The God of the Living

Matthew 22:23-33[1]

As preached at Rolling Hills Church on Resurrection Sunday, April 23^rd, 2011

He is Risen!

Do you ever start conversations with God by trying to trap Him with His own Words? Do you wrangle with Him from a position of unbelief and yet expect answers to belief-requiring prayers?

Let's go to a conversation between Jesus and some men known as the Sadducees. It was the Tuesday before Jesus was crucified on Friday. He had gone to the temple to teach, and the chief priests and the elders challenged his authority. He quieted them with a question about John's authority, and then told them several parables showing them to be unfaithful to God in rejecting the Son of God.  The Pharisees, a weaker political/spiritual rival group to the Sadducees, took their shot at the Lord, trying to trap him about not paying taxes to Caesar. He took the coin, asked them who's inscription was on it, and quelled that foolish assault. Then these Sadducees took their turn at trying to expose a flaw or weakness in the doctrine of our Lord Jesus. The conversation was interesting, because they proposed a 'what if' scenario that was rigged to trap Jesus. Let's see how this went. Matt 22:23-33

23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question,

24 saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.'

25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.

26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh.

27 After them all, the woman died.

28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her."

29 But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.

30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God:

32 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living."

33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

Here is the message from this text today, church family: God, Jehovah (Yahweh), Creator of the Universe – He is The God of the Living.

Now these men weren't the first to try to lure God into some divulging some contradiction in the Scriptures, and they certainly weren't the last. They were not the only people who have taken a teaching/tradition of the Bible and used it as a wedge against faith in God. Let me tell you just a bit about these Sadducees…

The Sadducees, including the high priest Caiaphas (A.D. 18–36), were primarily of wealthy, priestly families in Jerusalem. They were [said to be] unfriendly—even to one another—and unpopular (Jewish War 2.166; Jewish Antiquities 13.298). They could be cruel judges (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 20.199; Mishnah, Sanhedrin 7:2; Makkot 1:6). When Jesus disrupted their financial interests in the temple, he was arrested and condemned (Mark 11:15–19; 14:53–65). James, the brother of the Lord, was later killed by a Sadducean high priest (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 20.200).

The Sadducees rejected the extra-biblical traditions of the Pharisees, and probably only believed Genesis-Deuteronomy to be Scripture (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 13.297; 18.16). This narrow canon may explain why they did not believe in the general resurrection of the dead (Mark 12:18; Acts 4:1–2; 23:6–8), since it is not explicitly mentioned in the Pentateuch. Jesus, when arguing for the resurrection (Mark 12:18–27), meets the Sadducees on their own ground by showing the implications of Exodus 3:6 instead of appealing to a more straightforward passage (e.g., Dan. 12:2).[2]

These men were nasty; their last encounter with Christ before this was in Matthew 16 when they came demanding a sign from heaven. Because they were negative, arrogant, and often attacking the doctrine of the resurrection, people used to say, "They don't believe God raises people from the dead: so they're sad, you see" (it was funny the first time I heard it). But let's consider first what they attempted to do.

They tried to disprove Jesus' beliefs about resurrection from the Scriptures. Using the deadly tool of ridicule was their weapon – not serious argument[3]. Here is the verse they referred to… Deut 25:5 "If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. This law was given because the inheritance of land and home were given through the son; a widowed woman with no children was staring destitution in the face. Personally, I thank God this one isn't New Covenant. They took a law Moses taught and attempted to show how foolish it would be if a resurrection occurred. To their credit, there is no overt, explicit teaching about resurrection of the dead in the Pentateuch; but it seems there was something they missed.

Their attempt at public disdain of Christ would remind you of political radio commentators of our day; their rationalist, materialist views would remind you of those who openly began to disdain the Bible in the late 1700s. It seems easy to gather consensus against miracles today, and they thought it would be then. But they were, Jesus said, mistaken.

