Well, to tell you where we are in the sequence of things, we've finished the entire Gospel of John, and it's taken us nearly a year to do so. I checked, and we had started August 28 last year to go through the Gospel of John. So we've been in one gospel for a long time. I don't think that's a bad thing. But it will feel like a change of pace, I suppose, to head for the Old Testament book of Esther. It's very different from the Gospel of John in its character. And I hope that will be profitable in its own right. I think it will. The Book of Esther. It's a captivating story. What does it teach us, though? What are its lessons? And in particular, what part does it play in the unfolding of that greater story? It's one piece in a bigger story. I think that's important to remember as we take a look at it. before just launching in and reading a chapter or so of it. As a matter of fact, today I'm only going to read the first nine verses. But before doing that, I think it's probably worthwhile at the outset to give some introduction. We'll be spending our summer with Esther and Mordecai, and it's probably good to get some background, some introduction to it. I suppose the very first thing I want to point out is what kind of communication this is, because different portions of scripture come to us in different kinds of communication. For instance, a letter from an apostle to a church, Apostle Paul to Ephesus or something, is going to be a different kind of God's communication with us from, let's say, the book of Acts, which is a record of the missionary work. It's going to be somewhat different from that. And Acts, in turn, would be different from Proverbs, I suppose. A different kind of communicating. And Proverbs would be different in many important respects from the way in which the prophets communicate with us, and the prophets different from the Psalms in some respect. And so on it goes. But it's good to notice the differences because it helps us to understand what is being communicated. when we understand what kind of thing it is. So what kind of book is Esther? Esther is a narrative. Esther is simply the true and inspired account of some things that happened and the characters and what they did and what they said. Esther is a narrative. It simply records the story. And I mean the history, the events themselves. And interestingly about Esther, it doesn't really inside of it explain much of the meaning of these events, just describes the events. And that's very different, for instance, from our Gospel of John and all of our study in John. John also is, in many respects, a narrative. It tells the story, but I think of the Apostle John as he relates the Gospel, it's often coming to us in teaching mode. Let me back up to Esther for a second. I'm very sure that God intends us to learn from the Esther account, even though it doesn't come to us in teaching mode like John does. It's simply recording these events. But I'm very sure the Lord wants us to learn a message. And He gives it to us that we might mature in our understanding of all that He did in all of the history of His people. There are lessons to learn. We will learn something about the nature of God's dealings with people. And it, by the way, describes a very, very crucial time in the life and history of those descended from Abraham. A very, very crucial time for them. But again, it won't be the same as the kind of narrative we've been looking at. To draw a contrast one more time, and that's where I was headed a minute ago. In John, when the events are recounted for us, again, he's often in teaching mode or explanation mode. John doesn't simply say, and it came to pass that Jesus showed up. He tells us much that we're to know and conclude about Jesus. that He is Word of God, that He was with God at the very beginning, that He was Himself Divine, that all things were made by Him, and that He became flesh to dwell with us, but for a time. Of course, He remains with a body, but He came with a message. The message was rejected by many, but the message He brought is life itself. He is the Word of God to us about life, that we may know life and believe Him and have life. And when John recounts, for instance, John will quote Jesus at length. When he does so, Jesus is often teaching while he's talking. And he would say things like, There's an instance in chapter 5 where he's speaking to some Pharisees, and he gives them an explanation like this, just as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so, the Son gives life to those to whom He's pleased to give it. So much is being explained and applied to us. But Esther's not like this at all. Esther tells you the story. what happened. Actually, the book of Esther has become famous for something. Do you know what Esther is particularly famous for? It doesn't mention God. Ever. It doesn't even mention Him. But that doesn't mean that we will learn nothing about the nature of God's dealings, because who are we talking about after all? But that group of people with whom God entered into covenant saying, You are my people, and I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you. And from you will come a ruler whose kingdom will never end." Such promises as that, if we're dealing with those folks, And we have this crucial time in history. Yes, indeed, we're going to learn things about God. Again, though, I think it's important as you pick up a book like Esther to know what kind of literature it is, because it helps you understand how to learn from it. And we will actually go into that a good deal more later. We're going to have to understand Esther and what happens in this brief account. Esther's not very long, just a few chapters in Esther. We're going to have to