The Moment of Truth – Esther 5:1-14

• February 14, 2022
• Pastor
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Esther 5:1-14

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Esther 5. When I was in junior high school, I had the opportunity to travel with my parents to Europe for the first time. It was my first time traveling internationally, and we vacationed in Spain and Portugal for about a week, maybe ten days (I can’t remember). In any case, it was also the first time that I discovered how big bullfighting was, particularly in that part of the world.

Now, I’m not here to debate the ethics of such a sport or whether or not I’m “for” or “against” it, but man, oh man. Matadors – and even some of the bulls – are treated like American sports icons and rock stars. I mean, their lifestyles and their romances are the things of tabloids. And although I didn’t get to attend an actual bullfight while in Spain, we did visit one of the oldest bullrings: The Plaza de Toros de Ronda, and the museum there in Ronda, Spain.

Now, in Spanish-style bullfighting, which, by the way, is legal and protected in most parts of Spain, there are three (3) stages. Stage 1 is called tercio de varas, which is roughly translated as “third of rods” or “third of lances.” It’s the part where the matador sizes up the bull. It’s the “get to know ya” stage. The matador uses his cape to get the bull to make some passes, and it’s during these passes that he observes the bull’s mannerisms and movements and just what he’s dealing with.

Stage 2 is called the tercio de banderillas. That roughly translates to “third of darts” or “part of small flags.” It’s the stage where the matador tries to stab two dart-like sticks known as banderillas into the bull’s shoulders. Now, he may do this several times. That’s why you might see a bull with 4, 5, or 6 banderillas stuck in him. This is meant to weaken the bull and also serve to make him more aggressive.

Stage 3 is called the tercio de muerte, which is roughly translated as “third of death.” That’s fairly obvious, right. It’s this final stage that gives us the English idiom “the moment of truth.” After getting the bull to make a few more artistic and theatrical passes, the matador spurs the bull into a charge where he thrusts the sword into the bull’s back severing his spinal cord – hopefully leading to a quick death. This last act is where we get the phrase “the moment of truth.” Does the matador have the nerve? Does he have the grit? Does he have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with his adversary?

That’s where we find Esther this morning. It’s the “moment of truth.” We just ended chapter 4, and as the curtain was closing, we heard Esther call for a fast, as she determined to go before King Xerxes (a.k.a. Ahasuerus) even though she hadn’t been called. We’re told in that same chapter – from last week – that to do so would be certain death, unless the king extended his golden scepter. And we know from our study thus far that King Xerxes tends to respond like a raging bull, especially when his queen doesn’t come when she’s called, and in this case, she hasn’t been called at all. So, this morning, if you haven’t already read ahead, you’re going to find out what happens in this “moment of truth.”

By the way, I know that some of you just can’t help yourself and you’re wondering then, “Where do we get the phrase ‘take the bull by the horns.’” Well, that comes from Portuguese-style bull fighting and I’ll let you read up on that yourself.

Follow along with me, as we read Esther 5:1-14:

1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. 2 And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” 4 And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” 5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So, the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared. 6 And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 7 Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is: 8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”

9 And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. 12 Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. 13 Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” 14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.

“Our great God, we bow down before You, believing that when Your Word is faithfully opened up, that Your voice is truly heard. We listen, then, for Your voice. Illumine to us the printed page. Conduct that divine dialogue by the Holy Spirit whereby we are taken in our thinking beyond the voice of a mere man and encountering You, the living God. To this end we seek You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Now, as we think about this chapter, we have to remember that for Esther, what she’s doing is almost certain death. That’s why I painted the picture for you. Look back at Esther 4:11; Esther says, “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law – to be put to death…” We tend to read this and miss the degree of suspense involved. In fact, the Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us in his Antiquities of the Jews that the king surrounded himself with henchmen who bore axes, so as to make sure that the head of someone was immediately removed. That’s what she’s walking into. And there are only two things I want us to see today, and the first is what we’ll call…

Esther’s Faith

I’m calling it Esther’s faith, but the truth of the matter is that the text doesn’t explicitly tell us what ultimately motivates Esther to take her life into her hands and go (unsummoned) to see her husband. I just want to be honest with you. We’re not told that it was her faith. It could’ve simply been peer pressure. It could’ve been guilt. It could’ve been her knowledge of what would come to pass if she didn’t. It could’ve been fear. It could’ve been desperation. It could’ve been any number of things, but I think it’s faith.

Most of us have discovered that God sometimes calls us to act in faith in spite of our fears. Esther was fearful. She was convinced: “I’m going to be put to death.” That was the law of the Medes and the Persians. We saw that in Esther 4:11. But there’s another reason I know she was afraid, and it’s kind of hidden in the text of verse 1. Look back at verse 1 and listen as I re-read it. See if you don’t notice a theme. “On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the [royal] palace.” Did you see it that time? There are 6 words in verse 1 that have the Hebrew root melek – “king.” Why is the author saying this over and over and over again? Why all this king-talk and royal language? It’s not here to impress us. I think it’s here to intimidate us.

We’re coming into the king’s palace. We’re coming into the throne room. We’re coming into the presence of royalty. We’re coming into the presence of awesome power. That’s the whole reason that verse 1 is written this way – to intimidate us. And we get a small sense of what Esther might have been feeling. She, most likely, hadn’t been in this part of the palace many times before, if ever. And yet, here, in this moment, she actively engages her faith in God (I think), which helps her to overcome her fear. Some of us are discovering that this morning. Some of you may be here this morning and you’re living in fear, and yet, your contemplating faith. Others of you may be stepping out in faith and discovering that your fears are being overcome by your faith in God.

Let me show you what faith will do, because we see it right here in Esther’s life. And listen to me, Esther didn’t have a lot of faith. It wasn’t perfect faith. It wasn’t even great faith. It’s more like the faith that we hear Jesus talk about in Matthew 17 and Luke 17 when He likens faith to the mustard seed. It was just a simple faith that God had put her in this place for this moment, and out of that moment comes a quiet courage to slip into the throne room of a king – a king who could take her life, just like he deposed his original queen.

And when I read these words that, “the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court . . . and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.” She approached and touched the tip of the scepter. All I can think about, here, is that there was a King who saw me one day in my sin, and what He extended to me was not a golden scepter but His magnificent grace and mercy, and all I had to do was receive it by faith. In that moment of truth, He saved my soul for all eternity. In that moment of truth, the place where I was standing wasn’t a room of death but a place of life.

There are some of you here today, and that’s exactly what Christ is calling you to do. Jesus is extending His grace and mercy, and all you have to do is reach out (by faith) and receive it. And in that moment, if you receive Him by faith, your heart will be changed, your soul will be transformed, your life will be redeemed.

That’s the first thing that faith will do. It will give you the ability to reach out and receive the grace and mercy of the King. But let me show you another thing that faith will do. It will help you accept God’s timing. This whole story is wrapped up in the sovereign and providential care of God. We’ve seen that again and again. And I believe that our faith in God will help us to accept His timing.

So, Esther’s life has been spared. Deep sigh of relief. Now, King Xerxes begins to ask what she wants. “Why are you here? What’s up, babe? What can I do for my honey lamb?” And she invites him and his best friend, Haman, to a party that she’s prepared. And when they get there and they’re eating and drinking, once again, King Xerxes begins to ask what she wants. And I want you to notice verse 7, because there’s something in verse 7 that you almost never find in the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the Bible, but you find it here. Verse 7 says, “Then Esther answered, ‘My wish and my request is:’” Do you see what’s after the word “is?” In most of our translations we have a colon. That colon is really rare.

See, in the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, punctuation was never used. All of the commas, and quotation marks, and periods, and question marks – all of that stuff was added when the original texts were translated. In fact, in the original Hebrew language there weren’t even any vowels. Those had to be supplied by the reader. Okay, so what does this have to do with verse 7? That colon in verse 7 was actually in the original Hebrew. Yeah, so.

Well, imagine that you’re holding an original copy of the Hebrew scriptures. You’d be reading sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, chapter after chapter, book after book with no punctuation. And when you get to Esther 5:7, all of a sudden you see a colon and it’s not part of a word. That’s rare. It makes me wonder if Esther wasn’t about to tell Xerxes what she wanted, but she hesitated. She waited. I think it had to do with God’s timing. Lord knows, I don’t understand all of God’s timing. But in that moment, I think the Holy Spirit was telling her to wait on this. “Now’s not the right time. I better wait.” So, she says let’s have another party tomorrow and I’ll tell you.

Now, knowing what we know about Xerxes, I would’ve expected him to lose his cool. I would’ve expected him to respond like this: “Woman! You better tell me, right now, what’s going on!” But listen, she’s got him wrapped right here (around her little finger). Guys, if we’re honest, isn’t that where our wives have us most of the time, especially when they invite us to dinners. And because of her hesitation, in the next 24-hours, God is going to do two things: He’s going to let Haman plan his own death (as we’re getting ready to see), and He’s going to keep Xerxes awake all night (that’s next week). Both of those things transpire as a result of Esther’s sensing – I believe, by a movement of the Holy Spirit – that now’s not the right time.

And we finally come to Haman in verse 9, moving from Esther’s Faith, now to Haman’s Folly.

Haman’s Folly

He’s the archetypal egomaniac. He’s the embodiment of a fool. Solomon writes, “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12). And here, his foolishness stands out. His arrogance stands out against the backdrop of Esther’s faith. Esther is bold, and yet she’s winsome: “If I have found favor in your sight…” She has actually already found favor in his sight. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ever gotten in there in the first place. But she’s clever. She’s subtle. “If I have found favor in your sight…” Her humility is pervasive. But you turn to Haman, and his pride is unmistakable.

“And [Haman] went out” from the banquet “that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate…” Here we go again. Here’s the fly in the ointment, as it were. All of the enjoyment, all of the prestige, all of the significance, all of the accolades were insufficient to keep Haman from coming unglued by the fact that this little guy Mordecai never stood up when he came by and certainly never trembled in his presence. Verse 9, “[He] was filled with wrath against Mordecai.”

It wasn’t that he was just a little offended, just a little ticked off. No, he was actually consumed with wrath. Pride does that to a man. Because, you see, when I’m a proud person, nothing can ever satisfy me. When I’m a proud person, no one can ever meet my standards. When I’m a proud person, there’s always another thing. There’s always another floor up. There’s always another office to sit in. There’s always another dollar. There’s always something else beyond my reach which, although I have reached this, although I’ve got that, succeeded here and there and everywhere, I cannot enjoy all of this because of the absence of something else. You understand why Paul says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). Pride and discontentedness sleep in the same bed.

What he should’ve been able to say was, “What’s one little Jew that won’t bow? After all, look at me. I’m in the society pages. I’m photographed all the time now with the king. There aren’t many people that have as much access to the king as me. I’m going to all the big feasts, to all the fancy banquets. Who cares about Mordecai?” But he can’t do it. And so, he goes home. He “restrained himself” from actually, presumably, reaching out and killing Mordecai right there, and he “went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh.” It’s not that he went home and everybody said, “Hey, Haman, great to see you! How you doing?” No, he actually sent for his friends. He brought them in. He surrounded himself with those who would be prepared to listen to him talk about himself. That’s what pride does to us.

And verse 11: when he had put this little assembly together, he “recounted to them the splendor of his riches.” “Have you seen my latest painting? I bought this at such and such a Persian gallery. Why don’t you come down in the basement, and let me show you my wine cellar? Would you like to see the porcelain that I have just picked up recently?” What is all of this? He’s boasting. “Look, do you realize how great I am? Do you realize how significant I am?”

That’s what Haman is doing. And he recounts his family. Now folks, there’s a right way to be thankful for your family and there’s a wrong way. This is the wrong way – just brag about your family and it’s obnoxious. Do you think Zeresh, Haman’s wife, didn’t know how many babies she’d had? He “recounted to them the splendor of his riches, [and] the number of his sons.” Poor Zeresh is sitting there going, “Yeah, yeah, I know how many kids we have. Hey, buster, I’m the one that did most of the work.” This is like a Facebook page gone crazy. This is the worst. He actually lives with the mistaken notion that he’s the center of the universe. He’s not even the center of his own universe. His impending death is before him, and yet he doesn’t have a clue what’s going on. He’s stupidity on two legs. He is the fool. He fits perfectly into contemporary 21st century culture.

Who are in the publicity magazines? Who are on the front pages? Who are the heroes of our day? Many of them haven’t done anything. Nothing! When’s the last time you saw the best schoolteacher in America on the front of Vogue magazine? Or when was the last time you saw the brightest cardiothoracic surgeon elevated to a position of significance and heralded in town? Or when was the last time you saw a single mother that had dealt with children in their infancy and in their adolescence and had sustained it all, and there she was? No, we want the Hamans on the front page. We want ourselves on the front page. You see, the problem is, it’s not enough for me to say, “Oh, look at the pride of Haman,” because I look into the Word of God, and I see my own sinful heart.

