Eucatastrophe | Esther 8

In a 1939 essay, get this, on the subject of

fairy stories, J .R .R. Tolkien, the famous author

of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, coined

a term that to our knowledge had never been used

up to that point. He invented a word. In fact,

here's what that word is. Eucatastrophe. Say

it with me. Eucatastrophe. Well done. The basis

of that word comes from the biblical language

of Koine Greek. You take the word catastrophe,

which refers to a sudden turn, and then you put

the prefix you on it, and it becomes a good turn

of events. That's what he meant. He believed

that this was the ingredient that makes a good

fantasy story a great fantasy story. Eucatastrophe,

he said, refers to, quote, a sudden... happy

turn in a story which pierces you with the kind

of joy that brings tears. In other words, a massive

turn of events from a seemingly impossible situation

to an unforeseen victory and the reversal of

a tragic ending that ultimately prevents evil

from winning. And as I say that, maybe you can

recognize that in some of the books that he has

written. Well, guess what? That's exactly what

we're going to see this morning in the book of

Esther. Up until this point in the story, things

have been pretty rough for Mordecai, for Esther,

for the Jewish people living in Persia. But with

last Sunday's revealing of the wickedness of

Haman and his execution, there is now a new sense

of hope on the horizon. Today, we come to chapter

8, and we're going to see God's eucatastrophe.

We're going to see it unfold in all of its sovereign

glory. And the people in the story who were once

condemned to death, will not only be saved, but

given permission to conquer and plunder the enemy.

Does that ring a bell in your ear as I say that?

Listen again. A people who were once condemned

to death are not only saved, but made conquerors

over their enemy. Grab your Bibles. If you haven't

gone there yet, we're going to Esther chapter

Esther 8 · chapter mention

8. That was just a wee bit of a hint on where

we're going this morning. Hopefully you picked

up on it. Very subtle. So let's recall how chapter

7 ended last week. Haman, the Persian king's

chief vizier, was dragged from the palace with

a bag over his head, taken away to face justice

in the most ironic way possible. The last verse

in the chapter, chapter 7, says, They hanged

Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for

Mordecai. That is ironic. Well, we shouldn't

be surprised at the downfall of this man. The

wisdom literature of the Old Testament describes

the symptoms of a man like Haman. He follows

the path of foolishness, not wisdom. He lives

for himself. He pursues his desires and ambitions

without concern for other people. He is greedy

for his own honor and glory. But in the end,

all that he desperately wanted in his life, all

that he aspired to be, is taken from him. Pay

close attention to the wisdom literature in the

Old Testament. It will describe the wicked man.

As we read last Sunday in Psalm 7, the wicked

man digs a pit and ends up falling into it. The

trouble that he creates returns upon his own

head. So this morning what we're going to do

is we're going to read right through the entire

chapter, chapter 8. We're going to go straight

through it. We're going to divide it into four

sections. I'll give each section a title. I'll

use some alliteration. Huh? Huh? I mean, I don't

often do this, but man, this was good this week.

I get so excited. I'm like, honey, I got alliteration

this week. It's great. And then we'll come back

to each one of these four sections and we'll

work through them. So the first section we're

going to look at is just verses one and two,

and I'm calling this the reward. Look at the

text. On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house

of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther.

And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther

had disclosed what he was to her. The king took

off his signet ring, which he had taken away

from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther

set Mordecai over the house of Haman. That's

the reward. The second section is the request,

verses 3 through 8. Then Esther spoke again to

the king, fell at his feet. Wept and implored

him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite

and his plot which he had devised against the

Jews. The king then extended the golden scepter

to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the

king. Then she said, if it pleases the king and

if I found favor before him and the matter seems

proper to the king and I'm pleasing in his sight.

Verse 6. Verse 7. So King Ahasuerus said to Queen

Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, behold, I have

given the house of Haman to Esther and him they

have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched

out his hands against the Jews. Now you write

to the Jews as you see fit in the king's name

and seal it with the king's signet ring for a

decree which is written in the name of the king

and sealed with the king's signet ring may not

be revoked. So we had the reward and now the

request. Part three is the reversal, verses 9

to 14. So the king's scribes were called at that

time in the third month. That is the month of

Sivan. On the 23rd day, and it was written according

to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, to

the satraps, to the governors, to the princes

of the provinces, which extended from India to

Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to every province according

to its script and to every people according to

their language, as well as to the Jews according

to their script and their language. Verse 10.

