Purim

We're in the last two chapters of Esther together now, as we close this great book.

To jar your memory as to where we've been, you remember in chapter one, Queen Vashti was dethroned as the great queen of all the Persian empire.

She wouldn't yield to the requests, unreasonable requests of the king. Asterisk. And so the advice of his advisors sounded good to him and he dethroned her. So a search went on for perhaps years to find the most beautiful woman in all the Persian empire. And in chapter two, Esther, Mordecai's niece, was enthroned as queen of Persia, and she was a nobody.

She was a Jewish lady, but it was kept secret that she was a Jew. In chapter three, a man named Haman comes into preeminence and becomes number two, just under King Ahrus in all the kingdom. It's also a time when Mordecai seems to be exalted as a result of Esther being made queen, perhaps, and he becomes a judge at the city gate. And Mordecai will not bow to Haman. That was the king's request, that since Haman's in such a high and lofty position when he comes in down their street there to bow before him, he refused to do it.

Haman was, I mean, Mordecai was of course a Jew. He's a godly man, and he knew you only bow before God.

In chapter four, Esther agrees. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot chapter three. Not only did Haman was Haman exalted and Mordecai wouldn't bow, but Haman was angry. And so he put talked the king into sending the decree out all over the Persian empire that on a certain day, which was about 11 months away, all the Jews were to be killed. Now, he didn't say Jews, he said a certain people.

And so the king didn't necessarily know it was the Jews. But nevertheless, it may have not have mattered to him at that time because he didn't know as well his queen Esther was a Jewish. Now, we stop here just to remember that in all of this time and every time since that we spoke to you, we've pointed out the amazing involvement of God in the affairs of all these circumstances, that the unseen, unmentioned God in the book of Esther is very much involved in the affairs of man and brings to pass his protection of his people and his protection of his promise that a seed would be born that would deliver their people from their sins. And if Israel would have been eradicated, there'd Been no seed born. And God is behind the scene, knowing everything from the end to the beginning.

And he knows what's happening, and that's why he sets Esther up as queen. And so Mordecai rising to power, can't stand Haman rising to power, can't stand to see Mordecai not bow. So he talks the king into a decree. It's sent all over the nation of Persia that he that in this certain day people are to kill the Jews and to keep all the things that they had for themselves. The one that family that slays the Jewish family gets to keep the Jewish possessions was the decree.

In chapter four, Mordecai, in sackcloth and ashes, through a messenger, informs Esther that she has to go in before the king and plead for the people of Israel. She pauses and hesitates, but eventually does go in, and the king holds out his scepter. And she is not slain as she might have been, because it's illegal to go before the king unless you're invited.

And what she said she wanted was a tea party. I guess it was a wine party, wasn't it? And so the next day they gathered for the wine party. And again she says, just for you and Haman and me, but let's enjoy some wine together and then gather back again tomorrow and we will tell you what our request is. And he's already promised her up to half of the kingdom.

And so that night, Haman is so in the clouds, a special time together with just the king and queen and me. My, I have really something. And as he walked out of the palace on his way home, he had to pass by Mordecai, and Mordecai wouldn't bow. And by the time he was home, all his joy was gone, and all he could think of was getting rid of Mordecai. And so he builds a gallows that night at the vice of his family and friends, 75ft tall, so everybody in the city of Shushan can see Mordecai being hung the next day.

Well, that night the king can't sleep, and he asked for the Chronicles to be read. And in the Chronicles, it tells of a time not too long ago that Mordecai, after he'd been made a judge, had overheard a plot to kill the king and had turned it in. They investigated it, it was true, and immediately said, stop the reading. What has been done to honor this man Mordecai, for what he's done for me, to save my life? And they said nothing.

Just that time there was Noise outside the door. And it was. It was Haman coming. And he was coming for the purpose of asking King Assurus to let him hang Mordecai on the gallows he had just built that night. But before he could make his request, the queen king made his request of him.

