Let us pray. Lord God, we open this word to the Book of Esther, and we see in Chapter 6 an extraordinary thing. We see your providential care for those whom you love, and the greatest demonstration of that love was on the cross, when Jesus died, to take away our sins and shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. He rose again from the dead on the third day, giving us victory over sin by putting our faith and trust in him, and only through the power of your Holy Spirit. And you have ascended, O Lord, to heaven, where you sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, and you are ordaining and working your plan for good to those who love you, who are called according to your purpose. And so we come before you today to know you, to love you with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to be built up in love as we worship you in your spirit and in your truth. Show us your glory, O Lord. We would see Jesus today.
In Jesus' name, amen. I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree, a tree whose hungry mouth is pressed against the earth's sweet flowing breast, a tree who looks at God all day and lifts her leafy arms to pray, a tree that may in summer wear a nest of robins in her hair, upon whose bosom snow is laying, who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree. Joyce Kilmer did not need an inscription of God's name on the tree to know that it was made by God.
He considered his poems to be foolishness compared to the beauty and wisdom of God displayed in all of creation. In fact, the Bible says the heavens declare his glory and the stars proclaim his handiwork. And they speak without using human language, but it gives clear testimony nonetheless of God's glory, majesty, and wisdom. As you read through the book of Esther, you will not find the name of God mentioned anywhere in the book. We expect to see, as we do in most parts of Scripture, a commentary, something by the author where he says, and God hardened Pharaoh's heart, or God shut the mouth of the lions, or God caused the king to wake up and not be able to sleep.
But we find no such commentary or mention of God in the book of Esther, leaving many scholars to conclude that the book of Esther has no divine authority and does not belong in the Scriptures. But that's the same thing as saying that the tree must not be made by God, since I can't see his name on it. Paul says in Romans 1, since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made so that men are without excuse. Could it also be true that we are without excuse when we fail to see the sovereignty of God in the personal events of our lives, and we fail to worship him accordingly? Are your eyes looking and seeing and recognizing God in your life every day?
Or are you saying, well, God must not be here? Esther 6 is more than just a story of irony and intrigue. It is the clear revelation of the powerful, providential, and personal love and care that God has for his people for whom Christ died. And it is the duty and responsibility of every believer to acknowledge God's work of love and care in their lives, and to worship him accordingly with praise and adoration. I believe this is one of the key themes of Esther 6, and in fact the whole Bible. In our text, we read about King Ahasuerus, also known as King Xerxes, the most powerful king in the world, the king of a nation that has conquered great nations like Babylon and Assyria and Israel and Judah, and the Jews are in captivity in this foreign nation of Persia under the most powerful king in the world. And if you've ever taken a speech class, you might have been selected to be the um-uh counter. That means you get to count all the um's or the uh's in their five-minute speech and report it at the end of the speech. Well, this morning I want you to be a king counter.
Take a look with me. Esther chapter 6, verse 1. I'm going to emphasize every time I get to the word king. On that night, the king could not sleep. He gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bethan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the threshold and who had sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?
The king's young men who attended him said, Nothing has been done for him. And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king's young men told him, Haman is there standing in the court.
And the king said, Let him come in. So Haman came and the king said to him, What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor? And Haman said to himself, Whom would the king delight to honor more than me? Haman said to the king, For the man whom the king delights to honor, Let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor. Then the king said to Haman, Hurry, take the robes and the horse as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king's gate.
Leave out nothing that you have mentioned. So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai, and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor. When we read just the first sentence in our text, On that night the king could not sleep, and we see the word king mentioned over and over, we must recognize there is a greater power present. He's not sovereign. He can't sleep. This power is taking sleep away from the most powerful king on earth, and it becomes very clear that the events to follow are outside the control of this king, and that the king of all of Persia is merely an instrument in the hands of a more powerful king, the king of kings. On this night, the king could not sleep. How can the king sleep when the life of one of God's beloved children, Mordecai, is in danger? Mordecai was a Jew, taken from his home in the Promised Land into captivity in a foreign country under a foreign king who could care less who he is or what he does. An edict had just gone out throughout all of the country by the hand of Haman, the king's second-in-command, that guaranteed the destruction and the annihilation of Mordecai and every Jew in the nation. The last thing Mordecai was going to do was bow down and pay respect to Haman, who instigated this annihilation of his people. And what's Haman's response?
