We conclude our reading of Esther today with a short chapter. It is only 3 verses and yet we see something amazing. The amazing thing is not that Mordecai is placed in a position higher than the evil Haman, or that he is part of the royal family, or that the Persian kingdom advanced even more. What is amazing is that we see justice playing out and God’s sovereignty.

God is Just

As the Jews were threatened with destruction we see the end of the matter by Esther being bold to approach the king and Haman receiving his punishment, death. Not only did evil get taken care but Mordecai, who saved the kings life finally is repaid with riches and a position of the king. He is like 2nd in command to the king. 

This is a picture of what the end will look like. When Jesus returns to the earth he will reign with power and might and bring justice to what needs justice. He will destroy the wicked and they will receive their punishment as well as the righteous will receive their rewards. God is just and nothing will be overlooked by him. 

The true peace that Comes from Knowing Jesus

I also noticed while reading this book that it is not hard to notice that we can look at sin and how sin so easily wants to destroy us, just like Haman did with the Jews. It would seem bleak when Jesus was on the cross and died but that was the victory as he conquered death and sin and rose from the dead. As King Xerxes granted favor to Mordecai and he received the gifts of the kingdom, we receive the blessing of eternal life as well as a crown that is waiting for us. We look forward to having eternal bodies, not dying ones. We look forward to the greatest treasure, being in the presence of God and worshiping him.

We read about Haman and his end to his evilness but that still did not undo the letters that were spread around this 6,000 mile wide kingdom. Jews everywhere were on the threat of death. In this chapter we see Esther goes to the king with the real heart of the issue, the saving of the Jews all across the kingdom. 

Esther’s Plea

As the scene of chapter 7 is gone the heart of the real question is asked. Esther approaches the king again with tears in her eyes and mentioned the letter that Haman wrote about the day of destroying the Jews. Time was ticking down and something needed to be done. The king granted her whatever she needed to help and he gave Mordecai, Esther Uncle, the signet ring which means whatever he wrote and had that seal of the ring, that means it was real and you needed to listen to it. 

Mordecai writes a letter to everyone and it says, “The Jews can defend themselves if anyone tries to attack them.” This was allowing them to stand up and say, “Don’t mess with me.”  In the capital of Persia, Susa (Which is modern day Iran) there was joy for every Jew was proud to be a Jew. This was a chance for the kingdom as well as the Jews to be able to stand up and defend themselves.

God’s Plan

Throughout this book, God may not be mentioned, but he is seen throughout the words. The author of Esther wanted to show that God works in circumstances and we can see that in this one. Many times people overlook the fact that God is working in the midst. Sometimes we are so blinded by the problem that we forget that God is active in our lives. Sometimes we see the end result that we forget that it was God’s hand in it. I pray that you have been reading along and I want to encourage you to read the book of Esther in one sitting. 

Reflect in your life and also in history and see how God has worked in circumstances and in lives and in nations. I am reminded of how amazing God is and that he is active in life. He does not just view from above and let life work itself out. God is active and involved.

As the story progresses I would almost think that Ch. 7 is the climatic event of the whole book. Each chapter has had its nail biting parts but this sums the whole book. Chapter 6 we see how much hatred Haman had for Mordecai as he was bitterly jealous of him. His wife suggested for Haman to build gallows (a place to hang someone) at their house where he could hang Mordecai. It was not enough for Haman to wait until the day that all the Jews would be killed; he wanted Mordecai dead now. 

In Chapter 6 we see a first turn of events as Mordecai was praised before the king. The Lord laid it upon his heart to recap in some history and he was reading about how Mordecai saved his life from the men who went to harm him. The king asked if there was anything done to honor his diligence and nothing was done. So the king asked Haman what he should do to honor someone and Haman thought the king was talking about him. So Haman told the king that he should be paraded around the city and have royal robes. Then the king told Haman to do this for Mordecai, man did Haman have to eat crow!

The Banquet

In this chapter we see that the king and Haman rushed to Esther feast. Enough anticipation, what was Esther going to ask the king. The king wanted to know and so she asked that the man who sold out all of the Jews, including herself be judged. The king had no idea who it was and was furious, so Esther pointed out Haman and Haman knew his fate, death. As the king was angry he left and when he came back in he saw Haman begging the queen to save his life but the king took it as Haman was assaulting her. The gallows that Haman built to hang Mordecai actually served to hang Haman.

