The Local Christendom Podcast with Aaron Ventura

Sermon: The King's Jealousy (Esther 7-8)

The King’s JealousySunday, March 9th, 2025Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WAEsther 7:1–8:17
Prayer
Father, we thank you for your inscrutable wisdom, and that by your wisdom, you work for our good all things, including the evil actions and intentions of the forces of darkness. Please help us to trace in our own lives, and to know in our souls, that you are that God who is fore us and not against us. We ask for this all in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
In Exodus 20, when God’s voice thundered from Mount Sinai, He delivered through the Prophet Moses the Ten Commandments, and in the explanation of the 2nd commandment God explains to His people why they must not worship other gods. He says, “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.”
You shall not worship idols because I am a jealous God.
What does it mean for God to be jealous? Is jealousy a name worthy of the Divine Creator, who is omnipotent, all sufficient in Himself, who needs no others and to whom none can be compared? In what sense if any can God be called jealous? Why does He name Himself so?
A few chapters later we read in Exodus 34:14, “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
And again, in Deuteronomy 4:24 it says, “For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.”
And again, in Nahum 1:2 the prophet says, “God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies.”
So the picture of God that Scripture often paints for us is that of a burning mountain of fire that consumes whatever comes near it. God is like an active volcano. Molten lava is pouring down the hillside to destroy the wicked.
Be holy as I am holy, God says. And so, David asks in Psalm 15, “Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? [Who can live on that volcano?] Only he that walks uprightly and works righteousness.”
And again, David asks in Psalm 24, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart.”
The church fathers Origen and St. Augustine, both reflecting on God’s jealousy, conclude with one voice that the jealousy of God, far from being harmful to our health, is actually our whole hope of salvation. And to that conclusion we might wonder, uhm how? How is God’s volcanic jealousy in any way good news for us, least of all, our whole hope of our salvation?
The answer to this question is actually found here in Esther 7-8. For it is in the very reality of a husband’s love for his wife, and of a king’s love for his queen, that God’s jealousy for you finds its soil.
Where there is no jealousy, there is no love, St. Augustine says. For what husband who loves his wife, would not be enraged if she became a harlot? Or what king who loves his queen, would allow her to be assaulted and the assailant go unpunished? A husband without jealousy for his wife, is a husband who does not love his wife, and so it is with God.
It is this metaphor of marriage, of a solemn covenant between man and woman, that God takes up and uses to explain His jealous love for His people, and the wrath He reserves for those who assault His bride.
“Marriage is a great mystery,” Paul says in Ephesians 5, “but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
We hear from the Prophet Zechariah, who was preaching in Jerusalem during the days of Esther, Mordecai, Ahasuerus, and Haman, that God’s jealousy for His people has been aroused.
It says in Zechariah 1:14, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: For I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: My house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts.”
What does God’s jealousy mean for Jerusalem? It means God’s mercy will return to them, and His Holy House will be built up again.
Likewise, we hear later in Zechariah 8:2-5, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy; With great fervor I am jealous for her.’ “Thus says the Lord: ‘I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain of the Lord of hosts, The Holy Mountain. Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, Each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.”
Do you see what God’s jealousy does for His people? It is the promise of His return to them. The promise that God will make us into His Holy Mountain, His dwelling place, His temple, where little children are numerous and can play in the streets of New Jerusalem, and grandparents (even great grandparents) can sit and watch them in peace. This is what God’s jealousy forebodes, it is the expression of His burning love for His Bride which many waters cannot quench.
And so while the Prophet Zechariah is preaching in explicit terms the jealousy of God, the book of Esther is preaching that same message but in narrative form. For here we have illustrated at the climax of the book, at Esther’s second feast: the King’s jealous love that brings about the Jews salvation.
Division of the Text
Our text divides into three sections:
In verses 1-7 of chapter 7, The King’s Jealousy Is Stirred.
In verses 8-10, The King’s Wrath Is Pacified.
And then in all of chapter 8, we see The King’s Authority Is Given.
So let us briefly survey these three sections but with a special eye to how Christ fulfills this motif in His love for the Church.
Part 1 – The King’s Jealousy Is Stirred (Esther 7:1-7)
Recall that Haman has just been out and about in Shushan, extolling how great Mordecai is. And then chapter 6 ended with Haman being hastened away to this feast.
We read in verse 2, “And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.”
So after that first feast and that sleepless night, the offer still stands, Ahasuerus is dying to know, what is Esther going to ask me for? What is the meaning of her risking her life to invite me and Haman to two feasts?
And then in verse 3 we have the big reveal, “Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.”
What is Esther doing here?
First, she is tying her own personal fate as Queen with the fate of all the Jews (“I and my people”).
Second, she is heightening the threat and urgency, by stating that if she had been sold into slavery, she would have kept silent. But this is a decree so egregious and unjust, that it would be to the king’s loss to allow it to take effect. This is what she means by saying, “although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.”
So this is not just a threat against Esther and her people, it is also a threat to the king. Esther has now tied Ahasuerus’ fate and reputation in with her own and the Jews. This is persuasion at its finest, and every word of it is true.
It would be to the king’s great damage for the people of God to be exterminated by Haman in the king’s name. What did God promise to Abraham and his seed? “Those who bless you I will bless, And those who curse you I will curse.”
In verse 5 we then hear how the king responds, “Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?”
Here is the jealousy of the king being stirred up to wrath. Name him and locate him and I will deal with him.
And then in verse 6, like the Prophet Samuel before King David, Esther points the finger and says, Here is the man. “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.”
This is news to Haman, who did not know that Esther was a Jew. And therefore, we read in verses 6-7, “Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.”
If Esther had any doubts about the king’s love and loyalty towards her, the king’s wrath in this moment is a wonderful comfort to her soul. The fact that the king’s jealousy has been aroused is a sign of his love, and the fact that he is burning with anger against Haman, is a sign that justice shall soon be done. And so it is.
And this brings us to part 2…
Part 2 – The King’s Wrath Is Pacified (Esther 7:8-10)
Verses 8-10
Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.
Notice what makes satisfaction for the king’s wrath: the death of the evildoer.
Haman’s attempted murder of Esther, and his plot to hang Mordecai, are both criminal acts that God’s law punishes with death. Attempted murder is to be punished as murder.
And in this instance, Haman’s empire wide decree against the Jews, and the fifty-cubit-high gallows at his house, are public and incriminating testimony to his guilt. Far more than 2 or 3 witnesses could be supplied.
And so the king in his jealous wrath executes righteous judgment. By his own gallows Haman is hung, and only “then was the king’s wrath pacified.”
Again, we see that the king’s jealousy is the hope for the Jews salvation. He crushes the head of the serpent Haman, and then in chapter 8, He gives to Esther and Mordecai the authority that Haman had abused.
Part 3 – The King’s Authority Is Given (Esther 8:1-17)
There are three key gifts that Ahasuerus bestows, and each of them corresponds with a gift that Christ bestows.
1. We read in verse 1 that Ahasuerus gives to Esther the House of Haman. And what does this signify but Christ giving to His Bride, the New Eve, the New Jerusalem, power in His name over the forces of darkness.
Jesus says to his disciples in Luke 10:18-19, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
And in this is fulfilled the marriage blessing of Rebekah. It says in Genesis 24:60, “And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.”
So Esther and Mordecai, the disciples and the saints, we are all descendants of Rebekah. For as Paul says in Galatians 3 and Romans 4, those who put their faith in Christ the seed of Abraham, have not only Abraham as their father but God.
So when Jesus said, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” That was because Christ was going to suffer and die to give us the House of Haman, Satan’s abode.
What does Jesus say in Revelation 1:18, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys of Hell and of Death.”
What does Paul say in 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, “For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.”
Jesus has the keys to Satan’s house, and he has bound the strongman so that we can now plunder his kingdom, waging spiritual warfare to liberate those in bondage.
Summary: The King gives to his bride the house, the gates, of our enemies.
This leads us to the second gift Ahasuerus bestows.
2. We read in verse 2, “And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.”
So while Esther signifies the bride of Christ. Mordecai signifies the apostles, the pastors, the elders in the church who receive from Christ the keys of the kingdom.
Remember that Mordecai is Esther’s adopted father. And how does the Apostle Paul speak of his relationship to the church?
He says in 1 Corinthians 4:15, “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”
Paul considers himself a spiritual father to the churches he planted.
And then he builds on this theme in 2 Corinthians 11:2 where he says, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
So Paul is a father, like Mordecai. The church is a daughter, like Esther. And Paul has betrothed that daughter (the church) to Christ and he is jealous to preserve her chastity for Christ.
And so to protect the bride, to keep watch over her, the king gives to a steward his signet ring, even as Christ gives the ministry of the word, the office of overseer, to the apostles and elders.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”
So it is not in our own name that we preach or speak or execute the pastoral office. It is only in the name of Jesus Christ, and by His commission, and in accord with His Word, that we exercise real spiritual authority. So when we say in the liturgy, “your sins are forgiven through Christ” you should hear that as if God himself is speaking, because He is.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” This is what the king’s signet ring is for: reconciling sinners to God. Or Jesus says to the disciples in Matthew 16:19, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
And this brings us to third and final gift, which illustrates how the king’s signet ring is used.
3.  We read in verses 7-8, “Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew…Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.”
So this third gift is the power to write in the king’s name. Next week we will consider in greater detail the content of this decree, but for now just observe the extent to which this new decree goes forth. Like the gospel, it is universal and communicated in every language. This decree is a foreshadowing of Pentecost.
Haman, like Satan, had promulgated in all the empire a law of death that led to confusion. Whereas Mordecai and Esther promulgate a new law that leads to life for the righteous, death to the unrepentant, and joy to all who receive the truth.
What else could be signified by this new decree, but the universal gospel of Jesus Christ, the New Testament, the Four Gospel Accounts, the 14 Pauline Letters that bear the king’s seal, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
As we will see next week, this is in essence the same message that Esther and Mordecai author in the king’s name. A day of judgment is coming. The King’s armies shall defend the righteous. And anyone who attacks or attempts to kill the Bride, the Queen’s people, shall suffer punishment unto death.
Notice in verses 16-17, how this new law and decree is received: “The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour. And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.”
Remember what happened when Haman’s decree went forth? It says the city of Shushan was perplexed (Esther 3:15).
But what happens when Mordecai’s decree goes forth? An evangelical harvest. Mass conversion to the true religion. Gentiles becoming Jews.
This is what the gospel effects in those who believe: light, gladness, joy, honor, and feasting.
Conclusion
And so in closing let us return to the question we began with: What does it mean for God to be jealous?
It means that God burns with love for you.
It means that God loves you so much that He makes life apart from Him miserable.
The jealousy of God is your whole hope of salvation because it means that if you ever wander into idolatry, as our hearts are tempted to do, God will be provoked, and in His jealous love He will make your life miserable until you return to Him.
Paul warns of this spiritual fornication in 1 Corinthians 10:21-22 saying, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?”
Who is the spouse of your soul? Who have you made a covenant with? Whose name were you baptized into and sealed with the king’s ring?
Where there is no jealousy, there is no love. And for those who have been joined to Christ by faith, to them the name of God is Jealous and His jealousy is our whole hope of salvation.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Sermon: A Sleepless Night (Esther 6:1-14)

A Sleepless NightSunday, March 2nd, 2025Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Esther 6:1–14On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him. And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king’s house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king’s servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself? And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken. Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour. And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered. And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him. And while they were yet talking with him, came the king’s chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.
Prayer
Father, we thank you for the word of promise that you speak unto the church, that You who are “the God of peace shall soon crush Satan under our feet.” We ask now that you would hasten our enemies to destruction, even our own sinful flesh, and the devil, and all through the surpassing grace and power of Christ Jesus. In whose name we pray, Amen.
Introduction
Have you ever had a sleepless night? A night in which while your body might be very tired, but still your mind will not let you rest. To go without sleep is a great affliction for us creatures who God created to sleep (Ps. 127:2). And if you have ever suffered from insomnia, or paranoia, or incessant anxious thoughts, you know that a sleepless night can be a great affliction to both body and soul.
The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 11 includes sleeplessness alongside his many other afflictions. He says there, “in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.”
So if the Apostle Paul counted sleeplessness as an affliction, so can we. And here in our text what do we have but two men who cannot sleep: Haman and Ahasuerus. And then also, lurking in the background above and behind this sleepless night is The Divine Author of the story, God, who as it says in Psalm 121:4, neither slumbers nor sleeps.
So what is for us a privation and affliction, sleeplessness, is for God a mark of His perfection.