understand that in the light of all that's happened before it. Who are these people? Is God dealing with them in an important way here? Oh yes, then the lessons begin to come forward, and I think there are many lessons. Just off the top of your head, would you be able, without further prompting, to plot her in history as far as the time frame? I'm sort of hoping you've already cheated and looked in the bulletin. There's a little timeline in there. But would you have been able to say Esther was, you know, before or after Moses, before or after David, before or after the prophet Daniel? Would you be able to place? I think it's enormously important to place Esther in her historical context because the Lord has dealt with the children of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, for a long, long, long, long, long time before getting to Esther. Esther is a very late book in the Old Testament chronologically. It comes toward the end, way toward the end. What that means then, and if you'll hang with me on this, what that means then is that this is occurring so very, very long, centuries and centuries after God made His first promises to Abraham, the ones I was rehearsing for you. This is centuries after that. It's centuries after those people of God's promise, in fact, in very fact, grew to be the nation as he had said they would. They spent four centuries in the region of Egypt and eventually during that sequence became slaves there, but they grew to nation size. It's a small nation. no big impressive nation on the face of the earth as far as earthly reckoning goes. But in accord with his promise, they grew for centuries worth. And then at the end of that were released from their slavery and made an independent people of God. He took them down to Mount Sinai, met them there and established his covenant very dramatically and personally again with them. I will be your God, and you will be my people." Such things as that are made very dramatic at Mount Sinai, and he gave them his law. And he gave them the whole imagery that would portray Christ in the sacrifices of atonement, all those instructions given at Mount Sinai. Well, eventually, you know, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and it was really the second generation after the Exodus that got into the Promised Land, but there was about 350 years or so lived in the promised land with no kings. We kind of think of Israel in terms of kings, don't we? Well, they spent just about as much time of their history tribally without kings as they did with kings. 350 years they lingered in there, and those weren't good years. Sometimes they were good with zeniths and high times, but characteristically, those were bad years, 350 of them. And this occurs long after that and long after the time of the kings, long after the time of those first and famous kings, Saul and David and Solomon. And to remember the history of this particular people, again, long, long before Esther came along, they had divided in civil war, ten tribes and two tribes. Ten tribes to the north, after the civil war, commonly called Israel, even though I think of Israel sometimes as portraying the whole thing. But the ten tribes of the north commonly called Israel, and the two tribes of the south, Judah and Benjamin, commonly called Judah or the Jews. Have you ever thought of it that way? Something to think about. But this happens long after that, and it happens long after all of those kings. Literally, all the kings are done. Centuries more, some few centuries more. And after some few centuries, those northern ten tribes were defeated by the Assyrians and scattered all over the place. And there were two tribes left, Judah and Benjamin, more narrowly called the Jews then. I mean, you could call any descendant of Abraham, you could call it the Jews, but it becomes a very narrow distinction thereafter. Judah and Benjamin, two tribes there. These were the tribes, by the way, ruled by David and Solomon and all the successors of David, with the promises that from that household would come Messiah. But this occurs after all those times, after the Northern Ten Tribes were taken by Assyria, and after the Southern Tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were taken over by the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar stormed into Jerusalem and hauled them off So who's in the Promised Land anymore? Not very many. Descendants of Abraham in the Promised Land. And Esther's story occurs after that. And the Northern Ten Tribes never in a bulk unit got back to Jerusalem area. The Southern Tribes, though, did. After 70 years, captivity in Jerusalem as the Prophet Jeremiah had... Let me think who's... Which one was reading which one? I think Daniel was reading the Prophet Jeremiah and he said, look, it's 70 years. 70 years! And Daniel, a contemporary of that time, thinking, it's going to happen! Now it's time! After 70 years, there was a shift in kingdoms again. You know, the nations rage and the kingdoms move. There was a shift in kingdoms. The Babylonians lost. And the Medo-Persians took over and there was a king named Cyrus. whom Isaiah had named by name a hundred and some fifty years earlier. Long before he was born, God had said, I call you by name. You will be the one, Osiris, to let my people go. I should say it exactly, Isaiah 44, 28, of Cyrus, he will say, I'm sorry, God says, of Cyrus, he will say to Jerusalem, let it be rebuilt, and of the temple, let its foundations be laid, which is exactly what happened. And so some of the Jews were able to return. The Babylonian captivity Jews were able to return, but it was a small group of them, comparatively small, maybe 55,000, which doesn't seem small, but comparatively to