The Sanctity of Life | Esther 9:1-17

Well, we are getting close to the end of the

book of Esther, aren't we? Really close. Last

Sunday, I mentioned that I had been looking forward

to preaching through chapter 8. From the very

beginning of the series, I was really excited

about chapter 8, and that's because of all the

gospel foreshadowing that we find there in the

narrative of Esther. And it was a joy to work

through all those things together last week.

I got a lot of... Really positive feedback saying

I had no idea there was so many gospel elements

in this Old Testament book, but they're there.

So, by the way, if you missed last Sunday, I'd

highly recommend going back and listening online.

It will bless your soul to see how many of those

gospel aspects are found in this Old Testament

narrative. But with that in the rearview mirror,

I have an admission to make this morning. Today

we're coming to a chapter that I was really not

looking forward to preaching through. So from

my favorite chapter to my least favorite chapter

in the blink of an eye. And the reason for my

trepidation is some of the dark elements that

are in this part of the story, including violent

conflict, including widespread loss of life,

and frankly, some gruesome details that align

with an ancient tribal grudge. As most of you

know, early on in the story of Esther, I was

pretty hard on her character. and pointed out

a number of what I think are some glaring inconsistencies,

spiritual compromises in her life. But in recent

chapters, it's been so encouraging. We've seen

this young lady grow in her trust, in her courage,

and we've complimented her accordingly. But now

as we come to chapter 9, once again, we're going

to have to resist the temptation, and we all

have this, to look at someone like Esther and

see her as an impeccable heroine. who never does

anything wrong, almost not even human, and at

least consider some hard questions about some

of her choices in this chapter. But before we

go there, I have to recap for you an important

story from earlier in the Hebrew Scriptures,

because it is going to explain much of what we're

going to read in chapter 9 of Esther. Now, it's

a story that we covered earlier in this series,

but let me... Let me refresh your memory. It

comes from 1 Samuel chapter 15. This is the days

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

after Saul was anointed Israel's king by the

prophet Samuel. And you might recall that Israel

at that time sinfully and selfishly cried out

for a human king because they wanted to be like

all the other nations, even though God wanted

them to be set apart. And so Samuel said it best.

He said, the Lord your God was your king, Israel.

But since this is what you want in your sinful

flesh, I will set a very flawed man over you

in the person of King Saul. Now, early in Saul's

reign, he proved to be a strong military commander.

We see him fighting against all the surrounding

nations, the Moabites and the Ammonites and the

Edomites and, of course, the Philistines. But

in 1 Samuel 15, things start to go awry. The

Lord gives to Saul a very specific instruction

concerning an ancient enemy left over from the

days of Moses. At the time of the Exodus. Here's

what Yahweh said through his prophet Samuel.

That's going to come up in just a second. Trust

me. There we go. Good. Thus says the Lord of

hosts. I will punish Amalek for what he did to

Israel. How he set himself against him on the

way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now, Saul,

go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all

that he has. Look at that underlined part. Utterly

destroy all that he has and do not spare him.

But put to death both man and woman, child and

infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. In other

words, rid the world of this wicked people. And

so Saul took 200 ,000 of his men. They set an

ambush for the Amalekites, and they defeated

them in battle. Only Saul failed to carry out

God's instructions. Correct? He disobeyed. Rather

than wiping out every trace of the wickedness

of Amalek from the earth, he took their king,

King Agag. They took him alive and took him as

a prisoner of war. And worse, he took all kinds

of plunder. The best of the sheep, the best of

the oxen, the fatlings and the lambs. And God's

anger burned against Saul for his disobedience.

Yet he tried to fake his way out of it when he

came into the presence of Samuel, even though

the prophet already knew that he had disobeyed.

The text says that Saul came to Samuel and said

to him, blessed are you, I've carried out the

command of the Lord. Can you see the falsehood

in it? Just his face. Look what I've done. But

Samuel said, Really? What then is this bleeding

of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the

oxen which I hear? And after hemming and hawing

and trying to make, you know, excuse, claim,

well, I kept the best of the animals so that

I could give them in worship to Yahweh. Samuel

rebuked him. He said, why did you not obey the

voice of the Lord? Why have you rushed upon the

spoils? and done what is evil in the sight of

the Lord. And then he cut to the heart of the

matter, saying to Saul, what you see on the screen,

has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings

and sacrifices as in obeying his voice? Behold,

to obey is better than sacrifice. And because

you've rejected the word of the Lord, he has

rejected you from being king. So two big things

I want you to take from this recap of this story.

for later consideration in this message. Number

one, God's instructions to wipe out the Amalekites

completely. And number two, Saul's disobedience

in taking spoils of war. Let's go to Esther now.

