Route 66: Esther - A Story of Divine Providence

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Alright, wow, where'd y'all come from?

Good evening, brothers and sisters, and welcome to the next episode in the Route 66 series.

Tonight we're going to be looking at the Book of Esther, and it is an honor and a privilege to serve the Lord in this manner.

But before we get started, let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you.

We thank you for your word, which is a lamp for our feet and a light on our path.

We thank you for the rich lessons we will learn tonight as we study this book, that it may help us to examine our hearts and to lead us to a greater relationship with you, and we pray this in the name of your precious son, amen.

The book of Esther takes place during the Persian Empire.

Now the authorship is unknown, although whoever wrote Esther had a knowledge of Persian customs and history and would have been familiar with the king's palace.

The story of Esther specifically covers the time period of 483 to 473 BC.

Now, because the author is unknown, it is difficult to determine when it was actually written.

Determine when it was actually written it could have been as early as 450 BC or as late as 331 BC, when the Persian reign came to an end.

It probably is one of the last books written in the Old Testament.

When people think of the book of Esther, the first thing they ask is why is God not mentioned in the text?

Now, esther is one of only two books in the Bible that make no reference to God, the other being the Song of Solomon.

Now, it does not mean that he's not in it.

In fact, his hands are all over the story.

Another question that is asked is since God is not in it, why is it even in the Bible at all?

Now, the canonicity of Esther has been debated for centuries and the evidence against it is strong.

The historical arguments against it include the absence of any physical evidence, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and Melito's Canon, and the absence of any records for most of the characters outside of the Bible.

Theological arguments against it include the absence of God in the text, no mention of the Old Testament law and the absence of any reference to the book in the New Testament.

Now, on the flip side, there are strong arguments to consider the book authentic.

Although the author is unknown, the events in the book give us reason to believe he was a Jew.

Now, the Jews regarded all of their books as holy and accurate and for the book to be viewed as scripture meant that it met both definitions and, for me, the most compelling argument that Esther being in the canon is that it is actually there.

Who is the author of the Bible?

It's the Holy Spirit.

Would God have allowed this book to be included if it was not inspired by the Holy Spirit?

I think not.

Now, another interesting fact about the book of Esther is that it is part of the Megillah, or five scrolls.

Now, rabbis read these books in the synagogue during specific festivals, with Esther being read at the festival of Purim.

The celebration of Purim and the reading of Esther takes on a carnival-like atmosphere, with people dressed in costumes and lots of shouting and audience participation.

The Book of Esther has been described as a Jewish novella, which is a Spanish word to describe a soap opera or a drama, and we'll explore the Festival of Purim in more detail later in our discussion.

As we go through the book, we're going to weave our way through a series of twists and turns, almost like a chess match.

Just when we think the plot goes one way, it turns and goes another.

But despite its literary form, there are biblical lessons to be learned from this book.

So, as the chain of events unfold, we'll unpack these lessons and see how God shows up in the book.

It makes for a good story and, like any good story, there are a cast of characters.

We're going to start with the king and ruler of the Persian Empire.

His name was Xerxes and he came to power in 486 BC.

He was the son of Darius and the grandson of Cyrus, who we know from the book of Daniel as the leader of the Medes and the Persians that conquered Babylon.

Some translations use his Hebrew name, ahasuerus, but for the purpose of tonight's talk, we will refer to him simply as Xerxes.

Now, at the time, the Persian Empire stretched as far as India to the east, turkey to the west and Egypt to the south.

It covered 20 regions and 127 provinces, each with its own governor, and what we now know as Israel was right in the middle of it.

The story of Esther takes place in the city of Susa, which was the administrative capital of the Persian Empire.

Today, that location would be in western Iran, near the border of Iraq and just north of the Persian Gulf.

So, as we pick up the story, xerxes has been in power for three years and, despite his vast kingdom, his quest for power had his eyes on Greece.

So he called all his nobles officials and military leaders to the city for a six-month conference, as he planned his invasion of Greece.

At the conclusion of this conference, there was a seven-day banquet at the king's palace, where all his wealth and splendor was on display.

His wife, Queen Vashti, gave a banquet for the women at the same time.

So let's look at chapter 1 and verses 10 to 12.

It says On the seventh day, when the king was feeling good from the wine, xerxes commanded the seven eunuchs who personally served him to bring Queen Vashti before him with her royal crown.

He wanted to show off her beauty to the people and the officials because she was very beautiful, but Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command, and that was delivered by his eunuchs.

The king became furious and his anger burned within him.

Now Xerxes consulted with his officials and their advice to him was to demote Vashti on the basis of insubordination.

Their fear was that if the queen can get away with disobedience to the king, that all the women in the kingdom would be empowered to do the same.

Now Xerxes liked that idea and the decree was passed that she would never be in his presence again.

