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A Quiet Providence (Esther 1 & 2)

Sermon Transcript

The following is a lightly edited transcript generated from the audio; it may contain small errors.

Opening Prayer

Father, we do pray for the upcoming fall party. Bring many people to it. Help us in our hearts to serve at it in whatever way we’re able and we pray that your gospel will go forth in word and in power, that seeds would be planted. Lord, we pray that we would continue to minister with and minister to St. Charles Christian Home Educators. Pray your blessing upon them and that organization and all the people that make that happen. God, continue to have your face shine upon them. And Lord, as we get into the book of Esther, help us to see clearly what your word has for us today. We want to be people that not only hear your word but receive it and then act on it. So give us ears to hear, and we thank you for the regenerated heart that we have by your spirit. We are saved by grace through faith. May we continue to stand firmly on the solid rock of your Son Jesus. Amen.

Introduction to Esther

Good to see you all. We are going to be starting a new book today. We’re going to be in the book of Esther. So you can turn to the book of Esther.

While you’re turning there I’m gonna pray. All right, I probably said something like this when we went through the book of Ruth. I’ll say it again since it’s been a couple years, but Old Testament stories, they are stories and most stories have four ingredients. Usually there’s an introduction, there’s a complication, there’s a resolution, and there’s a conclusion.

And today we’re going to look at the introduction. So we’ll see most of the main characters introduced to us in these first couple chapters. We might not read all the verses in these chapters we’ll see. And one of the things that you’re going to notice immediately as soon as I start reading is depending on what version you have, there’s two completely different names for this king in the Book of Esther.

And that’s because some versions go with the Greek rendering of his name, which is Xerxes, and some go with the Hebrew name, which is Ahasuerus. Looks like it’s probably pronounced Ahasuerus, but that Hebrew word, sorry, consonant, scene, depending on how it’s written, it means just like an S as in hiss, or an S like shh, it has an H on the end. So this one has the H on the end. So it’s really properly pronounced Ahasuerus.

So I’ll probably bounce between the two. Xerxes Ahasuerus, depending on what I’m saying at the moment. Just a real quick review on the kingship and to try to put the book of Esther in kind of the chronology of the Bible and the larger picture of what’s going on in the world at the time. Cyrus the second is the one who issues the decree that allows the exiles to return.

That’s in the very beginning That’s the first wave that the Rubible leads back. Then there’s a couple kings between that and where we get there’s Cambyses. He leads for about eight years. Then there’s a really short reign by Bardiya, sorry, Bardiya, only about six months.

Get to Darius, which is, if you remember, when Haggai is living and operating, he is the one that declares, hey, I want the temple to be rebuilt, like finish what started. So then Haggai comes on the scene, Zerubbabel and Joshua are still there. Then we get to the next king, which is where we’re, at now, Xerxes or Ahasuerus. So he’s kind of inserted after the first wave, but before the second and third waves.

The second and third waves are Ezra and Nehemiah. So we get Esther right between them. And so it’s probably right around between maybe chapters of Ezra, if you’re reading that, probably somewhere between five and seven in there. Then after Xerxes, just to keep it going, the king after that is Artaxerxes.

That’s Ezra and Nehemiah’s king, so to speak. And then after that, you get Xerxes II. Now, we get some information from non-biblical sources regarding King Xerxes, mainly from the historian Herodotus. He portrays Xerxes as a sagacious prince, but more often arbitrary, tyrannical, and brutal despot.

So he reigns from 486 to 465. That’s when Esther takes place. His father Darius, which we just looked at in the past month, tries to defeat Athens a couple of times and fails. And so Xerxes basically kind of picks up the mantle and wants to end up completing that invasion that had failed a few times.

It is very possible and likely that the celebrations that we’re about to read in Esther chapter one, are Xerxes plan to gather all the leaders together and kind of fire them up and be like, hey, and maybe kind of bribe them too. But hey, we can go conquer Athens. So he has this six month party essentially where he’s probably bringing in at different times, these different princes and leaders to convince them of, hey, let’s get the army together and let’s go do this work that my dad or my father-in-law failed at. The timeline definitely matches.