The word used here for mistaken (Planao) is translated elsewhere in the NT as led astray, deceived, wrong, wayward, wanders from the truth.[4] Depending on the context it could mean led astray or leading astray; here it seems these leaders were guilty of both. Here is why they were mistaken, wrong, led astray, according to our Lord…

Because they didn't know the Scriptures. Wouldn't this be sad to hear, when you studied them for a living? You prepared your arguments against the school of the Pharisees diligently and relentlessly; you had to know the Scriptures! But looking they never did SEE, and listening they never did HEAR, and reading, they failed to BELIEVE. Could that happen today, church? In churches that proclaim deep devotion to the Scriptures, could people be languishing in unbelief? Could we be guilty of explaining away the miraculous in the Bible? Could we look, listen, and read, but not see, hear, or believe? How many times had these men read Exodus 3:6 and yet had completely missed the obviously inferred resurrection teaching? "And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." God didn't say I was, but I am; present tense; the patriarchs still live! When I read Jesus quoting this, didn't you think, 'of course!' But might that require meditation? Yes; seeing this might require prayer, listening, asking questions, and reading again. It might require a believing, humble approach to God's Word that seeks to know God, not just to develop arguments and sustain positions. When religious people don't know the Scriptures, where will the world hear them?

Because they didn't know the power of God. Resurrection after death requires life-giving, life-making power. Creation power! This renewing life is perfect work for the One who spoke life into existence! These Sadducees had grown cold toward any miraculous works of God; they didn't know of God's power and they obviously didn't fear God's power. How else could one speak so disdainfully of the God Who spoke the universe into existence and named the stars? How could a person doubt the One who makes a star (like our sun) that continually burns with un-measurable heat, - but doesn't burn up!? And these men apparently didn't read the papers a few weeks before this when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead – before many witnesses. They spoke disdainfully of resurrection to the One Who IS the resurrection and the life!

Because they didn't understand heaven.  To their credit, not many others did either at this time; it was revelation to us all! There will be no marriage in heaven; love will be different, more complete somehow. Those who love their spouses can't fathom this, but we take the words of Jesus in faith, and we look to a sinless existence where pro-creation isn't necessary; only the chosen, the redeemed, only those who believed in Christ will be there and have this life that lasts forever, this love that blasts beyond the boundaries of our thinking. It will be incredible; we will be with God, face to face. While these men didn't understand the afterlife with God – it didn't stop them from making silly conjectures about it.

Sadducees. They didn't know the Scriptures. They didn't know the power of God. They didn't understand heaven. Could we be in that condition? Is that you today? Do you celebrate the resurrection of Christ out of tradition, family, or habit – or out of cheerful faith in the living God, who is The God of the Living?

Folks, let us bow before God; let us worship in Spirit and in Truth. Let us throw arrogance and ridicule of God's Word away from us like an open vial of anthrax – it will kill us!

Church, God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. Slaughtered for our sin on Friday, raised from the dead on Sunday morning. We celebrate the anniversary of the resurrection of our Messiah!

Let us repent of unbelief! God help us to look and SEE the Christ in Scriptures, to listen and HEAR the gospel, to read and BELIEVE God saves all who call out to Him in repentance and belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

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[1] All Scriptures, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved. I paste them in red for distinction.

[2] From the article Jewish Groups at the Time of the New Testament, one of many resources in the ESV Study Bible, © Copyright 2008-2010 Crossway Publishing, All Rights Reserved.

[3] Good words from Albert Edersheim in his excellent volume The Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah, © 1993 by Hendrickson Publishers.

[4] Greek Lexicon tools available through www.blueletterbible.org

The Hatred of Haman

Esther 3:1-15[1] 

As preached at Rolling Hills Church on Sunday, April 10^th, 2011

 Around 2100 B.C. twins were born to Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, son of Abraham; they were named Jacob and Esau. Jacob was the younger, but God declared before their birth that the older would serve the younger, which he did. There was enmity, and the Covenant descendants of Abraham were traced through Jacob, not Esau.

Esau's son Timnah had a son through a concubine, and the son was named Amalek. As was the practice of that day, his descendants became known as the tribe of Amalek, or the Amalekites. The king of the Amalekites was later given the title/name of Agag (Num 24:7).

Fast-forward to 1440 B.C. when the Israelites, having been delivered from Egypt by the great hand of God, were wandering in the desert. Amalek attacks Israel at Rephidim, and God uses Joshua and Moses to defeat them; Joshua fighting, Moses on the hill holding his arms up, with help from Aaron and Hur. God declared something there that was actually astonishing…

Ex 17:14-16. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, saying, "A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."