This is where God makes his first appearance.

Here is an example of God using evil for good, even though it is not apparent at the time.

He uses a pagan king and a wicked council to make a decision that will alter the course of human history.

The officials had their own agenda.

Their motives were selfish, the king was easily swayed and bound by emotion.

And here is our first biblical lesson that God wants to teach us when there is a decision to make, seek the counsel of God and not the advice of man.

Could you imagine how a government would run if the leader truly sought God's wisdom?

James, chapter 1 and verse 5, clearly tells us now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to him.

James 1 · chapter mention

The counsel of God is his word, his instruction is our best course of action, and he wants us to seek it, amen.

As we move on to chapter 2, there is a three to four year period which is not accounted for in the Bible.

It was during this time that Xerxes fought a two-year campaign to take over Greece, and even with 250,000 soldiers, the invasion failed and he retreated back to Susa.

Now that he was back in his palace, xerxes began to feel lonely and a search for a new queen was proposed.

So the king appointed commissioners to bring the most beautiful young virgins from their territory and place them into the king's harem.

There were 400 women in total from the 20 regions and 127 provinces.

At this time we are introduced to the two main characters in their story, two Jewish cousins that lived in the city of Susa.

They are descendants of the original Jewish exiles that were taken by Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian captivity.

The older of the two is a man named Mordecai, and he is roughly 15 years older than his younger cousin, an orphan, named Esther, who was likely a teenager.

Chapter 2 and verse 7 says Mordecai was the legal guardian of his cousin Hadassah, that is, esther, because she had no father or mother.

The young woman had a beautiful figure and was extremely good-looking.

When her father and mother died, mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter.

Now, the fact that Scripture describes her in this way is a telling point.

She was noticed by the king's officials based only on her looks, so she was collected as part of the group that went into the king's harem for an intensive year-long training and at the end of the 12 months, each of these 400 women would have one opportunity to make an impression on the king to be selected as queen.

The day after being presented, each of the women would go back into the pool of waiting ladies, other concubines and members of the royal harem until the king had worked his way through the 400 and made his choice.

Now, once Esther completed the year-long order, it was her turn to appear before Xerxes.

Verse 17 says the king is chosen to be the queen.

She has gone from being an obscure Jewish orphan girl to being the queen, and it is all driven by her physical beauty and her charm.

But she kept the fact that she was Jewish a secret.

Now, because of her newfound fame, her uncle Mordecai was given a job in the palace and because of this special access he is able to overhear two of the royal officials plot to assassinate the king.

He reported this to Esther, who in turn told the king.

Well, the king was quite furious about that and the two officials were executed by hanging.

And all of this was recorded in the Book of Chronicles in the presence of the king.

And all of this was recorded in the book of Chronicles in the presence of the king.

So let's file that away in our memory as we go to chapter 3, where we meet our next character, a man named Haman, the Agagite, who was honored and elevated above all the other royal officials.

All in the kingdom were required to kneel down and pay him honor, and all did, except Mordecai.

Apparently there was a long, smoldering feud between the Agagites and the Jews, dating back almost a thousand years.

That feud was not forgotten by either side, hence the disobedience of Mordecai.

This enraged Haman to the point of wanting to kill Mordecai, and he was so angry that he wanted to kill all the Jews across the Persian Empire.

So he went to King Xerxes with a plan to wipe out the Jewish race and to plunder the spoils of the people.

The king agreed and he made a decree.

Lots were cast and on a day, 11 months ahead, the king would release the people from the provinces to attack the Jews and kill all of them.

So the decree was spread throughout the empire that on the 13th day of the 12th month that the people were ordered to annihilate all the Jews, young and old, male, female and children.

So here is the second lesson that God is trying to teach us.

He shows us how anger can lead to murder.

How much anger could a person have In a day where murder was commonplace?

Haman could have killed Mordecai right on the spot and it would have been forgotten quickly.

But his fury was so great that he wanted all the Jews killed.

You could say he was the Old Testament version of Adolf Hitler.

In Ecclesiastes, chapter 7 and verse 9, solomon warns us about anger, he says.

Ecclesiastes 7 · chapter mention

He says don't let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools.

And, as we'll see later, the murder of the entire Jewish race was never in God's plan.

Haman's anger would prove him to be a fool.

Moving on to chapter 4, we find Mordecai weeping bitterly about the decree.

When the news reached Esther, she reached out to Mordecai and he sent her a copy of the decree telling her to go to the king and plead with him for mercy.

And this brings us to the defining moment in the book, as the fate of the Jewish race was at stake.

But Esther was afraid, and with good reason.

The law condemned to death anyone who approached the king without being summoned, even the queen.

Her response to Mordecai was this, in chapter 4 and verse 11.

