Esther 4 For Such a Time as This Maybe

God’s Sovereign Providence in Esther’s Story

This morning we're going to get back into the book of Esther and before the worship band comes in leads I enjoy kind of diving in a little bit into the text before they come so that we can kind of get our mind focused on where it's going and We're really looking at basically the halfway point through the book of Esther.

So we've been kind of churning through this and we're halfway through and what we find in our text is the halfway point but also the central theme of the book and. Although it's a highlighter to kind of remind us where we've been God is not mentioned anywhere in the book of Esther.

That's kind of unique in Scripture, right? God isn't even mentioned in it. But what we see in the book of Esther is the book is full of God's sovereign work his hand moving behind the scenes getting some things done and.

So some of the things that we saw so far in the text just to kind of catch up to speed. Or to remind you those of you have been here as there was a king who threw a big festival and basically at that festival.

Got drunk. His name is Xerxes. He was the king over all of Persia in that process of getting drunk. He offended his queen and basically said come from the palace come to the party and parade your beauty in front of everybody.

And she said I'm not an object. I'm not a thing. I'm not I'm not gonna go and do that. And so what does he do? He kicks her out of the kingdom, but then it sobers up regrets his decision and goes I just got rid of my queen.

Every king needs a queen. So then he says, okay well we're gonna here's this process by which we're gonna find a new queen and there's this pretty dicey contest that happens where all of the eligible young ladies are called together and this contest happens and Esther a Jewish woman wins the contest and she's raised to the office of Queen and In the middle of all of those seemingly bizarre and very human decisions.

We are going to find out that there has been a reason for these things. This text is going to indicate that those things have had purpose or reason behind them. And how many of you know that when you start talking about the events of your life having reason?

When you start talking about the events of your life having purpose you have begun to appeal to something higher than yourself. Does that make sense? For the things that happen to you to actually have reason to have a purpose.

Implies that something other than yourself is driving this thing. Are you getting what I'm saying? You agree with that? And So if we even just for a moment acknowledge that our life has some purpose. We are starting to get close to acknowledging that God is there and he is driving things behind the scenes and getting things done.

Our main character Mordecai is going to suggest that someone has been intentionally crafting Esther's life. He's been working and Esther is going to be at a crossroads today so she's going to have an opportunity to look at the way that her life has been crafted up to a point and then she's going to stand at a crossroads and have to make a decision based on the information that she knows from the past and She is going to make a decision that is going to decide her destiny and not just hers alone.

But even the destiny of all of the Jews the entire Jewish race. So I want you to open your Bibles, please Esther chapter 4 and that can be found on page 355 in the Bible that doesn't seat back in front of you so if you take that Bible out and check it out, that's page three five five in that Bible and If you don't own a Bible or an English Standard Version of the Bible, you can take that one with you.

We do desire that everybody has a copy of God's Word and is able to read it on their own. But follow along as I read Esther chapter 4 in its entirety. When Mordecai learned all that had been done Mordecai tore his clothes put on sackcloth and ashes and went out in the midst of the city and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry.

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 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.

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 sandals. But he would not accept them what take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.

Then Esther called for Hathak one of the king's eunuchs who had been appointed to attend her and Ordered him to go to Mordecai and learn what this was and why it was. Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate 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.

Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction that he might show it to Esther explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people and Hathak went and told Esther what Mordecai had said.

Then Esther spoke to Hathak and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say all the king's servants and the people of the king's province. 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 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 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 three.

Days.

Night or day I and my young 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.

Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. Let's pray father. We come before you as a people who need you. I Acknowledge that as we enter this text and as we think through these things we we can get kind of caught up in the history and the different events and even just kind of the the drama of this account.

But father.

I know that is your spirits desire to come and to take us a step deeper than that to get beyond the history and kind Of the interest of the story and ultimately see ourselves in the story and recognize our brokenness before you.

