ESTHER

Good morning to you all.

Oh, thank you.

Let me pray before we start.

Our Father and our God, we do indeed give you great thanks and praise

that you are a God who is perfect.

You are a God who has answers.

You are a God who saves his people.

You are a God who pours out love and mercy to your people.

Father, please help us now to understand the message that you would wish for us

to hear this morning from these amazing passages.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Well, we have come to our second last message here in Esther

and we have heard about four interesting characters.

King Xerxes, whose character is extremely questionable, is obsessed with himself.

Queen Esther, we know she's beautiful.

She has kept her Jewish heritage private and along with the fact that her life is in danger,

so is the life or lives of all the other Jews and they are threatened with annihilation.

Mordecai, he's of the Jewish family of Esther and he's the guy who refused to bow down to Haman

and seemingly has started and caused this problem that we have right at this moment in time.

And Haman himself, the man obsessed with hatred that comes from his ancestor King Agag

that we learnt about some weeks back, the king of the Amalekites.

And Haman is the guy who we learnt last week who is filled with pride

and whose plans are not just to see the death of Mordecai,

but to see the whole Jewish race annihilated.

Now, it's not difficult to dislike Haman.

And it is easy to wish for poetic justice.

Now, poetic justice is a literary term.

It's what every good book and every good movie has.

You know what I mean.

There's good characters and there's bad characters, evil characters,

and all along it looks as if the evil characters are going to win.

And yet the author uses the evil characters to somehow turn the tables

and the evil characters receive the punishment that they deserve.

We would say they got their just desserts.

Now, poetic justice happens all throughout life.

We often want to see the tables turned for good to win over evil.

But poetic justice leaves things a little unresolved.

The grief of a family when a member of their family is killed by a mad gunman,

and we only just have to look at recent news,

they are still left in grief,

even though the gunman gets the punishment

and is sent to jail for a long time.

The punishment doesn't bring back the one who was shot.

There is still something unresolved,

even though the gunman is actually punished.

Now, in chapters 7 and 8 of Esther,

we see perfect justice.

Yes, there is poetic justice through this story.

Yes, Haman dies on the very gallows that were meant for Mordecai,

and the people of God have their lives saved by a reversal of the death edict.

But there's more for us to see in relation to God's perfect justice.

You see, commonly, poetic justice has something missing.

But in God's perfect justice,

he writes the wrongs fully and completely.

Nothing is missing.

Now, there are four points that we can learn from God's perfect justice

from these two chapters.

We didn't read chapter 8,

but we'll get to that.

There's two points in chapter 7,

and there's two in chapter 8.

In God's perfect justice,

there is perfect knowledge,

there is perfect judgment,

there is perfect reward,

and there is perfect joy.

First of all,

in perfect justice,

there is perfect knowledge.

Any justice that we see in this world

isn't perfect

because no human has all the information

or knowledge of another person.

There are many secrets that are hidden.

And we see this happen in Esther chapter 7,

Esther 7 · chapter mention

in the first six verses,

especially look with me at verses 3 and 4.

Having been asked again

what the queen's request is by the king,

the queen, Queen Esther, answers,

if I have found favour 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.

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.

She knows how to speak to this king,

doesn't she?

She's very clever.

Esther reveals her concern

for her own life and her people.

Remember, no one knows

that she is a Jew at this stage,

not even her husband, the king.

All knowledge of the problem

is not revealed straight away,

nor does she make it clear

that it is the edict

that Haman actually put together

and that the king actually signed

is the main problem.

And note her comments,

in her comments,

she is using the same wording

that is in the decree

that Haman wrote

and the king signed.

Now, understandably,

this king asks,

who has done such a thing?

Now, you could imagine Haman.

Haman would be getting

a little worried

as he's listening to the king,

sitting there at the banquet,

feeling like he's a special guest,

and he hears the queen

speaking this way.

Things haven't been going well

for Haman, remember.

He has just come in from outside.

He's actually had to be humiliated

by parading around the city

with Mordecai being honoured,

the very person who he hates.

Now, Esther reveals the adversary.

It's this wicked Haman.

This wicked Haman is out to kill her,

the queen of all people.

Now, does the king realise

it's the edict

that Esther is referring to?

Maybe not.

Now, we have seen,

we think maybe not,

and the commentators think maybe not,

because we have seen the king

be very slow and lacking thought

throughout all of Esther.

So nothing makes us think

that he's putting all the dots together.

The knowledge shared here

is not complete.

Esther doesn't tell the whole story.

But in God's justice,

all things will be revealed

because perfect justice

has perfect knowledge.

If you can imagine a judge

in one of our courts

making decisions

on what he or she sees before them,

the judge doesn't know the heart

of the person in front of them,

doesn't know the motives,

the judge doesn't know

if the witness is lying or not,

and so cannot really make

a perfect judgment.

