Book of Esther - Part 19

Esther’s Petition and the King’s Question

We're gonna we're been in the book of Esther chapter 7 you can be hunting for that and If you have any trouble at all, just check out the table of contents in the front of your Bible. It's there. Give you the page number and everything.

It's probably not one you read every day is the reason I say that. All right, let's pray father. We thank you for this day that we can come together and worship you study Together we thank you that you're our teacher and that you've given us the Word of God down into this physical world from your spiritual self and from a place that's not a place and A time where there is no time and you've passed it through to us here.

Perhaps the only truly perfect thing that we have in this world. And so we thank you for it. We thank you that you preserved it and you've passed it down to each generation. We have it on our laps today and may you teach us Exactly what you want us to learn today.

We ask it in Jesus name. Amen, I forgot one other thing. Let's pray Lord. We also ask you to Watch over us this morning in a particular way because of the subject matter that we're going to discuss today.

We ask you to Rebuke and bind any Demon or the devil himself who might try to interfere we ask you to rebuke them bind them and send them away from this place give us peace here and Protection and Lord may your spirit teach us exactly what you want us to learn in Jesus name.

Amen you'll understand that part in a minute. All right turn to Esther chapter 7 and we had worked our way down to This through this story where Queen Esther was afraid that the king was going to kill her for coming into his presence without being invited.

But he didn't he loved her he said well I know you came in here requesting something so you can have whatever you want up to half my kingdom and Her request after the king asked her several times. She finally gives the request and it's kind of Surprised the king and you see that here in verse 3 then Esther the Queen answered and said if I found favor in thy sight Oh king and if it pleased the king.

Here's what I want. She says let my life be given me at my petition and my people at my request for we are sold. I am my people to be destroyed to be slain and to perish and Then it's interesting in verse 5 the king her husband Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the Queen who is he and where is he?

I Love that phrase. What you find out as you study this. In fact, the New Testament tells us that all of the things in the Old Testament were written a four time for those who live in the end times as Types and patterns in other words as you read these stories you find physical stories.

They're historical. But the thing is they are like an object lesson or a physical story that teaches us spiritual truths. So you can find that embedded everywhere you read in the Old Testament. It really make the Old Testament come alive to you if you read the story and enjoy it, but go deeper than that.

It's okay. What New Testament principle or doctrine is being taught here? What deeper thing is this story teaching me and in this particular story what you'll find out is that the king Represents Jesus Christ the Queen represents you the church the saved people and this awful person named Haman represents the devil and.

So you find some amazing teachings in here about your spiritual warfare in your own life. Because the whole battle takes on between your ears. It's right here. And the Bible says we battle not against flesh and blood.

It's not other humans that are our problem but against principalities in spiritual wickedness in high places. Principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places and Ephesians chapter 6 is a great place to go to study some of that stuff, but you see it all pictured right here.

So remember this King Ahasuerus pictures Jesus Christ the groom and Queen Esther is a picture of the bride, which is the church. Which is you and Haman who wanted to destroy all the Jews including Esther?

But he didn't know Esther was a Jew but he wanted to destroy her the man who raised her and Her and all of the Jews is a picture of Satan and by the way The Jewish nation is a picture of the individual Christian life.

So if it's true that Satan wanted to destroy the Jews and the lineage of Jesus Christ it is also true that there is coming a day when It'll be more evident than ever that the same evil spirit wants to put in the minds of the leadership in the world to destroy Jews and Christians.

That is a part of the future the scripture tells us that very clearly. It's also been a part of the past for 2 ,000 years. Read Fox's Book of Martyrs sometime if you want to see something amazing. At how the Christians your brothers and sisters of the past 2 ,000 years have been slaughtered simply for loving Jesus Christ doing no harm to anyone but loving Jesus Christ.

And Who is it that puts that in the minds of people to slaughter Christians Satan. And so he's pictured here in this man named Haman. Well What's interesting is Esther asked the king to protect her save her life and the life of her people and the Kings first.

Response was wait a minute. Where is this person who's done such a thing? And Who is he? Well, you need to think about the fact that the Lord Jesus is asking the same question to you. When you have enemies when you have Satan or demons or whatever.

