Esther 4, a Time Such As This, Esther 4, 2 Cor. 9:6-15, Oct. 9/16

ESTHER 4, A TIME SUCH AS THIS, ESTHER 4, 2 COR. 9:6-15, OCT. 9/16

So far in our study of Esther we have seen the excesses of King Xerxes of Persia. He par- tied to excess then fell into bad decisions. He’s too suggestible and he listens too much to bad advice. His advisors are either inept or they’re trying to please a king who unstable. One thing is for sure, it is the wise person who seeks to find the least obtrusive way through any situation, without exposing someone else in a way that embarrasses them or makes them look foolish.

All of these poor judgments were in place when Xerxes demanded that Queen Vashti display her beauty before his men’s club. She was in a compromised position and couldn’t really win no matter what she did. But when she chose not to appear before the king, she in turn also made him look foolish. It was a bad situation because both of these responses were very public, for everyone to see and know what was going down. And it put Xerxes’ advisors in a tough place, trying not to make the king look bad. Bad legislation was the result, out of which all of the most beautiful virgins in all the Persian provinces were brought to the palace for the king to consider at his pleasure and choose a next queen. That turned out to be Esther.

Esther was in a bad way too. She was already a Jewish captive; her descendants were brought from Judea to Babylon because God had had enough of their continual ignoring of His commands. Now Esther was made doubly captive, coming under the control of a Gentile king.

The twists in the plot have Mordecai, her elder cousin, but the 1 who raised her after her parents both died, discoveringa plot to assassinate Xerxes. He got that information to Esther, who in turn told the king, while at the same time giving the credit to Mordicai. The officials were found guilty; they were executed, Xerxes lived to reign, and Mordecai… was forgotten.

Instead, an official named Haman was promoted to the highest position next to the king and the order went out that everyone was to bow to him whenever he walked by. But Mordecai didn’t do that and wouldn’t do that.

So here are Esther and Mordecai trying to live faithfully in an unfaithful culture. It’s difficult. Mordecai is going to pay a very heavy price for his refusal to bow down to anyone but God. Haman is a vindictive and inhumane man who works the king, bribes him with a huge amount of money and convinces him all Jews in the kingdom should be killed because “their customs are different from all the other people…and it is not in the king’s interest to tolerate them.” Which raises the question, how tolerant are you or people who are different than you?All the people of Susa were confused, not just the Jews, while Xerxes and Haman casually have a drink.

That’s the review. But there are lots of good questions for us to reflect on. Are we self-disciplined, avoiding excesses in life that lead to bad decisions or bad judgments? Are those we hang out with solid people we can rely on to help us make good decisions? Will they tell us honestly when we’re going down a wrong road or making a poor choice, or are they simply pleasers who want to make us feel happy or important by agreeing with us even when it’s wrong? Are we prone to overreacting when someone doesn’t do what we expect or want them to? Do people pay the price when they cross us? Does the mean streak in us ever get out? And if it does, can you reel it back in? How do you handle adversity—calmly or angrily and chaotically?

Mordecai, hearing Haman’s edict, clothes himself in sackcloth and ashes and wails publicly and continuously at the palace gate. The news gets to Esther, who sends attendants with clothes for Mordecai so he can get out of the sackcloth. When Mordecai refuses them,Esther is pretty stressed. And it becomes apparent thatshe has no idea inside the ivory tower about what’s going down outside. She sends Hathach to find out what’s troubling Mordecai.

Mordecai is well connected. He gives Hathach a copy of the edict, he knows how much Haman was going to pay into the king’s treasury. He asks Hathach to show and explain the edict to Esther and urge her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people. The time for hiding being Jewish was over. Drastic times call for changed strategy. It certainly didn’t mean that it was less dangerous to reveal their identity now than it was earlier. Mordecai is relying on Esther’s close relationship with Xerxes to influence a change in this drastic law. We do that all the time—go to someone who’s close to a person we need or want to influence and ask them to “put in a good word for me” don’t we. I have people ask that of me because I’m a pastor—“Put in a good word to God for me”. It’s called prayer, by the way.

Esther’s initial response shows clearly her fear and vulnerability. Anyone who approach-es the king without being asked by him risks death unless he turns the sceptre toward him/her. But Mordecai isn’t deterred and responds with 1 of the most challenging lines in the Bible: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to this royal position for such a time as this.” This is the central verse of the entire book of Esther.

We can think about Mordecai’s response in our own circumstances. How often have we been challenged to do something, only to come up with reasons why we can’t. When I did that in my earlier years in my parents’ home, my Dad would say, “Don’t give me 10 reasonswhy you can’t do it, just give me 1 reason why you can.” Is your 1st reaction when you’re asked to do something to dodge it? There’s a lot in Mordecai’s comment. Does God want you doing the same things in life over and over—and incidentally, getting the same results—or, does He have a mission specifically for you, a personal letter from God with a purpose that only you can fulfil?

On the level concerning the Jews, they have always been under attack, right up to the present day. As a whole, the Arab world would love nothing more than to see Israel obliterated off the world map. We have the reminder of the Holocaust during WWll when 6 million Jews were systematically murdered, for the crime of being Jewish. That attitude has existed through-out the ages. It brought out the best and the worst in people—people who approved and app-lauded the genocide and those who dug in and risked their own lives to help and save Jews. Today, there is a similar attack against Christians in the Middle East as well.

Mordecai’s point is that history belongs to God. He has repeatedly intervened to save the Jews from extinction. God does the same with us. He doesn’t need any one of us for any-thing, but in His love, mercy and grace He invites us to do Kingdom work with Him. If you choose not to take up the challenge, God will either find a way to get your attention to do what He wants or move on to someone else who is willing. You don’t even need to have the ability, just the availability, to do what God is asking—Moses wasn’t gifted to speak, but who gives us our tongues in the 1st place? God will give you everything you need to enable you to succeed.

So who knows but that you have come to the place where you are today, doing what you’re doing, for such a time as this? Have you ever thought that you were born in the wrong place or at the wrong time or in the midst of wrong circumstances or among the wrong people?

God knows your circumstances. He knows your heart. And He knows the way. Our God is a big God. He has big plans for you. Your role is to listen to His voice and take the 1st step to where He’s leading you. He will look after the rest. Joshua had huge shoes to fill when he succeeded Moses and was appointed to lead the Israelites into Canaan. 3 times in 9 verses God says to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.” Being strong and courageous includes obeying God’s commands, and not turning away to the left or the right so that you may be successful wherever you go. Don’t balk. People don’t understand what a balk is in baseball. Marcus Stroman balked a run home in the last week of the season that nearly cost the Jays the game and a playoff spot. He hesitated after starting to throw a pitch giving him an unfair advantage over the runner on 3rd base. Don’t hesitate; God may be calling you where you are for such a time as this!

Like Esther, what injustices are you in the middle of that you can do something about? I said God will give you everything you need to succeed. In fact He has done that by giving us the gift of Jesus Christ. God’s growing season for us is the harvest of our righteousness. We are credited with Jesus’ righteousness and grow to reflect God’s character. That includes giving generously; generosity opens our eyes to the rich blessings of God. Planting requires faith; without faith there is no planting—and no harvest. Like the harvest of the field, the harvest of righteousness comes only from God. In this season of Thanksgiving whose burden can you ease, whose oppression can you relieve, whose hunger can you alleviate, whose loneliness can you lift, whose work overload can you reduce, whose heart can you lighten, whose discouragement can you turn to joy and laughter? Thanksgiving is such a time as this, for you and for me. Go into God’s world and be His hands and feet and mouth and heart.

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