Casting the Lot | Esther 3:7-15

In recent weeks, we have been introduced to a

man named Haman. In English, we call him Haman,

the chief vizier and the right -hand man of the

Persian king Xerxes. And yes, you did a great

job last week booing him. Go ahead, get it out

of your system. OK, good. It's like Pavlov's

dogs, right? You see an image, you boo. That's

good. We've just scratched the surface of analyzing

Haman's character and his intent toward the Jewish

people. But today we're going to go all the way

down that very dark and evil path. Before we

do, I want you to try to imagine a scenario in

our day, today, where we live. Imagine that the

governor of California persuaded the president

of the United States that... No, there's no picture

of Gavin. Sorry. Again, we're going to boo, I

know, right? I mean, he's not my favorite guy,

but he's no Haman, right? Okay. But imagine the

governor persuaded the president that Bible -believing

Christians had become a dangerous, subversive

group of people who were detrimental to the future

of America. And imagine if that president issued

an executive order Giving all the believers around

us express permission to hunt us down and round

us up for execution. And then permission to confiscate

all of our property and all of our assets. And

as you consider that nightmare scenario, don't

just think about your own life. Think about your

mom and dad being targets for this. Think about

your children being snatched from the streets,

kidnapped. Think about your closest friends,

your fellow church members, either having to

go into hiding or running for their lives. How

would you feel? How would you live in the midst

of all that? What would you do? Now, I know that

sounds a little far -fetched for us because we're

Americans, right? It just seems impossible that

that could ever happen in our country. So let

me give you another scenario that might be more

realistic. Imagine you had to go overseas for

a job. And you found yourself moving to a kind

of unstable, potentially dangerous land, say

a Muslim country, where Westerners are looked

at with suspicion and where the gospel of Christ

isn't allowed, isn't allowed by law to be publicly

spoken of. Imagine that you lived in that country

and you decided for your own security, for the

safety of your family, that you were not going

to promote your identity or speak publicly about

your faith. But at every turn, you find yourself

being harassed by the majority population, by

the governing authorities. You can never really

relax in the land that you live in. You're always

wondering if that harassment might turn into

threats of actual physical violence. You think

about a late -night knock on the door, or worse,

a mob forming outside your home. The question

is, how would you function in that kind of environment?

If you're able to truly consider one of those

scenarios, then perhaps you can slip on the ancient

sandals of Esther and Mordecai or any Jew who

was living in the Persian Empire in the 5th century

BC. See, walking in the footsteps of an ethnic

and religious minority in a country where there's

no limits on the king and his government is a

foreign idea to us. We can't even fathom what

that feels like because we're so blessed to live

in America in the 21st century. But imagine living

in that type of place. So it's easy for us to

read the book of Esther, read it on a flat page,

and then really not be able to grasp the threat

of terror that they faced under the reign of

Xerxes. But if you're able to get outside of

yourself as an American, if you're able to put

on those sandals and walk in their shoes, you

may be able to see why this story in the book

of Esther is such an important story to the Jewish

people, even today. And the reason I wanted us

to read from Psalm 31 together is because we're

headed down that road today, and I want you to

listen again to the words of David from that

psalm. He says, Yahweh, you are my strength.

Into your hands I commit my spirit. My times

are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of

my enemies and from those who persecute me. Save

me in your loving kindness and let the wicked

be put to shame. Let the wicked be silent and

chill. So grab your Bibles if you haven't already.

Let's go to Esther chapter 3. I want you to look

Esther 3 · chapter mention

for verse 5. That's where we're going to start

this morning. Last Sunday, we took a deep dive,

if you were with us, and I know some of you students

are back for the first Sunday. That's great,

but you might need to catch up a little bit.

We took a deep dive into the reason or reasons

why Mordecai would not bow before Haman. And

we asked the question, was he just being prideful?

