3:1 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. 3 Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” 4 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 But he disdained1 to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy2 all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them. 9 If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents3 of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”
12 Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.
Esther Agrees to Help the Jews
4:1 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction,4 that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him5 on behalf of her people. 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”
12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”617 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
Footnotes
[1]3:6Hebrew disdained in his eyes [2]3:6Or annihilate [3]3:9A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms [4]4:8Or annihilation [5]4:8Hebrew and seek from before his face [6]4:16Hebrew if I am destroyed, then I will be destroyed
3:1 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. 3 Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” 4 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 But he disdained1 to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy2 all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them. 9 If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents3 of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”
12 Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.
Esther Agrees to Help the Jews
4:1 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction,4 that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him5 on behalf of her people. 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”
12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”617 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
Footnotes
[1]3:6Hebrew disdained in his eyes [2]3:6Or annihilate [3]3:9A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms [4]4:8Or annihilation [5]4:8Hebrew and seek from before his face [6]4:16Hebrew if I am destroyed, then I will be destroyed
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Jeffrey Heine:
Invite you to turn in your Bibles to Esther chapter 4. Esther chapter 4. There's more than just chapter 4 there in your worship guide. That's there for reference, but we're gonna begin reading in the section, the last section there, chapter 4 verse 11. Let's go back one verse before that, verse 10.
Jeffrey Heine:
Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, all the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come into the king these 30 days. And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther. Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.
Jeffrey Heine:
For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, go gather all the Jews to be found in Susa and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for 3 days, night or day, I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.
Jeffrey Heine:
Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. If you would pray with me. Our father, we ask that we would hear you speaking clearly through your word.
Jeffrey Heine:
May it hit its mark this morning. May we be profoundly shaped and changed by what we hear. And, Lord, we need to be. We are flawed, sinful creatures, but we want to look like Jesus. And so we pray that through his spirit, real transformation would take place.
Jeffrey Heine:
I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. But Lord, may your words remain, and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. So last week, we began our study on the book of Esther, And we got to see why this book is so controversial all over.
Jeffrey Heine:
It's been seen that way over the years. It's the only book in the Bible that doesn't mention God, and that's made it controversial along with some of the topics that were raised last week. Matter of fact, it was so controversial, I mentioned Martin Luther didn't even think it belonged in the canon of scripture. He had a problem with God not being mentioned. But as we saw last week, God not being mentioned does not mean that God is not present, That God's silence doesn't mean his absence.
Jeffrey Heine:
And actually, I think that's one of the biggest contributions that the book of Esther makes to the Bibles. It teaches us that although God is hard to see, he's actually working powerfully behind the scenes through common everyday events. And we are taught to look for him in those ways and in those places. And I think we can readily relate to Esther because she has to seek for God's hand at work the same way we do, when it's often hard to see. I think we can also relate to her, because we see a woman who was caught in between 2 worlds.
Jeffrey Heine:
She was a Jewish orphaned girl living in the pagan land of Persia. She was a girl who understood the Jewish law, she understood the Scriptures, she knew who the Lord was, yet, she also lived amidst a pagan people. And she was fascinated with that culture. And so she had a foot in both worlds. And I think many of us can relate to that.
Jeffrey Heine:
And we saw last week that Esther wasn't exactly doing the best job of having that foot in both worlds. She actually seemed to be mostly in that Persian world. She was constantly compromising herself. She broke Jewish dietary laws. She sleeps with a man who's not her husband.
Jeffrey Heine:
She then marries an unbeliever. So she's compromising her morals. She's doing whatever it takes just to try to fit in. And she becomes completely compliant. But this morning, we're finally gonna get to see, and some of you last week were like, okay, really?
Jeffrey Heine:
You had to end it there? We we get to finally see how God does get a hold of her and transform her into a courageous woman who's finally gonna grow a backbone. She's gonna take a stand, and she is going to save her people. So let's see how this happens. I need to fill in the gaps between what happened last week and the text that we read this week.
Jeffrey Heine:
Esther's uncle Mordecai, he he's outside of the king's gate. The king's gate isn't actually a real gate. That's just an idiom for the place of power right outside of the palace. It's where the king's officials would gather together and do official business. And so we learn here that Mordecai is actually one of the king's officials working right outside the palace.
Jeffrey Heine:
And he just so happens, another one of these coincidences, he just so happens to overhear 2 guards coming up with a plot to assassinate the king. So he immediately tells Esther about this. Esther reports it to the king. They do a little investigation. They find out it's true.