He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed

it with the king's signet ring and sent letters

by couriers on horses riding on steeds sired

by the royal stud. In them, the king granted

the Jews who were in each and every city the

right to assemble and to defend their lives,

to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate the entire

army of any people or province which might attack

them, including children and women. and to plunder

their spoil on one day in all the provinces of

King Ahasuerus, the 13th day of the 12th month,

that is the month of Adar. Verse 13, a copy of

the edict to be issued as law in each and every

province was published to all the peoples so

that the Jews would be ready for this day to

avenge themselves on their enemies. And the couriers,

hastened and impelled by the king's command,

went out riding on the royal steeds, and the

decree was given out at the citadel in Susa.

The reward, the request, and the reversal. Finally,

we have rejoicing, verses 15 and 17. Then Mordecai

went out from the presence of the king in royal

robes of blue and white, with a large crown of

gold and a garment of fine linen and purple.

And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. For

the Jews, there was light and gladness and joy

and honor in each and every province and in every

city. Wherever the king's commandment and his

decree arrived, there was gladness and joy for

the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many among

the peoples of the land became Jews, for the

dread of the Jews had fallen upon them. Okay,

do you see the alliteration? Reward, request,

reversal, rejoicing. Let's dig into these. Now,

before we get into the text, and we're not going

to look at every single word this morning, but

we'll look at some of the big ideas here. Let

me make what I think is a really important observation.

After spending a very long week this week in

the text, I'm convinced that when this was written

down, God intended more here than what first

meets your eye. In this chapter, the human author

has obviously given us sort of a compressed historical

narrative, right? These are real things that

took place in the Persian court of King Xerxes,

and we've already sort of walked through this.

There are so many historical markers that tell

us that this is actual history, things verified

by historians, verified by archaeology. So this

is real history, but... As we're about to see,

there's a whole bunch of gospel foreshadowing

that takes place in this chapter. And so we'll

bring that as we go along. Let's start by talking

about this reward, this immense reward given

to Esther and Mordecai in verse 1 and 2. So the

dust settles on this previous drama that had

taken place in the court, right? This is Haman's

plot being exposed, and the king finally realizing

what's actually going on, and Haman is led away

to his death. And it says, On that very day,

that very day, the king, look at it, gave the

house of Haman to his queen. Imagine this. That

doesn't, by the way, just mean his house, his

structure of his house. It's much more than that.

This is his wealth. This is his entire estate,

all of his possessions, which would have been

considerable for a man in Haman's position. This

is a living snapshot of the principle that we

read about in Proverbs 15, where it says, the

Lord will tear down the house of the proud. He's

done that, and he's given it to Queen Esther.

Then it says that Mordecai came before the king.

For the first time, Mordecai, who's been serving

at the king's gate, is allowed to come into the

royal court and actually speak to the king. And

why is this suddenly possible? Look at the end

of verse one. It says that Esther had disclosed

what Mordecai was to her, which likely means

that she had explained to the king that Mordecai

was essentially, he's essentially my adopted

father. He has raised me. And so that combined

with Mordecai's previous show of loyalty in saving

the king's life, this elevates his status in

the eyes of Xerxes. And that leads to the stunning

event described in verse 2. The king takes off

his signet ring, which he had once given to Haman,

foolishly, right? And now he gives it to Mordecai.

And that is not just symbolic. That ring represents

absolute authority to act in the king's name

across the entire Persian Empire. It was a sign

that the king was making Mordecai his chief vizier

in place of Haman. He is now the second most

powerful man. in the Persian empire. And then

at the end of verse two, we see Esther making

another very wise decision. Rather than his queen,

her trying to manage Haman's estate, it says

Esther put Mordecai over the house of Haman.

She honors Mordecai by making him the steward

of all the things that the king was now granting

to them. Very wise, right? So how is that for

a reward? Does it get any bigger than that? Everything

that Haman had accumulated through his power

and his position now belonged to the very Jewish

man that he tried to destroy. Talk about reversal.

And that Jewish man was now ruling as vizier

from the very home in which Haman once had. See

what Yahweh has done here by his sovereign hand.

