Reformed Baptist Church in O'Fallon, Missouri
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God Grants Deliverance (Esther 8-10)

Sermon Transcript

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

Scripture Reading

We are in chapter 8.

On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman [audio unclear — see Esther 8:1–3] …to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who were in all the provinces of the king. For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people, or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?”

(Esther 8:1–6)

Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew [audio unclear — see Esther 8:7–8] …seal it with the king’s ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.

(Esther 8:7–8)

The king’s scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king’s service, bred from the royal stud, saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods, on one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies. So the couriers, mounted on their swift horses that were used in the king’s service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king’s command, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel.

(Esther 8:9–14)

Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a robe of fine linen and purple, and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. And in every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.

(Esther 8:15–17)

Opening Prayer

Let’s pray. Father, we come before you. We acknowledge that you are our Father, that you are a good and gracious God. Lord, we ask for mercy upon our land. We ask for mercy upon your people. We pray, Lord, for the election coming up in a few days, that you would elect godly men who fear you. Put them into positions that they would reign and rule in righteousness, that they would pass laws that honor you, that proclaim your glory. We pray, God, for the different amendments in Missouri as well as other states, that those righteous amendments would pass and the unrighteous ones wouldn’t. Help us to be a people that do our civic duty, the minimum required, Lord, to vote. And we pray, God, that you would shine brightly. We thank you, Lord, that you will, regardless of the outcome. We pray, God, that you would help us to have an eye to see in the text today the work that you were doing thousands of years ago, as well as the work that you are doing today. Give us ears to hear, Lord, your word, we pray. Amen.

The Problem Still Stands

All right, so to recap briefly: in the book of Esther, Esther is appointed to be the queen of Persia because the previous queen was deposed by the king, because she wouldn’t listen to what was relatively a simple command. Esther ends up winning the beauty contest of sorts and ends up in a position where she can make—and be used by God to make—a difference. But the issue that comes before them is that Haman, who is basically the king’s right-hand man, second in charge, the prime minister if you will, wants to destroy Mordecai and by extension all the Jews. That’s really kind of the plot of the story—what is going to happen.

Well, God uses Esther to intervene. We saw last week that Esther intervenes, and the king ends up taking Haman’s life and ends up hanging him on his own gallows. That really solves kind of like problem 1a, but there’s problem 1b, and that’s that the law still exists that the Jews can be destroyed. So that’s kind of where we pick it up. But the law still stands. So the question is, what’s to be done? The problem’s not solved.

So Esther risks her life once again in going before the king in 8:4. You see it says, when the king held out the golden scepter to Esther. So she goes before him again. You’d think after all that maybe he’d be like, hey, don’t worry about coming into my presence anymore. But apparently that’s not the case, at least here. So he extends, once again, the golden scepter, and here’s her request.

A New Edict and Deliverance

So you would think it would be sort of an easy fix, right? Well, we’ll just cancel the law. We made a bad decision. That’s easy. We’ll just cancel it. Well, there’s a problem. What’s the problem? Well, the law can’t be changed. So in Esther 8:8, at the very end, it says an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked. Which is something that Daniel ends up saying something similar in Daniel 6. He says [unclear] that a law or ordinance that the king establishes cannot be changed. So we understand that that’s how things work.

However, it seems that there’s a solution. What’s the solution? Pass a new law. So a new law can be passed that really kind of goes against the previous law. [unclear] the old division that we see of destroy, kill, and annihilate. So back in 3:13, if you look what Haman wanted to do—letters were sent, verse 13, by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children. Well then here in chapter 8 it says in verse 11: the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods.

Now notice, there’s limits to what the Jews are allowed to do in this new law. They’re allowed to defend their lives from anyone or any group that attacks them. They’re also allowed to plunder the property.

Well, as the word of this law is announced, what’s the result? Well, the city and the Jews rejoice. In verse 8:15, we kind of see the results of what occurs. Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown, and a robe of fine linen and purple, and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. Why? Because the horses and the mounted riders are spreading the command of this new law that’s been issued. Verse 16: the Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. Verse 17: every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. So, I mean, this day hasn’t even come yet, right? But they see deliverance—it’s on the horizon—so they’re already rejoicing. Why? Because they see the Lord at work. They see his work going on. They’re rejoicing—not the victory fully, but they know that his hand is in this.

So what’s the result? Well, pick it up in chapter 9, starting in verse 1.

Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s command and edict were about to be carried out, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them. The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all the peoples. All the officials of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal agents also helped the Jews, for the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful.