Let me conclude; when George Whitefield was a young man, he made the statement in his journal: “O that I could always see myself in my proper colors! I believe I should have little reason to fall down and worship myself. God be merciful to me, a sinner!” Solomon says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). James, quoting from Proverbs 3:34, says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (4:6). Jesus “made himself of no reputation . . . being found in fashion as a man,” (Philippians 2:7) He became a servant, giving Himself up, ultimately, to death.

Where are you this morning? Are you struggling to live by faith? Are you afraid of what’s coming next? Have you received His free gift of grace and mercy? Would you reach out and take it (by faith) today. If you’ve already received God’s gift of salvation, perhaps you just need to see Esther’s determined resolution and faith to go before the king. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Or maybe your pride is still standing in the way. Like Haman, you’re still waiting on your pound of flesh. There’s somebody or something that’s gotten under your skin, and it’s controlling you this morning. Or maybe you just can’t stomach the thought of lowering your defenses, lowering your guard, becoming vulnerable in front of your friends and family and neighbors. You know that the salvation you need is here this morning, but your pride in yourself, in your accomplishments, in you standing in the community is keeping you from being reconciled to God.

However, God is moving today, would you respond (by faith).

“Our Father and our God, we ask that the Holy Spirit help us to confidently approach Your throne of grace and mercy, that we would ask, seek and knock, and find that You’re there to answer. Help us, Lord, to reach out, by faith, and receive the gift of Your kindness and mercy. Father, all of us can identify with Haman. We’ve all been prideful. Even now, there’s a part of us that struggles to humble ourselves before You. May we, by the power of the Spirit, repent of that attitude and posture in Your presence. And may we find rest for our souls. For we ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Costs, Conciliation and Conviction – Esther 4:1-17

• February 7, 2022
• Pastor
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Esther 4:1-17

As always, let me I invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Esther 4. Esther is proving to be a wonderful adventure, at least in my own personal study. I’d put it up there alongside the study of Joseph (from the Old Testament) and alongside the study of Ruth, as well. The things that link them all together, of course, are the doctrines of God’s providence and His sovereignty. Now, perhaps I should pause for just a second and differentiate those two doctrines for us. Like siblings in a family, they’re very similar, and yet, they’re distinctly different.

God’s sovereignty refers to His right and power to do all that He decides to do. Job 42:2 says, “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.” But notice that nothing in that definition of sovereignty refers to God’s wisdom. It’s just His right and power to do whatever He decides to do. When He decides to do a thing, He does it, and no one can stop Him. That’s sovereignty – the authority and power and ability to do whatever is decided.

Providence, however, includes what sovereignty doesn’t. Providence is sovereignty in the service of wise purposes. Or you could say providence is wise and purposeful sovereignty. Sometimes, if you break a word down etymologically, it can be helpful too. For example; providence is made up of a prefix and a root, pro-vidence, or more specifically, pro-vide (Latin). Pro means “before,” and vide means “see.” We have an idiom in English – we say, “I’ll see to it,” meaning, “I’ll take the necessary steps to make sure such-and-such happens.” That’s God’s providence. It’s God “seeing to everything.” Isaiah 46:10 says: “[I declare] the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’”

Ok, enough Theology 101. You can mark that off your “to do” list. But, indeed, there is a God who oversees the affairs of history. He’s involved cosmically. He’s involved ecclesiastically – that is, in the church. He’s involved nationally and internationally. And He’s involved individually and personally. We aren’t cast about upon a sea of chance. We’re not held in the grip of blind and deterministic forces. Rather, we’re actually living our lives within the realm of God’s providence. And yet, mysteriously, within the realm of God’s sovereignty and His providence, our personal choices are not overruled. Our personal responsibility isn’t extinguished. God is sovereign, and yet we’re not robots.

That’s the story. And it’s a good story. It’s a story about real people in a real place at a real point in time. The place is Persia. The point in time is around 479 B.C. So, about 500 years before the birth of Jesus. It has a beautiful heroine. We like stories with heroines, especially if they’re pretty (and Esther was). There’s an evil villain who gets his punishment, and we like it when bad guys get what’s coming. There’s a Jewish man who wouldn’t take no for an answer. We’ve known a few of those (and Gentiles too). There’s love that’s lost and love that’s found. There’s ethnic rivalry. There are sudden reversals, and dramatic ironies, and poetic justice, and today, we pick up following the edict of Haman to exterminate the Jewish population.

Follow along with me:

1 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.

4 When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law – to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”

12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

“Father, illumine the page to us by the Holy Spirit, we pray, so that our study may not simply instruct our minds but stir our hearts, challenge our wills, and change our lives. Only the Holy Spirit can do this. To Him we look. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.”

As many of you know, I typically read from the ESV (English Standard Version), and that’s what you heard and saw this morning. In the ESV, chapter 4 of Esther breaks into three distinct paragraphs. Now, if your translation doesn’t do that, that’s fine. The only other translation that breaks the chapter down like this (that I’m aware of) is the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). The only reason I’m telling you this is because the three things that I want us to notice this morning happen to come from each of these paragraphs, and the first paragraph is verses 1-3, and our first point of consideration this morning is:

The Cost of Compromise

Compromise costs. Mordecai is a man who has compromised. Now I want you to think about this. I’ve told you before that when Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonian Empire of King Nebuchadnezzar, he issued an edict, a decree, known as the Edict of Cyrus (539 B.C.). That edict allowed for all captive Jews to return to Jerusalem, to Israel, to the Promised Land. And yet, only about 50,000 Jews returned with Ezra and Nehemiah. The vast majority of Jews, including Mordecai and Esther, remained in Persia.

Now, we saw last week, the whole reason for this decree to kill the Jews was because Mordecai refused to bow down and pay homage to Haman. Right? So, if Mordecai had returned to Jerusalem with Ezra and Nehemiah and the other Jews, like he was supposed to, this would’ve never happened. Mordecai is living in compromise. And as a result of not going back to the land of Israel, the Promised Land, and being outside of God’s will, all of the Jews (including those that had returned to Jerusalem) were going to be killed. Do you believe that one man’s sin can have an impact on a lot of different people? Absolutely, yes.

But it wasn’t just this edict, this decree to kill all the Jews – look at Mordecai’s actions. Verses 1-3 describe him putting on sackcloth and ashes and going out into the city square to mourn. Sackcloth is often likened to burlap, today. Technically, it was a garment made out of course animal hair. In the New Testament, we’re told the John the Baptist wore “a garment of camel’s hair” (Matthew 3:4). And that was customary. Sitting in ashes or putting ashes on your head was another way of displaying your grief. And so you have a picture of Mordecai wearing distinctive clothing and mourning and he’s doing this in public.

But remember, except for the few people we saw last week, primarily Mordecai’s colleagues at the city gate, nobody knows that Mordecai and Esther are Jews. They’ve concealed that part of their identity. So, in the midst of his compromise, in the midst of his grief, he’s getting ready to uncover their identity. Esther’s attendants are going to catch wind of this and begin to put two and two together.

But what we don’t read is what we normally would read in cases like this, when people are wearing sackcloth and ashes, and that is, we would normally expect to find repentance. But not here. In fact, let me just read a couple of scenarios where we see this repentance with sackcloth and ashes. Back over in Job 42. I read it just a moment ago. Job was complaining to God about his circumstances. Job was questioning the goodness of God, and we get down to verses 5-6 and listen to Job, “I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Or how about Jonah. We all remember the story of Jonah, the prophet. “[When] the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes” (Jonah 3:6). And we read on and find out that he issued a decree calling for everyone (man/beast) to “call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands” (Jonah 3:8). What’s that sound like? (Repentance).

Compromise costs, and it should lead to repentance, but sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it just leads to outward grief. “Oh, I’ve failed. I’ve messed up. This is horrible. This is terrible.” But nowhere do we see Mordecai calling out to God. It looks religious, but there’s no attitude of repentance. That’s what’s going on with Mordecai. The cost of compromise. Are you experiencing the cost of compromise this morning? Listen, the Bible says that “the people God loves, He disciplines, so eagerly come to Him with repentance” (Revelation 3:19, paraphrased). 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Perhaps you’re seeing yourself in Mordecai, this morning. Come to Jesus.

The Challenge of Conciliation

Verses 4-11 describe Esther’s attempt to appease Mordecai. Look at verse 4, “When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.” What’s she doing. She’s trying to cover-up their compromise.

Esther doesn’t know what’s going on. She’s kept off in another part of the palace. She’s cut off from everybody except her maids and these eunuchs who are there to guard and protect her from everybody else. She doesn’t have Sirius Radio back there. She doesn’t have Fox News or CNN or the PBC. (You know what the PBC is? Persian Broadcasting Company.) She has no clue what’s going on in the world. So, when this news reaches her, she’s embarrassed, and she tries to cover it up. She sends clothes to Mordecai.

Have you ever noticed how some people, when they get a little influence, a little class, a little bump in their position in society all of a sudden get embarrassed by people they used to hang around with? Sometimes, it even happens with family. “Oh, don’t mind him, he’s just my crazy cousin. Mordecai, what are you doing? You’re embarrassing me. Take those rags off and put on these clothes.” Let’s dress it up. Let’s give it a facelift. It’s the challenge of conciliation. And it’s only after Mordecai refuses, that she sends Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs to find out what’s going on.

Incidentally, if you just watch Hathach here, it’s almost funny, you know. In my mind, the character of Hathach would be played by Rowan Atkinson of Mr. Bean fame. Esther says, “Okay, Hathach, go to Mordecai and say this.” So, he goes to Mordecai and says it, and Mordecai says, “Okay, go to Esther and say this.” So, he comes back and said, “Mordecai said this.” She said, “Well, listen, why don’t you go to Mordecai…” And Mordecai said, “Oh, Esther, yeah.” Let’s head back to Esther.

So, you have this wonderful back and forth discovery and dialogue taking place. By the way, doesn’t reading this kind of story help you to appreciate the modern conveniences of cell phones and automobiles? For all the headaches they bring, there’s so much communication and interaction that we can accomplish, which prior to the telephone and automobile would’ve taken hours, days, weeks, even months. Sometimes, you have to slow down and really put yourself into the story to see that this wasn’t a 15-minute phone call. So, Mordecai provides Hathach with all of the evidence needed to bring her up-to-speed, and notice verse 8, especially the end: “Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people.”

The secret is out. “Her people?” If no one had known before, well, now Hathach knows that the queen is actually a Jew; that she’s included in this edict of extermination; that she and her family, faces the threat that has been unleashed as a result of this plot by Haman. And notice Esther’s response (v. 11), “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law – to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” Basically, she says, “That’s easy for you to say. I may be the queen, but I haven’t seen my husband in 30 days and you can be sure he ain’t sleeping single in a double bed. If I go without being summoned, then I could die.”

I hope you’re encouraged by the fact that when word reaches Esther, she doesn’t immediately say, “Oh, yeah, I’ll do that!” Why would you be encouraged by that as a believer? Because if you’re honest, you see your face in that response. Most of us are not stepping up to say, “Oh, yeah, I’ll put my life in jeopardy for you, for the people of God. All I have is Christ. He’s everything to me!” No, most of us say, “I’m not going.”

Isn’t it fantastic that God uses the fainthearted – people like Esther? He doesn’t set her aside. God uses fainthearted people in order to achieve His purposes, even when we say no the first, second, and third time. It’s remarkable.

You have the cost of compromise. You have the challenge of conciliation. Finally, let me show you the courage of conviction.

The Courage of Conviction

Esther is going to have a resolve, and then she’s going to express a real conviction, and then out of that conviction comes true courage. But before we get to Esther, I want us to hear what Mordecai says. It begins in verse 13, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.” “Hey, Esther, word is out. I’ve just exposed you, so don’t think that you’ll escape just because you’re the queen and you’re in the palace.” Now notice verse 14, because Mordecai almost comes out states the sovereignty of God. “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place…And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Do you know what he just said? He just said that God has innumerable ways to carry out His will.

God has a will, and He’s invited you to be a part of His will, but if you don’t agree to do His will, then He’s not limited to doing it just through you. Do you hear that? I do. God doesn’t need Lee Norris to accomplish His will for this place. And listen to me, God doesn’t need Mountain Hill Community Church. There are so many other people and churches that He can use to accomplish His purposes of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. But He’s given us the opportunity to step out with conviction of courage and faith, and to trust Him and see what He might do through us. Or we can choose to not be in God’s will and we’ll miss the blessing. The great privilege is this; that God has come to us in His sovereignty and said, “Come on, and let me bless you.”