He's taken a man, Mordecai, who felt the need

to hide his Jewishness. A man who was recently

sitting in sackcloth and ash, mourning outside

the king's gate, facing a decree of annihilation,

and purely by his grace, because Mordecai didn't

deserve this, right? Purely by his grace, Yahweh

has raised him up to a seat of great honor. From

rags to riches, from death to life, from ashes

of mourning to a place of royal power. This is

what the sovereign of the universe is capable

of doing. according to his will and purpose.

Do we believe that? Do we believe that God can

overturn things to that degree? This is what

he can do. And again, this fits within the scope

of the wisdom literature that we see all through

the Old Testament. Consider, for example, if

you're familiar with Hannah's song of thanksgiving

in 1 Samuel 2. Listen to what it says about what

God can do. It says, the Lord kills and makes

alive. Sometimes we don't like hearing about

that, right? But the Lord has the right to do

both, to kill and to make alive. He brings down

to Sheol and he raises up. The Lord makes poor

and rich. He brings low. He also exalts. He raises

the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from

the ash heap to make them sit with nobles and

inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the

earth are the Lord's. He owns it all. He's sovereign,

right? They belong to him, and he set the world

on them. That's what the creator has. That's

his right. He keeps the feet of his godly ones,

but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness,

for not by might shall a man prevail. Isn't this

exactly what's happened in the story of Esther?

And look at that last statement that's on the

screen. That is so important. Not by might. Shall

a man prevail? And that is so true in this story.

There is no way that Esther and Mordecai could

have pulled off this shift in power by their

own strength, by their own might, or by their

own cleverness. The odds were so stacked against

them. But what we learn is there's no enemy over

which the Lord cannot prevail, none. No king,

no politician, no nation, no army, no plot or

weapon can prevail over the Lord's sovereign

will and purpose. It's one of the things we're

supposed to take from this great story. And so

there's an important lesson here for us in a

very practical way for us living today in a crazy

world, right? Are you guys watching the news?

It's bonkers. The chess pieces are being moved

all over the globe right now. It's crazy. And

in our own nation, chaos, confusion. This is

a lesson here about facing long odds and facing

desperate situations. A lesson about overcoming

worry. about having patience and trust in the

Lord's power and in his timing. The scriptures

call us as saints to endure hardship and to not

lose heart. We're called to remember that God

is both sovereign and good and that we shouldn't

be surprised by the fiery trials that come our

way as if something strange were happening. We

should expect them. We're to be prepared to suffer

well. To sit in the ashes as Mordecai did at

times. And even to rejoice in the fact that when

we suffer, we get to share in the sufferings

of Christ himself. And then as Paul says, to

keep doing good. In due time, he says, we will

reap the benefits of this if we don't grow weary.

That's part of the lesson of the book of Esther.

And by the way, we've been given all these great

examples of scripture to look to, to see how

do we do this. Men and women who are patient

and faithful. in the midst of suffering, and

then we're rewarded for it. Think about Joseph

and Daniel and Ruth and Job and Hannah and Jeremiah

and Paul, and the list goes on and on. All of

them suffered but kept their eyes fixed on a

much bigger prize that awaited them. And in these

crazy days we live in, that's got to be our mindset.

That's got to be our posture. And of course,

here's where the story of Esther begins to foreshadow

the gospel story. What's the ultimate example

of suffering and reward? It's Christ himself.

Is it not? Here's God the Son, the Lord of glory,

rich beyond measure, becoming poor, condescending

to take on flesh, having to sit in the ashes

of humiliation and the dust of obedience and

death for our sake. But it didn't end there,

did it? Having borne our sorrows and sins on

the cross, Paul says that Jesus received the

greatest reward that any of us could ever imagine.

God highly exalted him, Paul says, and bestowed

on him the name which is above every name, so

that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is

Lord. Suffering and reward. We have all these

great examples. And Paul says, look, have this

same mindset that Jesus had in both suffering

and reward. Now, as we leave that behind, the

reward part, here's the thing we have to realize.

Yes, Haman is dead. That is true. But the effects

of his sin go on. The effects of that first decree

of annihilation against the Jews, that's still

out there. And this is another great lesson for

us. Even when sin is dealt with, The consequences

of it can go on and on, right? So that brings

us to part two, the request. Let's take a look

at this. If you think all the way back to chapter

one, back when Xerxes first deposed his queen,

Queen Vashti, you might recall that the king's

advisor said this. It said, let a royal edict

be issued and let it be written in the laws of

Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed.

