Esther

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0:00 The rest of us were still moving through the story. We're like three-quarters of the way through. You see my bookmark there. Wrapping up the Old Testament, coming into the New Testament. We're looking at the story of Esther, which is fine. I don't know how often you get into the book of Esther. I don't get into it very often.

0:30 It took me a minute to equate myself with it. I had to remind myself it's kind of nice of where it is in the narrative. In the story they have the Ezra story and then they jump to the Esther story and then they come back to the Nehemiah story. It seems like maybe Esther, remember that God removes Israel, Judah and Benjamin from Judah, the southern part of Israel.

1:03 Takes them out. And now Israel, there's no historic Israelite authority in the promised land anymore. And they are removed, Nebuchadnezzar moves into Babylon and then those folks get conquered. The Syrians get conquered by the Persians and they go through different kings. The Osiris releases the Israelites back. Takes out of the treasury everything that he took from the temple, gives it to the Israelites and says go rebuild your capital city and your temple and worship your God.

1:34 You know there's a famous passage in Isaiah where Isaiah says, prophesies he sees the future. He says that the king will make the rough places plain and the uneven places, the high places will be brought low and the low places will be raised up and the crooked places will be made straight. And all prophecies have a near term fulfillment and a long term fulfillment. Of course the long term fulfillment is the return of Christ but the near term fulfillment is Israel making their way from Babylon across the desert back to Jerusalem.

2:05 Cyrus is the first Messiah. This is a huge deal that the enemy king would send a nation back to their home and encourage them in fact empower and equip them to rebuild their homeland. It does not happen. It's so unique that the people that are still living there when the Israelites come back from Babylon with the money and the intent they get set against them and they actually work hard to stop them. So much that once they get the temple kind of built then they pause

2:37 and they don't rebuild the city they stop building the walls because everybody is coming against them. And then we read last week that the governors asked the kings to stop, right? And what's fascinating to me is that the Israelites they get this unique opportunity prophesied by Isaiah unique among the nations to go back and return to their homeland and worship their God but that they don't all go. It's like so crazy to me.

3:12 Remember that parable that Jesus tells about the, he says, Hey guys, the kingdom of heaven will be like this. It will be like where the bridegroom, the host of the party, sends out invitations and says, Do you guys want to come? Gitzal set prepares the feast then once the feast is ready, he says, Okay, the feast is ready come and the people are like,

3:44 Well, I've got a cow and I've got some property I've got to take care of. I just got married. I just got a house. I really don't have time to come to your feast. Remember when Jesus then tells the parable about the prodigal son and he comes back miraculously and the dad is so, the loving father is so excited that his prodigal is returned that he kills the fatted calf and invites the whole town to come and have a party and the older son comes and stands outside the party

4:18 and it's like, Why is everybody in there having a good time? That guy's a jerk and the dad, the loving father, pleads with him and says, Please come into the party and enjoy the celebration with us. And the prodigal son says, No, thank you. The crazy thing to me in the story of Israel being conquered and removed to Babylon was realizing that God was set against them, but all the time he was still offering them

4:48 his protection. He would have helped them. He would have protected them, but they weren't interested in his protection. It's like fascinating when you start paying attention to the story of Scripture and you realize that the demise that people find themselves in, the exclusion they have from the participation in the blessing of God is self-appointed and chosen.

5:19 They're not interested in the way of God. It's fascinating and it comes into the story of Esther. So Esther is this one story we get about the Israelites that are left behind. Babylon is now called Sousa and there's different kings. It took me a minute to realize that in Esther he's called like by the Hebrew name, the king is something with an A, and then other places he's called by the Persian name Xerxes.

5:51 Everybody's got multiple names in the scriptures. It can be confusing if you don't really keep your reference searches on alert, you know, have to figure out, wait, is Xerxes the same as autophanes or whatever the guy's name? It is. And so they're in this, like, they're in Sousa and these kings have now, they've stopped building in Israel and the Jews are in this kind of precarious position.

6:23 Remember by now they're starting to be called Jews. It's a shortened form of Judah. So this is, it's not until this point where they're actually called Jews. Until this point they're always called Israelites because they're the nation of Israel. But now they're starting to be called Jews because it's really Judah and partial of Benjamin that get taken off into captivity. And so instead of calling them Judahites, they call them Jews, a shortened version of Jews. So the Jews are starting to be, they're a real minority here in this, but they, what they've developed is a system of food laws and purity laws to kind of try and keep themselves separate.

