A Gospel Shaped Memory

Father, some of us you have blessed with really, really, really fine minds, and some of our

minds aren't as fine.

Some of our minds are still developing.

Some of our minds are maybe moving in a less developed direction.

Father, all of us have memories.

All of us have imaginations.

And Father, we confess before you, we often don't think very much about what's forming

our mind.

But we ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would move very deeply in the very center

of who we are.

And that you would make us a people where it is the gospel that shapes our mind, that

it is the gospel that shapes our memory, that it is the gospel that shapes our imagination.

And Father, we ask that you would begin to do and continue to do this wonderful work in

us this morning.

And we ask all of this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior.

Amen.

Please be seated.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

So, I don't know how many of you struggle with depression.

I don't know how many of you struggle with different types of addictive behavior.

I don't know how many of you, in fact, could maybe be described as an alcoholic or have,

as I said, some other well-diagnosed problem like that.

And as you know, some of the things like some forms of depression are a little bit, they

might be a chemical basis that's connected to your depression.

There might even be, in some cases, with certain types of addiction, some type of chemical

basis.

And there's no question that all of these things help to shape the chemical structure

of our body.

But often what goes along with a lot of addictive behavior are certain types of core beliefs,

certain types of things that those who struggle with depression or addiction, they say to themselves.

Because we all talk to ourselves all of the time, right?

And often the things that we say to ourselves are very different than the things that we say

outside to others.

But we all have an inner voice that speaks.

Some of our inner voice speaks time and time and time again.

We can't even shut it up hardly.

And if you were to somehow be able to listen to the inner voice of a person struggling with

depression or the inner voice of a person struggling with alcoholism or some type of addiction,

there are several types of things that you would probably hear them say to themselves on a

regular basis.

One of the things is that if people got, the more people get to know me, the less they'll

like me.

That if people were just to be able to see what I was really like, what I'm like when

nobody's around, what's going on inside of me, as they get to know me more and more and

more, they will like me less and less and less and less.

And another thing that often addicts and alcoholics say to themselves or those struggling with depression is that people don't really care about me and won't help me.

I'm basically all on my own.

Because if I share what I really need, if I share what I really, really, really need or long for, people won't care for that at all.

In fact, they're liable to do the exact opposite because it goes along with that third.

There's more than three, obviously, core types of beliefs or self-talk of those who struggle with addiction or those of us who struggle with depression.

And the third one is that there's something just wrong with me that means that there's just something wrong with me.

It's as if I'm cursed.

It's as if I'm doomed.

It's as if there's something faded about me that things won't work out well for me.

They'll work out well for other people.

Like, I can well understand that that person will get the promotion.

I can well understand that that person will have the family.

That person will have the relationship.

And I know I might get in one for right now, but it's just the fact of the matter is, is if you hang out for me for a while, you'll see that it's going to all come to ruins.

Because there's something about me that is just faded.

It's doomed to have things not work out and bad things will happen to me.

And that's just the way I am.

It's just the way I am.

Those of you who are guests this morning might not know that we've been going through the book of Esther.

And the book of Esther actually has, especially as it comes to a conclusion, this is the last sermon on the book of Esther.

It actually has some very, very powerful things to say for those of us who struggle with that sense of a type of a doom or a fate that is hanging over us.

So it'd be very helpful if you open your Bibles to the book of Esther.

We'll be looking at chapter 9 and 10.

10 is only three verses long.

And it's our final sermon in the series.

The sermon series is called The Hidden God in a Broken World.

And so what's going to be happening?

The words of the text are going to be on the screen for those of you who don't have the Bible.

Because about half of the sermon, a little bit more than half of the sermon, we're just going to read the story.

Because why?

Well, because my great hope every week is that you'll remember the Bible more than you'll remember what I say.

Because my words are just my words.

And the Bible is the word of God.

But where we come to in the story, as the story is winding to its conclusion,

is that genocide has been planned against the Jewish people.

And the architect of that genocide was a man by the name of Haman.

And the story is set in the peak years, the pinnacle years of the Persian Empire.

Xerxes is the emperor.

It's generally regarded in history as sort of the peak years of the empire,

him and sort of the emperor on either side of them.

