Esther: Jesus the Advocate
Chp. 1-4 For such a time
Chp. 5-10 Adverting disaster
As I said last week chronologically the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther happen in reverse order than they appear in our Bibles, as the story of Esther transpires around the midpoint of the Book of Ezra between the 6th and 7th chapters (after Zerubbabel but before the return of Ezra and Nehemiah). During the captivity, God raised up this lady named Esther, a beauty pageant winner who became the Queen of Persia.
Apparently she was still on the throne when Nehemiah writes in chapter 2:6 “The king said to me, the queen also sitting beside him” (that Queen being Esther). Esther’s name in Hebrew is Hadassah which means “Myrtle” as in the type of tree. Her Persian name is Esther which means “Star” and is thought by many to be given her because of the “star” shaped flower that the Myrtle tree produces.
The interesting point of her name is that the Myrtle tree was not grown in Israel prior to the Babylonian captivity and it seems that it was brought back to Israel at the time of the first wave of patriots back into the land with Zerubbabel prior to her birth. Of further interest is a prophecy of Isaiah over 250 years before this when there would have been no myrtle tress in the land as the Lord spoke to him in Isaiah 55:13, “Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Isaiah, you will recall wrote before Israel’s captivity to the Assyrians, and yet God was telling the nation that at a time when all seemed to be lost strength would come but not from within the nation but from Hadassah “the myrtle tree” a prophetic reference of Esther. The story of Esther comprises only ten years and was written by an unknown author. What we can tell is that the writer lived in Persia was Jewish and had access to official Persian court records, which has led to the speculation that Mordecai (whose name means little man or humble man), was the author.
Xerxes the Greek way of saying the Hebrew Ahasuerus of the Persian Khshayarsh was the king. Some have wondered why this book is even in the Bible because the name of God is never mentioned, there are no references to the Jewish religion, no mention of worship in the temple, and only one reference to Jerusalem in 2:6, and that only to show where Mordecai had come from.
Yet when you read this book you can’t help but see God in every page as he is behind the scenes preserving His people through the most unlikely vessels during impossible circumstances. This book speaks of how God works in the midst of hopeless situations and I personally believe that the absence of His name and religion of any kind further illustrates the fact that He is in control even when no one thinks he is and apart from man’s organization.
Furthermore, this 10-chapter book brings to light spiritual warfare and an all too real unseen battle. We, my friends have an enemy who is after our total destruction. Many of us have wondered why after we have come into a relationship with Jesus we continue to struggle and battle with the things we did before our relationship with Jesus. The answer is that we still have our Haman (FLESH) that seeks our destruction. Listen to how Paul spoke of this in his letter to the Galatians in 5:17 “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”
Chp. 1-4 For such a time
The story opens similarly to that of Nehemiah as they are in the king’s winter place at Susa. There the king, Xerxes, is throwing a lavish party lasting 180 days (6 months) which fit his self-absorbed ways, a man who was prone to emotional extremes. The historian Herodotus fixes the reason for this banquet as the planning for the military campaign against the Greeks at the battle of Salamis made famous by the movie about the 300 Spartans that defended Xerxes and the Persians at the pass at Thermopylae.
Five years later after this feast, (after his defeat) Xerxes sought comfort with his harem and held the contest that eventually led to the crowning of Queen Esther. After the 7th day of the feast well after the time that Xerxes is in a drunken state, he wants to show off the splendor of his kingdom and what kind of man he is so he calls for his wife Vashti to come and show off her beauty and she refuses which infuriates Xerxes. The concern was not just for the king but all the “kings” of their homes that according to 1:18 because of the “behavior of the queen…there will be excessive contempt and wrath.” Thus Queen Vashti loses her crown and it opens the door for a search for her replacement in the 2nd chapter.
Folks, notice that before the peril from Haman, God is already at work in preparing a way out of the situation by the removal of Vashti as queen, through a drunken king and a defeat by the Greeks at Thermopylae. God is over every situation and circumstance albeit through circumstances and situations that we do not see connected. Apparently some time passes before the beauty contest of beautiful young virgins are sought by the kings. It is in this search that Mordecai Esther’s older cousin who raised her as her parents were dead makes the best out of a bad situation, Because of her beauty she is taken to the contest to see who will be the next Queen.
Esther quickly caught Xerxes’ eye and gained favor receiving special treatment and Esther kept her heritage quiet and Mordecai paced in front of the palace concerned for her well-being. Again the king’s ignorance of Esther’s heritage will play a huge part in this story and it again illustrates the Lord’s working ahead of the danger that lies in wait.
The 2nd chapter closes with Mordecai’s discovery of a plot to kill King Xerxes by his two bodyguards and he tells Queen Esther, who tells the king giving credit to Mordecai, again a seemingly little indiscriminate detail that will play a big part in the protection of God’s people.
