Teaching Notes

TH1078: ESTHER

Tonight, as we move into chapter 7 of the book of Esther, we continue to see God position people and situations to fulfill His purpose of saving His people, the Jews, from extermination. Yes God's name is not openly mentioned in this book, but His handiwork, His signature, is seen throughout the book of Esther.

The events that lead us into chapter 7 are as follows. Wicked Haman, second in command in Persia, gets the king's okay for a decree to be made that on the 13th day of the 12th month, all the Jews within the 127 provinces of the Persian kingdom were to be killed. Haman hated the Jews because of one man, Mordecai, a Jew, who refused to bow before him and give him the honor he felt he deserved.

Now as this death sentence for the Jews is posted for all to see, Mordecai mourns in sackcloth and ashes, as well as the Jews throughout the kingdom. Queen Esther, the cousin of Mordecai, is totally unaware of this decree which will also affect her, since she was a Jew. And as she hears all that has been done, after a little encouragement from Mordecai, she goes before the king to try and stop this evil plan from being carried out. In doing that she was unsure if the king would be glad to see her or not, for he had not requested her presence for some 30 days. If he refused her, she could be put to death for approaching the king without his permission or request. But when king Ahasuerus sees his queen, he is more than happy to see her.

As the king asks her what she wants, her first request is that she be allowed to throw a feast for her king and for Haman, which he allows her to do. And Haman is on top of the world at this point, having a feast with the king and his queen. Not only that, Esther has requested a second feast to be held on the next day for her king and Haman. It couldn't get any better than this for Haman, or so he thought!

But as Haman heads home from the feast, he sees that rebellious Mordecai who continues to refuse to bow before him. And he is furious over this situation. As Haman brags to his friends and family about his good fortune, he can't get it out of his mind what Mordecai has done and is doing to him. In fact, all that Haman has he counts as nothing as long as this Jew is still living! So his family tells him to build the gallows in the backyard some 75 feet high and impale Mordecai on this stake for all to see. Haman thinks that this is a great idea, now he only needs to get permission from the king, which he will attempt to do early in the morning.

That night the king couldn't sleep, so he calls for his servants to get out the history books to see if that will help him get back to sleep. And as they begin to read the history of the kingdom, they just happen to start at the place where Mordecai foils an assassination plot against the king. And the king wants to know what has been done for this man who saved his life, and he finds out that nothing was done to honor him.

Now as the day begins to dawn, Haman is heading out to the king's court, to meet with the king so he could get the okay to kill Mordecai. As he goes into the court the king asks his servants if anyone is out there, and they tell him that Haman has just entered the court. So the king tells them to get Haman and bring him on in. Now before Haman could ask his question before the king, the king asks Haman "What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?" Haman, thinking the king was speaking of him, just pours out his heart, saying to give this person the royal robe, and let him be paraded around the city for all to see and know that this is the man that the king is honoring. And the king is thrilled with this idea, and tells Haman to go and get Mordecai and do to him as you have said!

Now I don't promote visualization, but can you imagine how Haman must have looked when the king told him that Mordecai was the one being honored, and not him? He must have been sick to his stomach over this, because he too was going to have to honor the man he wanted dead. And after a day of honor, Haman heads home, tells his family about the bad day he had, and the responded by saying "...'If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.'" Esther 6:13.

It is at this point we will begin our study tonight, as the kings eunuchs come to pick up Haman for Esther's second feast. And Haman is probably thinking to himself, "It can't get any worse than this!" Well, not exactly! So lets begin in Esther chapter 7, beginning in verse 1.

ESTHER 7

VERSES 1-4

1. The time is now right, the setting is right, and Esther tells the king what is troubling her. She is pleading for her life, and for her people to be spared from this death sentence that has been issued against them. She tells the king if her people would have been sold into slavery, as bad as that would be, she would not bother the king, but the kingdom could never gain back the loss of her and her people if they were sold into slavery. You see, king Ahasuerus has no idea that Esther is a Jew, but all that is now coming out in the open.

VERSES 5-6

1. Can you imagine what Haman must have felt when the finger of guilt was pointed directly at him? This was suppose to be a feast, but it is quickly turning sour, and Haman is terrified over what is now happening to him. The words of his wife and friends were quickly coming to pass, he was not going to defeat Mordecai, in fact, he was going to lose out big time!

VERSE 7

1. The king was furious over what Haman had done, but also I think the king was furious at himself for being such a buffoon, a fool, tricked into allowing Haman to do this. A big reason for Ahasuerus allowing Haman to put forth this decree was greed and trying to restore some of the wealth of the kingdom after losing their battle to the Greeks. In Esther 4:7 Mordecai tells us that "...And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries to destroy the Jews." The amount, we are told, was 10,000 talents of silver which was some 66% of the annual income of the kingdom. And the king is so mad about this situation he just up and leaves the room, leaving Esther and Haman alone.

2. The king was given over to fits of wrath, as we saw what he did to queen Vashti. And history supports this. One time, as some of his men were working on building some docks, a storm came up and destroyed the work, and many of the Persian ships. And the king was so angry over this that he comes down to the sea with a whip in his hand, starts beating the sea and cursing the sea. He then takes those 300 workers and puts them to death. Ahasuerus was not very stable, and Haman was very aware of that fact. That is why he was shaking in his boots over what was happening, or should I say, shaking in his sandals!

VERSE 8

1. The Persians, and later on the Greeks, Romans, and the Jews would recline on couches when they ate, with the table being very close to the floor. That is why the picture of the last supper, where they are all eating at the table, sitting on chairs, is inaccurate. Anyway, Haman is most likely pleading for his life to Esther, asking for her to step in and save him, and he has fallen on her or besides her, and as he does the king walks in and thinks that Haman is trying to assault his queen. Talk about your bad days, for Haman, it seemed like it could not get any worse, but it is. The covering of his face meant they were preparing to put him to death!

VERSES 9-10

1. Haman must not have been liked very much, for even the kings eunuchs are looking for ways to put him to death, and there, standing in the distance, are the gallows 75 feet high, for which Mordecai was to be impaled upon. But now it is Haman who is going to be impaled upon this massive stake, you might say he was a Haman-kabob! It is as Psalm 37:35-36 says "I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found."

2. Everything that happened to Haman was what he was planning for Mordecai, but God turned the tables on Haman. Two points I want to make regarding this. The first is this, in the Bible we see the law of reciprocity or what you sow you will reap. Remember the story of Jacob who tricked his brother for his birthright and blessing. Jacob himself was tricked by his sons into thinking that his son Joseph had been killed by wild animals when the reality was his brothers sold him into slavery. Pharaoh wanted all the male Hebrew children killed and God turned the tables and has the firstborn males in Egypt killed, including the son of Pharaoh. You see, the evil that others do, is brought back upon them by God. As Paul said in Galatians 6:7-8 "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

3. The second point is this, just when the enemy thinks he has the victory, God steps in and turns the tables. The ultimate example of this is seen in the cross, that for 3 days the realm of evil must have been rejoicing in the death of the Messiah. But on the third day that stone was rolled away, and what looked like defeat, became the ultimate victory as Christ rose from the grave! As Isaiah 54:17 says "'No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,' Says the LORD." Yes the enemy may think they have won, they may think their evil plan is a success, but as Joseph said in Genesis 50:19-20 "...'Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.'" God has a way of turning the tables on the enemy and giving His people the victory!

Again notice what Joseph says in Genesis 45:5-7 "But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance." What may look like defeat in the eyes of many, God will turn into victory to accomplish His will through willing vessels.

ESTHER 8

VERSES 1-2

1. The king takes all that was Haman's and gives it to Esther. And as I said before, Haman was a very wealth man. And the king finds out that he is related to Mordecai by marriage and he makes Mordecai second in command of the kingdom, giving him his signet ring, which was the kings authority.

VERSE 3

1. Even though Haman has been put to death, the decree of death for every Jew in the kingdom was still in effect. And if you remember from the book of Daniel, chapter 6, once a decree was issued and signed into law, it could not be changed or altered in the Persian empire. And it did not matter how the king felt, even if he changed his mind regarding this decree. And Esther is imploring the king to do something about this situation.

VERSES 4-6

1. Queen Esther once again pours her heart out to the king, explaining to him that within 9 months this decree will be carried out and the Jew's destroyed. She can not just sit back and see those things happen to her and her people.

VERSES 7-8

1. The king could not change the decree so the Jews would not be destroyed, but he is going to allow Mordecai to write another decree that will counteract the first one. Understand that it can't take away the first one, but it can only make the first one have no effect. Think of it this way, the law of gravity can't be changed. You can step off a tall building and you will find out quickly how the law of gravity works as you come crashing to the ground. But if you were in a plane, the law of aerodynamics counteracts the law of gravity, making it have no effect, unless you step out of the plane or the plane stalls, and then you will see the law of gravity once again take over.

VERSE 9

1. In less than 9 months the first decree was set to be carried out, so they could waste no time in putting in writing this second decree, which was to be translated into various languages of the people in the 127 provinces of Persia.

VERSES 10-12

1. As this decree is completed, they gather together the fastest horses so they could reach their destination as quickly as possible and post this second decree. Now this second decree did not give the Jews permission to launch an offensive attack against those who were trying to destroy them, but only permission to take a defensive stance against anyone who would try to destroy them, or their family.