If you know the story, the 300 Spartans, right? But that’s Xerxes, that’s Ahasuerus. So he goes and he convinces the leaders to rally around him and leads it. And some of it’s mythologized, But 300 plus maybe a couple more thousand hold off in this small strait, basically Xerxes army of probably 100, 120,000.

Because of the way that they were positioned, it made it a little bit easier for smaller numbers to defend this narrow area. Kind of probably battle logistics 102. So anyway, he ends up trying to do that because there’s actually a gap in this that we’re gonna see from when Queen Vashti is kinda dethroned before Esther comes to the throne, there’s like three or four years there. And you’re like, what’s going on for those three?

Like he kinda needs a queen. Well, he’s a little occupied trying to conquer Athens. So that’s kinda what’s going on. And this is really just the intro, these first two chapters.

We’re not going to actually see what the main issue is yet. It’s like the stage work is being set for us.

Scripture Reading: Esther 1

Let’s get into it. Esther chapter 1.

Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia, over 127 provinces, in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel, 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. While he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days. 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. 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 and gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of potpourri, marble, mother of pearl, and precious stones. Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. 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. Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus. So there is tons of power in this kingdom. Notice a few things here. In these opening verses, we get this major emphasis on power. Verse one, it says he reigned. Then it goes verse two, there’s this royal throne. Verse three, it again talks about him reigning. And verse two, it mentions the citadel. The citadel is basically this strongly fortified stronghold, usually inside the city, sometimes maybe above the city, but it’s like the last line of defense, like it’s the powerhouse place. The the people who gather in Bursary, they’re all powerful people, notice who it says, officials, nobles, governors. This would include the military leaders, the princes, nobles of the provinces, the most powerful men gathered together, together by the most powerful man. So it’s a vast empire empire. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, the empire on which the sun never sets. Well, it’s been said about certain empires through the ages, but Xerxes literally was the one who probably was at the foremost of trying to accomplish that initially. So he is said to have said that he wants to conquer Greece He wants to conquer Greece so that the sun will shine on no land beyond his own. The idea behind the empire in which the sun never sets is like your land is so vast as soon as the sun is setting on one part, it’s already rising on another part of your land. That’s a pretty vast land. But what do we find out about this all-powerful king? Well, we find out this all-powerful king is not so wise. So pick it up in verse 9. Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belong to King Ahasuerus. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was married with wine, he commanded Mehemin, Bistha, Harbana, Bigtha, and Abaktha, Zethar and Carcass, the seven eunuchs, who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Then Mamukin 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 were 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 and 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 that the King give her royal position to another who is better than she. So when the King, 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. This advice pleads to the King and the princes, and the King did as Mamukkah proposed. He sent letters to all the rural 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. So he apparently knows how to go to war, which by the way he fails at, but he apparently knows how to do that. He apparently knows how to throw a pretty big party. He apparently knows how to get all the rulers to come together. Yet when it comes to his own household, he’s put at bay by one simple command and put off by one simple command that his wife doesn’t follow through on. And not only that, he doesn’t even know how to handle the situation. Think about that. His wife doesn’t listen one time. And what does he do? He’s got to gather all of his advisors to figure out what to do. So he definitely has a lot of power. He doesn’t have much wisdom. What’s the other thing that we see here? Like legalism rules the day. There’s a law for everything. I mean, look back in the beginning of Esther, they’re having this big old party, and

(Esther 1:1–22)

they have this law. In verse 8, like basically drink as much as you want. They have to pass a law for that. There is no passes the law regarding this.

By the way, what a great way to keep the news from spreading, right? Let’s make this royal edict and let everyone know about what just happened because we don’t want this to really happen in other places. Okay, makes a lot of sense. So then what happens?

Well, basically, there’s like a Miss Persia contest. That’s what they have. We keep reading.

Scripture Reading: Esther 2

After these things, chapter 2.

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.

(Esther 2:1–4)

The problem is he can’t really do anything, right? The decree has been made. She’s been banished from his presence. So the story goes on.

Then the king’s young men who attended him said, let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king. And let the king appoint officers and all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem and sousa of the citadel under custody of Haggai, the king’s eunuch, who was in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them, just FYI, it’s a different spelling, different Haggai, pretty much pronounced the same. And verse four, and let the young women, excuse me, and let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.

