Today, on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. And in the most chaotic time of your life and mine, we have this assurance as we follow Jesus Christ that God is in control. Therefore, here's the lesson. We're going to see over and over and over again. Therefore, Trust them.
Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Can you look back and see when a seemingly random circumstance changed the course of your life? Today we continue in the Book of Esther, where a king's insomnia becomes the catalyst for an astonishing reversal of fortune. The invisible hand of God working through seemingly insignificant details to accomplish His sovereign purposes. Here's Pastor John Monroe.
Isn't it true that sometimes we face what seems to be absolutely hopeless situations? You could consider a thousand different directions, and there simply seems no way out. And when we look to the scriptures and to God for answers, it seems sometimes that everything is silent. Silence is difficult for us. But we'll learn today as we continue with the story of Esther that God is at work in the silences.
in the hopeless situations of life. The scriptures say that the king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will. And he is in the midst of an incredibly difficult situation. God gives the king, Ahasuerus, insomnia.
One night, he can't sleep. Let's see how God works in the seemingly insignificant details of life.
Well, people often say seeing is believing. But for followers of Jesus Christ We don't say seeing is believing, but rather we say, Believing is Seeing. That is, for the Christian, as Paul would say. that we live not by sight, but by faith. That we look at the things which are unseen.
We look at the things which are invisible. Because, says Paul, the things which are not seen, and these are the important things, Our Eternal. If you believe that there's a God... If you believe that God is sovereign, If you believe that everything is being worked out according to His purposes in the most chaotic time, in the darkest time. In the middle of the fiercest storm, we are to trust him because I'm told in the Bible that I am to live by faith.
Faith. Not by that which is seen, but that which is unseen. The things which are seen are temporal, Paul says, but the things which are not seen are eternal, and so the just. The righteous shall live Not by what they say. Not by following The dictates of our world, but we are to have faith.
in God. The just shall live by faith.
Now from Esther six and seven, if you have your Bibles, you can turn there with me. I want to paint five scenes very quickly. which will, I trust, will strengthen Our faith. If you're like me, your faith sometimes is strong and sometimes it's weak.
Sometimes it falters.
Sometimes, spiritually speaking, we see him on the mountaintop. Other times we're down in the valley, but we want each day of our lives not knowing what. will be in that day we want every day to have our faith strong. In God, rooted in the promises of God.
Now, in Esther 6. Verses 1, 2, and 3. Here's the first scene. And it is a sleepless Night, I've called it, a sleepless Night. Esther six then.
Verse one. On that night, The king, King Ahasuerus of Persia. The king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable dates, the chronicles. And they were read before the king.
And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Big Thana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold and who had sought to lay hands on 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.
Now in the previous chapter they give us the context. The Queen? She's Jewish. But she's now the queen to the Persian king, King Ahasuerus. She gains a sympathetic audience with the Persian king.
at great personal risk. She's gone before the king. to advocate for the deliverance of the Jewish people. From this evil edict which has been manipulated by him and The king's right-hand man. This edict to annihilate all Jews throughout the kingdom.
She herself is Jewish. Her people are Jewish. And so at great personal risk. She goes in front of the king, believing that she has been raised up, that is, raised up by God for such a time as this. And if the king extends his golden scepter, She will be allowed to speak.
And The king does this. He puts out his scepter. And she goes forward. and touches it. And he answered, what's your wish?
I'll give it to you up to half of my kingdom. And perhaps strange to us, Esther does not immediately. Give the reason why she's in front of the king, but rather says, I want to invite you and Haman to a special feast which I've prepared. And at the banquet, the king again asked Esther about her request. And in response, again, strange to us, Esther invites Haman and the king to another banquet to be held the following day.
And we read in Esther Five last week that leaving. the palace, the evil Haman. is bloated with his own arrogance, his ego. Is inflated to an all-time high. He had been invited, he's been invited to a bride to a private banquet with the king of Persia and with his queen.
Only the three of them. And he bores in his riches, his family, his promotion, his career. life for him and is all about me, my And myself. Life is all about Haman. They only fly in the ointment.
is that wretched Jew Mordecai. Who sits at the king's gate and who refuses to bow before him. When Haman goes home and tells his wife and friends all about this. They have the drastic but the ultimate solution to deal with Mordecai. Yes, it's true.
on the twelfth on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month. The edict is going to come into force for all of the Jews to be annihilated, but hey, and before that, why not get rid of Mordecai right now? And they recommend. That these gallows are built. Five feet.