Absolute peak.

And at the peak of this, the Persian Empire, genocide has been planned for the Jewish people.

The mechanisms of the state were mobilized.

There was an attempt to inflame public sentiment against the Jewish people,

that they would join in to this one day when every Jewish person,

whether the oldest man, a military-aged man, whether a woman, an elderly woman, a young woman,

whether the youngest child, that they would all be killed on the same day.

And as we saw in how that story develops throughout the book of Esther,

and as we saw last week, the part which is just before this is by God's providence,

by God's providence, the king's heart is changed.

Haman, the architect of the genocide, is killed.

And the king gives Mordecai and Esther, a Jewish man,

and Esther is one of the king's queens, and she's Jewish.

And Mordecai is her uncle and adopted father.

And they sort of now, the king says,

well, you come up with a plan to stop this.

And the plan that they come up with, we talked about it at length last week,

because on one level it was very bloodthirsty.

But basically their plan was that on the day that genocide is planned,

they send out a directive and say that all of the Jewish people can gather,

they can organize, and they can defend themselves,

so that the day when everybody is going to attack them

is the day that they're able to defend themselves.

And so now as the book comes to an end, we find out what happens.

Like, what happens if they're able to defend themselves?

Will they all die? Will it be a bloodbath?

Like, what happens?

Well, this is what we find out today.

So verse 1 starts like this.

Now in the 12th month, which is the month of Adar,

on the 13th day of the Seine,

when the king's command and edict were about to be carried out,

on the very day when the enemies of the Jewish people

hoped to gain the mastery over them,

the reverse occurred.

Verse 1 is in some ways a summary of the whole end of the book on one level.

Sorry, the reverse occurred.

The Jews, the Jewish people, gained mastery over those who hated them.

The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes.

I'm just going to use Xerxes.

It's a husirus, but I'm going to say Xerxes.

It's two names for the same man.

He's better known to history as Xerxes.

That's what I will say.

To King Xerxes, to lay hands on those who sought their harm.

And no one could stand against them.

That could stand against the Jewish people.

For the fear of them had fallen on all the peoples.

All the officials of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal agents

also helped the Jews.

For the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them.

For Mordecai was great in the king's house.

And his fame spread throughout all the provinces.

For the man, Mordecai grew more and more powerful.

Now just sort of pause there.

This is very important to the story.

But the events that I was describing happening just before this in chapters 7 and 8.

There's about eight and a half months between those events when Mordecai is given a promotion

to very, very, very high up in the empire.

And the letter that goes from Mordecai and Esther is sent to all of the officials,

all of the nobles, the agents in the empire, and the citizens.

It's also proclaimed to the citizens.

And that's about eight and a half months earlier.

And it's a very interesting example here of a modern phenomenon.

And we're in fact living through it right now.

And the modern phenomenon that we're living through, which is sort of talked about here,

which is very interesting, is...

Well, like, 20 years ago, 20 years ago, no question, the House of Commons would have voted

probably 95% against same-sex marriage.

Just 20 years ago.

And probably 20 years ago, the House of Commons would have voted 100% against doctor-assisted suicide.

And maybe even 10 years ago, there would have been unanimous belief that transgender people

shouldn't be given a sort of a privileged position.

Now, I'm not making any type of political comment about any of these things.

And if you're a guest here this morning and you're in favor of those things,

I'm not making any particular political comment about any of these things at this point in time.

And I just want to point out how...

And many people...

Many people...

You know, many of us, we just live from day to day to day.

We live like a cork, bobbing around on water.

We might think that we're free, that we're independent, and all of that type of stuff.

But the fact of the matter is, is that for many of us, we just bob along on the current,

whatever current is going on, and we bob along on the current in such a way

that we don't even realize that there is a current.

But it's actually been quite remarkable, this huge turn in the culture.

It's as if there's this huge tidal wave, or this...

You know, if you go to the Bay of Fundy, and there's this very, very powerful tide in the Bay of Fundy,

and it's as if there's this whole just drift or move or powerful movement in our culture,

and all of a sudden, things that 20 years ago would have been just...

