Introduction
I had
the opportunity recently to share the Gospel message with one of my customers.
She is a single mom of two who was raised in a Jewish home and was hoping to
pass along her Jewish heritage to her children. The opportunity presented
itself when she started asking questions to learn more about me personally. I
told her, among a number of things, that I was a pastor. She was shocked and
said, “Really? You’re so nice though.” Ouch! I was a bit speechless but before
I could respond, she followed up with, “Well, we’re Jewish.” As such, she had a
Jewish perspective of God’s involvement in the life and times of the Jewish
people. That gave me the chance to provide her with the perspective that the
Old Testament was the introduction to the New Testament and that God’s
trajectory from the very beginning was to become incarnate in the person of
Jesus Christ and become the once-for-all atonement for humanity’s sin and the means
for reconciliation with God. I don’t know if she was convinced by my argument
but I was able to give her a perspective of the Old Testament that she hadn’t
considered before. As I was driving home, I got to thinking about how she
became a customer. I was referred to her by another long-time customer who had
been dating her at the time. They are no longer dating but she has since become
a great customer. It made me think about all the events that had to occur for
us to meet and for me to be in a position to be able to share Christ with her.
I am always amazed how God arranges events in such a way so that those who will
share the message of Christ, cross paths with those who might be ready or might
need to hear that message. It made me feel like God placed me in that position
for A Time Like This.
Having
said that, I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank all of you who took
seriously what I had to say over the last few weeks about sharing Christ with
someone. I can only assume that some of you did that personally and I praise
God for your faithfulness, especially if you haven’t done that before because
it is way outside your comfort zone. However, I want to also thank those of you
who shared my website with someone. I know that none of you expect special
thanks or recognition but I don’t want to take your efforts for granted. Just
so you know that as a result of your efforts to share the website with family
and/or friends, the site was accessed in five new countries just this past week!
That brings the count to people in 75 countries that have accessed the website
and received the salvation message of Jesus Christ since this ministry began
two years ago! First and foremost, this is because of God’s guidance,
providence, and grace but it is also because you have had the courage to share
the website. Think about this: You may have been responsible for someone you
have never met and may never meet in this life learning about Christ for the
first time. It is truly an amazingly wonderful blessing to be in this ministry
of Christ with you and I praise God for you. I want to encourage you to
continue to share the message of Christ personally at every opportunity and
continue to share this website at every opportunity and always remember that
perhaps it is for A Time Like This
that God has brought you to this site and given you the ability to share its
message.
The
Bible is replete with countless stories of God’s divine providence in people’s
lives; people in the right place at the right time to advance God’s story of
redemptions and salvation. The Old Testament especially is littered with one
story after another illustrating God’s providence that works in circuitous ways
in the lives of all people to fulfill his promise of provision, protection and
salvation for Israel and eventually for all humanity through Christ in the New
Testament. We’re going to look at just such a story that involves a Persian
king, a Jewish girl that would be Queen, an arrogant, manipulative noble in the
king’s court, and a Jewish leader holding the honored position of second in
rank to the king and cousin to the Queen. We’ll see how the story places all
the main characters in place at precisely the right time to once again
demonstrate God’s providence to care for his chosen people.
Subject
Text
Esther 4:1-14
1When 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. 2But he went only as far as the
king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to
enter it. 3In 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. 4When Esther’s maids and eunuchs
came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes
for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5Then Esther summoned Hathach,
one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out
what was troubling Mordecai and why. 6So Hathach went out to Mordecai
in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. 7Mordecai 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. 8He 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. 9Hathach went back and reported
to Esther what Mordecai had said. 10Then she instructed him to say
to Mordecai, 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.” 12When Esther’s words were
reported to Mordecai, 13he sent back this answer: “Do
not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews
will escape. 14For 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?” 15Then 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.”
Context
Before we move on, we’re going to
need a quick refresher of Israel’s history around the time of Esther’s story.
Remember that Israel was conquered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, the
Israelites were taken into exile, and the temple in Jerusalem was burned to the
ground in 586 BC. In 539 BC, Babylon was conquered by the Persian king Cyrus
the Great. In 538 BC, Cyrus allowed
the Jews to return to what little was left of Israel. I emphasize that Cyrus
“allowed” the Jews to return because it is clear that not all the Jews elected
to do so. After a succession of kings, Xerxes I became king of Persia in 485 BC
and took Esther, a Jewess, as his queen in 479 BC. It is also clear that other
Jews played prominent roles in the Persian government when we see Mordecai as
second in rank only to Xerxes. The book of Esther reveals that there remained
many Jews living within the Persian empire. As was the case with other Empires
during that time period, the governmental structure consisted of a royal court,
which included the king, of course, and nobles to govern one or more of the
provinces within the empire. Like the king, the nobles were considered royalty.