God is Just

We see all throughout history how God is just. There are people that have been mistreated and eventually their enemies receive justice. Look at Haman, he was evil and intended harm. At first it would seem like he was going to go unpunished. He even was receiving favor from the king. If you were like me you could scratch your head and wonder what is going on, he should have been burned to the ground by now. God had his timing and his plan and that was to use Esther and Mordecai. God’s word tells us not to seek revenge but vengeance is the Lord’s (Romans 12:19). Some people may not get God’s justice on this earth but they will in eternity. God does not forget the deeds of the evil. 

This whole book shows us that God does have a bigger picture. We all are part of it one way or another. We also see that God is in control of things even when we can’t see it right away. When we trust the Lord we soon see his work in the midst of darkness.

In this chapter we see Esther stepping out in faith as she approaches the throne of the king. We also see her plan on saving the Jews and herself. 

Favor in His Eyes

We read that Esther did not waste any time and she went into the inner court of the king’s place. This was the intense moment in which chapter 4 surrounded it because her life was on the line in verse 1. The king could either receive her presence or he could reject her and have her killed for being in the inner court without him sending for her. This was a big deal and she did what she said in 4:16, “If I perish, I perish.”

God has something else in mind and the king found favor in Esther, he granted her the scepter which allowed her to approach and talk to the king. The king even asked her whatever she wanted, he would give it to her even if it was half his kingdom. All she requested was that Haman and the king would come to a feast that she would be having. At this feast she had a plan to be able to talk to the king and open his eyes to the evil of Haman.

God Works-

It is great to see Esther, a woman in a position, that could have easily been taken away and she still approached the king. It is as Jesus said, “Do not worry about who can harm the body but the who can harm the soul (Matthew 10:28).” We are told all throughout the New Testament by Paul and Peter that we will suffer for the name of Christ. People will hate us because of the message the we bring. Such a time is this that we stop being fearful of what man can do to us. Fear immobilizes us and God can not use us when fear is our God. The time is now to start living for the Lord and not worrying about the person next to you is thinking about you. Get off your lazy bottom and start working for the kingdom. Now is the time…

We continue reading about the crisis that is unfolding for the Jews. If we backtrack a little, Haman tricked the king in signing a death sentence for all the Jews. Mordecai, Esther’s Uncle, was the one Jew that Haman hated just because he never would bow down to him. 

Esther’s Purpose as Queen

All of the Jews that received the news that they would be hunted and killed on a particular day started to weep and mourn. They would wear sackcloth, a sack or type of old material that was a sign of mourning. Not only would they wear something but they would put ashes on their face as another sign. The Jews not only had clothes, or ashes on their faces, but they would cry bitterly. 

As all of this was going on we see a dialogue between Esther and Mordecai. Mordecai challenges Esther to speak to the king but Esther responds with, “I can’t talk to him until he allows me to talk to him.” During this time, the king would only allow someone to speak if he/she held the king’s scepter. If someone approached the king without access they would be killed. Esther fear was that she could not approach the king boldly and she could die.

This chapter is awesome because we see a lot depth. Mordecai responds with, “Do you think, just because you are queen, you can avoid not being killed.” And he also said, “How do you know that God allowed you to come into the kingdom for such a time is this?” After this Esther responded with, “If I die, then I die, I will talk to the king.”

God’s Sovereignty

The truth in this chapter is what Mordecai said, “How do you know that God has not placed you in the position that you are in for such a time is?” God purposely knew that Esther would be beautiful, that she would be her age, that she would live in that place, that the king would have open auditions for a queen, and that the Jews would be threatened with extinction. God holds everything in His hands even when we think things are chaotic. 