Jeffrey Heine:
And so the, this plot to assassinate the king is averted. And, and you would expect after this that Mordecai would be the one who is now lifted up, That Mordecai, gains this new prestigious position and is praised. But then there's somewhat of a shock. Chapter 3 begins this way. Mordecai does not get a promotion.
Jeffrey Heine:
A man named Haman does. Haman. It's inexplicable that this Mordecai is not honored, but this man Haman is. And for reasons completely unknown, Haman is now promoted to become the second most powerful person on all of the land, and nothing happens to Mordecai. And so so just right there, it's another one of those things that Esther keeps doing this to us.
Jeffrey Heine:
You just step back and you're like, really? I mean, where's God in that? Is God really behind me not getting the promotion that I thought I certainly deserved? Is God really behind not only me not getting it, but that person of all people, that person getting the promotion? And the answer is yes.
Jeffrey Heine:
God absolutely is behind those things, when you seem to just scratch your head and think there is no way this is God at work. But this absolutely had to happen in order for God to move his plan, for God to receive the glory he deserves. So everything is going according to God's plan. Haman, we realize, is an evil person. He's he's an Agagite, which doesn't mean much to us.
Jeffrey Heine:
But an Agagite means he was a descendant of a King Agag. And the only reason that's important and that every Jew would have readily recognized this was King Agag, way back in First Samuel. Saul, King Saul was commanded to kill that king because that king was incredibly wicked and evil. And King Saul refused to obey the command of the Lord. And so King Agag survived.
Jeffrey Heine:
Not only did it survive, but now you are seeing many generations later that sin coming back to haunt the people. That one sin that King Saul did many centuries earlier is now threatening the entire Jewish race. And then you have Mordecai. Mordecai is described as a Benjamite, meaning he was a descendant of the same tribe as King Saul. So you have an Agagite, and then you have this Benjamite once again coming head to head.
Jeffrey Heine:
And so Mordecai refuses to bow to Haman. And I don't think he's refusing to bow just because, you know, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, you refuse to bow before an idol. I think he's refusing to bow to that man. And some of the Hatfields and McCoys here, this is bad blood that's been going back for many, many years. And when Haman comes through and everybody's supposed to bow to him, Mordecai's like I will not bow to that man.
Jeffrey Heine:
And because Haman refuses to bow, I mean, Mordecai refuses to bow, Haman doesn't a little investigation, finds out Mordecai's a Jew, and says, I don't wanna just kill Mordecai. I wanna kill every Jew. I'm gonna wipe out the entire race. And so he proposes this plan and he gives it to King Ahasuerus. And he says, hey, without being too specific, you don't need this many details, but there's a certain people group out there that are threatening our way of life.
Jeffrey Heine:
They don't really obey our laws. They're really not our people. They don't contribute anything to our society. So let's fix a date, and let's have them all exterminated, and let's plunder them. And just to sweeten the deal, here's 10,000 talents of silver, which is 300 tons of silver.
Jeffrey Heine:
That's also 2 thirds of what the Persian Empire would bring in for an entire year in taxes. So we see Haman promising a whole lot. King Ahasuerus, he's like, well, you had me at silver. And he doesn't he doesn't think too much about this. He doesn't ask any questions, and he goes through with it, signs it into the law.
Jeffrey Heine:
Before we throw King Ahasuerus under the bus, it's actually how a lot of us deal with temptation. Temptation comes, gives us a completely unrealistic promise, and we're like, it's best just not to ask questions. Let's just let's just do this. And we believe this unrealistic promise. And so that's what King Ahasuerus does, and so now all of the Jewish people are under this termination date.
Jeffrey Heine:
Genocide will happen a few months from now. So when Mordecai hears this, he he immediately runs to Esther, and he begs her. Do something. You got to do something. You see, Esther's now in this unique position.
Jeffrey Heine:
She's no longer just a little Jewish orphan girl. She's risen up in power. She she's risen up to one of the highest positions in the land. She is now in the highest social circles. She's in this inner ring of power in the Persian Empire.
Jeffrey Heine:
And Mordecai is saying, I need you to leverage that. Leverage it. Do whatever you have to do to save the Jewish people. Use your standing. Use your influence.
Jeffrey Heine:
Use your social status. Use, pull whatever strings you have to pull. But you got to get the king's ear, and you got to get them, him to change this law. Now, if I if I can generalize here, what we are seeing is that God is calling his people who were in a position of privilege, in a position of power, to do whatever it takes to help those who are oppressed. God often does this throughout scripture.