This pleased the king and he did so. Now there was a Jew in Susa the Citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jehir, the son of Shemi, son of Kish, a Benjaminite who had been carried away from Jerusalem. Among the captives carried away with Chechenya king of Judah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. 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. So when the king’s order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Suus of the Citadel in custody of Haggai, Esther also was taken into the king’s palace and put in custody of Haggai in charge of the women. 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. Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. And every day Mordecai walked in front of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her. Now, when the turn came for each woman, for each young woman to go into King Ahasuerus, after being 12 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 wind, when the young women went into the king this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace.

In the evening, she would go in, and in the morning, she would return to the second harem in custody of Shashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go into the king again, unless the king delighted in her, and she was summoned by name. When the king came for Esther, the daughter of Abbehel, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go into the king, she asked for nothing except what Haggai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.

And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus into his royal palace in the 10th month, which is the month of Tebeth, 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. 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, and gave gifts with royal generosity. So here we’re introduced to the second main character. The first one is Xerxes Ahasuerus, And the second is Esther. And there’s this kingdom-wide beauty contest.

And she wins it. What are the chances? Well, we’re going to find out what the chances are. Then we get our third figure introduced, which he’s already been mentioned, but we get a little bit more info into him, starting in verse 19 of chapter 2.

It says, now when the virgins were gathered together second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 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. In those days as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, big, thin and terrished two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahashursh.

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. 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 and the presence of the king. Side note historically, about ten years from now in this chronology he actually ends up getting assassinated by two of his bodyguards.

Probably would have happened a little bit sooner if it wasn’t for Mordecai. So we get Mordecai, the third figure. It doesn’t seem very important at the moment. You would think, wow, he just saved the king’s life.

Something would happen. But it’s just like, oh, here’s a little story and we’re gonna continue moving on with things. But it does become important later, which is why the writer lets us know this information. A couple notes to make on these first two chapters.

One, there’s really no escape from this kingdom. I mean, it is a vast kingdom. Notice back in chapter one, The emphasis, one, on Ahasuerus, three times in two verses he’s mentioned, but where does he reign from? From India to Ethiopia.

What a vast empire. Over 127 provinces. You’d think that’d be enough for him, right? Apparently not.

Never enough.

The Characters Introduced

So 127 provinces. Listen, the fastest you can travel is by foot, unless you’re rich you can travel by horse. But the fastest you can travel, really until what the invention of the steam engine is by foot. So you can’t flee to the mountains, you can’t get out of the country.

If you live in this kingdom, you’re going to die in this kingdom. Perhaps if you were on the very edge of that kingdom, you could escape. But if you live in this kingdom, you’ll die in this kingdom. I mean, in a sense, this is us.

Like we live in the kingdom of man. We all live in the kingdom of man. Different countries, different rulers, but we live in the kingdom of man. And in this kingdom of man, there’s fallenness.

There’s men who abuse power. There’s men who make foolish decisions. So I get it sometimes why people talk about wanting to live off the grid or they want to get get some land somewhere in the middle of nowhere with no interactions. They want to unplug from the world.

I can at times see the draw to that. One of my favorite stories is from the Romans and actually right around this time, but not quite. In the early Roman Republic, the Romans end up trapped and needing to be delivered. So they go to one of their, basically one of their previous, Emperor wouldn’t be the proper term at this time, so one of their previous kings, they call them consuls.

They go to one of their previous consuls, where do basically unilateral power, we’d call it like emergency powers today, right, gives him unilateral power to do anything he wants without having to ask anybody anything. Because that’s how dire the situation is for Rome, so they give him basically unlimited power. He accepts it, raises an army, defeats the enemy in about 15 to 16 days, and then immediately resigns and goes back to his farm. He’s like, leave me alone.

His number was called. He’s like, OK, I’ll do it. And then he’s just like, leave me alone. I’m going back to my farm.

He could have kept on to that power according to the time in Rome for six months without it being renewed. So six months he had, he does it in 15 to 16 days. He’s like, OK, I’m back on my farm. I get that.