(Esther 9:1–4)

So [unclear] the satraps, the governors, the royal agents also helped the Jews—so they’re just not fighting by themselves. And then notice also a little bit later: what happens? Oh, the ten sons of Haman [unclear]. And what’s the result? But they laid no hand on the plunder. So they take care of Haman’s sons; they don’t touch the plunder.

What’s the result? Well, if we keep reading—we’re not going to read it all—but if we keep reading, we see that God delivers the Jews on this day. And what’s the result?

Mordecai, in verse 20, recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, obliging them to keep the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year, as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday, that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

(Esther 9:20–22)

What’s the final result? Well, we read it in chapter 10.

King Ahasuerus imposed tax on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. And all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him—are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.

(Esther 10:1–3)

So the Jews end up delivered. Amen?

God’s Patience

I want us to notice a few things in this text, because we can miss it if we’re not careful. One, I want you to see God’s patience in this text that we’ve read. God is patient. From the time that this new law is passed to the time that it’s enacted—did anyone catch how long it was? About nine months. Nine months. So God gives his enemies nine months to change. Right? The edict goes out to all the provinces, 127 of them, but there’s a delay of nine months before the Jews can basically defend themselves. And for nine months, those enemies of God had every opportunity to turn.

What does it say in 2 Peter 3? Listen to this:

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

(2 Peter 3:9)

This is God’s disposition towards sinners. What does he want? He wants repentance. He doesn’t want any to perish. The point of his patience is repentance. God—I think the King James uses the word longsuffering. Longsuffering. And that’s kind of a good short little definition of patience, right? If you’ve struggled with patience, why is that? Because you’re sick of suffering long. And usually it’s not that long, but you still lose your patience.

So the point of his patience is repentance. The message for us, right, is to repent. That was the message for the Jews back then and for the enemies of God. That’s the message for us today. Why did the Jews get sent into exile in the first place? Disobedience. How long was God patient for? A long time. From the time he first mentions the idea of exiling them—hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. And they had every opportunity to repent. We looked at it last week. Even King Hezekiah is told of the coming exile, right? He had an opportunity to try to intercede for the people. He fails. God’s like, this is coming, this is coming. Prophet after prophet: this is coming, this is coming. He gives them every opportunity to repent, just like he does here for these Persian enemies of God.

Well, what’s the result of this nine-month delay? Salvation. Look back at the text. It starts out in Esther chapter 2. Look there briefly because I want you to see this. In verse 10: Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. And then in verse 20, the same thing: Esther had not made known her kindred or her people. Why not? Because it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous. But now look at the reversal that occurs in chapter 8, in verse 17. It says, and many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them. Previously it was dangerous, and now you have people lining up to convert.

Now, if they didn’t convert, were they going to be destroyed? No. They didn’t have to convert. But what was the fear that was falling on them? It says here the fear of the Jews—but that’s like a synecdoche. It’s a standing for something. What’s the real fear? It’s not the Jews. They can’t do anything to them as long as they don’t oppose them, take up arms and oppose them. As long as they don’t do that, they’re safe. [unclear] of God—and what is the result? Many people, many from the peoples of the country, declared themselves Jews. So previously dangerous to be Jewish; now, hey, it’s like the thing to be, right? So God uses this originally horrible situation to bring about the salvation of many. We don’t know how many. But what does it say? Many from the peoples of the country—many. God uses a horrible situation to bring some into his kingdom.

Laws Are Moral

I want us to notice the third thing. Laws are moral. There’s two laws that we talk about here in this passage, right, in the book of Esther. One of them is an unjust law, yes? But one of them is a just law. Laws help govern actions. Some people say, like, you can’t legislate morality, you can’t legislate morality. I’m kind of like, have you ever read the Ten Commandments before? What do you think they’re doing? God’s legislating morality. Amendment Three that we’re going to vote on—that’s legislating morality: a law that we can encode into the Constitution.

And here’s what we find. It’s that laws impact people’s thinking on issues. Now we think, okay, we think certain things, so then we pass certain laws. That is true. But it’s also the reverse. When laws get passed, it actually impacts people’s thinking. So there’s like a downward flow as well. Before supposed gay marriage became law of the land, there wasn’t a ton of support. Now it might have been increasing, but once that law passed, the pendulum swung. Now it’s starting to swing back, praise the Lord. But the pendulum swung. It swung. Why? Because now all of a sudden it’s literally the law of the land.