That was an unavoidable truth. The law of the

Persian court, which by the way, just archeologically

has been verified in the modern day digs in Susa

and Persepolis over the last 200 years, they

found these royal edicts buried in the dirt with

signet ring marks on them. This is very historical.

Royal edicts, once sealed by that ring, are set

in stone. They cannot be overturned. We learn

this from the text itself. So that means in spite

of Haman's execution, In spite of Mordecai coming

to power, the Jews are still scheduled to be

annihilated in nine months' time. That's still

out there. And the only way to avert that type

of disaster would be for the king to issue a

second edict that would sort of counteract the

first. But keep in mind, at this point, Xerxes

has acted in love for his queen and for his gratefulness

to Mordecai, but he still hasn't done anything

about the Jews as a whole in the nation of Persia.

So Esther is once again gonna have to come and

approach the king uninvited. We looked at that

months ago, right? To come uninvited by the king

is to risk death. She's gonna have to do this

again to deal with this first edict that Haman

had issued. She's gonna have to beg him to do

something about it. And what we see in verses

three to six is Esther showing again, we've seen

this, right? This trajectory of Esther's wisdom

growing. We see her growing in her boldness and

her trust. but also in cultural wisdom to say

and do the right things at the right times. So

first of all, it says that she falls at the king's

feet in tears and she shows him the honor that

he requires. And once again, he extends that

golden scepter, which says that her request is

being accepted. Now, here's the thing in this

scene, at this request in the court, it's actually

a dicier situation than you might think. I want

you to think about this. Esther is about to ask

the king to override a previous law that he had

given approval to. Right? I know Haman fooled

him, but he's still responsible. What if the

king feels like Esther's request is going to

cause him to lose face in his court? After all,

he did authorize that edict through Haman. He's

responsible. And if he feels offended by Esther's

request that somehow she is questioning his judgment

in that first law, this could backfire spectacularly.

So look, she chooses her words so carefully,

right? And as we saw last Sunday, she uses this

submissive court language to sort of flatter

the king. If it pleases the king, she says in

verse five. If I've found favor before you, she

says. She heaps it on. If the matter seems proper

to the king, she's now going to defer to his

wisdom. But last, she says, if I am pleasing

in your sight, knowing that he loves her and

she is going to plead based on that love that

he has for his queen. If all those things are

true, she says, then revoke those letters devised

by Haman that were sent out to every province

in the kingdom. In common language, do something

about this, king. You got to do something. And

then she pours out her heart for her people.

How can I endure to see my people destroyed,

she says through tears. And the king grants her

request in verse 8. And he gives her and Mordecai

authority to write the second decree and to use

that signet ring. Now, before we go on to the

reversal. I want to point out a couple aspects

of what I see here as gospel foreshadowing in

this section. First of all, there's clearly a

picture of intercession happening here, right?

Right? She is going before the king and interceding

for her people. Now I want you to think about

the parallels here. The Jewish people in Persia

are at risk of death. And they need to be saved.

But they have a problem. They have no standing

before the king. True. They have no opportunity

to plead their case in front of the one man that

can actually do something about it. So being

unable to save themselves, they have no hope

except somebody intercede for them. Someone who

does have standing to enter the throne room of

the king where mercy can be found. Does that

sound familiar? Now, I don't want to carry the

analogy too far. Esther is... not a high priest.

She is not a savior. But the principle here is

very real. None of us are righteous. We cannot

save ourselves. So we are as helpless prior to

knowing Christ as the Jews were in Persia. We

need an intercessor. We don't have a standing

before the king as unbelievers. So we need an

intercessor. We need a high priest who can go

into that throne room, go to God on our behalf.

Otherwise, we perish. But thankfully, we have

God the Son as our mediator, right? One who sits

at the right hand of the Father and who always

lives to intercede for us. Do you see the parallel

here? It's very important. Second thing to see

here. Consider how every sinner born into this

world is corrupted by original sin and how we

all stand guilty before the holiness of God because

of our own personal sin, all of us having fallen

so short of God's glory. And so for every unbeliever,

prior to knowing Christ, every one of us, there

is an edict of guilt hovering over our name that

demands our death. Right? Just as the Jews in

Persia were facing death. Romans 8 .2 actually

gives it a title, the law of sin and death. And

it's only a matter of time before the day comes

when the debt is due. And listen now, it's a

law established by the king of the universe.

