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Chapter 9-10
by Samuel E. Ward
November 3, 2013
View PowerPoint slide presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/samward1/esther-9-10-ss or http://www.slideshare.net/samward1/ for more of Pastor Ward's presentations.
Introduction
Dr. John Martin wrote concerning the book of Esther,
As the original Jewish readers read this account they would have been struck by the way God was sovereignly protecting them, often when they did not even know it. Many things in the Book of Esther happened that were beyond anyone's control except that of God, who oversees history. And the Book of Esther is filled with irony, with ways in which events turned out unexpectedly and in favor of God's people. Queen Vashti, a Persian, was deposed so that Esther, a Jewess, could become queen and save her people. Haman, once exalted, was brought low, and Mordecai and the Jews, once hated, were exalted and honored. A decree that would have wiped out the Jews was overruled by one which led to the destruction of nearly 76,000 enemies of the Jews. No wonder Purim was celebrated yearly with such rejoicing: to help the Jews remember that God is in control and that people should faithfully worship and serve their great God.[1]
As we close our review of the book of Esther, the above remarks reflect our own conclusions as to what can be understood from its reading and study. We take away from it the idea that God is always active in ways and means beyond our sight and perception preparing our way. In the midst of our struggles, He is always present to accomplish what needs to be done to keep us within the parameters of the way He is leading us. In the end, there is judgment and justice brought to bear upon all. The good receive for the good they have done, and the evil for the evil they brought.
III. God's Hand Brings Judgment in It's Time
A. A Great Reversal: "The tables were turned," Esther 9:1.
Esther 9:1 (NIV2011) 1 On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them.
1. David had experienced this turn from apparent defeat to overwhelming victory, 2 Sam 22:1-3, 40-41.
2 Samuel 22:1-3 (NIV2011) 1 David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent people you save me. . .40 You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me. 41 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
2. God has promised to deliver the righteous and reserve judgment for those who have persecuted His people, 2 Pet 2:5-10a.
2 Peter 2:5-10 (NIV2011) 5 …if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
3. God has allowed our present persecution from unbelievers to prove that He is right to judge unbelievers for their hatred of Him and those He calls His own, 2 Thes 1:4-10.
2 Thessalonians 1:4-10 (NIV2011) 4 Among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5 All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
B. A Great Vengeance: "No one could stand against them," Esther 9:2-16
1. Summary of the Jewish defense, Esther 9:2-11.
Esther 9:2-11 (NIV2011) 2 The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. 3 And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king's administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. 4 Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful. 5 The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 7 They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, 10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder. 11 The number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day.
The pure and simple truth is that when God is in charge; there is no earthly or heavenly power that can keep Him from delivering those He has promised to save.
Romans 8:31-35 (NIV2011) 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
2. Extension of edict in Susa so that justice might fall upon Haman's sons and remaining enemies, Esther 9:12-15
Esther 9:12-15 (NIV2011) 12 The king said to Queen Esther, "The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted." 13 "If it pleases the king," Esther answered, "give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day's edict tomorrow also, and let Haman's ten sons be impaled on poles." 14 So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they impaled the ten sons of Haman. 15 The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
3. Summary of enemy casualties in the remaining provinces, Esther 9:16
Esther 9:16 (NIV2011) Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king's provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder.
C. A Great Celebration: "They made it a day of feasting and joy," Esther 9:17-19.
Esther 9:17-19 (NIV2011) 17 This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy. 18 The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy. 19 That is why rural Jews—those living in villages—observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other.
IV. God's Hand Executes Righteous Judgment in the End, Esther 9:20-10:3
A. Mordecai's Joyous Proclamation: "Celebrate annually. . . as the time . . . when their sorrow was turned to joy," Esther 9:20-26.
The Establishment of the Feast of Purim (Lots)
Esther 9:20-26a (NIV2011) Est 20 Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, 21 to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22 as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. 23 So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. 25 But when the plot came to the king's attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. 26a (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.)
1. The time of the annual celebration: 13th and 14th of Adar (March 16, 17, 2014), Esther 9:20-21
2. The purpose of the celebration: Relief from enemies and their sorrow turned to joy, Esther 9:22a, 23-26a
David used God's deliverance as an opportunity to praise God, Psa 30:11-12.
Psalm 30:11-12 (NIV2011) 11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. LORD my God, I will praise you forever.
3. The form of the celebration: Feasting, presents of food to one another, and gifts to the poor, Esther 9:23
B. Esther's Confirming Decree: "Esther's decree. . . was written down in the records," Esther 9:26b-32.
Esther 9:26-32 (NIV2011) 26 (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. 28 These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants. 29 So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. 30 And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes' kingdom—words of goodwill and assurance— 31 to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. 32 Esther's decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records.
C. Mordecai's Legacy: "He worked hard for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews," Esther 10:1-3.
Esther 10:1-3 (NIV2011) 1 King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores. 2 And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.
Mordecai left a legacy of service and courageous devotion to his people. What will be your legacy? What will be your gift to those who come after you? We should care about the effects of our lives upon others because the record will be opened, and we shall all be judged:
1. Unbelievers will be judged according to their deeds at the Great White Throne Judgment.
Revelation 20:11-15 (NIV2011) 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
2. Believers will be judged according to how they built upon the foundation of Christ's church or contributed to its destruction, 1 Cor 3:10-17.
1 Corinthians 3:10-17 (NIV2011) 10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. 16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for God's temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
3. Whatever legacy we may leave others, there is none better or more precious than that left by the Lord Jesus Christ.