He says, what should a man do that wants to honor someone? What would you suggest I do for someone I want to honor? Well, again, Mordecai is so puffed up, he thought it was he that was going to get honored. And nothing's better than king for a day for him. So he put it on thick.

And when he was done, he said, do all this for Mordecai. The Jew, the very one that he wanted killed, is now being honored by the king, led through the streets in the king's robe on the king's horse, and he's shouting, this is one the king wants to honor. And he knew he was in trouble. So when it was done, he. He sunk home and told his family the awful things that happened.

And they said, oh, your goose is cooked, your goose is cooked. And then there was another knock on the door, and they were there to get him to take him to the. The feast of wine again with Esther and King as. And he goes in, and Esther tells just exactly what it was, that there is a plot to kill all the Jewish people, of which is my race. It would mean the death of me as well.

And he couldn't believe it. He says, who did this awful thing? And she said, this wicked Haman. She pointed right at him. Oh, the king was so upset and bewildered, what in the world, that he went out in the garden to think a minute, while he was out in the garden to think, Haman is on his knees on the couch before the couch that Esther was on.

And when the king come in, he sees that, and he says, will you slay my, my queen right before me in my very presence? He misread it, of course, but they put a cloak over his head, let him out, and he was hung in the very gallows that he had built for Mordecai the hand of God. In all these affairs, when it looks like things are at their very worst, never forget, it's not the last chapter. It's not the last chapter. And that took us clear through chapter eight.

We're in chapter nine now.

So after Mordecai is made, well, Mordecai then is exalted up to be to take Haman's place. And between Mordecai and his niece Esther, they work out a decree to send out to all the nations. The decree of the Medes and the Persians was one that could never be changed, but they could send out another decree to some way offset it. And so they did that. And that other decree was that on that very day that the Jews are all to be slain, the Jews can defend themselves and slay the ones that oppress them.

And all the other people in the empire are encouraged to support the Jews in this. And so that's where we left off. And we want to look at that in chapter nine. Let's read together as this book closes. Now, in the 12th month, that is the month of Adar, on the 13th day, the time came for the king's command and his degree to be executed.

On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them. And the Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the providences of King Assurus to lay hands on those who sought them harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people. Where'd that come from?

And all the officials of the providences and the satraps and the governors and all those doing the king's work help the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king's palace, and his fame spread throughout all the providences for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with the slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those that hated him. And in Shushan the citadel, the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men also. And I'm going to let you read these with your own eye.

I cannot pronounce them. Different cities in the providences of Persia. Verse 10. The ten sons of Haman, the son of Hammedithah, the enemy of the Jews, they killed, but they did not lay hands on the ponder. On that day, the number of those who were killed in Shushan the citadel, was brought into the king and queen.

And the king said to Queen Esther, the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men in Shushan the citadel. And the 10 sons of Haman that have been that have. What have they done in the rest of the king's providences? Now what is your petition? In other words, what more would you like, Esther, and it shall be granted to you, or what is your further request?

And it shall be done. Then Esther said, if it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do again tomorrow according to today's decree and let Haman's 10 sons be hanged in the gallows. So the king commanded this to be done. And the decree was issued in Shushan. And they hanged Haman's 10 sons.

And the Jews who were in Shushan gathered together again on the 14th day of the month of Adar and killed 300 men in Shushan. But they did not lay hand on the ponder. The remainder of the Jews in the king's providences gathered together and protected their lives and had rest from their enemies and killed 75,000 of their enemies. But they did not lay hands on the ponder. This was the 13th day of the month of Adar.

And on the 14th and 15th day they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness. This is a message tonight on the feast of Purim. We'll read on at a later time here tonight. But the importance of the feast of Purim, which is going to be a feast that the Jews set up to celebrate this great deliverance of the Lord from the hands of their enemies. This feast of the of Purim was a time that even today I remember being in Israel one time at the feast of Purim.

