Can we invite you to turn, please for a scripture reading
to the Book of Esther, Book of Esther chapter 3,
Esther chapter 3, reading from the opening verse.
After these things, did King Hazueris promote Haman the son
of Hamadatha the Yeager gate, and advanced him, and set his
seat above all the Princess that were with him.
And all the King's servants that were in the King's gate bowed
and reverenced Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning
him, But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.
Then the King's servants which were in the King's gate, said
unto Mordecai, Why transgressors thou the King's commandment?
Now it came to pass, when they speak dearly unto him, he
hearkened not unto them that they told him, and to see
whether Mordecai's matters would stand.
For he had told them that he was a Jew.
And when him and saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him
reverence, then was Haman full of wrath, and he thought scorn
to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had showed him the
people of Mordecai. Wherefore Haman sought to
destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole Kingdom of
Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
In the first month, that is the month Nissan in the 12th year of
the king of Hazueris, they cast Pur, that is the lot before
Haman from day-to-day. And from month to month to the
12th month, that is the month Adar.
And Haman said unto King Hazueris that there's a certain
people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in
all the provinces of thy Kingdom, and their laws are
diverse from all people. Neither keep the the King's
laws. Therefore it is not for the
King's prophet to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be
written that they may be destroyed.
And I will pay 10,000 talents of silver to the hands of those
that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the
King's treasuries. And the king took his ring from
his hand, and gave it on to Haman the son of Hamidatha the
Agate, the Jews enemy. And the king said unto him, And
the silver is given to thee, the people also to do with them, as
it seemeth good to thee. Then were the King's scribes
called on the 13th day of the first month.
And there was written according to all that Haman had commanded,
unto the King's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over
the Everly province, and to the rulers of every people of every
province according to the writing thereof, and to every
people after their language. In the name of King Hazueris was
it written and sealed with the King's ring.
And the letters were sent by posts and to all the King's
provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish all Jews,
both young and old, little children and women, in one day,
even upon the 13th day of the 12th month, which is the month
Adar. And to take the spoil of them
for a prey. The copy of the writing for a
commandment to be given in every province was published onto all
people that they should be ready against that day.
The posts went out, being hastened by the King's
commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan, the palace.
The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city Shushan was
perplexed. Amen.
May the Lord bless these verses to our hearts for His name's
sake. And the underlying theme of this
book of Esther is that of anti-Semitism, that is, the
hatred of the Jews. The bottom line is, quite
simply, the Jews are God's chosen people, and the devil is
against them because he is against the Lord.
Perhaps we've been made more aware of this hatred because of
such events as Second World War, when Adolf Hitler was
instrumental in the slaughter of some 6,000,000 Jews in the gas
chambers in places like Auschwitz.
However, that wasn't a new thing.
Well, this animosity has been going on for centuries, long
before Hitler. Indeed, it goes back to the days
of Jacob and Esau and will no doubt continue as long as life
endures. I mean, we, we've only got to
watch the current situation, the things going on in Gaza,
Palestine, where things are are levelled against God's land of
Israel and it is God's land. The El on the end of Israel is
God's name. He's put his own name there.
We can understand why the world at large, I mean you see people
even in this province parading the roads in support of the
enemies of God's people. These are to be expected in the
end time. It can go unnoticed that and it
was divine province. It brought this man Mordecai and
his cousin Esther upon the scene.
At this particular time in Persia's history, Persia as a
nation was very anti Jewish and we're, we're talking here 483
BC. Ironically, when Mordecai was
chief leader in the the stopping of attacks against the Jews at
the same time, through no fault of his own, it was his standing
up for them that brought about this attack.
That's referred to in this passage of scripture.
The the time span here from the beginning of that campaign to
the crowning of Esther as queen was about five years.
It was about four years after Mordecai had exposed the plot
against the king Hazueris. So they had about four peaceful
years before the the trouble flared up again.
And isn't life like that? Things run well for a time, and
then somebody does or says something that ignites a touch
paper, and before you know it, the whole country's in turmoil.
And the one behind this defensive on the Jews was this
man named Haman. He was an absolutely despicable
character, just another Hitler. Some would suggest that he was
actually the incarnation of Satan.