Grab your Bibles. We're gonna go to Esther chapter

nine and cover the first 17 verses of this chapter.

Hopefully explain some of the difficult parts

that we're gonna read. Esther chapter 9, verses

Esther 9:1–17

1 to 17. We're definitely going to talk about

this issue of plunder because we covered it last

Sunday, didn't we? We covered it quite a bit.

In fact, a lot of you were joking afterwards

about, let's go plunder. So we'll explain some

of that. And if you missed last week, you're

going, what? Excuse me? Trust me on this. And

then, by the way, we're going to take an interesting

and very practical rabbit trail this morning

because it lines up with Sanctity of Life Sunday

and also with our text. We're going to talk about

the somewhat controversial subject of self -defense

in the life of a Christian. So hold on to your

hats for that. So let's look at the text. It's

important to know as we come to chapter 9 that

this entire story of Mordecai and Esther is now

building to a climax. Recall that there had been

an unchangeable law issued by Haman, the wicked

vizier of King Xerxes. This was an edict that

could not be changed, and it gave the Persian

populace freedom on one particular day in the

future to attack and destroy all of the Jews

and to take any of their possessions they wanted.

How horrific, right? But thanks to God's sovereign

intervention, he sends Queen Esther, gives her

the courage and the strength to intercede for

her people before the king. And two months later,

Haman's wicked plan is exposed, he's executed,

and a second unchangeable law is issued to counteract

the first one. But remember, the first one couldn't

be changed, but here comes a second one. This

second unit gives the Jews the king's full backing

and authority to legally defend themselves. To

legally defend themselves and to kill any group

of people who would seek to harm them and steal

their things. So as we come to verse 1, nine

months have now passed and the day of conflict

has finally arrived. These two unchangeable laws.

Both issued by the king, one by Haman, one by

Mordecai, are about to run headlong into each

other. That means there is still a significant

amount of Persian people out there who have been

licking their chops and planning to attack the

Jews and to make themselves wealthier. And you

can imagine that happening. People are like,

no, I saw that first law and I am ready for it.

But it also means that the Jews had seen the

second law and they had organized themselves

to resist and to fight back. So you can imagine

the tension on this particular day. Let's look

at verse one. Now in the 12th month, that is

the month of Adar, on the 13th day, that's the

big day, when the king's command and edict were

about to be executed, on the day when the enemies

of the Jews hoped to gain mastery over them,

it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews

themselves gained the mastery over those who

hated them. That was that eucatastrophe that

we talked about last Sunday, right? And again,

if you missed it last Sunday, sorry to throw

that word into your lexicon, but it means a sudden

good turn of events. This was the eucatastrophe

for the Jewish people, a turn of events. Here's

how it happened, verse two. The Jews assembled

in their cities throughout all the provinces

of King Ahasuerus. Remember how broad this empire

was? Massive. Persian Empire. They assembled

in the cities, it says, to lay hands on those

who sought their harm. And no one could stand

before them, for the dread of them had fallen

on all the people. So what we see take place

is a combination of two things. First and foremost,

we have to acknowledge the sovereign protective

hand of God over his people. He is in control

of this situation. But second, you see the unity.

and the passion that is produced by a people

who are fighting for their very survival. That

makes all the difference. If you've ever studied

ancient battles, you know the people that are

defending their lives, their very lives, their

existence, their land, always have more passion

to fight than the enemy. And so in every province

across this vast empire, the Jews rally together

and they prevail in these battles and skirmishes

that are taking place all across the land. And

it's a reminder, it's something that really struck

me last night as I was writing, that if there's

anything you can say about the Jewish people

over the centuries, it's that they know how to

survive. Amen? Right? In every place that they've

been, they've figured out a way to survive, even

today in the land of Israel, even surrounded

by as many enemies as they are today, they know

how to survive and even flourish under God's

protective hand. There's also a third factor

involved, and you see this in verse three. It

says, even all the princes of the provinces,

the satraps, the governors, and those who were

doing the king's business, look, assisted the

Jews because of the dread of Mordecai had fallen

on them. So the Jews are now assisted in all

these provinces by the government officials.

Why? Why would that suddenly happen? Well, no

doubt word had spread that guess what? The king,

who's all powerful, his beloved queen is Jewish.

That changes the game for every official in the

empire. And that her relative Mordecai, also

Jewish, has now come to power and is running

things from Susa. So having received this second

law from the king that now supports the Jews,

you know these officials are not going to cross

Mordecai. It doesn't make sense. They must have

realized that if I assist the Jews, I'm actually

assisting the king's own household. So it just

makes sense, right? Verse four, indeed, Mordecai

was great in the king's house. And his fame spread

throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai

became greater and greater. And the language

you see there is sort of an echo from an earlier

time in Jewish history. Mordecai is walking in

the footsteps of men like Joseph and Moses, who

also became great in foreign courts, not Persia,

but in those two cases, in the court of Pharaoh

of Egypt. Similar situation, God has lifted him

up to this important position. Verse five, thus

the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword,

Killing and destroying. And they did what they

pleased to those who hated them. This is a rout.