But also the great way that you were your hand has been guiding and working in our lives and in our history. Father we need you to bring light to this text this morning that we might be changed and transformed and that as if I get up and speak and Your spirit is not moving in our hearts and in our lives then then this is wasted time and it's wasted breath but as your spirit takes these words and takes your word your holy word into our lives and Transforms us that we can we could be changed because of your text and then father We need you as we come to worship because otherwise we're just singing songs and that's kind of cool and fun but it's not worship and it's our desire to worship you and to lift you up and to Acknowledge how high you are and so father I pray that you would be in our worship this morning and that we'd bring honor and glory before your throne because you are worth It you are awesome.

I pray this in the name of your son Jesus Christ it is my prayer every Sunday that God takes the word of God and grabs our attention and that the spirit is able to Take some of the just take some of the principles and I don't know what it might be for you as I prepare a message.

But that God would actually grab a hold of our hearts and lives and change us because this is his word. This is the Almighty the the one who created everything that we see Speaking to us through this book.

And so that's that's an awesome thing. When we when we come to the start of our text Mordecai who is Esther's adopted father also her cousin. It tells us in the text early in the book of Esther that at both of Esther's parents have died.

So there's no mystery to how she was orphaned. They've both passed on and her cousin Mordecai Somehow formally and legally adopts her and so she's raised by in it by anybody here have a cousin. That's old enough that they could have raised you maybe a couple of us do I have I have some pretty interesting spreads and generations in my family and that could have been possible for me.

But when that's all said and done, that's what we've got going on here and Mordecai Finds out at the beginning of the text Esther's adopted father what happened back in chapter 3. So you're kind of going well what happened back in chapter 3 that was a couple weeks ago Mordecai had refused to bow to the prime minister of all Persia this man this evil wicked man named Haman who had been raised up To high high office like second-in-command to the king and the king made a command and said when you see Haman walk in the room.

Everybody on the floor touch your head to the floor touch your forehead to the ground. You will bow before him and Mordecai says I'm not not me. I'm not gonna worship him. And so Haman didn't like that too much.

Okay. He was like everybody bows in my presence, but not Mordecai. So Haman plotted to destroy all of Mordecai's people who are the Jews the the ones Whom God promised that his Messiah would come and so if the Jews are destroyed no Messiah.

And so this is a pretty big deal in the scope of all that's why it's in Scripture is because the entire scope and theme of all of the Bible that God is God is putting everything in motion that he will provide a Savior for us in relationship with him and that's in jeopardy here in our text because Haman talks to the king and bribes the king and The king Xerxes actually sells all the Jews for a sum of money into Haman's hand to do with as he pleases and he passes a royal Edict to extinguish the entire race of the Jews on the 13th day of the 12th month of the year.

Says they're yours and in case there's any confusion of what this edict is. It says to annihilate to kill or destroy. The edict written uses all three verbs just to clarify in case you weren't sure. Okay, so, you know if you if kill doesn't work for you then annihilate or destroy or whatever you prefer.

Get rid of all the Jews is the point and it even goes so far in the edict to say young old children women. Everyone I mean it spells it out in detail and you can go back into chapter 3 and read the edict itself.

So as a sign of deep mourning how many of you if you found out your people were going to be destroyed? Everybody that you love everybody that you know everybody that's related to you is going to be annihilated on a given day.

Anybody here kind of kind of taking that hard? Okay, is it enough if you knew that you were going to die on a certain day like that would be pretty rough but to find out that. Everybody in your family and your family's family and everybody in your history and your lineage and your ethnicity is going to be destroyed.

On a given day. So as a sign of deep mourning Mordecai tears his clothes. Puts on this itchy scratchy camel hair clothing covers himself with ashes and takes to the streets. Weeping and wailing. Now, he's not merely being melodramatic.

He's following ancient Eastern social customs. And so when you get this idea of putting ashes anybody kind of confused about what that means. Like does he just take a little pile of ashes and put him on his head or whatever?

Well have any of you ever been at a campfire where? Maybe some of you were in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or whatever. But you're at the campfire and you can take the wood that's already burned and scrape it and what happens if you put that on?