Was that the issue? Was it an issue of crossing

the line into worship, a line that was asking

too much of Mordecai as a Jew to bow down before

this man? Or was the ancient hostility with the

Amalekites behind all of it? And while all those,

I think, are logical possibilities, all we can

know for sure is what the text actually told

us in verse 4, that Mordecai would not bow down

because he was a Jew. Whatever that entails,

it becomes the pivotal moment in this story in

the book of Esther. So we pick up in verse 5.

So from this point forward now, we're going to

get this character profile of this man Haman

and what drives his thoughts and what drives

his actions. And we see here in verse 5, he has

a massive ego, doesn't he? Who else goes into

a rage when he finds out just one man out of

hundreds of palace officials, just one man will

not bow down to him? And what this tells us is

that Haman lives to be exalted by others. He's

the kind of man who's always seeking after status

and position in the eyes of other people. In

fact, he enjoys life the most when people are

bowing and scraping before him. And that kind

of power over other people who have to bow before

you is like a drug. And he can't get enough of

it. But he's touchy, isn't he? Right? Very touchy.

The Hebrew word there for rage is chema. And

it's the word that's often used to describe a

person's wrath, a person's fury. Sometimes the

word is brought together to describe burning

anger. And get this, once in Psalm 58 and twice

in Deuteronomy 32, that word is translated venom.

The venom of serpents. So there's a poisonous

rage that lives within Haman. There's no question

there's a connection there with our ancient spiritual

enemy, right? There's a poisonous rage inside

of him, and he embodies the worst of two character

traits. On one hand, narcissism, and on the other,

insecurity. And that's a deadly combination.

His narcissism demands approval and veneration

from all the people below him on the pecking

order, and his insecurity causes him to be deeply

wounded when he doesn't receive all the applause

and veneration that he thinks he deserves, that

he thinks he's entitled to. But here's what really

makes him dangerous. While other people might

struggle with those two things a little bit,

when stuff happens, they can laugh, they can

brush it off, but not Haman. He plots revenge.

This is what makes him truly lethal. And that's

the thing about narcissistic vengeance. Over

time, empathy begins to disappear, empathy for

other people, and it's replaced with cruelty.

And there's no end to what the human being can

do to other human beings when this happens. We've

seen it all throughout human history. And this

is what we see in verse 6. It says, to lay hands

on Mordecai alone. And that translation in the

NAS reads kind of strange. The NET puts it this

way. The thought of striking out against Mordecai

alone was repugnant to him. Basically what it

means in the Hebrew is this. He despised the

idea of taking out just Mordecai. That's too

small of a goal. Haman wants much more than just

Mordecai's scalp. He wants everybody's. And the

question is why? Well, we're told in the next

phrase. For they, the other palace officials,

had told Haman who the people of Mordecai were.

Hey, boss, did you know that that guy who won't

bow down to you, guess what he is? He's a Jew.

And you can picture Haman's face when he learns

that this one rebellious man who he cannot tame,

one of his palace servants, belongs to that ancient

tribe, the Jews. The rage that comes across his

face. Therefore, the text says, Haman sought

to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai,

who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

We talked about it in the last two weeks. Probably

three quarters of a million Jews living in the

Persian Empire at this time. It's a pretty over

-the -top reaction, isn't it? Slightly. A personal

insult from one lone Jewish man. That is hardly

a justifiable reason to exterminate a race of

people. There's something going on. This can't

just be an issue of workplace insubordination.

There's more than that going on here. It's true

Haman is insecure, but come on, that alone cannot

explain this kind of reaction. I'm still convinced

that at the root of this is that ancient feud

we talked about several weeks ago, the spirit

of Amalek, rooted in the conflict that goes back

to Jacob and Esau. In the cowardly attack on

the Israelites leaving Egypt through King Agag,

through the prophet Samuel. It's the renewal

of this ancient spiritual battle between the

kingdoms of the world and the kingdom of God.

Jacob I love, but Esau I hated, the Lord says.

And I will be at war with Amalek from generation

to generation, God said in Exodus 17. It's the

spirit of genocide against the Jewish people

that seems to raise its ugly head. In age after

age, generation after generation, it keeps coming

back. And we're seeing more of it even today.