They are winning these skirmishes all the time.

So that's a description, a general description

of what's going on kingdom wide. The Jews are

prevailing, but look at verse six. Beginning

here now, the focus narrows to one location,

the citadel in the capital city of Susa. This

is where, again, the royal court is. This is

where Queen Esther lives. This is where Mordecai

is ruling from. Verse six says, at the citadel

in Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men.

Wow. And then here comes a list of, I hate when

I have to do this. Here come the list of the

names of Haman's ten sons. Are you ready for

this? Parshendatha. Good? Good. Dalfon. Aspatha.

Poratha. Adelia. Aridatha. Parmashta. Arisai.

Aridai. And Vaisatha. These are the ten sons

of Haman, the son of Hamadatha, the Jews' enemy.

You see it? The Jews' enemy. Notice now, last

phrase, but they did not lay their hands on the

plunder. We'll come back to that. Yael, are you

laughing at my pronunciation? It's fine. She'll

correct me later. It's good. Now, why list the

name of Haman's sons here? Well, this is critical

for the story. This is the final step in the

overthrow of Haman's house. We saw that last

week, how all of his wealth, his estate, everything

was given over to Esther, who then gave it to

Mordecai as a steward. This is the final element,

the overthrow of Haman's house. This is the end

of his genealogical line. This is what happens

when all of your sons die in battle at one time.

Now, this is the point beginning in verse 11

where things start to get dark. On that day,

the number of those who were killed at the citadel

in Susa was reported to the king. Okay, so you

can picture the guy comes in with the announcement.

Oh, great king, live forever. Here's the number

of people the Jews have killed in your capital

city. That should upset him, right? These are

his subjects. These are his people. But you have

to understand the ways of the ancient Persian

kings. These were the most powerful men on the

earth at this time. They fancied themselves to

be gods themselves. So essentially to them, people

are just pawns on a chessboard, pawns to be sacrificed.

So a man like Xerxes has no regard for human

life. What he cared about most was what pleased

him. And what pleases him in this situation is,

is my queen happy and content? That's it. So

in verse 12, it says, Not only does he not seem

to care about the loss of life, he actually seems

pretty impressed with the numbers. Like, hey,

not bad. Look at all the people that they've

killed in my city. And he muses out loud, well,

my goodness, if the Jews have killed 500 people

there, how widespread is the slaughter? It must

mean thousands or even tens of thousands of dead

throughout my empire. This guy's a sociopath.

There's no other way to explain this verse other

than he is an absolute psychotic. He just doesn't

care. And then he becomes even more callous.

Completely unsolicited, he offers to Esther a

chance to ask for even more. Now, what is your

petition? He asks her. It shall even be granted

to you. And what is your further request? It

shall also be done. Here's where the controversy

really comes into play. Verse 13. Then said Esther,

if it pleases the king, more submissive court

language. Let tomorrow also be granted to the

Jews who are in Susa to do according to the edict

of today and let Haman's 10 sons be hanged on

the gallows. They're already dead, by the way.

So Esther asks that the king give her an extension

of the law for a second day so that the Jews

can continue to eliminate their enemies there

in the capital city. And she wants the corpses

of Haman's 10 sons to be publicly displayed on

the gallows that Haman himself had built. Now

remember, we talked about a long time ago, gallows

like this, the Persians didn't hang people by

the neck. These would have been sharp stakes.

And the bodies would have been, yeah, I'll let

you not picture that in your minds. So what are

we to make of this? It's hard not to, At least

consider the obvious, right? Because it sounds

so cold and so brutal to our modern ears. And

in fact, this part of the story has been used

against the Jewish people for centuries, if you

didn't know. Martin Luther was guilty of this.

Later in his life, in his anti -Semitic writings,

pointed back to Esther chapter 9 as an example,

Esther 9 · chapter mention

drawing this blanket statement. Well, obviously

the Jewish people are nationalistic and vengeful

and wrote some awful things. about the Jewish

people. So this has been used against the Jews

for a long time. But what's going on here? Is

Esther really seeking vengeance? I have read

so much on this subject, and I still am here

this morning to say, I'm not sure we can know

for sure what's happening in her heart. There's

a lot of opinions on the question. It's difficult

for us to understand fully because none of us

have lived in that time and place. None of us

have lived in that culture. None of us have ever

faced literally a genocide of our people. So

we have to be careful that we don't judge too

harshly. Listen, as I've said before concerning

Esther, We have to balance the two extremes.