Forty years later Moses was giving instructions to the Israelites before they crossed the Jordan to take the Promised Land. One note was about Amalek…

Deut 25:17-19. "Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. [Note; those lagging behind were young children and the older, weaker adults, perhaps with no family to keep them together; like orphans and widows.] Therefore when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

Now we jump to 1050 B.C. in 1 Samuel 15 when Saul, first king of Israel, is sent to war against the Amalekites with the mandate to utterly destroy every person, animal, and thing. He did not; he left the king and the best of the animals alive. The prophet Samuel came, tried Saul and found him guilty. He declared (at God's command, of course) that Saul would lose his kingdom to one more worthy, and violently killed the king of Amalek. Saul's father was named Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin. The name of the king of the Amalekites was, of course – Agag.

Now we are up to about 474 B.C. and the remnants of the nation of Israel are scattered all around the nation of Persia, of which Ahasuerus is king and Esther is queen. Esther's cousin, if you'll recall from chapter two of Esther, is Mordecai, "Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite" (Esther 2:5). Now we are ready to pick up with the story of Esther, since you have a little background to today's portion of the narrative, in Esther 3:1-15. Follow along as I read the entire chapter.

1 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him.

2 And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage.

3 Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why do you transgress the king's command?"

4 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew.

5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury.

6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king's laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them.

9 If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king's business, that they may put it into the king's treasuries."

10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews.

11 And the king said to Haman, "The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you."

12 Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring.

13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.

14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day.

15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

Providence, courage, and commemoration, the themes of the book of Esther.

Chapter one takes place in 3rd year of Ahasuerus; chapter two takes place in 6-7th year of Ahasuerus, and chapter three takes place in 11-12th year of the king.

This is the crux of the story. We have the introduction of the bad guy and his plot all in one chapter – just like that, the hammer drops! But wicked people never surprise God; He had already set the stage. Esther is queen, Mordecai is at the gates, and the Invisible Hand of God (Providence) had seen to other details. Things will move quickly now.

So it seems that in the Old Testament times, bad blood runs deep! For the record, I think 1626 years is a long time to be mad at your brother, then your cousin. But such is the story of Israel and Amalek; it is more than a grudge. Here we have the descendants of Jacob and Esau still striving, as in the womb of their mother. Here we have two men, hundreds of miles and hundreds of years from their home countries in the court of a foreign nation, re-drawing the battle lines of old. This history has much bearing on this story, and I believe it gives a little help understanding some very difficult unanswered questions in this chapter…

Why did Ahasuerus promote Haman? This we do not know. There is one possibility through this history of Amalek that I've read. Just as Israel was taken captive by Babylon and the princes were treated with some dignity in that kingdom and the subsequent nations of the Medes and Persians, perhaps the prince of Amalek was also treated with a measure of respect as well. Maybe that gave his descendant, Haman, access to the king through that venue. We can simply deduce that it wasn't from character. Matthew Henry uttered this line: "Princes' darlings are not always worthies." He was a vain, evil person, this we have seen already. And Ahasuerus was a whimsical king, who seems to pay little attention to Haman. Maybe he was broke after the Greek wars; more likely, his leadership reflected a king who fancied himself above the law.

Why such stubborn resistance from Mordecai? Why did Mordecai not bow? It seems that history was not easily erased in either of these households. All we can surmise is that Mordecai knew that Haman was an Amalekite (Agagite) and he simply would not bow. Perhaps he was aware, somehow, that Haman already hated the Jews, and would do them harm once he was in power. We don't know; but perhaps Haman's ancestry caused Mordecai to answer the way he did - did you notice that? "I am a Jew" was the only reason he gave for his defiance. Also, note that he did what he had forbidden Esther to do, and openly acknowledged his ancestry.

Why such venomous hatred from Haman? The answer lies in the history of his people, like Mordecai's history. Perhaps the Amalekites had issued their own "Never forget!" memo to the children through stories around the fireplace through the centuries. Remembering a terrible defeat can be motivating to a people; as the barely-formed Army of Texas fought Santa Anna's Mexican forces in 1836 they rallied with the cry of "Remember the Alamo!" Why? Because from Feb 23^rd-March 6^th 1836 one hundred and eighty-two men had elected to make their stand in the Alamo against Santa Anna's massive army, knowing they would die. But their sacrifice would give the fledgling state (March 2^nd) time to muster an army and fight back[2]. "Remember Saul's slaughter at Havilah!" might have been a slogan through the centuries for Amalekites. Israelites knew their tribe – and still do; it wouldn't be unrealistic to think that Haman's people had held on to their heritage in Persia as well. What if his father told him the story of the few escapees who had fled from Saul's deadly attack, and the 'hacking up' of King Agag by Samuel? Then finding out that Mordecai was a Jew might have been the motivating factor behind such hatred. After all, he had "disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone" because "Haman sought to destroy all the Jews".