He was so wicked. Jews like to hold on to their
memories and I can't fault them for that.
And some of you may have had the opportunity I had thankfully,
some years back to visit the Holocaust Museum in Israel.
As I stood there looking at wartime photographs and viewing
old film footage of Jews suffering under Hitler, people
stood around weeping openly at the thoughts of what happened to
their forefathers. And to this day, not only is
Hitler despised by the Jews across the earth, they still
hate the name of Haman. Every year from mid February to
mid March is the month Adar, which we read of here, the 12th
month in the Jewish calendar. It's mentioned in verse 7 of
this third chapter that during the feast of Purim, which is
hailed in that month, the this book of Esther is read in the
synagogues. But when it comes to the mention
of the name Haman, people actually stomp their feet on the
floor and begin to chant. May His name be blotted out,
such is their utter detestation of Him.
And as we look a little closer into this campaign, you'll see
just what corruption there was in government and how the devil
uses people to oppose the people of God and the cause of God.
There's no doubt that the Lord must laugh sometimes at the
antics of men as they try to set themselves up on earth as if
they owned this earth. Well, they forget that God sees
everything that man does and knows every evil intent.
How sad that people live as if there is no God to be
accountable to. Isn't that where we're at these
days? For a moment, if we want to
consider this particular crusade against the Jews, notice here
the the promoter of this campaign.
As we said, the this agent of Satan was behind all that
abominable activity. Haman.
But who was he? Where did he come from?
First one describes him as the son of Hamadatha.
The Agagite doesn't necessarily mean he was directly descended
from King Agag that we read of over in First Samuel, but he is
believed to have been an Amalekite.
The Amalekites were long time enemies of the Jews.
And so this takes us back to the desert, really takes us back to
Esau's hatred of Jacob. Any attack against the Jews
anywhere was and still is seen as simply a continuation of that
conflict. It's much the same as the
ongoing animosity that exists between biblical Protestantism
and potpourri. 1 tolerates the other to a certain degree, but
there comes a point where each draws a line of demarcation and
every now and again something flares up that emphasises the
fact that the the the dislike of one for the other hasn't gone
away. However, in in this case, it's
worth bearing in mind that the Amalekites were a people under
the curse of God. Turn back, if you would, to
Deuteronomy chapter 25, Deuteronomy 25 and verse 17.
Verse 17 says Now remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way,
when ye were come forth out of Egypt, how he met thee by the
way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble
behind thee, when thou was faint and weary, and he feared not
God. Therefore it shall be when the
Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies
roundabout in the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for
an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the
remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
I shall not forget it. So from that we can see the
Amolites are a people under divine wrath.
And even if Haman wasn't an Amalekite after the flesh, he
certainly was sympathetic with them.
He was one with them in spirit, and that would not have been
good for his health. We'll come back to Esther 3.
Isn't it strange how people like this man always seem to find
promotion when somebody who lives right is so often left by
the wayside and barely recognised or despised?
The King of Hazueris exalted this infidel to a position above
all his own Princess, as verse one tells us.
But if that wasn't enough, verse 2 has it that everybody must not
only salute this Rascal, but actually bow to him, doesn't it?
Does not just give, and that doesn't just mean to give a nod
of the head. When people met him in the
street, he was to be reverenced. The word that's used here in the
original Hebrew means he was to be worshipped.
He was almost put on a power with God, and the man was a he
was a murderer at heart. And the king has the nation
bowed to him. What a strange thinking.
By doing so, such a possession now gave him and a lot of clout
against the Jews. He was actually made second in
command in the country. Makes you wonder something.
What makes people think, what makes them tick?
This is not so. You put the devil in a suit and
he becomes a statesman and here you have it.
That was him and just shows that the kind of man king of Hazirais
was when he could elevate such an infidel to such a position of
authority. Don't godless governments do
some of the daftest things? This high position now it gave
human power and prestige that that added serious weight to the
decree to annihilate all the Jews within the realm.
And didn't human think he was flying high now?
Well how did he ever come to attain to such a high position?
Why did a Hajj Aris ever think to promote him of all people?
