Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. You wonder what Esther and Mordecai thought. as they saw these gallows Bing Belt. I wonder if they slept well that night. But there was one man who didn't sleep well that night, and it was the king himself.
The invisible hand of God. is keeping a king awake. At night. Welcome to the Verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Have you ever felt like your life is spinning out of control?
And have you wondered where is God? Today, on the verdict, we're returning to our study in the book of Esther and seeing how our sovereign God is all-powerful over the events in our lives. In the darkest of nights, know that God is at work.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with a message titled The Gallows. Isn't it true that sometimes we face what seems to be absolutely impossible and hopeless situations And when we look to the scriptures and to God for answers, it seems that everything. is silent. Silence is difficult for us. But we will learn today.
As we continue with the story of Esther, That God is at work in the silences, yes. and in the hopeless situations of life. The scripture says that the king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he wills. and it's in the midst of an incredibly difficult situation.
that God gives the king Hasuarus insomnia. One night the king can't sleep. Let's see how God works. in these situations. In life, we want to see everything, we want to understand everything.
We want to have instant resolution to our problems. The world says seeing is believing. The people of God say, believing. is seeing Writing to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 4:18, Paul says, We look not at the things which are seen. But at the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are transient. But the things which are not seen are Eternal. We say Live We see reality. differently from the unbeliever. We see with the eye.
Of faith. And Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 7, that we walk by faith, not by sight. We have seen over and over again in scripture, and certainly in our study of this book of Esther. that God is pleased. when we walk by faith, and that without faith It is impossible.
Impossible. to please God. Are you living by faith? This past week What was the demonstration of faith in your life? What were you trusting God for?
In what way was your life different from the unbeliever? As you went about your daily task in your family, in your community, at school, at work, wherever the Lord placed you. Can you honestly say that you're living by faith. Faith sees the invisible. Faith trusts God in the darkness.
Faith hears God. in the silence.
Now if you have your Bible, turn with me to Esther. And we're going to look at two chapters tonight, Esther six and seven. Esther, chapter six. And seven. And these chapters will remind us of the truth that we have repeatedly seen in our study.
Of Esther, that God. Is at work behind the scenes. That's good to remember, isn't it? That God's invisible hand is sovereignly controlling all events of the nations But also of our individual lives. It seems as we come into our story.
That Esther, Mordecai, the whole Jewish nation in the kingdom of Persia are doomed for destruction. It seems a hopeless situation, but as we're going to see, there's going to be a dramatic Reversal. Of destiny. That is, in the darkness, in the gloom, in the sadness, in the seeming hopelessness of the situation, the glorious light of God is about to shine. In life, things are not always what they seem, are they?
But we know That, in spite of the darkness, in spite of the confusion, in spite of the uncertainty of life that we sometimes find ourselves in. That we, the people of God, know this. That God is in control, and therefore I am to trust God. in the darkness, in the confusion, in the silence. When God seems far away.
We are still to trust them. Because we do know. That he will hold us fast. And we do know that God is always faithful to his people. And that even when we are unfaithful, God, Is faithful.
He cannot lie. We know that often the darkest hour is before. The dawn. of the new day.
Now let's read first of all in verses one, two and three of Esther six. where we will see a hazioeristis insomnia. A king, even the mighty king of Persia, can't sleep at night. Esther 6, verse 1, on that night. The king could not sleep.
And 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 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 you remember in chapter five, Esther Gains a sympathetic audience with King Ahasuerus. At great personal risk, she had gone before. The king, he touched his golden scepter, which was in his hand, and said that he would grant her her request up to half of his kingdom. And in reply, Esther seems to have said something very unusual.
Something we wouldn't have advised her. She invited Haman and the king to a special banquet prepared by herself, and at that banquet, the king again asks Esther, What is your request? And then response. Esther invites Haman. And the king.
to a banquet to be held the following day. Leaving the palace, Haman, this evil man, is bloated with his own arrogance. His ego is inflated to an all-time high. He had been invited to a private banquet with a king. Of Persia, king Ahasuerus.