Inspire the mind of another human being just to torment you and to be your enemy. The Lord Jesus is asking you who's doing this and where is he now? He doesn't have to ask he knows. But he does ask because he deals with us in time and space on a human level and it's as if he's asking you that all you have to do is tell him the answer and We do that through prayer.

So that teaches us that the greatest thing we can do in spiritual warfare rather than worrying about the trouble We're going through is just tell our Lord who it is and where he is. And who is it? Well, it's actually Satan.

And so that is that is all pictured here now look at verse 6. Esther said the Adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman and then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. That is a picture of Satan.

Let me tell you something when you go to the Lord Jesus Christ and he asked you well who is it that's tormenting you and where is he and You answer that question. Notice the response and Haman was afraid before the king and The Queen who is the King that's a picture of Jesus who is the Queen that's a picture of you and Haman is a picture of Satan.

And so apparently Satan is afraid at This particular moment when the Queen comes to the king and gives her petition says all I'm asking is you saved my life. My spiritual life is what it would picture also my physical life and that of my family.

And I am NOT strong enough to do it. So I'm asking you King to do it at that moment when you make that request and that King is saying who's doing this to You and where is he? Satan trembles. Think about that now.

You're going to need that someday. First Peter 5 8 says be sober be vigilant because your adversary you see it calls the devil the same exact thing that she called Haman the adversary and the enemy your adversary the devil as a roaring lion.

Walketh about seeking whom he made of our guess what he's doing. You know what wolves do and what lions do you would think you know. Like they're the strongest kind of near the top of the food chain just slightly under us I guess that's because we can we eat lions and wolves, right?

No, I don't think so, but they're just right under us, but you go out into African Areas they're at the top. And so you would think you wouldn't think this would be true, but it is true. They don't just go attack anything what they would rather do and you know what a shark is the same way what they would rather Do is they would see something that's weak or young.

And they'll sit around and watch for that and when it becomes apparent that there's one over here is kind of Sickly or weak or one that's young that's the one they'll get. Why because they don't get punny like they they realize that most animals No matter what kind it is if it's a strong healthy one.

They can might kick them in the head once or twice right before they catch them. They can deer can cut you with their hooves, right and That lion doesn't want that doesn't matter how strong and powerful he is.

He does not want to get cut in the head. He'd rather just get one where it's just easy. Does that make sense? And that's what this pictures in first Peter Satan circles around the camp of the Christians the children of God and he just waits till he finds a weak one.

How do you get weak by the way? Well, let's put it in the positive. How do you get strong? I was thinking about that while Paul was singing a minute ago. You get positive By not counting on what you studied three years ago.

You understand what I'm saying? You you can't rely upon the doctrine you learned three years ago. This is like manna it rots After the end of the day, you can't eat it tomorrow. You have to go get new manna.

You have to study it again. And that is how you stay spiritual. You got an old man. You got a new man. The old man is weak. He can do anything that any lost person can do. The new man cannot even sin.

He's that strong so as you study the word the word sanctifies us and makes us more like Christ and makes us stronger and You want to be that way? Let me tell you why Satan does not want to get kicked and he knows that a strong Christian can harm him.

Look at this here. Here he is. It says Haman was afraid Before the king and the queen not before just the Queen. Was he afraid of just the Queen? No, but you put them together and he is fearful. And so if you stay walking with the Lord Jesus hand in hand and only way you can do that stay in the word.

It's got to be like fresh. It can't be yesterday's word. It's got to be fresh today and in prayer then Satan trembles. That's where you want him. You don't want him just coming into your camp and your home and just tearing through and just taking everything out do you.

And that's what he'll do so. You see this passage where it pictures it so beautifully now in thinking about this. We're gonna go on through This passage, but we've already kind of gone through verses 7 and 8.

But let me remind you all the way down through verse 10 how this ended up. She invited the king and Haman to a banquet and Esther had this plan and Haman had already been inspired by Satan to destroy every Jew in the kingdom, but to start with her dad.

It's not really her dad it's the man that raised her because her parents had been killed when she was a baby and Mordecai was the man who raised her the Jew that raised her and he was gonna start by hanging this man publicly and he'd already built the scaffolds to do it on and As it ends up when she makes this request and the king says tell me who this is and where he is.