We'll do the best he or she can,

but it won't ever be perfect.

A judgment will be made perfect,

will be made,

but it won't be that perfect

because a judge cannot have

perfect knowledge.

But our God

can make a perfect judgment

because all things

will be revealed

on the day of judgment.

Revelation tells us

that when Jesus returns,

the books will be opened

and every wrong

and every right

that we have ever done

will be totally exposed

and all will be revealed.

Now, unless our wrongs,

our sins,

are covered somehow,

we,

every one of us

in this room

is in great trouble.

God's justice

is perfect justice.

He has perfect knowledge.

Nothing is hidden from him.

Even though we can hide

a huge amount from each other,

nothing is hidden from God.

God's perfect justice

requires perfect righteousness

of which we cannot

give ourselves.

In 2 Corinthians 5,

2 Corinthians 5:21

verse 21,

it says,

God made him,

that is Jesus Christ,

who had no sin

to be sin for us

so that in him

we might become

the righteousness of God.

Jesus is the one

who can cover

all of our sins.

Now, many think

that God will let

everyone

pass the entrance

into heaven

on the day of judgment.

But how can that be perfect

if he lets those

who have ignored him

all their lives

and done their own thing?

Those who have been wicked,

those who have been selfish,

those who have been self-motivated.

And dare I say,

how can even welcoming

a religious person

who comes to church

every Sunday

and then forgets God

the rest of the week

for six days,

no thought of God,

but I'm in church

on a Sunday,

how can that be just

if God allows that person

into his heaven?

You might remember

Jesus said some pretty

horrendous things

about the Pharisees.

And in Luke 11,

Jesus comments

about the Pharisees

in many different ways.

But maybe one

of the worst comments

is,

woe to you,

experts in the law,

because you have taken away

the key to knowledge.

you yourselves

have not entered

and you have hindered

those who are entering.

How awful is that?

To just be a nice person

isn't what is needed.

Putting your life

into Jesus' hands

100% is what is needed.

to know that you need saving

and that Jesus

is the perfect saviour

because he has taken

the punishment

that we deserve

on the cross.

So that we then

can stand confident

when that book

is open

and everything

about our lives

is revealed.

Our sin

will not be seen

but Jesus

by his very

life and death

will be covering

the pages

and only

Jesus

will be seen.

If we are trusting

in Jesus

as Lord

and saviour

then the perfect

knowledge

of all of our

actions

good and sinful

will in fact

be covered

by our saviour

Jesus.

Now God's

perfect justice

will also be

a perfect

judgement.

There was

a day of judgement

for Haman.

For a time

it all looked

as if

everything

was going well

for Haman.

He had position

he had wealth

he had power

he had honour.

It would be

understandable

to be looking on

and say

this isn't fair

this person

is evil.

and yet

look at

everything

that he has

and that is

not uncommon

in life.

We see

many people

in life

who are

elevated

seemingly

blessed

in finances

and position

and we might

be tempted

to call out

and say

it isn't fair.

fair.

How often

have you thought

that a punishment

does not

fit the crime?

We cry out

it isn't fair

and I can

and every one

of you with

children will

know

children can

do this

the best.

they cry out

they cry out

but it's

not fair

she is

to blame

he is

to blame

but with

God

his punishment

is perfect.

