Purim the Story of Esther Queen of Persia

Providential Protection

Book of Esther Chapters 8-9

We as Christians know that God is involved in our world.

God is not a "watchmaker" (Creator) who just wound this world up as a watch and just allowing it to run down.

God is involved in our world daily.

God is looking after His people daily, the Jews and the Church.

God will keep His plan moving along just as He has since His first written words in the Book of the beginnings, the Book of Genesis.

No one can change the Word of to their benefit nor can the plan of God be changed or altered in any way.

God will keep every promise He has made to the Jews.

God will keep every promise He has made to the Church.

God will keep His covenant of "wrath" with every non-believer, these are facts in the Word of God which does not change!

God would never allow the Jews, the Hebrew people, to be wiped out of this world!

*****Est 8:3 And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.

As we have seen in this passage, this King of Persia was weak in his ruling ability and evil Haman had put things in place that this king did not know how to stop.

A written law of Persia that was stamped by the king could not be changed.

Est 7:4 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.

This king gave his power to rule for the moment over to Queen Esther.

*****Est 8:4 Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king,

Est 8:5 And said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king's provinces:

If we do not know by now, we live in a cruel world!

In many cases it is because politics have entered into people's lives and politicians never have the right answers for the good of all people, as we see daily here in America, and I am not talking about our President.

Haman may have vanished off the scene, but some of his evil was still in force.

Haman was an Agagite a descendant of the Amelikite who were the people that King Saul was to eliminate because they were so evil, but he did not because of covetousness.

The Amelikite hated the nation of Israel, and right now the law was on their side to destroy all the Jews in Persia and it would not have stopped there.

Things such as this seem to make their way into other nations, who think they are doing some kind of good.

Queen Esther was given the estate of Haman who we have already seen was very, very rich.

Queen Esther made Mordecai the overseer of this estate.

We should always remember those who have helped us through the years.

Queen Esther would have been a child of the state had not Mordecai took her in as his own child.

This king loved Queen Esther with all his heart and already said he would give her half his kingdom if she asked.

This precious child of God loved her people much more than she loved riches.

*****Est 8:6 For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?

Est 8:7 Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.

Est 8:8 Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.

Again we see that this king did not know what to do, but Mordecai knew exactly what to do without, breaking any Persian law.

This is what patriotism is all about. Citizens of a nation protecting citizens of that nation!

All citizens should want freedom.

All citizens should want the freedom to worship Jehovah God without reprisal.

All citizens should want their people to work toward these goals.

God tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, because most of our world still wants to destroy them, as did Haman.

This king gave Esther and Mordecai the ability to write whatever law would protect the Jews.

Queen Esther made intercession for her people.

You see this is what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us, He made intercession for all, "whosoever" would believe that He did.

The Lord saved us from eternal death! Separation from our God forever.

This body may pass away one day, but we will never see that death, because we will step into the throne room of God before that body of flesh takes its last breath.

2Co_5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

These Jews would not see death, and many of them would return to the Holy Land with Ezra!

*****Est 8:7 Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.

Est 8:8 Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.

Not many kings, not many leaders, and not many politicians, will ever admit their error, they will commit the repair of the error to someone else.

The house of Haman, did not costs the king anything at all.

He does never plead for forgiveness for this mess he had allowed to take place.

He does allow Queen Esther and Mordecai to do what they could, to stop the massacre before it took place without breaking the law of Haman.

The king did not ever take responsibility for this mess he had allowed to happen.

Mordecai knew exactly what to do!

We must understand as Christians, that words once spoken cannot be recalled! A deed once done cannot be undone!

That one with a hasty temper, who drove a spike into the heart of a friend cannot undo what he has done.

This why forgiveness is so important in the family of God.

We cannot erase the things we do contrary to the Word of God, but we can certainly forgive others like the Lord has forgiven us all our sin.

Again Mordecai knew exactly what to do!

*****Est 8:15 And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.

Est 8:16 The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.

What is the proper use of power? Power must be used for the betterment of people, especially between God's people!