Money. Doesn't money open doors for
people? Doesn't it happen in government
circles even to this day? Every man has his price.
Haman bought himself favour with the king.
How do we know? Verse 9, If it pleases the king,
let it be written that they may be destroyed.
That is the Jews. And I will notice this.
I will pay 10,000 talents of silver to the hands of those
that have the charge of this business to bring it into the
King's treasuries. Now by today's standards, we're
talking here roughly 15 to $20 million.
Now you'd wonder that a king could be bought in such a
manner. Well, we have to remember that
Ahazuaris had just about emptied the palace treasury when he went
to war with Greece and lost so heavily.
His bank balance needed the kiss of life at this stage.
And so Haman's offer came just at the right time.
You see how the the, the subtly of the devil is in this whole
thing, can't you? Haman knew when to make his
move. And we've seen men over recent
years accept hefty sums for putting questions forward in the
House of Commons. Money talks.
And so if this guy is offering to enhance the King's bank
balance by such a vast amount, such a substantial sum, he'll
find some excuse for accepting the terms of the deal.
And anyway, wasn't as if he was asking the king to to slay the
Jews. He only wanted the King's
permission to do it himself. The king wouldn't have to get
his hands dirty, not physically. Of course he was.
We know he's just as guilty as human in God's eyes.
But isn't the Bible right when it declares that the love of
money is the root of all evil? First Timothy 6 and 10.
God isn't against people having money.
Whatever man any man has, God has allowed him to have it.
But it's how he obtains it, or what he does with it.
It's important. And sadly it's too often find
that people who have plenty they they, they have the idea that
their opulence gives them licence to walk over other
people. It happens in government
circles, happens in the business world.
The real tragedy is that if someone could get away with it,
the same thing would happen in the church.
And we have to pray against that.
But anyway, Haman and I got his foot in the door he had bought
his way in, and the king had people exalt him as though he
was somebody of importance. He may have been in his own
eyes, but he was still a no good scoundrel in the eyes of
Mordecai and of God. Mordecai was about the only man
anywhere around who wouldn't acknowledge this man human in
public. He knew what the the man was and
couldn't show him any respect. Respect has to be deserved, has
to be earned. He didn't deserve it.
The king actually commanded his people to reverence him.
Which just goes to show that the king himself was a very poor
morals. Which we knew anyway.
But this is the the individual that was promoting the campaign
to rid the nation of the Jewish people, and God wasn't about to
sit back and let this wretched Rascal walk over them.
Notice secondly the provoking of this campaign.
When we consider the actions of Mordecai, it has to be seen that
his good behaviour is what provoked the bad behaviour of
Haman. All Mordecai did was to refuse
to bow to him when everybody else did Buy there's nothing
wrong in in bowing to royalty. We we give them honour.
We give honour to our superiors. But Haman Haman wasn't royalty.
He was an infidel with no spiritual values and no time or
place for the things of God. However, this if this situation
did nothing else, it brought Mordecai's profession of faith
out into the open. He had been living something of
a the life of a secret disciple, which really is is never God
glorifying. But now he was compelled by his
own conscience to own up to the fact that he belonged to the
Jewish race. He would have no other gods but
one. And so he was.
He was now nailing his colours to the mast, as verse 4 shows.
He told them he was a Jew. And this was a a bold step
because whilst before he had kept quiet about the matter,
nobody around him was any of the wiser what he believed.
But now, now the whole city and probably the entire province was
bowing to him. And.
And so Mordecai stood out like a sore thumb.
He was the only man in the area who refused to worship him.
And so he's he's laying his neck on the lane, but he was doing it
for God. And maybe but times you've had
to take a lonely stand for the Lord.
It happens in schools and colleges, in the workplace.
You own your Saviour before the ungodly.
You may well be outnumbered. A beloved one with God is a
majority and when you look at the the long term effects,
you'll find that nobody ever stood up for the Lord, but God
bless them for it and they bless you.
I know I appreciate this there. There are times when it's
difficult. It may be hard to stand and
stand up when we count it, especially if everybody is
against you and and this is perhaps more difficult amongst
young people and you take your stand and the Lord will see to
it that you don't lose out. When you look at it how Mordecai
ended up, you can see how true this is.