And it was an embarrassing time for me because we were sitting on the bus and some Jews come and wanted to. I don't remember just what they wanted, but somehow about the feast of Purim and would you want to celebrate it with us? And I couldn't for the life of me remember what the feast of Purim was. And I thought, I don't want to do anything wrong. So I thank you very much, but not today.

I wish now we took part in that. Whatever it was. I. It's been too long now to remember exactly when it happened. But I was there in the month of March when the feast of Purim takes place.

And that would have been delightful because it's a time to remember God's great deliverance of the nation of Israel from annihilation. That's what it's all about. And they still today practice that grace, that great feast we saw in this early part of chapter nine, nine. The historical events around the feast. Around the 13th day of the month of Adar, which is month only the ones who were to harm Israel was harmed by Israel.

That's an important point. They were very careful that they didn't just set war against Persia, but those who hated them was the one they defended themselves against. And notice how God caused great fear to fall upon all the empire of Persia. Fear of the Jews. And one of the reasons was because Mordecai had been exalted to such a high position.

And the king's staff was encouraged as well as others to help the Jews in their fight, because they realized that they wanted to get on the good side of Mordecai too, I'm sure because of his high and lofty position. 500 were killed in Shushan alone, and there was great many over the rest of the land. The ten sons of Haman were hung in the gallows, and God intervened to protect his people.

And so the king asked Hester, what else can I do for you? And she says, give us another day. There's some more rascals in Shushan. So the next day there's 300 more killed out of Esther's request. And over the whole Persian empire, there were 75,000 haters of Jews.

I wonder what it'd be in America if this happened here.

How many would rise up as haters of Jews? Isn't that an interesting thought? It might shock you to death, because anti Semitism is a very real thing today in the world, and it's been very real always.

The big thing we want to notice is that they did not ponder. It says that in verse 10 at the end, but they did not lay hand on the ponder. That's the things that the possessions of the people they killed. And then again in verse 15, and again in verse 16, three times in just that little reading we had, three times, it says they did not ponder. That means, though they were said in the decree that that was what they could do, that that everything of the enemies of the Jews, every family that was wiped out, they were to take the possession, the homes and everything they had would be theirs.

They said, we refused to do that. I think that was quite a wise thing to do. They wanted to show their motives were pure. They only wanted to live in peace. They didn't do this to gain wealth of some kind.

They wanted. They wanted the people to know that their wealth come from the Lord. It didn't come from the hands of the Persian Empire or from some decree the enemy would start a rumor that the reason the Jews have so much money is because of this time in history. And they didn't want that type of thing.

So all things are lawful, the Bible says, but not all things are expedient. It might have been lawful for them to ponder, but it was not expedient to do so. And it's interesting how the word of God makes that so clear, repeating it three times, that they did not do that. Now beginning in verse 18. But the Jews who were at Chushan assembled together on the 14th 13th day, as well as on the 14th, and on the 15th of the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

Therefore the Jews in the village who dwelt in the on walled town, celebrated the 14th day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another. And Mordecai wrote these things and sent a letter to all the Jews near and far, who were in all the providence of King Assurus, to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the 14th and the 15th day of the month of Adar, as days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from morning to a holiday that they should make them that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another, and gifts for the poor. So the Jews accepted the custom which had been which they had begun, as Mordecai had written them. Because Haman the son of Ham Meta the Agite, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast purr, that is, the lot, to consume them and destroy them. But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should return on their head, and that he and his sons would be hung in the Gallow.

So they called this day Purim, after the name Purple. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter that they had seen concerning this matter, and what happened to them, the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants, and all who were with them joined them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, and every providence, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants. Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abhil, and with Mordecai and the Jews wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim. And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews to the 127 providences in the kingdom of Assueth, with words of peace and truth to confirm these days of Purim at the appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them. And as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and lamenting, so the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim.