So clearly, this new law—think about it—this new law resulted in many getting saved. It’s true. Did the law save them? No. We know that the law doesn’t save. But what is the law meant to do? One of the purposes is to point people to Christ. That’s one of the purposes—Galatians. One of it is to point out our own sin. So yeah, these people were afraid, not just of the Jews, but of the Being who stood behind the Jews—God himself.

Look what it says in verse 17, right? Every province and every city—there’s gladness among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. I mean, they’re rejoicing that they get to defend themselves, but they’re also rejoicing that all these people are becoming Jewish. They’re declaring themselves faithful adherents to the one true God. So laws can be godly or ungodly. Laws can be just or unjust. Amendments can be just or unjust. Politicians can be just or unjust. Judges can be just or unjust.

So we should rejoice. Just like these Jews, we should rejoice when righteous laws are passed. I mean, that’s what they’re doing—rejoicing. We should rejoice when righteous amendments are passed. We should rejoice when good men are appointed to office. I’ve told this story before, but when Roe v. Wade got overturned, there’s an alumni Facebook group from the seminary that I went to, so I hopped on there and I said, praise God, Roe v. Wade overturned. Guess what the comments were from some of the people. Yeah, not good. Like, we shouldn’t be rejoicing today. Think of all the women out there that are hurting.

I like how Kevin DeYoung—he’s a pastor, Presbyterian pastor—and he wrote an article at the time and basically compared it to Star Wars. After the first one, the Death Star is destroyed, and Kevin DeYoung’s like, yes, we should not rejoice today and crown these men with honor and these women with honor for destroying the Death Star, because the Empire is in mourning today and we should be sympathetic to their feelings. Think about it. Like, God does this amazing thing, and what are half of my alumni classmates concerned about? Not rejoicing that God has undone this unrighteous, unjust law. They’re concerned about how people’s perceptions are going to be. They’re more concerned about people’s feelings instead of God’s righteousness and justice.

Think about even here: if the Jews were like, well, you know, we’re probably going to have to [unclear] some people so we probably shouldn’t rejoice—like, do we rejoice in killing people? That’s ludicrous. They rejoice because they saw God’s goodness in this law that was passed. We should rejoice when righteous laws are passed. We should rejoice when righteous amendments are passed. Peoples can be convicted just by a law being passed. God can use that. We should work to see these things happen. We rejoice when righteous amendments are passed. We should rejoice when good men are appointed to office. At a minimum, that means voting.

All right, we got an election in two days. You need to get out and vote. One pastor said this online. He said, voting for the lesser of two evils: if godly people refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils, godless people will vote to ensure you, your children, and your grandchildren get the greater of two evils. True? And he says, you will be voting for a lesser of two evils until Jesus returns. So wise Christians, he says, can differentiate between a fallen candidate and an evil candidate. The fallen candidate has personal sin in his or her life. The evil candidate leads entire communities, states, and nations to sin. So you’re always voting for a lesser of two evils. You will always vote at a minimum for a fallen candidate. You don’t want to vote for an evil candidate. It goes on: when voting, ask a simple question. Which of these two candidates will enact better and more righteous policies?

I mean, brothers and sisters, Esther is a very, very, very political book. You can’t escape it. The queen using her influence to sway the king. A lot of politics going on. And if you try to escape it or ignore it, especially in the book of Esther, then you clearly won’t see it anywhere else. But it’s all through Scripture. Daniel, Nehemiah, on and on and on those books.

Here’s what one theologian said from the UK. He says: At present we worship God without interruption. What we might be permitted to do under a government which manifestly hates Christianity and tolerates it even at home only as a matter of policy, we know not. This however is well known: that a large proportion of those unprincipled men in our own country who have been laboring to overturn its [unclear]—May the Lord preserve us in every part of the United Kingdom from their machinations. That was written over a hundred years ago. And if you keep up on what’s going on in the UK, he basically was prophesying, because it’s come true.

There are people who hate the American way of life. It’s just true. They want to see it all overturned, and you have a chance to do something about it in two days with amendments and with people. And remember, you’re not just voting for yourself. You’re voting for your family. You’re voting for your fellow believers in Christ. You’re voting for your future progeny. So get out and vote.

God Preserves a Remnant

So we’ve seen how laws are moral. We’ve seen how salvation comes about. God’s patience is key to that. But I want us to notice something else additional in the text. And it’s this: God always preserves a remnant. Even in a faraway land, even in rebellion, God protects his covenant children. That’s different than perseverance of the saints. This is preservation of the saints. Providential protection—or you might call it covenantal protection.

