Esther – Trial, Integrity and Blessing
By Pastor Dan Kennedy
© May 8, 2016
Today is Mother’s Day! In the past few messages we have been reviewing the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah, regarding the returning of the Jewish exiles to Jerusalem, so it is fitting to include the story of Esther, which involved the protection of the Jewish exiles disbursed throughout the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire, during the same time period.
It is interesting that, following the fall of Babylon, the conquering Medo-Persian kings had a critical part to play in the reestablishment of God’s Temple in Jerusalem and the return of the Jewish exiles. God was concerned for His people that He had disciplined, for their terrible turning from Him and disobedience, causing the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, and the dispersion of the Jews to Babylon.
God wanted them to be safely brought back to the land He had promised.
· Persian King Cyrus (539–530 BC) listened to the prompting of God to send the first exiles back to Jerusalem so that God’s Temple could have its foundation laid. (Ezra 1-4)
· God used Persian King Darius (522–486 BC) to support and finish the work on His Temple after a time of adversity. It was on the completion of the Temple that the seventy years of discipline prophesied by Jeremiah, was also finished. (Ezra 5-6)
· God used Persian King Xerxes I (or Ahasuerus) (485–464 BC), with Esther as his queen, to spare the lives of His people from annihilation while disbursed in the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire. (The Book of Esther)
· And God used Persian King Artaxerxes I (464–423 BC) to support and complete the return of the exiles from Babylon and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. (Ezra 7-8; Nehemiah)
God used the Assyrian Kingdom of Babylon to Judge His people and destroy His Temple and Jerusalem when the Jews had sinned against Him. God then used the Medo-Persian Kings who conquered Babylon to bring God’s Chosen People back to Jerusalem.
The Book of Esther
The Book of Esther is an explanation of how Esther became queen, the terrible plot of wicked Haman, and God’s great deliverance through Queen Esther’s appeal to Persian King Xerxes.
It is a story of the divine Hand of God working in the everyday lives of people to accomplish His Sovereign purposes for His Chosen People.
1. Xerxes Wealthy and Powerful Kingdom
· 36: Xerxes came to the throne when he was around 36 years old.
· 127 India to Ethiopia: Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush (Ethiopia).
· Fortress of Susa: King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.
· Banquet…3rd Year: In the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials, the military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces.
· Six Month Reveal of Splendor: For a full 180 days (six months) he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty.
· 7-Day Banquet for All: When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest, who were in the citadel (fortress) of Susa.
· Opulent Garden: The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry (a reddish-purple rock with large crystals), marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones.
· Wine: 7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality.
By the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.
· Queen Vashti’s Banquet in the Royal Palace: Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.
2.**[1] The Impulsive Order by an Inebriated King
· This unstable request initiated a series of events that saved God’s people from grave danger, death, and possible annihilation.
· “Bring out the Queen so we can all see how beautiful she is!” (Esther 1:10-11)
o An unfortunate command before a group of powerful, self-centered, and drunk men.
· Queen Vashti refused to come.
· God uses even the wrath of man to praise Him! (Ps. 76:10, see also Ex. 9:16, Rom. 9:17)
3. The King’s Furious Response and the Measured Advice
· A Foundational Need of Men: Respect
Then the king became furious and burned with anger.
1:13 Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times 14 and were closest to the king—Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan, the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom.
15 “According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?” he asked. “She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her.”
16 Then Memucan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. 17 For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’ 18 This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord.
19 “Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.”
Respect
20 Then when the king’s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.”
21 The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memucan proposed. 22 He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, proclaiming in each people’s tongue that every man should be ruler over his own household.
4. The Search for a Queen
· 2:2 “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king.
· 3 Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful girls into the harem at the citadel of Susa.
· Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them.
· 4 Then let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.”
· This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.
5. Shadows and Trials – a tempestuous beginning for a powerful Queen
· Esther (Hadassah) was part of the Jewish exiles who had lost their homeland in war and had been taken to live in Assyria.
· Esther had lost her parents and had been given a home by her uncle Mordecai.
· Esther was taken as one who could possibly be candidate for queen because of her outward beauty, but her inward beauty ultimately prevailed to crown her Queen.
6.** Esther’s Beautiful Spirit: Esther’s Qualities won her favor and admiration in a very competitive and hostile environment. Esther was undoubtedly surrounded by a plethora of self-centered, “mean girls”:
Esther was: Gracious, Kind hearted, Humble, Respectful, Confident, Pleasant, Winsome, and had Integrity, as well as being attractive.
Esther had a “Beautiful Spirit” which gave unrivaled depth to her beautiful person. God had allowed the testing of her childhood to build within Esther something that no other beauty could inherit. Her beautiful spirit would be a means to give her position in the Persian kingdom to save God’s Chosen People.
Proverbs 11:16 A kindhearted woman gains respect,
but ruthless men gain only wealth.
Esther 2:15cand she was admired by (won the favor of) everyone who saw her.
Esther 2:17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.
7.** Mordecai Uncovers a Conspiracy
· Though seemingly unrelated, without God’s Sovereign allowing Mordecai to uncover this plot, there would not have been the sequence of events timely protecting Mordecai from execution by Haman.
Esther 3:1 Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 22 But Mordecai (advocate) found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. 23 And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were hanged on a gallows. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.
8. Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews
· Mordecai was unwilling to grovel at the feet of an evil man.
