ESTHER

One television personality who was having a pretty rough year found out on the same day

that she was losing her TV show and that her husband was leaving her.

She responded, I know the Lord won't send me more trouble than I have the strength to bear,

but I do wish he didn't have such a good opinion of me.

Many of us might know that feeling.

I've heard people say on a number of occasions over the years

that the things that have really happened to me lately have really shaken my faith.

That is, at times when there's bereavement, serious illness, times of tragedy,

or even just a whole string of negative things happening,

it's hard to believe in a God who is love and a God who is in charge or rules the world,

as we sang tonight, God who is sovereign.

And it is an important thought.

It's a really serious question.

Many sceptics would say that belief in an all-loving and an all-powerful God

is just simply wishful thinking.

You can't have both of those things together in the world in which we live.

Some even go as far as saying that they refuse to believe in such a God

unless that particular God was to turn up and to fix certain things in their life.

And the assumption is that God has to think like I do about the world

and solve my problems or the world's problems in the way that I think that they should be solved.

Now, I get why we might say that,

and I get the feeling behind that and the sentiment behind that,

but in the end it would be a pretty benign God

if that God was limited to my understanding of the world

and how I think things should be fixed in the world.

Over the next number of weeks,

we're going to go back two and a half thousand years

into the book of Esther,

which we're just looking at now.

It was read out a couple of chapters just then.

Here, two and a half thousand years ago,

is one of the most perilous times for the people of God.

They are on the brink of extermination.

And on the surface, when you read those first couple of chapters,

it appears that this is one of those Cinderella stories.

You know, orphan girl rises to be the queen of Persia,

most powerful nation in the world at its time.

But it's actually not the thrust of the story.

It's actually about how God saves his people from the brink of disaster.

And yet, there is no mention of God in the book of Esther at all.

Not once.

Kind of strange, really,

when it's about God rescuing his people from the brink of disaster.

So why is that?

Why is God not mentioned in this book?

Now, I'm pretty sure it's not an oversight.

It's not like the writer got to the end, full stop,

and went, oh, my hat, I forgot to mention God.

I don't think that's the case.

I think the writer here is making a point.

And I think, let me just try and explain this.

You see, whenever the God of Israel saw his people in trouble in the past,

he comes to their aid through extraordinary ways.

The events are extraordinary.

But in Esther, there's no mighty miracle.

There's no vision.

There's not even a dream.

God appears to be absent here in this book.

Totally silent.

There are, however, this whole string of apparent coincidences.

They all happened at the right time.

And if they hadn't have happened, the Jews would have been wiped out.

But they all happened in the right sequence at the right time.

And they were saved.

If Xerxes, just from chapter one and two,

if Xerxes had not gotten drunk and he had not made that boast,

if that hadn't happened, Vashti would still be queen.

And Esther wouldn't have been queen.

And she couldn't have used her influence to save the Jews.

What if, for instance, Esther hadn't been pretty?

What if the king favoured one of the other girls?

The whole narrative all the way through is,

what if, what if, what if, what if?

And all of them are just these ordinary little things, everyday life.

And by themselves, they don't seem to be significant at all.

And here's the point that I think is underlying here through Esther.

When you see one of the ten plagues in Exodus,

where God uses his mighty power to rescue his people from Egypt,

and you see his hand at work, you go,

oh, that's God.

Yeah.

Extraordinary.

When you see the king drunk,

you don't go, oh, wow, God at work.

You just don't make that connection.

Esther is telling us, I think,

when you put it all together,

don't make the same mistake.

Don't make the mistake of the materialist

who judges situations based on what they see

and what they feel

and what they can experience firsthand.

We may not see God at work,

but that doesn't mean he's not.

God's silence is not his absence.

His hiddenness is not his abandonment.

God is not obsessed with appearances the way that we are.

He's working out his promises even when it appears that he's not even around.

That's one of the underlying themes right through Esther.

There are things going on for us,

even for us right now,

things going on for us in our lives

that we're looking right at,

things that God is doing,

and they seem so ordinary

and we have got no idea,

which is why that graphic that Yui put together

is just so brilliant.

Did you notice the invisible hands under the woman?

Ooh, it all makes sense.

And even in the ugliness of these first two chapters,

and frankly, they are ugly,

there's a whole lot wrong here.

God is at work.

He's even using flawed and failed

and questionable people like Esther and Xerxes

to bring about his plans and his purposes.

So let's just launch straight in on chapters one and two.

The book of Esther,

if you've got your Bibles open,

begins introducing us to the great empire of King Xerxes I.