Nobody would have believed...

Very few people other than activists would have believed it.

And now everybody believes it.

Everybody's in favor of it.

And to not to believe it means that, I don't know, you're some type of knuckle-dragging,

cousin-marrying Neanderthal with an IQ of a turnip.

And it's just this huge cultural shift, and many of us don't even recognize it,

but we see these things going on in our own culture.

And it's interesting, I don't know if you noticed it, but that same thing happens here.

That, you know, eight and a half months previously, probably if you had polled the officials,

they'd say, well, you know, the king said they were to kill the Jews on this day,

we're going to kill the Jews.

And probably you said to most of the people in the culture,

if you could go back and there could be a Pew research team to go back

and do a really high-quality survey of people's attitudes,

they'd say, yeah, on this date, we're going to kill Jewish people.

And somehow or another, in that eight and a half months,

the force of the culture changes.

And they describe it as the fear of the Jews come upon them.

And those of us who have been reading the book,

we know that it's part of God's providence,

that everybody, it's not as if somehow or another God overwhelms people's wills.

If we could send a Pew research team back nine months prior to this,

and then a day just before these events,

they would just remark that everybody, by their own free will,

has somehow or another changed their view dramatically.

Not everybody, as we're going to see, because they're still fighting.

But there's been this huge cultural shift.

And it has this great power.

And it's very interesting.

And this book, set in the year 480s,

bears witness to something that we've seen throughout history,

of these big cultural shifts.

And so there's this great cultural shift that happens

in the nation, the empire of Persia.

And people become pro-Jewish.

And in fact, it says that the authorities go from maybe being anti-Jewish

to neutral, to in fact being pro-Jewish.

And it's really important that we notice this,

because the very next verse often troubles many people,

because it sounds as if great cruelty is happening.

But if you don't sort of just notice this cultural shift

and what it just says about the officials,

then this next verse is going to be very troubling.

Read verse 5 along with me,

because what it says in verse 5 is,

the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword,

killing and destroying them,

and did as they pleased to those who hated them.

Now, it's that did as they pleased,

which is, I mean, the whole verse is a bit troubling

to very modern people.

And it's especially troubling to us,

because we sort of, many Christians are very troubled,

because for many of us Christians,

we no longer believe the Bible,

but we believe a hallmark spirituality of positive thoughts.

In fact, sorry, what the heck, I'll say it.

Like, our Christian radio station in Ottawa

doesn't call itself a Christian radio station.

It calls itself a family radio station

with family-friendly messages.

And if you have a religion that is all family-friendly

with family-friendly messages,

and on our Christian radio station on Sunday afternoons,

all you hear is encouragement,

and today you will mainly hear secular Christmas music on it,

and of positive, uplifting messages,

and verses like this go,

it's like nails on a chalkboard.

But the problem is

that the faith has drifted from the Bible.

Now, I'm going to talk a little bit more.

I talked about this more last week,

and we're going to talk about it a little bit more in a moment,

but mainly I talked about this last week.

If you're very curious about it,

you should listen to last week's sermon online.

But the thing here,

though they pleased and did as they pleased

to those who hated them,

the part of that message,

for many of us, we hear this,

and what we think of is cruelty,

that they are unhinged and untethered.

They are unhinged, untethered to any type of morality,

and they did as they pleased.

And what they pleased is cruel.

It's violent.

It's merciless.

And that's not what the text means at all.

In context, what it means

is that if you were to read the book

at the end of chapter 3,

you'd know that every noble,

every soldier,

every judge,

every official,

every agent was going to come to kill you.

Now they're on the side of the Jews.

There's no external thing

to stop them from defending themselves.

That's what it means.

They did as they pleased.

They didn't have to worry

about the police showing up

to join the side of their enemies.

They didn't have to worry

about the noble showing up with his army

to help their enemies.

They did as they pleased.

That's all that the text means.

Now, it's still a bit troubling for us.

And those of you who were here last week

or who've been hunting around

as I've spoken

to look at what they say before

or after this particular text,

you'll know that I talked a little bit last week

about how the direction that Mordecai gave,

the directive that Mordecai and Esther gave

to the Jewish people

included that they could kill women and children

and included that they could plunder.