God elevated him to the very position that him and was now
occupying. God's servant became second in
command in the government that the Lord's no man's debtor.
God says them that honour me I will honour and Mordecai is
proof of that. This stand it it wasn't a one
off, but he he took a stand day after day.
He showed No Fear anymore. Some people have been known to
start off well with the Lord as soon as they're saved, they
they're busy telling other people about their new found
salvation and and rightly so, scripture exhorts it.
But maybe after a time their enthusiasm wears off.
Maybe they're continually faced with opposition and
disappointments come and before you know it, their witness
becomes less and less and they they then get to the point where
they feel to own the Lord in public.
And some have been known to turn full circle and go so far as to
deny they were ever received. That's tragic.
And we wonder then, were they ever received in the 1st place?
Did they have a profession without possession?
Where do you stand today, beloved?
Do people know that you belong to the Lord?
You're really born again. It's sad when people behave like
the chameleon and they change the colour of their coat to suit
the surroundings. Are we just a Christian when
among other Christians? But it's different when we're
mingling. If they're ungodly present, are
we at home there More at ease, our beloved.
We can't live with one foot in either.
Camp doesn't work. If you're not saved, be honest
enough to admit it and trust the Lord to save you.
But remember, for you to be saved, you have to be prepared
to have done with sin. You are sealed.
And pray God to give you the needed grace and strength to
stand up and own Him in public. The first occasion, of course,
is always the hardest, and once you have owned Him in public,
people will soon know who you belong to.
And don't be afraid to witness for him.
Pray for backbone and the Lord will certainly bless you.
There's more to being a Christian than knowing you're on
your way to heaven. Every believer, young or older,
as a duty to live for the glory of Lord.
Isn't that what her catechism says?
Man's teeth end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
You'll want you to make a success of your Christian life
when you think of it. Mordecai took a really giant
step forward here. But not only did he stand up
before other men, he stood against a royal decree.
He went against the law of the king.
And Haji Eris was king of a vast empire.
But more than this, he took a stand, as verse 3 shows in the
King's Gate, he's right under the King's nose.
He's in the King's employment. That took courage.
He started where he was best known.
And often, that's the hardest place to start among his friends
and acquaintances. You save today, beloved.
You've never, never told anybody if.
If you can't tell somebody in the church, you'll never get the
victory over the outside world. If this is you, tell somebody.
It'll bless your soul. Don't let the devil browbeat you
into a corner. Mordecai stood alone.
Many a child of God has had to get used to that experience.
Remember Elijah? He had to do it against 450
false prophets of Beale. And no, Elijah wasn't a
Superman. He's made of the same clay as
you and I are, and subject to the same inhibitions and fears.
But he stood for God, the apostle Paul said in Second
Timothy 416. At my first answer, no man stood
with me, but all men forsuit me. Well, it's it's not always
popular to stand up for Christ. It may lead you to being
ostracised, isolated, but the Lord will never leave you.
Thank God for his promise. Didn't anybody say anything
against Mordecai for the stand he took?
Yes, they did. The King's servants faced him
with it, advised him that he he he was offending the king.
But Mordecai had nothing personal against the king.
In fact, he'd only recently saved the King's life when he
told him of the plot to assassinate him.
But he wasn't about to sell out on the Lord.
Verse 4 indicates that Mordecai had to face this inquiry every
day as to why he wouldn't vow to Haman.
That's when he became bold for God and told these servants that
he was in fact a Jew, that he belonged to the Lord's people.
And it was this witness for the Lord that caused the venom and
Hainman to be stirred up. Well, the devil hates the child
of God, especially when he stands up for a saviour.
But whose side would you rather be on?
Matthew 1028 reads Fear not them which kill the body, but are not
able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell, in love.
And you stand up for the Lord, and the Lord will bless you for
it every time. And notice lastly, hear the the
plotting in this campaign. The more Mordecai stood for his
God in refusing to bow to Haman, the more Haman's anger
intensified. Verse 5 tells us that that he
was full of wrath over in chapter 5 verse 9 it says he was
full of indignation against Mordecai.