And so getting permission from the king just

to execute Mordecai is just not going to satisfy

Haman. It's not going to satisfy his wrath. And

in his mind, look, an opportunity has now come

my way, and I'm not going to waste it. This is

an opportunity for vengeance against an old enemy.

Haman is Amalek, and Amalek is defined as irrational

hatred and existential evil. And the fact that

such a man can come to power within the Persian

Empire is exactly what makes living in the diaspora

so dangerous for the Jewish people. You have

to see this. This is why I gave you the example

of you having to live in a Muslim country and

always feeling the sense of that threat. I'm

fine today, but I have no idea what's coming

tomorrow. It could all turn on me. And that's

what it feels like to be a part of the diaspora.

You have these unstable, unpredictable rulers

who surround themselves with sycophants like

Haman, and they will do anything, go to any extreme,

in order to grab power. There's a good reason

why editorials and newspaper articles from the

period of the Nuremberg trials after World War

II, they called the Nazis the son of Haman. Okay.

Was that ominous enough to start? I want to bypass

verse 7 for now. We'll come back to it. But for

now, I want you to drop down to verse 8 because

we need to look at this accusation that Haman

has against the Jewish people. And friends, this

is the verse that should send shivers down your

spine, especially in the atmosphere we live in

today. The world is right now turning against

Israel, turning against Jewish people all around

the planet. So this ought to be disconcerting.

Look at verse 8. Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus,

there is a certain people. There is a certain

people scattered and dispersed among the peoples

and all the provinces of your kingdom. Their

laws are different, different from those of all

the other people, and they do not observe the

king's laws. And then underline this last phrase.

So it is not. in the king's interest to let them

remain. Now, catch the serpent -like cleverness

of Haman here. He carefully cloaks his words

so as to not set off any alarm bells in the king's

mind. Notice he completely avoids mentioning

which people he's talking about. He doesn't mention

them by name. No mention of the Jews. And by

the way, we know from history, that the Jews

had a productive and positive relationship with

the Persian kings, right? Going back to Cyrus

the Great and Xerxes' own father, Darius. So

Haman knows, I'm not going to mention them by

name, lest the king be sympathetic towards them.

And then he uses a mixture of truth and exaggeration

and lies to describe this people group. And I'll

give you a list of these things. First of all,

he says they're scattered and dispersed among

the peoples in all your provinces, and that is

true. They were scattered all over the Persian

Empire. Second, their laws are different from

those of all other people, and that's an exaggeration.

It's true, the Jews had the Torah, and they had

to live by that, and there are certain religious

ceremonies that go with that, but still, as an

ancient Semitic people, they shared a number

of cultural ways and values with all the people

groups that lived in Persia, so they didn't stick

out that much. But then comes the lie. And this

is the one that hurts. They do not observe the

king's law. That is a lie. But Haman is clever,

right? He knows that that is the accusation that

is going to grab the king's attention. Because

listen, you can say, look, oh, king, there's

a certain kind of people. Everybody thinks they're

a little bit odd because they do things a little

differently or they stick out a little bit or

they keep to themselves. They have their unique

customs. You can say that about a people group

and the king will go, eh. Okay, so they're a

little bit different. But this one, now we're

in a whole different situation. There are rebellious

people who will not obey your laws. That gets

the king's attention because now we find, oh,

they're a dangerous people. They're a rebellious

people, a threat to the security of your empire.

And do you remember how the logic went with Vashti's

rebellion? Back in chapter one, oh, not only

is she rebelling, but she could cause every wife

in the kingdom to rebel against their husbands.

So the idea here is, well, there's this people

group. They won't obey your laws. What if they

lead other people groups in your empire to stop

obeying your laws? King Xerxes, these people,

they're not good for you and they're not good

for the kingdom. They've got to be dealt with.

The best English translations put it one of these

three ways. It is not to the king's profit to

tolerate them. It is not in the king's best interest

to tolerate them. It is not appropriate for the

king to allow them to remain. And you've got

to dig a little bit deeper, but these are ominous

statements. You can't tolerate these people.