Trouble began for the Jews in our subject text when one of the king’s nobles,
Haman, was elevated by Xerxes above the other nobles. As was the custom of the
day, other officials were to bow to those of higher rank and royalty. However,
Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. It wouldn’t have been unusual for Jews to do
so out of respect, but Haman was a descendent from the line of Agag king of the
Amalekites. The Amalekites were hated enemies of the Jews and long before the
time of Esther God instructed the Jews to wipe out the Amalekites (Deut
25:17-19; Note God’s final words of v. 19: “Do not forget!”). There was no way
Mordecai was going to bow to Haman. Consequently, Haman concocted a plan hang
Mordecai and wipe out the Jews. He sought the permission of the king and all
the time while a Jewess (Esther) was queen and second in rank (Mordecai) is also
a Jew. However, to circumvent this not so minor detail, Haman told the king
that there was a “certain people” that were disobedient to the king’s law but conveniently
omitted the fact that it was the Jews he wanted to destroy. Trusting Haman, the
king gave him permission with the king’s full authority to do what he saw fit
with what Haman referred to as those “certain people.” As a result, Haman sent
out a decree to all the other nobles and governors of all the provinces of
Persia that the Jews were to be destroyed. This impending doom sets the stage
for our subject text.
Text Analysis
When Mordecai learned of Haman’s
treachery in v. 1, he is naturally distraught. Mordecai, in his distress, rends
his clothing, probably robes representing his position in the king’s
administration, and dons attire and a posture consistent with the dire
circumstances at hand. Sackcloth and ashes properly signified a person in grief
and distress in that culture. Mordecai takes to the streets and doesn’t hide
his grief as he wails bitterly for all to see and hear. Because of his
position, Mordecai probably lived in the palace somewhere so he left the palace
and traveled the streets mourning the news he’d received. Don’t misunderstand,
Mordecai wasn’t just wandering the streets crying, the English translates the
Hebrew with “wailing” but that might not get at the true sense of Mordecai’s
grief and distress. The word used to describe the intensity of Mordecai’s
“wailing” is elsewhere used to describe the scream of Potiphar’s wife alleging
Joseph’s sin against her (Gen 39:14). It is the same word used to describe
God’s voice as He spoke to Moses from the mountain (Deut 5:22). The word is
used to describe the sound that brought down the walls of Jericho (Josh 6:5,
20). It is used to describe the announcement of the Ark of the Covenant
reaching the camp of Israel (1 Sam 4:5-6). And the same word is used to
describe the reaction of the Egyptians to the death of their firstborn (Ex
11:6; 12:30). In other words, Mordecai did not go unnoticed. Nevertheless, Mordecai
did not enter the palace ground when he reached the “king’s gate” in v. 2
because his grief attire wouldn’t allow entrance. However, the expression of
his profound grief, no doubt, accomplished one of its intended purposes—it
heralded coming doom and grief for all to hear and the king’s gate offered the
perfect forum for Mordecai’s announcement. The king’s gate was a meeting place;
a place of commerce; a place to debate ideas; a place to settle disputes. It is
likely that Mordecai was trying to get the attention of queen Esther in the
hopes that he might be able to alert her in some way. Mordecai’s reaction to
Haman’s plan of genocide was not isolated. When news of Haman’s decree reached
the other provinces, many other Jews, according to v. 3, also dressed in
sackcloth and ashes and wept and wailed at the news. “Mordecai was leading a
community ritual that extended to every province. Jews everywhere were
apparently informed of the threat quickly…While some speculate that Mordecai
might have been trying to get the king’s
attention, it is obvious to those in the story that he needs Esther’s. The one
who is the cause of the problem is also the source of information, the gravity
of which Esther needs to understand.”[1]
Mordecai’s strategy worked as we
learn in v. 4 because Esther’s personal servants brought news of Mordecai’s
distress to Esther. As a result, Esther sends her servants to Mordecai with a
change of clothes so he can enter the palace grounds and meet with her.
