WHO IS IN CONTROL? (Esther 2:19-3:5)
INTRODUCTION:
This morning we will continue to look at the historic events recorded for us in the book of Esther. Understanding that these are true historical events does not mean that they can only teach us about history, but as we have already learned they are here as an example for our instruction. Our guiding verse in this has been what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth in 1st Corinthians 10:11, “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11, NASB95)[1]
We learned that King Ahasuerus is a picture for us of the soul of man and when he banished Vashti who represented man’s spirit it was as if his spirit died representing the fall of man. Upon finding Esther his spirit was revived and that void in his life was filled. This for us was a picture of salvation, when we come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit revives our dead spirit and we are made alive again in Christ Jesus and with our spirit our soul can again commune with God as it was intended when man was first created. Much must yet happen before the full value of our salvation is realized, but already there is new joy, new liberty, new richness.
There is nothing more exciting to see then the joy of a new Christian, even more exciting is experiencing that joy yourself, but we must never forget that the joy we have was bought at the expense of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. This needs to be remembered when difficulties come and the Christian must soon learn that joy and sorrow go hand in hand, and that out of death comes life, and this is the truth that we are taught through the death and resurrection of our Savior, and this is the true secret of joy. Sometime after the marriage of Esther and Ahasuerus, an incident takes place that could have changed everything had not God intervened. Let’s pray and then get into this morning’s passage.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Esther 2:19-3:5. This passage records two events that took place after the marriage of Esther and Ahasuerus, we will look at each separately. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Esther 2:19-3:5,
“When the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. Esther had not yet made known her kindred or her people, even as Mordecai had commanded her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her as she had done when under his care. In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s officials from those who guarded the door, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. But the plot became known to Mordecai and he told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai’s name. Now when the plot was investigated and found to be so, they were both hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the Book of the Chronicles in the king’s presence. After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the princes who were with him. All the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage. Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, ‘Why are you transgressing the king’s command?’ Now it was when they had spoken daily to him and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage.” (Esther 2:19–3:5, NASB95)[2]
AN EVIL PLOT UNCOVERED (Esther 2:19-23)
In these five verses several things come to light. To begin with commentators do not know what to do with the phrase, “when the virgins were gathered the second time…” Esther has already been chosen as queen, so we do not know why they are being gathered the second time unless they are all being moved into the second harem under the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch in charge of the concubines. Of more importance is the second phrase which states that Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gate, which seems to indicate that he was there in some official capacity. Had he been moved into this position through Esther’s influence? The king’s gate was the place where official business was conducted and the fact that Mordecai was sitting there suggests that he served the king in some way. For the second time in this chapter we are also told that Esther kept the fact that she was a Jewess hidden. Mordecai had told her not to disclose her ethnicity and it says she listened and obeyed him as she had done when under his care.
During this time, two of the king’s servants, these servants were guards at the king’s door became angry with the king, angry enough that they wanted to lay hands on him, in other words they were planning on assassinating the king. For the first time in this book, we have the hint of an evil force which is at work to destroy King Ahasuerus, the picture for us is that this evil is seeking to capture the mind, emotions, and will of man to pervert them to its own use. We have these five verses describing what happens and then no more until later in the book when this event becomes of upmost importance in effecting the complete deliverance of the king from the evil that is at work. At this point the king knows nothing about what is taking place. Mordecai, (who remember represents the Holy Spirit) is sitting in the gate in his official role, he has not yet gained access to the palace, the place of control. But while preforming his duties he discovers or overhears this plot against the king’s life. He gets the report to Esther, Esther gives this report to the king in Mordecai’s name. An investigation takes place, and the plot is found to be true, and these two adversaries are taken out and publicly “nailed to a tree.” The phrase “hanged on a gallows” is not literal, but an interpretation. The literal Hebrew is that they were impaled or nailed to a tree.
