a curse

for us.

He takes God's anger

and his judgment

for us.

He's made a spectacle

for our sin

and our evil

and our injustice.

You see,

what the cross

of Christ reveals

is that God

is concerned

to destroy

evil,

injustice and sin

but he's not so much

concerned to destroy

that enemy over there

and that enemy over there.

he is very concerned

to destroy

enmity.

He's very concerned

to destroy

enmity.

That is

hostility.

That's what he wants

to destroy.

In Ephesians 2

we are told

that on the cross

Jesus killed

the enmity

that divides me

from you

and you from you.

The enmity

that divides us

as people

from God.

the hostility

that exists

and he killed

the enmity

that exists.

You see,

if Jesus

had said to Peter

go nuts

in the Garden

of Gethsemane

use your sword

and in fact

all the disciples

let's all whip out

our swords

and go nuts

on these guys

and destroy

the Romans

he would have

given his people

in that moment

temporary

rest

from one

particular enemy

but when he died

on the cross

for our sin

he was destroying

sin

and evil

and injustice

and death

itself.

He became

the curse

he was hung

on a pole

and turned away

the anger

of God

the cross

is the ultimate

warfare

against God's

enemies

enemies

because it

kills the enmity

the hostility.

This is so

important to

grasp.

If someone

wrongs you

in some way

maybe they've

hurt your

reputation

or something

most people

would conclude

that you have

a perfect right

to tell everyone

else about it.

Tell them

what's happened

and therefore

what you're doing

in that moment

is you're ruining

their reputation.

or if a person

has robbed you

of happiness

or in love

we tend to think

that we have

every right

to withdraw

from that person

to withhold

from that person

our love.

We can go

really cold

with them

and so that

we hurt them

and we hurt

their happiness

and their love.

We're really good

at this in marriage

especially.

Wife doesn't

treat me the way

I want

doesn't give me

what I want

so I'm just

going to go

over here

and I'm just

going to go

cold shoulder

until I get

what I want.

Great at that.

That's our

default human

position.

Our position

in the human

heart

is to respond

to evil

force

with hurtful

force.

Evil force

hurtful

force.

Our default

position

is to

whack

the enemy

even if

it is

our

spouse.

And if

you whack

them hard

enough

you will

get rest.

That's because

they're

dead

or they're

gone

or they're

debilitated

or they're

in hospital

they're

humiliated

or something's

happened.

if you

whack

them

hard

enough

you

will

win

with

that

enemy

for a

moment.

On the

train on

Wednesday

I was

heading back

up this

way and

there were

a couple

of guys

standing

beside me

talking about

some work

scenario

and from

what I could

gather

and I tell

you what

it's

everything to

me not to

jump in on

this conversation

but for

what I could

gather

one of the

guys had

just finished

up on a

job and

it ended

fairly badly

with the

boss.

And these

two guys

were really

bad-mouthing

this guy

and for

what I could

gather

that this

guy who

finished up

the job

and his

boss were

bad-mouthing

each other

in their

fairly small

industry.

And the

other gentleman

there was

giving him

advice on

how he can

win.

And he

mentioned a

bunch of

stuff and

a few

things that

he could

manipulate in

the scenario

and leverage

to beat

his former

boss.

His

conflict

management

advice

included a

heap of

threats,

manipulation

and

expletive

laden

sentences.

Just say

this to him

and I'm

thinking oh

that's going

to inflame

it, that's

going to

inflame

it.

You see

what was

happening in

that moment

evil force

hurtful

force.

Someone will

come out the

victor, someone

will lose.

You've

whacked the

only enemy

but all

you've done

is made

the enemy

worse.

That's all

you've

done.

The

enmity, the

hostility between

you and the

enemy is still

there.

It's still

there.

When you

fight evil

with evil

you don't

beat evil,

evil wins.

and it

wins in

two ways.

Firstly, you

become harder.

You become

colder.

But most of

all you

become self

righteous.

You say

things like I

can't believe

that person

did that.

I can't

believe they

said that.

I would

never do

that.

So evil

wins firstly

that way.

The second

way that evil

wins is when

you whack an

enemy back

you make

them more

of an

enemy.

even if

they are

dead.

The

children might

come after

you.

Haman's a

classic case

here.

Haman's

bitterness

towards God

people was

carried over

from centuries

before.

Or maybe

the enemy

will regroup

and be more

angry than

ever.

It just

goes on

and on

and on

and on.

the best

way to

defeat

evil and

injustice

the best

way to

defeat

an enemy

is with

good.

The cross

of Jesus

Christ

changes the

warfare

against evil

and injustice

so that now

the way we

handle enemies

is by loving

them and

forgiving them.

We overcome

evil with

good.

We don't

respond to

evil force

with hurtful

force.

we respond

to evil

force with

something more

powerful,

grace.

Grace is

powerful.

Grace

destroys

enmity.

There is

nothing more

formidable,

nothing more

violent in

the best

possible way

than

grace.

You may,

for those who

are cultural

buffs amongst

us,

les mis,

Jean Valjean,

the interaction

with the

bishop right

at the end

when the

bishop says,

oh, you

stole the

candlesticks,

I told you

to take

everything else.

Jean Valjean

walks away

from that

moment and

he says,

grace did

violence to

his soul.

Nothing more

violent in the

best possible way

than grace.

And get

this, this

is so

important.

when you

give somebody

grace,

when you

forgive them,

and especially

your enemies,

you give them

the prospect

of becoming

a friend.

