Good morning again. You can turn with me to Esther. We'll be covering fairly large swath as has been the custom with Esther and which would be the custom with any Old Testament narrative. We'll be covering a fairly large swath of scripture. So bear with me. There'll be a lot of reading and a lot of my voice this morning as we get through this. But if you remember, we left off in such a position that if this was a Sunday school or an episode of Veggie Tales, we'd be done with Esther. But there's still two chapters left. And we definitely need not deny the scripture its opportunity to speak. So we're going to see what's in that last chapter and a half or two chapters. And we're going to see, the Lord's still working. I don't know if you know this, but if the scriptures open, the Lord's working. So we're going to get through those two chapters and we're going to see how he's working and what he's doing. So Esther, we can really pick up at the very end of chapter seven as just a review, and then of course we'll read through eight and nine, and honestly even chapter 10, but chapter 10 is only two verses long, and it's a postscript, so we'll get there this morning. It'll be something we briefly touch on. So truly there's three chapters left. So once you're there, we'll go before the Lord in prayer yet again. Can't go before him enough, especially this morning. So let's go before the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, please speak this morning, Father. We want that every day, but Lord, especially on a Sunday morning where we have taken the time to ensure that we can honor you with our attention, Father, and our time, and our everything, Father, speak to us mightily this morning. Not in some strange way, Father, but in a way that impacts our lives. and changes us to look more like your Son. Speak to us with words that will take us from the way we are now and make us look more like you want us to look, Father. That's truly what our prayer is this morning. In your name, amen. So once again, we really got to where many would say, It's over. The story has finished. We got to the end of chapter 7. After all, what more do we want than what's said in chapter 7 verses, oh, let's say 8 through 10, or really 7 through 10. You'll read with me, 7, 7 through 10. And the king arose in his wrath from the wine drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he said that harm was determined against him by the king, the understatement of this book. And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, and as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was, the king said, will he even assault the queen in my presence in my own house? As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's face. Then Harbona, one of the king's eunuchs, excuse me, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king said, moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman's house, 50 cubits high. And the king said, hang him on that. So they hang Haman on the gallows that he prepared for Mordecai, and the wrath of the king abated. I kind of have to wonder what the backstory here is with our man, Harbana, that he is very rarely mentioned, but the one time he is mentioned, it's to make sure that Haman gets his comeuppance. Kind of have to wonder if there was some previous issues there, but that's not mentioned in scripture, so feel free to kind of develop your own headcanon there and speculate, but I'm not sure what was going on in his mind, but he had it out for Haman for some reason. Because this is insult to injury. Because if you'll remember, if you'll remember, We are at such a point where we have revealed that Haman or Haman, depending on how Anglicized you want to say it, has revealed or his plot has been revealed that he's going to kill all of the Jews. And he's done so under the guise of a basically a glorified military campaign and has been signed off on by the king and that is truly where the king's wrath lay is that i have been deceived i am one of the most powerful if not the most powerful man in the world nobody deceives me what is the public going to perceive of this the pr nightmare here folks the political nightmare Not to mention just the hurt and the anger of this man who I trusted with my life, literally, has deceived me and signed off on mass genocide using my signet ring, and I handed it to him. He's angry. The king is. And we said that there were multiple, it's sort of glazed over in a Sunday school style context. And I don't mean to say Sunday school in a bad way. I encourage Sunday school. It is a great program. I just use Sunday schoolization as just a general term for sort of a lighthearted study of scripture. We're trying to get a little bit deeper here. but we looked at the fact that he was actually doomed in several aspects at the end of chapter seven, because not only has his plot been revealed and he must die for deceiving the king, he also must die for wanting to hurt the king's queen. But then on top of that, there's a miscommunication because Haman does not leave with the king the way he was supposed to. Instead, he stays and tries to beg for his life from Esther. And so that was a problem because he's not supposed to be alone with the queen. Nobody is. Nobody that's not a eunuch. And he's alone with the queen. And then finally, whenever the king comes back in, one of the things he notices is that the way that Haman has thrown himself at the queen, begging for his life, looks like assault. And now he has to die again. This man has killed himself four different ways. Keep in mind that less than 24 hours before, this gentleman was on top of the world. His heart was merry. Imagine how crooked you have to be to have your heart merry that you're going to murder somebody and commit genocide. But that's how evil this man