It says,

notice how it reads, it says,

verse one,

this is what happened during the time of Xerxes.

And you say,

Xerxes?

Which Xerxes?

And he says,

well,

the Xerxes have ruled over 127 provinces

stretching from India to Kush.

He reigned from 486 BC

to 465 BC.

And his empire included the north-western part of India,

Pakistan,

Afghanistan,

Uzbekistan,

Iran,

Iraq,

Armenia,

Azerbaijan,

Syria,

Lebanon,

Israel,

Jordan,

Turkey,

northern Greece,

Egypt,

Libya,

Eritrea,

Ethiopia,

and Sudan.

a pretty big area he covered.

There was no person more powerful,

more greater on the face of the earth at the time,

and he knew it.

He was not a modest man.

Sort of like the first president of Tunisia,

Habib Burugibi,

he once explained to his National Assembly

that leadership abilities such as his were,

and I quote,

a miracle of nature

that rarely occurs in our history.

Do you like that modesty?

Isn't that nice?

He was also asked once,

so what's the Tunisian system of government?

System of government?

I am the system of government.

Isn't that a modest sort of man?

So Xerxes is that kind of guy,

and he holds a party for all of his main men

throughout his whole empire

so he can show off how great he is.

It's a party,

verse 4,

in chapter 1,

that says,

it went on for a full 180 days.

He displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom

and the splendour and glory of his majesty.

He got all of his wealth,

all of his possessions,

his livestock and all that sort of stuff,

and he's in the big banqueting hall

with all his head honchos,

and it's just,

he's marching it through the banquet hall.

And it took six months

from the beginning to the end

for all of his possessions and wealth

to be shown off to all his mates.

And at the time,

they're sitting there drinking wine.

It's no wonder he got drunk.

Six months of it.

We are meant to gaze wide-eyed here

at the gold and the silver and the jewels

and the sheer accumulation of wealth and power

in exactly the same way

that Alexander the Great did

when a hundred years,

just about a hundred years later,

he went into the citadel of Susa

and he discovered

over one and a half tonnes of gold alone,

let alone the piles of silver

and the jewels and everything else.

And Alexander the Great looked at it

and went,

my goodness.

Even Alexander the Great

was impressed by this guy.

So,

we read the first few verses

and we go,

who's the main man?

Who's in control here?

Who's in charge?

Xerxes

except he's got a woman.

Queen Vashti.

Now,

she has been given

a separate banquet

over here for the ladies.

And as there are no ladies

to civilise

the men,

Xerxes' party

gets out of control.

Verse 10,

Xerxes is in high spirits

from wine.

I think that's meant

to be an understatement there.

The guys had one too many

for sure.

And he decides

it's time

not just to show off

all of his wealth

and all of his splendour

and all of his majesty

and all of his power,

he wants to show

his mates

that he's also married

to the best looking woman

in the world.

So,

verse 11,

he says,

bring Vashti out

wearing a royal crown

in order to display

her beauty

to the people

and the nobles

for she was lovely

to look at.

He's not wanting

to show Vashti off.

He's not wanting

them to meet her,

to be friends with her,

to see whether

she's got a personality

or anything like that.

It's,

bring her out

so that my drunken mates

can drool over her

and gawk at her.

Now,

for reasons

that the text

doesn't explain,

she decides

that that's not

a great idea.

I mean,

it's not hard

to imagine why.

She refuses

to come

and that act

in itself

is an act

of incredible bravery.

in a hierarchical

shame

and honour culture

for an authority

like Xerxes

to be rejected

was a cultural crisis.

and this king

is furious

with his queen

but instead

of marriage counselling

he has a cabinet meeting

to work out

what to do

with her.

And of course

he pulls in

all the nobles,

all the head honchos,

they're all concerned

as well

because what if

Vashti sends

a priest in here

and our wives

do the same thing?

Anarchy will reign,

we'll get a bit

of pushback

from our wives.

The outcome

of it all

is that Vashti's

banished

a royal decree

went to the whole

kingdom

in all different

languages

from India

right through

to Sudan

so that everyone

heard it

in their language

all the women

will respect

their husbands

from the least

to the greatest.

What an idiot.

What an incredible

comical

overreaction.

a drunken

reaction

and then

beginning of chapter

two the grog's

worn off

so Xerxes wakes

up with a headache

and did I do

that?

Yes you did.

And he just

realises

that Vashti

the most beautiful

woman that he'd

ever met

is never to

approach him

again

ever.

and so he

needs a new

trophy wife

and the whole

kingdom is

searched for

the best

looking woman.