Your face. It's gonna it's gonna get dark right? And so that's the picture. He's just covering himself with ashes. He puts on this this uncomfortable itchy scratchy Camel's hair clothing sackcloth if you will and All of these activities are symbolic and are intended to show on the outside.

What Mordecai is feeling on the inside? He feels torn. He feels exposed. Uncomfortable dark like the charcoal covering his face and he's making a public display of his internal emotions. Now do we live in a culture that that allows and permits external displays of internal emotions?

Not really do we and I wouldn't say that wholesale you ought to adopt, you know, okay. Let's just adopt what Mordecai does here and if you're going through a rough week, you know, go ahead and pull out the camel's hair and And put ashes on your head and things like that.

But I do think we have a lesson to learn here and that is that oftentimes we we suppress things. We push things internally and we don't share any of our frustrations and as the body of Christ trying to seek out Authentic relationships with one another there ought to be a place in the body of Christ for that Authentic honest sharing of the difficulties that are going on inside and I've appreciated that here to some degree I feel like Many of you not all of you.

But many of you have been open with me about your struggles and things that I can be praying for you about and some of That I recognize I might not be getting the full story. But I that we are providing opportunities through our small group ministry for you to try to make those connections to genuinely share your hearts with one another and obviously we have to you know, the sackcloth the ashes things like that aren't necessarily the social custom for how to do that but there is a way in which we we need to trust one another and Step out with sharing our hearts and looking for help because how many of you would acknowledge that there are times in life when?

We need help. Would you be willing to admit that? When we can't carry it on our own and we can't do it on our own and we need others. In essence, we need God with skin on for us Christ with skin on to be there with us and to sit down in the dust and ashes with us so to speak so he makes this this display and not only that but he He goes out into the town and there's this cry and this weeping and the word that's used for the loud.

And bitter cry is actually a word used most often for a cry of help. He's not merely wailing census senselessly. Oh He's crying for help that's the word that's used in the Hebrew text. Anybody want to guess probably who he's crying to help.

To who's he who's he calling out for help to his God? And he takes his morning. It says in the text He takes it right up to the entrance of to the king's gate now He was not allowed into the king's gate decked out in all of his morning gear.

Okay, and there's a reason for that.

Kings.

Like to be.

Happy.

Kings like happy people in that day in that age. It was not a good idea to make the king sad. The person who made the king sad made the king mad and Making the king mad would always turn out bad.

Bad.

That wasn't it rhymed. That was that was ugly. Um. But yeah, you get what I'm saying? I mean Kings liked jesters triviality fun. Celebrations things like that. So nobody mourning in the presence of the king or in the king's gate where the king's business was being conducted.

Because he just didn't want any of that Sadness, we even saw earlier in the text at the end of verse 3 him and Haman who have just plotted against the Jews plotted Genocide sit down for a cold one while the entire city is in confusion and is in chaos and he'll just celebrate this.

This is awesome. Mordecai is not alone in his mourning throughout the 127 provinces this vast Persian Empire. There was great mourning among the Jews in verse 3. We're told that they were all fasting and weeping and lamenting a word that we don't use very often and they're lamenting in sackcloth and ashes.

The Empire all throughout permeating the entire Empire is this sorrow and the sadness that's weighing heavy in communities all throughout Persia. Now the word lamenting I mentioned is one that we don't use very often and quite frankly I think we are a people that don't understand the concept of lamenting and even if we understand it a little bit We don't do it.

Well. We are a people that are good at complaining. Not good at lamenting and there's a difference between the two. I would dare say that as Americans we've nearly perfected the art of complaint but not good at lamenting.

I Think the distinction between lament and complaint is very important because of the way we see it used in Scripture. Grumbling and complaining is what we see indicated in the story of the Exodus that landed an entire generation in the grave.

Like they ended up spending 40 years wandering around in the wilderness until an entire generation died because they complained and grumbled and whined against God. Right. Do you remember that anybody remember that story?

It's complaining a big deal. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, but then we have David King David of Israel who is declared to be a man after God's own heart, right and He writes all of these significant and serious laments God.