All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned the death penalty unless the king extends the gold scepter allowing that person to live.

I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the last 30 days Now.

Mordecai replied in verses 13 and 14.

Mordecai told the Messer to reply to Esther don't think you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the king's palace.

If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people.

Now here is God showing up again.

Mordecai seems biblically sound.

He knows from Scripture that the Jewish race will be preserved, because God says it numerous times in the Old Testament, and he seems right that Esther was chosen for this moment.

But chosen by who?

Because it could only be God who arranged for her to be queen.

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai in verse 16.

Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me.

Don't eat or drink for three days, night or day.

I and my female servants will also fast in the same way.

After that, I will go to the king, even if it is against the law.

If I perish, I perish to the king.

Even if it is against the law, if I perish, I perish.

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

So it says that Esther and her servants fast for three days.

Now, before we continue, it says they fasted.

It does not mention prayer.

Now, in the Bible, prayer is commonly mentioned when people fast, but not here.

Some people say that prayer is implied, but there is nothing in the book of Esther that gives me confidence about that.

If they fasted and prayed, I believe that the Bible would say that, but it does not.

In fact, esther appears ready to save her own life at the expense of her people and acts only after realizing that she too would be destroyed.

Anyway, after the third day, esther put on her royal robe and entered the king's court.

Her fate hinged on the mood of the Persian ruler, but the king was pleased with her and, judging by his track record, it was nothing more than her beauty that got his attention.

He offers her the gold scepter and asks her what is her request?

Anything up to half the kingdom.

Now don't think for a minute that if she requested half the kingdom, that he would have given it to her.

That's just foolish ruler talk.

But she makes it easy for him, inviting him and Haman to a private banquet that afternoon.

The king was delighted and granted her petition.

At the banquet, the king again asks her what her request is, offering her half the kingdom.

And Esther replies in chapter 5 and verse 8, if the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet that I will prepare for them.

Then I will answer the king's question.

Now, this might seem odd to most, but to the king another banquet was a great way to spend the day.

And as for the egotistical Haman, to be the only guest with the king and the queen only puffed him up even more.

So Haman exits the king's court reveling in his good fortune.

And who does he see at the gate?

Mordecai.

And once again, mordecai neither rose nor showed him honor, and Haman was enraged.

Nevertheless, he restrains himself, he goes home, but despite all his good fortune, he can't get over the fact that Mordecai refuses to honor him.

In Job, chapter 5 and verse 2,.

Job 5 · chapter mention

Scripture states for anger slays the foolish man and jealousy kills the simple.

Again, god is warning us about the dangers of anger.

Haman seems to have no desire for this wisdom.

So his wife comes up with this great idea have a pole set up 50 cubits high and then ask the king to have Mordecai impaled on it.

Then go enjoy yourself at the banquet.

It seemed like a great solution.

So Haman slept soundly that night.

But back at the castle the king had a terrible night's sleep.

So what do we do sometimes when we can't sleep?

We read a book.

But when you're a king, you don't have to read.

You can have someone read to you, and, for whatever reason, the chosen book was the royal records of his reign, the book of Chronicles, mentioned back in chapter 2.

And what was recorded there?

The account of Mordecai saving the king's life from an assassination plot.

It was discovered that nothing had been done for Mordecai, and the king wanted to rectify that.

So now this is where the story gets fun, and God is about to turn things in his favor.

Morning came and Haman showed up to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up, and at the same time, the king is looking for advice on how to honor Mordecai for his service.

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm waiting to see how this conversation goes.

So the king says to Haman what shall be done for the man the king delights to honor?

Now Haman is thinking that must be for me.

So he forgets about Mordecai and instead figures out how to honor himself.

And here is a third lesson that God teaches us, and that is about the sin of pride and the sin of blowing your nose.

Proverbs 16 and verse 18 is the perfect verse for this situation and it is advice for all of us to take heed of.

It says Pride and arrogance, along with intense anger.

It's about to get interesting for our friend Haman, but he doesn't quite know that yet.

So, in thinking that it is he that the king wants to honor, he comes up with an elaborate celebration for himself.

In chapter 6 and verse 9, haman says let them robe the man the king delights to honor and lead him on a horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him this is what is done for the man the king delights to honor.

So let's see a royal robe.

The king has worn a royal horse that the king has ridden a noble prince to lead him around through the streets.

What a fitting honor.

The king is in high agreement.

Here he is still taking counsel from man.

But again, god uses evil for good.

So the king exclaims Go at once and do what you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew and don't neglect anything you have suggested.

So Haman himself had to put the robe on Mordecai and lead the parade around the city proclaiming the very words he thought were for himself.

What a turn of events.

And it was still just the morning.

Now, after the parade, mordecai returned to the king's gate and Haman went home in shame.