This man was serious, and he was crafty. Silver as of Thursday April 7^th was $39.50 per ounce. In today's currency, with a talent being about 75 lbs., Haman's gift given for the privilege of killing the Jews would have been $474 million. That's serious. And he was crafty; "It would be to the king's advantage to get rid of them." Folks, our enemy is crafty as well, and he is well funded in this world.

Why did God hate Amalek? Not knowing God's motives behind every move leaves us wondering, but the rest of Scriptures give us some insight that we need to hold fast to. Two things we need to take away from this chapter about God's character, even though He isn't mentioned out right:

1)   God is holy, and hates sin. Never did God forget the sin of Amalek, and never will He forget the sin of any person who sins against Him and disdains fear of God's wrath. This is unthinkable to us, but completely consistent to God; He hates sin, and judges it all with death. This is unchanged through time, just as God remains the same. If God remembers our sins against Him, what hope is there of mercy, life, pardon, forgiveness? Only the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This is the only hope for any of us; our sins have us guilty before God, and require death; but Christ died on that cross outside of Jerusalem to provide atonement for the sins of all who DO fear God and turn from their sin, crying out for mercy through Christ.

2)   God loves His children, and will bring about justice. The great message of Esther is the salvation of God's people, yet again targeted for annihilation. He was faithful to the descendants of Abraham, and He still is faithful to protect and to provide for the descendants of Abraham. According to Romans and Galatians, that includes all who believe in the Savior God promised to bring through Abraham, all who believe God as that man did. It may tarry, but you wait; justice will come. The wicked will fall, and the righteous will be saved. Trust in God, church family; repent, believe, and hold to God's goodness. Justice, mercy will come from His throne.

So the crux of the story is here in chapter three; the death warrant for all Jews. Haman and the king sit down to eat, and the city of Susa – and likely many other cities in Persia – was in confusion over this edict. But the hand of God wasn't tied; He stays ahead of His enemies.

Let's pray.

 

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[1] All Scriptures, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved. I paste them in red for distinction.

[2] Details about the battle of the Alamo from http://www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/tnghist3.htm

Esther, Queen of Persia

Esther 2:1-23[1]

As preached at Rolling Hills Church on Sunday, March 27^th, 2011

When under-privileged people find career or financial success in life, they are often grateful and have a desire to give back. And these stories of humble beginnings to great success strike a chord with most people. Paul Harvey used to mesmerize us by telling us a tale about some crippled boy who fought rejection at school and from his family only to become the man who invented macaroni and cheese, or something great like that. At the end of the story he would say, "You know him as ­­­­­________. Now you know the rest of the story." He was so excellent at setting the stage for the climax of the tale, wasn't he? Many people can relate to such stories; but no one should be able to relate to it more than those who know Christ.

Chapter two of Esther is a great 'outside to inside' story that has few rivals in Scripture. Let's read and talk our way through this part of the story of Esther.

Esther 2:1-4

1 After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her.

2 Then the king's young men who attended him said, "Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king.

3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the capital, under custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them.

4 And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." This pleased the king, and he did so.

Sulking King. This part of the story begins with a sulking king listening to young men (who would, of course, come up with such an idea) about finding a queen; gather the most beautiful young virgins in the empire and choose your favorite. If indeed this Ahasuerus is the Xerxes history speaks of, then he was sulking because he had been to Greece and suffered military defeats in the intervening four years.[2] History records that Xerxes was first slowed by Leonidas and the 300 Spartans in the pass of Thermopylae, and later defeated by a Greek fleet of ships[3]. Thus, a sulking king who recalls the removal of Vashti now longs for a new queen. The stage is set for Providence to bring Esther to the stage. Beauty Pageant. Ladies, you can thankfully not identify with such a plan in our culture, and praise God for that. But the king was all in all, and to be anywhere near him was considered an honor, and to refuse such an honor was to risk your life; it rarely happened. This was a nation-wide "Miss Persia" contest, where the winner became queen and the losers lived out their days in a harem of lonely concubines awaiting a possible whim of the King. Here we meet the other central characters in this chronicle, Mordecai and Esther.