She is neither a perfect heroine who does everything

right, nor should we be too harsh in judging

her because we haven't walked in those shoes.

And I think at best what we can say here is had

we been in her position, would any of us done

any better? And I think that kind of humility

is important as we come to the text. The answers

are not as clear as we wish they were because

the author hasn't given us those clear answers.

So you have to be careful not to judge too much.

Here's the thing. There are a number of factors

involved here in the way Esther responds. At

first glance, it's easy to judge her. Some people

say she's bloodthirsty for revenge. Now that

the Jews are prevailing in the battle, now she

wants to keep going. That's one of the narratives

that comes out of this chapter. But it seems

that in her mind, the important work of destroying

those who hate God and hate her people wasn't

done after just one day, that there were more

that needed to be dealt with. And if the job

isn't finished yet, then that threat is going

to still be out there, and it's going to linger

into the future, and we're going to have generation

after generation of constant fighting. So at

least in her mind, she's like, give me one more

day to settle the issue. Whatever you think of

that, that's probably going on in the back of

her mind. From a purely practical standpoint,

you can see why she asked for permission for

the fight to continue. And by the way, you can

also make the case that, well, She's somewhat

restrained in this. First of all, she's only

asking for what the Jews can do according to

the law, which means only self -defense. And

she's limiting it to just one more day, not like,

well, we want this to go on for weeks so that

we can just keep slaughtering. So there is some

restraint in what she says. In terms of Haman's

sons, we have to remember two things. First of

all, Haman is the biblical archetype of the enemy

of God. Right? We talked about it. He embodies

satanic opposition to God's people, and his sons

are an extension of his house. You can't separate

Haman from his sons. They are considered one

thing in the ancient Near East. They are part

of his house. Second, we should remember that

this was common practice in that day, in the

ancient Near East. Even when it offends our modern

sensibilities, the execution of the sons of your

enemy was required back then. Common practice.

Why? So that you eliminate the possibility that

someday those boys are going to grow up and take

revenge for their father's death. Very common

practice. Again, I'm not saying that's good or

right. I'm giving you the practical issues that

are involved here in the background. As to the

public humiliation of their bodies, here's what

we can say about this. It served as a demonstration

of Yahweh's justice and wrath upon those who

would threaten his people. and a warning for

all those in the future not to cross the God

of Israel. And it certainly would have been a

very stark warning for anybody that witnessed

this spectacle of their corpses being displayed

in public. Those are the practical things. Now,

let me share that it got really quiet in here,

by the way. Did you see this? Everybody's really

quiet. I know this is hard. This is why I dreaded

this chapter. The larger historical issue that

looms behind all this, we have to go back to

where I started this morning with the story of

Saul and the Amalekites. Think about this now.

You've got to put on your thinking caps. Saul

had failed to carry out God's instructions in

his day to utterly destroy Amalek. And because

of his failure, 500 years later, we have this

conflict. Because Saul disobeyed, this is sort

of the background of this particular story. Saul's

descendants from the tribe of Benjamin include

Mordecai and Esther, and they are in a death

struggle against Agag's descendants, Haman and

his 10 sons. That thing has lingered for hundreds

of years. We have to understand that. So there's

unfinished business being resolved here. Esther

and Mordecai are prosecuting a new war against

God's enemy, seeking permission from King Xerxes

to finish what Saul left undone. Does that make

sense? That's what's going on here. Even the

gruesome act of publicly displaying the bodies

of Haman's sons has a historical precedent to

it. Do you recall how Saul was killed? How his

son Jonathan was killed? They died in battle

on Mount Gilboa. And what happened to their corpses?

The enemy hung their bodies on the wall at Beit

Shein. Right? So there's precedent to that as

well. The same type of humiliation. So as brutal

as all this was, we do need to understand that

in conducting this war against the ancient enemy

of Amalek, it's not as if Mordecai and Esther

are out there. This is not some kind of a land

grab. They're not trying to be greedy and build

their wealth. This is finishing the job that

should have been done 500 years prior. Theologically

and historically, this is a prosecution of God's

judicial decree against his enemies. that are

so represented by Haman. And then on a deeper

level, it's that ongoing war that's been raging

since Genesis 3 .15, right? It's all part of

this. When God declared that the seed of the

woman and the seed of the serpent would live

in constant hostility until the day that the

Redeemer came and he crushed the head of the

serpent. There's a lot going on here, isn't there?