His wife, who until this point had been giving him some bad advice, reminds him that if the king is honoring Mordecai a Jew and you are looking to wipe out the entire Jewish race, you will surely come to ruin.

But it was time for the banquet, and at that moment the king's eunuchs arrived to escort Haman to the palace.

At the banquet, the king again asked Esther for a third time what her petition was up to half the kingdom.

And now was the moment of truth.

In chapter 7, verses 3 and 4, queen Esther finally 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, for I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated.

Now the king was furious that someone would threaten the queen.

Who is this and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?

When Esther pointed out that it was Haman, the king left the table in a rage.

The Bible says he was so angry that he even left his wine.

Now Haman knew he was in trouble and he fell at the feet of the queen begging for mercy.

When the king returned, he perceived this as another threat and he became more enraged when his officials informed him that Haman had set up a pole to execute Mordecai.

The king ordered that Haman be impaled on that very pole.

It was only then that his fury subsided.

As we move to chapter 8, the king gave Haman's estate to Esther.

It is now finally revealed to the king that his queen was a Jew and that Mordecai was her cousin.

But the execution of Haman didn't solve the dilemma.

What of the edict in chapter 3 to wipe out the Jews?

Persian law dictated that no decree signed by the king could be revoked, but it was suggested that a counter decree could be written At once.

The king drafted a new decree, so in chapter 8 and verse 13, the king's edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves, to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and their children, and to plunder the property of their enemies.

The city of Susa held a joyous celebration.

Things had turned in favor of the Jews and many people now lived in fear of them because of the king's new edict.

And on the 13th day of the 12th month, the month of Adah, the king's original edict was scheduled to be carried out.

But the enemies of the Jews were overpowered and struck down by the sword.

Over 500 men in the city of Susa alone were killed, including the ten sons of Haman, but the Jews did not plunder the spoils of their enemies.

In the rest of the provinces.

It was estimated that over 75,000 enemies of the Jews were killed.

Again, they never laid a hand on the plunder.

The king asked Esther if she had any other requests, and she asked for an additional day to carry out their defense in the city of Susa and also that Haman's ten sons be impaled.

So the king issued another decree and on the following day another 300 men were killed in Susa and Haman's ten sons were impaled on poles.

After the events, on the 13th and the 14th, the Jews rested, and on the 15th of Adah and made it a day of joy and feasting.

Mordecai recorded these events and sent them to the Jews through the provinces so that they could celebrate this event annually, and that event continues to the present day.

On the days of Purim, chapter 9 and verse 28 says these days should be remembered and observed in every generation and by every family and in every province and in every city, and these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews.

Nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.

Should the memory of these days die out among their descendants?

Now, long after the king's edict was carried out, mordecai and Esther continued to flourish in the royal house.

The king exalted Mordecai to second in command and Esther continued to be his queen.

Against all odds, esther, mordecai and the Jews had been spared.

Not only spared, but elevated.

So as the story comes to a close, we try to answer the question of why God is not mentioned in the book.

Now, it is possible that God's absence is intentional.

The story of Esther is worldly and, as it is written, the characters show no signs of looking to or trusting in God.

There is no mention of the law of Moses or anything pertaining to Jewish life and Jewish customs.

Perhaps the writer seeks to draw out God's divine purpose in everyday life, and he does a good job of that.

In addition, there are no miracles in Esther, but the whole book is a miracle of divine providence.

Think about it.

His providence is everywhere.

Every single detail was orchestrated by God.

The characters were like puppets in his hands.

How is it that out of 25 million women across the Persian Empire, esther, who was a Jew, would be chosen queen?

How is it that Mordecai, another Jew, would be at such a time and place in the palace to overhear a plot to assassinate the king and be able to warn him?

How is it that a king who can't sleep and wants to read is given the royal records and, out of the many records, is reminded of an unrewarded servant from the plot of his assassination?

And how is it that an evil Haman who sought to exterminate the Jewish race would try to kill Mordecai on the very next morning, only to have the tables turned on him.

The invisible hand of God is everywhere.

God has demonstrated numerous times throughout history that Israel will never cease to be a nation.

No one could destroy the people of God, no one could stop the coming of Christ and no one can thwart the salvation of Israel.

People have tried and will continue to try, but they cannot succeed.

And how is it for us in the present day, living in a world that is worse than Sodom and Gomorrah?

Well, that same God who orchestrated every detail in the book of Esther is ordaining every bit of our lives, accomplishing his perfect will.

And if you belong to him, you can have confidence that he is working out every detail for our good and for his glory.

Let's pray, heavenly Father, what a blessing it is that you are in control of our lives and we are not.

We thank you, lord, for working out everything according to the purpose of your will, which you set forth in Christ, and we thank you that your invisible hand is everywhere, and we pray this in Jesus' precious name, amen.