all of the descendants of Abraham, that's small, they got to return. But even that as well is long before Esther. It's getting shorter by now. We are getting toward the Esther story. I've simply laid all of this out to give you a sense for the time and location in which Esther lived. She was one of those countless exile families who had not returned to Jerusalem during that time or that area. She lived far away, 800 miles away. from Jerusalem and always had. I use the term exile because she belongs to the Jews and yet isn't home. So she's in exile, but she doesn't remember Jerusalem. A couple of generations of her family had lived away from Jerusalem. And so I want you to understand that about her as we take up her story. Again, a location nearly 800 miles to the east. If you want to know where that is, can you picture the southern, southeastern border of Iraq and Iran? The Persian Gulf comes in there and just where the Gulf curves there, Iraq stops and Iran begins. Well, it's just east of that border and just a little north, 100 miles or so north of the Persian Gulf. If you want to locate this city, it's the city of Susa. Interesting name, I'm sorry. But what happens in this story and why does it matter? Okay, that's the point, isn't it? What happens in this story? We're giving you background, where this girl comes from, but she's far away from home and has been for generations. It's just one girl. She has an older cousin, Mordecai, that's a familiar name from the Esther story, but we're talking about one girl who's never seen the homeland of her ancestors. Why is this an important story? Well, I think it may be here that you begin to see the hand of God, though God is not mentioned in this story specifically. I think all things occur in the context of Him working. But I think it's that, because what we find in the story of Esther is that just at that crucial time in history, there is a threat to all the Jews. There is a genocide I'm telling you the story in advance here, but in the time of Esther, there is an edict that you can kill Jews. As a matter of fact, they're a menace to our empire. Kill them all. And here's the benefit. Kill a Jew, get his house, get his land, get his wealth, get his riches. There was a genocide edict. And now we begin to see, You know, this is a crucial time for the descendants of Abraham and particularly, narrowly, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. This is a very crucial time. And I think to myself, I mean, the Jews have faced genocide attempts more than once in their history and more than once after the Bible. But what if, what if in fact this nation was so scattered and so annihilated that it just melded in the word no nation of the Jews? What would happen to promises given to Abraham? I will make a nation from you and you will be a blessing to the entire world and from you will come Messiah and his kingdom will never end. You cut that short and they are nothing. And the promises were specific to them. Even promises let's take by the prophets for the descendants of the Jews. I mean, why were they exiled? That's God's hand of discipline. That's not just an accident. That's not just really strong enemies. God's hand of discipline caused the ten tribes to be taken by Assyria and the two tribes to be taken by Babylon. And yet, through the prophets, God said over and over again, but you're still mine, and I will redeem you, though only a remnant of you. So what would happen if there is no remnant? God's promises would have failed. And this is a story of His promises not failing. It all comes down to a certain girl. at the right place, at the right time, miraculously the right place, miraculously the right time. We're going to see it. This is a story about God because this is a story about His precise providence. It is so precise in here and so crucial to the survival of His people and the keeping of His promises. I think it's just so interesting that God chooses to do it this way. He chooses to save His people from genocide through a little orphan girl, Esther. She has another name. Ten points to anybody who can give me Esther's other name. Hadassah is her other name. We know her as Queen Esther, but Esther lost her parents when she was young. See, and I think that's important. I don't think that's unimportant to this story. Yes, as time goes on when Esther is raised by cousin Mordecai, older cousin Mordecai, she is placed closer and closer to the place of power. First of all, she lives in the city, Susa, which is that capital from which Xerxes of Persia rules an empire that runs from India to Egypt. Think about that. That is a vast region at that time in the world to be ruling all at once. And she is edged closer and closer to... I don't know how she got there. Well, probably she'd been in that area. Probably she grew up in that area. Mordecai's family had been taken two generations earlier from by Nebuchadnezzar off to the east and then eventually they got a little further east there. But Esther again comes from having lost her parents. What if Cousin Mordecai doesn't take care of you in that situation as an alien in this area? Well, you either die or you become a slave most likely. And yet out of that poverty out of that situation of desolation and out of that situation of anonymity. I mean, Mordecai actually has some responsibilities in town. The Jews weren't entirely rejected by the Persians. He sits at the city gate with the rulers there and whatever. But I mean, Xerxes doesn't know him personally until later in the story. But she probably would have been a slave girl had he not taken her in at that time. And whatever the case, it seems as though the Lord has chosen to work in this manner and she becomes