I would like to begin a series of studies on the book of Esther, and we're looking here at Esther chapter 1. I'll just read again Esther chapter 1, verse 1. Now it came to pass in the days of Hasuerus, this is Hasuerus which reigned from India even unto Ethiopia, over 107 and 20 provinces. My title for this evening is Providence Prepares the Way. I'm sure you're all very familiar with the book of Esther. And it's a really wonderful, wonderful book. As you know, the name of God is not mentioned in it. The only book in the Bible where God's name is not mentioned. But as Matthew Henry said, though the name of God is not in it, His finger is everywhere. And in this book there are wonderful things that we will see. We will see God acting on behalf of His people to protect His people and to preserve them from their enemies. We will see Him that He is always one step ahead of His enemies. of all the adversaries of the Church, the adversaries of His people. Sometimes it seems as if all is lost. It seems as if the enemy is going to overcome and the people of, the enemies of, the people of God, the enemies are going to overcome the people of God and win. But at the very last moment God moves and the enemy is triumphed over. God through God's intervention because of course he will never allow his people to be ultimately overcome. The proud we see here are cast down and the humble are lifted up. In fact in this book it's very interesting because we will see that there are many human characteristics and we will get an insight into human nature. There's a lot of things we can learn from the way believers are and also the unbeliever, and see some things from the way they behave, even from this very first chapter. Of course, we're going to see that this very king, this powerful king, great as he is, his hand, his heart is in the Lord's hand. As it says in Proverbs chapter 21, the heart of the king is in the Lord's hands. and he, as a river, he turns it where so ever he will I know that the church is very familiar with when you think of the gate and how God turned Mr. Blue Shirt and Mr. Blue Shirt was so against the church for a long time and then at that last minute He turned and voted in favor of the fence being erected for the church. His heart, no matter who it is, whether it's a commoner, a small counselor, or the king, the most powerful man on the earth, their all, every heart, as we know, is in God's hands. And it's also an example for us of trusting in the Lord and walking humbly with Him. This is the best way to go through life. This is the best way to carry ourselves, trusting not in the arm of the flesh, but trusting in the Lord. Well, we're uncertain as to the author of the book, not that it matters so much. Some people say it's Ezra, some people say it's Joachim, the son of the high priest, but it seems to favor more Mordecai. because he was of course a witness of all the events and he was one of the main characters here he knew the ins and outs of the palace he was familiar with Jewish customs as well so it seems to point very much to Mordecai of course he is also a writer as we see at the end of this book The events recorded here, as you know, they take place in the post-exilic period, a time after Cyrus had said to the Jews, you're free to return back to Israel. And God told them also to return back to Israel. But not everyone did. Just a very small portion returned back to that place. Probably a lot more should have done. but many chose to stay in Persia, many chose to stay in the surrounding provinces and you would have thought, well God wouldn't take care of them because they didn't listen to him they didn't obey his command but still he did even though they were in this foreign land still and as we see here with Esther and Mordecai it was also providential that they are here because God is going to raise up Esther and use her to rescue his people. So these events are taking place during 483 BC to 473 BC, 11 years. So we begin at verse 1. I came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus. This is Ahasuerus which reigned from India even unto Ethiopia. over 127 provinces, so a very powerful man Who is this Hasuerus? Again a lot of comment in the commentaries, a lot of different suggestions but is it Artaxerxes Longimanus or his father Xerxes? I think most again of the commentators and evidence seems to point to Xerxes being the king who is mentioned here and he reigned from 486 to 465 BC. So this This begins, we see in verse 3, in the third year of his reign, 483 BC. But he was a powerful man. He was the main man of the time, over 127 provinces. Surely that's too much power for one man. One man reigning over one country, well that's quite a lot already, but 127 Surely too much power, such power is going to puff up this man with pride, inflate his pride. Surely it's too much for him and indeed we will see even in this chapter that he is He begins to vaunt his pride. He begins to show off his wealth and his power and his riches and his wife and his home. He shows off everything. Pride has gotten to him. That's why pride and vanity are often connected together, isn't it? A person who's proud or they want to show off, they want to be seen to be doing well, they want to be admired and so it is here with Hasuerus. He powers I'm not sure it's always a good thing for us to be in positions of power because often we cannot handle it. Very few people I think can handle elevation to such a level. I was speaking not so long ago, even to somebody