This reminds me of the chapter where God talks to Job. He asks Job if he was there during creation or about the ostrich (Job 39). God knows all things and nothing is hidden from him (Hebrews 4:13). I have no doubt that if Esther failed at approaching the king, God would use someone else or intervene in some other way. The great thing is that God uses people. We need to not be looking to be the big man trying to save the world, what we need to look at is the cross and how we have the freedom and ability to serve Him. When we seek God that way we are in his will and God has you in your place for such a time is this…

Have you ever witnessed something or read about something aweful. You think, how in the world can people do such horrible things to others. During World War II, you can read about the millions and millions of Jews that were killed, or the other Christians. We look and realize that people are capable of these things because sin reigns in this world. 

God holds everything in his hands. He knows what people can do and he allows them to do certain things as he has a greater plan that will be shown.

Haman is Evil

We read about Queen Vashti who refused to be obedient to the king and a result was that she lost her place as queen. There were auditions for the new queen to be chosen and a Jew named Esther went. She was far prettier than all the other girls and they underwent a year of charm school. In this year she was caked with fragrances as well as make-up so the king would be impressed. When King Ahasuerus saw her he knew she was the one and Esther was chosen to be queen.

We read that she had no father or mother but that her Uncle Mordecai raised her. He plays a very important part in this book as he told the king about the plot to take his life.

In chapter 3 we are introduced to Haman. We do not know much about him other than that the king liked him and gave him one of the greatest positions in the kingdom. It was customary of Persian culture for people to bow down to authority. This was not a form of worship but respect. Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman because he was a Jew and Haman hated him for that. 

As Haman became irritated with Mordecai more and more, he plotted to extinguish the Jews. He made a decree to the king without exposes all the details. The king gave the signet ring as his signature of the law and then it went out throughout all of the nation. Remember Persia at this time was huge- from India to Ethiopia. This law described what time and date this massacre of the Jews would take place. This massacre would be not only men, but women and children. He had hate in his eyes. After this went out we see the true heart of Haman, in verse 15 it says, “Haman sat down to drink with the king, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.” 

It did not phase him that he just issued a death warrant for every Jew in the city. He had no guilt or remorse. He was filled with hate. If we stopped here with this chapter we could easily get discouraged. We could read and ask, “Lord, why would you allow this to happen.” But we can’t, the truth is, God knew this would happen and he has something bigger to show us, his Great plan of salvation which is unfolding in this book.

God’s Plan

Do you ever get scared of God’s plan? I mean where you get anxious because you do not know what is going to happen? I am the type of guy that needs to feel like he is in control but the truth is, I am never in control God is always in control, I either fight him or cling to him. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to Trust in the Lord with all our heart, which is a lot easier said than done. The only way we really can know we can trust him is when we are in those tough situations, when evil is around us or sickness or death. God will show himself but you must have faith. When you get through the dark trials, all you can say is, “God you are Good.”

Esther 1

The stage is set, God’s plan on saving the Jews is getting ready. In this chapter we see what needed to take place in order for God’s woman, Esther to be able to be in the position to be used by God to save many lives. He knows all thing in advance as we trust God in his will. 

King Ahasuerus

Known in the Greek as Xerxes, he was king over all of Persia. A vast empire at this time, only second to that of the Roman Empire. The Persians were very powerful as they were the ones that took over Babylon when Babylon was great. 

The Bible gives us enough information to know that this guy was one powerful man. His kingdom was vast and when he spoke a law that was written everyone in this vast kingdom had to follow it. We see that there was a queen in Persia whose name was Vashti. They had a huge feast celebrating the power and ability of the king and his conquests. During this celebration feasts, we see that the king wanted to have his queen come to him (which was custom at this time. When the king summoned the queen, that is when and only when she would come). Queen Vashti refused. She did not want to come when he commanded. Due to this she was relieved of queen and a decree went out to all of the land about this, women needing to listen to their husbands. The result of a rebellious queen was that there needed to be another. A decree went out to all of the land that they are going to be looking for a new queen. They were having tryouts and they sent the location and date.

It would be easy to just stick with the details and know that history talks about this man, but we need to look at God’s providence. That is God’s divine grace and planning in this time of history. God allowed this man to be king and allowed this woman to be queen. He knew that she would be rebellious and that he would then be able to supply the right woman for at the right time in history. We read on tomorrow for that.

Praise be to God who knows what tomorrow already has. Our trust and hope is in him.