Where are you in my trial? Why where are you in my tragedy or Job who says I wish I wasn't even born. Oh my goodness. This is just horrible. This is what he went through was pretty horrible, right? This is horrible.

This is drastic. Why did you even give me birth? Why did why did you bring me into this world and yet it says of Job in all these things he did not sin. So there's a little bit of a difference here. Now.

I think that our natural tendency might be to think okay. What's the difference between complaining and lamenting? Well, then therefore if one is acceptable and one isn't then complaining must be look, you know focusing on my circumstances, right?

Complaint is when I focus on the circumstances lamenting is ignoring the circumstances. Is that is that right? No, all the laments if you if you read the laments of David. He's very direct about the things that are the burr under his saddle when he talks with God.

My enemies are pressing in all about me. Where is my God my protection you have been to me a fortress and a shield. Where are you now God in this dire circumstance? I I need you. Right, do you see how he laments but he brings to God the issue at hand.

He's not shying away from it or ignoring the problem. And so here it is. So what is the difference? Complaining maligns God with the desire to be done with him or ignoring his ability to help. That's complaining.

It's not coming to God for help. It's coming to God with just the issue at hand and Really ultimately a desire to be done with him. It's the cry in the wilderness of the Israelites that says we would have been better off if we had ignored God and stayed in Egypt, do you remember them saying that in the Exodus story?

Wish wish we hadn't even followed you God. We'd be better off having onions and meat and all of this stuff back in Egypt under slavery than have followed you out here. That's complaining. But a lament says my circumstances are dark and difficult and God I am NOT enjoying this.

But who else do I have to turn to but you? Where else can I go for help? There is no other help. There is no other place that I can go. And so I'm coming to you God because you are the only one who can help me out in this.

Other people don't understand you ever felt like that like you're alone in your circumstances and no other human Understands exactly what you're going through. There's some reality to that. But there is one who understands exactly what you're going through and so Lament turns to him and acknowledges the hard things acknowledges the difficulties.

But also acknowledges that if we don't turn to him for help, there is no help to be found. Z complaint says why did I ever trust you in the first place now? I've lost my job and I have to start all over again, and it wants to be done with God.

Lament says I've lost my job and I hate this process God. Can you teach me through this? Can you would you please provide me something else because I need some income. See the difference between complaint and lament.

Lament still acknowledges how bad it is but seeks the answer in God. Complaint blames God with a refusal to turn to him for help and complaint all Ultimately is driving towards one main thing God. We want a new leader.

You're not doing a very good job, and that's actually what finally Culminated that was that was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back with God. Finally it came to the point where they had sent the ten spies into I mean twelve spies into the land.

Do you remember this story in? The Exodus and they go in and they spy it and they come back and ten give a bad report to give a Good report and in the end the people go with the ten who give the bad report and ultimately say let's ditch Moses.

Let's ditch God. Give us a new leader and we're out of here because God is not worthy of following is what they're ultimately saying. Complaint leads to rebellion in our hearts towards God. Have you seen that in your own life?

God you don't know what you're doing with me. How dare you? Rather than complaining to others about our circumstances and making God look bad. Let's talk to God about our problems and properly lament the difficulties of life.

Turning to him rather than away from him in moments of need and I just say this because maybe maybe you're sitting there saying Don I don't understand why you're talking about this so much. This is an issue for me.

So maybe I'm just preaching to myself right now, but my wife is celebrating because I'm preaching this to myself. So she's getting it. I Mean, I don't know. Maybe there's somebody else. Maybe there's one or two other people out there that struggle with complaining.

I don't know.

But.

This is something that God made as a major lesson to me as I'm reading through this text and studying the difference between complaining and lament the words in there and Hopefully God's working with somebody else, too.

So the Jews raise a lament to God seeking his help and some scholars think that Mordecai is trying to get Esther's attention by getting as close to the palace as Possible. In his weeping and wailing he gets right up to the edge of where he can legally go.

Right by the edge of the king's gate. But whether it's on purpose or not. He does attract Esther's attention. Her servants see Mordecai's public display and report to her and it's it appears. We don't know necessarily why she responds the way she does it some people assume that.