And on one level,

well, let's see what happens.

Let's see what happens.

Verses 6 to 10 of chapter 9.

In Susa, the citadel itself,

the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men

and also killed,

just pardon these with the names,

Parshandatha and Dalfon and Aspartha

and Poratha and Adalia and Araditha

and Parmeshatha and Arasai and Aradai and Vesatha,

the ten sons of Haman,

the sons of Hamadatha,

the enemy of the Jews,

but they laid no hand on the plunder.

Now, I just sort of want to pause here for a second.

The first thing,

I didn't talk about this last week very much,

but at the heart of what the Mordecai's letter

and Esther's letter was,

was basically all they did

was take what Haman had wanted to do,

the enemies of the Jews.

They just took all of the things

that said that the enemies of the Jews could do.

They're, in a sense, moral universe.

And it said, okay,

all of these things that it says,

that those who are racists and want genocide,

all of those things that they said,

the Jewish people can now do.

On one level,

it's completely and utterly fair

if you think about it, isn't it?

It's actually, on one level,

irrefutably fair.

As a bit of an aside,

it gives a bit of a window

about how God judges us,

just a bit of a window.

If you read Romans chapter 2,

Romans 2 · chapter mention

and it talks about

how it is that God will judge people

who don't know the Bible,

and basically,

if you look through the language,

it can be a little bit technical at times.

It basically just says,

well, you know,

at the end of the day,

all God has to do

is just follow anybody around

and just see what their moral rules

and observations

and standards of judgments are.

And all he has to do then

is say that at the end of the day,

I will just use,

well, use me,

we'll just use George's rules,

and we're going to judge George

by George's rules.

And every single human being

on the planet,

if they're judged just by their own rules,

will fail.

And nobody will be able to say

that that's unfair.

Nobody.

Nobody.

And on one level,

then,

what Mordecai and Esther did

was very fair

because what the enemies of the Jews,

what those who want to genocide said

is kill all the women,

kill all the children,

kill the youngest children,

kill everybody,

and plunder them.

And all they do on one level

is say,

just do all of the same things.

But it's a very,

very interesting thing,

and this is part of the,

this is part of how to learn

how to read the Bible.

Because what the Jewish people do

is they don't listen

to what the people

who believe in genocide

say is the way to live.

What they end up doing

is they listen

to what the Bible says

you should do

in terms of living.

And you only notice it

if you read it

very, very carefully.

Because what the text says

is it says

only men are killed.

Only, in a sense,

military-aged men

are killed.

No women are killed.

No children are killed.

And it also says here

that no plunder is taken.

In fact,

the no plunder is taken

is very important.

It's repeated twice later on.

It's said three times

within a couple of verses

that no plunder is taken.

And it's at the level

of the original language

of the Hebrew.

There's some languages here

which shows

that the Jewish people

understood

from what we call

the Old Testament,

those books of the Bible

written before Jesus

and our Jewish friends

call it the Tanakh.

And what they did

is they're aware

of what it says

in Genesis.

They're aware

of what it says

in the book of Joshua.

They're aware

of what it says

in the book of Exodus.

They're aware

of what it says

in the book of Deuteronomy.

And they're aware

of all of these texts

and they're aware

of what the text says

in 1 Samuel.

And in all of these texts

there's a set of rules

that when

this is not just

any old battle

but this is a battle

where the Lord

is going to deliver

his people

and when the Lord

is going to deliver

his people

using his own people

but it's still the Lord

who is delivering

his people

they are to take

no plunder

nor are they

to kill women

and children.

And so they do not

listen to Mordecai

and Esther's letter

on one level.

They do in the sense

that they arm themselves

and fight

but they actually

are governed

by what the Tanakh says

what the Old Testament says.

which is profoundly

counter-cultural

and would have shocked

all the Persians

and all of the pagans

all of the Zoroastrians

and all of the pagans

who had observed

that no plunder

was taken

and the women

and children

were not killed.

But the military

aged males

are modern language

is how we would put it.

And it's very

very counter-cultural

but that's actually

what goes on here

in the text.