Jeffrey Heine:
He often tells us, you need to jeopardize the position that you were in in order to help others. You need to leverage whatever social capital you have. Leverage whatever money you have. Use whatever connections you have. Use whatever is at your disposal to be a voice for those who are oppressed and to stop injustice.
Jeffrey Heine:
It's a challenge for us. It is a relevant challenge for us all. It's easy to feel safe within the walls of the palace and to let the rest, the rest of the world and whatever happens out there just happen. But God challenges the people of privilege living within those walls to reach out. You gotta just say, personally, as I've been studying this, I've been challenged.
Jeffrey Heine:
Lots of questions just come flooding my head. Questions like, have there been times in my life, or am I actively doing this now, where I would throw people under the bus just to save my own skin? Or or do I step up and use my position to take a hit for another person? Which do I do? Do I readily get involved and step into somebody's marriage crisis even though I know it's likely gonna cost me my time?
Jeffrey Heine:
My emotional energy? Might even cost me a friendship. Am I willing to call in that favor that I've always had on reserve, but to actually cash in that favor, not for me, but to help somebody else who I know is in need? Am I actively leveraging all that I have at my disposal to help those who are oppressed or in need? It's a probing question.
Jeffrey Heine:
It was a tough one for Esther. Make no mistake. I mean, she she understood what Mordecai was asking her. Mordecai was was loud and clear about this. The problem is Esther did not get to the position she was in by ever taking a stand on anything.
Jeffrey Heine:
She didn't take risk. She didn't become queen by ruffling the feathers of other people or the highest position a woman could have in the land, not by imposing her will, but by yielding to everybody's will and power, by being completely compliant. The only way she could have ever made it to this position in the palace is by compromising her morals, not by taking a stand. And she has to have in her mind. I mean, look what happened to Queen Vashti.
Jeffrey Heine:
Look what happened to the one who actually did take a stand. So it was tough, and and so Esther, she sends word to Mordecai and she basically says, I want you to know that's a really bad idea. It's just a really, really bad idea, for obvious reasons, but on top of that, I need to remind you that even though I'm the queen, I can't just walk into the King's presence. You're not allowed to go in there unless you were invited. And actually, to go in there without an invite is an immediate capital punishment, unless the King grants a pardon, and he extends the scepter.
Jeffrey Heine:
Only 7 people in the entire kingdom were allowed to go into the king's presence without being invited, and the queen was not one of them. So to approach the king without an invitation would have been an enormous risk, and so she Can I just say, you know, the king's not sleeping alone at night? He's inviting other people consistently into his presence. But Esther seems to have lost favor. We actually read earlier that the king had assembled a second harem.
Jeffrey Heine:
So he's already been gathering 100, if not maybe a1000 other young virgins to come. Possibly, he's already thinking replacement for Esther as queen. So she's telling Mordecai, I don't think I have the heartstrings to pull. I don't think I have that. This seems to be like a disastrous plan that the odds are stacked against her.
Jeffrey Heine:
So far there is nothing that would indicate that an uninvited entrance into the throne room would go well. Persian law forbids it. The concealment of her true identity complicates it. The impulsiveness of the King threatens it. And then the loss of favor with the king seems to just write certain doom.
Jeffrey Heine:
So she says, you have no idea what you're asking, and Mordecai says, I do. Do it. I I do. I know exactly what I'm asking. Do it, and then he gives this remarkable argument.
Jeffrey Heine:
Look at verse 13 and 14. Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, Do not think to yourself that in the King's Palace, you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise from the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Basically says this that if she doesn't risk losing her position within the palace or even possibly her own life, then essentially she's a dead person walking. She's dead already if she doesn't do this.
Jeffrey Heine:
He he argues that although she thinks she's safe, she thinks she's so protected, they will eventually sniff her out. They will eventually find her and kill her. He says, like, and if you don't step up, actually, I I think that God's gonna deliver us through another savior, and another person's gonna rise and deliver us, And then the Jews are gonna sniff you out, and you'll be killed as a traitor. So basically, if you don't help us, either the Persians will kill you or the Jews are gonna kill you. You don't help us, you're dead.
Jeffrey Heine:
It's a heavy handed argument. Alright? It's it's persuasive. That's what Mordecai tells her. Now we obviously are not in the same position as Esther, But I do think we can apply Mordecai's argument to us and to our lives.
Jeffrey Heine:
If we generalize his argument here, it would go something like this. If you are not willing to give up your place of privilege, if you are not willing to give up whatever your palace is out of fear of losing it all, you've already lost. You're dead already. We can say it this way. Whenever your identity becomes wrapped up in something that will eventually perish, you're going to perish with it.