Finally, let’s see Esther’s resolve. It begins in verse 16, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do.” Now, do you see anything in there that reminds you of something else? (Three days/three nights.) Here’s a woman, used of God, in the midst of her compromise, pointing to a greater Savior. Pointing to someone who – for three days and three nights – will be in the ground (no eating, no drinking), and on the third day will arise. Esther says, “I’ll go to the king.” Jesus says, “I’m ascending to the Father” (John 20:17, paraphrased).

That’s Esther’s resolve. Now, listen to her conviction. She says, “I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” What a woman? That’s the courage of a believer who walks the wall and says, “I’m here by an act of a sovereign God, and I will be in His will, and if it costs me my life – I don’t care.”

Listen, we’re getting ready to come to the Lord’s Table and I want you to see the imagery and the metaphor that’s in these final verses. Esther points to a greater Savior. She calls on the Jews to fast from the table and the cup, and what does Jesus do? He prays for the cup to pass away from Him. Here’s Esther, who asks the Jews to join her for three days and three night, and Jesus asks His disciples if they can pray for one hour. Esther took her life in her hands and faced possible death. Jesus put His life in the hands of the Father, took up His cross, and entered into death. Here’s Esther, entering into that final moment with the knowledge that she might die. Jesus, responding to the defining moment of His life says, “for this reason came I into the world” to die (John 12:27, KJV).

Boy, Esther points to Jesus all over the place. And as God tells this story – He’s so sovereign – He comes to us and says, “I’ve got something better for you than what you’ve settled for.”

“O God our Father, thank You for Your Word. Help us, even in our faintheartedness to say, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). And help us, Lord, to understand that this King rode a donkey, that this King was crowned with thorns, that this King entered into the very depths of our predicament, bore the edict that was the penalty of sin, in order that we might come to Him. Oh, help us respond to You, Lord, we pray. And grant that our gaze may be filled with You, the living God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant that we might behold King Jesus in all of His power and majesty and glory. For it’s in His name we pray. Amen.”

God’s Providence in a Dangerous World – Esther 2:19-3:15

• January 30, 2022
• Pastor
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Esther 2:19-3:15

As always, let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Esther 2. You say, “Didn’t we cover Esther 2 last week?” Yes, but I want us to pick up the last scene from chapter 2 because it’s going to be pivotal in the coming weeks, and also because, along with chapter 3, it illustrates God’s providence – a theme that we simply cannot escape in the story of Esther.

The late W.A. Criswell, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, TX writes: “Ask any schoolboy, ‘Which way does the Mississippi River flow?’ and he’ll say, ‘From north to south.’ If you’ve flown over the Mississippi, however, there are times and places where the Mississippi River will flow north. In fact, there are times and places where the Mississippi River will flow due west, but it ultimately and finally flows south. So, too, the elective purpose of God in Christ Jesus is frustrated, turned, twisted, but it’s God’s purpose of the ages that the reign and kingdom shall belong to Him.” That’s the point of the book of Esther.

Listen, when we don’t know what’s going on with us or what’s going on around us; if you’re a child of God, then you can still be assured that God is sovereignly working for your good. Amen? Everybody should’ve said, “amen” right there. That’s encouraging. That’s hopeful. That’s peaceful. There are a lot of things I don’t know and understand about God. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” There’s a lot I don’t know about God, but this I know and hold on to: God is in control. No person or government can dethrone Him, and no event or circumstance can surprise Him. He’s in control. Follow along with me, beginning with Esther 2:19…

19 Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 20 Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. 21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.

1 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. 3 Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” 4 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them. 9 If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”

12 Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

“Gracious God, we desperately need Your help as we study this chapter of the Bible, so that we might understand what it says, that we might not say anything that it doesn’t say, and that we might be brought to the kind of faith and obedience which gives indication of Your transforming work in our lives. For we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

There are at least three things that happen in these verses that don’t make sense – things that cause us to question whether God is still on His throne, still in control, and whether He cares at all for His people. And the first is this:

Mordecai Is Overlooked

That section at the end of chapter 2 outlines an assassination plot that was discovered by Mordecai and relayed to Queen Esther. She informs King Xerxes, who has the matter investigated and determines that, indeed, it’s true, and he hangs the guys responsible. Now, you’d think that Mordecai would be praised or rewarded or at least given a gift certificate to Chophouse ’47. Something, but no.

Have you ever been passed over for a promotion? Of course, you have. We all have. What did you say when you came home to your wife or to your husband? Did you say, “Hey, what a great day I’ve had; I was passed over for a promotion?” No, you probably said, “I can’t believe it. After all I’ve done for that company. After I’d done so well… After my figures had come in so strong… After I went on that business trip to that good-for-nothing town that nobody else would go to… After I made my boss look so good, all he did was he write a couple of sentences about me to be added to my résumé. I thought at least I would’ve gotten a different office, if nothing else.”

It just doesn’t resolve the way that we’ve come to expect. Why, in the world, doesn’t good get its just rewards? This doesn’t make sense. But, as a good old man used to say, “God doesn’t close His books at the end of every day. God doesn’t settle up all of His accounts every afternoon at 4 o’clock.” Well, maybe Mordecai felt a little bit that way: disappointed that all he got was a couple of lines at the bottom of the page. But if only he knew how significant those two lines at the bottom of the page were going to be, not only in his life but in the lives of the entire nation of Israel.

Mordecai is overlooked, and yet God is still in control. Let me give you the second thing that doesn’t make sense and that’s this:

Haman Is Promoted

We’re introduced to Haman in verse 1 as “the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha,” and in verse 10, that’s repeated; he’s described in that way again. We saw this last week. When you have repetition, you know that the writer wants us to understand something. And in verse 10, if you allow your eye to scan it, you’ll see that there’s a little phrase that’s added to the designation: “Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha” (here we go) “the enemy of the Jews.” Now, that’s important and I want to show you why.

If you still have your Bibles open, flip over to Exodus 17. The Israelites have just crossed the Red Sea and they’re on their way to Mt. Sinai. They’ve just experienced manna from heaven for the first time and they were thirsty, and God provided water from a rock. Then, in Exodus 17, beginning in verse 8, this is what we read:

8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So, his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Okay, so the Israelites are minding their own business. They’re on their way to Mt. Sinai. They don’t know that’s where they’re headed, but that’s ultimately where they end up. And on their way, they get ambushed by the Amalekites. Now, flip over to 1 Samuel 15. You say to yourself, “Pastor, just where in the world are you taking us.” Trust me; you’re going to like this. Saul has just been made king, and this is what we read in 1 Samuel 15:2-4: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

Right? God says, “Hey, that thing that happened back in Exodus 17, I didn’t forget that. That didn’t escape my notice.” Now go down to verse 9 (1 Samuel 15), “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.”

So, they heard what God had said. God had given a very clear command: “Destroy the whole shooting match.” They get into the process, and they say, “That’s not such a good idea. Let’s keep Agag; he’s the king. And let’s keep some of the best stuff. The junk, we’ll destroy the junk, but we’ll keep the good stuff.” You see, the wisdom of God is vaster than the wisdom of man. God is not arbitrarily giving this directive. It’s purposeful. And failure to pay attention will have ramifications. Failure to obey God always has ramifications.

Now, if you look down to verse 24 (1 Samuel 15), Samuel has just informed Saul that he won’t be king any longer because he didn’t do what God had instructed – and after trying to justify his actions this is what we read – “Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.’” Now skip down and let’s pick up with verse 32ff, “Then Samuel [God’s prophet] said, ‘Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.’ And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, ‘Surely the bitterness of death is past.’ And Samuel said, ‘As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.’ And Samuel [God’s prophet] hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.” And y’all though Hulu was good. Y’all thought Netflix was good. Y’all thought Roku was good. Have you read your Bibles recently?

Now, let’s go back to Esther and let me show you how all of this adds up. We started chasing the rabbit because Esther 3 continued to tell us again and again that Haman was an “Agagite.” Now, if we don’t know our Bibles, we just pass over that. It’s like saying, “He’s from Landrum,” or, “He’s from Greer,” you know. Move on! It doesn’t really matter. Oh, yes, it does. But it only matters when you realize in Esther 2:5 the lineage of Mordecai, because Mordecai has been introduced not only as a Jew – “Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai” – but we’ve been given his background: “the son of Jair, [the] son of Shimei, [the] son of Kish, a Benjaminite.”

Now, if you know your Bible, then you know who Kish was. If you don’t, you’re going to find out, and there’ll be an “Aha!” moment. Kish was Saul’s dad. So, here’s Mordecai, a Jew whose lineage goes back to Saul. Saul, who’s the king, is told, “Destroy the Amalekites because of what they did to Israel in the wilderness.” Saul, Mordecai’s great-great-great-great-grandfather, says, “No, I’m not going to destroy the Amalekites. It doesn’t really matter.” God says, “Yes it matters.” And here we are in 5th century Persia, and this little Jewish man is confronted by the evil of an Agagite who shouldn’t even exist but exists because of the disobedience of Saul.

You say, “Pastor, that’s neat and I’m glad you showed us, but couldn’t you have just said it like that from the beginning instead of taking that time and going to all of those verses?” Yes, of course, but it’s important that you see these connections and know that they’re in your Bible, because they’re further proof of God’s divine providence – His wise and purposeful sovereignty. See, some of you are facing situations today, or perhaps you’re still struggling with something that happened in the past, and me just saying, “God is in charge. God is in control. God is got this. He’s with you.” That’s not enough. You want proof. You want to see it. Well, there you go. If you’re a child of God, then you’re in His hands. He’s got this.

We’re never told why Haman was promoted. But the author of this story wants us to see and understand what’s going on between Haman and Mordecai, because it doesn’t seem fair. And, although it doesn’t seem right to us, Haman is promoted and that leads to the:

Jews Are Sentenced

When King Ahasuerus magnifies Haman verse 2 tells us, “[a]ll the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage.” Now, Haman apparently didn’t notice this at first. In fact, it took Mordecai’s friends and the other servants tattling to Haman about it before it became an issue. And what was the reason that Mordecai didn’t bow down? Well, we aren’t told explicitly in the text, but I think it’s found in the last part of verse 4, “he had told them that he was a Jew.”

Here’s a guy who had taught his family, and especially his niece/adopted daughter, Esther, not to reveal their true identity as Jews. Don’t you dare tell people that you follow Yahweh. Don’t reveal your relationship with God. And finally, here, in this moment, he refuses to bow down because he’s a Jew. Listen to me church, at some moment, every one of us has got to step out of the shadows and own up to who we are. Are you willing to own up this day, in this culture, wherever you find yourself, as a believer in Jesus Christ?

I want to believe that’s the case with Mordecai, but I have a sneaking suspicion he just wants revenge on Haman. And here’s Haman – evil unchecked – when he finds out about Mordecai he was filled with fury. Lot of people in this book getting enraged (remember King Xerxes, chapter 1, when Vashti rejects his request?). Haman is filled with fury, but not just at Mordecai – no, that’s not good enough – he wants to kill the entire race of the Jews.

Sounds a little bit like Herod doesn’t it: “Hey, let’s kill all the male children two years old and younger” (Matthew 2:16, paraphrased)? And so, when you read this, you see that Haman uses all of his powers. He’s conniving. He’s malicious. He’s untruthful. He’s calloused. He represents the activities of his father – the devil. So, Haman devises a plan. He talks it up to Xerxes. Haman even offers to pay the revenue that would be lost if the Jews were killed. Xerxes says, “Keep your money. I don’t care about that, and you can do as you please with the Jews.”

They cast lots (v. 7) and it falls on the 13th day of the 12th month – the month of Adar (v. 13). And watch this: this 13th day of the 12th month is the day before the Jews celebrate Passover. So now they’ve got a real issue on their hands, don’t they? Because the reason they gather to celebrate the Passover is to remember that when they were in an impossible situation in the bondage of Egypt God miraculously intervened and set them free. And the question for the Jew (and the question for you and me) is: when the edict has been signed how are they going to respond? When the test results are positive, when the stock market plummets, when the late-night phone call comes, when the divorce is final, will we respond in fear or will we respond in faith.

Of course, what we’re going to discover is that the very means planned for their destruction was the means that God was going to use for their deliverance. If that doesn’t ring a big bell and send you to the cross of Jesus Christ, then you’ve fallen asleep. Because the very means that the Evil One sought to bring about the very destruction of the purposes of God was the very means that God used to bring the victory that Christ achieved.

Let me close with this. Keep your eyes on the end and not on the means. See, we want to look at all the means – everything that’s happening to us, everything that’s going on around us, everything that’s taking place in the world – and what we need to do is take our eyes off of that and put them on Jesus. The evangelist Bill Sunday used a hymnal that was put together by a lady named Helen Lemmel. Helen was a music teacher at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL and she toured with Billy Sunday during the peak of his revivals. One of the songs in that hymnal, among others, was a song she wrote, and it contains these words:

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

His Word shall not fail you – He promised.
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

“O God, You are good – even when we live in compromise, even when we doubt You, even when we look at all of the circumstances around us and we’re tempted to live in fear – Your love for us never fails. Father, thank You that when we try and process all of this stuff, that we eventually come back to the fact that ‘the name of the Lord [Jesus] is a strong tower, that the righteous run into it and are safe’ (Proverbs 18:10). Help us, I pray, in these days, not to be frightened, not to be beaten, not to fail to stand up for the truth of Your Word. For we pray in the name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.”