THE PRINCIPLE OF THE CROSS (Colossians 2:13-15)
The parallel of this in the Christian life is easy to see. Long before we knew it ourselves, the Lord Jesus Christ through the Eternal Spirit of God offered Himself without spot or blemish to God as a living sacrifice upon a cross. He took upon Himself the evil that was determined to destroy the soul of man. We can draw greater understanding of this be reading Paul’s words in Colossians 2:13-15. He writes, “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” (Colossians 2:13–15, NASB95)[3] The principle of the cross is introduced to us as the only means by which God deals with evil. It is only when we learn the full meaning of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we will find deliverance from the power of sin. The author of Esther tells us that this incident concerning the king’s two guards was recorded in a book to which the king had access. We also have such a book. God has recorded for our instruction the incredible history of the cross and has revealed to us that by means of that cross He intends to deliver us from that evil power that is at work to rob us of our blessing in Christ. The actual deliverance has already been accomplished. It is our knowledge of it by means of the book which makes it effectual in our experience. Remember Paul’s words in Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17, NASB95)[4]
If Christianity was nothing more than becoming a Christian by faith in Christ, in other words being saved so that you could go to heaven when we die, then the book of Esther could have ended right here. But this is not the end, so far this book has only set the stage for the deliverance which God intends to work in the life of this king, just as he intends to work a similar deliverance in the kingdom of your own heart. Putting your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation has made your future in heaven a sure thing, but many of us may be many years away from heaven. What is to happen between now and heaven? Are we to struggle and strive to live the Christian life as best we can until at last we are called home to be with the Lord? Unfortunately, for many Christians this is all they know, that their sins are forgiven and that they are waiting, often in heartbreak and defeat, for the time when God will call them home. But there is so much more than this. Let’s look at the opening verses in chapter 3.
A NEW EVIL INTRODUCED (Esther 3:1-5)
In these opening verses of chapter 3 we are introduced to a new person, this man named Haman. And there is an immediate antagonism between Mordecai and Haman. Haman it seems has been promoted to the position of prime minister, next to the king he is the highest authority in the kingdom. Mordecai refuses to bow down to him even though this was commanded by the king. Who is this person and why does Mordecai refuse to bow to him and show him respect?
We can learn something about this man from the lineage of his family. He is called “Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite.” What is an Agagite? Here you have to do a little detective work. An Agagite is a descendant of Agag, so if you went to a concordance and looked up the name Agag, you would find that Agag is a person named in Scripture. He lived in the days of Saul, the first king of Israel. The prophet Samuel was sent by God to order King Saul to destroy the Amalekites of whom Agag was the king. We can read this account in 1st Samuel 15:1-3, “Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the words of the Lord.’ Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ” (1 Samuel 15:1–3, NASB95)[5] Saul orders were unmistakable! He was clearly and explicitly told to destroy all the Amalekites and everything that belonged to them, Saul and the Israelite military were to obliterate this people completely. This grisly command seems difficult to understand unless we know the reason that God made it. To understand we must go back even farther into history, back to the exodus of Israel from the land of Egypt as they were on their way to Canaan. We read in Exodus 17:8-11, “Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’ Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.” (Exodus 17:8–11, NASB95)[6] As long as Moses held the rod of God up, Israel was winning the battle against Amalek. When Moses grew weary Aaron and Hur rolled a stone over and Moses sat on it and then with Aaron on one side and Hur on the other, they supported Moses’ hands until they prevailed against the Amalekites. At the end of this battle, we read in Exodus 17:14-16, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.’ Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner; and he said, ‘The Lord has sworn; the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.’ ” (Exodus 17:14–16, NASB95)[7]
God declared war with Amalek forever. He will never make peace with that nation. If we trace Amalek back even farther, we discover that he is the grandson of Esau, of whom God later said, “I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau.” (Malachi 1:2b-3a, NASB95)[8] These Amalekites are singled out in Scripture as picture of the principle of evil at work in the human heart with which God will never make peace. Throughout Scripture, Amalek is always the enemy of all that God wants to do.