Look at chapter 5, a little bit of background, chapter 5, verses 12 and 13. Then Haman said, Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast, she prepared. And tomorrow also I'm invited by her together with the king. Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai, that Jew, sitting at the king's gate. And so his wife is Arish, and all his friends said to him, Well, then let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged on it.
After all, you're second-in-command. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast. This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made. So here's the scene. Mordecai is in the fate of the hands of the two most powerful men in the world, the king and his second-in-command Haman. But on this night, the king could not sleep. Observe the continuing display of God's power. God directs the king to have the memorable book deeds read to him. God directs the servants to turn to the page where Mordecai had saved the king's life by reporting a conspiracy to murder the king. God directs the king's heart to want to honor Mordecai. The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will.
Do you know who said that? King Solomon, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. As we read through chapter 6, we see God's power over these powerful men on full display. The king planned to sleep. God planned for him to be awake.
The king planned to fall asleep at the reading of a book. God planned for the king to remain awake and to discuss plans for honoring Mordecai. Haman planned to receive permission to hang Mordecai. God planned for Haman to receive permission to honor Mordecai. Haman planned to wear the king's robes.
God planned for Mordecai to wear the king's robes. Haman planned to ride the king's horse. God planned for Mordecai to ride the king's horse. Haman planned to ride a horse with a royal crown on its head. God planned for Mordecai to ride a horse with a royal crown on his head. Haman planned to be led on a horse by a noble official through the city square. God planned for Mordecai to be led on a horse by a noble official through the city square.
through the city square. Haman planned to be dressed by royal officials. God planned for Mordecai to be dressed by royal officials. Haman planned to have the royal official proclaim his honor loudly before the people.
God planned to have the royal official proclaim Mordecai's honor loudly before the people. Haman planned to return home with honor and dignity. God planned for Haman to return home in shame.
Do you get the idea? The night before all this, Haman was boasting before his wife, Zerush, and all his friends how powerful he had become. But by the time we get to the end of chapter 6, we read in verse 13, Haman told his wife, Zerush, and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife, Zerush, said to him, if Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him.
This is a stark contrast to what we read in the end of chapter 5. Proverbs 19, 21 says, many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Do you believe this? Does this bring you comfort or consternation? Are you seeking to walk in God's plans, or are you seeking to walk in yours? If you are seeking to walk in God's plan, it should bring you comfort that he is a providential, sovereign God.
If you are walking according to your plans, you should be concerned. Jeremiah 29, 11, God says, I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. I write my plans in my book every day for the whole week. And every day, God gets to change them at his will. And I change my plans according to his, or I face the consequences. Joseph understood this when he said to his brothers, you meant everything you did for evil, but God meant it for good. Do you have the faith to say this?
Esther 6 is a faith strengthener. As Mordecai is being led through the city square, the people look. Is that Mordecai, the Jew, wearing the king's robe and riding on the king's horse? Isn't he the one who was marked for death by the edict that went out? Isn't he the one for whom these gallows were built?
And now he's being led by Haman, the second in command of all the kingdom. And he's shouting, this is what is done for the man that the king delights to honor. It would almost be offensive, an insult, if the author or commentator had inserted the words, and God displayed his power that day to the people. Are we blind? Is it not obvious that the care of God for his people is being displayed by great power? Is it not obvious in your life today?
I need no signature from God on the saddle or for Mordecai to be holding up a banner that reads, give God the glory. He did this. Is it not obvious? Is it not true that God has worked in your own life, often through events that were unexpected and seemed insignificant at the time, the chain of circumstances that led you to this place today, to your own conversion to Christ, perhaps a sermon, an evangelistic tract, a friend, or casual acquaintance who invited you to church or to a home Bible study? Do you know who led you to that? It was God. God directs your steps. He is intimately involved in your life as he leads you in the way you should go. He has a power and a plan and a purpose for every step of your life. Even in the tragedies that you face, the death of a loved one, serious illness, wayward children, broken relationships, shattered hopes and dreams, even these are used by God as trials to strengthen you in your faith and trust in God and not in yourself.
The path to joy often winds through the swamps of suffering and despair as Christian and Pilgrim's progress discovered. And our hope is in the covenant of Christ. Do you know this covenant? Do you know God's promise to you? Mordecai did, and it gave him the ability to say to Esther, if you don't help, help will come in some other way.
Help will come in some other way. He knew the personal relationship with God has a covenant with his people, and he knew that God would protect his people. Deuteronomy 4, verse 7, what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call upon him? Deuteronomy 7, verse 6, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God.