Most people just want to be left alone. Seriously, in a good way. They just like, just let me do my job. Let me enjoy my little homestead, and we’ll let the higher ups make the decisions.

Just, I’ll pray that they rule in righteousness and goodness. Well, one, a, couple things. God has things for us to do here, yes, right? Nothing wrong with owning farms and different things, but you can’t run and hide from the kingdom of man.

For one, what do we find out? It’s sometimes we’re trying to escape certain things or certain people, we’re trying to escape the wickedness out there. And what do we see? Well, it resides right here too.

Right here, in the heart. So we can run and we can run and we can run. But part of what we should realize when we’re living on this earth is one that is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s not the way it’s supposed to that’s the title of a book that guess what the book is about sin Not the way it’s supposed to be why because of sin So if you’re talking to someone they’re like, oh this world is so messed up And I can’t believe that like you can agree with them He’d be like this world is messed up, but God originally created a perfect world And Sin entered and marred his creation So sin is entered But it should remind, one, that God is a restorer.

He’s a restorer of all things, and he’s going to restore this world one day. But it should remind us that this is in our home, so we shouldn’t get too comfortable. 1 John 3, 13, do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. Why do you think Mordecai is like, don’t tell anyone you’re a Jew, Esther. He is not stupid.

He’s not stupid. That everyone would know, right? Oh, you were part of the deportation, or at least your parents or grandparents were, and here you are now. All right, you’re less than.

This is not our home though. First Peter four says, “’For the time that has passed suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. That basically just describes the first part of chapter one. That’s what they were doing.

There’s no compulsion. Do R whatever you want to do. And just to make sure if you didn’t get to do it in the first 180 days, I’m going to extend the party another seven days, says Xerxes. Do whatever you want.

What does it say? What does Peter go on to say? With respect to this, they are surprised. Join them in the same flood of debauchery and they malign you.

Now here’s the thing that we have to remember about Esther. It’s not one enough to make judgments on certain of the actors in the book. So Vashti people have debated, sorry Vashti people have debated, oh should she, should she, it seems like a simple request, just go before the nobles and the princes and the king, should she have listened or not, right? It doesn’t really lead us to think one way or the other.

Even Esther being in part of a harem, we’re not led to believe one way or like, should she have done that or not? The text is not calling us for us to make a decision on that issue. What it’s calling us to decide and see is how God uses this situation and is weaving it to redeem a people for his own pleasure. How he always preserves a remnant.“

Not Merely Moral Examples

So I said this with Ruth, I’ll say it with Esther, look, because it’s in the Bible, like this is our story. This is our history. So it’s as much as Mordecai’s story as it is Esther’s story as it is our story. It’s the history of God’s people.

But listen to me, you’re not the hero of the story. You never are, you never will be. God is the hero. Every single time.

God’s the hero. So what you won’t see is I might extol some of the good things about Esther or Mordecai, some of the bad things about Haman or Xerxes. Sometimes sermons might focus on that. But if you’re really going through the book, you got to try to keep the main thing the main thing.

And so you’re probably not going to hear a B and Esther or B Mordecai. Okay. I mean, I might encourage you at times where we can glean from them, but to do that would be to miss really the point of the book. The point of the book is not to be an Esther.

That’s not the point of the book. It’s not to be a Mordecai. You might glean things from it. You might be encouraged that they stood for truth?

All those things, those are good, those are good takeaways. But we have to keep the overarching picture of the book in view, which we will get to as we go through. We’re just in the introduction yet. We don’t even know what the problem is.

But notice also when we’re talking about this kingdom, Esther and Mordecai, they are a part of this kingdom. You have two people who do what’s right. You have two people who live according to God’s commands. You have two people who rise to the occasion.

So yes, if you have something to take away, then yeah, imitate them for sure. Not the point of the book, but glean from the It’s easily shaken. All power to control all the lands, but the queen says no to one little command. And like the whole nation is in an uproar.

I mean, that’s pretty pathetic. Right? Marriages everywhere are in trouble because of what the queen did. You would have thought she committed some heinous crime.

Like she committed adultery or something. The concerns that she’s going to wreck marriages everywhere. So something must be done. Done.

That’s a fragile kingdom. Well God’s kingdom is the complete opposite. His kingdom cannot be shaken. Amen.