It's rooted in his holiness, in his perfectly

righteous standard. That means it cannot be revoked.

The law of sin and death cannot be repealed.

It's rooted in his holiness. In a similar way

to this first law established by Xerxes, it cannot

be wiped away. There's an edict of death that's

coming for every person born into this world.

But, There's a remedy. God himself solved the

problem. And he didn't solve it by compromising

the first decree, which was utterly righteous,

right? The decree for eternal justice. He met

his own righteous standard by laying that debt

upon his own son. Do you see it? He can't cancel

out the old law. It's impossible. But he can

issue a new law that turns condemnation into

mercy and turns death and defeat into life and

victory. So catch this, Jesus is God's new law.

His counter decree, which saves us from the first

one, the law of sin and death. Isn't that fascinating?

It's right, it's literally, the parallels are

right here in this, what looks like just a normal

historical narrative. This gets spelled out so

clearly in Colossians chapter two. Paul writes

this, when you were dead in your transgressions,

And the uncircumcision of your flesh. He, Jesus,

made you alive together with him, having forgiven

us all of our transgressions. Look at this now.

Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting

of decrees against us. Did you doubt that we

had a decree at one time against us? It's right

there. Which was hostile to us, he says. And

he has taken it out of the way, having nailed

it to the cross. Amen. Hallelujah. It's been

nailed to the cross, but that was there. Or as

going back to Romans 8, 2, very simply, it says,

the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus

has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Amen and hallelujah, right? A new law, a new

edict is now in effect for those who believe.

And now we can say, I've been crucified with

Christ. It's no longer I who live. Right? But

Christ lives in me. Man, the gospel right here

in the Old Testament, right? Okay, so now beginning

of verse 9, we come to the great reversal. Let's

take a look at this. So Esther and Mordecai have

now been rewarded. They've been honored by the

king. Esther is now successfully interceded for

her people. And the king, for his part, has told

Esther and Mordecai that you are now in a position

to counteract the wicked deed of Haman by writing

your own. A second law. And so the royal scribes

are called, right? And Mordecai, the new vizier,

drafts a second law addressed to both the Jews

and to the government officials across all 127

provinces of this vast Persian empire. And he

seals this new edict with the king's ring and

he grabs the fastest horses, right? And he sends

out the messengers so that everybody gets this

new message. What does the second edict say to

the Jews and to the Persian officials? Well,

let's look at it. Look at verse 11. This is where

the controversial aspect of this text comes into

play. Verse 11, it says, in them, meaning the

letters that were sent out to the provinces,

the king granted the Jews who are in each and

every city three things. They're on the screen

as a summary. Three things. The right to assemble

and to defend their own lives. Second, to destroy,

kill, and annihilate any army or any people which

might attack them, including children and women

who attack. And third, to plunder their possessions,

to take their possessions on one day, the same

day, right? The 13th day of the 12th month. Now,

next Sunday, when we get into the next chapter,

we'll look at what the Jews did with those permissions.

But for today, I just want you to hear. When

you see that, an echo of the edict that came

from Haman in the first place way back in chapter

three. Look at the language in it. Here it is

again, chapter three. Letters were sent by couriers

to all the king's provinces to destroy, to kill,

and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and

old, women and children, in one day, the 13th

day of the 12th month, and to seize their possessions

as plunder. You hear the echo? This second decree

is written, For the purpose of demonstrating

God's complete reversal. A complete inversion

of the plot that was laid out by Haman, who is

called the enemy of God's people. And keep in

mind, that first law had gone out. It had been

out there for about two months now. So you can

imagine, those who had received it two months

ago, right, they were planning to attack and

plunder the Jews. I'm sure they've been licking

their chops. They're looking at all the assets

that the Jewish people in their city own and

thinking this is going to be easy. This will

be a great day. We're going to grab a whole bunch

of stuff. No problem. Now it's a problem, isn't

it? Why? Because according to the second law

that they just got in their hands, the king is

now squarely behind the Jewish people. And that's

a game changer. This is the eucatastrophe. This

is the good turn. of events for God's people.

