Okay, good evening and welcome back to our series of studies through the book of Esther. Tonight we'll be studying in Chapter 3, back in Chapter 3, we'll be looking at verses 12 through 15, which will conclude Chapter 3. But before we get started, let's just do a quick review of what we learned and studied last time. In that study, which covered verses 8 through 11, we saw Haman cleverly convince the king to give him all of the resources that he needed to carry out his evil plot. He manipulated the king in a very similar way to the way Mammuken manipulated the king back in chapter one. He used the same tactic of mixing enough truth with lie to convince the king not only to give him permission to annihilate the Jews, all the Jews living in Persia, but he convinced the king to fully fund the endeavor and to give Haman complete free reign in how to go about it by turning over to him the king's signet ring. And remember, the royal signet ring was a ring that the king had. It had an intricate and unique molding or carving in its face. The image was, like I said, it was unique. It represented the king and carried his full authority with it. It was used to make a wax impression on official documents that came from the king. And what it did was it authenticated that those documents, the words within those documents were the king's own words. So it was a big deal. When the king gave Haman his signet ring, he gave him the power to act on the king's behalf with the king's full authority. So literally, whatever Haman said or whatever he wrote, the king said or wrote. So now Haman has the king's permission, he has his provision, and he's been given full freedom to annihilate the Jews in whatever manner seems good to him. Now in tonight's study of verses 12 through 15, Haman initiates his plan. using all the resources and the full authority that the king has placed at his disposal. And then the chapter ends with a view into the depth of depravity that these two men, the king and Haman, share together. So let's read our passage for tonight, Esther chapter three, verses 12 through 15. says, Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy to kill and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the 13th day of the 12th month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa, the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion." Okay, so let's begin here. in verse 12. So the next step that Haman takes in unfolding his plot against the Jews is to summon the king's scribes. These scribes are the official secretaries who write all of the king's documents, all of his decrees, to ensure that they're worded so that they communicate exactly what the king wants communicated, exactly what the king says. This was a very important but also a very dangerous role in the king's court. If there was any miscommunication in any edict that the king declared, the blame would surely fall on the scribes who wrote it, even if it was the king's mistake. Now the text states that the scribes were summoned on the 13th day of the first month. There are three very significant elements of the story that this information gives us that I want to draw to your attention. First, It establishes for us that the events of verses 7 through 11, that is, Haman deciding what day the Jews were to be annihilated, and Haman speaking to the king and convincing him to permit, support, and fully fund his plan. These events all took place between the day that they cast lots, which was, remember, one specific day in the first month, okay, so between that day and the 13th day of that same month. That's when the scribes were summoned. So those events took place during, sometime during, the first 12 days of the first month. Point number two, it establishes that there were 11 months between the time the edict was written and delivered, and the day the Jews were to be annihilated. It's an 11-month gap. See, the edict was written and distributed on the 13th day of the first month. And it contained, it said that the Jews were to be annihilated on the 13th day of the 12th month. So, All of the events that happen throughout the remainder of the book of Esther, everything that we're going to be studying from this point forward, takes place during those 11 months. Number three. Now, this is an easily overlooked, but I find to be just a remarkable fact. And in order to establish the background and the context, I need to take you back to the book of Exodus for a moment, Exodus chapter 12. I want to read verses 1 through 10. Exodus 12, 1 through 10. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, this month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the 10th day of this month, every man shall take a lamb according to their father's houses, a lamb for a household, And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons, according to what each can eat, you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male, a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the 14th day of this month. when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire. With unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roast it, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning. Anything that remains until the morning you shall burn." Okay, now this is a very familiar event in Israel's history known as the Passover, right? We're all familiar with this. So all that is being described in Esther chapter three, verses 12 through 15, all of this took place on the day before Passover. Now, presumably, on that day, most, if not all, of the Jews throughout Persia, they were preparing to celebrate Passover. They were preparing to celebrate God's great moment of salvation in the Old Testament. a time they were planning to spend reflecting on how God had saved his people, saved his people from Pharaoh and his evil forces, how God delivered them from bondage and from slavery. They're all preparing for that celebration. And on that same day, the same time, Haman was sitting down with the royal scribes, describing to them in intricate detail how he wanted God's people to be destroyed, that no one, no Jew, not one Jew was to be spared, and that their goods were to be plundered. Now, what I find to be so remarkable is the parallel between these two events. God had saved his people from a seemingly impossible situation in Egypt. We all know the story. They were an enslaved people trapped in a massive empire. Pharaoh, he was at the time the most powerful man in all the world. And he had God's people under his complete rule and his complete subjection. And after a plethora of opportunities, he