is. He is on top of the world. He cannot believe his good fortunes. And again, in the words of John MacArthur, oh, what a difference a day makes. Oh, how the tables have turned. And a little note at the end of this chapter here, not to put too fine a point on it, but one of my favorite small notes from Esther that we miss in the lighthearted studies of Esther is hidden at the end of chapter seven, because at the end of chapter seven, after Havana mentions, hey, we could put them on those gallows, he built them for Mordecai, let's flip the script on him. It says in verse eight, and the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was, and the king said, well, he even assault the queen in my presence in my own house. As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's face. I love that note. It sounds small, but I love that because in their tradition, when the king pronounced death, And that bag, you could imagine like those old westerns when they put the bag over the bad guy's face before he went to the gallows. The last thing the bad guy was supposed to see was the person who doomed him. It was supposed to be the king, but if you look at where Haman is, he's looking at Esther. He's looking at the representative for the Jewish nation and it has to dawn on him, I have messed with the wrong people. I have messed with God's chosen people, the Jews, and the last thing he sees is possibly the person that he hates the second most on the planet. God will not be mocked when it comes to the preservation of his people, folks. You can remember that the next time you turn on the news and watch anything occurring in the Middle East. The Lord will not abandon his people. But of course, again, that leaves us with eight, nine, and 10th chapters that we have to get through. And he'll forgive me if I don't read every single verse from those three chapters, but we do need to understand what is happening. So if I don't read everything, forgive me, but we will try to understand everything. I will remind you that as we start chapter eight, there's a slight twist here. And if we stopped here where Hollywood and where Sunday School and VeggieTales keeps telling us to stop, we'd miss a very important detail. Let me read through and maybe you can catch it. Chapter eight, verse one. On that day, King Ahasuerus, gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther and Mordecai set over the house of Haman. Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept, and pleaded with him 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, remember the golden scepter was basically saying, I accept you, you can be in my presence, what do you need, I'm here. It's the ultimate approval. Verse five, Esther rose and stood before the king and she said, if it pleased the king and I have found favor in his sight, and 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 Summa Hamadatha. which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in 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 then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew behold I have given Queen Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he intended to lay hands on the Jews. But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews in the name of the king and seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's name cannot be revoked." Again, if we stop before chapter 8, I want you to note something. The Jews are still going to die. Just because the plot's been discovered, they're still due to be murdered in 8 months and 20 days. It is still going to happen. Well, Jonathan, hold up a second. God preserves his people. Yup, and that's why we need to read chapter eight. Their laws, if I remind you from back from early in chapter one and chapter two, Medo-Persian laws could not be just simply overturned. They couldn't send out another horse behind the previous ones. It had been about two months since Haman had sent out his edict. And they're not just gonna send out more horses and say, look, in eight months and 20 days, cancel that order. It's not like it would be here. I'll give you a reference point for that. Back in 1919, when the 18th amendment was signed into law here in the United States, we decided we didn't like that. 13 years later, 21st amendment comes about and we just throw out the first one. That's not how their system works. The first thing has to happen. So what the king does in chapter eight is say, Mordecai, you've been faithful, Esther, You've been faithful, let's fix this. Let's sent out not so much a counter edict, but another edict. And in that secondary edict, he effectively tells the Jews, listen, the massacre is going to still attempt to occur. You need to arm yourself. You need to be able to defend yourself. And he gives the Jews the permission, effectively, to bear arms and defend their families and their lineages from anyone who would dare try to harm them. So we need chapter 8, because Hollywood leaves us with the Jewish nation still defeated. The Bible, however, shows just how the Lord moved to make sure his people are preserved. As well, we need to discover in this chapter, if you'll note, the house of Haman has been given to Esther and Mordecai. Specifically Esther, Mordecai likely serves as some overseer's role as he does in the king's palace. But under Persian tradition, what is happening here is also significant. It's not so much that the king says, okay, listen, Haman obviously had a ton of wealth, a ton of everything. He had a massive household, 10 sons, lots of property, grape vineyards and fruit vineyards, and he had everything. He's a very wealthy man, very powerful man. Esther, you take it. No. What's happening here is that under Persian law, someone committing treason, which Haman did, someone committing treason, their property is forfeit, and it belongs to the king now. This is not a transfer from evil over to good. This is a transfer from Haman to the king, and the king sees fit, says, this is mine, but you can have it. They're not blessed with just the evil heirs or the evil fruit of Haman's labors by getting this estate, which has been tarnished by what Haman has done. They're getting a gift from the king. A much different situation. And Mordecai and Esther rule over this, which increases their power and their wealth and their standing, increases their nobility and their standing before the king. And as well, it's important to notice, as she inherits this house, as Mordecai is going to inherit this house, and as Mordecai comes in to rewrite the decree to say, my Jewish brethren, you can defend yourselves. We do not have to be wiped out. Please defend yourselves. Stand against the evil people who would dare try to wipe God's people off of the face of the planet. We see that Mordecai is still acting the way he has the whole book, there's no pride here. Mordecai does not inherit part of the house of Haman, does not inherit the new role, he doesn't feel like, ha, I've been vindicated, told you that guy was up to no good. He doesn't put on a prideful, boastful air and say, well, listen, that guy's gone, well, now I'm the big dog or king, you know, you give me his job and I'm gonna take care of business, there's no pride here. If you read through verses nine through 14, Mordecai's focus is still on preserving the Lord's people. He's still about the Lord's business. He's still humble. And you'll read with me again, it's a nice little stretch of verse, but read with me in verse nine. The king's scribes were summoned at that time in the third month, which is the month of Siobhan. Siobhan is late in May to early June, roughly. On the 23rd day, and an edict was written according to that Mordecai had commanded concerning the Jews to the satraps and governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces to each province in his own script and to each people in its own language. And also to the Jews in their script and their language. And he wrote the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the King's signet ring. It is now law. That ring means it is law. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king's service, bread from the royal studs, saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend themselves, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force or any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods. I want you to note that, and to plunder their goods. Keep reading with me. It's a small note, but it is huge in its inference. On one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus on the 13th day of the 12th month, which is the month of Adar, a copy that was written to be issued as a decree in every province being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were ready to be on, excuse me, 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 shoes of the citadel. 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 Shusa 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 of the people of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them. Few things we need to gather from here before we read any further. They have been given permission, not only to defend themselves, they've been given permission to plunder those who would attack them. Money always seems to be mixed in with politics, and for the king, that's all this is. For us, we understand it's a preservation of God's people. For the king, this is a political move, and money has to be involved. So just note, because we're going to read later something very interesting about their ability to plunder. But as well, it is gorgeous to note in verse 15, keep in mind, Mordecai has never been dishonored in this book. No part of Haman's plan ever came to fruition. Mordecai is already riding high. He's literally been on the king's horse. and escorted by the king's prince, which was Haman. He's seen honor, he's had prestige, he's had elegance, he's been in the elevated position, and it gets even better, because when you read in verse 15, we miss this in our westernized world, but when it says, Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, he is literally wearing the nation's colors. He is effectively wearing their flag. He is the embodiment of the Persian Empire at this point. There was little higher honor than him being rode around on the king's horse and having Haman proclaim, thus shall be done to the man in whom the king delights. This is it. You can get no higher. After this, it's just king. This is a man who was doomed. This is a man whose entire lineage was doomed, and the Lord saw fit to allow this to happen, and the king saw fit to allow this to happen. He has been taken to an even higher and more elevated position, and yet again, we still never see anything but humility with him. And as well, there's another little note here at the end. After the fine linen, the purple, the blue, the white, the Jews are rejoicing. I imagine so. Because for them, it wasn't simply a matter of, well, now I'm not gonna die. It's a matter of my family lives on. It's a matter of my lineage lives on. My progeny keeps going. My way of life will know tomorrow. There's feasting, there's joy. We'll get back around that in a minute. Chapter eight really kind of sets itself up as sort of a precursor to what's actually going to be fulfilled in chapter nine. You'll understand that in a moment. But I did want to note the last little half of verse 17. It says, and many of the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews for the fear of the Jews had fallen on them. If you read this in the ESV, you may mistake the idea that many people declare themselves Jews as some sort of protection, or you know what, it's the cool thing to be. You can see this nowadays, you side with whatever political party is the coolest or the most powerful, or you could identify as whatever you want on Monday and it's something to get on Tuesday. That's not what's happening here. The word here is Yechad. It means to Jewicize, effectively. To become a Jew, to convert. And this, in its totality, would have been a mit Yechadeim. This would have been the idea of you were one thing, you cross over, you are now a Jew. We miss this in the lighthearted versions of Esther. But folks, there's conversion. People leave the pagan ideologies that they have been soaked in since their nascency. They leave behind the ideologies of the world's most powerful empire. They're surrounded by idols from this empire. They're surrounded by the Persian gods. They can pick any one of these gods to devote their lives to. They can see their idols on every corner, and yet they convert. The Lord is glorified because now more people know his name. Not only are the Jews preserved, but their number increases. Not only is the bloodline of every God-fearing man and woman increased, the number of God-fearing men and women increase. There's conversion here. How great is God that he would have a twofold blessing here, that more people would know the name of Yahweh through something that Haman had meant for pure evil. God preserves his people and increases his people. Now, we have to make sure we understand the idea of what's behind chapter 9. Keep reading with me. You can kind of get a preview of what's going on if you look at the header of chapter 9, the Jews destroy their enemies. But let's read chapter 9 verse 1. Now in the 12th month, which is the month of Adar on the 14th 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 of those who hated them. The Jews gathered in their cities throughout the province of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. I love the phrase to lay hands on, it makes me feel justified in using it myself. I'm gonna lay hands on you, boy. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples. All the officials of the provinces and all the satraps and the governors and the royal agents also helped the Jews. Nobody stood against them. or very few stood against him rather. 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. The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them as they pleased to those who hated them. In Shusa, the citadel, the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men. And also Pashendatha, and Dolphan, and Aspatha, Paratha, Adalia, and Aradatha, and Parmashta, and Arasai, and Aradai, and Vashasti, the 10 sons of Haman, the Hamadathite, the enemy of the Jews. Now note this little thing at the end, we'll get back to it in a moment, but they took no plunder. They laid no hand on the plunder. That very day, the number of those in Shus of the Citadel was reported to the king. So we have now a dialogue coming back up between the king and Esther. And the king said to Esther, in Shus of the Citadel, the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and also the sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? And it should be fulfilled. And Esther says, if it pleases the king, let the Jews who are in Shusa do the same tomorrow. Also, according to this day's edict and let the 10 sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows. So the king commanded this to be done. A decree issued in Shusa and the 10 sons of Haman were hanged. The Jews who were in the Shusa gathered also on the 14th day of the month of Adar and they killed 300 men in Shusa but they laid no hands on the plunder. Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces also gathered to defend themselves and got relief from their enemies and killed 75,000 of those who hated them and they laid no hands on the plunder. That's the third time that's mentioned, that's important. This was on the 13th day of the month of Adar, and on the 14th day they rested and made that day of feasting and gladness. But the Jews who were in Shusa gathered on the 13th and on the 14th and rested on the 15th day, making that day a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore, the Jews of the village who live in the rural towns hold the 14th day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and as a day on which they send gifts of food to one another. There's actually a good deal going on here, but I want you to note something. They took none of the plunder. This bears very little, it may just seem like a footnote, but the fact that it's mentioned three times. Folks, do you remember how this whole situation started? I don't mean, well, Haman was an evil man and that's how this started. I don't mean Esther made queen and that's how this started. Vashti refused to appear in front of the king, that's how this started. Folks, this started almost 1,000 years ago. In 1 Samuel, King Saul was more worried about the plunder of the Agagites than doing what the Lord said. The Jews remembered their history. and the Jews get a chance to practice obedience, they don't touch the money. They do what the Lord told them to do a thousand years ago and make sure that their enemies are gone. There's a reason that's mentioned. What a beautiful little thing that we'd otherwise miss, that the Lord sought to rectify his entire plan for his people. It should have happened 1,000 years ago, but man had other plans. You see where it landed, then the Jews see where it landed, then they will not make that mistake again. Don't touch the money, boys. Make sure the enemies of God are dead, but don't touch the money. Make sure the people who raised their hands against us when we were peaceful, make sure they know that we're here, but don't touch the money. Remember, the plunder is what has got in trouble the first time. The plan of God rectified, and we see the increase that comes about because of it. It's amazing when we do things God ways how things work out. I would like to put a little side note here. You'll notice that the sons of Haman are already dead, but then they're hanged. That's part of the reason why we know that hanging wasn't necessarily the method of death like they wanted to do the Mordecai. It was the display of the body in dishonor. So just a little side note. But Haman's house is completely destroyed. The Jews have a rectified situation within their society. They are safe. Battle plans have been carried out. Mordecai is now effectively second only to the king. He's wearing the blue and white. Everything seems like it is just right up and it is just going well. We can end it here. And yet there's still even more. Let's keep on reading in verse 20 of chapter 9. And Mordecai 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 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 which had turned them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into 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 so the Jews accepted that excuse me for the Jews accepted what they had started to do and what Mordecai had written to them for Haman the Agagite the son of Hamadath the enemy of the Jews had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast per lots this is not a dissimilar word from what we see cast with Jonah the idea of it was just a lottery let's just see what happens let's throw these effectively dice down and let's see what day of the month we're going to commit genocide that's what they had done and so they call this new feast per lots the luck. Verse 25, But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that this evil plan that had been devised on the Jews should return on its own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, the Jews firmly obligated themselves, and their offspring, and all who joined him, that they would, without fail, keep these two days according to what is written, at that time appointed every year, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Puritam should never fall into disuse among the Jews." Note that. This is not a temporary thing. As a matter of fact, when you look at the verbiage here in Hebrew, it is perfect tense. It is ongoing. These days of Purim should never fall into disuse by the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants. Folks, do you know what is happening on March 23rd and 24th in a few weeks? This is still celebrated. When God said he preserves his people, we're not reading a story here, folks. We're not reading just some bedtime story, frightening bedtime story, by the way. We're not just reading some bedtime story, something that we read to our kids and go, look, the Lord is good, and Esther is wonderful, and now Mordecai's got fancy clothes. No, we are reading the preservation of God's people. and to be able to look across the Atlantic Ocean into the Mediterranean region and look over into Israel every single year and wonder, what are those Jews doing in Jerusalem when they're celebrating Purim? Folks, it's proof that this works, that this happened. This is not just a story. This is God's story. This is actual history. Well, we are going to be able to witness, if you so please, you can look over to Jerusalem in March and see the Lord still at work. When people look at our book or they look at our Bible, they mock our Bible and say, it's just a bunch of stories. Some of them feel good, some of them are really strange, and this is just a bunch of English translations of old Jewish lore. Explain to me how that old false Jewish lore is still going then. It happened. It's documented, they still celebrate this, because our God still preserves them, because our God is still good to his word. Verse 29, then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abahel, and Mordecai the Jew, gave full written authority, confirming this second letter of Apurim. Letters were sent to all the Jews to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus in words of peace and truth that in these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them and as they obligated themselves and their offspring with regard to their fast and lamenting. The command of Queen Esther was confirmed these practices of Purim and it was recorded in writing. 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. You can imagine sort of a Joseph situation. He's second on the planet effectively. 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." What a beautiful note there. That's how I'd like to be remembered 3,000 years later. Remembered in a humble way that he sought out the welfare of his people and spoke peace to everyone, not just the Jews. Kind of an amazing way to leave him there, that he's still humble after all of this. But what we see throughout the entire last three chapters here is that the work of the Lord was not done. There was some loose ends that needed to be tied up that perhaps we would have missed. Not just in their storytelling, but perhaps if we tried to orchestrate this, little things get through the crack. But no, the Lord realizes, no, we have to make sure the plan is done. I still have a plan. I still need them to not touch the plunder to learn their lesson. I still need them to be protected. I need them to remember what I've done for them here. And they're able for generations to constantly look back and say, hey, listen, we were preserved. The Lord still loves us. We are still the Lord's. And it speaks to us to this day that they are still the Lord's. I will go through a few bullet points really quickly just to make sure that we tidy up and finish Esther in a review format and that we make sure