6:58 And so they have this kind of separate identity. They're not assimilating into the ways. They're trying to stay distinct. They won't always bow down and worship in the ways that the Persians want them to. So they have this distinct identity. So this guy, Naaman emerges who just really hates him. And he's like a high up in the authority of the king. And he gets this law passed that's about to go into effect where they're going to kill all of the Jewish people.

7:31 And Esther threw some like grace of God really has become queen. It's like a crazy thing where the king is not a good dude. He's impulsive. He tries to control his first wife, Basti. She's like, I'm not interested in being controlled. So he dismisses her. And then like has a search like who shall be queen. Kind of like Cinderella, you know, like come in and let's all see who's the most beautiful

8:06 maiden in all the land. And Esther merges to the top and becomes queen. And then her like adopted dad Mordecai when this plan comes out that all the Jews are to be killed. She's like hanging back in the palace living her life. And this like edict is about to go out to all the land. Kill all the Jewish people. Take all their stuff for yourself.

8:36 Let's wipe them out. That's like essentially the command. And Mordecai like her adopted dad, Esther's adopted dad comes to her and is like, hey, you should probably do something about this. And it's in Esther chapter four if you want to punch it in and follow along. Let's see. Esther chapter four verse eight.

9:10 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king and beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. And Hathak went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. Then Esther spoke to Hathak and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, all the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman

9:40 goes to see the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law to be put to death. Except the one to whom the king holds out the gold inseptor so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come to the king with the king these 30 days. Mordecai's like, go talk to the king. And she's like, I don't just, the king, this isn't a guy that you just like show up in his courtroom and be like, hey, could I have a few moments of your time? This is a guy, if you just show up unannounced and he then just kills you

10:12 because you were so presumptuous as to presume that you could just take some time from him. And in fact, Vashti, the last queen he got rid of was dismissed because he summoned for her to come to his room and she said, I'm not coming right now, you just want to show me off to your buddies and I'm not doing that. And he said, fine, forget you then. And dismissed her. Right? And so Esther's like, you don't just walk in front of this guy, he kills people who just walk in front of him, Mordecai, sorry.

10:42 You want me to go plead with him? That's not how this works. Verse 12, and they told Mordecai what Esther had said, and Mordecai told them, reply to Esther, do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. Verse 14, 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. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this.

11:12 The first time I read this, I thought about that line from Dr. King Martin Luther King Jr. where he's like, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, remember? And that's what Mordecai is saying essentially. He's saying, hey Esther, you're hanging out in your palace and you feel like you're safe, but like if they just go kill all the Jews, the day's coming where it'll come for you.

11:44 So I was thinking about that letter. I remember the quote, I didn't remember where it came from. It came from his letter from the Birmingham jail. Like maybe you had to read that in high school where it's like the first big time he's arrested. And he's trying to awaken the church to the problem. He's like, he got arrested in Birmingham and he writes this letter and you read it in high school as an example of a persuasive argument. And he writes it actually to the clergy in the south trying to convince them, awaken them to the problem,

12:17 to suggest, hey you guys ought to care about this. And he says, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. If they marginalize and disabuse and take for granted and exploit this group of people, who's to say later it won't be your group of people? And you can't just go, that injustice doesn't affect me so I don't care about it.

12:47 So I was like, oh man. I mean, here's the trick. Dr. King had to like mobilize, had to create a whole social movement in order to elevate to the public view, injustice that had been happening for generations. Like whole societal structures were built on injustice.

13:17 And Dr. King had to march people through the cities and face against firehoses and dogs in order to get TVs to pay attention so that people had to get himself arrested and write open letters out to go, hey guys, there's injustice happening over here. And in today's world, the opposite is happening. Do you know what I mean? I mean, on your, in your pocket, are pictures and videos of like real and feigned injustice all over the world.

13:52 You know what I mean? And everybody's got a claim to injustice or justice. Like, it can be very difficult to sort out. So I was like looking at the story, these words from Mordecai and like it immediately resonated like, oh wow, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Who's to say, right? That just because you're safe now doesn't mean you. And like he's calling Esther to action.

14:26 And then immediately I'm like, oh my gosh, like what are the injustices that are happening? And which ones? Oh no, justice is in threat everywhere. That was, that was where I got. First, I think that's, I think there's legitimacy there. But also there's not a lot I can do with that. Like, so you have to keep reading the story because

14:57 there are a couple of interesting things that could be read past. So in Ezra chapter four, verse 12, and they told Mordecai what Esther had said. And then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. Verse 14, for if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place. This is the first thing to think about.