When we go without sleep, our judgment is impaired, our bodies break down. Studies have shown that driving drunk and driving after being awake for 20 hours, is basically equivalent.
But for God this is not so. God is never drunk or asleep at the wheel. His judgments are only and ever true, good, and beautiful. We get tired, God does not. We get weary, God is omnipotent and the fount of all refreshment.
And so while mortal men may struggle to sleep, their thoughts and desires not permitting them to rest, God’s thoughts and God’s desires for His people, for you, are only and ever and always good. Do you believe this? If not consider the words of the prophets.
God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
David says likewise in Psalm 139, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.”
So while you and I can really only focus on one thing at a time. God has no such constraints. All reality, all of history, all creation, every individual, is before His eyes as an ever-present now. This is part of what it means for God to be eternal and infinite and wise.What is eternity? The simultaneously-whole and perfect possession of interminable life. Meaning that in God there is no before and after, no beginning or end, no succession of moments, He is the same yesterday, today, and evermore.And what does God know in His eternity? It says in Hebrews 4:13, “There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
And that means, even when your mind is distracted, or your mind is asleep in dreamworld. Your whole life, your thoughts, your actions, past, present, and future, are in the mind of God as one present moment. And this is how David can say, “When I awake, I am still with you.” Because God never went anywhere, and you are always in His mind, even when you are not thinking of Him.
This is one of the great truths of the story of Esther: God has an eternal and perfect but sometimes hidden plan for our good. And what we have here in Esther 6 is the beginning of that goodness breaking through the dark and brooding clouds. And so as we walk through this text together, I want you to consider the question:
What is the good that God has conspired in eternity to give Mordecai? Or more personally, what good has God planned for you who love Him?
Division of the Text
Our text this morning divides into three sections according to three key actions of the king:
In verses 1-3, The King Remembers Something.
In verses 4-9, The King Questions His Chief Advisor
In verses 10-14, The King Honors His Loyal Servant.
So let us briefly survey our text together.
Verses 1-3 – The King Remembers Something
So recall that about 4 years earlier, Mordecai had reported this assassination attempt, Esther had told the king in Mordecai’s name, but nothing was ever done for him (Esther 2:19-23). Instead, the very next verse we read was that Haman was promoted (Esther 3:1).
And so while Ahasuerus may have forgotten that he owed his life to Mordecai, God has not forgotten, and has chosen this night of all nights to call Mordecai’s unrewarded good deed to mind.
A question arises here about why the king could not sleep?
We know of course that God is the ultimate cause, but what are the human reasons for Ahasuerus’ insomnia?
Many possible answers could be given, but the most likely reasons are that the king is anxious about Esther’s behavior.
Why has Esther risked her life to invite the King and Haman to two feasts?
Why was Haman invited? What is Haman’s role in all this?
Are Haman and Esther plotting against the king? Are they romantically involved with one another? Is this the beginning of a coup? Is the king’s life in danger?
What is Esther going to ask for at the feast tomorrow? Why does she keep her husband in suspense?
These are just some of the possible questions and fears that might be keeping the king awake. Perhaps you can relate.
What about Haman? Why can’t Haman sleep on this night?
With Haman we have a more explicit answer. Haman is evil and he is anxious to have Mordecai hung.
The words of Proverbs 4:16-17 well describe Haman’s state, “For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.”
So there is a restlessness, a sleeplessness that can come from being evil. And then there is a restlessness and sleeplessness that can come from being deeply concerned. And then there is the sleeplessness of God, who rules the dark, and loves to bring about great and miraculous reversals in the night.
We should also recall to our minds the date of this sleepless night. What day is it in the Hebrew Calendar?
We were told that Haman’s Decree against the Jews went forth on the 13th day of the first month (Nisan 13th). This is the day before Passover.
On that day Mordecai mourned, informed Esther, and Esther called for a three day fast. The first day of that fast was Nisan 13th, the second day Nisan the 14th, and then we are told…
On the third day of that fast (Nisan the 15th), she went before the king and threw the first feast.
And since for the Jews, the new day starts in the evening, when it says here in verse 1, “on that night could not the king sleep,” it is referring to the beginning of Nisan the 16th, which is the day of First fruits in the Hebrew calendar.
Guess what else takes place on Nisan the 16th? The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, of whom Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:20, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”
And so on this sleepless night, we have the beginnings of resurrection and glorification. Haman the enemy, the accuser of the brethren begins to fall. Mordecai the faithful servant of the king begins to rise, and all that is left is for all authority to be given to Mordecai and Esther so they can reverse the curse of their enemy.
Do you see the outline of the gospel here?
Continuing in verses 4-9, we then have the King’s interrogation of Haman. By now the king has determined to honor Mordecai, to remedy what he overlooked 4 years earlier, and it just so happens that sleepless Haman is seeking an audience with the king.
We might also note that if the king was suspicious about Haman before (wondering does Haman have designs on the throne?) he can test that suspicion here with a question.
Verses 4-9 – The King Questions His Chief Advisor
Now recall that in chapter 5, Esther made it ambiguous who her first feast was for. The King asked Esther what she desired, and she said, “If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.” Who is the him? Haman or Ahasuerus?
And now here, Haman does the same thing, except the object in question is the king’s royal crown. Notice the way verse 8 is phrased, “Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head.”
Whose head? The horse, or the king? Do you see how Haman is leaving it ambiguous whether the king should honor (in Haman’s mind himself) by giving him the king’s own crown. But he leaves himself an out just in case his request is too overt and ambitious.
So from Ahasuerus’ perspective, what is Haman suggesting? He is suggesting that someone else should be equal to the king. In Haman’s mind, that is Haman. And if Haman wants the king’s clothing, the king’s horse, and the king’s crown, well what else might Haman want but the king’s wife as well, Esther!
So Haman’s response would almost certainly confirm any suspicions that Ahasuerus had. And therefore, it is two birds and one stone for him to have Vice President Haman walking around giving honor to Mordecai instead. At the very least, this well help put Haman back into his place.
We have then in verses 10-14, Mordecai’s exaltation and Haman’s humiliation.
Verses 10-14 – The King Honors His Loyal Servant.
Three observations from this section:
1. Observe that Ahasuerus calls Mordecai, Mordecai the Jew. How does he know this all of a sudden? Was it written in the chronicles? Did one of his other servants tell him? How does this king know this, but not Haman’s decree against Mordecai’s people? This is odd.
2. Observe that after Mordecai is exalted, what does he do? We see in verse 12, he simply comes back to work at the king’s gate. He has just been given the highest and greatest honor a person could receive, and yet unlike Haman who became great in his own eyes, Mordecai has learned humility.
And in this, Mordecai is avoiding the fall of his Benjamite ancestor King Saul.
We read in 1 Samuel 15, that after Saul failed to kill Agag, king of the Amalekites (Haman’s ancestor), God said to him, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.”
So this is Mordecai’s redemption moment. He has been rewarded, he has been honored, he has been exalted by the king above all others. And yet “Mordecai came again to the king’s gate.” He did not presume to take Haman’s position. He did not suddenly think himself above his present station. No. He simply went back to work as a servant of the king.
There is a great and important lesson here, and the wise will take it to heart.
3. Third and finally, observe that Haman is now being hasted/hurried to his destruction.
Three times Haman is said to be hasted away. First to honor Mordecai, then in mourning to his house, then to Esther’s feast. The man who once thought himself so dignified, who went on his leisurely way, for whom the world waited upon to act, now is getting his comeuppance.
And this is the reward for those who are hasty to do evil, who are quick to get angry.
The Prophet Isaiah speaks of such people in Isaiah 59:17 saying, “Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood: Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.”
Consider also the words of Proverbs 6 and how many of them are an apt description of Haman’s person. It says in Proverbs 6:14-18, “Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy. These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.”
God says, “all who hate me love death” (Pr. 8:36). And here now Haman who once hastened to do evil is being hastened to his own funeral.
Conclusion
I want to close with two exhortations based on this scene.
The first is that God’s judgments are often slow and then sudden. And that means you have to be patient in doing good especially when there seems to be no fruit, no reward, all while the wicked seem to flourish.
For almost 5 years, Haman was permitted to prosper and do evil, while Mordecai went unrewarded and overlooked. But then on one sleepless night, God suddenly renders his judgment. He reverses the roles.
And this how God likes to bring to pass the words of many Psalms, like Psalm 1, “the ungodly are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.”
Or Psalm 37 which says, “Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.”
Or Psalm 125, which we love to sing, “no wicked ruler for long will remain, over the righteous one’s chosen domain.”
If you are in Christ, and Christ dwells in you by faith. Then you are God’s domain. You are God’s holy habitation. You are God’s temple, and He is jealous to protect His temple.
The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:17, “If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
The God who neither slumbers nor sleeps is watching over you day and night. His thoughts are vast and His intentions for you only good. And so do as He says in Psalm 37:34, “wait on the Lord, and when the wicked are cut of, you shall see it.”
My second exhortation is to seek glory, honor, and immortality from God. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 2:6-8, “God will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath.”
And likewise, he says in Romans 8:30, that those “whom God did predestine, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”
So do you believe that God wants to give you glory, honor, and immortality? In the words of Ahasuerus, “What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour?”
Do you believe that it makes God happy to give you good things, that God delights to honor those who honor Him?
If Ahasuerus rewarded Mordecai with royal robes, the royal horse, the royal crown, and the later the royal signet ring, are you going to say that God is more stingy than Ahasuerus? Are you going to say that God is less generous than this gentile king?
Consider again what the king remembers and rewards, and what the king totally overlooks in Mordecai.
Mordecai had transgressed the king’s law. He had offended Haman and provoked him to wrath, and for that transgression Mordecai’s life (and the lives of all Jews) hangs in the balance.
But Mordecai had also done a good work. He foiled an assassination attempt on the king. He showed himself loyal to the king in that instance.
Now which of those two actions was written down in the king’s chronicles? Which of these two actions did the king remember and reward?
Only the good work that Mordecai had done. And so also is it with God’s elect.
When you repent of sin and ask God to forgive you, He really does cover all your transgressions.
As it says in Micah 7:19, “God will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; And thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
And that means that in the final judgment, when Romans 2 comes to pass and God renders to every man according to his deeds, for those who are in Christ Jesus, only your good deeds are remembered and rewarded, and all your sins and regrets are as if they never happened. That is what the grace of Christ accomplishes in those who God justifies. And those he justifies he also…glorifies.
So not only does God want to come in and clean your dirty house. Not only does God want to renovate and purify your soul. He also wants to give you the Father’s mansion to live in. He also wants to make your soul glorious within.
It says in Psalm 45:13, “The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace; Her clothing is woven with gold.”
We are told in Revelation 21 that the New Jerusalem has streets of pure gold, and gates made of pearls. And that is a picture of what God wants to do in every saint. He wants the streets of your mind to be pure gold, full of charity, wisdom, and the knowledge of God.
He wants the doorways and the windows, the gates into your soul to be beautiful pearls, where only what is good and holy can enter in.
So if you feel like your soul is a leaking shed, or a rat-infested doghouse. God’s word to you today is exchange that shed for a holy temple. Exchange the slums of sin for a royal palace. This is the glory God delights to give the justified. This is the glory and honor the king delights to crown you with.
Jesus says to his disciples in Luke 10:20, “do not rejoice because evil spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
And in Revelation 20:12 we get are given a glimpse of was written in heaven next to our name. John says, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” What works are these?
Ephesians 2:10 calls them the “good works which God prepared in advance for you to do.” From all eternity.
The only thing God will remember in the final judgment are your acts of loyalty to King Jesus. Your works of charity done by God’s grace.And it is these good works alone which shall be read from the king’s chronicles, announced before myriads of angels, and rewarded lavishly by God. For those who are in Christ Jesus, grace is crowned with glory.
So are you zealous for that crown? Are you zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). Are you zealous for God to glorify you? Because God has promised that those who He predestined, he also called, and those He called, He also justified, and those He justified, He also glorified.
May God hasten to give you such glory, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Sermon: The King's Favor (Esther 5:1-14)

The King’s FavorSunday, February 23rd, 2025Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Esther 5:1-14Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom. And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him. Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is; If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said. Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king. Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate. Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
Prayer
Father, we thank you that through the intercession of Your Son, we can find favor in your sight. And on that basis we now come boldly, like Esther, unto your throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in our time of need. Grant us Your Holy Spirit now, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
In Proverbs 18:12 it says, “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, but before honor is humility.”
Here in Esther Chapter 5, we have a fulfillment of this proverb.