continued to refuse to release God's people. He continued to refuse to free them. Yet, on that day, on that one day, the 14th day of the first month, God saved his people. The question I think that we are meant to ask here that the Lord wants to draw our attention to is, could God do it again? Would he do it again? For those Jews in Persia preparing to celebrate the Passover and then reading the edict that they were to be annihilated 11 months later, These questions must have taken on real immediacy. I mean, what they had grown up celebrating in symbolism suddenly became very, very real to them. I mean, an event like this must have seriously tested the faith of all the Jews in Persia. I'm sure that some of them were considering whether the story of the Passover, the story that they had been told all their lives, the story that they had celebrated every year all of their lives, I'm sure that some of them were considering, wondering whether this story was real. Did God actually save his people from such a seemingly impossible situation. You know, so often serious or catastrophic events drive individuals away from believing the biblical, the reality of biblical accounts of God's salvation. For these individuals, the next 11 months must have been filled with fear and anxiety. But for others, hearing of this impending destruction of their family, their friends, their very way of life, must have really strengthened their faith, must have drawn them closer to the Lord and led them to lean much more heavily on what they knew to be as true, accurate, and actual account of God's salvation. For these individuals, The next 11 months were a time of focusing on the Lord in their lives in a way and to a degree that they probably never had before. I'm confident that even in the face of this decree, that that group of Jews, that they lived their lives day by day in the joy and peace of the Lord. Here's a true statement. In the midst of this type of difficulty, there is a rest that can only be found in the arms of the Lord and nowhere else. I think that we are meant to look at these events, at these parallels, and apply them in our own lives. I mean, Scripture, we know that Scripture never guarantees that God's people will be delivered from every single threat and difficulty. There's no promise that God makes to us that our lives will be danger-free, will be difficulty-free, or even catastrophe-free. But even though we have no guarantee to be delivered from every difficulty in our lives, there are true and legitimate reasons to continue remembering and reflecting on God's saving acts in the past. acts, both those acts recorded in His Word and those that we have personally experienced or that we've witnessed in other people's lives. Why? Why do we? Why should we reflect on these events? It's very simple, because doing so strengthens us. It enables, it empowers us to better face the challenges, the difficulties, and even the dangers that we face in our own lives. Knowing that even though the Lord doesn't promise to deliver us from every single difficulty in our lives, He does deliver us from difficulties, doesn't He? I mean, he has a history of delivering his people from difficulties. Knowing that and focusing our heart's attention on that encourages us to keep our eyes on him, to keep our trust in him in all of our difficulties, in all of our trials. And here's the thing. in the difficulties from which He doesn't deliver us, because there are those difficulties that He doesn't deliver us from, right? In those difficulties, He's promised to take us through them, promised to take us through them with grace sufficient for us to endure them and to grow because of them. I think it's important for us to always remember this, always keep this in mind. Okay, back to Haman. He has summoned the scribes, and he did so for the purpose of writing an edict. Now, I find it very interesting that the king is completely absent here. At least he's not mentioned in the passage. Yet he's fully complicit in what is happening, in what Haman is doing. So this edict, the king's edict, was written according to not what the king had commanded, but according to what Haman had commanded. It's also interesting that the distribution list, the recipient list for the king's edict, it's the same exact list found in chapter one, verse 22. The same recipients of the edict sent out stating that every man be master in his own household. That was in response, of course, to Vashti's disobedience to the king. This edict was also distributed in the same way as the edict in chapter 1, verse 22. It says, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. So this decree was translated into every language and script of the empire. to ensure that everybody thoroughly understood its contents. This is Haman ensuring that every single individual throughout the empire would be privy to this information. No excuses on that day. Now, since the Persian Empire was comprised of many conquered and captured people, There were a lot of different languages throughout the Empire of Persia, throughout the over 127 provinces. Haman wanted to ensure that every single individual, high and low, everyone, was able to read and understand this edict. And then the verse ends with a reminder, a reiteration, that all Haman was doing was being done in the name of the king. It was all being sealed with the king's signet ring, which means that the edict and all it contained carried the full weight of the king's authority. So anyone who disobeyed would suffer the full penalty of directly disobeying the king. It also means that under no circumstances, once this decree, once this edict was issued, under no circumstance could it be rescinded, not by anyone, not even by the king himself. All right, let's look at verses 13 and 14. It says, Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces, with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the 13th day of the 12th month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day." So, letters were sent as they were for the edict pertaining to Vashti. Here in chapter 3, it specified that these letters were sent by couriers. Now, perhaps this is a detail that was simply omitted in chapter 1, verse 22, or perhaps Haman took an extra step and utilized special couriers to ensure that this horrible, this terrifying edict was delivered to every individual on Haman's list. But the real atrocity here is displayed in what these verses emphasize, what they drive home, And that is the totality, the all-inclusiveness of the edict. Heman utilizes the use of three separate verbs to describe and