for the very first time, not somebody that you know, but she was saying, she was dropping into the conversation things like a bachelor's degree and a professional degree. It was the first time I was speaking to her. And people do that, isn't it? People want to let you know, you know, how high that they have reached and when people have power, as it were, they can't help but mention it and drop it into the conversation as they're going along. So I think it's very hard, personally, in my opinion, it's very hard to be a leader, a political leader, and be humble at the same time. There have been, of course, good Christian men who've been able to do that, but very few, I think, can But we know, dear friends, it reminds us as well, even from this, that there is one person, that there is a day coming when one person, all the kingdoms of this world will belong to one person, even to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What a day that will be, when every nation and every tribe and people will belong to Him, and will worship Him, and will acknowledge Him, that he is the king and he can manage it, he can handle it, he will be the best ruler that there ever has been, the best king and his subjects will be happy to be under his reign. We don't know what the people felt like under the reign of Hasuerus, but certainly under the heavenly kingdom, we shall be glad to have such a king. Well, we read in verse 2 that The king was in Shushan, the palace. Shushan is in southwest Persia, what we know today as Iran, southwest Iran, and very near to the Persian Gulf. It was here that the king went during the winter periods, and the palace itself was situated at the top of the hill. And the city of Shushan, well that was located at its base. I'm sure you know as well, Daniel was here, Nehemiah also was here, in this very same city. In verse 3, in the third year of his reign, we see how he throws a big feast, a big party for all the very important people in his territory. And they came from all over Persia and Media and from all the provinces, all the princes and the powerful men, the military men, to gather for this feast. But it's not only for a feast. Hassyrus has something else in mind. He has the campaign. He's just defeated Egypt and they're celebrating the conquering of Egypt and he has in mind also the next military campaign and that is the invasion of little lowly Greece. So he thought. Little did he know that he would go on to lose at that time. But he had high hopes for the future. Again, victory after victory it had. and he was sure, probably sure he would gain victory in Greece and so he brings these nobles together because he not only wants to entertain them but he also wants their backing and their support for that military campaign in verse 4 He shows them the riches of His glorious kingdom and the honour of His excellent majesty. Many days, six months, that's a very long feast, that's a very long party to throw. for all this time. He wants them to see these important people, these powerful men. He wants them to see with their very own eyes His majesty, His glory, His splendor. So they see His walls, which are draped with gold. They see the marble pillars, the rich curtains. And then He'll show to them that treasury, he'll take them into the treasury and let them see all the gold ingots which are there. And to encourage these men, look at what I've achieved, look at what progress we've made, look at the riches that we have, join me in this military campaign against Greece. And this is one of the main purposes for this feast that he made. Probably people didn't stay the whole time for the whole 180 days, but it suggested that people came and went in batches. In verse 5, we read that when these days were expired, then the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan, the palace, both unto great and small, for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace. Now the common people are invited for a seven-day feast, a feast for all the people no matter what their background, even for the servants it seems. But of course in this feast it's only for the males. And such feasts actually were not uncommon amongst the Persians of that time. Then we read, Khusrof, how We read even of the majestic surroundings, even during this feast, the curtains again of royal colours, of white and green and blue. And the people, while they were sitting or they were lying, reclining on couches of gold and silver. not like our chairs that we have here, but such luxury that they were indulged in. And the pavement even, colours, not actual colours it suggested, but more like a mosaic pavement. So the king, Hacieras, he didn't hold back. He was very generous in what he provided and supplied for his guests and in verse 7 he went further he gave them drink in vessels of gold and the vessels being diverse one from another that could mean a couple of things it could mean either that each individual vessel made of gold was different from the other that would be something in itself or it could also mean that once somebody had finished drinking one lot, one portion in his cup he would be handed a new cup and drink from that new cup so again it's also suggesting that how luxurious how he's also showing off to a certain degree even in these things and royal wine we read in abundance is provided for these people. But they don't have to drink. The law said you can if you want to, but it's not necessary for you. You're free to drink or not to drink as you