Esther 2:5-10

5 Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away.

7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

8 So when the king's order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king's palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women.

9 And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king's palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem.

10 Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known.

Mordecai was the descendant of Kish, his great-grandfather who was taken captive with king Jeconiah of Judah 100 years before. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, as was Saul, the first king of Israel. Both Mordecai and Esther had been born and raised in Babylon cum Persia, never having seen the Promised Land but never forgetting who they were. Mordecai was kind, and well respected, for as we will see, he had a job in the palace. He had taken in his younger cousin as his own daughter and cared well for her.

Esther was chosen in this queen lottery for obvious reasons: she "had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at". So she was brought into the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch. For those who wonder, a eunuch is a castrated male; thus he would be trusted with the care of the women. Not the sought-after office of the day, I would imagine. But as with Joseph over 1500 years prior to this time, Esther found favor in her reluctant location.

Esther 2:11-18

11 And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.

12 Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women--

13 when the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king's palace.

14 In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

15 When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king's eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.

16 And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign,

17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

18 Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther's feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity.

Esther, Queen of Persia. Here is our 'nobody' to 'success' portion of the story. Esther was the descendant of slaves, captives of war, and was raised involuntarily in a foreign nation. From that status she further descended to that of being an orphan, not a good thing for a female Jew in Persia, I would imagine. And yet Mordecai was faithful to care for her as a younger cousin, and he remained faithful to care for her while she was being prepared for the night with the king. Furthermore, God, working behind the scenes, was looking over her. Esther has ascended from lowly position of Jewish orphan in Persia to the exalted place as Queen of Persia.

Question: did Esther compromise her faith in God?  She did not mention her heritage, as commanded by Mordecai. She also did not refuse potential marriage to a non-Jewish, non-God-fearing Persian. Some accuse her of such compromise; I see it as a matter she had no choice in. Who rejects the call of the King of Persia? Certainly not some Jewish virgin! God, despite how things looked, had a plan, and it involved many more people than Esther and Mordecai. God used them for His plan, and for His glory.

God works in unique ways. This is just the opposite of how God worked through Moses' life in Exodus. Moses was raised as royalty in the palace of Pharaoh, fully educated, possibly to even follow as Pharaoh one day. And yet Moses laid it all down to be identified with His people, the Jews, and to obey His God[4]. Esther was a Jew who remained quiet about her nationality and was brought into the palace to the glory and favor that Moses had known his entire life. Folks, we should refrain from promoting God's pattern of work in the Old Testament: He did so many things so many ways, and never desired for us to seek such ways! We are rather to seek God, and to obey His Word to us!

So the stage is almost set; Esther is in the palace, Mordecai is in the gate; but this other brief side note must be added to finish this particular chapter of the story. It is a critical note, as we'll see further into this intriguing drama.

19 Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate.

20 Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him.

21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.

22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai.

23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.

Good Eunuchs, bad eunuchs. Mordecai was loyal to the king, regardless how he may or may not have felt about him. Jeremiah had taught the Jews to seek the welfare of the nation to which they would be taken captive, and so Mordecai did. Ahasuerus was saved from this plot. This was recorded. So:  Providence, Courage, and Commemoration.

Esther has moved from Jewish orphan to Queen of Persia. When under-privileged people find career or financial success in life, they very often are grateful and have a desire to give back. Who has been more 'nowhere' than wicked sinners like us? Who has more to be grateful for than we who have been spared at the expense of the righteous one? That cross was raised to kill the innocent One whose blood would justify the guilty ones!  That's 'outside to inside,' church! Outside the camp to inside the kingdom! Will we give the gracious gospel to others as we have been given this good grace ourselves?

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[1] All Scriptures, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved. I paste them in red for distinction.

[2] Dr. H. A. Ironside in his Notes on the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, & Esther, Published by Loizeaux Brothers, Inc.

[3] General information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerxes_I_of_Persia

[4] Hebrews 11:24-26