And it was written in the book. Well, it's obvious that there's started off with one day. The 13th was the day of defending themselves, and the 14th was to be the day of feasting and rejoicing and remembering God's great deliverance. But there seemed to be a confusion of two days. So they said, let's celebrate them both the 14th and the 15th.

Now in the month of March is the time of Purim. And the word Purim, as it was described so nicely there, come from casting lots. When Haman wanted to decide what day that the Jews would be annihilated, he cast lots and it fell on the 11th month and 13th day. And so that casting of lot was called Purim. And so this becomes the feast of Purim, become Purr.

It's called the feast of Purim. That's where that name comes from. And on this day of feasting, they are to rest, to feast, to have gladness, to send gifts to one another, to have joy, and to give gifts to the poor. And to this day, that's basically how it's still celebrated.

On the feast of Purim, Esther wrote. Esther Mordecai wrote a letter. King as seal was put on it. It was spattered throughout all of the kingdom for all the Jews everywhere to celebrate that special day of God's great deliverance and remember that God is a deliverer. I thought it would be good just to insert a couple thoughts here.

Maybe you would like to think with me on. One thought has to do with communion. This do in remembrance of me. And that's exactly what Esther and Mordecai are saying. This day is to remember God's great deliverance.

And as we think of communion, what is it that we're remembering? Our great deliverance. You see, we were in bondage to sin. We were on our way to hell. But because of Calvary and faith in Christ, we have been delivered from that, you see.

So our great remembrance of the great deliverance we have is done at communion time. Can you see the likeness to that? I think that's so special when you remember that it was such a special thing for Israel. And it's special to us too, for good reasons that that they were delivered from the hand of Haman and the evil of the evil one that was going to annihilate them, that's Really a wonderful thing to remember. But isn't it even more wonderful to remember we have been delivered from the hand of the evil one, from the destruction that we faced in eternal damnation.

So every time communion comes and we pass the plate and we do this in remembrance of him. And that's what Mordecai and Esther was trying to say, is trying to say that let's not forget this time of great deliverance. And I think that's what Jesus was saying, let's not forget, do not forget your great time of deliverance. And I'll give you these symbols, these elements to help you remember the deliverance from sin that you've got. Perhaps the giving of gifts symbolized their belief that God had given them a great gift in sparing their lives.

Perhaps a giving to the poor was a way of their saying, we were poor in God's eyes and he gave to us. So these people are poor in our eyes, we give to them. I don't know. I'm just suggesting some thoughts. Today on the feast of Purim, it comes just before Passover.

Children dress up like Bible characters in the Book of Esther, Jewish children. Every time Haman's name is mentioned, as the story is told, there's hissing and booing and stamping feet, waving of rattles and throwing them on the ground. Wouldn't you like to be there when that's going on? I like that. But whenever Mordecai's name is mentioned, there's cheering and it's a time of joyous atmosphere.

We have another special day. We're not only special communion, but we have a special day. It's called Sunday. It's called Sunday every. Every week.

It's the Lord's day. It's the day we remember that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. And so every Sunday we should be thinking, this is the day that our Lord rose from the dead.

And it was our announcement that the Father had accepted his payment in our behalf. If he's still in the grave, folks, we're still in our sin. But God accepted his payment and raised him from the dead. And proved were proven to us that it's been accepted by his resurrection. So there's other things.

Just remember, every Sunday, every large day, we can remember the resurrection of Christ and the proof that our sins are indeed forgiven. Indeed forgiven.

So the feast of Purim then teaches important things, such as rest, stop what you're Doing reflect on the Lord just like we do on the day. On the Lord's day. We call it the day of rest. Some call it the first day. Sabbath.

Have you ever heard it called that? Sabbat? The word means rest. Sabbath, it's a time to rest, stop from all you're doing and meditate and worship the Lord. Meditate on and worship the Lord.

It's a time of feasting, another thing to do, which I think is real important when. When God's people gather together to celebrate God's great deliverance. And it's not a day to go to the supermarket or go to the mall. It's a day together with God's people and. And rejoice in the great deliverance we have in common.