Psalm 73

the whole

of the psalm

explains

this dilemma

beautifully

but we won't

read the whole psalm

but the psalmist

does say

I envied

the arrogant

when I saw

their prosperity

and the wicked

they have no

struggles

their bodies

are healthy

and strong

they are free

from common

human burdens

they are not

plagued

by human

ills

and the psalmist

continues

with saying

that he has

been faithful

and yet

things are

going wrong

for him

and he cries

out to God

and he says

God

this isn't

fair

and then

he realises

it's not

fair

only for

a time

in the psalm

it says

how quickly

are they

destroyed

completely

swept away

by terrors

it looks

all unfair

but it's

only

for a time

that it is

unfair

scripture

tells us

in many

different

ways

the

meek

shall

inherit

the

earth

the

first

shall

be

last

the

last

shall

be

first

take

courage

God's

justice

is

perfect

judgment

and if

there

wasn't

a day

of

judgment

then that

would mean

that God's

justice

is not

perfect

after all

heaven

now here

in Esther

we see

the king

has a

problem

and Haman

an even

bigger problem

we know

the king

is weak

and we

know

and here

in this

story

he's

horrified

that someone

would plan

to kill

his queen

but

he's the

one who

has

promoted

this

wicked

person

he's the

one who

has given

him all

the power

and the

high

position

how

embarrassing

for this

king who

is only

concerned

about

himself

he's going

to look

like a

goose

he's

enraged

and he's

disturbed

and he

has to

take

himself

outside

to give

him some

space

to think

what on

earth

am I

going to

do

here

now

Haman

on the

other

hand

tries

to see

whilst the

king's

out of

the room

tries to

see if he

might be

able to

persuade

the queen

to change

the story

or something

or to

plead

for life

because

Haman

knows

only too

well

that this

king

is about

to kill

him

he has

seen

this

king

annihilate

kill

many

many

people

but as

fate

or is

it

coincidence

or have

we learnt

by now

throughout

Esther

God's

hand

is at

work

quietly

Haman

trips

and he

falls

on to

queen

Esther

just

as the

king

is coming

in

not

a good

look

one

would

think

and for

this

weak

king

inwardly

he

most

probably

saying

woohoo

I've

got another

reason to

get this

guy

I'm not

going to

look as

bad as

what I

thought I

might have

been

he won't

be as

embarrassed

about this

one

or he

won't

lose

face

but

Proverbs

11

19

tells

us

truly

the

righteous

attain

life

but

whoever

pursues

evil

finds

death

now

this

is

poetic

justice

and

God's

justice

is

perfect

judgment

we

can be

certain

that

God

will

judge

Haman

he has

been

judged

by the

king

by

being

given

death

at that

moment

but

God's

judgment

is

eternal

death

and

Haman

will

have

that

and

God's

perfect

justice

will

receive

a

perfect

reward

now

God

promises

to

fully

and

completely

reward

the

righteous

some

of the

rewards

will be

in this

life

but

much

of

our

rewards

will

be

in

eternal

life

in

our

life

after

death

there

is

a

great

reversal

and

a

great

reward

for

the

righteous

and

we

see

it

in

Haman

and

Mordecai

if we

compared

the

two

of

them

Mordecai

was

humbled

at

the

beginning

of

the

story

of

Esther

and

then

Mordecai

was

honoured

and

exalted

Haman

was

honoured

and

exalted

at the

beginning

and

then

he

was

humbled

there

was

a

massive

reversal

for

Mordecai

when

all

of

Haman's

estate

that

was

given

to

Esther

by

the

king

was

handed

over

to

Mordecai

to

take

care

of

along

with

the

king

handing

over

his

signet

ring

we see

in

chapter

8

to

Mordecai

signifying

that he

can speak

for the

king

in

all

of

Susa

isn't

that

amazing

that the

king

can

just

switch

like

that

you

see

there

is

also

a

great

reversal

in

the

kingdom

of

God

we

might

see

the

wicked

and

Haman

in

this

passage

grow

in

wealth

and

position

and

pride

and

honour

but

there

will

be

a

time

where

all

will

be

reversed

God

will

reward

those

who

serve

him

faithfully

Hebrews

Hebrews 6:10

chapter 6

verse 10

says

God

is not

unjust

he

will

not

forget

your

work

and

love

you

have

shown

him

as

you

have

helped

his

people

and

continue

to

help

them

this

isn't

just

poetic

justice

this

is

a

great

reward

from

God

God's

rewards

are

based

on

what

we

do

now

don't

get me

wrong

I

am

not

talking

about

salvation

here

there

is

nothing

that

we

can

do

to

earn

our

salvation

that

is

purely

a

gift

from

God

but

in

Revelation

22

the

Lord

does

say

behold

I

am

coming

soon

my

reward

is

with

me

and

I

will

give

to

everyone

according

to

what

he

has

done

this

is

a

reward

over

and

above

the

gift

of

salvation

the

question

that

we

need

to

ask

ourselves

is

am

I

living

for

God

in

all

areas

of

my

life

am

I

serving

him

faithfully

for

this

wonderful

reward

that

is

promised

we

see

great

concern

also

in

Esther

she

has

everything

she

has

power

she

now

knows

for

a

moment

that

her

life

is

safe

but

there

is

still

sadness

there

is

still

unfinished

business

and

it's

the

same

here

