FBC Morning Light – April 8, 2022

Faith Baptist Church

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Well, a good Friday morning to you. We've come to the end of another work week and looking forward to the weekend and gathering together on the

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Lord's Day. Of course, this Sunday is Palm Sunday and begins a special week of looking forward to Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday next week.

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And just a couple of special things that we do in the Easter season. On Thursday, next

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Thursday evening, we'll have a Maundy Thursday service at our church at seven o 'clock.

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It's about an hour long service. We basically go through the night before the crucifixion and up to the crucifixion.

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We sing some hymns, we read some scripture, we have the Lord's table together. Of course, that was the

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Last Supper the night before the crucifixion. We do all of that and it's just a really good way to prepare our hearts for Resurrection Sunday the following Sunday.

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On Easter Sunday, we'll be having a sunrise service at eight o 'clock in the morning. We'll follow that with a brunch and then the morning

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Easter service in the morning service time. Look forward to these special events coming up in the next week.

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We've been in the book of Esther for the last several days. Yesterday, I just touched on the fact that God is not acknowledged anywhere in this book.

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But that doesn't mean he's not there. I mentioned that one of the ways we see

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God's presence is in the coincidences, if we can call that, the happenstances that occur in this book.

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We see a couple of these in chapters 5, 6, and then into chapter 7.

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Remember how we left yesterday. Haman is bitter against Mordecai, and he can't stand him.

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Someone says, hey, make a gallows. You've got the king's favor. Build a big gallows.

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When we think of a gallows, we might think of those old Western gallows that are erected in the town square, and a noose is put around a guy's neck, and the bottoms dropped out from under him.

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That's not what this was. This was like a huge spike planted in the ground, vertical spike, and the victim was impaled on that thing.

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Pretty gruesome and nasty thing. Someone suggests that, hey, build a gallows, build a spike in your backyard, and ask the king to let you execute

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Mordecai. He'll grant it for sure. You've got such an in with the king. Mordecai does that.

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It says at the end of chapter 5, the very last statement says, the thing pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.

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The plan is in place. The Jews are going to be executed. All the

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Jews are going to be executed. Haman doesn't want to wait until 10 months or 11 months down the road for that execution to take place.

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He wants to get rid of Mordecai now. He builds the gallows. All he needs to do is go to the king the next morning, and have the king sign the death certificate, the death edict, so that Mordecai can be impaled on the gallows in Haman's backyard.

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That brings us to the next morning. Actually, it brings us to the middle of the night, because it says that night in chapter 6 verse 1, the king could not sleep.

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What a coincidence that the king on that night couldn't sleep.

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Fancy that. What does he do to deal with that insomnia? He doesn't get a glass of warm milk.

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He doesn't lie there counting sheep. He says, just give me one of the books from the historical record somewhere.

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That'll be boring enough to put me to sleep, talking about so much time and money was spent building such and such a road, blah, blah, blah.

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That'll definitely put me to sleep. Go get me a scroll. Someone goes to the archives and pulls out a scroll.

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They bring the scroll before the king, and they open it up, and they just so happen to read the account of these two servants of the king,

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Bithana and Teresh, who had plotted to assassinate the king.

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In the historical record, it was reported that Mordecai was the source that resulted in the plan being uncovered.

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Mordecai ratted out these would -be assassins, and because of that,

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Mordecai saved the king's life. That just so happened to be the story that was read to the king that night.

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Then the king ponders a minute, and he says, what have we ever done for this guy,

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Mordecai? What have we done for him? I don't remember ever doing anything for him. The answer comes back, nothing.

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It just so happened to enter the king's mind that Mordecai should have been rewarded for that brave act of uncovering the treason and the treachery, but nothing was done.

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He ponders that, falls off to sleep. The next thing you know, the king wants to know who's in the court.

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He didn't even get a chance to go to sleep, apparently. Haman is in such a hurry to get the king to sign

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Mordecai's death edict that he's there at the crack of dawn. Who's there at the court?

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It just so happens that Haman shows up at that time, just after the king has heard about Mordecai's bravery.

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They say, it's Haman that's entered the court. He says, let him in, let's find out what he wants.

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Haman comes in and the king doesn't give Haman the opportunity to ask his request.

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Instead, the king asks Haman, just so happens to ask Haman, what should we do for the person that I want to honor?

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It just so happens that Haman is so arrogant and proud that he thinks he's got to be talking about me.

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He wants to honor me. He comes up with this elaborate, lavish way of showing honor and respect for someone the king wants to honor.

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Parade him through the streets and say, this is what happens to the man that the king wants to honor. The king says, do that for Mordecai.

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Go get Mordecai, put him on my royal steed, and parade him through the streets, just like you said.

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Go do that for Mordecai. Ouch. There is the destruction of Haman's plan.

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Is God at work in this book? He absolutely is. Is he acknowledged in this book?

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He absolutely is not, and yet he is very much at work.

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We see this again, in this just -so -happened situation, at the end of chapter 7.

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Haman has been invited to a banquet with Esther and the king. This is the banquet, the second night, and Esther is going to make her request.

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They've had their food, they've had their wine, and they're just sitting around. The king says,

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Esther, what is it that you want? Esther explains that there's this death edict to commit genocide against all the

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Jewish people, against her people. The king's like, who in the world is responsible for this?

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Esther says, this guy right here, Haman. At that, the king's upset.

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He's in turmoil, because he knows that Haman used him to get this done.

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He leaves, but he just so happens to come back in the room when

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Haman is pleading with Esther for his life, but he's come to her couch where she is.

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It doesn't look like he's coming to plead for her life, not to the king.

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It looks like he wants to assault her, Haman wants to assault Esther. He says, are you going to do this to my wife right here?

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Then it just so happens that one of the servants says, by the way, king, this guy has built a gallows in his yard to execute

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Mordecai on that gallows. The king says, impale him, do away with him.

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God sees to it that this wicked enemy of the

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Jews, Haman, is executed. Is this because of Esther?

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No, God used Esther, to be sure, but it's not because of Esther. It's not because of Esther, it's not because of Mordecai.

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It's because God arranged the circumstances in just such a way that he protected

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Mordecai, and he arranged the circumstances in just such a way that he eliminated the enemy of God's people, and will ultimately protect them.

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We'll see more of this on Monday. Until then, have a wonderful week.

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I trust God will bless you in it. Let's close in prayer. Father, we do thank you for the way you providentially work, even behind the scenes, in ways that we don't always recognize right away, but can often look back and see your hand throughout the course of events.

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We thank you for who you are, for your sovereignty. Thank you for your providential work.

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We praise you for it, in Jesus' name. Amen. Have a wonderful Lord's Day, and I hope we'll see you back on Monday.