One of the great lessons of a little book Esther is God may be in the shadows but make no mistake He is there watching. The name of God is nowhere mentioned in this book but if you look, the unseen hand of God is everywhere.
Background: Esther is a story of a beautiful Hebrew girl and her older cousin. Esther, the beautiful slave girl, is identified by her Persian name. Early in the book she doesn’t reveal her race. Her Jewish name was Hadassah and it means “myrtle.”. The cousin is named Mordecai. Xerxes I was the King and Haman was promoted to second highest official in the kingdom of the Persians. The story takes place between the first and second return to Israel. It is dated somewhere between 483 – 473 B.C. Haman is the Satanically inspired force that is seeking to exterminate the Jews. This man is a type of the Anti-Christ that will come in the last days. He is desiring to annihilate God’s people just as the Dragon will try in Revelation 12:1-6. Let me give you three words this morning for you to think or muse on.
1. Preservation. When God makes a promise, it will be kept. Way back in Genesis 12, God promised Abraham he would make of him and his seed a great nation. Throughout history Satan has sought to stop that promise from becoming a reality. The Devil has tried to use nations such as Egypt and individuals such as Athaliah. Do you know her? She was one evil woman. Her son, Ahaziah, had been killed. She usurped the throne and began killing all the heirs to the throne. Everyone, except a baby grandson who was hidden, was killed. Athaliah began ruling as Queen and it lasted for seven years. The royal line was down to one little baby boy that she either didn’t know about or couldn’t find. If that little boy had been killed the line of Messiah would have been broken and Jesus wouldn’t have been born. In the seventh year of her reign, Joash was revealed and he became the rightful king and began ruling at age seven. II Kings 11 tells the story of Athaliah and her wickedness. In our book today, we have another attempt to kill off God’s people, Israel. But God is paying attention and remembering His promises. Psalm 121:4, “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” The plans of the evil ones come to nothing when stacked against the promises of God.
2. Promptings. Mordecai had instructed Esther not to reveal her true identity. Freedoms were beginning to be enjoyed and the Jews, although in captivity, were allowed to travel without a lot of restrictions in Susa. Some are being allowed to return to Israel. But anti-Semitism always has been and always will be until it is finally squashed by Christ at His coming. “In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai’s name. And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore, they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king” (Esther 2:21-23.) Two men of the king’s cabinet had devised an assassination plot. Mordecai heard the plan, revealed it to Esther, and she revealed it to the king giving credit to her cousin, Mordecai. All this was recorded in the official books of Persia. Why was Mordecai sitting in the gate? He wasn’t anything special. No official title, no money to speak of, just a man at the right place at the right time to hear the plans of this coup. What about the time this happened? It happened before the actions of Haman and his plan to hang all the Jews in and around Shushan. Do you ever stand in awe of how God puts circumstances and people in your path? I’m constantly amazed at the workings of God in our church family. Years ago, a faithful lady in our church named Brenda, used to sing a song named “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand.” She would make the walls vibrate with her strong voice. The unseen hand of God can be seen by the eyes of the faithful. We must look with spiritual eyes to see what is happening but oh, the joy that comes from knowing God is prompting us through whispers in our souls, circumstances in our lives and most of all the sweet Word of God. There is one more prompting I’ll mention even though there are several more in this little book. Chapter 6:1-14, I find very humorous. Xerxes, the King, is having a hard time sleeping. He begins reading a book of the Chronicles of Persia. It is similar to a daily briefing our President would receive. He re-reads the previous assassination plot by two of his most trusted men. He realizes that he never publicly thanked or rewarded Mordecai. God caused him to be restless. God prompted him to pick up just the right Persian Chronicle that had this plot recorded. Calling Haman, now the bitter enemy of Mordecai because old Mordecai wouldn’t bow to him, Xerxes tells Haman, put a royal robe on this man and drive him around Susa and give him great honor. He needs to be rewarded to saving my life. Haman seethes, but he can’t disobey without his life being lost or his plan to kill the Jews, especially Mordecai, being revealed. These circumstances should teach us to pay attention. Understand the times and we can see the unseen hand of God better than most.
3. Party. “In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.” (3:7). Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;” (9:24). Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore, for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them” (9:26).
Underlined are the words I want you to focus on. Pur and Purim. Haman’s men were casting lots in front of him trying to decide what day to start hanging the Jews. God in His omnipotence flips the script, and Haman is hanged on his own gallows the same day he’d planned on beginning the executions. The Jewish people that are orthodox celebrate the Feast of Purim, remembering the salvation of the Jews during the time of Esther. It is the most fun of all the Feasts of Israel. It has been described as a party. No fasting, just eating, drinking, and having fun with others of the Jewish faith. In synagogues the scroll containing Esther is read during this Feast. Each time the name Haman is read the people stand, stomp their feet, hiss and boo. Some even go so far as to bring a ratchet type item, called a gragger, to make noise ridiculing Haman’s name.
During the times of Mordecai and Esther it wasn’t a party. It was deadly serious. But God had two of His people in the right place. One in the gate and one in the palace. Mordecai reminded Esther that God had her there “for such a time as this” (4:14). Esther came through with flying colors. Had God not been involved every step of the way, Satan would have thwarted the plan of God. Don’t ever worry about that happening now or in the future.