Did I step on a toe there? That supermarket thing, that's tempting. Here we are in the. In the Christmas season, you know, and some of you work, and you're saying, how am I going to get these Christmas presents brought? Answer.

Forget it. Forget it, boy. Now I know I'm going to be skinned.

It's a day of gladness. God's people, when remembering God's great deliverance and his great goodness, should be people of gladness. Whether we're remembering him through the Lord's Supper or where he died and rose again, whether we remember him through the Lord's day, which is the day of his resurrection. Whatever we do, it's like the feast of Purim was a time of gladness. It ought to be a time of gladness.

It's a time of generosity. The feast of Purim was that indeed because they. They gave gifts to one another and they gave gifts to the poor. And so every time that we have communion, what else do we do right at the end of communion? That deacons fund the generosity.

And so many people have been so wonderfully helped through that generation. Generosity, you know. And we can. When we remember the Lord, we remember to be generous because he who was rich became poor for our sake. That's right.

And condescended for us. And certainly that's what they were doing, is they were being generous with gifts to one another and generous to the poor. And I don't mean you don't go to town to the supermarket and buy. Or to the mall and buy some gifts, but maybe not on Sunday. You'll have to work that out between you and the Lord.

Then it was a day of remembrance. The danger of being forgetful, it's very dangerous. Mordecai and Esther were extremely concerned that the people might forget this has been a great deliverance. Look at the hand of God in dethroning Vasti and enthroning Esther. Look at the hand of God in dealing with this wicked man Haman, where he turned the table upside down and exalting Esther, but also Mordecai clear up to the top.

This was no accident. This was the living God intervening into the affairs of man. We must not forget this.

Our lives were spared. And so they set up the feast of the Purim. A Purim to help people to always remember what had happened in here. When I was in Israel, I forgot. What is the feast of Purim?

I hope you won't ever forget after this. I hope I won't ever forget the next time.

So we must be careful that we continue to have communion on a regular basis so our people don't forget. Get. And we must be sure that that communion always focuses every time, somewhere or another on the death, burial and resurrection Jesus Christ. Yea, the great deliverance of his people. It always focuses on that.

Now, chapter 10, there's only three verses and then we'll close. And King Assurus imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. Now all the acts of his power and his might and the account of the greatness of Mordecai to which the kings advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai of the Jews was second to King Asteris and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen. The book ends that way.

Perhaps a good place, but I think we can do what my version did and just entitled this section Mordecai's Advancement. So let your mind just picture. All this has happened now, and Mordecai is up there. And for years Mordecai is going to reign second to the king. Does that remind you of anything?

To remind you of Daniel? Did you remind you of Joseph? See, people say God Christians shouldn't be in politics are dead wrong, aren't they? Now they ought to be the greatest government worker possible. That the salt and light would affect all those people in high places.

It always makes me almost funny feeling when I hear our president talk about the Lord. Doesn't it you? I love it. I love it when he talks about the Lord. And though I didn't like a lot about Jimmy Carter, I liked it when he talked about the Lord.

You know, it's not because he's a republican. It's because the lord needs to be honored in every way. Well, he became second to king as for as Mordecai did and he advanced in great popularity. But it was a time when heavy taxation was enforced. I don't think that was something that came from the desire of Mordecai, do you?

But nevertheless it says it right there. And history says that eight years after the events that happened here in Adar 13, eight years after that King Assurus died, he was assassinated in his bed. It's a real dangerous thing to be at high places in politics. That's what history says. I suggest to you that probably the reason the heavy taxation took place was because they had lost the war with Greece.

You remember I told mentioned that in one of the messages how probably Asteris was gone a long time while the queens were getting ready. And he went off and fought the war with with Greece and the Spartans. And how Greece won the war of the water of the sea and the Spartans won the war of the land. And came King Athrus and his great of the greatest army of the world came back with their tails between the legs all about this time in history. And so now he didn't have all this pondering, shall we say from, from Greece and from the Spartans.