What are we going to do with them then? They

can't remain. Well, where do we send them? Think

about this. It's not unlike what we see happening

around college campuses and at pro -Palestinian

protests these days where you hear these chants,

Intifada, Intifada. From the river to the sea,

Palestine will be free. Friends, those are violent

physical threats against Israelis. What they

mean is every inch of the land belongs only to

the Palestinian people. No Jews should be tolerated.

They are not to be allowed to remain. And then

you ask the question, well, okay, but how do

we get rid of seven and a half million Jews who

live in Israel? And that's when the smirk comes

across their face. And they say, well, if they

won't leave, we'll slaughter them. That's the

reality. If they won't leave, we will slaughter

them. And the implication here in Esther has

that same spirit. The Jews cannot be tolerated.

They cannot be allowed to remain, and Haman is

about to now present his plan to fix that problem.

So that's the accusation. Let's go back up to

verse 7 now, and we'll talk about the casting

of the lots. Look at verse 7. In the first month,

which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year

of King Ahasuerus, Pur, that is the lot, was

cast before Haman from day to day. And for month

to month until the 12th month, that is the month

Adar. Okay, notice that according to this verse,

first of all, there's been an advance in the

historical timeline of what's going on. You see

there it says in the 12th year of Xerxes reign.

What does that mean for us? Timeline, of course,

yes. Of course it means a time. We're required

by some kind of Oak Hill law to look at a timeline

when we see this in scripture. So let me remind

you of the dates here. 486. is the year of Darius

the Great's death. Xerxes becomes king. Three

years later, in 483 BC, that's when the Book

of Esther opens, and we read about that series

of banquets being held in the city of Susa, including

the banquet where Queen Vashti rebels against

the king, and she is basically deposed from her

throne. In 480, remember, Xerxes leads his army

to invade Greece. but fails in his attempt to

subdue the city -states of Athens and Sparta.

And then in 479, a year later, he returns home

to Susa, and he begins to search for Vashti's

replacement, which of course leads to Esther

being chosen. That's in 479. So we're told in

chapter 2 that that took place in the seventh

year of Xerxes' reign. And then sometime after

that, we're not told how much. That's when Haman

is promoted to this... position of chief vizier,

and Mordecai refuses to bow down. And now we've

moved forward a few more years. Now we're in

Xerxes' 12th year, which would be the year 474

BC. Everybody caught up to speed? Good. So this

is the moment now in 474 when Haman decides to

finally deal with the problem of Mordecai and

the Jews. In the month of Nisan, which is month

number one on the Hebrew calendar, we'll look

at that in just a second. Haman had his magicians

cast the lots before him to see if fate or his

pagan gods would determine the best time possible

to exterminate the Jewish people. So he gathered

all of his sorcerers, his magi, all of them,

cast lots, and they interpreted the lots and

said what? We had the perfect date. Now, in the

ancient world, these lots, about the only picture

I could find, These lots would have been small

objects made of wood or stone, similar to like

dice that we would throw today. By the way, interesting,

just because you know I'm a history nerd, interesting

historical connection here. Two Greek historians,

very famous, Herodotus and Xenophon, both talk

about Persian customs of casting lots at the

highest level of government in order to determine

what a lucky day might be for something to take

place. So this is historically accurate. And

in the case of Haman, the lots are cast before

him, and it falls on the last month of the Hebrew

calendar, the month of Adar, specifically the

13th day of Adar. And that day became the day

that Haman planned his vengeance. Now, catch

this. This is the key to understanding how God's

sovereign hand is behind all of this. The 13th

of Adar is way down the Hebrew calendar. In fact,

let's look at this. It's almost a full year away.

A full year. So here are the 12 months of the

Hebrew calendar. The first month being Nisan,

the last being Adar. What does that mean? That's

going to provide the Jews with more than 11 months

of time, ample time to prepare for what's coming.

Thank you, Lord, right? What if it showed up

30 days later? But God is overseeing the lots.