15:28 Mordecai is inviting Esther to do something about the injustice that he sees, she sees and is immediate to them. Hey, there is injustice here. And the first thing he says is like, look, God's going to do what he wants to do. So like, I think it's interesting like, Esther's Jewish, she's in the king's court who's about to pass a law to kill all the Jewish people.

16:08 And Mordecai is like, you should consider that just because you're in his palace doesn't mean that you're safe, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. But look, God's going to defend us. So the invitation for Esther is not to do God's job. Esther does not carry the weight of the responsibility of the Jewish nation on her shoulders. God's going to do what God wants to do.

16:40 So Esther does not have to save the Jews. And as a matter of fact, Esther cannot save the Jews. Mordecai starts very first and goes, look, God's going to do what God needs to do. If God needs to protect the Jews, he'll find a way to do it. But then he keeps going. And who knows? Whether you have not come to, whoa, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to this kingdom for such a time as this?

17:16 Mordecai's like, look, you don't have to save the Jews. God's going to do what God's going to do. But hey, maybe you're here because you get to partake in it. Maybe you get to participate in it. Maybe there's some role you could play. When I was in college, I got really fascinated with the civil rights movement.

17:46 I took a class comparing Martin and Malcolm in America. And I was like, I wrote on the nation of Islam. I spent some time looking at the nation of Islam. And the stuff was like really fascinating to me. The way people motivated for action by faith in reality. And I realized that my mom was born in 54. Both my parents were born in 54. I was like, oh man, in the middle 60s, they were like in elementary school.

18:18 In the Midwest, both of them like in Missouri and Nebraska. And so I asked them one time about it. And they had like fuzzy recollections of it. Like in my mind, it took over the world. And it didn't really hit their life really in the Midwest. Like they saw some stuff on the news. Isn't that interesting?

18:49 I don't think they did anything wrong. I just think they didn't have the opportunity to step into it. I had a teacher in college, a professor who taught me Islam. She was Muslim, but she had come out of the nation of Islam. And she different, different. She was in the Mississippi Freedom Summer. She learned to drive, she said, running away from KKK guys, like chasing her in the Mississippi. She did not drive, jumped in a truck and drove because they were chasing her, right?

19:19 She got the opportunity and stepped in, right? My parents were like in the Midwest, elementary schoolers. Oh, look at their stuff, they got the news. Mordecai is like Esther, you're right here. Look, God's going to do what he's doing, but maybe you get to do something. Made me think of this story in Matthew. Oh, yeah, here.

19:49 In Matthew chapter 18, it says, Matthew, actually chapter 19, verse 16, and behold, a man came up to Jesus saying, teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And Jesus said to him, why do you ask me about what is good? There's only one who is good if you would enter, if you would enter life, keep the commandments. Verse 18, and he said to him, which ones?

20:19 And Jesus said, you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And the young man said to him, well, all these I've kept, what still do I lack? And Jesus said to him, if you would be perfect, go and sell all you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, then come and follow me. And the young man heard this and went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. When I thought about this call from Mordecai to Esther,

20:51 where he's like, look, God's going to do what he's going to do, but maybe you're here right now for this moment. I thought about the rich young ruler that comes to Jesus and it's like, hey, Jesus, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life? And the guy who facilitates eternal life looks at the rich young ruler and it's like, dude, you want eternal life? Let's go. Right now. Forget all the rest you got and let's go together. And he had the moment right there. And this wasn't giving an edict to everyone to say, hey,

21:24 you should all divest yourself of all your wealth. He was saying, for this moment in this place right now, you can do this thing. Let's go together. And the rich young ruler didn't want it. It wasn't that Jesus didn't offer it or pulled back the offer or executed some revolutionary judgment on the rich young ruler. The rich young ruler had a bunch of stuff. He had a wife and kids.

21:55 He had a wife and kids are great. He's the, he's the, he had the excuse that the people in the parable had about the banqueting feast. You know what I'm saying? It said that he went away sorrowful because he had many possessions. And he couldn't do it. He wasn't interested. He was like the Israelites that didn't want to go back to Jerusalem. He's like Benjamin and Judah who couldn't trust God but would rather trust Egypt.

22:27 You see? Esther has this moment where she is a queen, favored queen to the guy who's, for all intents and purposes, the king of the world. All known world, he runs. All other countries are vassals paying tribute. And he is enamored with Esther and sets her up with life in his court.

22:58 Whatever she wants, she's got it together. And Mordecai's like a threat to justice anywhere. We know the quote. He's like it's going to come for you one day. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Mordecai says. It's going to come for you one day. And she has a choice like the rich young ruler. Like Israel does.