Hebrews 1228. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe. We are part of a shaking kingdom.

It’s shaken. The kingdom of man always will be. There will always be flaws. There will always be cracks.

But what does the writer of Hebrews tell us? We’ve received a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And what does Colossians tell us? We’re transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of what?

It’s light. So we’re part of that kingdom. A kingdom that cannot be shaken. Even Daniel talks about this kingdom.

It says, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever. I mean, that’s That’s quite the contrast between the kingdom of man and the kingdom of God. Every single person is part of the kingdom of man.

You’re going to live somewhere. Someone’s going to have earthly rule over you, but there’s a kingdom beyond this kingdom of man. And what does God say? The doors are open.

The doors are open. Anyone can be a part of that kingdom. And he invites them in. There’s the parable of the wedding feast, right?

The Lord sends people out, invite them in, invite them in, invite them in. What happens? Do they accept the invitation? No, they reject it.

So then what does he do? Go invite more, go invite more. Right? Anyone is welcome.

Not just the higher ups, not just the nobles, not just the princes. Every single person is invited to the party, including us. God invites everyone to be a part of his kingdom. And what do we see?

God’s kingdom is different. What is the kingdom of man lift up? Power, strength, immorality. But in God’s economy, he flips it.

What do we see in 1 Corinthians? Just turn there, hold your place in Esther, we’ll come back, but look at 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Verse 25, 1 Corinthians 1, For the foolishness of God is wiser than men. Right?

So even if there was any foolishness to God, which there’s not, but it’s like even if there was, like that foolishness would be even way better and wiser than man’s wisdom. The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.“ So he bests men every single time in all categories. But what does he do? Verse 26, consider your calling, brothers.

Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. Weak in the world to shame the strong.

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.“ Right? So he uses the foolish to shame the wise. What’s he doing in Esther? That very thing.

This deported group despised death and he’s going to choose a woman to upend the kingdom. And you’re going to see an irony of ironies because what you’re going to see is what upset the king originally was a woman not listening. And here you’re going to see Esther come in and requests one thing. And the king, in this time, wisely, listens.

But what are we seeing? Back to verse 26, consider your calling. Not many of you are wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful.

Not many were of noble birth. God chooses whoever he wants, and he uses whoever he wants. Just like Esther, he can use us. Just like Mordecai, he can use us.

What is this idea that’s being presented? Is it really chance that Esther gets even chosen initially? There’s probably like, you know, American Idol or something round after round after round, right? Is this chance that she makes it past those first couple of rounds, right?

No.

God’s Quiet Providence

It’s that term providence. It’s God’s providence. This is the doctrine that God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he’s doing three things. One, he’s keeping them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them.

We’re not gonna look at the verses today but that’s the Colossians one. He holds all things together by the power of his might. Two, he cooperates with created things in every action directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do. And then three, he directs them to fulfill his purposes.

We looked at it last week, but you know the example is Pharaoh, right? I put you in that position to raise you up to show my power. Pharaoh’s like, no you didn’t, and God’s like, yes I did. So yeah, if we’re like, wow isn’t it amazing that all the young women in the Empire, a Jewish girl was chosen?

No, that’s Providence, brothers and sisters. That’s not chance. God is all powerful, so it makes sense that he’ll use his power to rule, to preserve, and to govern his creation well. So when you hear that word, Providence, we’re talking about how God relates to creation.

This view of God having Providence, It wipes out a few misconceptions that people can have. Wayne Grudem talks about four of them. The first one is deism. That’s the idea, like God creates the world, and then he just kind of steps away and lets the world just do its own thing.

But then there’s almost like the opposite. Pantheism teaches that creation does not have a real distinct existence in itself, but it is only part of God. No, that’s not what we talk about when we’re talking about God ruling. It’s not deism or pantheism.

God’s providence, again, it teaches that though God is actively related to and involved in the creation moment, creation is distinct from him. Third, it wipes out the misconception that events in creation are determined by chance. Or we might use the word randomness. There really is no chance in God’s economy of his universe.

Fourth, it wipes out the idea that the events are determined by impersonal fate, what we might call determinism. Well, if it’s not randomness, just randomly happens. If it’s not determinism, it’s fated. Then what?

