This was a sermon preached by Derreck on Sunday 20th March 2022. Artwork from the book club book Unveiled, by Micah Hayns
For such a time as this
Intro: Esther = Persian name meaning ‘star’, as in ‘star of hope’.
Hadassah = Jewish name meaning ‘myrtle branch’.
The myrtle signifies peace and thanksgiving.
Esther was an orphan who was brought up by her older cousin/uncle, Mordecai (Esther 2:5-7).
Esther was Jewish and the Jews had been exiled in Persia, she was raised in a family that chose to stay in captivity rather than return to Jerusalem.
The book of Esther is unique in the Bible as the name of God is never directly mentioned here.
Story:
The King was Ahasuerus, also known as Xerxes.
Queen Vashti disobeyed Ahasuerus, she refused to come to a banquet and be ‘shown off’, the banquet had been running for seven days and was for all the people of Susa – the capitol,
She refused to attend and be ‘displayed’, Ahasuerus was humiliated and embarrassed in front of his guests, so Vashti was divorced.
Now Ahasuerus needed a replacement.
So, they held a beauty contest, gathered all the most beautiful women in the nation to the palace – including Esther.
She found favour with Hegai (an organiser) who gave her seven maids and one of the best rooms in the palace.
She had to prepare herself to meet the king, this took a YEAR of beauty treatments and preparations.
Finally she met the king and was chosen, she won the beauty contest and was became queen (Est 2:2, 17).
Throughout this preparation year Esther kept her Jewishness a secret on Mordecai’s advice.
Soon after she becomes queen (Est 2:17) Mordecai discovers a plot to assassinate Ahasuerus, Esther tells the king in Mordecai’s name. Ahasuerus recorded Mordecai’s action in the royal record Book of Chronicles.
Haman the Agagite was promoted in the place of the conspirators, and became an enemy of Mordecai, because Mordecai would not bow to him.
This was a grave insult and breach of protocol in the royal court.
Not known why Mordecai didn’t bow, as it was not against normal Jewish practice to bow to a ruler or his representative e.g. Joseph and his brothers in Egypt (Gen 43:26).
There was some family history, Mordecai’s ancestor King Saul had been an enemy of Haman’s ancestor King Agag, king of the Amalekites (see 1 Sam 15), and this may have been the reason Mordecai’s earned Haman’s enmity.
Haman didn’t want to attack Mordecai directly as the king remembered Mordecai’s warning of the assassination attempt, so Haman, discovering that Mordecai was a Jew targeted all the Jews (Est 3:1-15) in revenge – easy to commit one murder among many.
He says that the Jews (although didn’t mention them by name) do not follow the king’s laws so should be ‘destroyed’.
The king signed the edict and it was published and sent to the whole kingdom.
Mordecai discovers the plot to kill the Jews, puts on sackcloth and ashes and went to see Ahasuerus, but was not allowed into the court in sackcloth and ashes (Est 4:2).
Jews throughout the land were ‘…fasting, weeping , and wailing, many laying on sackcloth and ashes…’ (Es 4:3)
Mordecai got a message to Esther asking her to appeal direct to the king and tell him of the plot.
But there was a problem here, if Esther approached the king without first being summoned she would die (Esther 4:11), no-one could enter the king’s presence without permission.
Mordecai reminded her that if she didn’t she would die anyway with the rest of the Jewish nation!
What a choice, act and probably die, not act and definitely die!!!
“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”” (Es 4:14)
Preparation for this dangerous act was for Esther to fast for three days, her and all the Jews in Susa.
After three days of prayer and fasting Esther entered the throne room where the king was seated.
The king saw her and………… “…she found favour in his sight…”.
I bet she did!
This was the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, who had fasted for three days (losing a couple of lbs?), scrubbed, tubbed and buffed, probably wearing the kings favourite dress, smelling sensational – I bet she found favour in his sight.
I reckon every pair of eyes in the place were fixed on this beauty!
First obstacle overcome, unexpectedly in the king’s presence and not dead!
But the king saw through all this (brownie points for him) and knew something was wrong, he asks,
“What is troubling you Queen Esther, and what is your request.
Up to half of the kingdom it will be given you.” (Es 5:3).
She asked the king and Haman to attend a banquet she had prepared, an incredible breach of protocol, highly presumptuous.
You didn’t invite the king anywhere, he had the right to go wherever he wanted, but Ahasuerus agreed.
Again she avoided the death penalty by breaking protocol.
Today I don’t think there is anything (not in UK) which is remotely comparable to Esther’s situation here, every step was potentially punishable by death.
Ahasuerus got rid of Vashti just because she didn’t do as she was asked, she didn’t follow a whim of the king, and yet Esther seems to step over the mark far more seriously.
At the banquet Esther revealed her Jewishness and revealed Haman as the plotter of the Jews genocide, pointing out that she too (even as queen) would have to die as a Jew (Est 7:2-6).
Ahasuerus (not surprisingly is not best pleased) and has Haman receive the death planned for Mordecai – being impaled upon a spike.
The Jew’s death sentence is repealed, the Jews are saved, and Mordecai is promoted in Haman’s place.
Today this event is remembered by the Festival of Purim celebrated this week 16th and 17th March. Called Purim (pur-EEM) because ‘Pur’ means ‘lot’ or to cast ‘lots’, and this was how Haman decided the day of the Jewish slaughter.
Suggested lessons from Esther’s life:
- God gives the preparation for what He calls us to do. Esther, a year of beautification and three days of fasting. The refining of our characters is very essential to God’s plan for our life. God can (and does) use flawed humanity but not the proud or arrogant.
- We need the ‘favour’ of God. Esther found favour with the King and so did Mordecai. Even Jesus grew in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52). When we live lives pleasing to God, by following Him faithfully we find favour with Him.
God will also give us favour with people.
- God works in His own time and season. Listen and wait for God to speak, wait for his timing. Joseph was in jail until it was God’s time for him to be released, etc. God will move in His time when we remain faithful, listening for His voice and prompting.
- Your background/past does not define your future with God. Esther was an orphan. God still exalted her and used her. Some of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen, tax collectors and one was a doctor. Our background does not determine what God can do with us. Our faith and willingness to be used does.
- Our faith is personal/individual, NOT PRIVATE. We do not have the right or option to a PRIVATE faith – ‘Great Commission’ etc.
If Esther had not spoken of her faith she, and the nation would have perished. We don’t have the option of silence/invisibility either, we are called to be salt and a light set on a hill for all to see (Matt 5:13-15).
Let us be who and what we are, maybe, we were born for such a time as this.
Esther 7
So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, 2 and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”
3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favour with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”
5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”
6 Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”
Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.
8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.
The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”
As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”
The king said, “Impale him on it!” 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.
Luke 13:1-9
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”