She says it's that man right there. And she just pointed at him. He was sitting at the table with them and Before even an hour was passed look at verse 10. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai then was the king's wrath pacified.

So he's a picture of Satan. I'm gonna tell you something when Jesus Christ Was just about to be lifted up on that cross when they were hammering the nails into his hands and his feet Satan was rejoicing.

He thought he had built that gallows for Jesus Christ the Son of God and would destroy God's plan is what he thought and Yet when Jesus Christ When that sky turned dark and the earth began to quake and Jesus said it is finished and Then three days later when he came out of the grave Satan trembled.

Think about that Satan was defeated by the very gallows that he built. When Jesus Christ died on that cross the scripture tells us he nailed the law but also Satan To the cross and he defeated him and made a show of him openly.

This is he mocked Satan in front of the whole universe. The very way Satan thought he was gonna kill Jesus turn around end up being where he was slain. And so this is all pictures so beautifully here, but let me Cover some information with you and we'll jump back in right here Lord willing next week, but let me have you turn to the book of Isaiah chapter 14.

Because I wants to think about this one that Haman pictures any pictures in quite well Isaiah 14 1 as We begin to read this it's kind of interesting because it it's as if it's talking about the king of Babylon which is the nation that destroyed Israel and Brought them into captivity and all of that is a picture of how we can be defeated Spiritually and be taken into slavery by the flesh our own weak flesh and by the world system by Satan if we allow.

And the way we allow it is we move away from God. We move away from prayer. We move away from Bible study would depend on other things in the world and we get so used to that that we don't recognize It and we grow weaker and weaker and then we're taken captive and once you're taken captive, it's difficult.

It's a life a very difficult life. In fact, it gets so bad you get to the very bottom where you think you can't make it and that's where you finally figure Out. Well, I need God and you start praying again, and then he will deliver you from that captivity he'll do it every time but it's like a cycle and Humans go through that God's people go through that all the time.

But the enemy is behind this part trying to bring you into captivity. So let's take a look at this. You're gonna think it's talking about Babylon and when we get just a few verses into it you're gonna be surprised to see who it's really talking about because he's using the king of Babylon as a type and I'm saying God is using the king of Babylon is a type or a symbol of a different person and Let's see who it's talking about starts out this way for the Lord will have mercy on Jacob.

So he starts talking about his own people. That's a picture of you. See Israel is a picture of you as an individual Christian and He will yet choose Israel and set them in their own land. Why does it have to say that because right now they're in captivity.

So picture a time in your own life where you got weak you got out of the word for a season. You didn't even notice it. You just kind of got where you weren't studying it every day. You weren't reading it.

You weren't even having a devotion time every day because you got prideful and thought you could just do fine without it. And you weren't praying as much you eventually get where you maybe don't attend church as much which that's the easy part you know, that's the real easy part and You just kind of move away from God just a little bit and you don't even realize it.

But Satan is like a roaring lion circling your camp and he's found a weak one and it's you. You understand what I'm saying? It's you and you don't want it. You'll never admit that but all of a sudden you're gonna see stuff come into your life that shouldn't be there and you're gonna get torn apart a little bit or a lot and You're gonna be wondering why and you're gonna be taken captive.

Maybe even to that fleshly sin that you enjoy so much all the cut all of a sudden becomes you to become the slave to it and It rules you, you know, the Apostle Paul was an interesting Christian. He said because of the cross all things are lawful for me.

He said there's not anything I can't do but he said not all things are expedient. But he said I'll tell you this though. I will not become a slave to any of them. So there wasn't one habit one thing in the world.

Not anything the world had to offer that he would allow himself to get where he enjoyed it so much that he had to obey It you know, I'm talking about I think about a cigarette. That's a great example.

Or a piece of chocolate pie is my problem. Right. I mean I shouldn't be smoking chocolate pie, but I do sometimes I'm kidding. I'm just saying if you're awake, but the thing is you think about those things they're all you know there.

But you shouldn't let any of them ever control you and so here we find that Jacob Israel is pictured as being in slavery right now. And while he's in that state, it's because he's moved away from God.