They can defend themselves. They can begin to

pray and hope that Yahweh might reverse the king's

decree. But in Haman's pagan mind, the lots have

been cast. That's the lucky day. And he must

have felt confident because fate is with him.

His gods are with him. So he's willing to wait.

But as we know, this is not fate. This is not

the work of false gods. Yahweh is in control

of all of this. Listen, God declares this in

his word. Look. Psalm, or Proverbs 16, 9, the

mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs

his steps. Proverbs 19, 21, many plans are in

a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord will

stand. And my favorite, Psalm 37, verses 12 and

Psalms 37:12

13, the wicked plots against the righteous and

gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs

at him, for he sees his day is coming. How perfect

is that for Haman? I love the way Spurgeon describes

this. Spurgeon just has a way with words. He

preached a sermon back in 1874. This is what

he said. But oh, in that secret council chamber

where sit the sorcerers and the man who asks

counsel at the hands of the infernal powers,

the Lord himself is present, frustrating the

tokens of the liars and making diviners mad.

I could never write that. But that is fantastic.

So that's what's going on. That's what's happening

as these lots are cast. Now, I thought I would

take a moment now, and this is the perfect time

to talk about the Jewish holiday of Purim, right?

Because what we just read is its starting point.

Now, I'm going to say it's Purim. I know we always

say Purim, right? How many of you guys just say

Purim? I know, and it frustrates Hebrew speakers.

But it comes from the word Pur, like in verse

7. By the way, that word is probably, linguists

have looked at it, it's probably a carryover

from ancient Akkadian, a really ancient word

that would have been spoken by the Assyrians

and the Babylonians and then brought into the

Jewish vernacular. In Hebrew, it's translated

as lot. And whenever you see a masculine plural

in the Hebrew language, you see the suffix on

the end, I am. The letters I am on the end of

the word. So if you have kohen, which is the

word for priest, it becomes kohenim. Or melech,

which is the word for king, it becomes melechim.

And with per, it becomes not perim. It becomes

perim, right. Okay, anyway, just so that you

understand that. Now, earlier this week, I reached

out to our resident expert in Orthodox Judaism,

Yael. And thank you, Yael, for being willing

to be embarrassed on so many Sundays in this

series. But again, Yael grew up in an Orthodox

Jewish home. So this is very, very powerful and

very real in her childhood. And I asked her,

I said, can you share with me some of your recollections

of Purim and what that meant to your family?

And you could tell by her response how much she

enjoys this holiday, even today. And why not?

It's filled with costumes and food and sweets

and songs. And of course, the traditional reading

of the book of Esther. Yael told me that because

of the unique history of the Jewish people, they

absolutely love to celebrate holidays where it's

clear Yahweh came to the rescue of the Jewish

people and saved them. So primarily Passover

and Hanukkah and Purim. And while Purim falls

on the 14th day of Adar, the celebration, she

said, begins on the first day of the month. So

they have two weeks to get ready. And there's

a saying that gets sung in Hebrew that in English

translates to, when the month of Adar arrives,

we increase in joy. And I love that. Sort of

like our Advent. We count down to the birth of

Christ and we increase in joy as we go along.

Well, that's true about Purim. We get excited

to study this story. And it's a common tune that

everybody in the community knows in Jewish schools.

They will dress up in costumes and go from classroom

to classroom, and they will sing this song with

great joy. Yael told me that the book of Esther

is studied in school, in Jewish schools leading

up to Purim, and it's taught that God is hidden

in the story but always working sovereignly behind

the scenes. Now, the Sabbath day that lands before

Purim is called the Sabbath of Remembrance. And

on that day, the passage from Deuteronomy 25

that we read together several weeks ago is read

and declared. Do you remember? It says, remember

what Amalek did to you when you came out from

Egypt. And the reminder to blot out the memory

of Amalek from under heaven on the Shabbat of

remembrance. And so both of those days, that

Shabbat and Purim, are to emphasize the principle

of Zachar, the Hebrew word for remember. Remember.

focusing on the resilience of the Jewish people.

So on Purim, you have this combination of this

collective joy of God's deliverance, but also

with a reminder to remember the historic and

ongoing threats that the Jewish people face.