Okay, let's finish the story. Verse 14. So the

king commanded that it should be done. He granted

Esther's request. And an edict was issued in

Susa and Haman's 10 sons were hanged. The Jews

who were in Susa assembled also on the 14th day

of the month of Adar and killed 300 more men

in Susa. But then see this again. They did not

lay their hands on the plunder. Verse 16, now

the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces

assembled to defend their lives and rid themselves

of their enemies and kill 75 ,000 of those who

hated them. That's the full casualty list from

across this vast empire, 75 ,000. But last time,

they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

This was done on the 13th day of the month Adar,

and on the 14th day, they rested and made it

a day of feasting and rejoicing. Let's pray.

No, I'm just kidding. Okay, you see why that

was tough? There's a lot happening here. Okay,

can we come back to the issue of plunder for

a moment? Because I know I made a big deal in

closing last week on this. I ended the messaging,

for those of you who weren't here, by talking

about how we as Christians have the victory over

Satan. That that victory is secured for us because

of our union with Christ, right? And because

of the cross. We now have the victory over the

law of sin and death. And we can celebrate just

as the Jews celebrated when that second law was

issued. We did that last week. And so each and

every day that you and I abide with Christ, when

we live for his glory and the advancement of

his kingdom, we are plundering the house of the

enemy. In little things, repentance, prayer,

worship, praise, all of these things, understanding

God's truth, studying the word, we are plundering

the house of the enemy. It's all part of the

spiritual battle that we fight and we fight individually

as believers and we fight together as a local

body of Christ. That is all true. So we are all

about plundering. But here in the text, it says

the Jews didn't take the plunder three times

to emphasize it. So was I wrong last week? Okay,

thank you, Carol. Some of you were wondering.

There is a sinful, idolatrous kind of plundering

that the people of God are never to engage in.

And that is what's being described in this text.

What the Jews refused to take in this text were

the material spoils of war. The physical material

spoils of war. And though the king's second law

actually gave them permission to do it, they

knew better. We don't do this. Remember, in their

minds, this was self -defense. And it's not just

a political battle, it's a spiritual battle as

well. When I talked about plundering last Sunday,

I was referring to spiritual plundering, right?

Spiritual, not physical plunder. And remember,

we pointed to that important text in 2 Corinthians

10 that says the weapons that we use in battle

are not according to the flesh, right? They're

spiritual weapons that destroy falsehoods and

tear down arguments that are raised against the

knowledge of God. That's the realm that we fight

in, not physical, but spiritual. So at the end

of the day, it's not material plunder. That's

going to last into eternity, is it? It's spiritual

treasure that will last for eternity. That's

where the battle needs to be fought. Now for

the Jews, there's more history behind this issue

of plunder that goes all the way back to the

Torah and the prophets. In Genesis 14, you might

recall Abraham had to go to war in order to rescue

his nephew Lot, correct? And he pursued his enemy

and he won this great victory. And when he came

back, do you remember the king of Sodom? offered

him the spoils of war. And what did Abraham do?

He refused it. He said, no, thank you. Why? Lest

the wickedness of Sodom would become the source

of his prosperity. We don't take that kind of

wicked plunder, he said. And from that point

forward, even during the wars of conquest for

the promised land, the Jews would not touch any

of their enemies' possessions. Rightfully so.

So, for example, after the defeat of Jericho

under Joshua's leadership, remember Israel went

on and they attacked the city of Ai. And they

lost decisively, right? Well, why? Because there

was a man in the camp named Achan who had secretly

taken the enemy's plunder. And for that reason,

God's anger was kindled. And until Achan was

dealt with, until he was put to death, Israel

was not going to be victorious. So in history,

anytime Israel waged war against the enemies

of God for the purpose of executing divine judgment

on them, which was righteous for their immorality,

for their idolatry, they were to do so according

to God's instructions. And that meant not profiting

from the wickedness of those kingdoms. Don't

take that spoil. It's tainted. And the Jews understood

this. Coming back to our story of Saul and the

Amalekites, Saul, when he destroys Amalek, he

takes the king captive and he plunders the best

of their possessions, all the sheep and the ox

and all that stuff. And God's anger burned against

Saul and he was disqualified as Israel's king.

So with all that in mind, we come back to the

story of Esther. Now we understand why it says

three times in this text, but they did not take

the plunder. It's historical and it's theological.

Mordecai is not going to make the same mistake

that his ancestor Saul did by engaging in idolatrous

plundering. Our plundering is what? Spiritual,

not physical. Remember, Samuel said it back in

the day, obedience is better than sacrifice.

Do it right the first time. Don't sin and then

expect that my sacrifice is just going to please

God. Do it right the first time. Obey him. Follow

his instructions. Amen? Okay. So I want to close

our time by taking this rabbit trail that I promised.

This is Sanctity of Life Sunday. And so we should

talk about protecting life and how we go about

doing that. And so I want to talk about this

somewhat controversial issue of Christians and

self -defense. And how do we do that? How do

we do that in a way that is pleasing to God?