What does Esther say? What does it say? And Esther—for this is Mordecai—

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place. But you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

(Esther 4:14)

I mean, and how true was it—Mordecai would have lost his life had Esther not intervened. So even if other Jews were spared, even in part Mordecai’s line and Esther’s line would have been snuffed out. But she stood up. Such a time as this.

This is what Jesus says [unclear — Matthew 16:18]:

“I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

(Matthew 16:18)

God preserves a remnant. He always has, he always will. Think of 1 Kings 19. Elijah thinks he’s the only one left [unclear] that has not kissed him. There will always be a faithful remnant. That should encourage us. That should give us boldness. The lamp of the church will not be snuffed out. It’s just true. Will there be persecution? Absolutely. It’s going on in Nigeria right now. It’s pretty awful. You should pray for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria. But God won’t let the light of the gospel be blown out. He won’t let the church be destroyed. What does he say? The gates of hell shall not prevail.

So this should give us encouragement, and we can preach the gospel knowing that what? It will go forth. I like how it talks in Acts. It says, and as many as were appointed in that city received salvation. There’s many appointments out there for people. People got many appointments. Each one of us, if we’re saved, we had an appointment at a day and a time, right? And God saved us by his mercy and grace. Amen. And there’s many more appointments. So we can go forth with the gospel knowing that God will preserve a remnant of a people.

A Fast and a Feast

Notice a couple more things. One, this book has both a fast and a feast. And God’s people need to know when to do each one. There’s a time for both. But [unclear] feasting—when we [unclear] all the time, like the world is ending. No. For the most part, if you read your Bible cover to cover, the theme that you see is God loves to rejoice. He’s full of joy. There’s a lot of feasting. There are some fasts, but there’s a lot of feasting. He’s a God of rejoicing. Notice in the Bible: we have prescribed feasts over and over and over in the Old Testament. They got to do this feast and this feast and this feast and this feast and this feast. There’s no prescribed fasts. Thank the Lord—no, I joke. But the point is this: the people are required to have feasts. Or you could say, God loves a good party. He loves his people enjoying his presence. He loves his people enjoying one another’s presence, and he enjoys his people having a merry time.

Remember in Revelation, what are we all invited to in Revelation 19? It calls it the marriage—the marriage supper of the Lamb. I mean, when people get married, what happens after the ceremony? Right? You go—hopefully you get invited to the after celebration, right? Sometimes you just get invited to the wedding, sorry. No, there’s a celebration. There’s a celebration. Well, what is—there’s going to be a celebration of celebrations one day: the marriage supper of the Lamb in God’s new kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth. That’s what Jesus is talking about with his disciples. He’s talking about it in Luke 22. He says that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. There’s going to be a feast. That’s not just metaphor. It’s actual. And I heard that the calories don’t count once we get there—I’m just saying. So there’s no diets in heaven, I praise the Lord. That word does not appear in the Bible. I’m just saying. So you can eat to your heart’s delight.

So they end up celebrating, and we get a Jewish holiday that is still celebrated to this day: the Feast of Purim. It comes from what Haman originally was doing. He was casting lots—the Pur, it says in Esther 3:7—and the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the month. That’s where we get—so the feast is named after the very lots Haman used to try and destroy them. It’s a reminder that God turned the intended day of destruction into a deliverance day, into a day of joy.

So here’s what it looks like in Esther. Look—you can see it for yourself in Esther chapter 9. This is what the celebration looked like.

As the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday, that they should make them days of feasting and gladness.

(Esther 9:22)

That’s the first thing. So for two days there’s feasting and gladness. Second thing is: there’s days for sending gifts—gifts of food to one another. And then the third thing was gifts to the poor.

What does it look like today? If you’re Jewish, the book of Esther is read publicly twice, evening and morning. And they usually try to do it from a handwritten scroll in the synagogue. That’s kind of cool. When Haman’s name is mentioned, people make noise with either noisemakers or they boo, or they stamp their feet to kind of symbolize [unclear]. Third thing is giving charity. The Talmud—written, oh, whatever, a couple thousand years ago, right after the time of Jesus, basically Jewish commentary on the Old Testament—commenting on it says that the people should drink until they cannot distinguish between the phrase “Cursed is Haman” and “Blessed is Mordecai.” Lot of drinking.