And so his income was going down and so he taxed the people. That I'm just two and two is coming out to that kind of a floor for me. That's why I think there was heavy taxation. I think that may be why he got assassinated in his bed too eight years later because of the heavy taxation. People didn't like it and they said we got to get rid of this king.

I don't know. But peace was in the land because of Mordecai. And Mordecai became a Daniel and a Joseph. He was great among the Jews and all the Jews spoke well of him. He was a wise man, a brave man, and clearly the leader and peacemaker of all the land.

And the book closes there.

A thought on decrees before we close. Heman had tricked the king into a decree that went forth that would bring the ultimate death to all Jews.

The Almighty God also has sent a decree forth.

He said the soul that sins will die.

Just as the decree of the Mede of Persians could not be changed, so the decree Almighty God cannot be changed either. The soul that sins will die.

And just as there had to be another way to solve this problem with the Medes in Persian decree, another decree had to be set out. So in The Almighty's way. Another decree had to come forth too. And that was a decree that said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved, for he will pay your price. He will adhere to the first decree and die in your place.

Because it was a metaphorian decree, it couldn't be changed. Death had to be rendered on the sinner. It couldn't be changed. It was immutable. And so Jesus says, fair enough.

I'll die for them.

You know I shouldn't have said fair enough. There's nothing fair about that at all. It's all grace. No fair. He died for us, and we live because of the second degree, just like Israel lived because of their second decree.

A thought on God's providence and protection. The unseen. God moves in providence. He moves into the affairs of man. He's not sitting in heaven in a rocking chair or growing a long gray beard.

The Bible says he holds the heart of the king in his hands and moves it wherever he will, like the streams of water.

The Bible says he is committed to protecting his people. Not all people, his people, and to lead them into paths of righteousness.

We saw that in the book of Esther, and we see that in our own lives. If we're looking, God is moving in the lives of every one of you and me.

I had to think about it this afternoon. Some of you asked this morning how my back's doing. I said, it's a whole lot better. And what happened? What'd the doctor do?

Nothing. Then why? Because I've been flat on my back all week, that's why. So here he puts me down with the flu and he gives my back a rest. Do you understand?

Is that something? You see what I'm saying?

It's amazing. If we look at it right, you say, oh, that's just circumstances. Okay, okay. But I like to see God in all these things. Wicked Haman and all the devil's helpers will seek to overthrow the people of God.

But there will always be an Esther and a Mordecai that God will use, that God will raise up to defend the people and to be those in God's hand that moves into the affairs of men. I don't know who your Mordecai, an Esther is, but I'll bet you you've had some in your life. I bet you've even been at a Mordecai or an Esther in the sense of sparing someone of God's people. Maybe not a whole nation, maybe a family, maybe one individual. But God raised you up for just an hour that you could minister in the life of that person.

I don't know anything more exciting. Yes, I enjoy watching the Niners when they win, but that don't mean nothing next to seeing a life delivered right before your eyes. Most exciting thing in the world. Remember, don't forget. Remember, don't forget that God has been very merciful to deliver us.

And the deliverance that we have seen is one that will cause us to live eternally in heaven, where the deliverance that Israel saw allowed them to live a little longer on the earth. Our deliverance by measure is so much greater. Remember and don't forget the great mercy of God in our behalf. I pick up the book of Esther from time to time and let the shots come back. And come back to the experiences you, when we've had together, it will be a grand opportunity.

At times you think, well, where is God?

And you read Esther and you say, yeah, God's here. Father, thank you so much for the deliverance of your people so that the Lord Jesus Christ, the great deliverer, could be born. Thank you for your amazing grace. Thank you for your extended mercy, your great kindness, for your commitment to protect your people. And we rejoice in that.

In Jesus name, amen.

Turn to 2. 27.