Hi, that's high, isn't it? And you need to go to the king and get permission from the king. the following day to hang Mordecai. I wonder if Esther and Mordecai that night Lost a bit of sleep. as they may have heard.
about these gallows or even heard them. being built. Seventy-five feet. But there was one man who didn't sleep well that night. One man had insomnia.
Chapter 6, verse 1. On that night, the king. Couldn't sleep. The invisible hand of God is keeping a king await. In fact, history is going to be changed over a king having a sleepless night.
And King Hazuaris does What many of us do when we can't sleep, myself included, what do we do? We read. But he's a king, he doesn't actually have to read, but he calls for the chronicles and has them read. To him. And so the chronicles, the history of the kingdom of Persia are read to him, and by coincidence, as it were.
The very record from the Persian Chronicles being read to that king that night when he can't sleep. is the record of the conspiracy against him. by these two men. by Thana and Tarish to assassinate the king. A conspiracy which had been discovered by this man, Mordecai, and communicated to the king, and that was five years ago.
So the king asked, well, what happened to this man? Mordecai who exposed uh this assassination attempt. What honor was granted to him? And he's told, he's surprised, well, Actual fact can no honor. was bestowed upon him.
And so The king thinks well. We've got to recognize this. This man saved my life. He saved the kingdom. Think of how God's Cares.
Over the smallest detail takes place. And so when we read chapter six, chapter five ends with Mordecai going home. Furious at Mordecai refusing to bow before him, that wretched Jew, his friends and his advisors telling him to build a a gallows that very night, on that same night. Is the night the king can't? Sleep.
And this is one of the pivotal points. in the drama of Esther, isn't it? That's the first scene, a sleepless night. Secondly, A huge ego. Verse four.
King can't sleep. Has the chronicles read to him?
Now it's morning. And the king said, Who's 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 them. And the king's young men told him, Haman is there standing in the court. He's the prime minister. And the king said, Let him come in.
So Haman came in and the king said to him, What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honour? Here's ego, a huge ego. And Hibbon said to himself, Whom would the king delight to honour more than me? And 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 honour. 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. Another amazing quote coincidence.
Haman just happens to come to the king's palace early in the morning. Don't you marvel at the timing of God? He is there to obtain the king's permission to hang Mordecai on the gallows which were built during the night. Ah, but the king has something else in mind. He'd been disturbed.
And that sleepless night. that a man who'd done so much to prevent an assassination attempt had not been honoured. And so he says to him, and now Uh if we're going to honor a man, Someone that the king delights to honor. Or what would you do? And Hayman, of course, first thinks of himself.
Are you that kind of individual? Life is all about you. That was Heyman. See, pride treats others with contemptuous superiority. And the thinking in the worldview of Haman, it was impossible that the king would delight to honor anyone other than himself.
His haughty spirit is going to precede his fall. Here's the third scene. Pride. Before Destruction. Verse 10.
Then the king said, Don't you love this? Then the king said to Haman, Hurry! Take the robes on the horse. I mean this is heaven's suggestion. Take the robes on 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 honour. Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate. and him and hurried to his house mourning. and with his head covered. And Haman told his wife Zaresh and all his friends everything that happened to him.
Then this wise man And his wife Zaresh 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. While they were yet talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared. Imagine Heyman's total surprise. Complete shock.
when the king orders Haman to honor Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate. King Ahasuerus now knows that Mordecai is a Jew. The honoring of Bordeaux is to be done immediately, right away, with the attention to the smallest details. You planned it him, and now you execute it. Haman had been planning the execution of Mordecai.
Now he's planning. to honor Mordecai. What brilliant irony in this story. And in accordance with the king's commands, Haman arranges his honour. He leads him through the city square on horseback.
He is wearing the royal robes. Ones that the king himself had worn. He's proclaiming to everyone that this is the man that the king delights to honor. How the mighty Haman has fallen. His head is covered.
and a sign of mourning. In less than 24 hours, his joy. which we read of in chapter five is now turning. Tomorrow. I find it very interesting as we read in verse thirteen.
that him and his wife and advisers show some understanding of Jewish history. By remarking that Haman will not overcome Mordecai. Indeed, rather than Mordecai falling, Haman himself is going to fall. And these words must have sounded like nails. in Heyman's coffin.