Jeffrey Heine:
The key is you have to wrap your identity around something that will never perish. You have to wrap your identity around the Lord. If your identity is wrapped up in your money, you will perish. If your identity is wrapped up in your social status, you will perish. If your identity is wrapped up in anything other than the Lord, you will perish.
Jeffrey Heine:
Mordecai's words are actually remarkably close to the Lord's. When the Lord Lord says this, whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but Whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it. For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and he forfeits his soul? What is a man willing to give in exchange for a soul? And I can almost picture Mordecai saying that to Esther.
Jeffrey Heine:
What have you given in exchange for your soul? Look at you. Look at your position. Look at your privilege. What have you given in exchange for your soul?
Jeffrey Heine:
Let me ask you. If called upon by the Lord, can you throw away whatever your palace is? Can you freely give your money away? Can you risk your social standing? Can you jeopardize that promotion?
Jeffrey Heine:
Because hear me. If you are not willing to throw away your palace, it's no longer a palace. It's a prison. You're in bondage to that. Mordecai argues with Esther that if she is not willing to risk it all, she's dead already.
Jeffrey Heine:
But then he says this one final thing. He he no longer says this negative thing. He decides to go positive here, and I think that this one thing here actually gives her the courage to do the right thing. So earlier it's do this or you die. Now it goes a different direction, and this is the focal point of the entire book.
Jeffrey Heine:
He says, Esther, who knows Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? And when Esther hears these words, for the first time, she becomes the subject of a verb and not the object. She actually springs into action as she does stuff. The word come there.
Jeffrey Heine:
Who knows whether you have not come? In in Hebrew, it's it's the hifl tense. It's a past tense, passive tense. You could translate it brought. Who knows whether you have not, were not brought to this position?
Jeffrey Heine:
Brought into the kingdom for such a time as this. He's saying, Esther, do you realize that the reason you were in the position that you were in is by sheer grace? You did not earn it. You could have never in a 1000000 years planned for it. You were brought, carried to this position that you were in.
Jeffrey Heine:
Esther, you had you had no role in being born in Persia. You just happened to be born in Persia. You played no part in being born a beautiful woman. That beauty was given to you. You had no part of queen Vashti being removed and the king needing to replace her.
Jeffrey Heine:
You have played no part in being just the right age to be selected to be part of this harem and possibly a new king. Everything you have, this position that you're enjoying is yours by sheer grace. And we need to understand that that everything we enjoy, everything we have is by the sheer grace of God. I know some of you are thinking, okay, yes. I mean, I'm not gonna deny this by grace, but also work really hard to get in the position I'm in.
Jeffrey Heine:
And I'm not denying your work, but I'm asking that your work is futile apart from grace. You had nothing to do with being born in the 21st century, current job market was around you or the economy or or all the connections that were needed to perfectly line up to get you in the place where you are. For those of you who are married, you might think you worked really hard to find that spouse and to marry them. You had nothing to do with that person even existing. That person existed because God declared that that person would exist.
Jeffrey Heine:
Not only did they exist, but they were born in the same time period as you. They were born in in the same location as you. And for some reason, they actually found you attractive and married you. It's the grace of God. So the reality is that throughout history, there have been people who are smarter than you, have worked harder than you, are better looking than you, and don't have near the opportunity or the placement as you.
Jeffrey Heine:
We're here because the grace of God has brought us here. Whatever your position, you are there because you have been placed, brought, carried by God. And if you're brought to this position you were in, hear me, what that means is that you have a purpose. You have a purpose. Grace is so transformative, because when we really understand grace, we understand that now we have a purpose in life.
Jeffrey Heine:
Without an understanding of grace over our lives, we're always gonna struggle with meaning. What do our lives mean? What are we here for? Because if you believe you are who you are simply because of all of your hard work and all of your effort, then you are gonna have to try and come up with meaning. You're gonna have to try to give yourself meaning.
Jeffrey Heine:
So all of your effort to accumulate wealth, why? You've got to define, well, why am I? Why am I working so hard? Why am I long for such social standing? Why?
Jeffrey Heine:
And Esther has already told you that wealth, power, beauty are empty. But if you see you've been brought here, that you are where you are by grace, that you were created and brought by God and put in the position you're in, then you realize I have a purpose. My life actually has meaning. God has got a plan for me. And when you realize that God has a plan for you, it begins to free you up to act.