However, Mordecai refuses the change of clothes. This seems odd if he was
trying to get Esther’s attention. Now that he has her attention, he refuses a
change of clothes so he can meet with her. Why? As much as donning sackcloth
and putting ashes on his head represented his distress, refusing to take it off
in order to enter the palace and meet with the queen sent a signal to Esther
that the matter was extremely dire. As a consequence, Esther could not simply
brush off Mordecai’s condition as a common distress, grief or loss experienced
by many in their daily lives. Mordecai’s actions of tearing his clothing and
wearing sackcloth were not uncommon during his day as part of the Jewish
culture or the Persian culture for that matter. We see this act when a favored
child dies, or as a result of a profound sin committed by the community at
large, specifically within the Jewish culture, but also when there is a significant
military defeat. Therefore, recognizing the seriousness of the matter, Esther
sends one of her personal servants in v. 5 to find out why Mordecai is in such
distress. “The knowledge that Mordecai and all the other Jews are mourning puts
dread into Esther’s heart, for it is a sign that something terrible has
happened…If Esther were to learn directly from Mordecai what had happened, he
would have to enter the palace precinct…Mordecai refuses to remove his
sackcloth for he has not finished making his point…if they are to communicate,
it must be through an intermediary who has access to both places.”[2]
Esther sends her servant, Hathach,
to meet with Mordecai in the open square outside the king’s gate according to
v. 6. Mordecai tells Hathach in v. 7 of Haman’s plan to exterminate the Jews in
the Persian provinces. He goes so far as to tell Hathach that Haman has
promised to deposit nearly 400 tons of silver in the royal treasury to pay
those assigned to carry out the genocide. “Haman believes apparently that his
king will be sufficiently lured by the size of the promised financial donation
(‘58-68% of the annual revenue of the empire’) that he will sign his name to
anything.”[3] To prove
his claim in v. 8, Mordecai provides Hathach with a written copy of Haman’s
official edict. However, information isn’t Mordecai’s purpose in meeting with
Hathach. It’s not enough to know why Mordecai is distressed. Mordecai tells
Hathach that he wants Esther to act on the information; to confront the king
and intercede on behalf of the Jews.
When we read the text we naively assume
that Mordecai didn’t fully understand the ramifications of what he was asking
Esther to do, but we would be mistaken. Remember that Mordecai was second in
rank to the king. He didn’t retain that position without understanding royal
protocol. Mordecai knew exactly what he was asking Esther to do. Nevertheless,
when Hathach delivers Mordecai’s message in v. 9 to Esther, she sends him back
to Mordecai in v. 10 with the message in v. 11 explaining that it is against
the law to approach the king unless he summons you. Esther is the perfect
representation of all of us when we find ourselves faced with having to do
something we are convinced will be either painful or costly—we make excuses for
why it “can’t” be done. According to royal protocol, people do not generally
have access to the king unless they are summoned by the king or unless the king
grants an audience by raising his scepter to whoever is seeking an audience
with the king. Otherwise, approaching the king carries with it an immediate
death sentence. “Haman had access to the king, but Esther did not. Apparently
she does not expect to see the king anytime soon, since he has not summoned her
for thirty days. She chooses not to request an audience, perhaps expecting to
be ignored. Apparently five years into her marriage, the king’s desire for her
had cooled. Or given her mission, perhaps she does not wish to arouse the
suspicions of the court by requesting an audience. Whatever her fears, it seems
likely that the ruthless King Xerxes will not extend the golden scepter if the
queen’s death would be somehow expedient to his other interests.”[4] I
suspect that Esther knows Mordecai is right but at this point her fear is still
controlling her actions. So she rationalizes her reticence with the excuse of
royal protocol.
Irish statesman and philosopher Sir
Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that
good men do nothing.” And in the case of Esther, that “good women do nothing.”
The Holocaust has left a stain on our recent history that testifies to this
truth. I wonder how things might have been different if a few good men and/or
women, especially from the church, had had the courage to stand up to Hitler’s
evil. Instead, evil triumphed and more than six million Jews were exterminated.
Anti-Semitism has haunted the Jews almost from the beginning. “Fully developed
animosity toward Jews results in genocide. This diabolical scheme to
exterminate Jews is probably much older than the time of Haman. In Moses’ day,
Pharaoh attempted to annihilate (or drastically limit the population growth) of
the Hebrew slaves. Edom’s centuries-long hostility toward Judah also probably
reflects a kind of anti-Semitism. But the New Testament teaches that this is
not merely anti-Jewish hostility, but hatred of the people of God (John 15:18).