Mordecai went out dressed as the Prime Minister of Persia, with crown to prove it, and all people were aware that Haman was gone, and Mordecai was in charge now.

Not just the Jews but the entire city was glad that Haman was just a bad memory of the past, and should be forgotten!

Haman had made many enemies!

I say all people but the Amalekite, who history says were the only people who rose up to kill all the Jews.

We should understand every Word of God is important for our survival!

Deu 25:18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.

Deu 25:19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.

Because this did not take place as commanded by the Lord, these people would haunt Israel all their days.

God knows what He is doing, and He has used Israel to do these things, and He will continue to use Israel to do many things, until the peace that will come when the Lord returns, of course after the Lord straightens out some things, again according to the Word of God.

Even the Babylonians called the Amalekite "Khabbati" which means "plunderers" and recorded the things they had done

So what Iran says, and the enemies of Israel say, they know all these things. The Persians and they Babylonians were some of the best record keepers in history, yet the deny that Israel is a legitimate nation.

We should be able to see that Satan still has his hands in these enemies!

What was Mordecai's plan?

*****Est 9:2 The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.

Est 9:3 And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.

We should understand that the best way to survive this world is to be prepared for an attack, because an attack is coming from somewhere at some time! Persecution will not cease until the Church is in Heaven and the Lord returns to set up His 1000-year rule from Jerusalem.

Why? Because these people hate God and deny the Lord Jesus is our Savior. They had rather perish than give in to the truth, just like atheist!

The date of the attack had been written into law by Haman.

The government and the military would now help the Jews, because they were appointees just like Nehemiah, and they knew they would lose their positions if they went against the king. There is a little typology written here.

These Jews acted properly, and they acted in unison, because they took a stand for their lives.

What does God say?

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

They could do these things because God had a plan before Genesis 1:1, that Mordecai would be in this particular place at this particular time.

Jer 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

God does these things to every one of us. He places us in places to be available when danger seeks out God's people.

This does not mean God will stop persecution, because only death can take away the persecutors, and God will give them every chance to repent but we must remember these words.

Rev 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

Rev 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

Rev 6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

Why would God wait at all? Why does God not bring vengeance when God's people are murdered?

2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

*****Est 9:4 For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.

Est 9:5 Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them.

Mordecai was not only Prime Minister, but he had great favor with the King, and it became known that he was also uncle to the Queen.

Mordecai was well received of all the people, maybe because they could see that a captive could go far in the government of Persia and he may better understand their needs.

Est 10:3 For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.

This is why it would always be better if we voted only for Christians to be in our government!!!

*****Est 9:26 Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,

Est 9:27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;

Est 9:28 And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.

Why was the government of Persia so bad at this time?

There were over 500 of Haman's kindred involved in the work in the Palace and not as slaves.

Est 9:6 And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men.

It is from these things that actually happened, that the Jews set up a new feast and festival called the days of Purim, which is still celebrated today!

The word Purim comes a Persian word "lots",because Haman had cast lots to find a day, he would see all the Jews in Persia destroyed.

On the first day of the new celebration the name of Haman and his 10 sons are read out because they were all hanged at once.

These Jews read the entire Book of Esther, and at the end they cry our "cursed be Haman", blessed be Mordecai, "cursed be Zeresh (Haman's wife) and blessed be Esther.

You see, the Jews do not ever forget these things and these things have to eat at the leaders of Iran who are the leftovers of Persia.

Just another reason that Iran hates Israel.

*****Est 9:29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.

We also see what happens when you try to abuse God's people, when they are trying their best to be obedient to Him.

The King of Persia even allowed Queen Esther to write these things into the law of Persia.

Queen Esther became one of the greatest heroes in the History of the Jews, and we already know the rest of the story, as we have seen Ezra return to begin again the worship in the second Temple and Nehemiah allowed to go back and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Neh_2:6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

The next King of Persia was the son of Esther. God does work in mysterious ways!

Amen

Let's Pray!