The day of Purim is a fast day. It starts at

dawn and continues until the scroll of Esther

is read in the evening, the Megillah, it's called.

And as you probably know by now, whenever Haman's

name comes up in the story, the audience does

what? Very good. And they spin their groggers.

See that little thing in the front? It spins

around, and it's the Yiddish word for noisemaker.

And they spin that, and they boo every time Haman's

name comes up, which sounds really fun. After

the Megillah is read, it's customary to celebrate.

Families get together for a meal. They share

treats together. And then the next morning is

still Purim because it goes from sundown in the

evening until sundown the next day. So the Megillah

is read again in the morning at synagogues. That's

important. Twice the book of Esther is read.

And then it's customary in the morning to give

friends and family food and treats. Families

will oftentimes hop in the car and drive around

the community and drop off baskets of food on

the doorsteps of others. And one of the great

treats, and you see the picture of it right there

on the plate, and Yael will correct my pronunciation,

hamantashan? Hamantashan. Oh, hamantashan. There

you go. Or aznehaman? There it is. Very good.

And that translates to the ears of Haman. Did

he have triangular ears? I don't know. But it's

the ears of Haman, right? Okay, good. And Yael

says that she still bakes these with her boys

every year, which is really sweet. So if you

want something to do, it's in March, right? Yeah,

mid -March. Ears of Haman. So Purim is a beloved

holiday. It's also a day of remembrance. It brings

about reflection for the Jewish people, because

here's the thing. The accusation that Haman makes

in verse 8, again, is repeated so many times

in human history. So it's a celebration of resilience

and strength, and most of all, a celebration

of the hope that in the end, Yahweh will have

the victory over his enemies. Amen? Amen. Okay,

let's go back to our text. Verse 9. I thought

that would be a lighthearted break in the midst

of a difficult passage. Thank you, Yael. Haman

has just made the accusation. It's not in the

king's interest to let them remain. Therefore,

verse nine, if it's pleasing to the king, let

it be decreed that they what? Be destroyed. So

catch that now. This is subtle, but when people

tell you who they are, believe them, goes the

saying. When you see things on your TV screen

and people are chanting code, believe them. Because

it's easy to go from they can't be tolerated

to what? They must be destroyed. That happens

in a split second. This is human nature and human

history, is it not? The wickedness of man. When

hatred grows in the heart and the enemy gets

in there and there's this poisonous. The Hebrew

verb there for destroyed, avad, is the same word

used to describe what happened to the Egyptian

army at the Red Sea. Let them perish. Let them

be utterly destroyed. And again, remember, Haman

still hasn't mentioned which people he's talking

about. And before the king can think too much

about it, look what he does. He sweetens the

deal with a financial incentive. How clever and

wicked is this? Let it be decreed that they be

destroyed, and I will pay 10 ,000 talents of

silver into the hands of those who carry on the

king's business to put into the king's treasuries.

So, King Xerxes, trust my judgment on this. Not

only will you be rid of this rebellious people,

but we will prosper the empire financially. And

here's where history matters. Remember, Xerxes

had just gone to Greece with an army of some

300 ,000 people. Do you think that might have

drained the coffers of the empire? Absolutely.

And with no glory or victory to show for it,

he's wasted that money. And so now here's Haman

going, hey, I got a way to replenish your treasury.

It's a win -win for the king. And who cares?

Okay, some people have to die for it, but at

least we'll replenish. The treasury. Can you

imagine that kind of wickedness to say, don't

even tell me who it is. If it's going to fill

the coffers back up, let's go. How's Haman going

to pull this off? Well, scholars speculate he'd

already gone out, calculated the number of Jews

in the empire, and calculated the amount of plunder

he could confiscate from them after they're dead.

That's his plan. It's going to fund the operation.