Chapter two

verse eight

suggests that

they weren't

invited to

apply

they were

picked

and they

were taken.

I mean

you couldn't

imagine

too many

clear

thinking

women

wanting to

marry a guy

like Xerxes

could you?

Although

Donald Trump

seems to be

sorry

and so

we have

international

beauty pageant

Miss Persian

Empire

482 BC

some scholars

have suggested

there is many

1,000

virgins

were brought

back to the

king's

harem.

and then

for a year

they underwent

beauty treatments

and they were

in training

to get ready

for one night

with the

king.

Everything

turned on

that one

night with

the king

and depending

on how it

went there

were only

four possible

outcomes

only four

number one

is that

in the morning

he goes

I didn't

really like

her

and he

would

send

the

girl away

to be a

permanent

concubine

but he

would never

ever

ever

call on

her again

and at

an age

of 18

or 19

they were

essentially

banished

to permanent

widowhood

they were

never ever

to be allowed

with another

man

no marriage

no children

no nothing

permanent

banishment

no

second

option

was

he might

say

actually

I don't

mind

that

one

she would

become a

concubine

and occasionally

at his whim

and his will

and depending

on how much

wine he's

had

he would

call on

her

third

option

is

if he

you know

if you're

really

really

really

lucky

you might

be one

of the

two or

three

that would

go on

the list

that I

might marry

this one

and then

your children

would be

inheritors

of royal

stuff

number

four

if you

are super

fortunate

and you're

the one

that he

most favours

you became

the queen

and the

other

999

weren't

now one

of the girls

who was

taken was

a Jewish

orphan named

Esther

and when

they took

her

her older

cousin

Mordecai

instructed her

not to say

anything

about her

Jewish

identity

or about

her beliefs

she was

the one

Xerxes

favoured

above all

of the rest

he married

her and he

made her

his queen

the Jewish

orphan girl

becomes the

queen of

the greatest

empire

of the face

of the earth

so what's

going on

here

what's

going on

this is not

marriage advice

so let me

just take that

bit out

it's not

marriage advice

it's not

how to hook

up and

not any

of that

sort of

stuff

not dating

advice

in Persian

culture

the most

important

thing

about a

man

is his

wealth

and his

power

and the

most

important

thing

about a

woman

is her

sexual

and physical

beauty

a man's

worth was

determined by

the size

of his

wallet

and how

big his

muscles

were

and a

woman's

worth was

determined by

the size

of her

dress

isn't it

ugly

when you

realise

that's

what's

going on

in here

in

S's

one and

two

isn't

that

ugly

the way

that people

are treated

look at

the way

these women

are treated

look at

the pride

and the

arrogance

of this

bloke

Xerxes

wouldn't

it just

be

absolutely

terrible

to live

in a

culture

that judged

people like

that

and treated

people like

that

aren't you

glad that

we don't

live back

then

two and a

half thousand

years ago

with all

the superficial

differences

what's

changed

what's

really

changed

the world's

the same

it says

external

image

appearances

matter more

than your

character

what you

have

matters more

than what

you are

beauty

talent

money

connections

influence

matters more

than what

you are

and what

our culture

says is that

you must

undergo

beauty

treatments

not just

the women

our culture

says that

unless you

get these

credentials

this kind

of beauty

this kind

of money

this kind

of resume

this kind

of education

this kind

of job

unless you

get these

things

you don't

really amount

to much

you're not

really worth

much

it says it

differently to

men and to

women

and to

different races

and to

different

classes

but it's

basically saying

the same

thing

it's saying

that you

need to

go through

the beauty

treatments of

this world

you need to

perform

you need to

do all

this

and if

you do

then we

just might

accept you

we might

approve of

you

that's all

of us

we live

we live

in a world

of appearances

and performance

we elevate

the trivial

in our

culture

whole magazines

are devoted

to the antics

of soap opera

stars

and we pay

incredible amounts

of money

to grown men

who hit little

balls around

we live in a

culture that

considers the car

we drive as an

extension of who

we are

we're more

impressed by the

school that

someone attends

than what

they're actually

learning at

the school

we blow it

just like

these couple

of chapters

in Esther

we blow it

just like

Esther does

herself

and most

scholars agree

that in these

first couple

of chapters

here

Esther has

completely

sold out

to the

culture

she's not

a hero

here

she gets

to her

pinnacle

through absolute

compliance

she does

what Mordecai

says

she listens

to the head

guy in the

harem more