Because you see

on one level

not on one level

on every level

this is why

you know people say

you can prove anything

in the Bible

well that's not true.

Like you can prove

anything in the Bible

if you ignore context

and if you ignore

how things fit together.

And so you're right

if you take

a letter

of a genocidal

evil genocidal

genius

and say

well that's in the Bible

we can do that.

but the Bible here

shows that's not

who you're supposed

to listen to.

And what we see

actually happening

is on one level

both just

but also

a showing of mercy.

And we see in here

the beginning

of how most

Western people think

most secular people

would say

that that's the way

that you handle

something like this

even though

they don't know

that it does not

come from a study

of evolution

but it comes

from the Bible.

They have amnesia.

about the source

of their belief.

So

well

the story isn't over

we've got up to verse 10

but what about

the king of Persia?

You know

I haven't talked

about it very much.

The king of Persia

was a Zoroastrian.

He wasn't a pagan

he was a Zoroastrian.

But at the same time

within their whole

world view

he was a virtual god.

It was like

divine right of kings

and steroids.

And in their culture

basically whatever he said

was the law.

There was no law

on one level

that he had to obey.

There was no constitution

as we talked about

a couple of weeks ago.

There was no property rights

to protect people.

Basically he said it

and that's it.

And so what is the king

going to think of the fact

that all these people

have been killed?

Is he going to be happy

with it?

Is he going to be sad?

Is he going to be worried?

Want to distance himself

from Esther

one of his queens

that told them

that this is what

he should do?

Well what happens?

Verse 11 and 12

we see how the king reacts.

And it is just so typical

of people with that type of power.

Look at verse 11 and 12.

That very day

the number of those

killed in Susa the citadel

was reported to the king.

And the king said

to Queen Esther

in Susa the citadel

the Jews have killed

and destroyed 500 men

and also the 10 sons

of Haman.

What then have they done

in the rest of the king's provinces?

Now what is your wish?

It shall be granted you.

And what further is your request?

It shall be fulfilled.

He's delighted.

You know what?

It makes me mindful

of a famous quote

by Stalin.

That horrendous dictator.

And it is so

well here's how it is.

The death of one person

is a tragedy.

The death of a thousand

is a statistic.

So he's

the king is completely

and utterly unmoved.

In fact he actually

seems to like it.

So he says in a sense

okay girl

okay Esther

what do you want to do now?

And

and here's a very

very very

you know many

one of the things about

one of the things

that people think

about the Bible

people who

and unfortunately

this stereotype

is maintained

by many Christians

unfortunately

but people think

that if you read the Bible

the Bible is going to tell

women that they have

to be weak

they have to be stupid

they have to just

you know

blah blah blah blah

but it's all weak

they're all nice

they're all kind

they're all gentle

that it's all full

a whole pile

of stereotypes

but that's actually

not how the Bible

describes women.

Like look what

Esther suggests.

What is it she wants

to do in verses 13 and 14

and Esther said

if it pleased the king

let the Jews

who are in Susa

be allowed tomorrow

also to do according

to this day's edict.

In other words

king

for those in greater Susa

let the fighting continue

and

let the ten sons

of Haman

be hanged on the gallows.

What she says is

king what I think

we should do

says Esther

let's let the fighting

keep going

for another day

but just in the capital

we can't get the news

to the whole kingdom

but just here

and by the way

the ten sons of Haman

impale them publicly.

That's how Esther behaves.

Like don't cross her.

Don't cross her.

So verse 14

so the king commanded

this to be done.

A decree was issued

in Susa

and the ten sons

of Haman were hanged.

The Jews who were

in Susa

also gathered

on the fourteenth

day of the month

of Edar.

They killed three hundred

men in Susa

but they laid no hands

on the plunder.

They laid no hands

on the plunder.

So

now by the way

remember I said

how

Mordecai and Esther

had this directive

but the Jewish people

actually didn't follow

it completely.

You know once again

one of the things

you can talk about

over coffee is

do you agree

with what Esther

said or not?

And you can disagree

with it because

it's just her view.

A very interesting

thing over coffee

if you had been

Esther's advisor

would you say

you go girl

that's exactly

the advice we want

impale those guys

and let the fighting go.