Queen Esther has humbled herself, she has fasted for two days from food and drink, and now in that fasted state, she arises on the third day to go in unto the king. If I perish, I perish she said, and now the time to possibly perish has come. This is humility.
At the same time, we see Haman, proud, prosperous, and pitiful. For although Haman is materially speaking, on top of the world: chief advisor to the king, glorious in his riches, he has a wife, friends, a multitude of children, and two exclusive invitations to dine with the King, still in his own words, “Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”
Haman is the man who has it all, a world of wealth, power, and status, and yet he is unable to enjoy any of it, because he is fixated one man’s refusal to bow. This is pride.
“Before destruction Haman’s heart is haughty, but before honor Esther humbles herself.”
This is the great contrast of Esther Chapter 5. The two figures closest to the king are the Queen and his Prime Minister. Both want something from the king, and both have made plans to get what they desire. Haman wants Mordecai swinging from the gallows, and Esther wants Haman’s decree overturned.
And so this morning, I want to explore three question that this chapter provokes.
1. Why does Esther delay her actual request until after two feasts with Ahasuerus and Haman? And we might also ask, why is Haman even on the guest list?
2. Why does Haman change his mind, and decide to hang Mordecai now, rather than keeping with the day in which the lots were cast? The whole purpose of casting the lots was to pick a day to have his vengeance, but now suddenly he can’t wait, and he wants Mordecai hung tomorrow.
3. What is the spiritual sense of all these events?
Q1 – Why does Esther delay her request?
First of all, recall the danger that Esther feels she is in.
For one, it is against the law to come into the inner court of the king uninvited, and those who do so are to be put to death, unless the golden scepter is held out (Esther 4:11).
Moreover, it has been a full 30 days since the king has called Esther into that court. And so Esther fears that the king’s love for her may have cooled.
And then on top that, we remember the fate of Queen Vashti. Vashti broke the law, she refused to come when she was called, and for this she was deposed. Esther of all people knows what happens to disobedient queens, for she would not be queen herself unless Vashti had transgressed.
And so this is a great risk she feels she is taking, first just to go in unto the king against the law, then to request that his chief advisor’s decree be overturned, and why? Well because I am actually a Jew, I have hidden that from you for 5 years of our marriage, and now I am asking you for my sake, to change the decree that just went forth in your name. Will you change the law for the sake of your wife?
Esther does not know if she has sufficient funds to write this check, to make this ask, at this time. And so having humbled herself and fasted, she now puts on her royal garments and risks it all. This is Esther casting a lot of her own. She is the lot, casting herself into the king’s court.
We read in verse 1, “Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel.”
Remember the third day is often in Scripture a day of judgment, a day of testing, a day of vindication for the righteous.
As it says in Hosea 6:2, “After two days will he revive us: In the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.”
And so Esther after fasting for two days is revived in her spirit though her body is weak. And on the third day she dawns her royal apparel in hope that she might live in the king’s sight.
And thus we read in verses 2-3, “And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.”
So here Esther has survived the first test, she has run the first gauntlet and lived. And while she could make her big request now, when the king has just offered her up to half the kingdom, she chooses to entreat the king with a feast. However, there is something peculiar in her request.
Note carefully the wording of verse 4, “And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.”
Put yourself now in King Ahasuerus’ shoes. Who is the him that this banquet is for? If it is for Ahasuerus, why is Haman and only Haman invited too? This is an awkward date for the king and queen to have, why the third wheel? But if on the other hand this feast is for Haman, why has Esther just risked her life to make this invitation? Why would Esther throw a feast for Haman? Has something in the last 30 days changed that I don’t know about? Well, yes.
The King is in the dark here, but he is also intrigued. What does Esther actually want? What is she going to ask me for? And what does Haman have to do with it?
From the king’s perspective, this is all very odd.
So the King and Haman come to the feast. And this is likely a lunch feast because Haman is going to have enough time afterward to go home, talk to his family, and build gallows to hang Mordecai.
So they are at lunch, wining and dining, this odd trio. King, Queen, and Prime Minister. And you can just imagine the nerves that Esther must feel, the pit in her stomach (trying to eat), sitting at table her arch-enemy on one side, the man who has decreed her people’s destruction (though he does not know it yet), and on the other side is the man who has the power to turn the tide, her husband and king (who also does not know the decree is against her). Esther has a secret, and she has a request, but before she makes that request, she wants to be sure that Ahasuerus is on her side, and not Haman’s.
And so already she has sown suspicion in the king’s mind against Haman by inviting him and making it ambiguous who this feast is for. We read in verse 6 that as the wine course is being served the king asks, “What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.”
The King’s favor is still there, the offer still stands, what does Esther want?
And yet again, she does not come out with it. Why?
Note the wording of her second invitation in verses 7-8, “Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is; If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said.”
So if there was any doubt in the king’s mind about who that first feast was for, here Esther leaves no doubt. This second feast is for the king and Haman, for them.
Esther is heightening the suspense. And it is this suspense, this suspicion about Haman, that is going to leave the king sleepless that night, as we will see in Chapter 6 verse 1, “       On that night could not the king sleep.”
So why does Esther do this? Why does she invite and involve Haman this way?
Humanly speaking, the most likely motive is twofold.
1. She wants to be sure she is truly in the king’s favor.
2. She wants to insinuate that Haman is not to be trusted.
We’ll explore this second motive in a future sermon, but for now just note that Esther is in a competition with Haman for the king’s loyalty and favor.
Ahasuerus had given Haman a blank check, his signet ring, to make whatever decree he wanted against that unnamed lawless nation. And so Esther has to find a way to wield a different kind of power, a power of persuasion, of insinuation, to undermine Haman and expose him.
So that’s part 1 of this chapter: a feast and an invitation to a second feast. And now in verses 9-14, the camera follows Haman on his way home.
Verses 9-10
9Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai.
10Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.
So recall that Mordecai had broken the king’s law by not bowing, and now Haman is enraged because Mordecai won’t stand. He won’t bow, he won’t stand, he won’t acknowledge Haman’s superiority. And this personal slight against his honor cannot be tolerated.
Haman regards Mordecai as the pebble in his shoe, as the lone cockroach in his spaghetti that must be exterminated by killing all cockroaches everywhere (the Jews).
Recall that earlier in Esther 3:6, Haman felt it was beneath him to take vengeance on Mordecai alone, and thus he plotted and schemed to destroy all the Jews, and all so that no one would think he was petty.
This is the great irony and folly of pride. Haman is a balloon so full of himself that even the slightest prick will pop him. When our pride is puffed up, we become extra-fragile to anyone’s disrespect. In fact, pride can even make you hallucinate, to see and hear things that were never said or done. The proud mind only has eyes and ears to find fault, and Haman finds that fault in Mordecai, and inflates it into a fault that is punishable by death.
So note that Haman’s pride makes him fragile. Haman’s pride also makes him easily angered. And while Haman at present can restrain himself, he will not be able to restrain himself for long.
We have then in verses 11-13, Haman giving vent to his rage.
Verses 10b-11
And when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.
11And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
What kind of state must you be in to brag to your own wife about how many children you have? Or to brag to your own friends and wife about how rich you are? Haman cannot see how silly he looks.
Verse 12-13
12Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king.
13Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.
This is the great tragedy of Haman’s life. He is rich, powerful, and prosperous but he cannot enjoy any of it because of the poverty of his soul.
The prophet Jeremiah warns of this snare in Jeremiah 9:23-24 saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord.”
Haman could have wielded his wealth, power, and influence for the glory of God and the good of God’s people. He could have been like Hiram of Tyre, building up the temple. He could have been like Cyrus the great, funding true worship of the true God.
But instead, Haman falls into the same snare as the devil. Not content with his already high position, he desires more than is good for him and falls (like the devil) to his own destruction.
To keep us from this same fate as Haman and the devil himself, The Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:17-18, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
All this Haman could have had. But his hatred for Mordecai blinded him.
Finally, in verse 14 we hear the counsel of the ungodly, Haman’s wife and friends.
Verse 14
14Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
This is where Haman changes his mind. Up to this point, Haman’s plan was to wait until the 13th day of the 12th month (11 months from now) when Mordecai could be just another casualty amongst all the other Jews. The Jews are Haman’s cover to kill a single man.
But now, upon the advice of his wife and friends, he is persuaded to act now. So he has gallows made 50 cubits high. That is something like 75 feet high, about as high as a government building’s flagpole.
And then we’ll see in the next chapter that Haman does not even wait until the morning, he goes to the king in the middle of the night to ask for Mordecai to be hung. Talk about an impulsive decision, he does not even sleep on it.
Q2 – Why does Haman do this? Why does he change his mind?
We could answer question according to multiple causes:
1. Because he could not rule his angry spirit but instead gave vent to his hatred for Mordecai. When hatred is given both power and opportunity, murder is not far off.
2. Because when Haman gave vent, he was surrounded by evil counsellors (his wife and friends who make this whole ghastly proposal seem reasonable). Rather than bringing Haman to his senses, they encourage him in evil. Zeresh is like Eve in this moment, handing Adam the fruit that will kill him.
3. Because God, in His providence, permits the wicked to lay a snare for themselves, only to catch them in their own devices.
Who is going to hang tomorrow from those 50-cubit high gallows? Haman.
As it says in Psalm 7:15-16, “He made a pit and dug it out, And has fallen into the ditch which he made. His trouble shall return upon his own head, And his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown.”
This brings us to our third and final question, which is…
Q3 – What is the spiritual sense of these events?
If Jesus says that all of Scripture testifies to Him, where is Christ and His gospel here?
What is signified by Esther finding favor in the king’s eyes, but the church, the bride of Christ, finding favor with our king.
Like Esther, we must humble ourselves in prayer, in fasting, in mourning over our wretched condition, and then from that place of humility, we arise in faith to seek Divine Mercy.
Who does Jesus say went home justified between the Pharisee and the Publican? It was the man who beat his breast, who would not so much as lift his eyes to heaven, and called out, “God be merciful unto me a sinner.” After which Jesus says, “for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:14).
And isn’t this exactly what happens to Esther? After mourning and fasting for two days, she puts on the royal garments. And what are these garments but the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ? What are these garments but the clothing that grants you access to heaven’s throne?
And so when God sees you standing in His inner court (your prayer closet, your heart), wearing Jesus, What does he do? He welcomes you in! He extends the golden scepter. He says to you what the Father says to Christ at His baptism, “this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Do you know the Father’s good pleasure towards you? Do you believe that in Christ, God’s favor is unfailing towards you? That as it says in Psalm 30:5, “his anger is but for moment, but his favor is for a lifetime.” The Father’s discipline is temporary and even that discipline is because He favors you.
This is the good news that Esther foretells. And what happens when you are granted entrance into the king’s presence? He offers you everything.
Ahasuerus offered Esther up to half of his kingdom, but what does Christ offer His Bride? The whole thing. The entire kingdom. Everything. God and all things in God.
Paul says of this inheritance in Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
Conclusion
Perhaps you feel like Esther, and that God has not called on you for 30 days. Perhaps He feels distant, and you wonder if God’s affections towards you have cooled. Or perhaps your soul has never married God and called Him Savior.
If that is you, then remember that if the basis of God’s grace towards you was just you, and your chosen lifestyle, then grace would no longer be grace. But if the basis of God’s favor towards you is Jesus Christ, his death and his resurrection and his ascension and his constant intercession for you, well then that changes everything. Because God is never displeased with His Son.
Sin does indeed displease and dishonor our king, and this is why God feels distant at times even when He is ever present.But what displeases and dishonors God more is you keeping those sins and using those sins as an excuse to not come to him for mercy. For if favor with God came by the law, then Christ died for no purpose! Paul says in Galatians 2:21, “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”
And so what displeases God is when you refuse to put off the old man and put on the new (Eph. 4:24, Col. 3:10, Rom. 13:14).
What displeases God is a soul too proud to put on the royal garments. As God says in Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: But the just shall live by his faith.”
So you can be proud like Haman and pursue glory and honor and riches apart from Jesus. Or you can be humble yourself like Esther and seek glory and honor and riches by faith in Christ.
Paul says in Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please God: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
So are you diligently seeking Him? Because God is waiting at the doorstep of your heart, knocking and waiting anxiously for you to open up.
Perhaps you think to yourself, but it is dirty in here. My house is not clean, I haven’t confessed my sins in months (or ever!), the rooms of my heart are impure and filthy. Well then let God in so He can wash you! He already knows what is in your heart, and he knows it is actually way dirtier than you think it is. So open in faith to Him.