in

Esther

poetic

justice

was

given

to

Haman

he

was

hung

on

the

very

gallows

that

he

intended

for

Mordecai

but

Esther

is

still

sad

because

her

people

still

have

the

edict

that

they

are

to

be

annihilated

they

need

to

be

rescued

otherwise

they

die

now

we

need

to

understand

that

in

this

time

that

Esther

is

written

a

king

could

not

change

a

law

that

he

had

made

any

edict

he

had

put

out

it

could

not

be

changed

it

could

not

be

revoked

because

shock

of

shock

it

might

look

as if

the

king

had

made

a

mistake

but

a

new

edict

was

written

where

the

Jews

were

permitted

to

defend

themselves

and

their

families

this

is

amazing

this

is

a

reversal

it's

a

great

reversal

for the

Jews

they

were

destined

to

be

annihilated

but

now

can

defend

themselves

against

those

who

defend

themselves

against

those

who

would

come

after

them

to

kill

them

now

God

has

also

made

an

irrevocable

law

that

is

a

law

that

will

never

be

changed

and

that

is

the

wages

of

sin

is

death

God

will

not

change

his

laws

but

he

won't

change

his

laws

not

because

he's

frightened

that

he's

made

a

mistake

he

won't

change

his

laws

because

he

has

perfect

justice

God

must

be

just

but

he

is

also

the

justifier

and

he

maintains

justice

by

sending

Jesus

to

die

in

our

place

and

to

take

the

punishment

we

deserve

his

law

does

not

change

but

he

steps

in

to

save

us

he

pays

the

cost

so

that

anyone

who

puts

their

trust

in

Jesus

will

be

saved

that

great

verse

that

all of

you

would

know

for

God

so

loved

the

world

that

he

gave

his

only

son

that

whoever

believes

in

him

shall

not

perish

but

have

eternal

life

in

God's

perfect

justice

there will

also be

rejoicing

in the

last

few

verses

of chapter

8

from 15

to 17

when

Mordecai

left

the

king's

presence

he

was

wearing

royal

garments

of

blue

and

white

a

large

crown

of

gold

and

a

purple

robe

of

fine

linen

and

the

city

of

Susa

held

a

joyous

celebration

for

the

Jews

it

was

a

time

of

happiness

and

joy

gladness

and

honour

in

every

province

and

in

every

city

to

which

the

edict

of

the

king

came

there

was

joy

and

gladness

among

and

celebrating

and

many

people

of

other

nationalities

became

Jews

because

fear

of

the

Jews

had

seized

them

we

see

the

people

of

Susa

rejoice

when

they

see

Mordecai

is now

the

second

in

charge

they

were

not

all

Jews

all

the

people

of

Susa

there

were

many

nationalities

there

but

they

were

all

rejoicing

because

the

wicked

Haman

had

been

dealt

with

and

now

we

have

this

new

guy

who

seems

to

be

a

good

guy

and

they're

excited

about

that

so

they

too

can

rejoice

and

we

see

rejoicing

amongst

the

Jews

they

no

longer

have

a

death

warrant

over

their

heads

and

they

can

defend

themselves

they

can

stand

firm

for

God

friends

if

if you

have been

set

free

from

your

sin

and

you've

been

set

free

from

God's

perfect

judgment

are

you

rejoicing

Paul

says

to

rejoice

in the

Lord

always

and

as

believers

haven't

we got

a reason

to

rejoice

in

Esther

there

was

rejoicing

and

dancing

for

days

and

others

saw

their

gladness

and

were

attracted

to

their

God

others

saw

that

their

God

had

delivered

them

from

death

this

God

of

the

Jews

this

God

of

us

he

watches

over

us

and

he

cares

for

us

and

he

gives

us

eternal

life

and

a

promise

that

all

the

wrong

and

all

the

evil

in

this

world

will

in

fact

be

dealt

with

eventually

we

have

a

confidence

in

a

God

who

is

just

amazing

and

words

cannot

express

it

enough

the

joy

in

God's

people

allows

others

to

see

that

there

is

something

worth

rejoicing

about

is

that

you

the

German

philosopher

and

atheist

and

I

have

a

sneaking

suspicion

Steve

used

Friedrich

Nietzsche's

comment

somewhere

in this

series

but

Friedrich

Nietzsche

the

philosopher

said

I

might

believe

in

the

redeemer

if

his

followers

looked

more

redeemed

I

mean

really

Mahatma

Gandhi

on the

back

of

that

statement

he

actually

said

if

it

weren't

for

Christians

I

would

be

a

Christian

what

an

indictment

that

is

if

us

Christians

cannot

actually

show

how

wonderful

our

great

God

is

what

hope

is

there

for

the

world

that

is

horrendous

that

we

have

people

like

this

say

that

sort

of

stuff

perfect

righteousness

comes

only

in

Jesus

my

friends

and

if

you

know

this

Jesus

you

need

to

show

people

that

God's

justice

is

perfect

and

his

salvation

is

free

that

is

reason

to

rejoice

if

life

is

tough

for

you

at

this

moment

in

time

but

you

are

trusting

in

Jesus

know

this

it

is

only

for

a

time

that

it's

going

to

be

tough

there

is

an

eternity

of

things

that

are

made

right

and

perfect

you

are

only

in

a

moment

of

time

our

reward

will

come

and

it

will

be

perfect

and

it

will

be

for

all

eternity

there

is

poetic

justice

in

Esther

but

more

importantly

Esther

points

us

to

God's

perfect

justice

that

remains

because

there

is