It's a self -funding operation. Verse 10 says,

What a cruel and wicked man. Not just Haman,

but Xerxes. What a cruel and wicked man. Now,

we shouldn't be surprised based on what we know

about the ancient Near East kings of this period,

but wow. He's not even going to ask any more

questions about who. There's no inquiry into

the matter. There's no hearing that is offered

to people to come to defend themselves. He just

says, here's my ring. Even with Vashti's rebellion,

he turned to his princes and nobles and said,

hey, can I get some wise counsel here? He doesn't

do this here. Guys, this is spiritual wickedness.

This is the enemy at work. Through these men.

There's no other way to explain this. Here's

my ring. Do as you wish. And oh, how Haman must

have been celebrating, right? Can you picture

the smirk on his face? I've done it. I've done

it for my people. And he knew what to do. How

to wield the king's authority. Verse 12. Then

the king's scribes were summoned. On the 13th

day of the first month, and it was written just

as Haman commanded to the king's satraps, to

the governors who were over each province, and

to the princes of each people, each province

according to its script, each people according

to its language, being written in the name of

King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet

ring. 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. In one day. Can you imagine the mass

slaughter that's being planned here? The 13th

day of the 12th month, which is the month of

Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder.

A copy of the edict to be issued as law in every

province was published to all the peoples so

that they should be ready for this day. Now it's

official, approved by the king, translated and

spread far and wide so that every person out

there, every non -Jew in the empire knows exactly

what to do when this day arrives. Take a deep

breath and imagine. What this edict is saying,

11 months from today, folks, millions of citizens

of the Persian kingdom are hereby given a license

from the king, like bounty hunters, to go out

and to kill every Jewish man, woman, and child,

and to take their stuff. And imagine how this

would have appealed. Say you've got people in

your kingdom that already are prone to violence.

Right? Or prone to greed. Appealing to the basest

instincts of people. Imagine people are out there

going, I have a beef with my Jewish neighbor.

Oh, nice. I can take his stuff. I have permission

to kill him. You can imagine how many men started

sharpening their knives and making plans to grab

hold of everything they possibly could. And understand,

friends, how the wickedness of the heart of man

never changes. and how wickedness becomes cyclical.

Guys, the Nazis used this exact tactic in 1938.

Hitler issued the decree, this is the title of

it, the Decree for the Reporting of Jewish -Owned

Property, which required Jews to register all

of their assets and all of their property so

that, as the Nazis knew in the near future, all

those assets, once they were exterminated, could

be transferred to non -Jews and to the state.

And in order to enforce that decree, you know

what Hitler did? He incentivized the populace

to spy on the Jews and to report on the Jews,

to talk about all their movements and all what

they owned so the state would have a good handle

on what they could take. You guys, this is only

80 years ago. We look at the story of Esther,

we say, oh, that's so ancient. That could never

happen. It's only 80 years ago, right? And we're

already forgetting. And remember, we said never

again will this happen. And yet, the world is

already forgotten. Verse 15. The couriers went

out, impelled by the king's command, while the

decree was issued at the citadel in Susa. Now

listen to this. And while the king and Haman

sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in confusion.

What a portrait of evil this is, right? The king

is confident that he's taken a wise step, no

matter the cost, that this is in his best interest.

In fact, he's grateful to Haman that Haman brought

this to his attention. So much so that he says,

hey, dude, let's grab some drinks and let's celebrate

what we've done. The level of wickedness is beyond

what you can imagine. Xerxes is the archetype

of all the tyrants in history who have completely

disregarded all of the human misery and suffering

that they have inflicted on their own people

sometimes. Able to sleep at night, able to go

about their daily activities, even sitting down

to drink as if nothing was happening. This is

Stalin -esque. This is Hitler -esque. As if their

own subjects were living in confusion and fear

that they themselves have created. It's stunning,

isn't it? So, what do we say here? We're going

to stop there for today, but how do we wrap this

up? There's a lot of talk about genocide these

days in the news and in the streets about the

war in Gaza. And that word is thrown around so

casually now by people who either, A, don't know

what it actually means and don't know what it

actually would look like, or B, they're just

using political talking points in order to sway

public opinion and try to win foolish arguments.

If you really think what's happening in Gaza

is a genocide, come talk to me after the service.