The reason the Father sent the Son to die was to dispel your fears, to conquer your doubts, and to give you a full assurance that God really does love you. Will you argue with the cross? Will you argue with the empty tomb?
Paul says in Romans 5:8-11, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath [God’s eternal displeasure] through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”
What is the reward for those who by faith diligently seek him? For those who reach out and touch the golden scepter?
David says in Psalm 16:11, “In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
All this was purchased for you and is freely offered. So seek the king’s favor, and you will most certainly have it.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen

Sermon: If I Perish, I Perish (Esther 4:1-17)

If I Perish, I PerishSunday, February 9th, 2025Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Esther 4:1-17When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. So Esther’s maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not. Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king’s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was. So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king’s gate. And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them. Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people. And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai; All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days. And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
Prayer
All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; And thy saints shall bless thee. Please give us now such hearts to praise you and bless you at all times, so that whether we are enjoying good or enduring evil, we might know Your good purpose which cannot be thwarted and your reasons which far surpass our ability to understand. Help us now, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
Last week we encountered in Esther chapter 3, the great crisis moment of this book. Haman has devised a plan to exterminate the Jews, but as the Pur—the lot would have it, that day of destruction is still 11 months away.
We are told that the news of this death sentence, goes forth on the 13th day of the 1st month, which according to the Hebrew Calendar was the day before Passover (the day of Preparation). And so you can imagine the bitter irony of the Jews preparing to celebrate God’s deliverance, the birth of their nation, at the same time their own destruction has been announced. They are the lamb being prepared for the slaughter.
We are given a description of this death sentence in Esther 3:13 which says, “the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.”
So how would you respond to such news? Or to ask a better question, how should you respond, when it seems that God has permitted the wicked to prosper, and evil to have its day? In the words of Psalm 11:3 which gives voice to our cry, “If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?”
If the foundation of justice are destroyed, what can the righteous do?
In our text this morning, we are given an answer to that question. For it is here in the Jews response to God’s permission of evil, that the whole story turns. This chapter, this moment, these actions of Mordecai and Esther are the response that precipitates all the good that will follow. And so while Esther chapters 5-10 will describe many great reversals, and the triumph of good over evil, we must not forget when we get to those chapters, how that great salvation came about. For it is here in chapter 4 that we have the prelude to God’s deliverance, and the pattern for how we should respond in our times of crisis.
Division of the Text
Our text divides into three sections which could also be described as three stages in crisis response:
In verses 1-3, we have repentance.
In verses 4-9, we have a request for intercession.
In verses 10-17, we have courage and sacrifice.
So let us consider these three stages in depth.
Verses 1-3
1When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; 2And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 3And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Stage 1 of responding to your own death sentence is to grieve and lament.
And in Mordecai’s case, his suffering is unique in that he knows that he is the cause of Haman’s wrath, and thereby an indirect cause and occasion for all the Jews to be threatened.
Mordecai’s personal decision not to bow is having consequences far beyond his own person. What might have been intended as an isolated act of rebellion and pride, or an isolated act of faithfulness to God, (whichever position you take), one man’s actions are now affecting an entire nation (all the Jews throughout the whole Empire).
And so add to Mordecai’s lamentation, this knowledge that he is in some way responsible for this threat. If he had bowed, this would never have happened. If he had obeyed the king, this decree would never have gone forth.
This practice of tearing one’s clothes and putting on sackcloth and ashes, is a way of outwardly expressing that you are already dead. And by choosing to die before you die, to choose to suffer before you suffer, there is in this action a hope that mercy might be shown.
We see this practice amongst the Ninevites in the book of Jonah. Jonah comes preaching, “Yet forty days, and Ninevah shall be overthrown.” He announces their immanent doom. And how do the people of Ninevah respond to such a death sentence?
It says in Jonah 3:5-9, “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?”
When you choose to die before you die, you are accepting God’s judgment and pleading for mercy. There is the hope that by voluntarily dying in advance, God might relent from the destruction He announced. Why kill someone who is already dead? This is what righteous Job does when he is struck by disaster, and it is what God Himself exhorts His people to do when disaster threatens them for their sinful lifestyles.
It says in Joel 2:12-14, “’Now, therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him—’”
So it is not enough to simply go through the external ritual of tearing your clothes and wearing sackcloth and ashes (Pharisees and hypocrites can do that). What God is looking for is a torn heart, a repentant mind.
As it says in Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
Likewise in Psalm 51:17 it says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.”
So the proper response to the threat of death, whether justly or unjustly threatened, is to voluntarily die before you die, to tear your heart before the Lord and say with David in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”
Humility and repentance are always appropriate for us who sin. And this action of mourning our condition is to put into practice what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:31-32, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”
Stage 1 of crisis response is godly sorrow that leads to repentance. You must humble yourself in the eyes of God.
Now if repentance is Stage 1, what is Stage 2? Stage 2 is searching for someone to intercede.
I won’t read again all of verses 4-9, but here Mordecai makes known to Esther the decree against the Jews, and we read in verse 8.
Verse 8
8Also he gave Hatach the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.
Mordecai charges Esther to make supplication and make request before the king for her people.
This is a change in the command that Mordecai has been giving to Esther. Up to this point, Mordecai had charged Esther to conceal her people and her kindred, even from her own husband and king, and she complied. And so for almost 5 years of marriage, Esther has hidden her Jewish identity, and we saw back in Esther 2:20, that the text goes out of its way to tell us that even after her marriage to Ahasuerus, “Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.”
So whatever reasons for that concealment (whether justified or not), they are now overthrown by this mortal threat. And Mordecai gives here the last charge he will give to Esther in this book. And in fact, by the end of the chapter we shall see that the roles will have reversed. It will be Queen Esther commanding Mordecai. Verse 17 says, “So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.”
So Mordecai’s last charge as father of Esther, is a charge for her to intercede on the Jews behalf, to reveal her identity and plead for the king to relent.
After sorrow, after repentance, the next action is to seek for an intercessor, a mediator, someone who can go where we cannot go, someone who can gain the favor of the power on high and obtain for us the salvation and mercy that we seek.
Who is Esther in this moment but a forerunner of Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and man? Esther is also a forerunner to the bride of Christ, the Christian church, the kingdom of priests, whose prayers are heard in the heavenly court.
It is not enough to simply mourn and lament your sin. You cannot enter the king’s gate in sackcloth and ashes. Mordecai needs what you and I need, namely, to be clothed with the king’s garments.
Or as Paul says in Romans 13:14, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
Stage 1 is repentance; Stage 2 is finding a mediator who will plead your cause.
How does Esther respond to Mordecai’s charge?
We have here in verses 10-17, the first words of actual dialog between Esther and Mordecai. And at first Esther is hesitant to comply. She explains to Mordecai that he is asking her to risk her life.
Verse 11
11All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
There is an important parallel here between Esther’s relation to Ahasuerus, and the Jews relation to God.
First, both relationships are covenantal. There is a covenant for marriage, and covenant between God and Israel.
Second, just as Ahasuerus has a throne and palace with inner and outer chambers, so also God’s temple has a throne with an inner and outer court. And these grades of separation from God are a spatial illustration of what God says to Moses in Exodus 33:20, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”
In order to see the king’s face, in order to come before the Lord, you have pass through the sword and be granted mercy.
We see God embed this principle in the Hebrew Festival Calendar. How often could the priest enter God’s throne room? Only once a year, on the day of Atonement, and that with much sacrifice, cleansing, and the putting on of holy garments. If you tried to enter God’s house uninvited, or in an unclean and unholy state, there was one law for you, death.
So Esther is being portrayed here as a kind of high-priest for the Jews. Mordecai wants her to enter the “most holy place,” the throne of Ahasuerus, and plead for mercy. But that means risking her life. That means hoping and praying the king is favorable and extends to her the golden scepter.
Again, we see the parallels between Esther and Christ, of whom it says in Hebrews 9:12, “by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
So Esther must risk her own blood to enter. Mordecai knows this risk and thus he gives her a word of persuasive encouragement. And these are the first words of dialog that come directly from Mordecai’s mouth.
Verses 13-14
Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. 14For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Here we get a rare glimpse into the mind of Mordecai. And we find that there is in him a belief, a conviction, that God will not let Haman’s decree go uncontested.
If Esther does not intercede, Mordecai reasons, “then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place.”
Where is Mordecai getting that idea? How can he be so optimistic, so postmil, in this moment of crisis?
Well, the only reasonable explanation is that Mordecai knows the Scriptures. He knows what God had promised to Abraham, to make his seed as numerous as the stars. He knows that God had promised David a son to sit on his throne forever. He knows the law of God’s covenant, that even if they disobey and break covenant, God will eventually turn them back to Himself. He almost certainly knows the prophesies of his contemporaries, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai, and Zechariah. And what all of these prophets foretell, is that although God will punish his rebellious people, he will bring them back to Jerusalem and have mercy on them.
So as the father of Esther, whose Hebrew name remember is Hadassah/Myrtle Tree, Mordecai knows (and perhaps even named Esther after this verse in) Isaiah 55:13, “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir 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.”
If God has promised to plant the myrtle tree and remove the thorns and briers (evil men like Haman), then either God’s Word is false, or Haman’s plot will not go as planned. As Paul says in Romans 3:4, “Let God be true and every man a liar.”
Perhaps Mordecai will die in battle. Perhaps Esther will be found out as a Jew and executed as well. But this kind of wholesale wide-scale extermination of all Jews cannot succeed, because God has promised to preserve a remnant, plant that remnant, and make that remnant to flourish. “For if thou altogether hold thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place.”
So Mordecai, now the man of faith, exhorts Esther to take this truth and moment to heart. And without presuming to know how deliverance will come, or if it will come through her, he places before her in the form of a question, a rhetorical question that is, “who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Who knows? God knows and only God.
And here Mordecai is being a good theologian. He does not presume to see into the secret will of God. He does not presume to know if Esther will succeed or not. He makes no promise that she will live. He does not pretend to be a prophet. He does not give her false hope. Instead, He soberly communicates to her the promise of God, and the possibility that God might use her to bring about a great deliverance. Deliverance is certain, but the means of deliverance are yet unknown.
This is how you read the story while you are in it. You must be sober, you must be prayerful, you must be humble, you must have faith. None of us are the Ultimate Author of our own story, but we can study God’s wisdom and ways in the lives of the saints and see certain patterns, certain themes and trials that recur, and while every story is unique, we should all desire to be Romans 8:28 Christians, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
So how can Esther love God in this moment? As Queen of Persia, love looks like seeking justice for all the innocent Jews throughout the Empire. As wife of Ahasuerus, love looks like keeping her husband from being deceived by a wicked adviser in Haman. And as adopted daughter of Mordecai, love looks like listening to him, and then seeking the courage to lay her down her life for her people. We hear in her own voice the fear and resolve.
Verse 16
16Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
Jesus says there is “No greater love than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13).
And so Esther now joins Mordecai in choosing to die before she dies. She counts the cost, she calls for a fast, and she resolves that “If I Perish, I Perish.”
What is signified here by this three day fast, but the same three days of Christ’s death and burial. No food. No drink. Cut off from any natural source of life, and all in the hope that supernatural life, resurrection might come.
Where does that kind of courage come from? It comes from a heart that has truly died to this world, and desires nothing less than God. Of this singular and exclusive desire, we read in Psalm 73, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Is God the exclusive and sole desire of your heart? And if not, don’t you know that every good thing you desire has its source and surpassing goodness in Him?
The way we conquer death is not by pride, or ignorance, or by trusting in flesh. It is by dying so that we might see God, and desiring Him above life itself. That is how you can say with Esther, If I Perish, I Perish.
May God grant you such courage and desire, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.

Sermon: Haman's Lot (Esther 3:7-15)

Haman’s LotSunday, February 2nd, 2025Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Esther 3:7-15In 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. And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries. And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy. And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee. Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring. And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day. The posts went out, being hastened by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.
Prayer
O Father your Word says that by mercy and truth iniquity is purged, and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. Grant us now mercy, truth, and piety, that we might be cleansed and forsake the paths which lead down to hell. We ask for Your Spirit in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
In Psalm 34:19 we read, “many are the afflictions of the righteous.” Many are the afflictions of the righteous.
And that means is that if you are a saint, if you are a Christian beloved of the Lord, there will come moments, times, and even long seasons of crisis. A crisis can disorient you, confuse you, and at times perplex you. And it is in these crisis times that we often ask ourselves, “What have I done to deserve this?” Or “How might I have avoided this?” Or perhaps we bring God into the equation and wonder, “What is God doing by allowing this pain, this evil, this fear to afflict me?”