instruct one horrible act. Look at the verse. He says, kill and annihilate. I mean, realistically, wouldn't it have been sufficient for the edict to instruct the inhabitants of all the provinces to kill the Jews? Wouldn't it have been sufficient just to say, kill all of the Jews? Well, somewhat of a rhetorical question. Yes, it would have been. It would have gotten the point across. It would have been sufficient. The redundancy serves no real purpose. I think this is, and when I say that, I mean from Haman's point of view, or from a physical point of view. I think that this is yet another display. So from the Lord's perspective, it does serve a purpose. I think it's another display of Haman's rage and the depth of his anger that we developed back in verse five. It also displays the wickedness and the depravity of Haman's heart in the heinousness of his crime, of what the edict contained, of what he wanted to do. The edict carries instructions to murder all Jews, men, women, and children, young and old, no one was to be spared. Every single Jewish person throughout the empire was to be killed. No one was to be left alive under any circumstance. Now, we've been inundated recently with images of the atrocities that Hamas terrorists have committed against innocent Israeli citizens. The images and stories that have been circulated in just about every available medium describe and show graphically show horrible, ruthless violence. I mean, to the point of the vast majority of the population today that's aware of this, that have seen these regardless of political views, regardless of race, color, sex, regardless of any differences that they might have. The vast majority have simply been outraged by the atrocities committed against women, children, and the elderly in these accounts. I bring this up because the pictures and the stories that we've been exposed to recently are almost exact representations of what Heyman was ordering to be done. The only difference is that his order was on a much larger scale. What he described in his decree is nothing short of a massacre, an absolute bloodbath. And the edict contains the instructions that this is all to be carried out in one day, One day, what this means practically is that those carrying out this horrible act, this horrible deed, they weren't commanded to do it just one time as if that would have been any less horrible, but they weren't commanded to do it just one time to one person or one family. No, they were literally to go from house to house, slaughtering person after person, child after child, family after family for the entire day until every single Jew throughout Persia was dead. And it doesn't end there. Then, after they were all dead, they were to show utter disregard and complete disrespect. They were to plunder their goods. That is, once again, to go house to house, rummage through all of the belongings and the personal effects of those who had just been ruthlessly murdered, looking for anything of value. And again, this was all to be done one day. This literally means, and I'm not trying to be overdramatic to make a point, but this is the reality of it. This literally means that while many of their dead bodies were still warm, that the citizens of Persia were to ransack their homes, probably even taking clothing and shoes and personal effects off of their bodies. It's a horrible, horrible thing. One last detail I want to point out. There's a detail here that's not explicit in the text, but many commentators agree upon this, and it sounds very, very logical to me. And that is that this mass confiscation of the Jews' property was to be, at the end of the day, ultimately given over to Haman. either in whole or in part, possibly with the intention for Haman to use their resources, the Jews resources to fund their own destruction. If this is true, it certainly highlights the extent of Haman's deviousness, the depth of his depravity. And then finally, remember that Persia was a nation of conquered and assimilated nations. Verse 14 emphasizes that this edict was issued to all the peoples, so certainly all the individuals, but all of the nationalities, meaning that people of every single nationality who resided in Persia were to respond to the edict's instructions. The words written here were Haman's, but remember, the letters were sealed with the wax imprint of the king's signet ring, which means anyone who didn't obey this edict and participate in this slaughter and massacre of the Jews would be held in contempt of the king's own law." All right, verse 15. The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa, the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion. So the decree was issued in all of the provinces of Persia, including the capital city of Susa. And it was done so with a real sense of urgency. I mean, the text, excuse me, the text says that couriers went out hurriedly The word hurriedly literally means to be sent out in haste, to be rushed or driven out. Now, in our time in history, there exists a company by the name of FedEx. We all familiar with FedEx? FedEx is known worldwide for their fast and reliable delivery service. They have really built their business model on their acclaimed, guaranteed next day delivery. Probably all familiar with that, right? They guarantee to deliver your package anywhere in the continental United States the very next day. But FedEx also offers a little known service, little known because of its exorbitant price. This service is called same day delivery. This is true. So What this means is you give FedEx a package and pay their price. You give them your package today and they will deliver it anywhere in the country today. The same day. It's amazing. I mean, by today's standards, it's amazing if you stop and think about it. I would imagine that Haman put that level of pressure, of urgency on the couriers to get his letters delivered and to get them delivered on time. Then in a very dramatic way, the end of verse 15 illustrates the effect of this edict. And we see a stark contrast between how the edict affects Haman and the king versus how it affects the residents of Susa, the capital city. In a callous calmness, a spirit of celebration, The king and Haman sit down together to drink. What this is, it's an expression of jubilant celebration. They're celebrating. no doubt toasting their success of another job well done. The king, he was probably reveling in a sense of satisfaction that yet another vexing empire problem had been solved and with very little effort on his part. Haman, on the other hand, well, he knew there was actually no problem to