And we can talk about what genocide really is

because Esther 3, this is what an actual genocide

would look like. And that's not happening in

Israel. What's happening in Israel is a war,

but I'll save that for another day. And yet as

terrifying as it must have been for every Jew

living in Persia at that time, remember Psalm

37 remains true in that moment, the wicked plots,

and yet the Lord laughs. Haman's magi cast the

lots, but God determined the outcome, didn't

he? Haman thought he was so clever, but Yahweh's

counter moves had been decreed in eternity past.

Haman stood no chance whatsoever. You have to

know that. This wasn't even God reacting to human

movements. God had decreed this. Haman had no

chance. And once again, the book of Esther shows

us that even when we think God is absent, where

are you, Lord? He's always right there. working

all things together for his glory, even if he's

not obviously named or given credit in the text.

He's always at work in his providence. Now, perhaps

you're wondering at this point, based on what

we've already shared in this sermon series, considering

the fact that Esther and Mordecai really seem

not to be much more than cultural Jews and not

particularly godly, why would God rescue them

from Haman? And here's the good news of the gospel

of grace, right? This grace is, by the way, God's

grace is found in the Old Testament just as it's

found in the New. And this is the good news.

God doesn't save people because they're good

or godly or worthy of his love. God draws people

and saves people like you and me because he's

a sovereign and merciful God. That's it. He's

a God who demonstrates extraordinary love for

people who by nature have no interest in seeking

after him. Again, like you and me. And the God

of the scriptures is faithful to fulfill every

one of his promises. And friends, that means

working through the Jewish people. Through Abraham

and Isaac and Jacob. Working to preserve the

line of Judah. Working to preserve the line of

David. All leading up to the ultimate blessing

and gift to the Jewish people. Their own Messiah.

And to do that, it meant sparing the Jewish people

from being destroyed by Haman and Xerxes. See,

God's word will not fail. And he's willing to

work behind the scenes, even in silence, to carry

out the things that he has promised to do. And

so he saves even people like Esther and Mordecai

for his purposes. And you may be thinking, why

should I care about Purim? It's a Jewish thing.

Friends, that's our heritage too. You Gentiles,

this is part of our heritage. How, you ask? Well,

it's part of the story of redemption that's woven

through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation,

from old to new. This is the story of God's providence

and love for his elect, both Jew and Gentile.

It's part of what Paul refers to in Romans 11

as the olive tree that is Israel. We are Gentiles

who are wild olives. who've been grafted in among

the natural branches of that olive tree, being

partakers of the rich root of that olive tree,

which is Israel. Go home and read Romans 11.

Read it again and see what God says about this.

And that's good news. Thank you, Lord, for sparing

the Jewish people in the days of Xerxes. Thank

you, Lord, for protecting the line of Judah so

that Gentiles like you and I can turn to our

Jewish Messiah who came to suffer and die and

be raised to life. for wild olive branches like

us. Amen? We'll continue with the story two weeks

from now. Let's pray. Father, the level of wickedness

in this story is so hard. for us to fathom. I

pray, God, that we won't just read this on a

flat page and then just go about our life and

think that, oh, this is normal. Because it's

not. Because that ancient serpent was at work

in these men, Haman and Xerxes, to try to destroy

your people, to destroy the line of Judah, to

disrupt the coming of the Messiah. And you laugh.

And you laugh at them. because of their foolishness,

because of their blind ignorance, Lord. And so

we thank you today that as we gather as Gentiles

grafted into the olive tree of Israel, that we

enjoy all the privileges and all the blessings

of being found in Abraham. We praise your name,

God, that you had a plan from eternity past to

bring us to this point. Let us not be arrogant,

Lord. Let us not be prideful. That we're here

today and found in you. It's because of you.

It's because of your mercy and grace. It's because

when we didn't want to seek after you, you sought

after us. And you drew us to yourself and you

saved us. Let us remember that as we continue

in the story of Esther. Lord, thank you, thank

you, thank you for time and your word. May we

now praise your name in song as you deserve.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen.