The Tables are Turned

Deed of blessed Trinity. Please turn to Esther, chapters seven and eight. Tonight, the second half of our thanksgiving message. This morning, in chapter six, we thanked God for his marvelous perfect timing.

What some call accidental fate, Christians know as sovereign care of our sovereign God.

Tonight, our unseen God continues to be seen in his providential acts into the affairs of his people. Haman has built a gallows 75ft high on his property. That way everybody in Shushan could see. And the hanging of Mordecai. He wished to embarrass Mordecai because our Mordecai would not bow before him.

So he wanted to embarrass him before all. But God is known to turn the tables. That very night in which the gallows was being built, God held back sleep from the king, and he called for the reading of the chronicles, that is, of the acts and affairs of what went on in the kingdom. And upon the reading, he was reminded that Mordecai, a Jew, had spared his life by hearing in the city gate about a plot. And he turned in the plot, and they investigated.

And sure enough, it was true, and Mordecai had spared his life.

And just about that time, there was a noise outside the door. It was early morning. Someone was out there. And Mordecai inquires. I mean, the king inquires, who's out there?

And it's Haman, the one who had plotted the murder of Mordecai. And he calls him in and he says to him, before Haman can ask for the head of. For the. For the hanging of Mordecai, he asked Mordecai, what would you do if you wanted to honor someone?

And he puts it on real thick because he thought it was he that the king wished to honor. Can you hear me? All right. Okay. He said he would have him ride on the king's horse, one of the horses the king had ridden on himself.

He'd have him wear one of the king's robes, one of the robes the king had wore himself. He'd have a shield on the front of the king's horse that made it a royal horse. He'd have when someone lead the horse throughout the city of Shushan. And he'd have him cry out, this is someone the king wants to honor.

And the king said to Haman, that's a great idea. You do it for Mordecai the Jew, the very guy, the very person he wanted to come in and ask permission to hang in the gallows. He now has to parade through the streets giving him honor. My How God can turn the tables. And did you see the perfect timing in all this?

Our God is a God of perfect timing. He's sovereignly involved in the affairs of man. There's no accidents with God.

Well, when it was all over, Mordecai went back to his city gate to do his exercise as a judge. But Haman sunk back home, and he no more than told his family and friends the awful things that had happened that day. For it was his family and friends that encouraged him to build the gallows and hang Mordecai. And when he was done talking, the family and friend says, haman, your goose is cooked.

I don't know how you can possibly come out of this with your skin.

With his head hung and no defense. There was a knock on the door. And when they went to the door, it was a party having been sent to get him and take him to the celebration, to the feast of wine with Esther and with the king. So they rushed him away.

That brings us to chapter seven.

God turns the tables against Haman, and he turns the tables for his people, the Jews. In chapter 7, the tables are turned against Haman. In chapter 8, the tables are turned for the Jews.

So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. And on the second day of the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, what is your petition, Queen Esther? I shall grant it. You and what you request, up to half the kingdom. It shall be done.

The king is gracious, and the king is anxious. He wants to know. She delayed telling him when she went into his presence, she delayed again telling him at the first banquet. But she's promised at this sixth banquet, this second banquet, that she would tell him. So the king comes to him, comes to her anxiously but graciously.

I'll give you up to half of the kingdom.

This is the third time he's made this generous offer. He can hardly back out of it now and save face. In fact, he's painted himself into the proverbial corner, hasn't he?

But even this is part of God working behind the scenes to bring about his purposes.

In verses three and four, we have the queen's bold request, but she packages it in a gracious spirit.

Then Queen Esther answered and said, if I have found favor in your sight, O King, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as a Male or female slave, I would have held my tongue. Although the enemy should never compensate for the king's loss. Well, the queen boldly now bursts it out.

I think her tone was one of still nervousness. I think it's been very hard, and she's delayed and delayed until she could get strength to say such a thing. And she packages it in a sweet spirit. She says, if I found favor in your sight, if it please the king, that's pretty wise way to talk. If you think about it, folks, she could have railed on him.

How did you let this happen? How can you be such a dumb king to let this decree go out? No, she's very wise lady. Well, you women might. Wives might think about this, how you package your requests.

So she was given valuable input to the king without making him feel attacked by her or put down for what had happened to her and her people. But the request was not only gracious, it was bold. It was bold. Spare my life and that of my people, she says, we have been sold to be annihilated as a people, to be done away with once and for all. Now, I'm sure the word sold there refers to the fact that Haman paid the king about 10,000 talents, according to one of the historians.

And the 10,000 talents of that day was two thirds of the whole kingdom's earnings in a year. It was no little sum of money that he was paying to have this done. His money wasn't as important to him as his prestige. This Mordecai not bowing down to him. He'd have paid anything to get the whole empire to bow before him.

But Mordecai would not, and nor would the good Jews. And he knew he had to get rid of the Jewish people. But it does seem like in the tone of all this, that the king was somewhat ignorant. Haman's plot. You remember he said when he asked this request to annihilate the Jews a certain people, he may not even known it was the Jewish people.

We don't know just how much he did know.

It seems as though if he would have known it was the Jews, he would never have honored Mordecai the day before or that day, same day, isn't it? He would never have honored him.

Esther is also gracious when she says, I would have not said a word if you, you. If we were being sold for slaves, I'd have just been a good slave. Wow.

But the fact, fact is you will profit nothing from all this. So I spoke up for our sake and yours as well, now, Esther has held off naming Haman, if you notice so far.

And perhaps again, that was wisdom. She's waiting for the king's anger to be aroused.

She was quick, however, to mention that the plot included her as well as her people. And that was significant because it was an attack against the queen herself. In other words, if a king would pass out a decree to annihilate the king, the queen, the people might come up in arms about that. It was an attack against the king, though Haman obviously didn't know that Esther was a Jew.

Verse 5.

So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, who is he and where is he? Who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing? Oh, boy, I can just see Haman's ears turning red. Or maybe that whiteness again, huh?

And Esther said, the adversary and enemy is that is this wicked Haman right there in front of her.

So Haman was terrified before the king and queen. Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden.

Here we see the king's urgent request followed by a normal response. He requests, who is it that would take my queen's life?

Isn't this interesting that the very thing that the Jews have been prayed for has been unfolded right in front of him? Do you get your prayers answered? Isn't it exciting when it's unfolded right in front of you? It's exciting. He was upset, not that Esther revealed to him that she was a Jew.

That didn't bother him at all. He was upset that someone would take his queen's life and that her life was in danger.

You have to be careful sometimes in leadership, and it's not always to be careful. I don't want to fault asterisk too much.

Because someone can seek to do you harm with a smile.

It was hard for me to learn that I'm not sure I have a smile is very deceptive.

Esther answers, wicked Haman's the one. It's wicked Haman.

Perhaps Esther has built her case up on an emotional climax here. Certainly the Holy Spirit has led her to delay and delay and delay. And then instead of coming right out and saying, it's Haman, she said, someone wants to take my life and the life of all my race, and it just continues to build. Who would dare to do that? Now she's ready.

The wicked Haman, he's the one.

And the king immediately responds in a normal response. I believe he responds with anger.

And instead of blowing his top and grabbing the Throat of wicked Haman. He needs some time to think.

And he retreats to the garden right outside the sliding doors.

Both are natural responses, but both are tended by God. To put the final touches on Haman.

7b.

But Haman stood before Queen Esther pleading for his life. For he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. He could see that look on the king's face.

And when the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, Lost my place.

Will he also assault the king while I am in the house? And as the words left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.

Now. Horrible. One of the eunuchs said to the king, look, the gallows, 50 cubics high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who spoke good in the king's behalf, is standing at the house of Haman. Then the king said, hang him on it. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.

Then the king's wrath was subsided.

The tables are turned and overturned.

Hamid pleads for the queen's life to the queen for his life.

The king had slept out into the garden. So he takes every advantage and pleads, please spare my life, for only at your word can my life be spared. Now.

The one who would kill the Jews, the Jew, for not bowing to him, was now bowing to a Jew.

And the king returned and found Haman so engrossed in pleading that he's down on his knees and halfway on the couch, begging to Queen Esther.

But the king was angry.

And to an angry king, it looked like something else. It looked like he was assaulting her. He was just about ready to beat up on her or something. But I think that.

And she says, will he assault him right in my own house, right in my own presence?

And just about that quick. The man standing at the door took the black.

Call it veil. Sack. I'm going to call it sack. So you get the picture and just put it over his head. Now that's what they did.

For a person that was to die.

You're not to look at this face anymore.

And another one at the door spoke up and said, there is a place ready to hang him. The very place that Haman built to hang Mordecai is ready to hang Haman. And the king says, then do it.

And the tables were turned and overturned against Haman. Now in chapter eight, the story goes on, and it's not a Story. It's something that happened in History of the Marvelous Acts of God into the affairs of his people.

And in chapter eight, the king turns the tables for his people, the Jews. Let's begin reading in verse one. On that day, King Asrus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for. For Esther had told how he was related to her.

It's all out now.

So God gave the wealth of Haman. You remember how wealthy he was? Even as a gift it was. What was it worth? Two thirds of a year's wages.

The Persian law states, according to the history parts that I read, that a traitor's property become the property of the state. And he was certainly a traitor. And so it was the kings to give. And he gave it to Esther.

Perhaps he was thinking compensation for all that she had suffered. And immediately Esther puts Mordecai in charge of it. Verse 2. So the king took off his signet ring which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman.

Esther's now told the king, this Mordecai that saved your life is my uncle.

Wow, he is one great man. To have such a great niece is you.

And he saved my life. He's a very wise judge at the city gate, and he'll be a very wise vice regent for me. And so Mordecai now takes Haman's place as the vice regent of all the Persian empire, just like Daniel was to King Darius, just like Joseph was to the Pharaoh, so is Mordecai in all of the great empire of Persia, he's the chief minister of the Persian Empire. Verse 3. Now Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agite and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews.

And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the queen before the king.

The king gave Mordecai authority.

Let me keep reading. Verse 5. And said, if it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seems right to the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the letter devised by Haman the son of Amitiah the Agite, which he wrote to annihilate the Jews who were in the king's providences. For how can I endure to see the evil which have come to my people, or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen? Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai, the Jews, indeed, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay hands on the Jews.

You yourself, then, write a decree concerning the Jews as you please, in the king's name and seal it with the king's signet ring. For whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring, no one can revoke the law of the Medes and the Persians. Well, one law has went forth. You can't change it. That was to annihilate the Jews.

It cannot be changed. However, another law can come out as well. This is what the king is granting, the privilege to Mordecai and Esther to send forth another law to save the Jews, if possible.

So God is going to give life back to the Jewish people?

Esther pleads with tears to the king. She requests that the decree be revoked. The Jews remain as a doomed people by an irrevocable decree. The golden scepter says, I'm on your side, Esther. I will grant you wish in what way I can.

So he puts Mordecai in full authority to send a new degree. Since the first one cannot be removed, the second one cannot say the opposite of what the first said. And so it had to be written in a very careful way. Now they had eight months left to do that because God in his providence had caused the dice to fall, I think 11 months away. So we're guessing there's about eight months left now.

And so the Jews were encouraged in the decree to organize and to defend themselves and be aggressive.

Let me read on.

So the king scribes were called at that time of the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the 23rd day. And it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews and the satraps and the governors and the princes, and the providences from India to Ethiopia, 127 providences in all. To every providence in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language. And he wrote in the name of King Assuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring and sent letters by the couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses, bred from swift steeds. By these letters, the king permitted the Jews, who were in every city to gather together to protect their lives, to destroy to kill, to annihilate all the forces of any people or providence that would assault them, both little children and women, and to ponder their possessions.

On one day, in all the providences of King ahrus, on the 13th day of the 12th month, which is the month of Adar, a copy of the document was to be issued as a decree into every providence and published to all people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemy. The couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on the king's commandment. And the decree was issued in Shushan and the citadel. So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold, and garments of fine linen and purple. And the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.

And the Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor. And in every providence and city, wherever the kings commanded and the decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews because a fear of the Jews fell upon them.

That a great account, our God is so good.

Later on we'll read that 75,000 enemies of the Jews died on that day prescribed. Because the Jews were aggressive against all that were their enemies. So the new decree was delivered, and Mordecai puts on the royal robes before the people of all of Shushan. And the Jews everywhere had joy and gladness. And even Gentiles became Jews because they feared the Jews and because the hand of God was working behind the scenes.

Well, God can upset the fruit basket, and God can turn the tables and upset the tables. God worked behind the scenes from Chapter 1 in the Dethroning of Vashti, Queen Vasti, the throning of Esther, the bringing Mordecai out from a nobody into becoming now the vice regent of all of Persia and all of the circumstantial things. Circumstances were by divine design for God to spare his people Israel, and for God to protect the line in which the Savior would come.

If Mordecai dressed in Sackhoth symbolized the Jews in trouble, then Mordecai dressed in purple symbolizes the Jews in triumph, doesn't it?

God is committed to protecting his people.

His people are the vineyard that he guards day and night. I'm going to read that to you.

Isaiah 27:2 and 3 says, Open the gates 27:2 and 3 in that day sing to her a vineyard of red wine. I the Lord, keep It I water it every moment lest any hurt it. I keep it night and day. Oh my. You bunch of grapes out there.

Ah. Did you realize you were God's vineyard? He keeps it day and night. I'll read you another. And Isaiah 49 is another great passage about this.

Did you know the Bible's full of the way God takes care of his people? If you didn't, I want you to look for it next time you begin to read. Isaiah 49. 15 just says, Can a woman forget her nursing child?

I hope you answer no and not have compassion on the son of her womb. Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.

His people are as a baby that a mother cannot forget and must show compassion on.

God loves us. God takes care of us. We're his possession. We're his prize. We're his people.

Do you understand that? Is that clear? And the hand of God is not silent in the heavens, it's active on earth, bringing about what is good for you, bringing about his care of his vineyard, his compassion on his children. Do you understand that that is so important that we understand that God will take care of the Hamans in our life. It may seem like there's nothing stopping the Hamans, but God will.

And God will do it in his time, and God will do it his way. And when he does, we will say my I would never have thought he would do it like that.

His wonders to perform.

God moves in mysterious and unusual ways as wonders to perform. God cares about you so much that he sent his only begotten son to die the most wretched death imaginable to encompass all wretched people and give him a full pardon. Do you understand? Praise the Lord. Can you say thank you, Lord?

Thank you Lord. Father, thank you so much for your amazing grace. We marvel at the way you turned the tables on Haman and turned the tables for your people. We could never have figured it out had you not told us. But oh, we're so glad that you told us.

Help us to be looking expectingly for you to turn the tables in our life for your divine appointments from the way your perfect timing comes about and we'll remember to thank you in Jesus name, Amen.