Is that what you'd say

is the good thing

or would you say

come on Esther

like show some mercy

like

like

ooh

do you really want

men

like anyway

whatever

like it's an interesting

point of conversation.

the Bible doesn't say

this is the right

thing to do

it says what

Esther did.

But the important

thing

in the rest

of the text

is what's happening

amongst the Jewish

people

as a result

of this.

Is this

day

amongst the Jewish

people

is it causing

them a sense

of horror

about what

they've done

as they think

about it

the next day?

Is it encouraging

them to violence?

Is it encouraging

them

like what happens?

Well

you find out

in verses

16 and 19

now the rest

of the Jews

who were in

the king's

provinces

also gathered

to defend

their lives

and got relief

from their enemies

and killed

75,000 of those

who hated them

but they laid

no hands

on the plunder.

Just a pause

in the Old Testament

generally speaking

you don't know

whether it was

75,000 or not

75,000 means

lots and lots

and lots

and lots

just the way

that it's a

literary thing

anyway

but it means

there's a lot

who died

verse 17

this was on

the 13th day

of the month

of Adar

and on the

14th day

they rested

and made that

day a day

of feasting

and gladness

but the Jews

who were in

Susa

gathered on

the 13th day

and rested

on the 15th day

making that

a day of

feasting

and gladness

therefore the Jews

of the villages

who live

in rural towns

hold the 14th day

of the month

of Adar

as a day

for gladness

and feasting

as a holiday

and as a day

in which

they send

gifts

of food

to one another

so we see

what they do

is they don't

they're not

horrified by what

they've done

they don't have

second thoughts

they don't celebrate

the death

of 75,000 people

but they celebrate

the debt

that they have

been delivered

from their enemies

and that they are

alive

and they celebrate

it with feasting

and with the

giving of gifts

but

you know

it's

by the way

they don't tell

how many Jewish

people died

obviously Jewish

people died

in this

in this

in this whole day

but that's what

happened immediately

the day after

we can understand

that

but what

what happens

now as you

think about it

like the week

or the month

or the year

afterwards

and you think

back on that

day

like now

what are the

Jewish people

thinking

like one thing

which they could

be thinking

is you know

part of our

problem

with all of this

is that we're

too different

from the Persians

maybe what we

should do

is become

more Persian

like if we

become more

Persian

if we

worship

more similar

to them

and if we

dress more

similar to them

and if we

just sort of

add some of

their religious

practices

and their

views of how

the world

works

and if we

bring all of

that into

our life

and become

more Persian

then maybe

things like

this won't

ever have to

happen to

us again

that would

be a very

reasonable

response

you know

maybe they

would do

like often

goes on

in much of

our culture

today

amongst the

knowledge

class

is to start

to be ashamed

of what

they've done

which of

course describes

what happens

in much of

our culture

is a lack

of shame

about what

they themselves

are doing

which is wrong

but a shame

about their

past and their

tradition

is that

what's going

to happen

well the

rest of the

Bible

the rest of

the story

helps to

communicate

whether they

choose the

path of

trying to

fit in or

they choose a

very very

different path

and they

choose a

very very

well let's

just see

verse 20

and 22

and Mordecai

recorded these

things and

sent letters

to all the

Jews who

were in the

provinces of

King Xerxes

both near and

far obliging

them to keep

the 14th day

of the month

of Adar

and also the

15th day

of the same

year by year

as the days

on which

the Jews

got relief

from their

enemies

and as the

month that

had been

turned for

them from

sorrow into

gladness

and from

mourning into

a holiday

and that they

should make

them days of

feasting and

gladness

days for

sending gifts

of food to

one another

and gifts

to the poor

so we see

that actually

rather than

accommodating to

Persian culture

Mordecai has

this plan

that it's in

fact they are

to become

more Jewish

they are to

become in a

sense more

the covenant

people that

they are to

in fact not

just have this

as a one-off

but it's to

become something

that every

year they

will remember

that the

Lord delivered

them

they will

remember this

and set the

day aside

as a holiday

and they'll

remember it

by feasting

and they'll

remember it

by sending

of gifts

and they'll

remember it