The 3rd chapter introduces us to the villain of the story Haman whose name means “magnificent” the Agagite as he is advanced to 2nd in command. The fact that we are told that his ancestry is that of an Agagite is quite revealing; by tracing his ancestry back we find out that was an Amalekite a descendant of Esau, who represents the flesh in scripture. Furthermore you may recall the story of King Saul in 1st Samuel who refused to kill King Agag the then leader of the Amalekites, (you now can recognize that this fellow was a direct descendant of the king of the flesh). And at the king’s command, Haman wanted all to bow before him but Mordecai refused to do so thus a decree was issued to wipe out all Jews. When in chapter 4 Mordecai rips his clothes and cries out to God as they are facing a holocaust.
Friends the story has a direct correlation in our lives, there is no making peace or sparing our old natures because if we do we will gag on our Agag. That which we fail to reckon dead of our flesh will in time come back to reign over us to our destruction! Mordecai sends word back to Esther by way of the king’s servant named Hathach or “Truth”. Oh, my friend how hard it is at times for us to hear the “Truth” of our condition because we have failed to crucify our flesh because we think that it is “magnificent” so we choose rather to allow it to live thinking that surely this little area will never control our lives.
At first, Esther is reluctant to face this tyrant thinking perhaps that she could personally escape his wrath as the king doesn’t know her heritage. Esther faced a dilemma, address the king and risk death or remain silent and risk death. Oh, how difficult it is to face off against our failures but listen to the words of Mordecai in 4:14 “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Oh how much better it is for us to trust the Lord our King than to allow the flesh to remain in our lives. Friend we can not live with our old nature there can be no peaceful solution to it, you must die.
Listen to Esther’s reply in 4:16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” Did you notice that the fast was for three days and three nights? The same amount of time that our Lord stayed in the tomb, we die to our self centered life because He died to redeem us from such a life.
Chp. 5-10 Adverting disaster
Notice that after three days Queen Esther in chapter 5:1 “puts on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, across from the king’s house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house.” It is one thing my friend to be prepared to die for God it’s another thing to be prepared to live for God! Courage is not the absence of fear in the face of opposition; it’s the procession of faith taking a step clothed in His royal robes of righteousness.
She stepped forward to the security of her God’s love and grace without worry about the outcome because she knew who held her future! And notice that she does not ask for Haman’s head, no she asks for a banquet in which the king and Haman are both there. Folk’s Esther does not try to slay the flesh in the energy of the flesh, no she allows the Spirit of the Lord to do the work as that is the only way we can see the flesh destroyed. And having them both at the banquet provides another opportunity to have dinner with the two of them. But old “magnificent” enraptured at his good favor is quickly brought down when he sees Mordecai at the gate still not bowing down. Isn’t that the way of our fallen flesh enjoying life as long as it is honored but the moment it doesn’t get what it thinks it deserves it flies off the handle. He tells his friends and family of all his good fortune and advancement but that it all means nothing as long as Mordecai is still breathing.
Our flesh will stop at nothing less than total self-worship! So his wife suggest a grand spectacle be made with a gallows 75 feet high in which to hang Mordecai who was all that stood in his way of a perfect day.
The sixth chapter tells us that the King couldn’t sleep so he needs a little boring reading material and gets the Book of Records, in which is recorded the deed of Mordecai saving his life and he realizes that nothing had ever been done to honor him. So seeking advice from Haman on what should be done for such a man Haman supposes that the king is speaking of him and suggests a royal robe be placed upon him and the king’s horse be brought out in which he is to be placed upon with a huge sign that says this is what is to be done for the man in whom the king delights to honor.
The king loves the idea and then tells Haman to do so quickly for Mordecai. Oh how you would have loved to see the face of Haman as he walked about the city square making the announcement. When Haman returns from paying homage to Mordecai and tells Zeresh his wife and his friends all that happened, then his wise men and wife reply in 6:13 “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.” And those words were no sooner spoken than the servants came to bring Haman to Esther’s banquet.
The 7th chapter starts with the dinner and on the 2nd day, she tells the king her request to have her life and the life of her people spared. So the king asks who is this fellow that has dared to do such a thing and Esther replies in 7:6 “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.” The King is so outraged that he goes for a walk in the garden and Haman goes to the couch to where Esther was and pleads for his life only to have the king come back looking like he was attacking the Queen and he is hanged on his own gallows.
In the 8th chapter we are told that Mordecai is given Haman’s possession and his possession and the outcome of this is that many Gentiles come to faith and those that would still fight against the way of faith are destroyed. This by the way is commemorated each year in March this year it was the 10th of March, when they have a great celebration and give and receive gifts. Friends, how much better are the ways of faith than the ways of the flesh? It’s a celebration to live in the power and strength of the Lord, life is a gift when we surrender to His lordship over us.