than any

other woman

there

she did

everything

that he

asked

Esther plays

the Barbie

doll

here

she's the

sex kitten

here

she's a

blank page

on which

these men

write what

they want

and she's

the total

opposite

of Daniel

and his

friends

you see

when they

were brought

into the

pagan

court

they said

up front

that we're

here

we will

serve

but we

will follow

God's

dietary

requirements

they let

everyone

know that

they were

Jews

and were

still going

to follow

God's

law

Esther

kept

that stuff

secret

and she

must have

broken

law

after law

after law

and then

she sleeps

with a man

who she's

not married

to and then

she marries

an unbeliever

all were

gross violations

of the

biblical law

she's

completely

sold out

but what

is great

about Esther

is that

although

there is

this bad

start

by the end

she's the

brave heart

God works

with her

God is

patient with

her and

grows her

and turns

her into

something great

and the

reason why

that is so

important is

that no matter

how bad

you have

screwed up

at the

beginning of

your life

no matter

what terrible

moves you've

made and

things that

you've done

you can never

write yourself

out of God's

final script

the good

news is

and this is

the message

of the Bible

is that

God does

not bless

those and

save those

who live

moral and

exemplary

lives

that's not

what God

does

the message

of the Bible

is that God

persistently and

continuously gives

his grace to

people who don't

ask for it

don't deserve

it and don't

fully appreciate

it when they

receive it

despite of

the fact

that we

are

into a

great degree

influenced by

our systems

our culture's

systems of

values and

morals

God hasn't

given up on

us

1 Samuel 16

says that man

looks at the

outward appearance

but God looks

at the heart

you see real

beauty is

different than

what this world

says it is

unlike God

we judge

books by

their cover

God doesn't

do that

our world is

like this

chauvinistic

tyrant

Xerxes and

it says to us

I'll accept you

as my bride

but you have

to work

incredibly hard

and you have

to make

yourself attractive

and you have

to come up

with an

incredible

resume and

make yourself

lovable and

then I might

approve of you

then I might

approve of you

and it is

exhausting

it is

crushing

and there's

only one way

out

God says

over and

over again

to us

in the

Bible

that he

wants to

be our

spouse

he's not

just the

all powerful

king

but the

all loving

husband

what makes

it so great

is that it's

not about

what we have

to do

to make

ourselves

so lovable

and good

and worthy

God is

the exact

opposite

of Xerxes

Esther

doesn't have

a great

start here

and yet

God has

got her

by the

hand

God

never gives

up on her

as this

book unfolds

God is

patient with

her

he loves

her

and he

turns her

into something

great

and that

is the

foretaste

of the

relationship

with Jesus

that Ephesians

5 talks

about

Ephesians

5 uses

the image

of the

loving

husband

this is

the way

God

treats

us

it says

husbands

love your

wives

just as

Christ

loved

the

church

and gave

himself

up for

her

to make

her

holy

cleansing

her by

the washing

with water

through the

word

and to

present

her to

himself

as a

radiant

church

without

stain

or wrinkle

or any

other

blemish

but holy

and blameless

that's what

Jesus does

for us

Esther

was accepted

by Xerxes

because

she was

already

beautiful

but Jesus

loves us

in spite of

our flaws

and our sin

and our

ugliness

in order

to make

us beautiful

Esther

had to

give her

life and

her freedom

up for

the king

but Jesus

is the

only king

the only

spouse

who gives

up his

life and

his freedom

for us

he gives

up everything

for us

not because

we are

lovely

but in

order to

make us

lovely

in order

to make

us beautiful

and when

we understand

that

when that

shift

happens

I think

we have

the three

things that

we need

to be

free from

our cultures

enslavement

to

external

appearance

and

performance

firstly

when you

understand

what Jesus

has done

for you

you get

a real

definition

of beauty

our culture's

definition of

beauty means

that we

cannot go

by a

mirror

without

noticing

ourselves

selfie

culture has

dominated

Facebook

but then

we see

Jesus

and

he

had

ultimate

beauty

infinite

glory

infinite

splendour

infinite

majesty

and he

laid it

to one

side

Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

sorry

Philippians

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

he laid

it to one

side

gave it

all up

he became

human and

he went

to the

cross

the book

of Isaiah

says

talking about

him being

on the

cross

it says

he had

no beauty

that we

should desire

him

he became

cosmically

unsightly

his father

turns his

face away

Jesus gave

up his

splendour

his majesty

and his

beauty

for us

that is

true beauty

genuine