23:29 Of course. Like we do, right? I do think that it's a legitimate problem that we are aware of every injustice. I think that's a legitimate problem. I think that there are some things, problems that emerge from the ubiquity of stories and voices that find their way to our eyes and ears.

24:09 And one of those is like, we have trouble sorting out. It's hard to know which voice, which camera to trust. Every time there's a camera pointed at something, there's something else it's not pointed at. Every time there's a story told, there's another version of the story that we're not hearing. And so it's hard to know which one do I listen to, which injustice is the problem that I should care about. And so it's hard to know what's going on in the world. And so it's hard to know what's going on in the world.

24:39 And so it's hard to know what's going on in the world. And so it's hard to know what's going on in the world. And so it's hard to know what's going on in the world. And so it's hard to know what's going on in the world. And so it's hard to know what's going on in the world. So the problem is on both sides, calling us to action and the action to which we are called are both watered down and unhelpful. So this like call from Dr. King from the Birmingham Jail is legitimate.

25:13 The call of Mordecai to Esther, the call of Christ to the rich young ruler. This is serious. And for us, it's difficult to figure out how do we sort it out. And there are some things that are worth noting in the story of Mordecai and Esther and Jesus and the rich young ruler. And the first one is this. They knew it as soon as they heard it.

25:45 Esther knew as soon as Mordecai said something to her, perhaps for this moment. The rich young ruler did not question Jesus. When Jesus said, give everything you have and come and follow me. He wasn't like, you're crazy man. Forget you. He wasn't like, that's unreasonable. He didn't say that's unacceptable. He went away sorrowful, it says, because he had so many things. He knew in his heart he was called to do something he did not have the courage to do.

26:17 And so he went away sad at his lack of courage and conviction. So this is important. If you are a elementary schooler in the Midwest in the middle 60s, you're probably not called to the Mississippi Freedom Summer to learn to drive the car running away from the KKK. It's not for such a time as this.

26:47 Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, but we are not called to every injustice. We are not God. God is going to do what God is going to do. But every once in a while, for such a time as this, you will be called, and my hunch is, when the injustice that is calling you to action hits your eyes and ears, you will know it.

27:17 And either you will walk away sorrowful, or you will have courage. Look at Esther's response back in Esther chapter four. Mordecai says, and who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, go together all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night and day.

27:49 And my young women will also fast as you do. And then I will go to the king, though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish. Mordecai then went away and did everything Esther had ordered him. She said, hey, let's take this seriously, pray for three days, and then I'll go. And if he kills me, he kills me.

28:21 I mean, that is courage and clarity of conviction. She is not having to go dither and wonder. She is not debating, and she is like it's clear, the call and the opportunity of God has hit her. And what is compelling to me is that there is the potential of genocide, and God's going to do what God's going to do, but one young lady has been placed. God had given her all of the things that she needed in just the right place,

28:54 and the favor unexpected, unlooked for, unwarranted, given to her, and she had the opportunity. God had given her everything that she needed, what would she do? And she responds courageously. The rich young ruler, God had given him riches and discipline clearly. He had lived up to all of the laws, given him everything that he needed, in order that the poor in his midst would be taken care of. And he had the moment and the opportunity and the invitation from Christ, and he goes away sorrowful at his lack of courage and misses the opportunity to partake in the work of God in the world.

29:28 God will take care of the poor yet, but without the rich young ruler. And God would have protected Israel because he is committed to them, but in this case, Esther gets the grace of participation in the salvific work of God, and this is the same opportunity for you. Whether it is a move in vulnerability towards people that you love, who have trouble loving you back,

29:58 whether it is a sacrificial move towards your neighbor who needs the help that you can offer, whether it is legitimate voice in places where people are voiceless, whatever the injustice, the hurt, the brokenness to which God calls you. He will call you. It is an incredible and persistent grace of the God of the Scriptures, the God of creation and life, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the God of Christ, and the church,

30:31 that though we are fickle and fearful yet will he work through us in the world, he will work through you. And what you find in my hunch is that not only does it preserve life, but it enriches it. And what you find in your heart is that the participation in the plan of God is the thing for which we were made. So let's pray that we get courage like Esther and opportunities like the rich young man and Mordecai to act in courage and faith.

31:08 So the story of Esther and your grace towards her might you have grace towards us to call us clearly towards acts of justice in the world, acts of mercy and generosity, acts of humility and hope to further your purposes and your kingdom. Let us work with you together in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.