But here’s the thing about this: this is actually not a biblically commanded feast. Mordecai encourages them to do it year after year, but it is not God that commands the feast. So of the various required feasts in the Bible, the ones observed are all commanded by God, but this one is not. Jews still observe it. There’s even some Christians who observe it. And why is that unusual for these Christians to observe it? Because these same Christians that observe this feast actually argue that Christmas and Easter should not be observed. And what they’ve grounded that in is that Easter and Christmas aren’t in the Bible. So when they observe the Feast of Purim, they really contradict their own belief system, because they’re observing a feast that is not commanded to be celebrated. We would use the term self-referentially absurd. You do the very thing you claim people shouldn’t do. Kind of like the writing when you get your statement in the mail maybe from the bank: “This page intentionally left blank.” It defeats itself by printing on the page. Or the sign that says, “No signs allowed on this wall,” that’s on the wall.

God’s Providence

Let’s wrap up things a little bit. We’ve seen the salvation of God—mentioned his patience that ties into the salvation. We’ve seen laws are good. We’ve seen that God preserves his people. I want us to notice one last thing which has been mentioned many, many, many, many, many, many, many times, and we’ve seen it many, many, many ways in the book of Esther, but it’s a good way for us to end. Notice even in this passage: God’s providence.

Esther once again finds favor in Xerxes’ sight. And notice the providence of people fearing the Lord and turning to him. Notice God’s providence and the Jews defeating their enemy. Did the Jews always defeat their enemies? No, they didn’t. But God’s providence is a kind providence, and they are successful. Notice also that the Jews are assisted in the fight. It talks about how even some of the Persians helped out the Jews. Well, this is what we see in Proverbs 21:

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

(Proverbs 21:1)

We should pray for our kings. We should pray for our president—he needs it. We should pray for our elected officials. We should pray for our soon-to-be elected officials. Proverbs 16:

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

(Proverbs 16:9)

[unclear] He’s involved in such a way he’s doing three things. He’s keeping them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them. The only reason you can do a scientific experiment and come to conclusions is because God will continue his providence with his creation. Things are—this water will still be water tomorrow and the day after, or scientifically, right? The water will evaporate, but it’ll continue to do that, and on and on and on. Why is that? Because God doesn’t change. And because of that—why?—because he keeps them existing and maintaining the properties. If you’ve got—anyone got fish at home in like a fishbowl or aquarium or something—you’re not going to wake up one day and then fish are going to be like turtles. Why is it? Well, honestly, it’s God’s providence. He’s maintaining their properties, which is what Colossians talks about. 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. Yes, Xerxes was making decisions, but God was making decisions.

So God is never named, yet his quiet, hidden work is visible throughout the story. On and on. Here’s all the ways—I’ll probably miss a couple. But starting from even the beginning: Esther is chosen as queen. Right—out of all the young women in the empire, this Jewish orphan ends up getting chosen. Mordecai is positioned at the king’s gate just at the right time to overhear two of the people plotting to assassinate the king. Mordecai reports the plot and it’s recorded, but it’s not even remembered until the perfect moment—the king can’t sleep. Another example of the providence: on the very night where the very next day Mordecai is going to be put to death before Esther even has an opportunity to intercede for him. So the king is sleepless. What happens then? Oh, then it’s read. He can’t sleep, the book is read, and then Mordecai is honored. Haman arrives at precisely the right moment. Right? The book is read and he’s like—the king’s like, what should we do about this? There walks Haman. Oh Haman, you’re my right-hand man. What do you think should be done? Providence. Providence.

Esther finds favor when she approaches Xerxes. She risks her life, yet the king extends the golden scepter. Then we have Esther’s delayed request. She invites him, and he accepts the request. We see Haman caught in the act, hanged on his own gallows. Right? We see providence again. And then a new edict can be issued. The old one can’t be undone, but a new one can be issued. God’s providence. Even the Jews being assisted by officials in their fight against the enemies of God—God’s providence. Any one of those people could have put down their arms and lived. That’s how much they hated the Jews. Notice also the Jews don’t take the plunder. The second edict permits it, but they refrain. And then there’s nine months of opportunity before the appointed day. Nine months to repent. God’s providence again, being longsuffering.

And then we also saw the long-range providence through earlier history, right? The connection between Mordecai and Saul’s line, and how Mordecai and Esther restore honor, not just to the tribe of Benjamin by doing what Saul didn’t do, but really to even Saul’s line. And even we saw it with King David’s kindness to [unclear: Shimei/Mephibosheth?], and how that potentially played into Mordecai and Esther even being alive—God’s providence. And then we see it with God’s overall preservation of the Jewish people, right? Despite Haman’s genocidal plot, the people are delivered.