beauty is

not self

obsession

it is

self

sacrifice

that's the

new

definition

of beauty

you get

from Jesus

the second

thing we

get when

we understand

that Jesus

gives up

everything

for us

to make

us beautiful

in his

sight

is a new

experience

of our

beauty

to him

Nat and

I were

married about

17 and

half years

ago

and I

still remember

the day

I remember

standing at

the front

of the

church

and looking

to the

back of

the church

about this

kind of

distance of

the doors

over there

and seeing

Nat appear

in the door

trying to

wait for the

other bridesmaids

to get out

of the way

and seeing

Nat appear

in the door

and I

thought she

was stunning

do you know

why

makeup

now just

bear with me

here for

a moment

let me

finish

not just

makeup

the dress

as well

now I

think my

wife is

beautiful

and in fact

she's more

beautiful to me

now than what

she was

then

but and

the point

I'm trying to

make is

I've married

a lot of

people in

over 20

years of

pastoral

ministry

every person

that I marry

comes down

the front

every bride

that I marry

looks better

on the day

that I marry

her than

the day

that I was

doing marriage

prep with

her

that is

that's the

point of

makeup and

dresses and

stuff isn't

it is that

not the

point

the point

is that

you know

all the

makeup and

the fancy

all the

goop and

the fancy

clothes and

that sort

of stuff

it takes

people up a

notch in

appearance

now if you

think that I

could have

spent a little

bit more time

on that you

should have

seen me at

six o'clock

this morning

a number

of all the

imperfections

and the

flaws that

I'm self

conscious about

have been

covered up

they've been

hidden

they've been

worked on

the point

is that

when Jesus

uses the

metaphor of

us being

his bride

one of the

things that

he has in

mind is

that in

spite of

all of our

spiritual

flaws

in spite of

all of our

failings

in spite of

all of our

sins

he has

clothed us

with his

righteousness

he has

surrounded us

with his

own beauty

that he has

given us

he has so

cleansed us

from our

sin

that when he

sees us

he goes

wow

that's

awesome

that is

awesome

his heart

bursts

at the

sight of

us

to the

degree

to the

degree

that you

know

that that

is true

of you

in his

eyes

you will

be set

free

from our

culture's

enslavement

telling you

what you

must look

like

what you

must have

and what

you must

accomplish

in order to

be accepted

when you

realise that

you are

beautiful

beyond

comprehension

in his

eyes

because of

the work

that he's

done for

you

so you

get a new

definition

of beauty

you get a

new experience

of beauty

and the

third thing

you get

is a new

understanding

from Jesus

in making us

beautiful

a new

understanding

of the

hardships

and the

trials

and the

difficulties

that you

face

this is

taking me

back to

the beginning

there are

plenty of

things in

this world

that will

cause us

to question

his

existence

God's

existence

God's

power

and his

willingness

to intervene

in his

love for

me

plenty

of

things

and there

are plenty

of parts

of the

Bible

that talk

about

suffering

and hardship

refining

those

Jesus

loves

and the

imagery

of the

Bible

is

of gold

being

refined

and the

impurities

being burned

up in a

furnace

you see

once you're

assured of

God's

love

and really

assured of

God's

love

love

when you

understand

that you

are

beautiful

in his

eyes

and he

bursts

at the

sight

of

seeing

you

then when

you go

through

troubles

and

hardships

you start

to see

that it's

actually

purifying

you

making

you

more

beautiful

to him

that's

what it's

doing

it's

making

you

more

beautiful

on the

inside

God

hasn't

actually

abandoned

you

he uses

the

refining

process

to get

rid of

pride

and foolishness

and fear

and all the

other sinful

stupid things

that we

do

bit by

bit

he is

making

you

more

and more

beautiful

to him

once you

are

assured of

God's

love

then you

see the

hard times

as God's

spiritual

beauty

treatments

and when

you go

through the

hardships

with absolute

assurance

that you

are beautiful

in God's

sight

you actually

start to become

beautiful in your

heart

on the inside

just like

pressure

creates

a diamond

God has

not abandoned

you in his

troubles

he is at

work

leading you

and holding

you

and refining

you

and saving

you

making you

more beautiful

in his

eyes

for the

day when

he will

see you

face to

face

of the

great

wedding

banquet

where he

will

enfold you

in his

arms

and love

you

for all

eternity

and so

if that's

you right

now

trying to

not sure

whether or

not he

loves you

can I

just get

you to

look to

Jesus

and can

I have

Romans 8

floating around

in your

mind

we know

that in

all things

God works

for the

good of

those who

love him

who have

been called

according to

his purpose

Amen