we take as much away from this book as possible. If you've heard the bullet points before, and I'm sure you have, and I know I've probably said most of them, but they bear repeating, they're powerful points. But I want you to note what we can take away from Esther as we close out our book. My first point here that I'd like us to remember is that hardship is allowed in your life, but God is still in control. I guarantee you, as was said two or three sermons ago, and I tried to push that point two or three sermons ago, I guarantee you Mordecai, even though scripture records him as level-headed, I guarantee you he was scared. I guarantee you Esther was scared despite the way they act. I guarantee you that it looked like the world was careening out of control. but look at the way they reacted. Do you know that same God requires the same thing of us to this day? He requires only of us, do as I say, even when it's falling apart. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but anybody else ever gone through a hard spot in life? Do you know God's still God during that? Do you know what a blessing it is that God is still God during all of that? Left up to me being God in that situation, I'm gone at the first sign of trouble. I don't like trouble, usually. I like making trouble. That's where my son gets it from. But God is faithful even in the midst of the world falling apart. And I don't mean that, listen folks, it's easy to say that phrase, the world is falling apart. The world was falling apart. This is the world. This is the largest empire that humans would see until probably another 3,000 or 2,000 years. This is huge. The world is literally falling apart and we see where their faith needs to be. And we also see the fact that hardship, again, hardship is allowed. We like to imagine the fact that, well, I belong to the Lord, my life is going to be smooth sailing. Explain the entire life of Jesus Christ then. We have people that will stand in a pulpit. There are contemporaries of mine that will stand in the pulpit on a Sunday morning and tell you, you belong to the Lord. It's smooth sailing from here on out. You have to explain persecution in the Middle East. You have to explain persecution in China. You have to explain the life of Christ. You have to explain why every single disciple except for one was murdered. The Lord did not promise us easy. The Lord promised us faithfulness. We had apostles hung upside down. That was not easy. It was not nice. It was not even honorable. We have people to this day dying for the name of the Lord. Do you know he's still faithful? I'm going to make the overstatement of the sermon, but I want you to know that pride comes before a fall. That's my second point or half of my second point. We can look at Heyman and we realize that any person who would have approached the situation with humility would have possibly been able to use a few more brain cells and avoid this. Pride blinds. And do you understand that pride Much less being of a blinding nature, do you understand that pride flies in the face of God's deity? Because pride says, I'm it. You're not it. Pride says, I'm it. I got it. Pride says, I'm it. That's it. That's me. I got this. I'm the big dog. I'm in charge. God said he was. Pride flies in the face for a Christian to have this. Now listen, Haman, far from Christian. But for us, we need to understand something. When we let prideful nature take over, we're shaking our fists at God saying, I'm gonna do it, not you, I got it. How foolish. And in Haman's case, though, in an extreme case, it blinds and it leads to the grave. But then we see the counterpoint, we see that pride is deadly through Haman, and then we see that humility has a preservation effect. Because in humility, when you esteem yourself lower, and you allow God to take lead where he's supposed to be, you allow his plan to come to fruition the way he wants it, and you get out the way, that's what the Lord wants of us. Stay humble. Esteem ourselves lower than the will of God. Get out of the way sometimes. Sometimes we are the biggest enemy to the will of God that we just don't even imagine, because we just stand in the way. Things don't go the way we want it. We're just going to stand on the tracks and basically try to stop the train. That's not how that works. Humility allows us to step behind the Lord and say, listen, you go, I'll follow. I understand you're in the top spot. I'm not even in the second spot. I'm just back here somewhere. Take the lead. And we see those two different mindsets between Haman versus Mordecai. Thirdly, and this is a big one, allow God to speak and work through you. We see that with Esther. And as a sub point there, let the Lord put you where he desires. Folks, we talk a big talk sometimes, Lord, use me, Lord, use me. Oh Lord, but not like that. Lord, I'm here, I'm yours, Lord, put me where you need. Oh no, that's uncomfortable. I'm glad it's not just me, y'all. Y'all make me feel better. Lord, use me, put me where you gotta put me. I know there's work out there to be done. I'm ready to go. This is uncomfortable. Put me back where I was. Esther was not in a comfortable position. Keep in mind that she's not only scared of the decree, the idea that I'm a Jew, I'm going to die, she's scared of that, but keep in mind that was still eight months and 20 days away. She's looking at Queen Vashti and realizing that man goes, and I'm done. But she allowed the Lord to use her. And in the operative verse of this entire book, I'll remind you the operative verse in both its first and second portions. If you look at verse 14 of chapter four again, it bears repeating, for if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise from the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Second part, where everybody loves to hinge. Again, I like the first part, most people like the second. Here we go, and who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Folks, the Lord may have you in a difficult position because that's where he needed you to be to do something that you don't understand. You may be in pain, you may have some suffering, but if the Lord's mission is being fulfilled, your temporary affliction means nothing. If the Lord is working through you, that is the place you need to be, no matter what pains it may cause us. We need to be at the center of the Lord's will. By the way, the center of the Lord's will is also the safest place to be. Allow the Lord to work through you. Allow him to speak through you. And by that, I don't mean something mystic. But for the modern Christian, that means allow your words to be the words that Christ would have spoken in any given situation. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in what you should say. If we could put it in a nutshell, I'd say this. Have no hidden agenda. Do what the Lord has asked. And be willing. Closer related to that, a fourth point, you can obey without understanding. I have a four-year-old. I wonder if he's gonna listen back to sermon audio in 20 years when he starts preaching and read some of these things. I have a four-year-old, and we're trying to get him used to taking care of the twins, the new babies, and he's a good big brother. He wants to be everywhere and take care of everything, but he's four. So taking care of everything sometimes means that he's underfoot. And part of the reason for that is because everything that we ask him to do, why, why, but, why, but, why, I wanna, but, folks, you know what, that's what we sound like to God sometimes. Boy, I told you, put the pacifier back in her mouth, why, just do it. pacifier in the baby's mouth so daddy could take a nap. But you know that's what we sound like to the Lord when we dare to go, why? I don't need to know why. If I knew why, I still probably wouldn't understand it. That's the nature of serving a God and not a fellow man. We can obey without understanding. We can obey without seeing the end points. Because again, if we saw the end, it would confuse us even more. Be obedient to a God that you know already sees tomorrow. Why are we worried about understanding? He's got it. Just more stress for me to worry about. But we do it all the time. Lord, I don't get it. I don't understand. I'm not moving until you explain it. And you probably stay right there. His will to keep on moving right along. You can be obedient without understanding, and that's what Mordecai did. I guarantee you he didn't see the end of this. Mordecai never saw himself on top of that horse. Mordecai never saw himself a Jew in blue and white wearing the colors of the Medo-Persian empire, but Mordecai knew God had something for us to do and we were gonna do it. Esther never saw inheriting Haman's house, but she did it. Lack of understanding does not mean lack of obedience. And then a point that I keep on pushing as my fifth and final point, Israel will be preserved. God's promises are good. The takeaway from there, even though we are in no part, or at least I imagine none of us in any part are Jewish, But that still bears importance for us because in seeing the preservation of the Jews for thousands of years, we see the fact that God's promises still stand. If he can be good for them for 2,000 years, I'm pretty sure he can get me through my 100 years of life. If he could preserve a people for generations upon generations upon generations, he's probably got me when I'm at work. He's probably got me when I'm conversing with my family. He's probably got me this week. It's a beautiful, beautiful message of God's faithfulness. It's a beautiful reflection of who God has said he is. And it's gorgeous to just watch God work in such an amazing way through this book. And I'll bring up this point again. Again, do we realize that the name of God is never once mentioned in Esther, but you know he's there. This doesn't happen by accident. Again, I'll state the fact that as a math person, the statistics on just Esther being chosen are dumbfounding. For everything to come together the way it does from the failed battle from King Shearksha, from the choosing of Esther, from the fact that she effectively lived down the street in the same little town as the king, the fact that all of this comes together and Haman was in the place and time, the fact that he walks into the courtyard when he does. Tell me God's not in this book. The name doesn't have to be said. We see the fruits of what happened and we know who did this. I'm certainly hoping that you have enjoyed your time in Esther. I know that I've enjoyed writing these sermons. It has been a blessing to walk through such a deep book that has so much to say about who God is and what his sovereignty means for us. But I'm hoping not to put too fine a point on it that when we think about this book, we don't simply see it as a historical narrative. We look at it as the work of God. And that we look at it as a message of the faithfulness of God. And that we look at it as the promises of God preserved for all time. If you'll stand, we will dismiss. Asking if God's good doesn't seem like enough after reading through a book like Esther. Don't have to ask. I know he's good. The book told us that. And then to know that there are 65 other books that reflect that goodness. Esther tells it one way. Psalms tells it another. Matthew tells it another way. Acts tells it yet another. Revelation wraps it up. Genesis starts it. But the whole book is about the goodness of God and the providence of God and who he is. Don't let that Bible collect dust this week. Open it up and see where else it says it. My normal person is gone. Brother Chad, can you pray for us?