He's carnal. He's fleshly. But yet while he's even in that state it says the Lord will have mercy on him because that's God's heart. God's heart is two things. Number one. He loves you. Number two. He's gonna let you learn a lesson.

He's gonna let you go through what you brought yourself into and you're gonna learn a great lesson when you come out the other side. Guess what? You're gonna be closer to him than you've ever been before.

And so he's got he's in the mercy mode while he's watching this. He has you remember in your study where it said be pitiful talking about the man and the husband the husband and the wife. But now that was a modern what I just said wasn't it modern-day the man and the husband.

I didn't mean that prodding slip. Man and the wife he says be pitiful what it really means is have pity on the other one. Well, God is that way towards us? We're the bride. He's the groom. He's he has pity towards us and when we get into where we're slaves to something He has pity on us and he has mercy on us and he's watching.

Because he knows it's almost as if he'll shed a tear and of course the Lord Jesus Christ would do that and has done it. Because you're about to go through some terrible trouble because of that slavery and he sheds that tear and he's gonna take you through it.

He's even gonna hold your hand and get you through it and take you out and show you your need to be more with him. And bring you out the other side and you'll be stronger. So he says he will yet choose Israel.

It may look like Israel is lost the way Israel's living. It may look like Israel is lost. But he is but Israel is chosen. Israel is elect of God. God knew Israel before the foundation of the world. Guess what?

It says in Ephesians chapter 1 he knew you before the foundation of the world he knew you by name and loved you and You're chosen and he says he will set them in their own land. What's that? They're taking captivity.

They're in Babylon. Where are they supposed to be? They're supposed to be in Israel. Israel is a picture of the promised land and the promised land is a picture of a land of milk and honey a land of Joy and happiness with the Lord walking spirit-filled without all the sin without being a slave to anything.

I love Thousand times my mentor. Dr. Rocky Freeman said and he would just I can hear him preaching. He would scream it out. He would say when Jesus Christ becomes your Lord He set you free from every lesser Lord.

You understand what that's saying. You don't have to be captive to anything any habit any thought life anything unclean. You don't have to be a captive to any of that. You're set free. And so what it says here is that he will bring them to their own land.

That is a picture of fulfilled Abundant Christian living where you are not bothered by that where you're you're living above that you're living almost in the heavenlies. Right here on this earth. Tell me that won't make a marriage nice.

Listen the marriage is gonna be one of two things a little bit of heaven or a little bit of hell on earth. It's never in between. Okay, so I can delightfully say that mine is heaven. You know I've had my own kids as they grow up say well, that's just unusual.

That's probably never gonna happen again. Well, it can. It's just a matter of having Jesus in the middle of it because if you got the flesh be in the middle of it. It ain't gonna be heaven. Okay so God says here he can put you in the land.

That means a marriage that means your life individual life. Whatever you can be living in the promised land, which is a picture of peace. It's a picture of joy. It's a picture of being settled. It's a picture of a season of peace where you can get Industrious things done because you're not having to fight The devil and it's right there.

He promises that he will do this and The strangers shall join with them and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. Who's that talking about? That's the Gentiles. Now the Gentile, excuse me, the Gentiles are the enemy of Israel.

To this day. They're the enemy of Israel every nation hates Israel but it says there's gonna come a day when they're gonna join to you and follow you and be taught by you spiritual things about God and they're going to not really bow down to Israel but they're going to want to join hands with Israel so they can learn more about God is what it says here and the people shall take them and Bring them to their place and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord.

For servants and handmaids that means these Gentiles that were persecuting these Christians are going to be brought into God's place Israel, but they're going to be serving the very ones they were beating and Chastising and They shall take them captives.

Whose captives they were now listen all of this all of this pictures Satan and you. The enemy and you rather the enemy is Satan that we have three so it's not always Satan. Sometimes it's just the flesh.

We got the world the flesh and the devil the world system the flesh and the devil are the three enemies. Whichever one of those is making you a captive today God promises you if you belong to him if you're his child if you've received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior that there's Gonna come a day when it's as if they serve you you don't have to serve them anymore and They shall rule over the earth their oppressors.

You know, the Bible says that you someday will rule over the angels. Did you know that demons are nothing but fallen angels? So the ones who oppress you now someday shall serve you. Now you can have times in this life where it's that way if you just walk with the Lord the enemy cannot oppress you.