Two Queens, an Uncle, and a King – Esther 2:1-23

• January 23, 2022
• Pastor
• 0 Comments

Esther 2:1-23

Well, let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Esther 2. We’re going to do something a little unusual this morning. We’re going to read the entire second chapter. Now listen, the temptation for you is going to be to zone out, to just stare out the window, to think about lunch or afternoon plans or something, and so I want to encourage you to actively follow along. That is, I want to encourage you to engage your imagination and try to see everything that’s taking place, as we’re introduced to Mordecai and Esther. Up to this point, we’ve only been introduced to King Ahasuerus (a.k.a. Xerxes) and his now deposed queen – Queen Vashti. So, follow along.

1 After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. 3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel, under custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them. 4 And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so.

5 Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. 7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 8 So when the king’s order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king’s palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women. 9 And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king’s palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem. 10 Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. 11 And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.

12 Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women – 13 when the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

15 When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16 And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, 17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther’s feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity.

19 Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 20 Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. 21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.

“And now, Father, with our Bibles open before us, we humbly look to You, that we might – in studying the Bible – not read into it anything that isn’t there, nor fail to see what is so clearly there. For we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Years ago, Frank Sinatra made popular a song titled “My Way.” As many of you know, it’s something of an ode to 20th century man – a declaration of self-sufficiency and autonomy. Part way through the song, after line upon line of self-centeredness, Sinatra croons, “Regrets, I’ve had a few.” An admission of weakness. An entry point for humility. But, in fact, it’s only a pause, because he brushes away the thought by singing “I did it my way.”

(In fairness to Sinatra, according to his daughter, Tina, he hated the song. In an interview with the BBC in October 2000 she said, “He didn’t like it. That song stuck and he couldn’t get it off his shoe. He always thought that song was self-serving and self-indulgent.” So, for those of us that are fans, perhaps there’s a bit of a reprieve.)

But not so for Xerxes. He devoted month after month to self-glorification. And if there was a refrain to each new indulgence, it was “I did it my way.” Every gift given and every decree issued was done for him and by him. And when his inexcusable sexual demand to parade his queen before his drunken buddies was soundly rejected, he was enraged.

Now, if you’re in the habit of marking in your Bible, you might want to make a notation at the end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2 that a period of approximately 3-4 years has elapsed. Historically speaking, there’s about 3 years of activity that takes place between
what we read in chapter 1 and these verses in chapter 2.

Xerxes and his Persian army cross the Dardanelles, also known as the Hellespont, and the first thing he encounters is Leonidas and the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae. I mentioned that last week, I think. He eventually overcomes there, and then proceeds to Athens where he levels the acropolis and the first Parthenon. If you’ve ever been to Athens and visited the Parthenon, that’s actually the second one. The one that Xerxes destroyed was still under construction.

Then, as they’re proceeding down the isthmus to get to Corinth and the Peloponnese – that larger portion of Greece that’s cut off by the Corinthian Canal – he receives word that the Persian navy has been defeated by Themistocles at the Battle of Salamis. As Xerxes and his Persian army turn around and begin to retreat back to Persia, they’re met by 100,000 Greek soldiers. Mardonius, one of Xerxes’ generals, misinterprets the movements of the Greek forces and orders the Persians to give chase and the Greeks finally defeat the Persians – there at the Battle of Plataea. Xerxes barely escapes and gets the remainder of his army back to Susa – that’s verse 1.

Nobody is there to greet him. Ladies, is there anything worse than your husband coming home defeated at the end of the day? There he is – defeated. He got whipped by the Greeks the same way his father, Darius got whipped. And he walks back into the palace there, in Susa, and there’s nobody there to hug him. Nobody there to greet him. Nobody there to say, “Come on, now. It’s not all that bad. You’ll recover.” And so, we read, “After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her.” You see that word “remembered?” It’s the Hebrew word zakar. It’s a nostalgic term. “She used to be here. She used to meet me at the door. She used to care for me.”

Isn’t it a sad reality, in life, that we don’t appreciate something until it’s gone? She’s gone. She’s not there. He has nobody. He’s lonely. He’s hurting. He’s depressed. And as his friends and advisors watch him they come up with the very first TV show: The Bachelor. We’ll have this big bachelor party and bring all these young women in, and whoever pleases the king will be the new queen. And that’s where we see the first of our two points.

Living In Compromise Causes You To Walk Between Two Worlds

That’s where we find Esther, Mordecai, and the Jews. They’re walking in compromise. They’re walking between two worlds – part of it Jewish and the other part the pagan culture of the Persians. It’s exactly where the Church and the majority of those who profess to be Christians are living today. It’s where we walk.

You say, “Now pastor, where do you get that?” Look with me at verses 5-6. See if you don’t hear a word repeat over and over and over again, “Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away.” Did you hear it? Did you see it?

The ESV translates it as “carried away.” It’s the Hebrew word galah, and it means “exile.” So, here’s a rough translation of verses 5-6 directly from the Hebrew text, “A certain Jew there was in Sushan the citadel and whose name was Mordecai son of Jair the son of Shimei the son of Kish a Benjamite had been exiled from Jerusalem with the exiles who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah whom had been exiled by Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon.” Exiled, exiled, exiled, exiled. Do you know what that says? That says, “You don’t belong here. You don’t belong here. You don’t belong here.”

Folks, when you’re reading the Bible and you come across a word that’s repeated again and again and again, especially in the same verse, the Holy Spirit is trying to say something. He’s trying to get us to hear a particular message. And the concept here is this is not your home, this is not your home, this is not your home. And yet, Mordecai and Esther are there along with the overwhelming majority of the Jews.

Fifty years earlier, Xerxes grandfather, Cyrus, released the Jews from Babylonian captivity when he defeated Nebuchadnezzar. And he released them to go back to Jerusalem, and even gave them the money to rebuild the temple, and just a handful of Jews went back with Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuild the temple and inhabit the holy city. The Jew was not supposed to be in Babylon or Susa or any other place besides Jerusalem. They were tied to the land. You can never get away from this one thing in the Old Testament. God has given His people (the Jews) a land – known as the Promised Land – the land of Israel. And the Jew is to be there. And yet, Mordecai and Esther are living in compromise.

But this compromise goes a step further. Look at verses 10 and 20, “Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. [E]sther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him.” In other words, she never told anybody that she was Jewish.

Now let me tell you something. When you say the word “American,” a lot of things come to mind. You think of democracy. You think of capitalism. You think of independence – not just our national independence, but individual independence. You think about a lot of things, but you almost never immediately associate America with an Evangelical. You don’t do that with Brits. You don’t automatically hear United Kingdom and think they’re all Anglican. Because they aren’t. When you think of Ireland, you might think Catholic, but they’re not all Catholic. When you think of the Russians you don’t think Russian orthodox. When you think of the Greeks you don’t think Greek orthodox. But when you say the word “Jew,” what do you think? Covenant people of God. That’s what differentiated them from everybody else. Out of everybody in the entire world, when you say “Jew” you think Child of Abraham. What does that mean? Chosen of God. And yet, Esther is going to hide her very identity.

Listen to me: that’s the struggle of the Christian today! “I’m just going to cover up. I don’t have to go out there and broadcast this. I don’t have to tell people I’m a Christ-follower. I’m going to cover up the fact that I’ve trusted in Jesus.” We see this in our teenagers in high school. We definitely see it on our college campuses. We experience it in the workplace. And we’re guilty of it in our retirement communities, too. “I may not be invited to the next party. I might get overlooked for the next golf grouping. I may not get into Kappa Alpha or Sigma Chi or Oozma Kappa or this thing or that thing.” And so, we walk this line, this tightrope, between revealing our identity in Jesus and hiding our faith. And Lord knows we don’t want people to know that we’re pro-life.

The Word of God is tough to take (sometimes) folks. I’m just showing you what’s between the lines. Let’s go to our final point, and that is:

Living Out Godly Character Enables You To Stand Out From The Crowd

Now, I’m going to be upfront with you. Some of the things I’m getting ready to highlight could be argued to be speculative, but I believe we will see Esther in heaven. We see nothing of God in this book, and yet I believe this young Jewish girl knew the LORD. That is, she knew Yahweh, she knew God. She would’ve known, as every Jew did, Deuteronomy 6:4 (the Shema), “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Those would’ve been the first words to come out of her mouth. Maybe not literally, but you know what I mean. She would’ve learned this prayer from her earliest days.

She would’ve heard of Abraham and Sarah. She would’ve heard how God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac on the altar. She would’ve known about Moses and Aaron and Miriam, and Passover, and the crossing of the Red Sea, and the wilderness wandering. She would’ve heard all of these things. And because of that knowledge, it impacts who she is on the inside.

Look at verse 9, “And the young woman (that’s Esther) pleased him (that’s Hegai) and won his favor.” Now, there’s nothing sexual in that. This guy is a eunuch. We’re introduced to Hegai in verse 3 and we’re told that he was in charge of all the women. Remember, we’re talking about a king who had a harem. That was Hegai’s job – to be in charge of all the women. Ladies, you’re lovely, but I can’t fathom having to be in charge of a harem 24/7. Talk about fighting over the bathroom and keeping track of all the outfits and cosmetics. It’s not hard to imagine that this guy is constantly operating on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

So, when it says that Esther pleased him, I imagine that she was one of those women that was naturally beautiful. She didn’t need a ton of makeup to look good. She was easy to work with. She didn’t need the most seductive outfits to turn heads. Perhaps, she was one of the few that understood modesty – when worn correctly – can actually increase sexuality and desirability. She made this guy’s job a delight, and I can imagine that he really looked forward to attending to her. In fact, that’s what the rest of verse 9 says, “And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king’s palace and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem.”

But it wasn’t just Hegai that Esther was nice to. It wasn’t just men that Esther exhibited grace to. Look at the end of verse 15, “Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.” She was kind and gracious and encouraging and winsome to everybody: men, women, boys, girls, old, young. Her character was proving to be an asset. And you’ve got to remember that she – like all the others – was taken. They were drafted. They were gathered under direction of a royal edict. These women wouldn’t be allowed to marry if they didn’t win this contest. No, they would’ve joined the king’s harem. On the surface this might seem like something you’d want to be a part of but, in reality, 99% of these ladies wouldn’t have the joy of having their own families or freedom. There was plenty of reason to be bitter and depressed and discouraged, and yet Esther never let that show. She was gracious in every situation. That’s one of the reasons we’re drawn to the book.

But it wasn’t just that she was gracious. She was also humble. Verses 12-14 describe the process whereby these girls would go in to spend the night with the king, and verse 13 says, “when the young woman went into the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace.” It wasn’t Victoria’s Secret. It was Vashti’s Secret. The women could ask for whatever they wanted. But notice what Esther does when it’s her turn. Verse 15 says, “When the turn came for Esther [to] go into the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised.” She didn’t make demands. She humbly took whatever Hegai advised.

Now, you might say, “That’s not humble, that’s just being smart.” Here’s a guy who’s in charge of the king’s harem – a guy that knew everything the king liked – who better to take advice from. Right? Well, that may be true, but remember, she’d been given special treatment (v. 9). Hegai had given her seven of the most chosen attendants in the palace and escorted her to the best place in the palace. She might have been tempted to let that kind of thing go to her head. “I’m special. I’m getting the total package. I’ve got the presidential suite. All the other girls have twin beds in the big room. I have seven maids; everybody else is on their own.” Yet that doesn’t seem to be what happened. She didn’t make demands. She was humble.

And what did that get her? Look at verse 17, “[T]he king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.” Listen, he was smitten. He was captivated by her. He was puttie in her hands. Guys, you remember that experience when you just fell head over heels for your wife? That intoxicating feeling of love – the king loved Esther more than all the women. And notice that she won grace and favor in his sight. His previous queen was banished. Vashti hadn’t won any grace or favor in Xerxes’ eyes. Something about Esther had a dramatic influence in him. So much so, that the game is over when she comes to stay with him. Think about how big that is. Herodotus estimates that there were as many as 400 women in this competition. We have no idea when Esther’s turn came. Was she at the beginning or was she at the end? We have no clue, but if she wasn’t last then that means that there were a lot of ladies that didn’t even get a shot. There’s something about Esther, beyond her physical beauty, and I believe it’s her godly character.