We read the rest of Psalm 34:19 and it goes on to say, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: But the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”
And so we might define a crisis as being that time between affliction and deliverance, a crisis is the time between suffering and relief, between anxiety and peace, between the testing of our faith and its reward.
And in this sense, all of life on this side of glory is crisis time, with greater and lesser crises scattered throughout.
As it says in Job 5:7, “Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward.”
And in 1 Peter 4:12, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.”
It is in these times of trouble that God reveals to us what we actually believe. As God says to Israel in Deuteronomy 8:2, “And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”
Those who disobeyed died in the wilderness. While those who persevered in faith entered the promised land.
The nation of Israel had 40 years of crisis time in the wilderness. And in the days of Esther, they are just recovering from 70 years of crisis time living as exiles in Babylon. And it is just when things seemed to be improving that Lo, another crisis threatens to destroy them.
You will recall from previous sermons that by this time in history, the temple in Jerusalem has just been rebuilt (516 BC), Ezra is working to reform and rebuild the city, Esther is Queen of Persia, and Mordecai is sitting in the king’s gate. And then the action of one man, Mordecai, precipitates a decree to exterminate all the Jews in the empire. This is the greatest crisis they have ever faced as a people, and would be natural to wonder, What is God doing by letting this happen?
This morning, I want to consider our text, this moment of crisis, from two perspectives.
First, from the human perspective of our characters in the middle of the story.
And then from the perspective of a saint who knows how the story ends, we might call this the heavenly or divine perspective.
And it is this heavenly perspective that you must learn to strive for when you are experiencing a crisis of your own. We have to place our pain within a larger narrative that can explain it.
And that is because if you know how the story ends, and you trust the goodness of the Author writing the story, then you can become like the great saints, the cloud of witnesses, the martyrs and the apostles, and most of all like Christ, who found peace in the eye of the storm.
It is for that peace in the middle of crisis that God gave us these stories in His Word.
Paul describes his own experience in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”
So do you have that treasure of truth that Paul had? Do you have the larger narrative of God’s good purpose which explains and gives meaning to your many afflictions? That is the perspective we are striving for, so with that as our purpose, let us walk through this text together.
Verse 7
7In 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.
Recall the context. Mordecai has just refused to bow and give reverence to Haman, and now Haman desires vengeance. And Haman desires vengeance not only against Mordecai but against all Mordecai’s people, the Jews.
Recall also the timeline of this story. The book began in the third year of Ahasuerus (c. 519 BC). Esther becomes queen in the seventh year of his reign (c. 515 BC). And she has been married to Ahasuerus for four years and some months when this casting of the lots occurs in the twelfth year of his reign (c. 510 BC).
The date we are given for this casting of the lots is in the first month of the Hebrew calendar, which is called Nisan (or Abib), and corresponds to our March/April. So it is early spring time, the first month of the Jewish Festal Calendar, and Haman is plotting their destruction.
And what most likely happened is that Haman had a priest or diviner of some sort, who cast the lot before him for every day in the year. And however, they did this, whether 365 times, or some other way, we are kept in suspense until verse 13 as to exactly what day was chosen.
Now why did Haman cast the Pur, the lot, instead of just picking a day of his own desire to destroy the Jews?
Given that Haman is an Agagite, a pagan of some sort, the most likely explanation is that he is seeking the will of his god or gods.
And we learn from the rest of Scripture that it is not sinful to cast lots,on the contrary there are times when it is good and lawful to do so.
We read in Proverbs 18:18, “Casting lots causes contentions to cease, And keeps the mighty apart.”
And God commanded in Numbers 26:55-56, “The land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. According to the lot shall the possession thereof be divided between many and few.”
So casting lots is a permissible way to avoid partiality and human interference.And the Apostles themselves used this method to determine whether Matthias or Barsabas would replace Judas.
We read in Acts 1:26, “And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
So note that from Haman’s perspective, in that moment, he is seeking the will and favor of his god by casting these Pur for the Jews destruction. And yet from the saints’ perspective, in that same moment, we know that it is our God who governs how the lot falls. As it says Proverbs 16:33, “The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.”
So however powerful Haman’s gods or idols might seem, those demonic powers are subject and subordinate to the God of gods, to the “God of Israel who alone does wondrous things” (Ps. 72:18).
The lot is cast, the day is chosen, but its every decision is from the Lord.
We read then in verses 8-9, Haman’s accusation against the Jews.
Verse 8-9
8And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them. 9If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.
Notice first that Haman omits naming Mordecai or the Jews he intends to destroy. And this deception only makes sense if Haman knows that Ahasuerus is favorable to the Jews, as indeed we know from Ezra 6-7.
Ahasuerus (a.k.a. Darius the Great, a.k.a. Artaxerxes), had renewed Cyrus’ decree to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. And he had sent Ezra the scribe along with money and provisions and a decree to finish the work on the temple and offer sacrifices on his behalf. So this was a king who was publicly favorable to the Jews, and this is almost certainly why Haman never names them, and why he cast lots before going to the king.
Moreover, notice that he tries to sweeten the deal by offering to pay the king 10,000 talents of silver (an enormous amount), to execute this decree.
Now what is the charge against this unnamed people group, and is it true of the Jews?
We could breakdown Haman’s charge into 3 points of persuasion:
1. “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people;”
The picture Haman is painting for Ahasuerus is that these people are everywhere, but they are different. And not different in a good way, different like a disease or cancer that is spread throughout the body. Not only are these people different with laws diverse from others, point 2 is that…
2. “Neither keep they the king’s laws:”
Now is this second point true? Well yes and no, and that’s what makes this such a cunning accusation. It is true that Mordecai refuses to bow and that he is explicitly violating the king’s commandment. However, for the rest of the Jews in the Empire, this is such a vague accusation that it can hardly be defended or verified.
We learn from Ezra and Nehemiah that while the Jews had their own laws and customs, many were not actually obeying them. They were intermarrying with the cute pagan girls, they were breaking the sabbath, they were oppressing one another, they were defiling the priesthood.
And so in both Ezra and Nehemiah we see the Jews sinning and then repenting, sinning again and then repenting again. And so it is true that they are breaking their own laws which are different than the nations, but it is not true that they are all rebels against the king like Haman is presenting them.
Third and finally, Haman pretends that his motive for destroying such people is to protect the king’s interests.
3. “Therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.”
Now given the picture that Haman has presented, if it is true, then indeed such rebels and lawbreakers ought to be reprimanded and corrected. Recall that Ahasuerus had already put down a bunch of rebellions in the early years of his reign, and to have that all threatened now would indeed undermine the unity he has been striving for.
However, in this case, Ahasuerus fails to verify these charges and fails to inquire further as to who these people are.
From a human perspective the king is being manipulated by his closest advisor. An entire people group is threatened because of one man’s accusations.
And yet from a divine perspective what is happening here? God is letting Haman dig his own grave. God is allowing the proud to overplay their hand so that when the truth comes to light, the king’s wrath shall burn against them.
It is in these moments that the words of Psalm 37 are most appropriate, “Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass…For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more” (Ps. 37:7, 10).
By the end of the book we will see the answer to the question, Where is Haman’s place? And that answer will be: his house belongs to Esther, and his position belongs to Mordecai. So do not fret in the present, remember how the story ends.
Continuing in verses 10-11, we see how Ahasuerus responds to this accusation.
Verses 10-11
10And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy. 11And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee.
Notice the king does not accept Haman’s money. 10,000 talents as best we can gather was about half the total annual revenue of the whole empire. And so either Haman was an exceedingly wealthy man, or he was planning to plunder the Jews, and pay the king with the spoils.
In either case, the king does not accept the money (if it was a bribe he does not take it), and he simply delegates to Haman the authority to do with them according to Haman’s wisdom.
Now while we might look at Ahasuerus here as being irresponsible (and indeed he has greatly misjudged Haman’s character), remember that he has no idea about Haman and Mordecai’s personal feud. And from Ahasuerus perspective, he just promoted Haman because he trusts him to get the job done. And so while we know that Haman is a an enemy of the Jews, with a chip on his shoulder, Ahasuerus is still in the dark.
Continuing in verses 12-15, Haman’s plan goes into action.
Verses 12-15
12Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring. 13And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. 14The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day. 15The posts went out, being hastened by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.
Notice first, that the day on which this decree goes out, is the “thirteenth day of the first month.” And if you were a Jew, this is a shocking day to receive this news. Because the 13th day of the 1st month is the day before Passover.
On the day before the celebration of Israel’s birth as a nation, the decree goes out for their destruction. On the day when Jews would be preparing the Passover lamb, and remembering God’s great deliverance from their bondage in Egypt, a new Pharaoh now intends to kill them all.
Imagine that on the day before Easter, a law went out that all Christians are to be destroyed. What kind of Easter Sunday would that be? This is the moment the Jews are experiencing. Crisis. Confusion. Even the city of Shushan was perplexed by this decree.
Now in verse 13 it is finally revealed on what day this decree of destruction is to be executed. Here is the result of Haman’s casting of the lots, and the decision we know is from the Lord.
The decree goes out on the day before Passover (the 13th day of the first month), but it is not to be executed until the 13th day of the twelfth month. Meaning, there is a full 11-month time period for the Jews and the whole empire to decide what that day is going to look like.
The Jews have 11 whole months to decide whether to leave, or fight, or gather in Jerusalem as one nation. This is a long delay that Haman almost certainly did not personally desire, but he had cast the lots, and this is where they fell.
In Conclusion
What is God doing in allowing this decree to go forth, in allowing Haman to have the king’s signet ring and authority, and in allowing 11 months before the decree is executed?
There are many good purposes that can be found for those who know the end of the story. I’ll give you just three of them.
1. God is baiting the enemies of His people. By letting this decree go forth, any secret enemies of the Jews are now encouraged to show themselves. And when we get to Esther 9 we’ll see that there were 800 such enemies in Shushan alone, and 75,000 throughout the rest of the Empire.
So when this decree goes out, it has the effect of emboldening the wicked and flushing them out. God uses His people as bait, he puts blood in the water, and all so that the sharks will gather and be caught in his net.
God sometimes permits the wicked to prosper so that He can bring them to sudden end.
2. God is testing the faith of His people. By letting this decree go forth, all the Jews have to decide whether remaining loyal to God and being identified as His covenant people, is worth dying for. Or for those who choose to emigrate out of Persia, is it worth leaving their homes and lands and livelihoods behind?
The threat of persecution is how God tests our hearts. Are we willing to suffer for His name? Do we count it an honor to be identified with Christ in his death by dying like he died, innocently, with false accusations against us, and yet entrusting our souls to God who raises the dead?
God sometimes permits that we experience crises, because he wants to increase our faith and add to our virtues. To give us fortitude, bravery, purity of heart, unity of desire for Him. He sometimes permits that we lose bodily health and temporal goods so that our soul will yearn for things that cannot be taken: spiritual goods which cannot be destroyed.
Of this second purpose we read in James 1:2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
It is for our perfection that the Lord tests us.
And then third and finally…
3. God is foreshadowing through these events, the triumph of Christ and His Church over Satan, sin, and death.
From this perspective, Haman signifies Satan, the accuser of the brethren, and Ahasuerus signifies God who gives Satan his signet ring, but only so that Satan will in turn destroy himself.
For this is what took place when Jesus Christ came to earth. The Son of God hid His divine nature within human flesh. And that flesh became bait for Leviathan, for the demons, for the scribes and Pharisees, for the proud Romans. And God permitted that Satan carry out a death sentence again Christ, so that in killing a perfectly innocent man, Satan’s legal claim over sinners and the power of death might be broken.
Of this it says in Hebrew 2:14-15, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
And what is this release from bondage but the glorious decree of Romans 8:1-2, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
So observe and take to heart what innumerable and great evils God permitted in order to set you free. He permitted many unjust afflictions of The Righteous One Christ Jesus (afflictions even unto death on a cross),so that you might be loosed from the power of Satan, from the penalty of sin, and from the fear of punishment. That is the goodness of God in His permission of evil. That is the bigger narrative in which our present sufferings become light and momentary. And all of this treasure of truth (the love of God in the death of Christ) is the ground of our hope, which if you believe and take to heart, shall give you peace, even in crisis.
May God grant you such peace, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.

Sermon: To Bow or Not To Bow? (Esther 3:1-6)

To Bow or Not To BowSunday, January 26th, 2025Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Esther 3:1–61After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. 2And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. 3Then the king’s servants, which were in the king’s gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment? 4Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. 6And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
Prayer
O Father, Your Word says that “great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” We ask now for such peace, for such delight in your commandments, that nothing may cause us to stumble. We ask for your Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
The title of our sermon this morning is “To Bow or Not To Bow.” And here in our text we are confronted with the question, “Should Mordecai bow to Haman?” We know that he refuses to bow, and we know that Haman’s reaction is an evil and unjust over-reaction, but was Mordecai right in the eyes of God to not bow and give reverence to Haman? That is the question we will take up in this sermon.
Now before we search the Scriptures to try to answer that question, let us begin with a brief survey of our text, and gather all the facts.
We might think of ourselves in this sermon as judges sitting in the gate, and we want to give Mordecai a fair hearing. So that means hearing his testimony as described in this text, and then judging it by the law of God (as we did with Vashti), comparing Scripture with Scripture.
And it is always good in matters of judgment to recall some important proverbs.
For example, Proverbs 18:17 reminds us, “The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him.”
And against rushing to judgment before hearing both sides it says in Proverbs 18:13, “He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.”
So before we attempt to render any judgment on what Mordecai should or should not have done, and by extension what we ought to do in similar circumstances, let us hear the facts of the case.
Verse 1
1After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.
So recall that Mordecai has just saved the king’s life, Bigthan and Teresh have been executed, but instead of Mordecai getting promoted, we are told that Haman is promoted, the king “set his seat above all the princes that were with him.”
We said last week that the temptation for Haman will be to let this newfound status and power go to his head, and the temptation for Mordecai will be to get bitter and/or to envy Haman. So how does Mordecai respond?
Verses 2-3
2And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. 3Then the king’s servants, which were in the king’s gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment?
Note here that Mordecai is numbered amongst the king’s servants, and we saw last week that to sit in the king’sgate it is to serve as a governing official and lesser magistrate. And perhaps the closest modern equivalent would be to serve as a Senator or member in the House of Representatives. You might not have immediate access to the king, but you are under his authority and exercise authority on his behalf.
Thus far we have seen in this book references to many different kinds of governing officials. There are princes, servants, nobles, chamberlains, lawyers, wise men, officers, and of course the queen. So the king is portrayed as being surrounded by a host of lesser powers,and when Haman is promoted, the king issues a commandment that those lesser servants bow and reverence Haman.
We might think of Haman as functioning like a Vice-President or Prime Minister who has the highest civil office after the king. Given that he still operates in the king’s gate, he is likely the “Speaker of the House” amongst that governing body.
We should also note what the other servants say to Mordecai, they ask him “Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment?”
So from a human and civil perspective, Mordecai is breaking the law (there is no dispute there), and as we saw with Vashti’s refusal to obey the king’s commandment, things usually do not go well for those who go against the king.
We see then in verse 4 that Mordecai’s fellow servants are concerned about this violation.
Verse 4
4Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew.
Now notice first that Haman has to be told that Mordecai is not bowing. Haman has not yet noticed any personal slight against him.
And given the size of the king’s gate, which we saw last week was a building larger than an NBA gymnasium, we can imagine that it would be fairly easy in a large crowd for Mordecai to go unnoticed in his lack of bowing and reverencing of Haman.
Or perhaps given what we will learn about Haman later, he is just so full of himself that he is hardly aware of anyone else’s existence.
Whatever the case, the people who do notice are Mordecai’s fellow servants, and it is those servants who report this to Haman to, “see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand.” Well, what are these matters?
We are not told what exactly those matters/reasons (דִּבְרֵ֣י, λόγοις) are, but given that the next phrase is, “for he had told them that he was a Jew,” the most likely explanation for Mordecai not bowing has something to do with his Jewish beliefs or heritage.
This lack of an explanation is a major omission in data that we will have to reckon with when we try to determine whether Mordecai was sinning or being faithful. His own personal reasons and intentions do matter.
However, given that these servants “spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them,” we can at least rule out at this stage any ignorance as an explanatory for his actions. Mordecai knew what he was doing, and he knew he was violating the king’s commandment. So that leaves us with two basic explanations for his disobeying the king: either he was being faithful to God’s law, or he was being obstinate against it. Whichever it is, his refusal to bow and do reverence is deliberate and ongoing.
So, Mordecai will not bow, but will his matters stand before Haman?
Verse 5
5And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
Now that Mordecai has been put on Haman’s radar, Haman finally notices and is enraged, “full of wrath.”
In Hebrew there is a wordplay here between Haman’s name and the Hebrew word for wrath (hemah). So the text sounds like this: haman hemah (הָמָ֖ן חֵמָֽה׃).
We might also note here that in Hebrew Haman’s means something like rager or rioter, and he is also called an Agagite, and in Hebrew Agag means flaming or burning.
So given Haman’s name and lineage, we might expect to see some burning rage and fiery wrath from him, and indeed we do.
Verse 6
6And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
Now this phrase, “and he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone” gives us some insight into the kind of person Haman is.
Haman thinks that to punish Mordecai alone, would either make Haman appear petty, or be insufficient to satisfy his wrath.
So while Haman could ask the king to hang Mordecai for insubordination right now (he will attempt this later in the story),he decides it would be better (and perhaps more becoming his own honor and dignity) to destroy all the Jews with one stroke. For Haman, the blast radius to destroy Mordecai has to include all the Jews throughout the empire.
Perhaps he thinks that if Mordecai the Jew will not bow and reverence him, neither will any other Jews, and therefore these lawbreakers need to be dealt with.
Next week we’ll see how he attempts to pull this off.
So those are the basic facts we are given, now we need to see what the rest of Scripture says about bowing and giving reverence to rulers and then try to determine where Mordecai’s actions fall and what his motives might have been.
There are three principles that can help us answer this question.
Principle #1 – No Bowing Down to Idols
According to the 2nd commandment, we read in Exodus 20:4-5, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.”
What is forbidden here is the making of some image in order to bow down and worship it.
And we know this is not a prohibition on the mere drawing or sculpting of such images, because God Himself commands that certain images be made for his temple (cherubim, palm trees, pomegranates, bronze oxen, etc.).
So the second commandment forbids bowing and giving worship to any idol or lifeless creature.
But is Haman a graven image? No. But the reason I start with this principle is because in some of the Jewish commentaries they argue that Mordecai did not bow to Haman because Haman was wearing a little idol somewhere on his person. So would it be idolatry to bow to someone who has a little figurine on their necklace? (I don’t think so). But that is at least one later Jewish defense of Mordecai’s refusal to bow.
Everyone agrees that if the choice is between committing idolatry or being thrown into the fire like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we must suffer the fire. The question is, given what we are told in the inspired text, is Mordecai being commanded to bow to an idol? To this I think we have to say no.
Principle #2 – God Commands Subjection to The Higher Powers
In Psalm 82 and Exodus 21:6 we see that God gives the name gods (lower case g) to judges and civil rulers.
And in Romans 13:1-2 we read, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” And then he says in verses 6-7, “For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.”
So Mordecai is required by God to render to Haman the tribute, custom, fear, and honor that is due to him. And then the question becomes, Is bowing and reverencing Haman a lawful custom or honor?
The answer to this is yes, so long as the action is not intended to treat the person as God, but as one under God’s authority. In proof of this we have numerous examples of godly men and women bowing and giving reverence (the same Hebrew words, כרע and חוה, or in Greek: προσκυνέω) to people who are not God.
For example, in Genesis 23:7, 12 we read that when Abraham buried Sarah he, “stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth…And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.”
Note that Abraham is bowing before Hittites, who will later be dispossessed when Israel enters the promised land. So these were not godly people, they were idolaters who you did not want your sons to marry. A few chapters later we read that Esau marries two Hittite women to Isaac and Rebekah’s grief (Gen. 26:34-35).
So even if Haman was an idolater, Abraham himself had no scruple about bowing before the Hittites. Abraham the man of faith knew God’s promises, and that one day their land would be his.
We see also in Genesis 37 that Joseph dreams that his brothers will one day bow down before him. And indeed, that dream comes true when we read in Genesis 42:6, “And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.”
So to bow before Joseph was a lawful honor and custom, and one that the original twelve sons of Israel observed.
In Exodus 18:7 we read that Moses “did obeisance” and gave reverence to Jethro his father-in-law. And this same custom of bowing continued in the time of David.
We read in 1 Kings 1 that both Bathsheba and Nathan the Prophet bow and give reverence to King David.
It says in 1 Kings 1:16, “And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king.”
And in 1 Kings 1:23, “Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.”
More examples could be given but note that bowing and giving such reverence to civil rulers is a lawful and permissible custom, not an instance of idolatry. And by this standard, it would be no violation of God’s law to bow and reverence Haman if that is what the king commanded, and indeed it would be disobedience to Romans 13, 1 Peter 2, etc. to refuse to give such honor.
Now there is one qualification to this rule which we will consider under Principle #3.
Principle #3 – Divine Worship Belongs to God Alone
Recall that when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness,Satan’s bargain was, “If You will worship [bow down, προσκυνήσῃς] before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Luke 4:7-8)
The Greek verb for serve here is λατρεύω (the noun form is λατρεία), and in the New Testament God alone receives this special service/λατρεία.
Paul says in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable λατρείαν (service).
So while the New Testament commands that we serve one another in love, and servants are to obey their masters, λατρεία is a special form of worship that it is reserved for God alone.
And this is where we make one exception to the kind of bowing and reverencing we may give to other creatures (whether angels or men). We must not give the bowing of λατρεία to anyone but God, either inwardly in our heart, or externally through sacrifice.
So when the early Christians like Polycarp (martyred 155 AD) were being persecuted and under compulsion to offer sacrifice to Ceasar, they were right to not comply. And that is because Ceasar was not merely calling himself lord, but he was also demanding sacrificial worship, and blasphemy again Jesus Christ. To comply with that kind of command would be to transfer λατρεία to Ceasar. In those cases, we must obey God rather than men.
So given those three principles, what should Mordecai do or have done?
I think it is safe to conclude that Haman was not claiming divine worship (λατρεία) for himself, nor could he have since Ahasuerus is the one who issued the command.
If we wanted to argue that Haman was wearing an idol, you could do that but there’s no basis in the text.
So I don’t think Mordecai can claim any exception here on 1st or 2nd commandment grounds. And if that is the case, we would have to conclude that Mordecai was disobeying Romans 13, and the example of Abraham and other Old Testaments saints who bowed and gave reverence to civil rulers.
Ahasuerus had issued a lawful command to honor Haman, and Mordecai was stubbornly disobeying it. That is one possible judgment of the facts.
Under this interpretation, Mordecai is repeating the sin of Vashti’s rebellion, Haman is a Satan figure who tries to condemn all God’s people, but God mercifully turns it for good.
Another support for this reading is that Mordecai’s refusal to bow is essentially the same sin that the Jewish leaders were committing in Jerusalem before, during, and after the exile, refusing to submit to the foreign governments that God commanded them to serve.
Also recall, one of the etymologies for Mordecai’s name is “my rebellion.”
However, if we wanted to try to defend Mordecai, we could do so a few different ways.
If we limited ourselves to only what is in the text of Esther, we count point out that the story ends with Mordecai as the great hero. The final verse is Esther 10:3 and it says, “For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.”
And so wouldn’t it be odd for God to elevate Mordecai and reward his disobedience (if indeed that is what it was)?
We might also add that in chapter 5, after the first feast Esther throws for Haman and Ahasuerus it says, “Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai” (Esther 5:9).
So if Mordecai sinned by not bowing, and then he repents and fasts and prays to God, then wouldn’t true repentance look like bowing and reverencing Haman here? And yet he doesn’t, so perhaps it was not sin in the first place.
Now the counter argument would be that Mordecai has not had anything to eat or drink for three days and so he cannot get up or move, he’s symbolically dead. Perhaps he does not even notice Haman because he is in mourning.
But we could still try to vindicate Mordecai by pointing to the fact that eventually he replaced Haman, the decree against the Jews is reversed, and he gets to that position without ever bowing or reverencing him.
Under this reading, Mordecai is not Vashti, instead he is a new Joseph or Daniel figure, faithful to God in a foreign palace and rewarded for not compromising.
Another way we could try to vindicate Mordecai is by an appeal to the ancient war between Israel and Amalek, Saul and Agag.
On this view, Mordecai (son of Kish) gets a divine exemption because it says in Exodus 17:16, “The Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
And again in Deuteronomy 25:17-19, “Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.”