You walk with the Lord in the spirit and you can pray a simple prayer. All you have to do is say Lord would you please rebuke and bind the demons that are bothering me or my family and send them away and That's just like the Lord says now.

Wait a minute. Who is it? Where is he? Who is it, where is he? Well, he's right here send him away and the Lord will do it just like that. He will put him on the very gallows that he's trying to put you on.

Just like that Verse three and it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from your sorrow. Now this is starting to picture what it's like to be in the promised land. He gives you rest from your sorrow.

He gives you rest from your fear and from the hard bondage Wherein now was made to serve. Let me tell you something sin may seem fun and I think the younger you are the more it seems fun and the older you get the more you hate it when you fall Into one of those youthful sins because you know, it ain't fun and you know, it's not gonna come out good, right?

Well when you're young you kind of think well the world's got a lot of stuff to offer. Let's try some of that. That's very dangerous. You should read the book of Proverbs. It'll protect you from that thought life but here What happens it says he'll give you rest from sorrow.

He'll give you rest from fear, but this interesting part here from hard bondage sin will do nothing for you except place you under Hard bondage it will be like you are a slave and you were drug into the land of Babylon.

Maybe with a hook through your chest tied to the back of the person in front of you and marched all the way from Israel To Babylon in that fashion, they knew how to do it where it wouldn't kill you. But you sure weren't gonna run away either and there you get over into it over into Babylon.

And then they start making you do things like the Egyptians did they gonna make bricks and they don't even let you have any straw. To make it easier. They're gonna make it as hard as they can make it.

It's not just bondage. It's hard bondage and that's what sin does for your life. Young people listen to me man. If you've ever Had a sermon you need to listen to it's this one. But Bible says that if you walk with Jesus and you walk in the spirit, he will free you from hard bondage and Take away fear and take away sorrow.

Verse 4. So that you shall take up this proverb against the king of Babylon and say how has the oppressor ceased? And the Golden City ceased there's gonna come a day when we all sing the song. Well, how how is it that Satan is not around anymore?

How is it that he is not here to bother me and allure my flesh anymore? How is it that he's not here? Where is he? And he's going to be bound in hell. He's gonna be totally defeated by the very cross that he built to kill Jesus.

And he's gonna be bound in hell and that's what this is picturing. There's gonna be a proverb. I mean, it's gonna be like a joke. I mean the Bible said Jesus made a show of him openly. It's gonna be like a joke a little song that kids sing.

Let me tell you something don't sing songs about him yet because he's not bound in hell yet. I you know, there's a neat rabbit trail. But there's a lot of churches where they teach the little children to sing little songs about the devil sitting on attack stuff.

Do not do that. You don't want to mess with him like that. I Mean you got a line walks in you say hey sit on attack. You don't do stuff like that. Okay, but there's gonna come a day when we will and it's after he is chained in hell after the thousand-year millennial kingdom is over and He will be sent to that place forever right now.

He's roaming around. But there's a lot pictured here about peace that we can have now verse 5 says The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked and the scepter of the rulers. That's Satan and his demons.

There's a hierarchy. They're just just like a it's like a well-run corporation was Satan at the head. He's the CEO got a two or three vice presidents demons. They're very very powerful and then under them or maybe five or six and it just goes on down builds this big pyramid.

All the way down to the one that's watching you all the time and there is one or two or more. They watch you all the time sit there and they just see where's the weakness. What is it their flesh likes?

I'll make sure that that is presented to them quite often. They're there all the time and we walk around like they're not a lion. Roaming around seeking whom he made of our all the time gentlemen that should put fear in you.

Since we know that the woman is more susceptible since that's who Satan came to in the garden. Do you remember was not the man? It was the woman. She's more susceptible because of her emotions and the children are as well.

So gentlemen, where does that put you that puts you on your knees at night every night praying for your wife and your kids? To be protected from this enemy and so there's a lot in this and It says the Lord will break the staff of the wicked in the scepter of the rulers.

He who smoked the people in wrath with a continual stroke. He that ruled the nations in anger is Persecuted and none hinders it. There's gonna come a day when the very you see here in verse 6 It says Satan himself is the one who rules the nations.