Now, I need to be fair here. Esther isn’t perfect. None of us are perfect. Esther is a sinner. From everything we’ve read in this chapter, I can say with some degree of certainty that she’s not following the dietary laws that were prescribed for Jews. She’s not following the law of Moses. She’s not following the Torah. I haven’t read anything in this entire book that indicates she observes the Sabbath. And beyond all of that, although we aren’t told explicitly in the text that she had premarital sex with Xerxes when she spent the night with him, that’s certainly what seems to be implied in this chapter. Here she is: compromised. Literally, living outside of God’s will (in sin) and the question is this: Can God/will God step into the midst of your compromise with His grace?

Let me close with this. Former Baptist pastor, seminary president and author, Gordon MacDonald tells the following story. There was an English pub and outside there was a raging storm, and the worse the storm got the more people came in for shelter and, of course, they got to drinking and eating. It was pretty wild that night. In the midst of all the melee of people moving around and laughing and gesturing, there was a waitress who came along with a tray, holding it high with mugs of ale and cups of coffee and tea. Someone in the crowd didn’t see her coming and jostled her rather dramatically and the tea and the coffee and the ale went flying.

It splashed all over a newly painted wall. In a nanosecond the wall was splotched with all of this liquid running down. The crowd got quiet to see how the owner would react. The humiliated waitress stood there wondering what would happen next. In the silence, all of a sudden, from the corner of the tavern, a man spoke out. He said, “If you’ll permit me, perhaps I can do something about that.” And he stepped forward and he opened a little case. People saw that in the case were a lot of artist’s brushes and paints. The man went to work on this wetly stained wall. He sketched with charcoal. He painted in a background. He used small brushes on details.

As the moments went by the crowd grew stiller and stiller, and quieter and quieter, and 45 minutes later, a wall of ugly mess, was a beautiful stag standing in a forest. It was absolutely magnificent. The crowd gasped together in the beauty of what they were seeing. Then the artist took a piece of charcoal and signed his name in the lower left-hand corner. Quickly he wrapped up the tools of his artistry and went out the door into the storm. When the people looked at the name, they realized they had been watching one of England’s greatest artists at work.

Let me tell you something. That’s nothing in comparison to how God, in His great grace, reaches down and dabs in the blood of His Son, Jesus, at Calvary and paints over the stain of sin in your life and mine.

“Father, in these moments, I pray that every one of us would walk out of here understanding and knowing, in a personal way, the grace that comes from God through Jesus Christ, for it’s in His name that we pray. Amen.”

The Battle of the Sexes – Esther 1:10-22

• January 16, 2022
• Pastor
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Esther 1:10-22

As always, let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Esther 1. We started a new sermon series last week, and most of the sermon was background information. It was more teaching than preaching, but, of course, whenever you begin a new study sometimes that’s required. We’ll be reading Esther 1:10-22.

He began playing tennis seriously at the age of 12. By the time he was 21, he was ranked no. 1 in the world and considered a rising star. In 1946, 1947, and 1949 he as the U.S. national professional singles championships. Many thought he was the best tennis player that ever lived, and many admired his grace and athleticism. But it was his derision and eventual humiliation that firmly fixed Bobby Rigg’s fame.

In 1973, within the milieu of the women’s liberation movement, Riggs proclaimed, “Any half-decent male player could defeat even the best female player.” In a media extravaganza, Bobby Riggs, age 55, came out of retirement to play against the top female of the day, Billie Jean King. The match was dubbed the “Battle of the Sexes,” and 30,472 fans crammed into the old Houston Astrodome while an estimated 50 million people watched on television.

It didn’t last long. In 3 straight sets, Billie Jean King defeated the boastful Riggs. Despite her victory, it didn’t settle much. In the opening chapter of Esther, an unplanned battle of the sexes occurred, also. Let’s see whether it settled anything:

10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him.

13 Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king’s procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, 14 the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face, and sat first in the kingdom): 15 “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?” 16 Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For the queen’s behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ 18 This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. 19 If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. 20 So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.” 21 This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. 22 He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people.

“Gracious God, we pray for Your help as we turn to this ancient book, as very 21st-century people, that You will help us to ask the question ‘What?’ concerning its content, ‘So what?’ concerning its implications, and ‘Now what?’ concerning our follow-through, so that we might increasingly become the people that we believe ourselves to be – at least want to be – and that Jesus might be everything in us and through us. For it’s in His name that we pray. Amen.”

It was 10 o’clock in the evening when the 1,200 guests began to arrive on March 10, 1883. They were coming to the home of William and Alva Vanderbilt, which was located at 660 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan – a residence known as the Petit Chateau. It was on the northwest corner of 5th Avenue and 52nd Street, across the street from William’s parent’s home known as the Triple Palace – a residence that occupied the entire block between 51st and 52nd Streets on the west side of 5th Avenue.

William and Alva had not been allowed to be part of New York City society. At that time, Caroline Astor was the head of NY City’s elite, a group known as “The 400.” And Caroline Astor didn’t think that wealth that had been earned, as had the Vanderbilt’s, was as prominent as wealth that had been inherited. In fact, she found railroad money distasteful. Well, Alva decided that she would beat Mrs. Astor at her own game, and so she threw a masquerade ball – whose chief impact was to raise the bar on social entertainment in NY to heights of extravagance and expense that had not been previously seen.

The night was unbelievable. They ate dinner at 2 o’clock in the morning. Little late, don’t you think. They even hired the chefs from the famous Delmonico restaurant. They feasted and danced the night away, and the party ended the next morning around 7 o’clock. The ball had an estimated cost of around $6 million dollars.

Now, you take that and round it up to the 10th power, and you have the party that King Ahasuerus threw. Instead of an 8–9-hour party, you stretch it out over 6 months. You’ve heard of the G7; this was the G127. King Ahasuerus had invited 127 rulers and nobles and generals from the vast Persian Empire, and the only law, the only rule, the only edict for this party was “there is no compulsion” (v. 8). Basically, it was drink as much as you want. Eat as much as you want. Party as much as you want. And in that environment, there was no mention of God, no thinking about God, no prophet came to the front (like Daniel), no priest stands up, no man of God offers a word or a message, and we see the first thing that happens when God isn’t a part of our lives.

Diminished Discernment

In the case of King Ahasuerus, it seems apparent that he went for the as-much-as-you-like program. It’s difficult to read the next verses without acknowledging the fact that his judgment seems impaired by the alcohol in his system. Because here, in a display of his pride and his bravado, he issues a command for the presence of his queen. And we’re told that the reason that he wanted to do this, in verse 11, was “in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at.” And so, it’s very important to understand this – this is not a nice husband saying, “We’re having a lovely time up here in the men’s grill, and we would love for you just to come down and meet the fellas before they all go home.” It’s not like that at all. No. This is Mr. Big. For Xerxes, bigger is better. Everything is an indication of his majesty and his might and his significance. And so, he says to his servants, “Go down and bring the queen up here. Make sure she has her crown.” What he’s planning on doing is a show-and-tell for his friends. But it’s not just any old show-and-tell.

Some commentaries suggest that there’s a distinct possibility that when it actually says that she should come “with her royal crown,” that that was all she was to come with. Listen to what Chuck Swindoll says. Nobody says it quite like Chuck Swindoll. He writes, “In the midst of an unsavory scene she was brave enough to say ‘No.’ Submission does not mean that a wife is a sexual pawn in the carnal desires of her husband. It was never God’s design that a wife submits to her husband’s evil desires. In King Ahasuerus’ case this took the form of desiring to display her before those who would have nothing in mind but lust. What he asked was not submission, but sexual slavery.” So, in other words, he was breaking the bounds of propriety in every way – whether that’s true or not, I don’t know. But there’s a picture of the depravity of man’s mind apart from God.

But this didn’t just happen in an instant. This wasn’t an accident. There’s a progression here, and I want us to see it. See if you think this is accurate. First of all, we’re told that his condition (v. 10) was that it was “on the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine.” That’s shorthand, obviously for “he was drunk.” He then issues his edict, sends for his wife, she refuses to come, and his reaction at the end of verse 12 is that he “became enraged, and his anger burned within him.” And if you’ve read all of Esther, then you know that this is something of a recurring pattern for this fellow. In Esther 7:7 – a different context mind you, but still the same guy – we read, “And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking.” See, there’s a correlation here between his intake and his output. His condition: the wine had gone to his head. His reaction: he lost his temper. He was enraged. It’s a bad combination: a big ego, an inordinate interest in alcohol, and a quick temper.

It’s an unfortunate reality – one that we can be forgiven of, of course – but many of us have learned the hard way just how, in a moment of foolish passion, you can alter your life forever? He was “merry with wine.” He was mad that his wife refused his request. He listened to some bad counsel, and he took some actions that would have devastating effects. Diminished discernment, and that leads to diminished dominance.

Diminished Dominance

This is a man who dominated the world. He rules the world’s armies. He’s going to attack Greece with somewhere between 500,000-1,000,000 men, and an entire navy. He’s dominated Egypt. Twice, he defeated Babylon. He’ll eventually defeat Leonidas at the Battle of Thermopylae, but not before losing almost 150,000 men to the 300 Spartans that held the pass. If you’ve seen the movie The 300, this is that battle. This guy is a man of power. This guy has dominated everybody but watch how his power diminishes. It begins in verse 15. King Ahasuerus turns to his advisors, turns to his wise men, turns to his counselors and asks, “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?”

Now, listen, there’s nothing wrong with seeking the advice and counsel of others. In fact, the Bible says that we should seek input from others. Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” And Proverbs 15:22 says, “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” So, there’s nothing wrong with seeking counsel. The question is: What are the qualifications of those that you deem to be your counselors? Seeking advice is fine, but what kind of advice are you getting? Is it godly, or is it secular? Is it wise and biblical, or is it feel-good and trendy? Look at the advice that’s given to him. It begins in verse 16 and continues through verse 19:

Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen’s behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.

That’s funny and sad, all at the same time. You know, there are a lot of things that the Bible doesn’t tell us. I wish the Bible told us how things went when Memucan got home.

[Wife] “Hey honey, how was the business conference at the king’s palace?”

[Memucan] “Oh, it was great. I got to help craft some new legislation for the empire.”

[Wife] “Really, that’s wonderful. What’s it about?”

[Memucan] “What’s what about?”

[Wife] “The legislation – what does it address?”

[Memucan] “Oh, marital relationships. But honey it won’t impact us ‘cause you’re so great.”

[Wife] “That’s great. Hey dear, could you come here and give me a hand. I have a load of laundry that needs to be folded.”

[Memucan] “Sure thing, honey, anything for you, dear.”

King Ahasuerus goes from dominating on the battlefield to being dominated on the home front. He takes the wrong advice and ends up deposing his very own wife – the queen. Now, listen, for those of you who find your pro-feminist juices rising let me just say: be careful. This book, in 21st-century Western culture, has become a pro-feminist tract. There’s no question here that we can say that Queen Vashti is a woman before her time. But if we were to think for a minute that the reason that this detail is in here is in order that we might advance that cause of women, then we’d go wrong.

No. Something is going to happen in the empire, and the Jews are going to be threatened with extermination, and God needs a person in a position of influence and authority to save His people. And out of the stupidity of men, who plot with fleshly minds, they just opened the door for Esther. Gemini Cricket, that’s good stuff. Don’t tell me God’s not behind the scenes always working, even in the midst of a pagan agenda.

You see, some of us are so stuck on the idea that God ought to be doing miraculous, supreme, engaging, transformative, manifest interventions. And we miss the fact that there is as much providence in the crawling of a spider up a wall as there is in the unfolding drama that is contained here in the book of Esther. Dora Greenwell was an English poet. One of her poems was set to music by William J. Kirkpatrick, and in 2006 a contemporary version of that song was sung by Aaron Shust. It contains the following phrase:

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned;
I only know at His right hand
Stands One who is my Savior.

Loved ones, that’s security. That’s biblical theology. That’s not some superficial, feel-good notion. That’s through the dangers, through the toils, through the snares, when I see through a glass darkly, when the waves overwhelm me, when I find myself set aside on the ventures of life, there’s a ton of stuff I don’t know, and I’m not skilled to understand it, and I’m not even supposed to understand it. But I understand this: that at God’s right hand I have a Savior. And if you don’t have that, then you need that. Because what’s our only hope in life and in death? That we’re not our own but belong body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

“O gracious God, we thank You for the Bible and for the opportunity to study it together, to read it on our own, and to ponder these things. There are many of us and our lives seem to mirror Esther 1 – no mention of God. We go to work, we go to school, we volunteer, we play golf and travel with our friends, we do all of the things that make up our day, but You’re not mentioned. Father, forgive us. Help us to realize that we constantly live in the presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Look upon us in Your mercy, we pray. And thank You that we can be confident that even when we are unable to understand many of the details – when we don’t understand Your hand, as it were – that we can trust Your heart. May the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be our portion, today and forever. Amen.”