queen. It's a little bit late in the Persian Empire. Persia is going to fall pretty soon to the Greeks. But she becomes queen at this time. It's very much like the story of Joseph. It seems to be a theme in the scriptures. And I don't say theme because the scriptural authors are fiction authors just coming up with themes. I say it's a theme because God makes choices in how He deals with history. And He has chosen at a number of key places in Israel's life to bring someone from obscurity and cause them to be the crucial factor in survival of His people. He did that with Joseph. Joseph, hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, spending a couple of years in prison. It doesn't look very good prospects for Joseph to become someone who makes a difference. And yet, the Lord brings him to prominence such that it makes a difference for the survival of many in Egypt, but very much more to the point, makes a difference with regard to whether or not Abraham's descendants are still in the face of the earth. When all of that was said and done and Joseph met with his brothers again, How did he describe the meaning of all that had happened? He describes it in Genesis 45, 5. Do not be distressed, and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now, there's been famine in the land, and for the next five years, they'll not be plowing and reaping, but God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives. by a great deliverance. You want to know about the meaning of why the Joseph story happened as it did? It's to keep the descendants of Abraham alive. What is the meaning of the Esther story? One more instance. When drawing someone up out of desolation, he caused that situation and the placement of her in just that crucial time to save the lives of the Jews. that when you get around to Jesus' time, Jerusalem is filled with Him, etc., etc. Well, I've given the entire introduction without reading a verse, but I am going to read nine verses quickly and just make one comment, one basic comment, and I'll be done. The only reason I suppose I even... I could just introduce the book, I suppose, but I want to read these first nine verses just to talk about this remarkable contrast between the Kingdom of Man and the Kingdom of God The kingdom of Persia is vast at the time and wealthy at the time. It is one of the greatest powers on earth at the time. And yet it will come and go. And God's people who are threatened, I mean, they could have been wiped out for real. He will save them by one orphan girl. And I think that's the theme that's going on here. But let's just talk about the wealth This is what happened during the time of Xerxes. The Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Kush. Kush is the northern Nile region of Egypt. At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media the provinces and the nobles of the provinces were present. For a full one hundred eighty days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. When these days were over the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king's palace for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa. The garden had hangings of white and blue linen fastened with cords of white linen and purple material, to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other costly stones. Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other. And the royal wine was abundant in keeping with the king's liberality. By the king's command, each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished. Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. That's all I'm going to read. But only to say that this is lavish. It's staggering in the wealth. There's actually a very funny story told by a historian, a very, very early historian, Herodotus tells of this story. Because again, the Greeks were their biggest threat and it would be the Greeks that would take over. Herodotus tells a history story of one of the Greek military leaders, Pausanias. And he told a story of him. There was a situation where Xerxes had gone off to fight the Greeks and he used to take along a lot of this lavish paraphernalia so that, you know, when Xerxes gets fed, he gets fed nicely, but he almost lost and he had to flee. And it was a retreat situation. He couldn't take all that nice stuff and the Greeks got a hold of it. So they said, let's put on a banquet with this stuff and we're going to get out all of the fancy stuff. And Pausanias arrives on the scene and is just awed by it. This is the Greek, excuse me, the historian Herodotus. seeing the couches of gold and silver with luxurious coverings, and the tables of gold and silver, and the magnificent apparatus of the feast, he was astonished at the good things set before him. And for sport, he ordered his own servants to prepare a meal." You have to understand, if you've read more of the context, this is what's going on. He says, this is so staggering. He has his servants prepare a meal common to their feasting there. and he gathers all the officials around in the military and he says, what in the world is stupid Xerxes coming up here to steal this from us? He's got so much! What kind of fare do we have to offer compared to what he's got down there? Why is he coming to come and try? How stupid is that? That's history for you. A little history account from Herodotus. I just thought that was interesting. But really, again, all of this introduction is to speak of God wanted to get a message across. Nations will come. Nations will go. I keep my promises to my people. You'll find that the providential events of Esther are so detailed. Stuff like this does not happen by accident. It just doesn't happen by accident. And that, I think, is the theme and message of