There's that she thinks that Mordecai is in sackcloth and ashes because of some economic tragedy that's happened in his life. Somehow he's lost everything and so he's mourning and weeping and wailing in sackcloth.

So what does she do? She goes and responds by sending him some good clothes. To make himself more presentable. Like she thinks he's lost everything and clothing was a major commodity during that time and he's lost everything.

And so she's gonna send him some clothes. It's interesting to note that Queen Esther has some means now. Like the the fact that she won that contest and is now Queen. She actually has at her disposal some income and some resources and she's able to send decent clothes to Mordecai at will.

She's got that accessible to her. But Mordecai refuses the clothes because the issue for which he is mourning Has not been resolved and that's one of the Jewish customs as you kept in the state of mourning you kept the ashes the sackcloth and everything until resolution was brought and Now from verses 5 through 17, we enter into a lengthy discussion between Esther and Mordecai.

That's going to be mediated by a eunuch named Haythak. He's going to be the go-between again any movie any Veggie tale any video anything that you've ever seen about the book of Esther that implies that Mordecai and Esther get to sit down face to face and talk is Completely misguided.

Nobody got near the harem. The word harem means forbidden. That's what the word means in Arabic and in Hebrew and you don't go near that so without dying. So he's got a go-between here and it's apparent from verse 5 to Esther really did not know what was going on.

She's so shielded from the culture and the society around her in the harem. She doesn't even know that her own people are under attack and are going to be destroyed and it's just clear from the interaction.

She did not know about the edict yet. So she sent Haythak and he meets with Mordecai in the public square just outside of the king's gate and this interaction happens. So Mordecai reports all he knows about the edict of destruction against the Jews that this edict has come forward.

And it's interesting to note Mordecai had some pretty serious sources. To actually know the amount and that's why it's I think it's recorded in here is to show how in integral he was he had Some some significant sources to be able to say how much was the bribe that Haman offered to the king?

He's able to he's able to pass that along to Esther he knows exactly how much they were sold for and everything Mordecai sends along with the eunuch a copy of the decree. So Haythak goes to Esther and reports.

He shows her the decree. Explains it to her and some see here an allusion to Esther being illiterate which would not have been that uncommon during that time. They didn't have libraries not a whole lot to read, you know.

They didn't have their Kindles and their nooks yet. And so there was there wasn't that much to read so that she would if she was able to read that would be somewhat surprising although more common for a Jew to be able to read but notice that he shows her the edict and then Explains it to her and most scholars say either she either you have to interpret this that she's kind of thick.

Or she was not able to read it herself and he shows it to her to show it's got the official stamp on it. It's official document. But then Haythak has to read it to her and explain it to her and give the details.

Either way, it doesn't really matter to me. It's just a just a point of you know. What does that mean that he had to show it to her and then explain it to her? But the end of verse 8 is a little bit ironic if you if you get there and look at the text for a second it says he that he might show it to Esther the edict and explain it to her and Command her to go to the king to beg his favor.

Mordecai is going to command the queen. That kind of funny Mordecai is going to command the queen. She she's in the position of commanding anybody she wants. Now we saw back a couple of chapters that Esther had been a very compliant and obedient young lady.

You get the impression from just how many times it stated early in the book of Esther that she was compliant and obedient to those In authority over her and to her adopted father that it's laid on so thick that you get the impression.

She was quite a delightful young lady just very compliant and very kind and very willing to do whatever her authority told her to do and I think that that comes into Play here because can you imagine?

Some of you here are probably fairly compliant individuals. You really don't Naturally tend towards rebellion any of you relating to that statement. It's just not not not a particularly rebellious heart in you.

That makes this all the more difficult because some spouses are ribbing each other I'm confused by. Maybe you should be more like that. I don't know. She was compliant and so I think that that makes this Mordecai telling her to do something and what he's telling her to do is to break the law of the land.

Can you see how that would be difficult? If you were a compliant individual who liked to please everybody and just kind of liked everything to kind of run smooth and peaceful. She's gonna be in a catch -22 here and people who are more compliant don't like catch.