When God Tells A Story – Esther 1:1-9

• January 9, 2022
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Esther 1:1-9

I want to invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to the Old Testament book of Esther. The easiest way to find Esther is to go to Psalms, then back up two (2) books. She’s the last of the historical books.

One of the delightful things about becoming a grandparent, so I’m told, is that you’re able to go back and read some of your favorite bedtime stories all over again. You thought that the day was long past when you could snuggle up to somebody and begin, “Once upon a time…” And there is something quite wonderful, isn’t there, about that little introductory phrase – opening up before us vistas, and discoveries, the unfolding drama that’s contained in whatever book we’re holding.

Well, here, as we come to Esther, we might begin by saying, “Once upon a time there was a beautiful Jewish girl who became the queen of Persia.” That’s actually the story. It’s a kind of Cinderella story – not quite rags to riches, but certainly a radical transformation in the life of this young Jewish girl. It’s a story that’s set against the backdrop of an attempt led by one man, an evil villain by the name of Haman, to try and exterminate the Jewish population from the Persian Empire. And this true story begins this way:

1 Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, 2 in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel, 3 in the third year of his reign he gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him, 4 while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days. 5 And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king’s palace. 6 There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. 7 Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. 8 And drinking was according to this edict: “There is no compulsion.” For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired. 9 Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus.

“Our God and our Father, we pray now for your help, as we typically do, because we need it – for me to able to speak clearly, for the church to be able to listen, and for us all that we might understand and obey your Word, and that we might live in the light of its truth. And so, beyond the voice of a mere man, may we hear from You, the living God, for it’s in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, that we pray. Amen.”

I don’t want to spend too much time, this morning, in the classroom, but if we don’t cover just a little bit of history, then we’ll be struggling to understand the place of Esther and what’s going on. So, let me take us back to World History 101.

Not counting the nation of Israel and the Jewish people, the Persian Empire was the fourth greatest empire to arise in the ancient world – Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. There were others, of course, but these were the main players. And the Persians ruled over Palestine for some two hundred years. So, we’re talking about the period of Jewish history after kings Saul, David and Solomon. You remember the Kingdom of Israel split into the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom. The Assyrians capture the north, and later the Babylonians capture the south. We read about all of this in 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles.

Well, Cyrus the Great comes along and the Persian Empire (a.k.a. Achaemenid Empire) rises in power, and they defeat the Babylonians. Cyrus has a daughter named Atossa. She would marry a guy by the name of Darius (a.k.a. Darius the Great) and they would have a son named Xerxes (a.k.a. Ahasuerus). Just so you know, when you bump into the books of Daniel or Ezra or Nehemiah, or the prophets Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi, then you’ll discover that they all relate to this particular period in time. Okay, enough history for one day.

Esther is one of only two books in the Bible that is named after a woman. The other one, of course, as you know, is Ruth. And in Ruth we’re given a glimpse of the domestic life of a village, if you like. We’re given a glimpse of life lived under God in the context of poverty, of eking out an existence. And here, in the book of Esther, we’re at the opposite end of the social spectrum. Here, we’re taken into the grandeur and extravagance of the royal palace of king Ahasuerus (a.k.a. Xerxes).

And if you are not already nudging the person next to you and saying this, it probably will come somewhere along the line, so I might as well address it. You, or your spouse, or neighbor, or the stranger sitting next to you is thinking, “What possible relevance is there in spending our time, as modern, educated 21st century folk, digging into the events that were taking place 2,500 years ago in Persia (what is modern-day Iran)?” And, of course, that’s a good question. That’s the question that any sensible person should be asking.

The Big Picture

And part of the answer is because it’s part of the bigger picture. You say, “Well, now, what’s that supposed to mean?” Part of the reason we’re studying Esther is because it’s part of the Bible – God’s living and inspired Word – and it’s in this bigger story that we see the full plan of God. Listen to how Paul explains a similar question to the Romans, “For whatever was written in former days (i.e. the days of Ahasuerus the king of Persia) was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

Stuart Townend and Mark Edwards wrote a worship song called There Is a Hope, and one of the sections of that song says, “There is a hope that stands the test of time, that lifts my eyes beyond the beckoning grave, to see the matchless beauty of a day divine when I behold His face!” There’s a hope. Where’s it found? Ultimately, in Jesus Christ, “For in Him,” says Peter, “[we’re] born again to a living hope [by] the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). So, when we read an ancient account like Esther, it’s absolutely vital that we’re aware of the fact that God is working everything out according to a unified plan of His own, beginning in eternity and moving to eternity.

So, we stand way back now from Esther – we’re not even touching Esther for the moment – and we say, “Now, we’re going to read this book that has to do with this evil villain called Haman, a little Jewish guy called Mordecai, beautiful girl called Esther, and an egotistical rascal called Ahasuerus. And before we delve into the details of this, what do we need to know?” Well, we need to know that God, the Author of the book and the One who has retained all the details for our consideration, has a unified plan in all of history, and His plan is ultimately to unite all things in and through the work of His Son, Jesus.

So, all of that to make this point: that the pictures and the promises and the symbols of the Old Testament are all to be understood as pointing to the fulfillment of God’s plan. For example, we’re going to discover that our evil villain Haman has a desire to kill all the Jews. Now, see, if he’s successful in that attempt, then there’s no Jesus, because Jesus was Jewish. So, what is happening in the book of Esther is that God is preserving His people, because it’s out of those people that His Messiah is going to come. Therefore, He’s going to make sure that in the details that appear on the canvas, He has His people in position. Because, as Jesus explained to the lady at the well, “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).

Part of the reason we’re studying Esther is because she’s just another small detail in an overarching story that culminates with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Big Question

Secondly, not only do we need to get the big picture, but we need to face the big question. What’s the big question? Well, if you haven’t read the book, you won’t know, but if you’ve started to read it, you might have an idea. And the question is this: Where’s God? Where’s God? The book of Esther isn’t simply one of two books written to women, but it’s also one of two books in which there’s no mention of the name of God. Little quiz; what’s the other book that doesn’t mention the name of God? (Song of Solomon.) The name of God never appears in the book of Esther. There are no titles for God. There are no personal pronouns that refer to God. There aren’t any names like Jehovah-Jireh, El Elyon, Adonai, Yahweh, nothing. Listen, nothing, absolutely, completely void of the name of God. And that’s why there’s been such a struggle through the centuries to incorporate the book of Esther into the cannon of Scripture.

Well, why would God not want His name to appear in the book? Well, maybe to teach us something. Teach us what? Well, to teach us at least this: that in the events of life when God is apparently absent, He’s not. Listen, we don’t have to add His name to everything to explain His presence. He’s omnipresent. You don’t have to say, “God did this, and God did that, and God told me the next thing.” One of the things this supposed dilemma makes clear is this: God isn’t just present in the lightning bolts – in the passage of the Red Sea; in the crossing of the Jordan; in the calming of the wind and the waves. He’s not only present there, but He’s present in the humdrum of life. In the everyday events of life, God is working out His purposes. So, although God’s name doesn’t appear all the time, He’s working.

You’ll find as you read through the story that He’s at work in the refusal of this Persian queen to her husband’s demands. He’s at work in the sleep patterns of the king. There’s an amazing bit in this story where the joker can’t sleep. And then what he reads! Of all the things he could have read, he reads this one thing. I mean, it’s a great story. You have to read this. Although His name doesn’t appear, God is overruling in the hatred of Haman. God hasn’t programmed Haman to hate. But that’s what Haman does – he hates Mordecai. He hates these Jewish people. That’s what he is: he’s a hateful person. Yet, God is present even though His name isn’t mentioned.

Charles Spurgeon has a lovely little section about the absence of God in a sermon that he preached titled Providence – As Seen In the Book of Esther. He says, “Although the name of God does not occur in the Book of Esther, the Lord Himself is there most conspicuously in every incident which it relates.” And then, using a metaphor, Spurgeon says, “I’ve seen portraits bearing the names of persons for whom they were intended, and they certainly needed them.” Some of you have family pictures from decades ago or perhaps over a century ago, and when you’re thumbing through the old photo album somebody says, “Who in the world is that?” And so, you have to decide, do you put Aunt Penelope’s name on it, because there’s no way anybody in the world would look at that and go, “Oh, that must be your Aunt Penelope.” So that’s what Spurgeon says. He says, “I’ve seen portraits, and the name at the bottom is really important, ’cause otherwise you wouldn’t have a clue who it was.” Then he says, “But we have all seen others which required no name, because they were such striking likenesses that the moment you looked upon them you knew them.” And God takes His name out of the book of Esther so that the moment that we look into Esther, again and again and again we say, “That’s God. That’s God. That’s God.” When God appears to be most absent in your life, trust me, He’s at work.

The Big Idea

We have the Big Picture, the Big Question, and finally, the Big Idea. What’s the big idea? Well, the big idea is the doctrine of providence – the biblical notion that God, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. The doctrine of divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. There are many verses that support this doctrine, but the most famous and loved is Romans 8:28, which says, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” And one of the most obvious Bible stories that illustrates this doctrine is the story of Joseph (in the Old Testament).

God never fails to meet His people’s needs. He knew that His people were facing starvation. He knew that He would need somebody in a position in Egypt to deal with the starvation problem, and He had the perfect man. But what a strange and convoluted way to get Joseph to such a position of power! His life, incidentally, was marked by him telling dreams in the morning, which ticked his brothers off. His life was marked by the fact that his father doted on him the way you might dote on a small black French bulldog. He gave him clothes that he never gave his brothers. His brothers hated him. They flung him in a pit. He was rescued from the pit and sold into slavery. He was on the receiving end of abuse and scorn. He ended up in jail. And through all of these things, he finally ends up saying, classically – at the end of Genesis 50 – when his brothers finally show up, he says, “Hey, guys, I know you’re upset about this. You intended all this stuff for evil, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20, paraphrased). What was God doing? He was fulfilling His plan, a unified plan for all of history.

And when we go through this book of Esther, we’re going to discover that God is placing his servants in the right spot for the right task at the right moment. We’re going to discover that he uses and arranges even the smallest events to achieve the greatest results. God’s providence is such that nothing escapes His notice, nothing happens without His permission. Even the worst things that will happen to us in our lives will turn out ultimately for our good. Do you believe that?

See, the real test of our doctrine of providence is not in the opening phrase of the song It Is Well: “When peace like a river attendeth my way.” That’s an easy one. It’s a nice day, feeling good, just got the blood test back, came back negative, none of my kids are in jail, my wife is still living with me. It’s a great day in the neighborhood. Me and Mr. Rogers, we’re perfectly contented. “When peace like a river attendeth my way.” Okay, let’s go to the other side: “When sorrows like sea billows roll.” That’s the test of providence. That’s where we’re either gonna take God at His Word and trust Him that He’s involved in the details – that nothing is out of control, nothing will get out of control – or we won’t.

Let me finish with this poem, and then we’ll sing a song. You know this poem, don’t you?

My life is but a weaving
Between my Lord and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper,
And I the underside.

Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.

The Big Picture: from Genesis to Revelation and every book in between, the focus is upon God’s redeeming and saving a people for Himself. The Big Question: although God’s name isn’t mentioned, there’s no doubt He’s the author of this story and He’s the author of yours and mine, too. The Big Idea: we only see the links in the chain, God sees the end from the beginning.

Father, some of us are in the midst of deep darkness and stuff that seeks to almost overwhelm us. We’re not riding down the lazy river on the Sunday afternoon, rather we feel like we’re taking on water at an unbelievable rate. And we pray that You will help us to hear Your Word, which says, “Cast your burdens upon the Lord, and He will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22) to run into the refuge that is available to us in the Lord Jesus Christ; to find ourselves wrapped up in the embrace of His goodness, so that even when life has plunged us in its deepest pit, we may discover the Savior there. So, to this end we commend one another to you. May the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God our Father, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be the abiding portion of all who believe, today and forevermore. Amen.

The Gift of Jesus – Romans 5:12-17

• January 2, 2022
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Romans 5:12-17

Well, Christmas has once again come and gone, and we’ve come to that time of the season when we begin to take decorations down and clean things up. And it’s also that time of the year when we generally stumble across that lost or forgotten Christmas present – the one we tucked a little too far behind the tree, or the one we left in the hallway closet where we stored the side table that we moved to make room for the tree, or the gift card that was hiding in plain sight among the other Christmas greeting cards. I always seem to overlook a gift – not on purpose mind you – but with all of the excitement of exchanging gifts and opening gifts, and the chaos of wrapping paper, and second helpings of dinner, and everything else, somebody’s gift accidentally goes missing. That’s what I want us to consider this morning, as we conclude this series on The Gifts of Christmas.