Well, the events are designed and chosen by God. So there’s kind of three aspects just briefly of God’s providence. There’s preservation, there’s concurrence and there’s governance. The preservation I mentioned, he keeps all things right.

Then there’s the concurrence. He cooperates with created things. And then there’s the government. Government, he has a purpose and all that he does in the world and he providentially governs or directs all things in order that they accomplish his purposes.

Perhaps we’ll add it in future. We perhaps not, but we could cite verse after verse for each of these things. One thing to note in the book of Esther, God is never mentioned in the entire book, all 10 chapters. Not mentioned once, but it’s intentional, I believe.

I believe. He’s not mentioned once, but every page shows him working. And every page shows that he’s at work in each of these situations. We see his hand of providence on it all.

So God’s writing a story. I mean, if we talk about that, I mean, that’s providence. God’s writing the story. He’s writing the story of stories, but he’s always writing a story.

And listen, he’s doing things now you might not realize the fullness of for years to come. I mean, do you really think, it’s possible I guess, but do you really think Esther thought that, oh I’m gonna become the queen and I’m gonna be the one that God uses to save my people. Do you think she thought that when the first round went out for women to have to show up? No, she might not have known that for years.

The text doesn’t say, but she might not have known that. Probably didn’t if we’re being honest. So years and years and years go by. From this whole process, it takes about three or four years.

From the process of them first starting to choose a wide selection of women and and narrowing it down to when the crown goes on her head. That’s three or four years. And even at that point, she doesn’t even know that her people are gonna be in danger. So listen, God’s always writing a story.

He’s working a plan. So God’s doing stuff in our lives, brothers and sisters. And we might not understand that, a particular thing or event. We might not understand for years, maybe decades, maybe never this side of heaven.

I mean, I believe we’re gonna get to heaven and after we worship the Lord for like 10 million years, we’re gonna take a little break. And he’s gonna show us like, hey, remember that time and you’re going through that? Well, here’s how I used it. Here’s how I was working my plan.

And there’s gonna be like, just shy of an infinite series of events in our lives where God’s been working his plan, Faithfully, faithfully, faithfully. And each one of us. . He’s the master storyteller. And that’s who we want to be the master storyteller, writing the story of stories.

Providence in Our Lives

So he’s working a plan. And if he’s working a plan, you know it’s a good one. Why? Because it’s his plan.

He’s a good God. So you know it’s righteous. You know it’s going to be beautiful. Know it’s gonna have an amazing ending.

And we know the full story. So we know the importance of this Queen getting chosen. They didn’t know it at the time. We know it.

They quickly come to see it. But you could even call this, at least with the book of Esther, and maybe even in our own lives, you could call it a quiet providence because there is no mention of God there’s no worship there’s no prayer but God is present God is working it’s a quiet providence that most of us can relate to God’s work is that work in big ways but he’s also also work in subtle small ways. Big but subtle. And he’s writing a story and navigating each step as he sees fit.

So he’s very near in this story, even if he’s not mentioned. And he’s also near in your story. Guiding each step. God’s providence should bring us hope.

Because the Lord’s in charge. We know He is a good God. It should bring us comfort. He’s going to take care of us.

It should bring us delight. Why? Because our God delights to do the amazing things. He loves doing the impossible and making it possible.

He loves choosing a Jewish woman to save a nation. And he loves using his people for his kingdom purposes. Notice the contrast between this earthly King Xerxes and our Heavenly King against the kingdom of man as opposed to the kingdom of God. You have a king you don’t want to obey and you have a king you do want to obey.

You have a king who is all about himself and you have a king who lays down his life. You have a king who seeks worldly pursuits and pleasures and you have a king who seeks and saves the lost. A king who displays his power so people fear him and a king who displays his power so people are drawn to him. A king who can’t control the human heart and a king who changes human hearts.

Ahasuerus has all the power, right? Yet he can’t, force a person to act against their will. He can try, he can threaten, he could have put Vashti in chains or something, but she still could have refused. They could have drugged her in there, but it wouldn’t have been her coming.