The Power of Rich Men

The Power of an Evil Man

Book of Esther 3 -4

A man once wrote: Power. It’s what everybody wants, right? That’s the story at least. Money, political influence, weapons, power to intimidate, power to make people do things, power to build things, power to get things done.

On a theological level, God is the most powerful “entity” in all the universe. In addition to His omnipotence, God is also purely good.

Therefore power, at its core, is not evil!

So, power is not evil. It just needs to be used rightly, which means shared, cooperatively and creatively, for the sake of the common good.

We should not fear power; we should only fear its misdirection!

Today we see a man named Haman who attempted to use power in an evil way.

We can be sure Satan was behind this thing because he could stop the first coming of the Messiah if the Jews were wiped out.

These Jewish people in Persia were the greater part of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin.

*****Est 3:1 After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.

We might first say after what things. After Esther had become Queen of Persia and after Mordecai had overheard, a plot to overthrow the King and had warned him through Queen Esther.

It is after these things that the story of Haman begins.

If we look back to the time of Moses as he was leading the children of Israel, there was a man called Balaam who first mentions an Agag, King of Amalekites.

Num 24:7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

The title Agag is used much like we use the title President.

It is these same Amalekites that God told King Saul to eliminate from this world.

That sounds harsh but God said they were so evil they would never come to any good. God Knows!!!!!!!

1Sa_15:8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

1Sa_15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

1Sa_15:20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

1Sa_15:32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.

1Sa_15:33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

Some of these people were allowed to escape each time Israel faced them.

The truth is we can be certain that Satan was behind these Amalekites in an attempt to destroy the nation of Israel before they could even become a legitimate nation!

Haman was the descendant of one of those who got away and no doubt he had retained that hatred for God's people and Satan would use him to try to eliminate the tribe of Judah from which came our Savior.

By means we can be sure were not legal, Haman had advanced to be second in command of politics in the nation of Persia that included 127 provinces.

Haman was a very rich man and used his wealth to buy his way into most all things.

Haman craved recognition and as we will see had the traits of Lucifer who now is called Satan, the Devil.

*****Est 3:2 And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.

We can believe that the Persian kings had allowed each nation that had been captured to worship in their own ways because it helped to keep the nation to be peaceful.

Every nation today should allow freedom to worship and punish those who persecute any religion.

The kings of Persia were like many rulers, that is, they felt they were on the level of gods.

There are even stories of Greeks who were put to death for not treating King Darius as a god.

These things still go on today by rulers of some nations.

Mordecai was an obedient Jew and he would not go against the Word of God!

Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

We must understand that we serve this same jealous God today!

Mordecai refused to bow to Haman, nor did he reverence him, and this did not mean Mordecai was some rebel, for we can see that he also had some ranking in the government of Persia.

Haman was just another rich man who demanded to be recognized for some imaginary gift, when he was just full of self-pride.

*****Est 3:3 Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?

Est 3:4 Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew.

It is easy to see that Haman had inherited his hatred for the Jews and he would do anything to rid the world of Jews. As we know there are many Hamans in the world today and even some miss Hamans who would do anything they could to rid the world of Jews and they are just seeking their own destruction as did Haman.

Because of this hatred, Haman came up with a scheme to legally kill all Jews in the Persian Empire.

Haman thought so highly of himself and so lowly of the king, that he thought he could pull one over on the king.

He did not yet realize that the queen was a Jew by birth.

No doubt this evil man demanded reverence for all those he looked down upon

All those others in the court of the king first cautioned Mordecai, then became just as evil as Haman when they took it upon their own to meddle in the affairs of Mordecai.

Mordecai just said that He was a Jew which meant there was already a law for the people to safely worship their own deities.

What was the law of God?

Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

No doubt Mordecai understood the Word of God and he was not about to let this evil man over rule the Word of God.

The day is coming in America and now is, that as Christians we must take a stand on the Word of God even if our own government demand we turn our backs on the Lord.

We will always have those that think they are do themselves a big favor, by running to tell the government what they see.

These are not whistle blowers, these are only fools looking to better themselves at the expense of the Christian.