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Romans 5. For the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about the gifts that were brought to Jesus by the magi, the wise men. And we described who they were, where they came from, what their background was, and why they were important in the ancient world. And then we focused on a gift each week.

We focused on the gold that was given, and we saw that it was emblematic of Jesus coming to be the King of kings and Lord of lords. They actually said, “We have come to find the One who has been born the King of the Jews.” They were looking for a King and they brought a gift fit for a king; and that’s, gold. Then we considered frankincense and discovered that it was emblematic of the priesthood and the spiritual work of the priests in the tabernacle and the temple. And we saw how Jesus was our Great High Priest, and how the gift of frankincense foreshadowed and fulfilled that prophecy. And then last Sunday we looked at myrrh. We saw that it was used for perfuming, and beautification, and also as a pain killer, but it’s principal use was as an embalming agent. That, of course, was symbolic of what Jesus would do in His sacrificial death for us. So, we considered the gifts.

But today, I want to talk about THE gift (singular), not the gifts (plural) – the gift of salvation that comes through the person of Jesus Christ given to humanity by God. Hopefully, you’ve found your spot in Romans 5:12-17 (or you can always follow along on the screen).

One more brief comment before we read the sacred text of Scripture together. Normally, I read from and rely upon the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible in my preaching and teaching. It beautifully blends good, contemporary English with reverence and accuracy to the original text, and it’s the version that you hear me read each week – except today. Today, I’m going to be reading from the New Living Translation, because this is one of those rare texts of Scripture where even the ESV can be a little difficult to follow. So, follow along with me:

12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died – from the time of Adam to the time of Moses – even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

“Father, as we turn to the Bible, before we turn to Your table, we pray that You will meet with us. Grant that we might hear Your voice, that You will stir us by way of pure remembrance of what is true of the Christian, and that You will stir in the hearts of those who wonder and seek to lay hold of all Your great and precious promises made available to us in Your Son, the Lord, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.”

We can immediately see the difference between the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and the gift that the apostle Paul is talking about here. For starters, the gold, frankincense, and myrrh were gifts given by men to Christ. The gift that Paul writes about is a given by Christ to men. The second difference is that the gold, frankincense, and myrrh were given to Jesus when He was an infant, and they ultimately came to symbolize His future. But the gifts that Jesus offers to us – grace and mercy and forgiveness of sin through His sacrificial death – were given when He was grown and it’s not symbolic of our future, it’s central to it. And the final obvious difference is that gold, frankincense, and myrrh were monetary gifts. They were physical gifts, and thus their value is only on this earth. But the gift that comes through Jesus Christ is a spiritual gift that’s valuable in the court of heaven today as well as in all eternity.

So, these gifts were costly. They were expensive. But they didn’t cost the wise men everything. The Gift that Paul writes about, however, cost Jesus everything. He left heaven and came to earth. He humbled Himself. He poured Himself out, the Bible says. I want us to see these contrasts because they’re important, and also because that’s exactly what Paul does in this passage. He simply draws the contrast between Adam and Jesus.

Adam sinned. Jesus saved. When Adam sinned, death entered the world. That’s what verse 12 says. The proof that sin entered the world was death. And because of Adam’s sin, many died. Yet, Jesus came to put an end to death. And because of Jesus’ death, many can live. What Adam did brought bondage; what Jesus did brought freedom. Adam disobeyed God (his Creator); Jesus obeyed God (His Father). Adam sinned, and because of that everyone was declared unrighteous; Jesus died and paid the price, gave the gift, gave His life, and thus people can be declared righteous once again. Lots of contrasts. Huge differences between Adam and Jesus. And I just want to highlight three things about the gift that Jesus offers that we should know. It means something.

The Gift Means We Are Loved

Typically, when we give someone a gift, we give it to them in order to express our love and appreciation for them. And here’s why we do that – because true love isn’t passive, it’s active. People like to demonstrate their love, because that what love likes to do. It’s an active thing. It’s an active emotion. In the words of British poet and churchman, William Dunkerley:

Love ever gives.
Forgives, outlives,
And ever stands
With open hands.
And while it lives,
It gives,
For this is love’s prerogative
To give, and give, and give.

If you’re ever tempted to doubt God’s love, then consider the Gift: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). It doesn’t say, “For God was so angry at the world that He sent His Son to knock them all out.” No. “For God so loved the world,” because that’s His essence. That’s the very core of His nature. The Bible says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). And though that’s very easy on the ears, it’s hard for our minds to actually grasp.

In fact, it was so immense, it was so huge, it was so monumental that the apostle John said, “Behold, what manner of love is this…” In other words, “We’ve never known a love like this.” It’s so different. Human love is object-oriented; God’s love is subject-oriented. When we see something that we like, we place value on it. We say, “I really like that. I want that. I want to drive that.” Or a young man sees a young girl and says, “Ooh, I like what I see.” That’s what object-oriented love looks like and sounds like. I’m loving this person because I deem them as valuable based on their personality or looks or whatever. That’s human love.

God’s love is different. It’s not object-oriented. It’s subject-oriented. It’s based on His character. God loves you and me just because… That’s His nature. And He loves you and me very deeply. It’s not a superficial love. It’s a personal, intense, selfless love. So, the gift means we’re loved.

The Gift Means We Can Be Forgiven

Notice that I didn’t say the gift means we’re automatically forgiven, but there’s the possibility of forgiveness. That’s what Paul writes here. He says in verse 15, “For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.”

Before Adam sinned in the perfect environment of the garden, God basically said, “Have at it. Have a good time. Do anything you want. Go anywhere you want. But don’t touch the tree in the middle of the garden. Just don’t touch that, because in the day that you eat of it you will (anybody?) surely die.” And that’s the rub. That’s the rub of so many things that overpromise and underdeliver. Sin always overpromises: “Do this and it’ll satisfy you.”

That’s how addictions start. “I’ll do that and then I’ll be satisfied.” The rub is it doesn’t completely satisfy. You need more. But the more you do it, the more unsatisfied you become. It doesn’t really fill you up. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” When Adam and Eve took of that fruit in that garden, they immediately began to die. They started to die physically, but they were also spiritually separated from God. That’s what death is; it’s separation. We need to know this because we live in a world where it’s pretty easy to look around and say, “It’s bad out there.”

Why is that? I mean, after thousands of years, why is the world still the way it is? Who’s to blame? We still have wars. We still have anger. We still have people doing mean, horrible things. After all of this time, and all the education, and all of the other advancements we’ve made in science and technology and industry and medicine, and on and on. You’d think we’d get beyond the truth of “The wages of sin is death.” But no. Who do we blame? Some me say, “It’s the fault of the liberal media,” or, “It’s the fault of the Republican Party,” or “It’s the fault of the Democrats,” or, “It’s a white issue or a black issue.” No, no. It’s a sin issue. It’s not a skin issue. It’s a sin issue. That’s what’s wrong with the world. It’s deep within all of us. But the news of the Gift is that we can be forgiven.

As many of you know, I really enjoy fishing (freshwater mostly, but a good saltwater charter every now and then ain’t too bad either). One of the reasons I like freshwater fishing so much is the natural beauty and stillness. You’ve heard people say that ponds or lakes can sometimes look like a sheet of glass. Well, it’s true. Sometimes you can get out on the water, just before sunrise, and it’s so calm (no wind, no recreational boaters). It’s so clear, so perfect, so pristine that it looks like there’s two skies – one on top of the other. What could mess that up? A largemouth bass jumping out of the water as it hits a school of baitfish. And in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye that calm mirror lake is all ripples, and the image is marred.

That’s what happened when Adam sinned. He destroyed the reflection of God, the image of God. Then, Jesus comes along sometime later, and essentially says, “I’ll fix what’s been messed up. I’ll put the image of God back. I’ll make a person right-side up after they’ve been put upside down.”

So, Adam messed up the image and Jesus restored it. Ruined by one man’s misdeed, rescued by one Man’s merit. This whole section here is about death. Adam did this, and then death happened, and death, and death, and death. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). So, the Gift means we’re loved. And the Gift means we can be forgiven.

The Gift Has To Be Received

There are many people that know the gospel. They’ve been to church, and they’ve heard this all their lives. “Yeah, yeah, I know, God came out of heaven to this earth, was born in a manger, grew up, died on a cross, rose from the dead. So, it means God loves you. Yeah, I got that. It means you can be forgiven. Good. Yeah, I’ve heard that before. It means you can live forever. Good to know.” But it means you have to receive it or none of that is true for you. Gifts have to be received in order for them to be gifts, right? Imagine that you find that misplaced or forgotten gift with a name tag on it and give it to the person it was intended for, and they say, “Cool. That’s my name and that’s my gift. H’mm. Wow. Cool. Good.”

What good is that? Don’t you have to open the gift? Don’t you have to use the gift? Don’t you have to try the gift on and maybe exchange it for a larger size or a smaller size, depending? But you have to use it. You have to open it. You have to receive it, or it’s really of no value. And so, it is with this gift. The gift has to be received. In the gospel of John, we read this “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:11-12).

The Greek word that’s used there is the word lambanó. It means “to lay hold by aggressively and actively accepting what is offered.” It’s the same word that’s used in Romans 5:17, “For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.”

This Christmas, you might not have received everything you wanted, but today you can receive what’s offered. And that’s love, and forgiveness, and life eternal. But in order to get all of those things you have to take the gift. You have to receive the gift. Otherwise, all of this is just mere words on a page, just me (a mere mortal) stringing sentences together and giving a speech. But if you receive what I’m saying, if you take what the apostle Paul is teaching, if you lay hold of what God through Christ has offered, well then, you’ll receive salvation. Romans 5:17 defines salvation as “triumph over sin and death.” In short, it’ll be the best Christmas gift you’ve ever had.

There are others of you here today and you’re thinking, “Well, Pastor, I’ve already accepted Jesus’ gift of salvation what’s in this for me?” If that’s you, perhaps the message for you is that you can get tired of THE gift. You received it with excitement and treasure it in the moment, but after a while it got replaced, it got moved to another room, it wound up on the closet shelf or in the corner of the garage collecting dust. For those of us that have already received the gift of God’s amazing grace and forgiveness and mercy and love through Jesus, perhaps we just need to be reminded of the beauty of the gift and the glorious nature of the One who gave us the Gift in the first place. And that’s why we come to His table.

“Father, what a wonderful season this is. We’ve just celebrated Christmas with all of the exchanging and receiving of gifts, and we’ve also just celebrated the gift of a New Year. God, if there’s anyone here this morning that hasn’t received Your free gift of salvation in Jesus, then I pray that the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let them go until that’s been settled. Lord, for the rest of us, we take these closing moments of today’s worship and remember the significance, and celebrate the beauty, and praise the glory that is Your gift of salvation to us through Jesus Christ, as we gather around His table. For we offer this prayer in His most holy name, amen.”

The Gift of Myrrh – Matthew 2:1-12

• December 26, 2021
• Pastor
• 0 Comments

Matthew 2:1-12

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and, once again, turn with me to Matthew 2. If you were with us on Christmas Eve, then you heard me read the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Well, this morning, I want to share with you it’s lesser-known twin brother; the poem ‘Twas the Day After Christmas.

Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house,
Every creature was hurting – even the mouse.
The toys were all broken, their batteries all dead.
Santa passed out, with some ice on his head.

Wrapping and ribbons just covered the floor,
While upstairs the family continued to snore.
And I in my T-shirt, new Reeboks and jeans,
Went into the kitchen and started to clean.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the sink to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the curtains and threw up the sash.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a little white truck, with an oversized mirror.
The driver was smiling, so lively and grand.
The patch on his jacket said “U.S. POSTMAN.”

With a handful of bills, he grinned like a fox.
Then quickly he stuffed them into our mailbox.
Bill after bill, after bill, they still came.
Whistling and shouting he called them by name:

“Now Dillard’s, now Belk’s, now Penney’s and Sears,
Here’s Cabela’s and Target’s and the big one from De Beers!
To the tip or your limit, every store, every mall,
Now chargeaway, chargeaway, chargeaway all!”

He whooped and he whistled as he finished his work.
He filled up the box, and then turned with a jerk.
He sprang to his truck, and he drove down the road,
Driving much faster with just half a load.

Then I heard him exclaim with great holiday cheer,
“Enjoy what you got; you’ll be paying all year!”

Well, you might be feeling like that about now. We’ve been in Matthew 2:1-12 for several weeks and we’re considering each of the gifts that the wise men brought Jesus. It’s been good to spend a little extra time and meditate on a familiar passage.

We’ve learned, for example, that there weren’t three of them. There were three gifts presented, but there was probably a larger entourage of these magi. The second thing we made note of is that they were not kings, they were kingmakers. They were a hereditary priesthood tribe, and they were in charge of acknowledging who kings would become, and they advised kings. And then the other thing that we noted is that they didn’t show up the day or the night that Jesus was born, but that they came sometime later, as far as up to two years after his birth. He was a “young child” at the time, and he was now in a house and not some structure used for housing animals.