He has all power supposedly, yet his power is clearly limited when it comes to Vashti. What does he use his power for? Ill. Well we have a true God who has all power and there is no limit to His power.

And what does He do? He sends His Son. Where? To His enemies.

He sends His Son to His enemies. There’s even a parable about it. But He sends His Son to His enemies. Why?

Because he wants the enmity to be wiped out. He wants her to be reconciliation. So he sends his son to us. We’re the enemies of God.

And what do they do to his son? They crucify him. Why? These are jealous because they want the power.

They want the rule. They want the authority. But it’s part of the story of stories. It’s part of the story of stories.

It’s part of God’s plan from the beginning to redeem a people for his own pleasure using his very son. So what happens? Yeah, they crucify him, but even death couldn’t keep him down. He raises from the dead three days later.

And What does he do? He sends back to the Father. And what else does he do? He offers forgiveness of sins.

How can he do that? How can he offer forgiveness of sins? Well, because he paid for the sins. When he’s on the cross, he’s not just going through a normal crucifixion.

He is receiving in very real time the wrath of God poured out on him. Truly to its fullest measure. Why? Because there were enemies of God and He didn’t want the enemy teeth to be there.

He’s really holding true to what He said all the way back to Adam and Eve in Genesis. There will be a Redeemer that comes. Eve and Adam, they both believe it, so much so in the next chapter when Eve has Cain, she actually thinks it’s the Messiah. She thinks God has promised to redeem us.

So she had her timeline a little bit off, but she’s believing. She’s believing. How about us? Are we believing?

Here we are. We get the privilege of looking back on this history. They got to live it a blessing in some ways, but we get the privilege to look back and see it all. And so we get to see pretty much almost the complete picture.

There’s a little bit left yet. So we’re privileged. We’re part of that story too, brothers and sisters, and you can be a part of God’s kingdom. How does that happen?

Through trusting in Christ, the repenting of your sins. Jesus paid it all. The wrath poured out on him. The wrath poured out on him.

Why? So that the wrath wouldn’t have to be poured out on you. Each one of us deserves an infinite eternity in hell with God’s wrath being poured out upon us. I don’t think we can fully wrap our minds around that.

You ever burn yourself? Hearts like crazy. I can’t imagine an eternity in hell, but that is the righteous judgment for our sin against the holy, eternal, all-powerful God. And if he never sent his son, we couldn’t shake our finger at God.

If he never sent his son to redeem us, it would be completely just and righteous for him to let every single person rot in hell for all eternity. And wrap your mind around this, he’d still be all loving. But what does it say? God demonstrates his own love for us.

He demonstrates his own love for us. Did he have to do it? No. Did he want to do it?

Yes. If he had to do it, then that means he was compelled by something else outside of him to force him to do something. He wouldn’t be God. He chose to do it.

He chose to Each one of us in here is here by God’s grace and his grace alone. All right. He was merciful to save each one of us. Something that we did not deserve.

So we get to be a part of the second kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. We get to live in that kingdom. We get to breathe in that kingdom. Currently, we’re kind of like in both kingdoms.

It’s that already not yet tension. We’re still in the kingdom of man. We won’t escape that until we die. So yeah, God has stuff for us to do.

He’s got plans for us. He wants us to be busy about his work. We are part of his providential workings out that he wants to use. That’s that second part of the providence, the cooperation, if you will.

So then let’s cooperate well. Let’s live it out. Let’s walk in the fullness of a king who we do want to obey, who lays down his life, who seeks and saves the lost, who displays his power so people are drawn to him and loves us immensely. That’s the king we should seek after.

Closing Prayer

Let’s pray. Father, we thank you that you are like no other king, that you are the King of kings. And all the kings that have come before and all the kings that have come after and the presidents and emperors and whatever titles they give to themselves, they will all fall way, way, way short of being anything like you. We thank you God that you have a kingdom and that you’ve invited of the Lamb to dine with Him, to have their sins wiped away, to be restored to God. I pray for anyone here, Lord, who doesn’t know you, that you would do that today in their hearts. Let it be real and true. And we thank you, Father, that you’ve already done that in many, many hearts here, Lord. Let us stay faithful to you, the one true King. We love you. Amen. Amen.