Returning to King Saul and the account concerning him in 1st Samuel, we read of Saul in 1st Samuel 15:8-9, “He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.” (1 Samuel 15:8–9, NASB95)[9] Saul in his foolish ignorance thought that he knew better than God. He spared Agag and by doing so presumed to find good in what God had declared to be bad. For this failure Samuel was sent to Saul to inform him that his disobedience had lost him the kingdom and it would be given to someone else. Samuel then killed Agag in front of Saul. But not all the Amalekites had been destroyed and they show up again in Israel’s history, some of even the royal family escaped the sword. Now, centuries after Saul was to annihilate them, Haman the Agagite shows up, a representative of the royal family of the Amalekites against whom God has declared war forever. Of even more interest, if you remember last week, I told you to remember the lineage of Mordecai. When he was introduced to us, he was called Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. Now often in a genealogy some names are left out that are not significant to get to those who are significant. The third name listed after Mordecai is Kish, Kish was a Benjamite and the father of Saul. So here in the book of Esther centuries after Saul lived, we have another descendant of Saul’s father Kish, Mordecai, the Benjamite. Saul disobeyed God’s command and left Agag alive, what will be the outcome of Mordecai the Benjamite and Haman the Agagite.
THE PRINCIPLE OF EVIL (Galatians 5:16-17)
The New Testament teaches that there is in every life , even the Christian life, an evil principle at work. This evil principle carries many different labels, pride, sin nature, human nature, the flesh. This principle lives to exalt self, as we see depicted in Haman here. The man of flesh is never so happy as when the world around him is bowing down before him and showing him honor. Pride loves to be flattered. Our egos seek to be built up in the eyes of the world constantly. Our pride is forever seeking status and position in the eyes of others. It glories in prestige and prominence.
But within the Christian, this evil principle of Haman has a relentless and unyielding enemy—it is our Mordecai, the Holy Spirit. The beginning of our Scripture reading this morning said in Galatians 5:16-17, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” (Galatians 5:16–17, NASB95)[10] There can never be peace between them, for God has said He will make war against Amalek from generation to generation. Therefore, we read in Romans 8:7, “…because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,” (Romans 8:7, NASB95)[11] No matter how respectable and upright the flesh may appear to us, it is inherently displeasing to God. It can never be made acceptable to Him.
The Holy Spirit has taken up residence in the Christian heart for one purpose only, that He might oppose this evil, satanic influence within us which so subtly and cleverly deceives us and seeks to destroy us. The Holy Spirit has indwelt us so that we might be delivered from this traitorous “friend.” But the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives arouses the flesh to an explosion of fury. Have you experienced that? When you first become a Christian, you may feel that life should go on smoothly and easily from then on; but it is not long before you find that is not the case. You find fightings and frustrations within. You find yourself in a vast and swirling torment at times, an explosion of tension and tumult as the Spirit of God and the flesh battle for control of your soul.
As long as Haman is in the seat of power that he has been advanced to by the king, the whole kingdom will be affected by his evil designs, even the communion of the king and queen will be affected. There can be no peace while Haman has the king’s ear. But Ahasuerus is not aware of his evil character. To the king he appears as a trusted and reliable friend. But Mordecai knows who this Haman is, and he refuses to bow to him or give him honor, even if this is a command of the king. The reason he will not bow to this man and show him honor is because he recognizes him as the enemy of God, and as an Israelite and a Benjamite God’s enemy is Mordecai’s enemy as well. The problem set before us in these verses is how to get this evil man, Haman, out and the good man, Mordecai, in. Because Haman rules by the will of the king, it will be necessary to open the eyes of the king to the true nature of his prime minister.
CONCLUSION:
This morning we have looked at the principle of the cross, that principle says that the cross is the only means by which God deals with evil. Just as those who planned evil against the king were nailed to a tree, our Savior took upon Himself the evil that was determined to destroy the soul of man and died in our place so that we might be delivered from sin and might be adopted into God’s family. Jesus promised before He returned to heaven that He would send the Holy Spirit. When we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation we are immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Just as the king’s eyes need to be opened to the true evil nature of Haman, so the Holy Spirit works in our lives to open our eyes to the true evil nature of our flesh. This enemy of our soul is crafty and subtle and not easily dislodged, but until he is overthrown the kingdom can never know peace. Haman knows that he cannot prevail if Mordecai ever gains the king’s ear. The battle is now joined, just as the battle for our soul is being waged. Who will prevail, who is in control?
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. (Emphasis mine)
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. (Emphasis mine)
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.