And that

is the only

way to

truly to

destroy an

enemy,

is to make

them a

friend.

It's the only

way.

God's

God's

God's

enemies to

God's

friends.

He was

changing us

from being

God's

enemies to

God's

friends.

Rather than

smiting us

and whacking

us, he

dealt with

the righteous

anger because

of our

evil by

whacking

himself to

make us

his friends.

the minute

we grasp

hold of

that, the

minute we

grasp hold

of that, it

changes us

from being

an enemy

to a

friend of

God.

And what

that does is

it sends

you out

into this

world at

truly being

at rest

with your

enemies.

enemies.

If you

understand the

good news of

what Jesus

has done

for you, you

get rest from

your enemies.

And this is

how it works.

Do you

truly believe

that Jesus

Christ had to

die for you

because you

are that

bad, that

sinful, that

evil, that

unjust?

Do you

believe that

you are that

sinful that

nothing less

than the

Son of

God dying

on the

cross could

save you?

That is

humbling.

The cross

of Christ is

tumbling.

It inoculates

you against

what evil

does to

keep itself

going in

this world.

When someone

does something

wrong to you,

when an enemy

insults you,

the first thing

that happens is

we jump on our

high horse of

self-righteousness,

we get angry.

And that's

what helps

evil continue

to go around

and around

and around.

I'm not

like that.

You've

whacked me,

I'm going to

whack you.

the good

news of

Jesus dying

on the

cross for

me tells

me that I

am no

better.

I am a

sinner saved

by sheer

grace and

if that is

your place

of refuge,

then the

evil one

and evil

and injustice

and sin

doesn't have

any place to

get a

foothold in

your life.

The enemy

of the

Christian can

no longer

destroy them

because they

can't make

you hate

them.

If you

hate your

enemy,

then you

don't know

that you

are a

sinner saved

by grace.

You don't

know that.

If you

haven't been

humbled by

the Christian

gospel of

God dying

on the cross

for you,

if you

haven't truly

seen that,

then you

are so

vulnerable.

if you

don't have

rest from

your enemies,

your enemies

can destroy

you and

they can

control you,

they can

manipulate you

and the

Christian

gospel

humbles you

so that

you are

able to

resist what

the enemy

does to

you.

And now

you can

go out in

the world

and you

can give

enemies

what you

got from

Jesus.

You can

forgive them,

reach out to

them, be

gracious to

them.

More and

more enemies

will then

become friends,

not all of

them, but

many will

become

friends.

That's what

we need.

That's true

and genuine

and enduring

rest.

And that's

what we all

need and

that's what

the Lord

Jesus has

secured for

us and

promises us.

And it's a

rest that we

can have both

now and a

rest that just

goes on and

on into all

the future

and eternity.

Jesus gives

us rest for

ourselves now.

Jesus says

this in

Matthew 11.

He says,

Come to me

all who are

weary and

burdened and

I will give

you rest.

Take my

yoke upon

you and

learn from

me for

I am

gentle and

humble in

heart and

you will

find rest

for your

souls.

Many

people today

speak about

a deep

hunger in

the human

heart.

People are

hungry for

love and

security and

significance and

meaning.

And Jesus

says,

I'm the bread

of life.

Feed them

mean you

never be

hungry.

Many walk

in darkness

and disillusionment

and despair.

And Jesus

says,

I'm the light

of the world.

If you

follow me,

you will

never walk

in darkness.

Instead,

you'll have

the light

of life.

Others are

fearful of

death.

And Jesus

says,

I'm the

resurrection

of the

life.

He who

believes in

me will

live even

though he

dies.

And whoever

lives and

believes in

me will

never die.

Others are

burdened by

worry and

anxiety and

fear and

guilt.

And Jesus

says,

come to

me,

all who

are weary

and burdened,

and I

will give

you rest.

That's the

promise of

rest for

our souls

right now

as we

come to

Jesus.

And yet

the best

is yet to

come for

those who

trust in

Jesus.

Jesus

secured

final,

perfect,

never-ending

rest in

God's new

creation.

The rest

of unspoiled

love between

you and

God.

No enemies.

The rest

of temptation

and our

inbuilt drift

away from

God.

The rest

from the

shaming cycle

of failing,

failure and

confession and

trying harder

and failure

and confession

and rest

from the

opposition of

the world,

rest from

all sickness

and pain

and disability

and death,

rest from

everything that

takes the

gloss of this

life.

And that

is the

rest that

Jesus offers

his people

right now.

It's what he

has secured

for you right

now.

And so

we come to

the end of

Esther.

Six weeks

looking at

pride and

identity in

Christ and

a bunch of

other stuff.

And the

last verse

of chapter

eight is

where I

want to

take some

of you

right now.

It says,

Jews and

many people

of other

nationalities

became Jews

because fear

of the

Jews had

seized them.

That is,

what was

remarkable at

the end of

chapter eight

is that many

people across

the Persian

empire identified

with the

people of

God.

They identified

with the

God of the

Bible and

they too

enjoyed the

rest of

chapter nine

and ten

and the

celebration of

joy and

happiness.

And so as

we come to

our time,

the end of

our time in

Esther,

this is a

decision time

for you.

It might be

that you don't

have that place

of rest right

now.

And maybe

today is the

day that you

need to make

that decision

to have

that rest.

Come to

Jesus,

end the

warfare on

God,

and find

true and

enduring rest

for your

soul.

If that's

you,

I'd be

really glad

to speak to

you after

the service.