choose. But of course, when anything's free, people indulge. I don't think many people would have held back I know when companies here offer free alcohol, well, you see things that really you don't want to see. And you rarely see people sober at those times, but they rather overindulge. Oh, it's free and it's good stuff, they say. And they don't care, but they lose all their sense of decency in a sense of self-respect and keeping their sobriety and they are willing to just give way and to drink. But what a problem friends, this is also in our day isn't it? I think drink is a huge problem in our country. and I'm sure those of you in the medical field will often come across these issues but I think even the Europeans sometimes laugh at us or rather cannot believe how British people tend to drink overmuch how our children look forward, our teenagers and young people seem to look forward to Fridays and Saturdays so that they can go out and drink But drinking wine in itself is not a problem, but it's when it's taken, as we know, to excess that it becomes an issue for us. But here we see none was compelling people to drink and every man could drink at his pleasure. Now, alongside this feast for the men, Vashti, the queen, also had a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to the king. And in verse 10, we read, on the seventh day, in the heart of the king was Mary with wine. He commanded Meguman and the others, the seven chamberlains, to bring Vashti, the queen, before the king. Before we get on to that, I just want to mention this little bit about when the heart of the king was married with wine. This is his lot in life. This is how he finds his joy, his entertainment. his happiness in the things he has and also with the things, the sensual things of wine and no doubt the delicacies that he has on his table. And it's the same isn't it for unconverted people, they have these menial kind of joys, these menial kind of ways to find merriment, and they find it in wine and in sensual pleasure, but we have something much better. There's nothing wrong in being merry. God wants us to be joyful people, but our joy is in the things of God. The believer finds his joy in the Lord. We would much rather, I'm sure I speak for everyone here, we would much rather be here then we have a feast, a great feast where there is a lot of food and drinking because this is our preference this is where we find our delight to hear about the Lord to be in his presence and to hear his word in verse 10 we read so when the king was married he commanded the seven chamberlains to go to Vashti the queen and cause her to come in before the king with the crown royal that is a turban with jewels set in it because he wanted to show her off He wanted the people and the princes to look on her beauty because she was fair to look on. But the Queen Vashti refused to come at the King's commandment by Chamberlain's. Therefore was the King very rough and his anger burned in him. Well, was she right to refuse to come? Many commentators say yes, some say no, that she should have gone in, she should have listened to her husband. But she did the right thing, I think, by refusing to go. It's actually said that it wasn't just one time that the Chamberlains went to her, but repeatedly and asked her again and again to come. but each time she refused to come to them. The king wanted to show off her beauty. He wanted to expose her publicly and she was unwilling to do that because she knew it wasn't the right thing to do. It was very improper for her to to be paraded before men and those men would be drunken men. Most of them would be at least half drunken and they'd all be gazing. It was his duty as a husband to protect his wife, to keep her from such exposure. The Queen, even at this time, was usually secluded from public gaze. And yet, and from men especially, and now he's asking her to come and parade her beauty before all these men. It wasn't the right thing to do. It was dishonorable for her. It was degrading for her to be paraded before these men. The king should have shielded her as a good husband should have done. He should have protected her. So, it seems right that she refused. to go. even at the king's commandment, because she was thinking, I'm sure also, of her own sex, of the other females, and how degrading this would be for them, and she probably knew, and she probably hoped that by doing this the king would come to his senses. Unfortunately, he didn't see this. Well, there are times, even we can learn from this refusal of Queen Vashti, there are times when we must keep to our principles. even sometimes if our spouses or our employers ask us to do something that is against the Lord's commandment, where we must hold to those principles and quietly, politely, gently refuse to do what would be against our conscience and against the Lord. And also there's another lesson for us here, because we see when During this time of feasting and partying, when the king's heart was merry, he made this foolish request. He commanded the queen to come and do this thing that was so degrading. Times of such feasting and relaxation, we could say, demand more watchfulness. And especially for us as believers, Sometimes we have to maybe go out with the unbelievers. Sometimes we have times of celebrations, even like Christmas, or we're on holiday. All those times when maybe we will let our guard drop and then we think, oh, suddenly temptations may come in and we may end up saying things or doing things