Pro_16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

According to God's plan, Mordecai had informed Esther of the plot to kill the king, but it was not well known especially to Haman.

The devils plan to eliminate the Jews could not overcome the plan of God!

When we look back in history, we will see many a man trying to give us an English translation, put in jail, or murdered, rather than bow down to the Church in Rome.

Haman was just an evil man wicked to the teeth!

What does God say?

Job_11:20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.

God says the wicked will only have short victories!

Job_20:5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

God also says He will destroy those who are wicked, with an everlasting death!

Psa_9:5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.

Listen as Haman destroys himself.

*****Est 3:5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.

Est 3:6 And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.

It is obvious that Haman was not the only enemy of the Jews, but he did think he was ranked high enough to put a plan in place to destroy them.

It is obvious that pride is our enemy and God says, vengeance belongs to Him!

There have been many people that have tried to destroy the Jews, the Hebrew people, but God is not going to allow this to happen. Wake up world.

Israel and the Jews are still the apple of God's eyes, and their hatred will only backfire on yourself!

Haman had magnified himself into some important man, when he was only some vain, egotistical man who would lose his own life in the end.

Egotism uses the sufferings of others to make a gain!

Egotism only promotes cruelty.

We see this in our own government today!

To an ego possessed individual, he or she is the center of the world and the world revolves around them.

I could mention some names, but you can fill in the blanks.

Psa 83:1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.

Psa 83:2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.

Psa 83:3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.

Psa 83:4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

What are the traits of Satan?

Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

What is his end?

Dan 7:26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

As we see what is happening in our land, the abortions, the gays, the LGBT movement, and a corrupt government, we must guard ourselves against extreme prejudice and bitter hatred.

We must still remember it is still Jehovah God who sits on the throne of Heaven!

Haman plots.

*****Est 3:7 In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.

Est 3:8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them.

Haman allowed a year for his plot to take place in order for the word of the king to travel to all locations and the Jews call that day Purim to celebrate their triumph over Haman and his household.

Haman allowed this year because the casting of lots was a religious thing from Haman's own religion.

Today we must be careful not to listen to the Hamans of this world calling for the destruction of others for in fact it is a terrible sin.

Haman did not mention that these people were Jews only that it was a specific race of people.

As far as the king understood these people were like robbers and thieves moving around inside the 127 provinces of Persia.

What had God said?

Deu 4:27 And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.

Deu 4:28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

Haman also recognized that the laws given to the Jews were nothing like the laws of the Persians.

He would not have known these things if it had not been passed down through all his generations that the Jews were his enemies.

By scattering the Jews, God could begin to work with them individually or in small groups!

Eze 11:16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.

Eze 11:17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

Remember all the Jews even the ones who had stayed, were well aware that the Word of God had proven to be true and many of their Jewish brothers and sisters had returned to the Promised Land.

Haman told the king these people were no profit to his kingdom and needed to be eradicated like a bunch of mice.

Just like most all rich men, the key to this transaction would be money!

*****Est 3:9 If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries.

Est 3:10 And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.

The rich and the super-rich have one bad problem, they can never have enough money!

If we look back in Jewish history 1000 talents were enough to buy off the Assyrian king for a while.

A piece of land the size of a city could be bought for 2 talents. So this was a great deal of money, especially for one individual to possess and obviously he had plenty more.

We must keep in mind that the Christian may be poor in this world but have great riches in Heaven!

2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

2Co 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

2Co 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

These riches sealed the deal for Haman, and he was given the ring of the king to show his authority to be able to rid Persia of the Jews.

But we know for sure God always has a better plan!

*****Est 4:1 When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;

Est 4:2 And came even before the king's gate: for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.

We can be sure that Haman push the news of this new law as quick as he could especially to Mordecai.

It was like being on death row in a prison having the date set for execution.

Mordecai could only see one answer and that was to get the attention of Queen Esther, but Mordecai's grief did not upset his judgment.

It came to Mordecai that God has placed Esther as Queen just for this occasion!

