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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.”