because we haven't been as watchful as we ought. We thought we're on holiday now, we can relax a bit, I can take it easy, I've been working very hard. And then suddenly something may happen to us which we may regret. Do you remember the similar sort of foolish decision was made by King Herod? When did it happen? When did he chop off John the Baptist's head? the end of the party, when he saw his daughter dancing, he was moved and made that foolish suggestion to his daughter-in-law and that offer to her. We think also of Job in Job 1 and verse 5, Job knew Job thought in his heart, my sons, my daughters, they had a feast just yesterday. I must pray for them. That's in their heart. They have cursed God or said something they shouldn't have done. And so he interceded for them. So dear friends, let us be careful when we go out into these entertaining or relaxing times and exert self-control. well in verse 12 we see how Vashti refused to go and the king didn't like it the king was wroth and his anger burned within him he ought really to have reacted differently he ought to have stopped and thought well she's right you know I shouldn't have done that I shouldn't ask her to do these things or perhaps he could have just laughed it off and just carried on with his feast. But instead of reasoning with himself and thinking things through, well, was that the right thing that I did by asking her and commanding her to come before all these men? No, that was a foolish thing that I did. I should have realized that He didn't say that. He didn't think like that. Instead, he was very, very angry and wanted to avenge, as it were, wanted to deal with the situation. But thankfully, in a sense, he does something in verse 13. He actually turns to other people. He doesn't make the decision on his own. He could have done. He was the king. He had every right to do that. But there is some wisdom in him that he turns to his wise men and asks them, his counsellors, those who were privileged. Not everyone had access to the king and into his presence. Very few people saw the king. And here these seven counsellors, well, they are requested, the king requests, what shall we do unto the Queen Vashti according to law? Because she had not performed the commandment of King Hasuerus by the Chamberlains. He wanted to act according to the law. I doubt if there was any law telling him how a queen should be dealt with. I don't think such a law existed, but he turns for advice, he turns for counsel to them. And maybe we can see his answer, in verse 16, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only but also to all the princes and to all the people and all the provinces and he seems to exaggerate the wrong that has been done and to suggest that when the women also hear these things, all the women will rise up and despise their husbands. It seems a bit of an exaggeration. He's not willing to say, O King, you got it wrong. O King, perhaps Queen Vashti was right and it was not the right thing for her to do. They didn't have no courage. to rebuke the king in a polite way and to say he was wrong they all, it seems, want to curry favour with him and probably have something else in mind that they desire from him but Memucan uses this incident to bring in the law, a new law and he says to stop this happening, to stop there being too much contempt and wrath and uprisings of the women Duhays against their husbands. He says, let the royal commandment go out according to the law of the Persians and the Medes that Vashti come no more before King Hasuerus and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she. well that's good for Vashti in a sense, she could have been beheaded, her head could have been cut off, but she's instead reduced to a position where she can no longer access the king, she's divorced from him and she's most likely led to a state of poverty, but she Memulkan suggests this law just directed at her and holy sides with the king. The king, as we can see in verse 21, the saying, please the king and the princess, and the king did according to the word of Memulkan. and he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and everyone had it in their own language. so that every man should bear rule in his own house and that it should be published according to the language of every people. So I just go through this first chapter rather speedily, but here we see, friends, how God is preparing the way for Esther's rise. He knows what is ahead. We don't know what is ahead of us as a church. We don't know what's coming tomorrow, or next week, or next month. But the Lord knows, surely the devil will be plotting against us. Because where we are a praying people, where we are a gospel preaching people, where we are an evangelistic people, going out into the devil's territory, as it were, seeking to win souls, and we are fervent for him. Well, the enemy doesn't like that. He doesn't like to see us doing these things. If we were just cold and unconcerned, He would leave us alone. If we were just introverted and just want to get together and have a little bit of time together on a Sunday, I'm sure He would leave us alone. Let us get on with that. But because we want to reach souls and snatch them from his kingdom for the Lord's sake and for his glory, so we become targets of the evil one. Will he overcome us? Will he get the better of us? No. because even here we'll see in this book how the Lord is one step ahead of him and even now he is working in situations in people to counteract