Jeffrey Heine:
If you really understand the position you're in was given to you by God, You're not just going to sit and wallow in self pity and always wondering, what am I doing here on this little speck of dust in the universe? You know, realize that God has something extraordinarily, extraordinary for me to do, perhaps at this moment. When Esther realizes here that she was not in the position she was in because of the powers of Persia or because the powers of king Ahasuerus, or because of her own powers, but by the power of the unseen force there that is God, she springs into action. I love it. Little little spineless Esther begins barking out orders, and she begins making all these commands.
Jeffrey Heine:
She takes charge as she tells Mordecai. She goes, alright. I'll do it. I'll do it. I'm gonna go to the king, and if I die, I die.
Jeffrey Heine:
If I perish, I perish. If I lose my job, I lose my job. If I get passed over for the promotion, I get passed over for the promotion, but I will not compromise my morals. If I lose friends because I won't join in, they're racial slurs or or whoever they're making fun of, I lose my friends. If I lose my money in order to help those in need, I I I lose my money.
Jeffrey Heine:
If I lose the respect of my peers because I choose to identify with the poor and the oppressed and the outcast, then I lose the respect of my peers. Because I was brought to be in this position for such a time as this. You are who you are by the grace of God. So the question is, do you see yourself as brought? Are you a self made man?
Jeffrey Heine:
Now when we come to understand and see this story of Esther, there is a slight danger here that we would really be inspired to go and be all Braveheart, go and try to make a difference on our own. Esther is an example for us. She is an example, but if she's only an example, she's gonna squash you. She she should inspire us, but she's not just an inspiration. What we need to understand is that Esther, at her very best, is not our example, but she's a sign pointing us to somebody greater than her.
Jeffrey Heine:
We need to understand this about all the old testament saints. If we if we look at David and we see him slaying Goliath, and we're like, well, there's our example, that's great. Well, it's gonna crush you, because how many of you have slain, you know, Goliaths or giants? If you see Joshua, and you're like, wow. He's he's a great example.
Jeffrey Heine:
Now I need to just, you know, find a city, march against it, and the walls come crumbling down. Like, that's that's gonna crush you. They are some examples for us, but but mostly, they're assigned to us. And so people like David, people like Joshua, people like Moses, they all had tremendous flaws. And those flaws are a sign or a mirror saying, this is who you are.
Jeffrey Heine:
That's how we identify with them. David as the adulterer. David as the murderer. Moses as being disobedient. They're a mirror or a sign pointing to who we really are.
Jeffrey Heine:
But when they do something extraordinary, when they do take that great act of faith, when they do save their people, they're also assigned, but not pointing to us, pointing to Christ. And our need for a savior like that. So Esther, fallen Esther, yes, she is a sign or she's a mirror pointing to all of us. Esther at her best, yeah, she's an example. But more than that, she's a sign pointing us to Christ.
Jeffrey Heine:
And when we see that, we will be changed. As as we're going through this, does her story sound any in any way familiar to you? Can you think of somebody else who is willing to leave a palace in order to come and be identified among a judged people? Can you think of anyone who is described as boldly approaching the throne in order to intercede on behalf of a people who stand condemned. Can you think of anybody else who was willing to give their life for the salvation of the people?
Jeffrey Heine:
Esther points us to Jesus, but Jesus is the greater Esther. Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus left His position of power in heaven. He came down to earth in order to identify with sinful people. And when he did it, he didn't just take on the possibility of perishing. He knew he was going to perish.
Jeffrey Heine:
Said, I must perish so I will perish. But he perished so we wouldn't have to. And that's the good news of John 3 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that who so ever believes in him shall not perish, but have life. And now Jesus, he's rose again, and now he goes to the throne, and he makes intercession on our behalf.
Jeffrey Heine:
We are saved because of Jesus. And when you understand that grace, the grace that Jesus has shown, it transforms you in a way that no example that Esther could ever set could. It gives your life real meaning when you realize that Jesus didn't come to this world, suffer, and die so I could have a purposeless existence. He did this to bring me to himself and to place me to the position I'm in because he has a plan to use me. Grace sets us free to leave the palace and to serve others.
Jeffrey Heine:
Grace sets us free to give a new to have a new life. If you would, pray with me. Father, whatever the palaces is are that we enjoy so much, bring them to our mind right now. Father, through your spirit, give us the strength and the courage to lay those things down. Lord, that strength, that courage only comes by understanding how your grace has been lavished upon us.
Jeffrey Heine:
We're not where we are by accident. You have brought us to this place, so we thank you for your lavish grace. We thank you for your salvation, We thank you for the book of Esther and how it ultimately points us to you, Jesus, who did perish so that we might never have to. We pray this in your name.