Even the use of force. The use of force in protecting

life. Occasionally you'll run into a fellow believer

who will tell you that he or she has taken the

absolute position of pacifism. I've met folks

like this. That in all cases, and by the way,

the people that I've met that hold to pacifism,

that is their biblical conviction. They have

arrived at that position through prayerful consideration.

I want to respect that. But their position is

that in all cases, And in all situations, Christians

should 100 % denounce war, violence, and the

use of force in resolving disputes. To the extent

that they would say, and I've heard someone say

this, I will not physically defend my life or

the life of my wife and children if I'm attacked.

I will not defend anyone, not myself and not

my family. Now, I disagree with that. And I think

it's a really difficult case. to make if you're

taking the entire canon of Scripture into consideration.

So let me try to lay this out in a logical fashion

so that we can understand the issue. First of

all, it's true that on one hand, Scripture calls

us to be peacemakers. Amen? That should be our

default position to seek peace. That should be

our goal in all things. So we have to say that

very loudly and very clearly. We're to be peacemakers.

That is part of our testimony as Christ followers.

We should always seek to honor God every time

we come into conflict, every time we deal with

a dispute. Paul famously says in Romans 12, as

much as it depends on you or me, we should be

at peace with all men, right? That's part of

our testimony. But having said that, it's also

true that the Bible strongly affirms the need

to protect the sanctity of human life, and yes,

sometimes by use of force. It's actually in the

text. We're given consistent examples of godly

people who have confronted evil with violence

in order to protect innocent life. So again,

back to the Torah. God addressed this issue with

his people. He did it both in his legal code

and by way of example. We just talked about Abraham.

When Lot, his nephew, was kidnapped and taken,

did Abraham just sit around and hope that Lot

would be okay? Well, I hope they take care of

him. What were the odds that they were going

to take care of him? No, no, he led a militia.

We forget that Abraham was actually a man of

war. He led a militia of 300 trained men to pursue

his enemies to save Lot's life. That's in the

text. We also know that God commanded Israel

to go to war on many occasions. Why? To build

and preserve his chosen people in that promised

land. And in the process of that, you have to

understand the armies of Israel are acting as

Yahweh's hand of judgment against the wickedness

of the people in that region. So at times, God's

people have had to go to battle for the cause

of righteousness over evil. And I know these

are hard things to accept, but they are Yahweh's

hand of righteousness in the book of Joshua,

for example, over the wickedness of those people

groups. On a more personal level, if you read

in Exodus 22, God actually instructs the people

through Moses about how a man should protect

his household, even gives very specific instructions

that if a thief breaks in, this is what you should

do. You can strike him. At nighttime, you could

even strike him dead and there will be no guilt.

God's very practical with that. We have the rulers

of the United Kingdom of Israel, Saul, David,

and Solomon. How many times do they take up arms

against enemy nations? Why did they do that?

To protect their people. They go to war with

the Philistines to solidify their borders so

that the people can be safe and protected. You

fast forward to the return from exile in Babylon

and you see Nehemiah's workers, they're rebuilding

the walls of Jerusalem while constantly being

attacked. So what did they do? Did they say,

well, that's just tough luck. Let's just keep

building and we'll just, oops, sorry, arrow in

the back, right? Well, you know, we can't, we

shouldn't do anything about this. Of course not.

Some Jewish men were tasked by Nehemiah to guard

the construction with actual spears. And all

the others that were building still kept a sword

girded on their side, ready to spring into defensive

action. So we have these examples. The reality,

friends, is there are times when resisting evil

does require the use of force. And we should

recognize that. Now, when you come to the New

Testament, do things change? Well, there's some

consistent principles. There's a change in form

and function. But that goes with, not to make

this controversial, with the dispensational changes

from Israel to the church. The church is not

a single people group. It's not a political nation.

It doesn't have borders or armies. So the commands

to go to war are not given to the church. It's

a massive difference between Israel and the church.

But you do see the principle of self -defense

and protection of life being put forth by the

apostles and by Jesus himself and by Jesus. Now,

pacifists will quickly cite the Sermon on the

Mount, and they'll say, well, Jesus said, when

somebody strikes you in the cheek, what do you

do? You punch them back. No, no, sorry. You turn

the other cheek. And we should take that teaching

seriously. Sometimes those of us who are on the

other side of the issue will say, well, He didn't

really mean that. Yeah, he did. What Jesus was

trying to do was to warn us against, you know,

the eye for an eye principle that we can so quickly

jump to and become violent. It's far better,

he says, to overlook a personal insult. Far better

to look past a minor offense for the sake of

maintaining peace. We should affirm that over

and over again. What he doesn't mean by turn

the other cheek is let someone murder you. right

what he doesn't mean is well let people come

and harm your family that's a ridiculous jump

in logic neither does it mean stand by and pull

out your phone and don't intervene when an evil

person seeks to harm somebody within your presence

which is all too common today we have more videos

of people being attacked than people jumping

in to prevent evil That's a message for you men

out there. Be courageous. This is simply not

consistent with the whole counsel of scripture.