And the queen, just the three of them: the king, the queen, and himself. And he glories. As we saw last week, in his riches, in his promotion, in his career, life is all about Haman. But they only fly in the ointment. Is there is this Jew, Mordecai, who continues to refuse to bow before.
Hayman. And there's Hayman. Tells his wife and friends, as we saw last week. about this invitation to this banquet. He says, The only thing that's spoiling it is this wretched man, Mordecai.
And his wife and his friends Have the ultimate solution to dispose of Mordecai. Build a gallows 75 feet high. I mean, why do you need to build it 75 feet high? That's high. It shows their arrogance.
And on the next day, Him and as you go to Mordecai, get permission from the king to hang Mordecai. That will be the end of him. You wonder what Esther and Mordecai thought. as they saw these gallows, being built. seventy five feet so that everyone In Sousa would have known what was happening.
Wonder if they slept well that night. But there was one man who didn't sleep well that night, and it was the king himself. The invisible hand of God. is keeping a king awake. at night.
What a great God we have. Human history. is changed by a king having a sleepless night. Worrying about meeting the boss tomorrow. Worrying about the doctor.
worrying about some situation tomorrow? God. Is in Control. And that night, as a king can't sleep, His satellite T V isn't working, he can't get CNN news or Fox News. He doesn't send for a woman from the the harem.
Instead, he does what I sometimes do when I can't sleep. He wants to read. And he's a king, so his people read for him. And he sends for the official record of his reign, the chronicles, and they're read to him. And it seems just by coincidence.
From the human perspective. The very record read to the king that night relates to the conspiracy that we learned about earlier Nestor: this conspiracy by these two men. Bikthana and Teresh. To assassinate the king. They conspired.
To assassinate the king. Mordecai hears of it, this is five years previously, and so these men are killed, and the conspiracy to kill the king is thwarted. And the record is put in the chronicles. And now, seemingly, for the first time, the king is reading, is having read to him. There's history.
of his reign. God's timing, isn't it, is perfect to the smallest detail. Notice How our chapter began on that night. The night After the gallows Mm-hmm. The night just before Haman is going to come.
and asked for Mordecai to be hanged that night. And to the king's surprise he's told That no honor had been bestowed on Mordecai, who had thwarted this conspiracy against him.
So we see the king's sleeplessness. Verses four through nine, we now see Haman's pride. Verse four. 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 hallows, 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 Hayman came in. And the king said to him, What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor? He said to himself, Whom would the king delight to honor more than me? And Haman said to the king, For the man whom the king delights to honour, 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, 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 honour. Amazing, isn't it? And another seeming Coincidence Haman happens, just happens to be the court early in the morning. Again, we see God's timing. Heman is there to get the king's permission To hang Mordecai on the gallows, which were built the night before.
But the king has something else in mind. The king has had red to him. this amazing chronicle of this man who had saved his life. And so the king asked him, and what honor? Should be bestowed on a man whom the king desires to honor.
Amen's pride precedes his fall. He's immediately of the opinion that the man whom the king desires to honor is none other than himself. Human can't think. Of anyone other than himself. Whom could the king wish to honor other than myself?
Probably treats others. with contemptuous superiority. Ah, but now his humiliation, Haman's humiliation, verses 10 through 14. Then the king said to Haman, Hurry. Take the robes and the horses you have said and do so.
Okay. Can you imagine how this hit him 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, but Haman hurried to his house mourning and with his head covered. And Him and told his wife Zarish and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise man And his wife Zarish 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. Isn't that remarkable?
His humiliation. Imagine his shock when the king orders that the man. Who is to be honored is none other than Mordecai the Jew, this wretched man. Who annoyed and angered him in so much that he wouldn't b bow down before him. Verse 10, Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king's Gate.
And now the king knows that Mordecai is a Jew. And this honor is to be done quickly. Every detail is to be followed. The man who had been plotting Mordecai's death. It's now Given The task of honouring The man.
What brilliant irony So, in accordance with the king's command, as we read, Haman arranges this honor to be bestowed on Mordecai. He leads him through the city square on horseback and proclaims him: this is the man. whom the king delights to honour. How the mighty Haman has fallen. Proverbs 16, verse 18, pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.