by remembering

the poor

and giving

food to the

poor

and they do

more than

just that

they also

remember it

in a very

very particular

way that

sets the

Lord at

the center

but in a

sort of an

ironic

hidden way

but they put

the Lord

at the center

of their

remembrance

and it's

seen in

verses 23

through 26

here's where

it comes

so the Jews

accepted what

they had started

to do

and what

Mordecai had

written to

them

for Haman

the Haggagite

the son of

Hamadath

the enemy

of all the

Jews

had plotted

against the

Jews

to destroy

them

and had

cast pur

that is

cast lots

to crush

and to

destroy them

but when it

came before

the king

he gave

orders in

writing

that his

evil plan

that he

had devised

against the

Jews

should return

on his

own head

that's

Haman's

head

and that

he and

his son

should be

hanged on

the gallows

or impaled

on the stake

therefore they

called these

days

Purim

after the

term

pure

therefore

because of

all that was

written in

this letter

and of what

they had

faced in

this matter

and what

had happened

to them

the Jews

firmly

obligated

themselves

and their

offspring

and all

who joined

them

that without

fail

they would

keep these

two days

according to

what was

written

and at

that time

appointed

every year

that these

days should

be remembered

and kept

throughout every

generation

and every

clan and

province and

city

and that

these days

of Purim

should never

fall into

disuse among

the Jews

nor should

the commemoration

of these days

cease among

their descendants

now

here's the

thing which

they do

in a very

very interesting

way

basically

what they

say

we're going

to name

the day

fate

because that's

what pure

means

so what

it means

is

they're

remembering

the fact

that

the might

of the

Persian

empire

had all

been organized

at every

level

all of the

bureaucracy

all of the

military

all of the

nobility

all of the

police

the judges

everything

had been

organized

and well

planned

and the

citizens

themselves

so that

the Jews

would be

killed

on one

level

from a

purely

secular

point

of

view

everything

had been

organized

so that

their fate

was sealed

they were

doomed

but more

than that

and there's

more

there's

more than

that

they also

wanted to

make sure

that the

gods

were on

their side

that the

gods

themselves

wanted to

kill all

of the

Jewish

people

and that's

why they

cast the

pure

they cast

the lots

they spent

a day

making sure

that they

would figure

out the

day

they cast

the lot

they cast

the lot

they cast

the lot

it's called

divination

and the

purpose of

it was to

find the

day and

when the

day came

they said

aha

this is

the day

the gods

themselves

have told

us

that on

this day

the gods

themselves

will bless

our efforts

to kill

every single

Jewish person

the gods

have decreed it

the virtual

god will

decree it

the bureaucracy

the nobility

the intelligentsia

the army

everybody

all have

decreed it

from the

gods

to all

of the

officials

have decreed

the fate

and the

doom

of the

Jews

and we

Jewish

people

will remember

from all

eternity

until the

Messiah

returns

this word

of doom

and fate

set by

empires

set by

the gods

was rubbish

rubbish

a delusion

a fantasy

an illusion

a lie

and they

remember it

in the name

they remember

it in the name

I'll show you

an image

in a moment

it's a long

time

I'm just going

to say

we're going

to go

now to our

other points

I just want

to say

two little

things

in the

end

just before

we get

into the

to try

to wrap

it all

up

one of

the things

which is

very interesting

if you go

back and read

the rest

of the

verses

it's not

as obvious

in English

but in the

original

language

it's very

obvious

what really

makes the

day a day

for remembrance

for the rest

of time

for the

Jewish

people

isn't that

Mordecai

says it

but Esther

says it

this is a

holiday for

the Jewish

people forever

and ever

and ever

because it

was finally

the seal

that made

it permanent

was the

decision by

the queen

not by

men

that's what

the text

says

and the other

thing which is

very interesting

and this is

very important

for all of

you

is that

Mordecai

continues in

secular work

he continues

his work in

the bureaucracy

for the good

of the city

and the good

of the nation

Andrew if you

could put up

the slide

that I said

about fate

and everything

there you go

that's what

Purim means

in a sense

when Jewish

people celebrate

Purim

it says

in a sense

what it says

is fate

but they know

in the context

of the story

that any one