Jesus himself acknowledges a very practical need

for self -defense in Luke 22. Do you remember?

Before he sends out his disciples, he says, do

you have a sword? If you don't, sell your cloak

and get one. Did Jesus not know what was gonna

happen? Of course he knew, right? In other words,

friends. Don't be naive to the dangers of this

fallen world. There are wicked people out there,

and they may try to take advantage of you and

harm you, so be prepared and be alert. Don't

obsess over it, but understand that that's true

of the fallen world we live in. In terms of war,

I find it interesting that when Jesus interacts

with the Roman centurion in Matthew chapter 8,

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

and this guy comes with a prayer request, does

Jesus say, First of all, renounce your military

service. He doesn't. He hears the request and

he compliments him for his remarkable faith.

And we shouldn't forget that Jesus himself, though

while in the flesh was nothing but gentle and

peace -loving, he did flip some tables, right?

But he's gentle and peace -loving, but someday

he will return and judge the nation with, you

ready for it? Perfectly righteous violence. Perfectly

righteous violence. The use of great force will

be his holy response towards those who oppose

him and practice evil. These are important truths.

I know it's hard to sort of formulate this and

arguments can go back and forth, but understanding

the whole counsel matters. Now, beyond those

examples, which I think are important, I'm going

to put some things on the screen, just some basic

principles for us to understand. And these are

things we should know about. First of all, One

of the things that undergirds the doctrine of

Christian self -defense is, man, this thing's

dying. There we go. Is understanding the high

value that scripture places on human life. It

starts there. When we recognize that every life

comes from God and we defend it, we are honoring

the Imago Dei. We are honoring the image of God

in each one of us. And that is especially true.

when you and I step in and defend those who can't

defend themselves. I'm going to say that again.

This is especially true when we step in and defend

those who cannot defend themselves. What am I

talking about? The most vulnerable among us,

babies in the womb, starting there. But children,

obviously, right? Those who are poor, those who

are too weak and unable to fight. We have to

step in on those things. Every life matters.

That's where it starts. Second principle is love

your neighbor. Love your neighbor. Sometimes

loving your neighbor means taking action to protect

him or her from violence. Right? Even if it puts

us in the crosshairs and we sacrifice ourselves

to protect somebody. I know this much for sure.

It's not loving to stand by and do nothing if

somebody is attacked. You know, recording it.

That is not loving your neighbor. Even loving

our enemies doesn't mean we have to let them

harm other people. Yeah, we have to love our

enemies. That doesn't mean, well, I have to love

you, so go ahead and do all that you want to

do, harm anybody that you want. How ridiculous

is that? In fact, by resisting a violent aggressor

and stopping him, we're working for his ultimate

good, to stop him from doing something wicked.

Hopefully repent. That's actually for his good.

The third principle is we have a God -ordained

mandate. to protect those that God has put under

our care. This is a broader theme we see in Scripture.

It starts with David. It finishes with Jesus.

The shepherd protects his sheep from the wolves.

Protect, sometimes with force. Did David not

do that with a stick, right, with a shepherd's

crook, a lion and a bear? Could you imagine him

going, well, look, you know, they look delicious,

don't they? And I don't want to get involved.

Of course not. The shepherd protects the sheep.

Believers protect the vulnerable from predators,

physical predators, spiritual predators. In 1

Timothy 5, Paul says, providing for one's own

household is a mark of genuine faith. If you

don't provide for your household, you are worse

than an unbeliever. That has to mean naturally

protecting those under your care. If you're going

to be head of household, you've got to protect

those under your care, keeping them safe from

harm. So in daily life, that might mean something

as basic as locking the doors and windows at

night as the head of the household, right? It

might mean stepping into danger when it comes

your way. Maybe it just means being alert, having

your head on a swivel and looking for threats

that are out there. Again, not obsessing over

it, but knowing that there are threats out there

and being aware of them. Keep this in mind. Trusting

God never means abandoning wisdom, or being purposely

naive about the world that we live in. Sometimes

Christians get this way, and I appreciate the

heart behind it. They just want to be sort of

naively happy, and everything's going to be fine.

But we don't abandon wisdom. We don't just get

purposely naive and put those that we love at

risk. Make sense? Just as we install smoke detectors

in our house to protect our family, just when

our child gets sick, what do we do? We take them

to the doctor. We do those practical things,

reasonable steps to guard those under our care.