Mordecai had better sense than to storm into the king's residence, so he put on sackcloth that got the attention of those going in and out and he knew the Queen get in touch with him because he had been as a father to her.

Sackcloth was made of black goat's hair and was certainly noticeable especially on someone as Mordecai who took part in the government of Persia in some manner and dressed accordingly.

He was not alone:

*****Est 4:3 And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Not one Jew had peace with the threat of death hanging over them. They knew once a Persian king made a ruling it could not be changed.

We are sure Zerubbabel had already returned to Israel and Jerusalem to build the Temple, but it may not be quiet time for Ezra to return.

I believe besides letting Esther know it was time to save her people, it was also time to let these Jews know Persia would never be a safe place for them to live.

*****Est 4:4 So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not.

Queen Esther's maidens and chamberlains may not have known the connection of Mordecai to her, but they knew Mordecai had a deep affection for her and her for him.

Queen Esther would make sure Mordecai was properly dressed which gave them time to swap messages.

Mordecai warned Queen Esther that this law to kill all Jews would include her no matter that she was Queen.

Let's move ahead:

*****Est 4:13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.

Est 4:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

If we look at what Mordecai was saying, Queen Esther needed to go to the King and put a stop to this thing.

It was well known that the king loved the queen very much even if he did not know she was a Jew.

It was time for Queen Esther to do what the Lord intended for her to do. To stand up for her people.

Mordecai must have known a lot of the Word of God because he had faith in the Word of the Prophets.

Israel would be delivered, if not by Queen Esther then someone else.

To set at large, is to give freedom to move without obstruction.

Psa 18:36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.

Psa 4:1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

We need this to be very clear ourselves.

If God has a job, He has asked us to do, the work of God always comes with blessings.

If we decide to go against the request of God, God will just get someone else to do that thing and they will also get the blessings we could have had ourselves.

God's plan will go forward, with or without us!

Queen Esther knew that Mordecai was right in what he had said.

Queen Esther also knew that much prayer would certainly help.

*****Est 4:15 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,

Est 4:16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

Queen Esther also knew the laws of the Persians and she could not go before the King unless she was called and if she took it upon her own to go to him it could resort in her death.

Then she shows her faith.

If faith and prayer can move mountains, then surely faith and prayer and fasting could save a nation.

All throughout the history of the Jews they were punished because of disobedience, surely by obedience then God would do as He had always promised, to deliver His children.

If we do not see that Queen Esther obtained favor of all those around her then we have missed a great point.

No doubt the faith and courage of this young woman was an admirable quality that even the King had noticed.

Even the King had not just chosen Esther by her looks, she had great personal skills and an aura of success in everything she did, and she must have thought a lot about Persia, but the Promised land was her true home even if she had never been there.

Sounds like typology to me.

I am an American and love my nation, but heaven is my promised land and also my true home!

When we take a stand on the Word of God, so what we perish, we will wake up in Heaven the very moment we lose our life!

2Co_5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

2Co_5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

These things will become more important the closer we get to the Second Coming of the Lord.

I believe we can already see these things happening as some people lose these jobs for taking a stand against the sins of our nations and other nations included.

What did Mordecai do? Exactly what his Queen said to do because he knew it was the right thing to do!

*****Est 4:17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

We can see that fame and fortune cannot always keep us out of danger.

That palace could have been a prison to Queen Esther, if not for the relationship she had with her adoptive father.

Again we can see the typology in these things.

Power and opportunity can also be used to move the Word of God if that opportunity presents itself and they too can take a stand on the truth of God.

All these things work because the key ingredient in these things were 1) Faith and 2) The ongoing, never relenting, plan of God working in our world. Even working in our governments.

We need to vote only for people who we know are faithful believers when the opportunity presents itself.

Queen Esther went to the King because of her faith and love of Jehovah but she also knew the King loved her and would never bring harm to her.

Queen Esther was in instrument in the hand of God and no one could stand against this kind of power!

Amen

Let's Pray!