So perhaps we could argue that Mordecai has a special dispensation from the Lord to wage war on Haman because he is an Agagite, a descendent of Amalek. And that justifies his refusal to bow before an enemy.
A third way to defend Mordecai is by appealing to the Greek additions to Esther, which we Protestants rightly consider Apocryphal. We don’t know exactly who wrote these Greek additions, but they clearly felt the need to vindicate Mordecai’s actions.
I’ll read you a quotation from those additions. Mordecai prays to God and says, “Thou knowest all things, and thou knowest, Lord, that it was neither in contempt nor pride, nor for any desire of glory, that I did not bow down to proud Aman. For I could have been content with good will for the salvation of Israel to kiss the soles of his feet. But I did this, that I might not prefer the glory of man above the glory of God: neither will I worship any but thee, O God, neither will I do it in pride.”
So if that was the inspired Hebrew text, we would certainly want to vindicate Mordecai. However, since it is not, we can only take it as one early Jewish opinion.
A fourth option which tries to split the difference between these views, is that Mordecai intentionally disobeyed the king’s commandment, but it was in order to provoke a lawsuit between him and Haman that would come before the king. So Mordecai is intentionally challenging the king’s commandment and trying to get an exemption based on his status as a Jew.
At this moment in the story, Mordecai has two aces up his sleeve.
One is that he saved the king’s life and has not yet been rewarded.
And two, is Esther the Queen. Mordecai is the king’s father-in-law but the king does not know it yet.
So on this theory, Mordecai is a shrewd man, playing politics, and this refusal is part of his plan to overtake or depose Haman and win a position above him. However, as we will see next week, this plan backfires. He was trying to make himself the target, but ends up endangering all the Jews instead.
Conclusion
So whatever you think is the best explanation for Mordecai’s actions, each can have their own opinion. But what is beyond dispute, and of far greater importance, is whether you are giving to God the latria, the worship, the bowing and reverencing that God demands and deserves.
It says in Psalm 95:6, “O come, let us worship and bow down: Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”
God says in Isaiah 45:23 says, “Unto me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall swear.”
He says in 1 Samuel 2:30, “Them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”
So are you giving to God the honor and reverence that is due to Him? Do you ever get down on your face and bow before Him? Because that is the external sign of what your heart’s posture must become. And when your heart is proud, it is great remedy to put your face in the dust and remember from what the Lord made you.
The Apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 1, that the Christian who lacks virtues like temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity, is a person who is “nearsighted even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”
In other words, we forget that God is the potter, and we are the clay. We forget the hell God saved us from and the heaven God saved us to. So give the supreme honor to the Supreme One, and then marvel at His promise that “Them that honour me I will honour.”
May we attain to such honor by His grace, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon: After the Honeymoon (Esther 2:19-3:1)

After the HoneymoonSunday, January 19th, 2025Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Esther 2:19–3:1And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate. Esther had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him. 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 hand on the king Ahasuerus. 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. After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.
Prayer
O Father, we thank you for the promise that for those who by patience possess their souls, not a hair of our head shall perish. Please preserve us in such faith, keep as the apple of your eye, that we might attain to such glory where all our troubles are forgotten. We ask for this hope in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
The title of my sermon this morning is After the Honeymoon. And that is because in these six verses in front of us, the first four-five years of Esther’s marriage to Ahasuerus are covered. Just to give you a sense of where we are in this story chronologically:
The book of Esther opens around the year 519 BC, “In the third year of Ahasuerus’ reign.” And after much feasting and pomp, Vashti was removed for her rebellion, and not long after that the search for a new queen better than Vashti began.
However, four years would go by before such a woman would be found. After twelve months of purification, we read in Esther 2:16-17, “So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign (515 BC). And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.”
Now the next timestamp we are given comes in Esther 3:7, where Haman has lots cast to determine when the Jews should be exterminated. And we are told that that event takes place “in the 12th year of king Ahasuerus.”
So in the 7th year Esther is married, in the 12th year the lots are cast for the Jews’ destruction, and in the five years between those events, there are just a few details that the author of the book wants to tell us. But they are details that will become pivotal to the Jews salvation. And it is to those details we shall now turn.
Division of the Text
In verses 19-20 we learn that Mordecai Sits in The King’s Gate.
In verses 21-23 Mordecai Foils an Assassination Attempt. And yet in spite of this good deed we see…
In verse 1, Mordecai Is Not Promoted.
These are the details that set up the entrance of the great villain Haman. So let us consider these verses in some depth.
Verses 19-20
19And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate.
20Esther had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.
There are two oddities in these two verses. The first is that virgins are gathered together a second time. But we are not told why or for what purpose, only that when they are gathered, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate.
One possibility is that although the King has married Esther and loves her, his lust is so great that he desires even more women for his harem of concubines. On this interpretation, this is a new gathering of virgins distinct from and in addition to the first gathering that Esther was a part of.
Another possibility is that this is a continuation of the events in verse 18 (just prior), which is Esther’s wedding feast. On this interpretation, these virgins are the “losers” of the Miss Persia contest, and they are being gathered this second time so that everyone can see how Esther’s beauty surpasses them.
Rabanus Maurus who wrote the first Christian commentary on Esther give the spiritual/allegorical sense of this text and says it refers the ingathering of the Gentile church. Jesus is the good shepherd who calls his sheep by name (Ahasuerus calls Esther by name), but who also says, “other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
So whatever we are to make of this second gathering of the virgins, Esther’s Coronation is the happy conclusion to the disruption that Vashti’s rebellion had provoked. And what the author wants us to know is that this gatherer is occasion for Mordecai sitting in the king’s gate.
We should also note here that the King’s gate (see photos in bulletin) was a large government building with a central hall and other side rooms in it. As best we can tell from the archaeology, it was about 131 x 92 feet. For reference, an NBA basketball court is 94 x 50 feet. So the king’s gate was larger than your average gymnasium, and it was where official government business was conducted. Mordecai sits in this court as one of the king’s servants (or lesser magistrates).
The second oddity is that even after Esther is married to Ahasuerus, we are told that she is still concealing her identity and doing this in submission to Mordecai.
So what is this but a failure to obey Genesis 2:24? “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
It appears that Esther has failed to leave Mordecai and cleave to Ahasuerus her husband. This transfer of headship and authority that God commands in marriage is not being observed on Esther’s part. And this is dangerously close to the kind of thing that got Vashti removed. Vashti did not submit to her husband as head. And we wonder whether Esther is endangering herself by continuing to conceal her identity.
Can you imagine being married to someone for five years, but they refuse to tell you who their family and relations are? Would that foster trust between Esther and Ahasuerus?
It is also odd that Ahasuerus would marry Esther in the first place without knowing this information. Did he really never ask her “tell me where you are from?” That is usually one of the very first questions we ask someone when we get to know them. Who are your people, tell me about your family?
So we can only speculate as to what their marriage looked like with Esther concealing who she is. Perhaps Ahasuerus liked the mystery. Perhaps he already knows and is just waiting for Esther to come out with it. Perhaps the human reason why he permits the decree against the Jews is to force Esther to reveal herself. The text never tells us, but the whole situation is very odd.
So to summarize these two details: 1) Mordecai is in the king’s gate, 2) and Esther is still concealing her identity in submission to Mordecai. And no explanation is given.
Verses 21-23
21In 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 hand on the king Ahasuerus. 22And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai’s name. 23And 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
First observe that somehow Mordecai gets information that Bigthan and Teresh are plotting to kill the king. How did he get this information we wonder? Again, we are not told.
One Jewish interpretation is that Mordecai was a member of the Great Sanhedrin andknew 70 languages, and so while Bigthan and Teresh are plotting in their native tongue thinking no one else can understand, Mordecai knows without them knowing.
Second, observe what Mordecai does with this information. He gives it to Esther, and Esther tells the king on Mordecai’s behalf.
This action by Mordecai and Esther is a strong argument against the view that Ahasuerus is some evil wicked tyrant. If Ahasuerus had indeed forced all these virgins to come to his palace, kidnapped them from their parents, and then slept with each one, and Esther was amongst these women forcibly taken and married against her will, it is very hard to reconcile that theory with their actions here which save his life.
If Ahasuerus was such an evil man, why not be rid of him? Why not let Bigthan and Teresh carry out their plot?
A much more likely explanation is our theory that Mordecai and Esther want to be close to the king and in his favor, and this good deed is what any loyal citizen (or covert father-in-law) would do.
In either case, this is a good deed in the eyes of God and should increase the favor they have with Ahasuerus.
Third, observe that when this report comes to the king, a formal inquisition is carried out, and it is only after their plot is confirmed, that these men are executed. As with Vashti’s rebellion, there is a very deliberate process that takes place before a judgment is made, and then once that judgment is made it is written down in the chronicles of the king.
If we were to give the spiritual sense of this event, we could say that Bigthan and Tereseh signify the Scribes and Pharisees (gatekeepers of the law) who plotted to kill Christ. Or to apply this to our own day, they signify false teachers who are found guilty of heresy and then excommunicated from the church.
It says in Hebrews 6:6, that when Christians abandon the faith, “they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” Bigthan and Teresh are a cautionary tale of what happens when you try to “lay hands” on the King of Kings.
Now returning to the historical sense, we would expect to read immediately following these events that Mordecai is rewarded, promoted, and exalted to high office. And if that had happened, what a different story this would be. But instead, we read in chapter 3 verse 1…
Verse 1
1After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.
This is a surprising twist in the story. Again, there is a strange absence of information as to why Haman was promoted, or if he deserved such advancement. There is also no explanation as to why Mordecai did not receive any honors or rewards for saving the king’s life.
And what all this absence of information leaves us with is questions. And I think that is the point. God intentionally inspired this book to be ambiguous, to omit many details we would have liked to know, so that would we be forced to ponder His inscrutable ways, His good providence in the lives of Esther, and Mordecai, Haman and Ahasuerus. For it is only with knowledge of how the story ends, that we can then go back and appreciate the wisdom of God.
So let us pause and consider this moment in the story from two perspectives: Haman’s perspective and Mordecai’s perspective.
From Haman’s perspective, this is a happy day. He can go home and tell his wife and children; he can thank whatever gods he worships for giving him favor. And although Haman will eventually become a villain, he is not yet, and for all we know, he might have really deserved this promotion for years of faithful service to the king.
We naturally assume Haman does not deserve this promotion, but Haman could have been full of the spirit like King Saul, humble and small in his own eyes, and only after being exalted did the power go to his head and he became evil. We are not told anything about Haman’s life prior to this promotion, and if Haman had chosen the path of virtue, his life would have gone very differently.
The great danger for Haman after this promotion is to let his newfound authority go to his head and think of himself more highly than he ought. As we shall see next week, this sin of pride is what ensnares him and leads to his downfall.
Haman failed to take to heart that “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Now what about Mordecai?
From Mordecai’s perspective, who is he? He is the loyal servant who has been overlooked. He is the hard-working employee that gets passed up for a promotion. And what is the temptation for those who do good but are not quickly rewarded?
The temptation is to get bitter, to feel entitled, to become jealous or envious of whoever did get promoted, and then to compare ourselves and our merits with them. Or perhaps we just feel sorry for ourselves and wonder, What is the point of doing good if there is no benefit to us?
Perhaps Mordecai feels as Solomon speaks in Ecclesiastes 8:14, “There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.”
Or perhaps he feels as Asaph in Psalm 73 who wonders, “Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocence.” And also, “For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”
The temptation for us when our hard work is not immediately rewarded, is to complain, to grumble, and even to despair; to wonder if there is justice in the world. Or as the memes on the internet would call it, “to take the black pill.”
For Mordecai this is the test. What pill will you take? Who are you going to be? Will you be like King Saul (your tribal father), or will you be like King David (the forerunner of the Messiah)?
Saul saw that David’s star was rising, and he became jealous and persecuted him. The women are singing “Saul has slain his thousands but David his ten-thousands” and he cannot endure to hear it.
This is the envy test for all of us. Can you honestly rejoice at another’s good fortune? Can you trust that God is the one who appoints our lot and station in life, who sets up rulers and removes them, who can turn the heart of anyone at His whim? Or do we try to take matters into our own hands like Saul, and rather than fulfilling our own royal duties, we persecute the Lord’s anointed?
An evil eye and a proud mind sets itself in the judgment seat. And in that mindset, we think we know better than our superiors how to rule, we think we know better than anyone else, including God, who should get what and when. But this is the god-complex that Haman fell into, and Mordecai must avoid.
As it says in Proverbs 26:12, “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.”