There are other places where it says he's the destroyer of nations. Why do you think your nation is going downhill? Look around anybody my age or older. What's it like right now compared to what it was like in 1950?

You know, we got a lot of nice new stuff. Like a smartphone or something. That's nice. So some new things are nice, but I'm gonna tell you what this nation is weak. This nation is so weak compared to the way people were.

I would dare to say perhaps maybe this is not right. But I mean, it's just kind of makes a point that lost people in the 1950s had higher moral standards than people in church today. That's how far the enemy has taken our nation because he is here and he is ruling the nations in anger.

And but the Bible says that the Lord will persecute him someday and no one's gonna be able to stop it. There's gonna come a day when the Lord that King that's pictured by this King in our story. He says well who is doing this to you my wife who is doing this to you?

And where is he just show me where he is when he finds him? He gets his hands on his neck and he just strangles him and nothing can stop him. Nothing. Let me tell you this when if you go back and you read the story when that Kings anger welled up against Haman.

He had to walk out of the room reminds me of my dad told the story already. So I won't tell it again, but my dad would get angry he'd walk out the kitchen door and go out in the garage for a while and then come back in and So this King went out in the garden.

He was so angry and Haman was scared to death at this point. And when that King came back in he did not have to utter one word. Oh, well, he did say one thing. He said he's he was. Haman was over there on the couch.

They used to eat meals on couches. I kind of like that should go back to that. But he went over and fell on the couch where the Queen was begging for his life. The King comes in and says two or three words.

He just says well look at him. He's laying with my wife. And he didn't have say anything else. The King's servants came and took Haman lifted him up and put a hood over his head. Marshed him out and hung him without the King even having to say anything.

That is a picture of Jesus Christ and how he protects you his bride. You think about that? All you have to do is go to the Lord and say look. It's the flesh is bothering me right now or it's the world system.

It's all this stuff. It's bothering me right now or the Satan himself is putting thoughts in my mind and making me have nightmares at night. Making my children my babies have nightmares. You can stop that by the way gentlemen, if you if you know how to pray Spiritual warfare prayer and you just go to the Lord and you say that's what's doing and and all of a sudden he says Well, who is he and where is he and he'll go get him?

Listen, it is nothing for the Lord Jesus Christ. To eliminate Satan and demons from your presence. It is nothing they tremble at him as His pictures so well in this passage. Verse 7 the whole earth is at rest and is quiet.

They break forth into singing. That's how it is. When you pray a prayer and you say bind him. Rebuke him and send him away. At the moment the Lord does that all of a sudden your life on the inside is like verse 7 the whole earth is at rest and is quiet and You can break forth in the singing.

Remember this ladies and gentlemen boys and girls you're gonna need this someday. You may be in the middle of needing it now. Yay, the fir trees rejoice at thee and the cedars of Lebanon saying since thou art laid down.

No feller has come up against us. I've said many times the King James Version is written in Texan. If you don't believe it, look at verse 8 no feller. F-e-l-l-e-r. No feller that means no one is come up against us now look at verse 9.

We're just about to have revealed to us who this is picturing in this whole package passage and who really it's talking about. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at that coming. It's a picture of Haman and who is Haman a picture of?

Hell from beneath is moved for you. Whoever this is talking about which we'll find out in a moment. This person that this is talking about says hell is down there stirring up because you're gonna be thrust into it someday.

And it's already ready for you. It's stirred up and waiting as if as if he's saying come on. Come on. It's moved to meet thee at your coming it stirs up the dead for thee. There are lost dead people in hell who are who are you know conscious and alive?

That's how it is. You don't know one ever goes out of existence. You either live in with the Lord forever you live in hell forever and there are lost human beings in hell down there. Who are stirred up?

Waiting for this person whoever this is talking about to be cast down there with them. And they're gonna mocking. He's not listen. I don't want to reveal who this is because it's gonna be a big surprise here in a minute when you figure out who this Is talking about but whoever this is is not going to be the one who runs hell.

He's not like the king of hell. The lost dead people in hell Are going to be mocking him and it stirs up the dead for thee even all the chief ones of the earth. Listen all these world leaders that you think are so hot.