None of us really like that right or given a choice, but some people are kind of like give me a challenge. We'll see we get this figured out. And like making choices and her so her reply shows her distress over this command.

She's distressed and she doesn't know which way to go. So in verse 11, she reminds Mordecai as if maybe he doesn't know but of course he already knows because he's a scribe in the king's Gate, he's got royal responsibilities.

But she's like just in case you're forgetting. Oh.

Father.

Anyone who enters the court of the king uninvited is dead. Do you remember that little rule? Anybody who comes into his presence uninvited? Herodotus was a Greek man who is a historian we have a lot of his writings translated into English.

You can you can get a hold of that and read it. It's kind of cool stuff, but the Greeks had a distinct interest in Persia because they were the competing Superpowers of the day so the Greeks had a significant interest in Persia.

Persia had a significant interest in Greece. And they like to fight each other so they like to write about each other and kind of parody one another but Herodotus the Greek historian writes a lot about Persian history.

He says in the throne room of Xerxes were dozens of soldiers stationed at certain places with axes in hand. Stationed anybody want to guess what they were for. Herodotus makes it clear. They were there to slay anybody who entered into the presence of the king unannounced.

Okay, so this is historically documented that this is the case and it is Dangerous to do this okay. They're they're ready there to carry out no no judge. No jury no trial no handcuffs. No arrest no Miranda rights.

Done you enter the king's presence. You are dead. It was assumed if you entered the court Unannounced you had ill intentions for the king can you understand how that would be the case? It's assumed that you have you mean some harm to the king if you enter unannounced because this is such a common law such a Such an obvious rule that to come in there would be like duh of course you want to die.

Like right and the only exception is unless the king acts. Are you hearing what I'm saying? You're dead. Unless the king does something he must actually enact. Lower his scepter, and he needs to do it quickly.

Okay, he needs to do it like the first thought he sees you, and he's kind of like I don't know if I reckon you're done. Who is who is that? Oh, okay, man? I was gonna lower the scepter, but my guards are just so quick you guys are good.

You know do you are you getting what I'm saying he has to do something so in in essence for Esther to say yes to this and go through with this is to assume death and Throw herself on the mercy of the king hoping that he extends the scepter pretty quick.

But of course the assumption is going to be that the king is going to extend the scepter to his wifey, right? Anybody with me when we read how he treated his first queen in chapter 1.

Uh-oh.

Remember how he kicked her out. I Don't think if Vashti had entered his presence that she was getting the scepter lowered. And then Esther shares a new nugget of information with Mordecai through Haythak as he's going back and forth.

She says by the way.

Mordecai.

I've not been called to the presence of the king for at least 30 days now. That kind of stands that statement stands alone without any explanation. And so as you can imagine probably just as your wheels are spinning for hundreds of years Jewish Commentaries have been spinning out thoughts about this because there's a little bit of intrigue in that isn't there.

Why wasn't she called for over 30 days? She's his wife is there something going on so all the speculation volumes worth of speculation on what was going on in their relationship. Of course that's just kind of like that's the gravy of a story.

You know the love interest in the relationship and all that stuff so. Did he did he did they fall out of love they get in an argument. Something he he no longer loved her he was done with her he was moving on.

Whatever the nature of the relationship was at this point. Are you getting it clear that Esther is not quite sure if he's gonna extend the scepter or not. Are you getting that? That's the point. That's why it's there 30 days.

He hasn't even called he hasn't texted me. He hasn't written no emails nothing. I haven't even heard from him, so this is. This is this is dicey for her. So let me pause here for a second because I and I and I apologize to those of you.

Maybe aren't thinking the same way that I do but sometimes these logical questions come to my mind. And I can't help but think at least a handful of you or maybe more are thinking the same thing as me.

So I think we so I go down these rabbit trails in my study. And then I'm like sure should I not. I'm sharing it. Why doesn't Esther just? Set up an appointment with the king does that cross anybody's mind in this text like why doesn't she just?