VERSES 13-17

1. If you remember when the first decree was issued, the people were confused, perplexed about what was to happen to the Jews. Now, as the second decree is issued, there is great joy and celebration.

2. As the people saw the hand of God upon the Jews, many of the people turned to the true and living God, they became Jews or proselytes. The Jews were now a light in the kingdom, and as the people looked at them, they saw the hand of God.

3. As Christians, what does God require of us? Micah 6:8 says "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" If you want the light of God to shine through you, do what is right, according to the Word of God. Love the mercy of God and extend that mercy to others. And live a life that is surrendered, directed by God as you walk with Him. If you do, your light will shine in a world of darkness and as people are drawn to you, you can point them to Jesus, the Light of the world!

ESTHER 9

VERSES 1-4

1. The day of reckoning had come, but at least the Jews could now fight back and defend themselves. And with Mordecai rising to second in command in the kingdom, the king's right hand man, the people rightly recognized the hand of God upon the Jews, which brought fear among the people. Thus, those that wanted to destroy the Jews were being destroyed themselves. It is as Deuteronomy 33:29 says "Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, The shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their high places."

VERSE 5

1. Again, understand that they are only taking a defensive stand against their enemy, and they were soundly defeating those who came against them. They were only trying to save their own lives.

VERSES 6-10

1. In the city of Shushan alone, 500 people were destroyed at this point, plus Haman's 10 sons, who most likely tried to avenge the death of their father by attacking the Jews, but in the end they were destroyed. All that Haman wanted for Mordecai came upon his life.

2. It says that "they did not lay a hand on the plunder" or they did not take any spoil from the enemy. That is interesting to me because they could have gained a great amount of wealth this way. But if you remember, Haman was an Amalekite and when king Saul was to wipe them out, he was told by the Lord not to take any possessions, any plunder from them. But Saul disobeyed the Lord and because of that the Lord was going to remove him from being king in Israel. Here, with Haman's sons, it could be that they were just honoring God's request that He gave to king Saul, not to take any plunder in their battle against the Amalekites.

VERSES 11-15

1. In two days in Shushan, 800 of the enemy has been destroyed, besides Haman's 10 sons. And his 10 sons are now impaled upon stakes for all to see, kind of an object lesson for all to take notice for anyone who wants to come against the Jews.

VERSE 16

1. In the 127 provinces in this kingdom, another 75,000 people came against the Jews and they were destroyed, and again, the Jews did not take any plunder or spoils from their victory, why? Another reason is this, it was not about money, it was not about riches, it was about survival!

2. Another interesting point is this, you would think that the enemy would give up, they could easily see the tables turning against them with no way to win, and yet they continued to fight, why? Because they enemy will try and take as many with them as they can, at any cost. Think of it this way, Satan has lost, his time is short, and yet he still refuses to stop destroying lives. He desires to bring down as many as he can, to weaken, stumble, destroy peoples lives. Remember in Revelation 12:12 we read "...Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."

VERSES 17-22

1. In Shushan it took them 2 days to defeat the enemy and throughout the rest of the kingdom it took them just 1 day. Thus, for 2 days they were to have a yearly celebration commemorating what God had done to save His people from destruction. We will talk a little more about this feast of Purim after we look at the next couple of verses.

VERSES 23-28

1. Remember when Haman came to the astrologers, the wise men, seeking to find the perfect day to carry out his plan, and they cast lots or Purim, which fell on the 13th day of the 12th month, thus this became the extermination day for the Jews. The casting of lots or Purim, the adding of "IM" makes it plural, the singular, "lot", is Pur. This yearly feast began on the 13 day of the 12th month when they would have a fast, and at night in the Synagogue the book of Esther would be read and when the name of Haman was read, the congregation would say "Let his name be blotted out!" And the children would make all kinds of noise with noisemakers and rattles. The following day, the 14th day, they would celebrate in the suburbs and the 15th day in the city.

2. Remembering things from the past are important, for those lessons, if not learned, will be repeated!

VERSES 29-32

1. Letters were sent throughout the kingdom confirming this feast from generation to generation.

ESTHER 10

VERSES 1-3

1. The old saying "It is always darkest before the dawn" aptly applies to this book. The Jews were on the verge of destruction by Haman and God turned the tables and spared His people. Haman and his family were wiped out, and Mordecai and the Jews were lifted up. God is still in control and as Paul said in Romans 15:4-6 may we apply to our life. He said "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

2. From the opening chapter of the book of Esther, till the final word, you can clearly see the hand of God working through various people and situations to fulfill His plan and purpose, and here, to save the Jews from extermination! God continues to work through His people and cares deeply for us. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24-34. We read "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."