In verse 12, he covers his head in a sign of mourning. Think of what has changed in the space of twenty four hours. His joy Chapter 5, verse 14. Go joyfully with the king to the feast, now turns to mourning. Chapter six, verse twelve.
He hurried to his head, to his house, mourning, and with his head. Covered. It's remarkable, isn't it, that his wife and his friends Show some understanding of Jewish history. The history of the Old Testament by remarking. That if Mordecai is in fact a Jew, You will not overcome him.
And in fact, Haman himself is going to be killed before Mordecai. And these words that we read at the end of chapter six must have Sounded like nails in Haman's coffin. He has verse thirteen. He has begun. to fall.
Events happen very quickly, and Heyman is told that the banquet which Esther has prepared is now ready. and he's hastily summoned to the palace. Again, verse fourteen, while they were yet talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring him into the feast that Esther had prepared.
Now, in chapter 7, verses 1 through 6, we have Esther's petition.
Now it finally comes. Chapter 7, verse 1.
So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Aster. And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther. What is 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 Queen 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 our affliction is not to be compared With the loss to the king. Then King Hazuera said to Queen Esther, Who is he?
And where is he? Who has dared to do this? And Esther said, A fall. and enemy, this wicked Haman. Then Haman was terrified before the King and the Queen.
So here they are Hasio Eris, Esther. and him and finally at the second banquet. And once again, the king asks her, What is your petition? and with great skill. This young woman, Queen Esther, makes it known to the king that she is Jewish.
Notice in verses three and four, and that her people are to be destroyed. to be killed and to be Annihilated. She said, if they'd just been sold into slavery, I wouldn't have said anything to you. But the edict. is against her people.
That she's going to be killed. And that all of the Jewish people in Persia. are going to be killed unless the king intervenes. The king asks the question, well, who is this? Who is this individual?
who is out to take the life of Queen Esther and her people. And she clearly identifies the enemy, verse 6, with Haman right there at the feast. Notice how she describes in verse 6 of chapter 7: a foe and enemy, this wicked. Cayman. And he's terrified.
Then Hayman was terrified before the king and the queen. Hayman's fall, which had begun earlier in the day, is accelerating with frightening Speed.
Now Ahasuerus's decision. Verses seven through nine. 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 him 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 Harbonah, 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. Hi.
The king is so angry at the news wife of his queen is threatened. And he goes into the palace garden to kind of cool off. In the meantime, Haman is begging for his life from Queen Esther And when the king returns, he sees Esther, he sees Haman falling on the couch. Where Esther sat. How ironic.
Haman, who is furious that a Jew, Mordecai, wouldn't bow to him, is now begging for his life from a Jewess, Queen Esther. The Persian protocol was very, very clear. No man was to go near the king's harem. Which was supervised by the eunuchs. No man was allowed to speak privately to the wife or the concubine of a king, far less touch her.
Humans Behaviour here is outrageous, and the king sees it and hears it for himself. And he considers that Haman is assaulting. His wife. And immediately Heyman's face is covered. a sign of death.
His Fate is sealed. His fall is a fair. is almost completed. The man who conspires to murder a nation of the Jews. is himself going to be put to death.
And then there's this man Harbona. Obviously he didn't like Haman, notice how skilfully he puts it, verse nine. One of the eunuchs in attendance says to the King. You know, there's gallows. But Haman has prepared for Mordecai.
whose word saved the king. In other words, Mordecai is a good man. Heyman is the bad man. It's standing at Heyman's house fifty Qubits high. And the king's decision?
Verse 10, hang him. on that.
So they hanged him and on the gallows. that he had prepared For more deccai than the wrath of the king. Abed it. The very gallows. which Haman had prepared for Mordecai.
now become the instrument of death. For him.
The ultimate irony, what a reversal of destiny. Haman is hanged seventy-five feet high for everyone To see. At death, he's finally exalted above everyone else. Here is poetic justice. Don't oppose God.
Don't rebel against God. You'll always lose. If God is for us, Why would you stand against This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever.
but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at the verdict. org.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Are you going to trust God? Even when it seems there's no way out. Life is sometimes dark. 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. Isn't that 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 of life.
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.