The words wrath and indication come from the same root word in
the Hebrew. That word full indicates that
here was a man who couldn't control his passions.
For a man of such high authority that wasn't a good
characteristic to be Lombard with.
Proverbs 1632 says he that is slow to anger is better than the
mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh the
city him and couldn't control his spirit.
He was more concerned about being respected than he was
about being responsible. He was exceedingly prejudice
against the Jewish people and his plotting against them just
emphasised that fact. But this was far more serious
business than many people realise.
It's more than human realised. It was more than Hitler realised
this. This prejudice was satanic.
God had promised to bless his people.
And here's what we read in Genesis 12.
One to three. Now the Lord had said unto
Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred,
from thy father's house under unto a land, that I will show
thee, and I will make thee or make of thee a great nation, and
I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a
blessing, and I will bless thee. Bless them that bless thee, and
curse him that curseth thee. And in thee shall all the
families of the earth be blessed.
That blessing upon the Jews still stands.
OK, so maybe many Jews are far away from the Lord at present.
So are many Gentiles. But there's still his chosen
people, and any man who lifts his hand against them does so at
his own peril. God will own his people, and
this curse that he has pronounced upon his adversaries
is still effective. And Hamas.
And the Palestinians and all the those blighted, benighted
supporters would need to beware. Israel is still God's chosen
race and the world at large who are coming out and pursuing
their support. And with corrupt media system
that backs Gaza all the way, they need to recognise they're
dealing with God here. Nobody lifts his hand against
the child of God or the people of God, but they'll pay dearly
for it. Human.
He actually set up a National Lottery system and ran for 12
months for the not for the benefit of charities, but in an
attempt to decide when the assault against the the Jewish
people would commence. He called it Purim, which just
means the casting of lots. But imagine a Jew.
Imagine being a Jew and and knowing that this was going on
in your own country. The Jews remember Purim every
year at the same time. It's just another date on their
calendar that they don't and can't forget.
And this man was totally obsessed with his scheme, and he
allowed the outcome of his lottery system to dictate his
own thinking. However, the fact that he ran
that scheme for a year meant that Mordecai had time to
prepare the Jews against the proposed onslaught.
And God turned the the tables and delivered his own chosen
people. Where does that find us today?
Are we the Lords by sovereign grace?
Yes, we are. Are we living for Him?
When somebody attacks another child of God, do we stand up for
them? When we hear the Lord's name
being dragged into the gutter, do we stand against the
attacker? And what concern have we for the
Jew, Palestinians and Hamas and those blinded individuals who
take their stand in opposition to Israel that need to be where
their days are numbered? Psalm 122, verse 6 exhorts God's
people to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
They shall prosper that love thee.
That says the Jews need our prayers today.
Israel needs our prayers all. Let's pray that God will
continue to work among His chosen people and that they will
indeed come to accept their Messiah.
Maybe not pray for those who set themselves up as the enemies of
God and and the enemies of God's people, that that the Lord will
in mercy smite them with conviction of their sin and open
their blinded eyes to see the harm they're doing themselves.
Surely we need to move of God's Holy Spirit in these days.
Let us cry to God that he might move in her midst.
I mean even in her own land. We've already referred to those
who would would back Israel's enemies need the Lord to open
their eyes and show them the folly of what they're engaging
in and pray that God will be pleased to send a gracious
awakening. I even in this province because
this land needs it. These are dark days.
These are there's when there's No Fear of God.
The spirit of Antichrist is all around us.
How many can't? I can't entertain the gospel.
Don't want to know how many people you offer them a gospel
tract in the street. How many will refuse it?
Don't want the Lord? They're just siding with God's
enemies. They're taken by the devil and
they don't realise it. We really need to be praying
that God will send a gracious intervention in these times,
cause an awakening and bring people to recognise not only
their need of salvation, but get themselves right with God and
pray down God's blessing upon, not just upon Israel, on the
world at large, as these are critical times in earth's
history. The only, the only help we have,
the only solution is a move of God.
Let's pray to that end that the Lord will indeed do something
wonderful even in these times, and leave it there for the
moment. Let the Lord bless these few
thoughts and encourage our hearts to to press on with
Himself.