But we also noted that the gifts weren’t just costly, expensive items. They were emblematic of roles that Jesus would play. The gold was to acknowledge that he was the King. That’s exactly what the wise men said they were looking for: “Where is He who has been born the King of the Jews?” They also gave Him frankincense. And as we noted last week, that was the substance that was used by the priesthood in the temple in Jerusalem. And the New Testament book of Hebrews confirms that Jesus has become our Great Hight Priest.

Today, we’re going to consider the third gift – the gift of myrrh. Of all three gifts, the most curious of all and perhaps even insulting was this third gift of myrrh. And, yet it’s the most inspiring, because it shows us the depth of God’s love. So, let’s read these verses one more time.

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found Him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

“Speak, Lord, in the stillness while we wait on Thee, and hush our hearts to hear in expectancy; to hear Your voice, not so that we might have information to ponder but that we might have a life-changing encounter with You – the Living God – through Your Word by the power of the Holy Spirit, for we offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, the Babe of Bethlehem. Amen.”

The Significance of Myrrh in Ancient History

The use of myrrh goes all the way back to the second millennia B.C. One source I read said as far back as the sixth millennium B.C. That’s the Neolithic Period. So, it’s an ancient item and it was used way before Jesus. What is it exactly? Well, myrrh, like frankincense is a resin that comes from a tree or a plant. It was an aromatic resin that came from a reddish sap from a low-lying, low-growing, thorny tree of the genus Commiphora. You would wound the tree by making small incisions that would cause the sap to come out. The sap would harden into a resin and that resin was called myrrh.

It appears 17 times in the Bible; 14 of those are in the Old Testament; 3 of them are in the New Testament. The Hebrew word is mor. (Remember that because it will be a strong connecting point in a moment.) But the word that’s used in the text that we just read is a Greek word. And some of you might recognize it. It’s the word smurna. There was a city called Smyrna. And if you’ve read Revelation 2, it was the second of the seven churches that Jesus wrote little postcards to: “To the angel of the church of Smyrna.” Smyrna was 30 miles north of Ephesus in Asia Minor. It’s the modern-day city of Izmir, Turkey. Most of you will probably recall the name Aristotle Onassis – the guy who married Jacqueline Kennedy – that’s where he was from (Izmir/Smyrna). It was because of myrrh that the city Smyrna got its name.

It was used several different ways in ancient times. First of all, it was used as a beauty treatment. When queen Esther, before she even became queen, was brought in before the king (Esther 2:12) we read this: “Now when the turn came for each young woman to go into King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women.” So, it was like the ultimate spa experience, and it lasted a year. How’s that for a treatment: six months with myrrh? So, it was a beauty product.

Second, it was a perfume. Psalm 45:8 notes that the king’s garments are, “scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia.” Some of you remember Proverbs 7 where the seductress says to the young man, “I have perfumed my bed with myrrh and aloes and cinnamon.” And then I love the Song of Solomon where Solomon (the groom) says to his fiancée as she rides in toward him, “Who is this coming out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh…” So, it was a beautifying treatment, a spa treatment. It was used as a perfume.

Third: it was an analgesic. It was a painkiller. It took away the pain. By the way, it’s still recommended in certain parts of the world for toothaches and for sprains and minor aches and pains. It was used in the Bible that way, too. In Mark 15 we’re told, “They gave [Jesus] wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.” When Jesus was on the cross and he was dying the most excruciating death of crucifixion, the Romans offered Him wine and myrrh to deaden the pain, but Jesus refused it in order to experience the fullness of our sin.

A fourth use is as an antiseptic. Again, in many parts of the world it’s used in mouthwashes, in toothpaste, and they say it even prevents gum disease.

But it’s the fifth usage that’s important and relevant to our text. It was used as an embalming fluid. It was used to treat the dead. And I’ve quoted the Greek historian Herodotus a lot, because I draw a lot of this stuff from him. He says that it was used mostly by the Egyptians for embalming the inside of the body cavity before it was entombed. But not only them; the Jews also used myrrh to treat the outside of the body. In the case of Jesus, after He died, at His burial in John 19:39 we read, “Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds in weight.” Now, the reason they used it was obvious. Dead bodies begin to stink and to mitigate against the stench of that tomb experience, myrrh and aloes were used to encase the body. Here’s what’s interesting: the same substance that was associated with Jesus’ birth is also associated with Jesus’ death.

Now why this is fascinating is because I discovered that the ancient rabbis associated myrrh with sacrificial death, and especially Abraham giving his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. And here’s why they make that association: the Hebrew word for “myrrh” is the world mor, which is the root word for Moriah, the place where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac. The name of the mountain is Mount Moriah, but it would also be accurate to call it the “mountain of myrrh.”

Now, this really got my attention, because in that same area (Mount Moriah) is where Jesus would be sacrificed by His Father for the sins of the world, years later. No wonder, then, that ancient Christian scholars regard this gift of myrrh, to Jesus, as prophetic of His death.

Have you ever been given a gift that bombs at Christmas? My parents would give, like, underwear. They’d wrap it up. I go, “What? Underwear. Seriously?” It’s like you open it up, “Ahh!” But that’s what the angel said to Joseph, “You will call His name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sin” (Matthew 1:21). And how would He save the people from their sin? By going to the place where myrrh was used most – the place of death.

Now, before we move on, I want to make a very important qualification here. You need to hear this. You need to know this. No one is saved by Jesus’ life or His words. We’re only saved by His death. Salvation only comes as you recognize that Jesus took your place on a cross and died for you. You say, “Well, you know, I’ve always liked the red letters of Jesus. I like to meditate on the red letters. I feel so good whenever I do.” Or, “I’ve always seen Jesus as a wonderful example of a human being. And I aspire to live by that example.” Good luck with that. Salvation only comes through Jesus’ death.

The Symbolism of Myrrh in Jesus’ Ministry

You see, we all know the Christmas story. We’re familiar with it. We know about the manger. Know about the shepherds. We know about the singing angels, the wise men. But do you know the rest of story? The rest of the story is that this Child was the only person who was ever born with the distinct purpose of death. Sure, we all die. That’s part of the curse of the Fall and sin’s entrance into the world. But God didn’t allow us to be born for the sole purpose and intent of being killed. But He did with Jesus. That’s the part that most of us overlook at Christmas. Here we are looking over the manager while we overlook the cross. That was the goal of the manager. Unless you see the shadow of the cross falling on the crib, you don’t see the crib clearly at all. The purpose for the crib was the cross.

When Jesus died on the cross that wasn’t plan B. It wasn’t a divine “oops.” God never goes, “Oh, this wasn’t supposed to happen.” No. It was always supposed to happen. God planned it that way from the beginning. Jesus is called (Revelation 13) “the Lamb slain from the foundations of the earth.” It was always the divine plan that Jesus would be born and die for the sins of mankind.

I want to show you a painting by William Holman Hunt called The Shadow of Death. (Here it is.) It took him 3 years to paint, and the symbolism is simply remarkable. Notice the sawhorse where Jesus has just finished cutting wood resembles a manger. Then there’s the wood spar on the wall behind Jesus and hanging on the spar are hammers and chisels – tools He would be associated with in carpentry, but also tools associated with His crucifixion. Finally, notice Mary. She’s down on her knees and she’s opening a chest that appears to contain the gifts of the wise men. As she’s opening the chest, she looks up at the shadow that’s created by the afternoon son. In the moment, Jesus is simply taking a break from His work as a carpenter and He’s stretching, but the shadow looks as if He’s on the cross. William Holman Hunt understood that the cross cast a long shadow throughout history. He understood that Jesus was born with the singular goal of going to the cross of Calvary.

Max Lucado, in his terrific book, God Came Near, imagines that Mary understood this too. And the night Jesus was born, Max imagines that Mary offers a prayer. In the book it’s called “Mary’s Prayer.” He writes as if Mary is praying: “Rest well, tiny hands. For though you belong to a King, you will touch no satin. You will own no gold. You will grab no pen. You will guide no brush. No; your hands are reserved for works more precious: to touch a leper’s open wound, to wipe a widow’s weary tear, to claw the ground of Gethsemane. Your hands, so tiny, so tender, so white – clutched tonight in an infant’s fist. They are destined, not to hold a scepter nor wave from a palace balcony, they are reserved instead of for a Roman spike that will staple them to a Roman cross.”

At this point you might be asking, “What kind of a father would give his son to be killed?” Only a Father who loves you enough to redeem you with the only way possible – His Son’s death. So, we’ve seen the significance of myrrh in ancient history. We’ve noted the symbolism in Jesus’ ministry.

The Signal to Us Personally

Now, I want to draw your attention to the response of the magi. Just sort of coming full circle. Verse 10, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.”

Now, whenever the Bible says that you just have to imagine that it’s not like they cracked a smile. It’s not like, “Heh, that’s great.” That’s not exceedingly great joy. It’s more like your kids or grandkids opening gifts on Christmas – jumping up and down, hooting it up. That would be exceedingly great joy. They saw the star and they rejoiced. Then verse 11, “When they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Here’s what I want you to see: these wise men saw two things that caused them to do two things. They saw the star and they saw the Child, and they did two things: they rejoiced, and they worshipped.

They found what they were looking for and it produced joy. How much joy is in your life, today? You know, we sing about joy this time of the year: Joy to the World! We sang these words this morning: “O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant.” Are those just hollow words for you, or is there a genuine sense of joy in your life? They found what they were looking for and they rejoiced.

And they worshiped. They fell down. These wise men “worshiped.” The Greek word I mentioned a couple weeks ago, proskuneó, is a very strong word and it’s almost always reserved for worshiping God. These magi fell down, they bowed low, and they worshiped. These kingmakers, these influential, dignified, politically connected men are bowing down to a baby. Why? Because they knew their place.

You see, you don’t brag about your crayon sketches when you’re standing next to Picasso. And you may be a kingmaker, but when you’re standing in front of the King of kings, you bow. They knew their place. They bowed down and they worshiped. So, I draw your attention to this: What should our response to Christmas be? And second: What gift should we give to Jesus, if anything? First of all: What should our response be? (Rejoicing.) I know that this time of year is hard for some of you, but you can make a decision that rejoicing will be part of the menu. Second: What do we give Jesus? (Worship.) Some commentators call this the fourth gift of the magi: gold, frankincense, myrrh, and worship. You can worship Him.

I want to close this little series with another little story from the pen of Max Lucado, this time from his devotional It Began in a Manger. He writes:

“It’s Christmas night. The house is quiet. Even the crackle has gone from the fireplace. Warm coals issue a lighthouse glow in the darkened den. Stockings hang empty on the mantle. The tree stands naked in the corner. Christmas cards, tinsel, memories remind Christmas night of Christmas day.”

“It’s Christmas night. What a day it’s been! Spiced tea. Cranberry sauce. ‘Thank you, so much. You shouldn’t have!’ Grandma is on the phone. Knee-deep wrapping paper. ‘It fits perfectly.’ Flashing cameras.”

“It’s Christmas night. The midnight hour has chimed, and I should be asleep, but I’m awake. I’m kept awake by one stunning thought. The world was different this week. It was temporarily transformed. The magical dust of Christmas glittered on the cheeks of humanity ever so briefly, reminding us of what is worth having and what we were intended to be.”

“It’s Christmas night. In a few hours the cleanup will begin – lights will come down; trees will be thrown out. Size 36 will be exchanged for size 40, and eggnog will be on sale for half price. Soon, life will be normal again. December’s generosity will become January’s payments, and the magic will begin to fade.”

“But for the moment, the magic is still in the air. Maybe that’s why I’m still awake. I want to savor the spirit just a bit more. I want to pray that those who beheld Him today will look for Him next August. And I can’t help but linger on one fanciful thought: If He can do so much with such timid prayers lamely offered in December, how much more could He do if we thought of Him every day?”

And so, we savor these gifts of Christmas: the gold (He’s King of kings); the frankincense (He’s our Great High Priest); and the myrrh (Behold! Our sacrificial Lamb). We savor that. We linger on that. Oh, there is one final thought. Myrrh gave off its best scent when it was crushed. Does that ring a bell this Christmas? Isaiah 53:5, “But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.”

“Father, to some it might seem strange that we considered death on the day after Christmas, but it’s fitting to know that Jesus came for a purpose and that purpose was the atonement, that purpose was to be a sacrifice, to bear the weight of sin and shame. All of us have sinned, and all of us have come short of Your glory, but we celebrate that a sacrifice, a Lamb, has come who would take away the sin of the world. And we rejoice, Lord, in humility, bowing down, thanking You, worshiping You this Christmas, in Jesus’ name, amen.”