Proverbs 16 verse 18 Pride goes before destruction. and a haughty spirit before a fall. Amen. He's proud. He's got a hottest spirit.
and he's begun to fall. He's hastily summoned back to the palace. The feast which the has been prepared by Esther for himself and the King is now ready.
So here is the fourth scene. Esther's Petition. Verses one through six. You following this?
So the king, what is happening very, very quickly here?
So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. This is the second feast. And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, What's your wish? Queen Esther, it shall be granted to you. And what is your request?
Even to the half of my kingdom. It shall be fulfilled. Then Esther answered, If I have found favour in your sight, O king, And if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request, for we have been sold. I and my people to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent.
for her affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king. Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, Who is he? And where is he who's dared to do this? And Esther said, A fool. an enemy, this wicked Haman.
Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. They're now at their second phase. And again, the king says. Queen, what's what's your request? And Esther This woman of grace, this woman of elegance, this woman of skillful courage makes it known to the king that she is Jewish.
and that she and her people are to be I quote, destroyed killed and annihilated. If we're just being sold into slavery, King, I wouldn't have mentioned anything. but the edict for the total annihilation for the genocide of a nation as such. That she is now asking the king for her life to be spared and the life of her people. In response to the king's question, As to the identity of the individual who would presume to take the life of the queen and her people.
Aster Clearly and courageously identify Saman. Can you imagine him sitting there? With that cup of wine to his lips. When she says him, A fool. And an enemy.
This wicked heman, this evil man. And he's terrified before the king and the queen. His fall is accelerating with alarming speed. The final scene. Today a king's decision, verse 7.
And the king arose in his wrath from the wine drinking. and went into the palace garden. but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther. for he saw that harm was determined against them by the king. And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine.
as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was, And the king said, Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house? As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's face. Then Harbona. one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king said, Moreover, The gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman's house. Fifty cubits high, that's seventy-five feet.
And the king said, Hang him on that.
So they hanged Haman. On the gallows. that he had prepared for Mordecai, then the wrath of the king. Abed it. What a story.
The king is so angry, because the very life of his queen is threatened, that he goes into the palace garden to cool off. And meantime, Haman is there begging. for his life Because he knows, verse 7, that harm was determined against him by the king. And when the king returns, he sees Haman falling on the couch where Esther sat. Amen.
He was angry. that a Jew Mordecai would not bow to him is now Begging. for his life. From a Jew. Esther.
Now Persian protocol was very clear. We could understand that no one was to go near to the king's harem, which was supervised by the eunuchs. No man was allowed to speak privately to the queen or to the wives or the concubines in the palace, far less touch them. Haman's behavior is absolutely outrageous and when the king returns to the room and sees what Haman is doing, he considers that Haman is assaulting his queen. And immediately Heyman's face.
is covered. Assignment. of that. His fate is sealed. His fall is completed.
Haman. The man who conspired to murder the Jewish people is now himself going to be put to death. You're listening to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and the first part of a message titled Hanged on the Gallows. John's exploration of divine timing in Esther reminds us that God is always at work. even in life's unexpected detours.
To enhance your understanding of these remarkable events, we've created the Esther Listening Guide. This printable workbook helps you follow along as we learn about these so-called coincidences in Esther's narrative that reveal God's sovereign hand. Consider how a sleepless night a forgotten act of loyalty and perfect timing converged to create one of history's most dramatic reversals of fortune. What appears random to human eyes is perfectly orchestrated by divine wisdom. When circumstances in your own life seem chaotic or hopeless, Esther's story reminds us that God often works in invisible ways, but He is always in control.
Download your free copy of the Esther Listening Guide by visiting our website at theverdict.org. And you know, as a listener-supported ministry, your partnership helps make these biblical broadcasts possible. When you support the verdict with your financial gift, you help share these timeless truths with listeners across the country and around the world. Consider standing with us in this important gospel work through your tax-deductible contribution. You can give securely online today.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with closing remarks for today's message.
Well, what's your verdict? Are you going to trust God even when it seems there's no way out? Life is sometimes dark, and it seems that we're being sucked into a deep hole. But we're learning. That God is at work in the silences, in the darkness.
And we must trust him. Is not the gospel? Into our dark world, the glorious light of Jesus Christ shines, providing a way of salvation. Follow the light. Follow Jesus and you'll never walk in darkness but in the light.
Yeah. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