of those three

things can be

the way that

it's actually

saying fate

line through it

fate not

no fate

that's what

the day reminds

so just to try

to wrap this

remember I began

by saying that

people who struggle

with depression

and addictions

they often have

some very very

powerful core

beliefs

that there's

something wrong

with them

that there's

something doomed

about them

that there's

a type of fate

about them

that it's

they can understand

how the other

person will get

the guy

or will get

the girl

the other person

will maybe

get the promotion

the other person

will get the job

the other person

will have the health

but you know

I might have

it right now

but there's

in fact

something fundamentally

doomed about me

there's something

some fate

about me

which always means

that these things

are not going

to work out

and in fact

there's many systems

of thought

that sort of

make it even worse

like Islam

struggles with

a high belief

in fate

and doom

and even Hinduism

which we often

view of

and Buddhism

as a very positive

alternative to Christianity

the fact of the matter

is that the whole

cycle of karma

is a cycle

of fate

that if you are

in this particular role

if you are

the beggar

of the beggars

of the beggars

that is your fault

you have brought

this upon yourself

in your previous life

you are trapped

in your fate

you are doomed

to that particular position

and even many systems

of thought

like the cycle

of life

but throughout

human history

this cycle

of life

is actually

not seen

as something

which is

life giving

it's something

which means

you are doomed

that there is not

going to be

any progress

there is not

going to be

any development

there is not

going to be

any story

which is new

and different

there is not

going to be

creativity

there is not

going to be

imagination

there is not

going to be

a second chance

why?

because you are

trapped

in the iron cage

of the circle

of life

you will die

and there is

nothing you can

do about it

and even

modern science

with its belief

of the fact

that everything

that comes to be

is a result

of irrational

forces and chance

with no human

purpose

no virtue

of something

good or beautiful

or love

or knowledge

or truth

that's what

naturalistic science

teaches you

it's just cause

and effect

in a sense

it's the idea

that everything

that's happening

to you

is just a result

of things

that are going

on in you

and massive

these

and you are

stuck

and to all

of these

things

the gospel

says

that

it says

no to fate

if you could

put up the

first point

Andrew

what is the

bible telling

us

the lord

exists

providence

is true

fate

is a

delusion

you are

here

and I know

that just by

willpower

and just by

a story

it can't

change you

and for

some of

you

if you're

struggling

with depression

it might be

that there's

a chemical

imbalance

that you

need some

help

medically

to help

you to

deal with

that

I am

not denying

any of

that type

of stuff

but I am

saying

that the

memory

that we

have of

our life

the way

that we

use our

imagination

the way

we structure

and talk

to ourselves

and talking

to ourselves

in such a

way as if

we are

fundamentally

faded

and doomed

the bible

is telling

us

the lord

exists

providence

is true

providence

means that

the lord

is present

powerful

active

even though

he is

hidden

and he

always

respects

our

freedom

but the

end of

the day

no matter

how much

we use

our freedom

in whatever

way we

use our

freedom

the lord

is moving

all things

to the

end

that he

has chosen

and he

does that

even though

we are

completely

and utterly

free

but the

lord

is present

powerful

and active

in the

world

and to

believe in

fate

is a

delusion

it's a

delusion

and if you

come up

the second

point

we

Christians

we believe

we accept

you know

we in a

sense

this is

our story

when we

read the

book of

Esther

because

we believe

that the

lord

promised to

deliver people

in Genesis

3

we believe

that it

was our

spiritual

ancestors

and for

some of

us

our

physical

ancestors

because

there are

Jewish

people

who have

been part

of our

congregation

and

this

is the

story

of

Israel's

deliverance

from

Egypt

out of

slavery

that is

our

history

and the

lord's

deliverance

of the

Jewish

people

in the

Persian

empire

that is

our

history

but we

believe

in an

even

greater

deliverance

and an

even

greater

reversal

because

we

believe

that

Jesus

came

and he

was born

of a

virgin

he

lived

a

sinless

life

and he

taught

many

things

he

predicted

and

prophesied