Amen? And the reality is, guys, from the very

beginning, things have not been as they would

have seemed in a physical sense. The beginning

of the story, evil was prevailing. Do you see

evil prevailing in our world today? Of course

we do. It was back then as well. God's people

were suffering. They were struggling. They were

facing genocide. But friends, Learn this from

Esther. An unseen reality was actually governing

everything. The sovereign hand of God, the providential

hand of God. Yahweh was keeping his promises

to his covenant people even when things looked

dire. All along he was doing this. He planned

to punish the wicked. He planned to save his

people through the eucatastrophe. Just as he

had done many times before, by the way, did he

not do that with Joseph, who was at one point

in a pit and then is raised to the palace of

Egypt, right? Did he not do this in the Exodus

where God's people were slaves and then they

were taken to a promised land? Did he not do

this with Job, who went from the most severe

amount of suffering you can imagine and then

is completely restored? God has a habit of doing

this. And most importantly, the cross. The cross

from death to resurrection. Talk about a eucatastrophe,

a turn of good events. From death to resurrection.

In fact, Tolkien actually spoke of this. He said,

quote, the resurrection is the greatest eucatastrophe

possible. The event in human history that produces

the most essential human emotion, Christian joy.

Think of Haman for a second representing Satan,

representing death itself. When he was executed,

when death was put to death on the cross, when

the great enemy of our souls was defeated and

the grave's power of us was broken, that all

happened when God the Son rose from the grave

in triumph. The great reversal. The great defeating

of Satan. In the future, guys, whenever you read

the story about Esther and Mordecai and you see

this great reversal, let it remind you of the

greatest reversal of all time. When the Redeemer

of our souls made satisfaction for sin. When

he overcame death and rose in glory for our good.

Amen? You see the gospel in this? Okay, lastly,

we're going to come to rejoicing. Look at the

last three verses. In verses 15 to 17, first

of all, we see the Persian capital city of Susa

come to life, and they celebrate with shouting

and rejoicing. They're not only aware of this

power shift dynamic that's happened, but they

seem to approve of it. Remember, the last time

they saw Mordecai publicly, what was he doing?

He was at the front of the king's gate in sackcloth

and ash, and he was mourning, showing his grief

publicly. And that must have been troubling to

the people of Susa. They couldn't understand

what was going on. And then they hear about this

genocidal order of the Jewish people. And it's

just confusing to them. And now being aware that

it came from Haman, that he's a wicked man, to

see him die, to see Mordecai being promoted to

that same position, this is a sign of relief

for the people of Susa. And they are excited

about it. They are celebrating with rejoicing.

And then it says they see Mordecai then dressed

in royal robes. He's got a golden crown on his

head, which means that had to be given to him

by King Xerxes himself. And they realize that,

wow, the king is now 100 % behind Mordecai and

the Jewish people, and they're very popular Queen

Esther. This is the total reversal, right? But

then verse 16, it gives us some really key words.

It says, for the Jews, there was light and gladness

and joy and honor across every province of the

Persian kingdom. And I know, because I know that

this text was written under the inspiration of

the Holy Spirit, that those four words were chosen

carefully. You have the word light, orah, representing

God's presence and salvation. You have gladness,

simcha, representing community celebration. You

have joy, shashon, a word that carries messianic

overtones. And you have honor, yachar, symbolizing

the dignity and worth of God's people. And all

of these words taken together, sort of compressed

into this one sentence, reflects this stunning

turn of events. The Jews who were once this vulnerable

minority in the kingdom of Persia are now being

recognized with royal dignity. What a turnaround.

What a eucatastrophe this is. Now, let me point

out another interesting foreshadowing of the

gospel here. Notice that the gladness and joy

of the Jews came long before the actual day that

was appointed for them to defend themselves.

That is still nine months off. But because of

the king's decree in their favor, they celebrate

in the present. Why? Because when the king is

in favor of you, you're assured of victory. Ah.

The gospel, right? What does it remind you of?

In a similar way, Christ followers who've been

saved by the king's decree, we can celebrate

in the present. Even though the fullness of our

salvation is still in the future, we rejoice

in the present. We can rejoice now because of

the confidence that we have in our king, the

confidence we have in his edict in our favor.

See, the moment Haman was exposed and defeated,

the moment he was hung on his own stake, the

people of God had already been rescued in principle.

All that remained was for that redemption to

be lived out in practice. The death of death

at the cross. This confidence is what Paul described

in Romans 8. We read it as part of our call to

worship. Look how certain this is. Those whom

God predestined, he also called. And those whom

he called, he also justified. Those he justified,

he also glorified. All of those terms are written

in the aorist tense, meaning they are completed

actions, completed by the power of God. We have

been predestined, called, justified. We are already

glorified. It's certain. Absolutely certain.

And it's been sealed for us by the gift of the

Holy Spirit within us as a promise of what's

to come. All of that is done. And if the Jews

living in Persia in 5th century BC could rejoice

at an earthly promise of a military victory from

just a political king, it's worth asking the

question of us, who've been given so much more,

an eternal spiritual victory from the king of

the universe, the question should be asked, do

we live with the same sense of confidence and

celebration as Christians today? Should we? Are

our daily lives filled with light, gladness,

joy, and honor? Are we living with a deep sense

of awareness of the glory that awaits us? And

if not, why not? If not, why not? What enemy

has caused us not to celebrate in this way? Last

verse, verse 17. Many among the peoples of the

land became Jews for the dread of the Jews had

fallen on them. Now this, we could do a whole

sermon on this because there's all kinds of opinions

about what this actually means. And the opinions

range from extremes, from, oh, this is true conversion

to, no, this is just a pragmatic choice for the

sake of survival. And the truth is probably mixed

in between. As the verse seems to indicate, it's

true. Many Persians would have been terrified.

by this turn of events. There's the body of Haman

sitting on the stake, and now Mordecai's in that

seat, meaning the king is behind the Jews, and

for them, this was terrifying. And so they made

a political calculation. They tested the political

winds and said, I want to be Jewish. Is it true

conversion? No. It's a political calculation.

But other Persians witnessing this turnaround,

we're more than likely persuaded to come under

the umbrella of the God of the Jews because this

is a God that clearly protects his people. As

I shared last Sunday, there was in Persia this

well -known history about how their beloved King

Cyrus had blessed the Jewish people and sent

them back to their land. They understand who

Yahweh is to some extent, so I have no doubt

that some Persians recognize the true power of

Yahweh in that day, and they did decide. that

he was worth worshiping and trusting in. And

by the way, it's a documented fact that since

the days of the exile, there has always been

a continuous community of Jewish believers in

Persia. However small it might be, in Iran today,

ironic in what's going on in Iran right now,

correct? There is still a Persian, or it's still

a Jewish population there, although they've suffered

greatly under the hands of Muslim rulers. They

still exist even today. God has sustained them.

Okay, let's wrap up with a few closing thoughts.

I'm gonna surprise you with one of them. That's

called a teaser. I love this part of the story.

I've been looking forward to chapter eight for

so long. And again, I'm convinced that the language

of eucatastrophe was given to us here to show

us the beauty of the gospel that we have in Christ

Jesus. to remind us of the law of sin and death,

how it's been decisively defeated by the cross

and by the empty tomb, and that a great reward

awaits us if we refuse to grow weary in the days

that we're given on the earth. It's all wrapped

up here. Our God is in the business of reversing

wickedness for the sake of his people. Amen?

So we gotta be patient, and we gotta suffer well.

And when various trials come into our lives,

we want to learn from them because God's shaping

our character. And we want to make sure that

we're growing in our trust of his sovereignty

and his goodness. Because as we read in the call

to worship, if God is for us, who can be against

us, right? Right? Just tape that verse to your

mirror and look at it every morning. If God be

for us, who can be against us? In the meantime,

and this is the surprising part. Don't neglect

to see that there's an important part of the

reversal in this story, something we don't always

talk about, and that is plundering the house

of our enemy. Plundering the house of our enemy.

What do I mean by that? I'm going to close with

this thought. Again, we live in crazy times right

now, right? I've shared this before. The battle

for truth and civilization is literally on our

doorstep right now. Are we just going to play

defense? Are we going to go on offense and plunder

the house of the enemy? Once again, think of

Haman representing Satan. See him as a man who

embodies satanic opposition to the people of

God. In this book, the king delivers him over

to destruction. And then all that remains is

for his house to be plundered. All of his possessions

to be given to the people of God. And that's

where we find ourselves in history today. Christ

has won the war in principle. Satan was defeated.

Death was overcome. And what remains now is for

us as Christ followers to live out that truth

in practice, plundering the house of Satan and

the kingdom of darkness. Who's up? Who's up for

it? Who will ride into that battle with me? Now,

I don't want you to think wrongly about what

I'm talking about. I'll describe what I'm talking

about in just a second. But sometimes I hear

Christians speak as if the battle hasn't been

won. That somehow we're getting pushed around.

We're on the defensive. We need to shy away from

hard conversations because we might lose to Satan.

I hear that defeatist language a lot. That is

not the case. The victory is won. We've got to

get that through our heads. And now every day

we have opportunities to advance the kingdom

of God in personal ways. And slowly but surely,

moment by moment, day by day, we take ground

from the enemy. Remember, the gates of hell cannot

prevail against the church. Gates are defensive.

We're charging those gates. Are we? Are we charging

them personally? By the way, Satan hates to hear

this preached because he wants you deluded. He

wants you weak. He wants you to feel defeated.

But you're not as a Christ follower. Every time

you repent of sin, you plunder his house. Did

you know that? Every time you repent of sin and

you get up and you walk in the light again, you're

plundering the house of the enemy. Every time

you come to the throne of grace and you pray,

you're plundering his house. Every time you share

the gospel with somebody, the word goes out,

truth goes out, you are plundering the kingdom

of darkness. Every time you love your spouse,

Every time you put the needs of others before

your own and you serve them, every time you teach

your children by word and example what it means

to walk with Christ, you are plundering the house

of the enemy. Let me remind you of how we fight

from 2 Corinthians 10. For though we walk in

the flesh, we don't war according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare, by the way, this

assumes that you're fighting. This assumes that

you have the weapons of warfare. They're not

of the flesh, but they're divinely powerful for

the destruction of fortresses. We're destroying

speculations and every lofty thing raised up

against the knowledge of God, and we're taking

every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

This is a description of how the believer goes

on offense. We destroy fortresses that are set

up by the enemy. We tear down his lies. We destroy

falsehoods with truth. we take ground from Satan

and we plunder his house. We practice what we

know is true, remembering who we are, children

of God, who overwhelmingly conquer through him

because of his unbreakable love for us. We are

overwhelmingly conquering, are we not? This is

what we do every Sunday when we gather together

with one spirit in unity in the name of the Lord

Jesus Christ. we go on offense and we celebrate

his victory with rejoicing. This is what we do

and together we come and we start as Adam led

us this morning, when together we confess our

sins, first of all, and we repent of those things.

Then when we join our hearts together in prayer,

when we lift our voices in worship, when we do

what we're doing right now, listening to the

proclamation of biblical truth as the Holy Spirit

teaches us, we're plundering the house of the

enemy. Whether you realize it or not, right now

we are feasting together on God's word and we

are celebrating King Jesus over the smoking ruins

of Satan's defeated kingdom. How many of us think

that way? We're walking out in practice what's

been done in principle. And so friends, realize

that Sunday worship is no mundane thing. Realize

that every daily choice that you make as you

abide in Christ and walk with him, it is not

insignificant. Quite the contrary, all of it

has cosmic significance in the hands of a God

who's in the business of reversing things. Do

you believe it? That's the question. And if you

believe it, live it. Amen? Let's pray about that.

Lord, thank you for hearing our prayers this

morning. Thank you for being in our presence.

Thank you that we get a chance to glorify you

in our hearts and minds as one people, that we

get to plunder the house of the enemy as we confess

our sins and just reiterate our trust in you

and the blood shed on the cross, how it cleanses

us from all unrighteousness. As we do that, Lord,

the enemy shakes. And we sing praises to you

and we love each other in fellowship and all

of it, God, is such an incredible opportunity

that we've been given. Father, I pray that we

will continue to see the beauty of the gospel

in this chapter in the book of Esther, that your

spirit would continue to show us these things.

and seal these truths in our hearts and convict

us and encourage us all the things that the Spirit

does. And God, that we would step into the world

this afternoon realizing that the victory's been

won, that we don't have to shy away from it.

We can step into it and have conversations and

we can step into it, Lord, and proclaim your

goodness with confidence. Thank you that you've

given us the victory. Thank you that death for

us has been put to death. And so now we overwhelmingly

conquer. Lord, seal these truths in our hearts.

Strengthen us, God, to walk with confidence and

strength this week. Thank you, Lord Jesus. We

love you. We praise you in your precious name.

Amen.