Sermon preached September 1, 2024
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai, "Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.
Esther 4:16
With the story of Esther, you have the makings of an excellent modern-day novel. You have King Xerxes, the rich and powerful man who doesn’t always surround himself with the best advisors. Then there is Esther, the poor and beautiful young woman who is dropped into the king’s world. She must navigate a life with servants, beauty treatments, and new rules concerning her behavior.
Mordecai, a father figure in her life, continues to stay in touch and directs Esther’s life. He is a “palace official” and sits outside the gate. He is faithful to his adopted daughter, and Esther follows his instructions. However, they both keep their nationality quiet.
Then you have the bad guy, Haman, the self-centered opportunist who would overthrow the king if he had the power. It angers him that though everyone else bows down to him, one man, Mordecai, won’t. So, he plots to eliminate Mordecai and his people.
As often happens in real life and novels, the bad guy manages to do himself in with his singular quest to improve his position in life. And the good guy succeeds, which I see as the providence of God.
The Biblical Story
God and prayer are not mentioned in the Book of Esther, but God’s providence is evidenced in the book.
Providence is how God directs all things, both animate and inanimate, seen and unseen, good and evil, toward a worthy purpose, which means his will must finally prevail.
We see that God has placed Esther on the throne as Queen ahead of Haman’s decree to eliminate the Jews. I believe it is also providence that the king couldn’t sleep and just happened to read of Mordecai’s rescue.
The thing is, God had called the Jews to return to Jerusalem. Esther and Mordecai were out of God’s will when these events occurred. And yet, God “cause[d] everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”Romans 8:28
Throughout history, God has often worked behind the scenes to accomplish his will. Though not mentioned by name, the author shows that God is present in this story. I agree with John MacArthur, who writes, “God’s fingerprints are all over Esther’s story. His superficial absence points to a deeper presence. God chose to be subtle, but he was there.” (MacArthur’s Quick Reference Guide, 79)
Who is Esther? Why is she in Persia?
In 586 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon captured Jerusalem and brought captives to Babylonia. Esther and Mordecai’s relatives would have been among the captives.
Then, in 539 B.C., Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon without a battle and began ruling all of Babylon's conquered territories, including Jerusalem. In that same year, Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem. However, most of the Jews did not return.
Esther and Mordecai were two of the Jews who didn’t return to Jerusalem even though God directed them to go back and reestablish themselves as God’s covenant people.
Esther’s parents had died, and she was adopted by her cousin, Mordecai. They lived in Susa, Persia’s capital. King Xerxes chose her from all of the beautiful women in Persia. He didn’t know she was Jewish because she went by her Persian name.
The story so far…
The Book of Esther was written around 478 B.C., during the Persian Empire's expansion from India to Ethiopia. It opens with the story of King Xerxes's seven-day banquet. On the seventh day, Xerxes was drunk and called for Queen Vashti to come so he could show her off to the men gathered there. She refused to go and was subsequently removed from the throne.
This opened up the opportunity for Esther to be chosen as Queen. After twelve months of beauty treatments, Esther went to the King and was selected as his new Queen.
Sometime later, King Xerxes made Haman the prime minister. Haman was self-centered and expected everyone to bow down to him, but Mordecai refused. This infuriated Haman. He didn’t know what race Mordecai was, but he wanted that whole race eliminated.
After this decree was issued, Mordecai went to Esther to seek help for their people. At first, Esther didn’t want to get involved, but Mordecai convinced her she would also be killed.
For such a time as this
Even though God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, Mordecai still seems to think that people were put on earth for a greater purpose, suggesting that perhaps there was a reason she was made queen.
While God is not explicitly mentioned, Mordecai believes the Jewish people are still in God’s covenant. Otherwise, I don’t think he would have said, “If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place…” 4:14
That tells me he does not think that God will allow the Jews to be eradicated. The Jews in exile lost a lot of the traditions they had practiced in Jerusalem, but that doesn’t mean they lost their faith in God.
Mordecai certainly shows here that he believes there are more extraordinary powers in action. When Esther called all Jews to fast, she invoked a practice her people had undertaken for generations. Fasting gave her the wisdom and courage to go to the king, even though it meant she might die.
Lessons learned in Esther
Though it is only ten chapters long, the Book of Esther contains many lessons that can be applied currently. It is filled with personality types that are still evident in the world today.
Esther was content with her life. As queen, she lived in luxury. As often happens, her world inside the palace blinded her to what was happening outside the gates. When she became aware of Mordecai wearing mourning clothes, her solution was to give him new clothes.
It wasn’t until he refused the clothes that she finally asked why he was so upset. But even then, she wasn’t willing to risk her life. It wasn’t until Mordecai pointed out that her life was at risk that she took seriously what he was saying.
We are all a bit like that; it isn’t until something affects us that we become willing to do something about it. But once she decided she needed to act, she proceeded wisely. It doesn’t say that she sought God’s counsel, but the act of fasting has been used for generations to seek the will of God.
Knowing that fasting for herself and others would give her strength, she promised Mordecai that she would go to see the king even if it meant she would die.
If I must die, I must die.
I titled my sermon “If I must die, I must die” because this is the ultimate sacrifice someone could make for others. It is the reason I admire Esther so much. I’m unsure what I would sacrifice for people I don’t know.
But to me, this is the essence of the Christian life. Christ died for each of us “while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8. He didn’t make us prove we were good enough to die for; he died to lift us from our sinful lifestyles.
We will probably never be in Esther's position, where the sacrifice we choose to make involves a risk of death. But God still calls us to sacrifice ourselves for the kingdom.
Jesus told us in the gospel of John, “Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.” John 12:25-26
When Paul became a Christian, he lived as Jesus described here. He gave up his position as a revered Pharisee, left his homeland, and traveled the world to tell people about Christ. He, like Esther, risked his life often. And he told the Philippians he did this because “...to me, living means living for Christ and dying is even better.” Phil. 1:22
He could live this way because his life focused on heaven. I believe Esther reached this point as well. She was willing to risk her life because he eyes were no longer on the luxury around her but on heaven.
Considering that those things around us are temporary, but heaven is eternal, it should convince us to live sacrificial lives.
Conclusion
The story of Esther demonstrates God's providence, which continues in our lives today. God ultimately controls what happens, and his purposes are always good.
This knowledge is why I can be content if God doesn’t answer my prayer in an evident and miraculous way. I know my life is in his hands; I know he is good, and I can trust him. And that gives me the freedom from worry and the confidence to live my life for him.
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