The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession out of all the peoples who were on the face of the earth. Mordecai believed this. Zarish, the wife of Haman, who advised Haman to build a gallows to hang Mordecai and to get approval for this from the king, yet after the events unfolded, she and Haman's friends understood that the events that occurred were not a result of luck or chance, but rather a result of the hand of God and his love for his treasured possession, his people, the Jews. Christian, do you believe this?
Do you have as much faith in the power of God's personal care for his people as Haman's wife and his pagan friends had? Just as all of creation displays the handiwork of God's glory and majesty and wisdom, Esther 6 displays the handiwork of God's powerful providential and personal care for his chosen and beloved people. And the ultimate display or symbol of that love and care for you is the cross. The cross displays the power of God to deliver you from all your enemies, even from death and even from Satan himself. The cross displays the providence of God, who began a good work in you and is faithful to complete it, as he works all things for the good of those who are called according to his purpose and for his glory. The cross displays the personal, sacrificial love God has for you and your union with Christ in his death and resurrection. When Paul reflected on the cross in Romans 828, he says, if God did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not freely with him give us all things?
That's the message of the cross. I've often asked people, if I had a 100-pound barbell and I wanted to prove to you that I could lift it up over my head without touching it, how would I do it? How could I prove to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could lift up this 100-pound barbell over my head without touching it? Well, let's say next to it was a 1,000-pound barbell.
And I walked over, and I lifted up that 1,000-pound barbell with ease over my head and put it back down. Which of you would say, well, you could lift a 1,000-pound barbell, but let's see you lift a 100-pound barbell. It's not logical. It doesn't make sense. And that's the logic that Paul uses in Romans 828. If God did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all the infinite expression of love, how will he not freely with him give you all things? This is the message of the cross. Sermons are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree upon which his son is crucified, our record of debt is nailed, our freedom from sin and death and our reconciliation to God accomplished, and our glory and life secured eternally in Jesus Christ. Oh, that if there is any in this room who do not know Jesus, I pray the prayer that Paul prayed when he was standing before King Agrippa and explaining the message that he shares and the prayer that he prays for unbelievers.
He says, oh, I pray that God will deliver them and you out of darkness to light from the power of Satan to God, that you may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ. If you don't know God, I'm so glad I had the opportunity this morning to introduce him to you. And I pray that you will go to the cross and find out how much God truly loved you. Often that word love is in the past tense because it points us to the cross, for God so loved the world.
How did he love the world in the past tense? That he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. And those of you who have come to Jesus, who have put your faith and trust in him, our response ought to be a continual act of worship and praise and adoration to God. For there is no moment in your life where God's powerful love and care for you is not supremely displayed. I'd like to close with just commending to you what I learned from Larry Oldham this morning in Sunday school. Psalm 3.
Please turn to it with me. Psalm 3. The theme that was presented was how to have a great day. Mordecai had a great day. And the psalmist in Psalm 3 explains how all believers can have a great day.
First of all, in verses 1 and 2, the way to have a great day is to recognize the peril that you're in. Don't deny it. Don't try to pretend it's not there. Recognize it.
Acknowledge it. Oh, Lord, how many are my foes? Many are rising against me. Many are sick of my soul.
There's no salvation for him in God. And secondly, realize the protection that you have in verses 3 and 4. But you, oh Lord, is the first place you should go when you acknowledge and recognize your peril. But you, Yahweh, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. And then thirdly, rest in his providence.
I laid down and slept. I woke again for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, oh Lord. Save me, oh my God, for you strike all my enemies in the cheek.
You break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing be on your people.
Let us pray. Lord God, thank you for being present with us today in your word and in your spirit. Thank you for giving us this time together as the body of Christ to open your word to Esther chapter 6 and to see your providential care and love for your people, and that you lead us all the way from dust to glory. You who begin a good work in us will be faithful to complete it.
Work in these people gathered here today. I pray, Lord, again, if there are some who do not believe, that you will use this word to encourage them, admonish them, lead them to repent of their sin, their wickedness of rejecting you, and to draw near to you, to put their faith and trust in you, and to surrender their life to you, and to know your providential love and care every day. And I pray for those who are believers, that indeed they will grow in wisdom and stature, that they will abound more and more in love with you. And I pray all this for your glory, for the building up of your church, and the advancement of your kingdom. In Jesus' name, amen.