It is an act of love. So practical question that

flows out of that. And I'm almost done, y 'all.

Should we get security systems in our homes?

Should we own a gun for self -defense? These

are questions that come up. And some of those

types of questions are going to be preferences.

And there are going to be convictions to consider

and pray over. So we might arrive at different

conclusions on those things. But there's certainly

nothing wrong with having a security system in

your home. And depending on your situation, it

might actually be a good stewardship decision.

But that's for you to consider. Remember, Nehemiah

did two things. He prayed for protection, and

then he posted a guard outside the walls. Ah,

both are necessary. But there's a caution that

goes with this too, so I'm going to give you

some cautions here. If your motivation for having

a security system is driven by over -the -top

fear and constant worry, you've crossed the line

into sin. So balance this carefully. Check your

heart. Be honest with yourself. Yes, a security

system can bring a measure of peace, but it cannot

replace your trust in the Lord. He is your ultimate

protector. Amen? In terms of being a gun owner.

Again, scripture doesn't forbid owning weapons

for legitimate self -defense. And any tool that

you put in your hand, in and of itself, is morally

neutral. What changes that is the heart of the

person that wields it. Understand that. That's

the whole problem with the argument of gun control,

right? So gun ownership can be responsible in

God honoring when it's guided by humility and

restraint and lawful purpose. And of course,

there's cautions that go with that as well. And

I know guys like this. If you're purchasing guns

as a means of sort of creating this image of

yourself that you think will be really impressive

to other people, I'm a big time gun guy. And

it comes out pridefully, no, don't do that. Don't

do that. Or if you have an unhealthy fascination

with guns and violence, these things have no

place in a Christian's life. Check your heart.

And then two larger overriding cautions for us.

First, self -defense has to be motivated by the

right things, not by anger, not by hatred, and

never by thoughts of revenge. That is not self

-defense, not biblical. It's got to be motivated

by love and by care. And it's so important to

see that consistently throughout the New Testament,

this idea of taking vengeance is absolutely 100

% condemned. Going back to Romans 12, Paul says,

never take your own revenge, beloved. Leave room

for the wrath of God. For it's written, vengeance

is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. So distinction,

self -defense can be employed in the immediate

moment when somebody is threatened. And force

can be used in those situations. What we can't

do is go home and plot revenge. Those are different

things. In the moment, protecting life. Not going

home and saying, I'm going to create some plan

to get revenge on this person. Completely different

things. Make sure you understand that. And also

make sure that we recognize the difference between

immediate physical harm and persecution that

takes place over time. Some attacks are criminal.

Some are just pure persecution. They're not the

same thing. A criminal attack calls for protection

of life. Persecution for the believer requires

patient endurance. Make sure you understand that.

And in every case, forgiveness and compassion

is required afterwards. Even if we have to stop

an attacker, our heart towards that person should

remain governed by compassion, mercy, and the

hope that someday they would repent of that sin

and come to know Christ. Amen? That's the big

picture of this whole thing. So last thing to

guide us, biblical defense has to be measured.

It cannot be reckless. It cannot be out of control

as if we've somehow, well, the Bible gives me

permission, so now I've been deputized as a vigilante

for Christ. It's not to be reckless or out of

control. That means we don't go blindly rushing

into every conflict and every dispute. We employ

wisdom. We assess the situation carefully before

we jump in. And so a godly man is prepared. He

is alert. He is looking to protect the sanctity

of life. And in doing so, he exercises courage

and self -control and ultimately trust in the

one who sovereignly determines every single outcome.

Let's balance these things well, folks. Amen?

Thanks for putting up with me on that. Let's

bow our heads. Father, my prayer this morning

for myself, for my brothers and sisters, is that

as we look at Esther chapter nine, that you would

give us wisdom. You give us insight by your spirit

to understand what's going on in this story and

to, again, see some of the gospel aspects of

this, how you have rescued your people, how this

new law has come into effect that overrides for

us the law of sin and death and allows us to

be saved by your grace, to come into union with

you, to abide with you. Lord, help us to see

that in the text of Esther and give us clarity

on these difficult things, Lord, to understand

what's happening. And Father, I pray that you'll

seal in our hearts some of these truths we just

talked about, what it means to be a peacemaker,

what it means to conduct self -defense and protection

in a way that honors you. These are difficult

things for us down here on earth, Lord. Our flesh

is sinful, so we struggle in these areas. So

I pray that you will work in our hearts by your

spirit and help us to understand more and more.

Thank you for our time this morning in the word,

Lord. What a privilege now that we get to sing

more praises to your name, for you are worthy

of it. So help us to do that well. We pray in

Christ's name, amen.