be solved, right? So he was reveling in what he must have believed was to bring him unmitigated personal, excuse me, personal vengeance and pleasure. He had just secured 11 months of tormenting his arch rival, his arch enemy, Mordecai, and all of Mordecai's people, all culminating in their mass annihilation. Now, this celebratory attitude is contrasted with the capital city being in a state of confusion. Now, the word here translated to confusion in this context, what it means is that the citizens of Susa, they didn't understand. They didn't understand the meaning or the context of this edict. They were perplexed. They were distressed by this gruesome, horrible command that they had just received. There's no doubt that many of these individuals were realizing that they were being required to take brutal and deadly action against their fellow citizens. their friends, and in some cases, maybe even their loved ones. Adding to and magnifying their horror at what they were being required to carry out was the very, very troubling question of why. There's no explanation given. Just do this. Why? The stark contrast here serves to remind us of the depth of evil and depravity of Haman and the king. While all this was going on throughout the capital city and most likely throughout the empire, Haman and the king were toasting themselves. They were celebrating. Now, as we close our study of Chapter 3 and tonight's study of these verses, it's clear that what we see in Haman is a serious abuse of power. I mean, he's the second most powerful man in the world, and he's used his power and his authority to arrange for the complete annihilation of a very large group of people. And he's deemed this group of people, the Jews, all the Jews living in Persia, he has deemed them his enemies simply because of one man's action. In all probability, I can't say this absolutely, but in all probability, there were many of these Jews whom he had never even met face to face, yet he sought to murder them all. What we've also seen is significant similarities between Haman and the king. There's no way to avoid the conclusion that Haman's abuse of power, at least in part, at least in part, is an emulation of the king's abuse of power. Now, I want to say this right. This is a normal and healthy principle when the one being emulated is of good character. It's known as mentoring, right? We're all familiar with mentoring. I have personally benefited tremendously in my own teaching ministry through being mentored by Pastor Tim. However, when the one being emulated is evil, the principle of emulating one's mentor compounds and even magnifies the evil. This was the case with Haman and the king. This was no doubt at the root of what they were celebrating in sitting down to drink. They were like-minded. They understood each other. They were celebrating what was going on. I think that one thing that we can take, should take, from observing and studying both Haman's and the king's model of leadership is to direct our hearts to a very different model of leadership, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. What a stark contrast between the two models. Would you agree? Between the Lord Jesus and Haman and the king? Well, for us, the world and those of the world, they model themselves and their leadership styles after what we have observed and studied in Haman and the king. Maybe not always in such harsh or overtly evil ways as they did, but certainly in the sense of being entirely self-focused. Worldly leadership is always based and directed in what is best for the person who's leading, best for the person making the decisions. And the world is constantly pressuring and seeking to intimidate us in one way or another into following their model of leadership. But we were held to a very different standard. As in all areas of life, of our lives, our leadership is to be modeled and patterned after Jesus Christ himself. And that equates to what we know as servant leadership. Servant leadership. When we serve in any type or any level of leadership as God's people, as true believers, When we serve in any type or any level of leadership, whether it be governing ourselves, parental leadership, church leadership, occupational leadership, political, social, or anything else, as long as we seek to claim power and authority in that leadership for ourselves, to benefit, advance, or gratify ourselves, as Haman and the king did. We deny the pattern that Jesus has set forth for us. And instead we embrace and emulate the pattern of the world. The distinctiveness of the Lord's leadership as seen through us is essential to allow, encourage, and to foster the spiritual growth of God's people within the church, and to demonstrate and express God's love, God's mercy, and God's justice, along with sharing, proclaiming the gospel in all that we do and say. within our families, within our workplaces, and the world around us. The Lord himself drew this distinctive to his own disciples' attention. Let me read to you from Matthew chapter 20. This is verses 25 through 28. But Jesus called them to him and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them. and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you, but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. Even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many, You see, the true greatness of leaders is measured by the Lord in their willingness to put those whom they lead first, to serve them. This has a meaning, a literal meaning of always considering what will be best for them and their growth and basing leadership decisions and actions on that, of putting those whom they lead in front of themselves in areas of comfort, convenience, and benefit. The exact opposite of using power and authority to any degree in ways that serve and gratify oneself. The Lord intends for those who lead in his kingdom to always remember, to always consider this in all things. Consider this, that he gave us our greatest example of servant leadership. when he gave his own life for us as a ransom, and to emulate him by doing the same for those whom we lead. Praise God. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the wealth of information, teaching, and application that you've provided for us throughout this chapter. Please help us to learn to avoid the characteristics of the bad examples and to fully understand and embrace the characteristics of the good examples. Father, I pray that you will use these five studies through Esther chapter three to change our lives and to further conform us, conform our lives into the image of your precious son. Amen.