· Haman reviles Mordecai and seeks to kill all the Jews to get back at Mordecai, for his lack of respect.
o 3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.
o 3:6b he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
o What are some of the qualities of a wicked person?
- Desire for power and control
- Desperate for respect
- Self-Centered- Deceitful
- Obsessive to cause major destruction of enemies.
· Haman sought supernatural knowledge in choosing the date for the massacre. He had the lot (“pur”) cast to find the perfect date.
Esther 3:7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes (nine years after making Esther queen), in the first month, the month of Nisan, they cast the pur (that is, the lot) in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
· After the date was nailed down, Haman talked to the king.
3:8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and who do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.”
· “I’ll pay for it,” Haman told the king.
· “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”
· They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring.
· 13 Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and little children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.
· 14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.
· 15 Spurred on by the king’s command, the couriers went out, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.
9. Mordecai Prevails on Esther to Help
· 4:1 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.
· 3 In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
· Esther had not heard about the edict, but it was told to her of her uncle’s great distress, so she had a eunuch find out what the trouble was.
· 7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to urge her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
· Esther responded…4:11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
· 12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 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 royal position for such a time as this?”
· 15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
· 17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.
10.** Esther’s Request to the King
· 5:1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
· The king asked what he could do for her and she asked that he and Haman attend a banquet she had prepared.
· At the banquet, the king asked again what her request was and she asked that they attend a second banquet the following day.
11. Haman’s Boastful Pride and Suppressed Rage Against Mordecai’s continued disrespect
· Haman’s high spirits leaving Esther’s first banquet – dampened only by Mordecai’s disrespect.
· Haman boasts to his wife and friends of his position, wealth, sons, honor by the king…and private invitation to another banquet by the Queen.
· Haman’s plot to publicly hang – impale Mordecai on a 75-foot pole. (see Ezra 6:11)
12.** The King’s Providential Insomnia, Haman’s Entrance and Mordecai Honored
· Through the king’s insomnia and reading of the historical diary, Mordecai was spared death.
Esther 6 That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. 2 It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
3 “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked.
“Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered.
4 The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had erected for him.
5 His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.”
“Bring him in,” the king ordered.
6 When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”
Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” 7 So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, 8 have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’ ”
10 “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”
13. Haman’s Public Disgrace, with his Downfall Predicted by his advisers and wife
11 So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”
12 Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, 13 and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him.
His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!” 14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared.
14.** Esther’s Second Banquet, her request for her life and the life of her people. The revelation of Haman’s wickedness
7 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther, 2 and as they were drinking wine on that 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 favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, 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 for destruction and slaughter and annihilation. 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 the man who has dared to do such a thing?”
6 Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is 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 gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman’s house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”
The king said, “Hang him on it!” 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.
15. Haman hung or impaled (see Ezra 6:11) and the counter decree to Haman’s Plot
· Queen Esther was given Haman’s estate. (8:1)
· King Xerxes was told that Mordecai and Queen Esther were related.
· The king gave Mordecai his signet ring – which had been given to Haman and Queen Esther appointed Mordecai over Haman’s estate. (8:2)
· Esther pleaded with the king to put an end to Haman’s evil plan and spare the lives of the Jews. (8:3)
· The king sympathized with Esther about the problem, reminding her of what he had done to Haman, as well as the transfer of his estate to Esther, but reminded Esther that any decree written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.
· The king encouraged Esther to have another decree written which would counter Haman’s decree.
· Mordecai drafted the decree and it was written by the royal secretaries, translated and sealed with the king’s signet ring, and issued as law, then disbursed to the officials in the 127 provinces by the king’s royal mounted couriers. (8:9-10)
· The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies, on the 13th day of the twelfth month.
· 12 The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. 13 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
· 15 Mordecai left the king’s presence wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. 16 For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. 17 In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.
16.** The Tables were Turned on the Purim Date: The Triumph of the Jews
Esther 9 1 On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. 2 The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those seeking their destruction. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. 3 And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. 4 Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.
5 The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 7 They also killed… 10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
Esther asked the king for one more day where the Jews could defend themselves in the Citadel of Susa, which the king granted.
16 Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. 17 This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy. (The Jews in Susa celebrated the fifteenth day of the month since they had defended themselves also on the fourteenth day as well.)
20 Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, 21 to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22 as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
This feast was to be celebrated in perpetuity for generations to come.
Conclusion
Several key events that God supernaturally allowed to spare His Chosen People.
2.** The Impulsive Order by an Inebriated King
6.** Esther’s Beautiful Spirit: Esther’s Qualities won her favor and admiration in a very competitive and hostile environment. Esther was undoubtedly surrounded by a plethora of self-centered, “mean girls”… but in spite of that
“she was admired by (won the favor of) everyone who saw her.” 2:15c
7.** Mordecai Uncovers a Conspiracy
10.** Esther’s Request to the King
12.** The King’s Providential Insomnia, Haman’s Entrance and Mordecai Honored
14.** Esther’s Second Banquet: Esther’s request for her life and the life of her people. The revelation of Haman’s wickedness
16.** The Tables were Turned on the Purium Date: The Triumph of the Jews
The Lord knows how to rescue the godly
from trials
and to hold the unrighteous for
the Day of Judgment...
2 Peter 2:9
[1] ** Key Turning Points in the story Leading to the Sparing of God’s People