And again in Proverbs 3:7, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.”
David is the great counter example to such proud thinking, for David refused to grasp for the kingdom, even when he had been anointed, and Saul’s life was in his hands. And later when David’s own son Absalom tries to steal the kingdom from David, David receives it as God’s judgment. He knew he had failed as a father. He had let injustice go unpunished in his own household, and he accepted Absalom’s coup as God’s rebuke and chastisement for his sins.
Recall the words of David when Shimei curses him on the way out of Jerusalem. “Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the Lord has ordered him. It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing this day” (2 Samuel 16:11-12).
This is the posture of a righteous man, a meek man, even when the wicked have the upper hand. We cast ourselves upon the mercy of God, we confess our failings, and we regard our present humiliation as the means of preparing us for future glory.
Christ did this perfectly, even taking our sins and making them his own, and because of his great humiliation and death on the cross, it says in Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
So from Mordecai’s perspective, and for all those we might feel overlooked, the test is, What do you do in the meantime? Do you obey Romans 2:7 and, “by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality?” Or do you complain, grumble, and get bitter?
If we would do the former, and patiently persist in doing good, we have the example of Christ to guide us, and many words of promise to encourage us.
Paul says in 1 Timothy 5:24-25, “Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.”
And in Psalm 37:34 it says, “Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.”
Mordecai’s action to save the king’s life might seem forgotten. Your hard work, your hidden labors might seem in vain. But God is watching, and God remembers, and in due time, if you continue to trust Him and persist in doing good, He shall reward.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Sermon: Purified For The King (Esther 2:11-19)

Purified For The KingSunday, January 12th, 2025Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Esther 2:11-19And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women’s house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her. Now when every maid’s turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;) Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house. In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name. Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king. And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate.
Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for the sevenfold purity of your word, through which our hearts are made clean, and we are fashioned by your hands into vessels of mercy, honorable and sanctified for every good work. Please form us and reform us as we hear your word now, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
This morning, we come to a very happy section in the book of Esther which is her marriage to King Ahasuerus and her elevation to the office of Queen instead of Vashti. And this royal marriage also marks the conclusion of one of the important sub-plots of this book which is that the King needs a new and better queen, and it also sets up the second sub-plot where the King needs a new and better advisor or prime minister.
So the basic flow of this book is that first Esther will replace Vashti, then Mordecai will replace Haman, and then through a series of great reversals, God shakes the nations, many Gentiles are converted, and God’s enemies are destroyed.
So while we are focusing in on just one part of that story, we don’t want to forget the broader narrative which all of Scripture testifies to and that is God’s love for the human soul, and Christ’s love for the church. The Bible begins with the marriage of Adam and Eve, and it ends with the marriage of God to Humanity, Christ to His Bride, and we will see that marriage foreshadowed here as Esther is purified, chosen, and wed to the King.
So in the sermon this morning I am going to first give you the literal or historical sense of these verses. And then we’ll double back and consider the spiritual sense that those realities point to.
The Literal Historical Sense
We can divide our text into two sections.
In verses 11-14, Esther is Purified.
In verses 15-19, Esther is Glorified.
Verse 11
11And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women’s house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.
Recall from two weeks ago that we are working on the assumption that Esther wants to marry Ahasuerus, not that she was taken as a captive or slave into the house of the women.
We also conjectured that the most likely reason for Mordecai and Esther desiring such a marriage would be for the prosperity of the Jewish people. If Esther becomes queen and has a son, that son could become future emperor of the Persian Empire. And that is a strong motive for marriage for anyone living in those 127 provinces.
We also see that for an entire year, Mordecai was able to walk “every day before the court of the women’s house,” and get intel on how Esther was doing.
This suggests that Mordecai is not only an anxious/caring father, but is some kind of politician or governing official, given that he has this kind of access to the palace.
We will see in verse 19 thatafter Esther’s wedding, Mordecai sits within the king’s gate (this was where elders and judges sat), and in chapter 3 he is explicitly numbered amongst the king’s servants.
So Mordecai and Esther are a Father-Daughter duo working together to secure the good of the Jews from within the Persian court.
Continuing in verses 12-14, we then have a description of life within the house of the women.
Verses 12-14
12Now when every maid’s turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;) 13Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house. 14In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.
Now there are two basic options for what is being described here.
One view is that Ahasuerus sleeps with a different virgin every night. And then after sleeping with these women, they become concubines who only exist for his sexual pleasure and that is only if he can remember their name.
If that is the case, we could put Ahasuerus in the same category as men like David and Solomon. David and Solomon were both godly men who committed grave sins. Both fell short of the marital ideal in Genesis of one man and one woman married for life.
David had multiple wives and concubines (2 Sam. 5:13), and Solomon famously had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3), and yet both men were used by God and even wrote large portions of Scripture.
So while the idea of having many wives and concubines rightly scandalizes our Christian sensibilities, polygamy of this sort was a common vice of ancient kings and Ahasuerus would be the exception (a man better than David) if he did not have concubines.
So that is one possible interpretation of what is going on here, and the majority opinion, but I think there are some problems with that reading both logically and textually.
One logical problem is that it makes entering the king’s house (from my perspective) into a very high stakes gamble for Mordecai and Esther. If the options in front of you are Queen of Persia, or one-night stand concubine for the king, would you really take that risk, or allow your daughter to take that risk? Perhaps if you are desperate (and perhaps they are), but otherwise, I don’t think so. Or we would have to radically re-evaluate Esther and Mordecai’s character.
Another problem is that it makes sexual performance into the metric by which the new queen is chosen, rather than finding a woman more virtuous than Vashti. Again, this does not fit with what we have seen so far from the king’s decrees regarding Vashti and his search for a new queen.
So those are two logical problems with the majority view. But there are also some textual problems as well which some of the better commentators have acknowledged and puzzled over.
One problem is that in verse 15, when Esther goes “in unto the king” it says she “obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon her.” Who are all these people?
Either there are a bunch of people in the king’s bedroom, or the context is the King together with his advisers and officials interviewing each girl to see if she has the manners, beliefs, and qualities that would make her better than Vashti. Remember that was the whole purpose of this gathering of the women, to find a new queen to rule with Ahasuerus, not just to find a pretty face.
Another problem is that the location to which these women are said to go into is “the king’s house.” And “the king’s house” is the same place where Vashti gave her feast for the women (Esther 1:9), the royal throne is in “the king’s house (Esther 5:1), “the king’s house” has an inner and outer court, and at the end of the book we read, “Mordecai was great in the king’s house.”
So the king’s house is a large complex from which he rules the empire, it is a place of feasting and governing with his advisors, not merely his private bedchamber.
So to summarize my view: I think these woman received 12 months of purification, and while some of that was for cosmetics, the primary purpose was for their education in royal manners. It does not take a year to get the smell of your native land out of your skin, but it does take a year (at least) to learn royal manners and customs. So these women were in “Princess School” learning which spoon to eat with, when to speak and not to speak, etc. And while 12 months might seem like a long time to us, remember they are preparing these girls from nowhere to possibly become the most powerful woman in the whole world, the Queen of Persia. From that perspective, 12 months is a short timeline.
So to me it makes the most sense that once these girls have been purified, perfumed, and educated, they go before the king to be interviewed, not necessarily to sleep with him.
This would explain why when Esther goes before the king, she finds favor in the eyes of all, not just the king.
This would also explain why it says in verse 13, “whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house.”
This was part of the test and interview of each girl’s character. What do you bring with you and why? An instrument, a painting, jewelry, a garment you made. This item would give each maiden the opportunity to distinguish herself from the others and become memorable to the king.
Whether the king then slept with her, the text never actually says. But if he did, the author has chosen not to emphasize that, and so neither shall we.
Moreover, the mention of virgins in verses 17 and 19 seems to refer to the maidens who have already gone into the king.
So it is certainly possible that this house of concubines is not a harem for sex, but rather the place where these maidens lived until the king decided who his next queen would be. After that, they would most likely become maidens to the queen or servants in the king’s palace.
This would also make Mordecai and Esther’s decision to enter this contest in the first place a lot more reasonable. The worse that can happen is Esther is not chosen and becomes a servant in the palace.
So those are two possible interpretations, and I leave to your judgment which makes the most sense of all the data.
Now after Esther is purified for 12 months, her time finally comes to go before the king. And recall that it has been about 4 years since Vashti was deposed.
Verse 15
15Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her.
Note that we are told here who Esther’s biological father was, a man named Abihail, which literally means my father has hayil, or my father is mighty/valorous. So Esther is descended from men of hayil, and in the eyes of Ahasuerus, Hegai, and all who look upon her, she is herself a woman of hayil, a virtuous woman.
We might imagine Ahasuerus saying to Esther the words of Proverbs 31:29, “Many daughters have done virtuously, But thou excellest them all.” For that is certainly the universal opinion of Esther at this stage in the story, and because of her excellence, the king chooses her above all others to be his wife and queen.
Verses 16-18
16So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.
So here Esther’s wedding feast is described, and it is significant that we are given the exact year and month in which this marriage takes place, because there is an important contrast between these events in Shushan, and what is happening at the same time in Jerusalem.
We learn from the book of Ezra that while Esther was entering the king’s house for her 12 months of purification, meanwhile in Jerusalem the temple was finally completed (Ezra 6:15), and the Jewish people are undergoing various rituals of purification.
It says in Ezra 6:19-20, “And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat.”
So while Esther is in Shushan, the priests are offering the Passover on her behalf in Jerusalem.
And then after this purification for Passover, we read that Ezra himself sets off from Babylon with a bunch of silver and gold and a letter from Ahasuerus to beautify the temple, appoint judges and magistrates, and teach the people the law of God.
So while Esther is being beautified and educated in the king’s house, Ezra is on his way to beautify and educate the Jews in God’s house.
However, when Ezra arrives in Jerusalem, the princes come to him and confess that many of them have not separated themselves from the idolaters, and in fact many have intermarried with the Canaanites contrary to God’s law.
It says in Deuteronomy 7:1-4, “When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.”
And then we read in Ezra 9:2-3 how Ezra responds to such sin, “For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.”
So this is the scene in Jerusalem just 10 days or so before Esther goes before Ahasuerus. God’s bride in Jerusalem has defiled herself with idolaters and need to be purified through repentance. And we are told in Ezra 10:16 that it was on the first day of the 10th month, the same month in which Ahasuerus marries Esther, that they began the process of ending these idolatrous marriages according to the law of God.
So as we said before in earlier sermons, Esther represents the faithful remnant, the myrtle tree (Hadassah) of God’s everlasting promises. And God has given us these particular dates in Scripture so that we can see these parallels.
The whole purpose of the Jews repenting and purifying themselves was so they could approach God, find favor with him, and dwell in His house. The whole purpose of Esther’s purification was to prepare her to approach Ahasuerus, find favor with him, and dwell in his house.
And this of course brings us to the spiritual sense or application of these events for us as the bride of Christ. The question we all ought to ask ourselves is: Are we prepared to go in and stand before the king? Are we ready for our interview, our assessment in the eyes of Christ’s Heavenly Court?
This judgment takes place every Lord’s Day here in worship, it shall take place for each of us at death, and it shall take place in full at the end of history when all shall receive either resurrection unto glory or resurrection unto damnation.
For those who purify themselves in this life, glory shall follow.
But for those who defile themselves with sin, with demons, with falsehood, to them belongs the wages of sin, fearful punishment and death.
So how do you purify yourself in the twelve months of your preparation for the king?
We are told that Esther’s purification consisted of “six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours.”
And what does this signify but the same bitter myrrh and sweet odors of God’s holy anointing oil?
We read in Exodus 30:22-30, “Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense; the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy. And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.”
So this oil that makes holy is none other than the Holy Spirit. In the words of Acts 15:8, the Holy Spirit “purifies our hearts by faith.”
And if your soul is a little flame, when the Holy Spirit is poured upon you, the fires of love burn hot. To have oil upon the head is to have God upon your mind, it is to think of him and love Him, and desire Him more than anything.
In the words of Song of Songs 8:7, “Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can the floods drown it.”
Love for God is the sign that the Holy Spirit is within you. And it this love of God that purifies us, covers our sins, and makes us to live a life without condemnation. For as it says in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Conclusion
So are you walking in love? Are you keeping in step with the Spirit?
For Jesus says that only the pure in heart, shall see God. And that you must be holy, even as He is holy.
It is this perfect purity and holiness which Christ died to give you. And so receive His cleansing by faith, regard yourself as His Temple, and do not grieve that Holy Spirit whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.