So this recurring emphasis on providence. At times—listen—at times, providence is quiet. Could you call any one of these things a miracle in a broader sense? Yes. But probably not in a narrower sense than a lot of times that we think. There’s no miracles, no prophets, no “thus says the Lord.” There’s banquets, beauty treatments, a sleepless night, a gate, written records—but God is actively ruling and overruling human decisions. Xerxes’ moods, Haman’s pride, Esther’s courage—he’s doing all that to accomplish his purposes.

So we see a sustained demonstration that God preserves his people even when he appears maybe absent. We see that he’s not. So he’s not mentioned in the book, but he’s all over it. And here’s what happens to us. Sometimes that—what we say is—is God isn’t showing up for us. Like we’re not seeing it. He’s not manifesting himself clearly to me. And then we come to the wrong conclusion: therefore he’s absent. That he’s not at work. That he’s left me. And then we end up hopeless and rejected and feeling despised. But yet God. Like, consider the Jews. They’re in exile, but God still hadn’t abandoned them. And he doesn’t abandon you.

So abandon any belief that God is not at work in your life. Reject it. It’s a horrible belief. It’s a horrible theology. You can see from Genesis to Revelation God providentially works in his people’s lives over and over and over and over and over again. A lot of people get saved here in this book—we don’t know their names—but let me tell you: like some of them we don’t know; God knows their hearts. Some of them might have just switched because they really were afraid, but some of them switched because they truly believed in the one true God. They saw what was going on. They heard the stories. They knew about Queen Esther, and they put their faith in the one true God. And if that’s the case, then we will see some of those Persians God saved. We’ll see them in heaven one day. Amen?

So abandon any belief that God is not at work. It’s just not true. He has his fingerprints all over your life and all over what’s going on in your life. He is very much at work in your life. Sometimes you might not see it, but here’s the thing: refer back to the book of Esther—we see it. Refer back to the book of Daniel—we see it. Refer back to the book of Nehemiah—we’re going to see it once we get to the book of Nehemiah. We’ll go through that sometime in 2027. We’re going to see God’s providence again. But we should, wherever we turn, we should expect to see God’s providence. Sometimes it’s super clear and loud and shouted, and sometimes it’s maybe a little bit more quiet. But if we’re following after God and we know he’s—basically, God’s providence is this: God’s involved in the affairs of men, directing it as he sees fit. If we believe that, then all we have to do is say that God’s involved in the affairs of me—my life—and he’s directing it as he sees fit.

That can be, at times, maybe a tough pill to swallow when we’re going through some challenging times. But take heart. Like, take heart. Why? Because you’ve got a God that is directing your ways. The God of the universe. You want to direct your own ways? How does that usually end up? Pretty awful. Pretty bad. You end up in the ditch on the side of the road. God’s directing your ways—maybe through some tough times, maybe through some pretty deep puddles, maybe through, oh, the Red Sea. Yeah, but he’s guiding it. And you can take comfort in knowing that he is a good God, that he does not abandon his people. Not a single one.

Most of you here, if you’re married, you’ve got at least more than a couple kids—one or two or three or four, some more. I mean, you don’t play favorites, do you? That’s a real question. I was kind of hoping for an answer. You don’t play favorites with your kids, do you? Now, your kids probably try to use that against you at times and say you do play favorites, right? Like, oh, you always help out this kid. But you don’t play favorites. You don’t do that. You love them equally. Why? Because you love them pretty much as great as you possibly can. Why? Because they’re your children, and you should. You don’t play favorites.

Listen, God doesn’t play favorites with his children. He just doesn’t. If you’re one of his children, you’re one of his children. There’s no positioning of children. If you’re one of his children, you’re one of his children. And you’re in the kingdom and you’re blessed, and he loves his children infinitely and thus equally infinitely. So you’re one of his. He’s got you. He’s going to take care of you. He’s going to see you to the end. You can take hope. You can take comfort. And you should take delight in that. Amen?

Closing Prayer

Let’s pray. Lord, we do take comfort that you love us, that there’s no positioning by you with your children. You love us, and you love us, and you love us with an infinite love. We thank you, Lord. We take comfort in that, and we do take delight that the God of the universe loves us with an endless love. What a joyous thing. What an amazing thing. What a beautiful thing. Thank you, Father, for your love. Amen.