Its source is satanic: it represents the attempt to defeat God’s redemptive
purpose. It afflicts all of God’s people, Christians as well as Jews, and in
its final form it is anti-Messiah or anti-Christ (personified as ‘AntiChrist’).”[5]
Mordecai is not satisfied in v. 12
with Esther’s response. And sends a reply in v. 13 to awaken Esther to a
reality that she was choosing to ignore—The longer evil is allowed to reign
without opposition, the stronger it becomes and the greater likelihood it will
find its way to your own doorstep. In essence, Mordecai reminds Esther that she
too is a Jew and that Haman’s edict made no exceptions and that his evil would
eventually find its way to her doorstep. Mordecai finally reaches the key element
in v. 14 of our subject text with a statement illustrating three profound
theological concepts: 1) The endurance of God’s will; 2) God’s providence; and
3) Humanity’s opportunity to cooperate in God’s divine action. Let me show you
how it plays out in v. 14: It is God’s will that His chosen people should be
protected and survive. In order for that to occur, God would provide someone to
be instrumental in their protection and salvation. God then provides the
opportunity for someone to participate in his divine action of fulfilling his
will by being the instrument by which God protects and saves his people. In
essence, this is what Mordecai is saying to Esther: ‘God is going to use
someone to save His people even if you don’t do anything. But just think, you
might be the very person God will use at A
Time Like This! Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of God’s plan of
salvation!’ “Mordecai warns her to forsake the illusion that she can hide her
identity from a devil like Haman. He also conveys to her a profound confidence
in the workings of providence. He understands her remarkable elevation to the
throne as provision for the Jews in crisis, but he also recognizes that she may
refuse the role of savior of her people. In that case, relief and deliverance
for the Jews will arise from another place, whether a heavenly or an earthly
kingdom.”[6]
There is a scene from a movie I
watched with my girls when they were little. A would-be princess is attempting
to run from the duty to take her place as the heir to the throne of the fictional
country of Genovia. On only her fifteenth birthday, she is naturally frightened
of the magnitude and responsibility associated with a position as the royal
head of an entire country. Just as she is prepared to run from her calling, she
finds a letter from her deceased father left for her to be opened on her
fifteenth birthday. Here is that particular scene:
Close your eyes and picture Esther
in her royal wardrobe looking at herself in a full-length mirror as her servant
conveys Mordecai’s message to her. She is looking at her reflection but what
she sees is not a queen but a simple Jewish girl with a chance to make a
difference; to save the lives of her people. You can almost hear the words as
she considers her frightening circumstances: “Courage is not the absence of
fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.
The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.” Imagine
God’s spirit filling her up as she takes a deep breath and turns to her servant
in v. 15 with a message. Her message to Mordecai in v. 16 is that she and all
those close to her will fast and pray and he is to urge all those in the city
to do the same for three days. Thereafter, she will approach the king and leave
the consequences of her actions in the hands of God.
Application
Most of us probably won’t be faced
with the same kind of decision that Esther had to make. Esther’s single act of
courage defined her from that point until now. We may not be defined by a single
act of courage but are instead defined by a combination of many decisions requiring
courage over our entire lives. A student who has the opportunity to cheat but
doesn’t, begins to be defined as someone with integrity. A man or woman who
rejects sexual immorality begins to be defined as someone with principles. A
person who takes the time to help someone when they could just as easily ignore
that person, begins to be defined as a person of compassion. A person who
forgives easily when holding a grudge is understandable, begins to be defined
as a person of grace. It is all of these small elements when combined that will
define who we are and they are all very important and require a certain degree
of courage. There is, however, one single decision requiring tremendous courage
that will serve to define us for all eternity. When we are presented with the
Gospel message, we have the choice to accept that message or reject that
message. Accepting that message, knowing that the future might bring suffering,
persecution and maybe even death, will define a person as a child of God and a
co-heir of the Kingdom of God along with Christ. Rejecting the message, and
embracing “the good life” and all the things this world has to offer (money,
sex, and power) will define a person as an enemy of God that will one day lead
to being condemned to a life forever separated from God and his children.
For the last few weeks I have been
emphasizing sharing the message of Jesus Christ with anyone and everyone you
can either directly or by sharing this website with them and allowing me to do
it indirectly. I want to stay with that emphasis in the context of our lesson
from Esther. In the same way that Esther was aware of Haman’s condemnation of
the Jews, believers in Christ are well aware of the condemnation that awaits
those who don’t know Christ or have rejected Christ to this point. You have the
choice to either share The Gospel with those people or keep it to yourself. Now
I am well aware that many of you reading this lesson are not here in America
and do not enjoy the same safety and freedoms that we do. In fact, I recognize
that some of you might be risking your lives by sharing the Gospel with others.
So what I am asking is no small matter. Nevertheless, I want all of you to
consider that even though God can use anyone to bring people to Christ, maybe,
just maybe God has placed you in the lives of unbelievers because he hopes you
will share God’s message of salvation with them. Maybe you will be the one that
can communicate that message best to them. Maybe you are in a position to share
this website far and wide so that many people all over the world will have the
opportunity to learn about Christ for the first time. Maybe you’ve been
wondering if there is more you can do to spread God’s message of salvation. Who
knows, maybe God is calling you for A
Time Like This.
[1]
Leslie C. Allen and Timothy S. Laniak, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Esther—New International Biblical Commentary, (Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson Publishers, 2003), p. 225.
[2] Adele
Berlin, Esther—The JPS Bible
Commentary, (Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 2001), p. 46.
[3]
Willem A. VanGemeren, New International
Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, Vol. 1, (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), p. 881.
[4]
Karen H. Jobes, Esther—The NIV
Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999), p. 132.
[5] William
Sanford Lasor, David Allan Hubbard, Frederic William Bush, Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament,
(Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996), p. 541.
[6]
Walter A. Elwell, Baker Commentary on the
Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1989), p. 330.
