THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT - PART 1 (Esther 8:1-17)
INTRODUCTION:
Haman is dead, impaled or nailed to the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. No longer could Haman exercise the executive powers of government and abuse the king’s authority. No longer could he bring his evil suggestions before the king, bringing disgrace upon the empire through his hateful, wicked influence. The empire was no longer an instrument of Haman’s evil acts, which were not for the good of the empire but to satisfy Haman’s own wicked pride. By his death, the kingdom would become ineffective and inactive for evil.
As we come into chapter 8, it has been two and a half months since Haman’s edict for the destruction of the Jews went out to the farthest reaches of the empire. Remember he had written it in the name of the king and had sealed it with the king’s ring, making it a law of Media-Persia which cannot be repealed. What is to be done, the wrong man is out, the right man is in but is it too late? This morning we will see how God begins working to bring about the deliverance of the Jews. Let’s pray, then get into our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Esther 8:1-17, our passage for this morning. Please stand, if you are able, in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Esther 8:1-17,
“On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had disclosed what he was to her. The king took off his signet ring which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept and implored him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews. The king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king. Then she said, ‘If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?’ So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, ‘Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched out his hands against the Jews. Now you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be revoked.’ So the king’s scribes were called at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third day; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, the satraps, the governors and the princes of the provinces which extended from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to every province according to its script, and to every people according to their language as well as to the Jews according to their script and their language. He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horses, riding on steeds sired by the royal stud. In them the king granted the Jews who were in each and every city the right to assemble and to defend their lives, to destroy, to kill and to annihilate the entire army of any people or province which might attack them, including children and women, and to plunder their spoil, on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar). A copy of the edict to be issued as law in each and every province was published to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be ready for this day to avenge themselves on their enemies. The couriers, hastened and impelled by the king’s command, went out, riding on the royal steeds; and the decree was given out at the citadel in Susa. Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a large crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. For the Jews there was light and gladness and joy and honor. In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree arrived, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.” (Esther 8:1–17, NASB95)[1]
MORDECAI’S PROMOTION (Esther 8:1-2)
On the very day that Haman was nailed or impaled on the gallows, Esther brought Mordecai before the king and Esther disclosed to the king who Mordecai was to her. She explained to Ahasuerus that she belonged by adoption to Mordecai, the same Mordecai who had intervened to save the king’s life from assassination. Esther’s point in revealing Mordecai was so that the king might understand for him to be identified with the queen must also involve his identification with Mordecai if there was to be harmony in his relationship to the queen.
Then we read that king Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jews’ enemy, to Esther the queen, and the king gave his signet ring, which he had taken back from Haman to Mordecai. You will notice the king did two things, he placed his signet ring on Mordecai’s finger, and he entrusted Haman’s estate to Esther. In this way, although the king invested Mordecai with all the authority that had once belonged to Haman, thus promoting him to the role of prime minister, this authority was to be exercised according to what Ahasuerus now considered to be the better judgment of Esther, the queen. Esther, for her part, indicated at once where she knew the better judgment lay; not in herself, but in Mordecai, whom she set over the house of Haman.
What we see happening here is the king identified his will with that of Esther, and Esther submitted her will to that of Mordecai. The spiritual significance of this new situation in the palace should be clear to us. When the soul, consisting of the mind, emotions, and will (represented by king Ahasuerus), is in total harmony with the desires created by the Holy Spirit (represented by Mordecai) within a yielded human spirit (represented by Esther), this is what is often described as the fullness of the Spirit. Let me try to explain what I mean by this. With the enemy out of the way, nailed to the cross, and Mordecai with the king’s ring upon his finger and manager over Haman’s estate, and the king and queen at one with each other in honoring Mordecai with all the executive powers of government, the stage is now set for a new and glorious administration. That administration, which, when established spiritually within your soul, means that not only does the Lord Jesus Christ live by His Holy Spirit within your human spirit, but that He now controls your mind, your emotions, and your will. By all that you do and say and are. His life and likeness are expressed through you. People around you become aware of this fact, they may not understand it. Peter described this truth in 2nd Peter 1:4 when he wrote, “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:4, NASB95)[2] People see this divine nature expressed in all that you do and say and are, because you are allowing the Holy Spirit’s influence and control in every area of your life. This is the role represented by Mordecai in the lives of Esther and Ahasuerus.
MORDECAI’S INFLUENCE (Esther 8:3-8)
It is important to remember at this point in the history, that though Mordecai is welcome in the palace, he continues to influence the king by communicating through Esther. Again, we see Esther’s obedience to Mordecai as she approaches the king in verse 3. This is not a continuation of the scene in verses one and two, but later time. As already mentioned, when Haman was still prime minister, he had persuaded the king to sign into law an edict that called for the destruction of the Jewish people throughout the Media-Persian empire. Mordecai has now become prime minister in Haman’s place, but the threat of the old law still hangs over the kingdom, because a law in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring cannot be revoked. The day that this law is to be carried out is drawing nearer, and this knowledge brings Esther in despair before the king again. She fell before him weeping and imploring him to avert the evil edict of Haman to have the Jews destroyed. Again, we read that the king extended his golden scepter to Esther, accepting her into his presence and agreeing to an audience with her. She stands and presents herself to the king and asks if he is pleased with her, then to hear her request to let it be written to revoke the edict of Haman which he wrote to destroy the Jews in all the empire. She says that she cannot endure seeing this calamity befall her people or to see the destruction of her people.
If you remember from an earlier message I had spoken of the law of the Medes and Persians which cannot be altered as a picture in our own experience of what Paul in the book of Romans calls, “the law of sin and death.” It too, can never be altered or revoked while we are yet in our physical state. It is this fact which produces a most confusing experience to the believer in Christ. Though we have come to the place where we recognize the evil of the flesh, our old Haman and refuse to defend it anymore, no longer excusing our temper, impatience, resentment, self-righteousness, and pride and by that choice reenact in our experience the meaning of the death of Christ for us, but we discover very soon that we are still not free to be what we want. Our efforts to live a life that is pleasing to God still results in defeat and emptiness. This was the very thing that Paul was describing in the later half of Romans 7 that we looked at last week. He wrote in Romans 7:15-18, “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.” (Romans 7:15–18, NASB95)[3] Paul is saying, “There was a time when I really didn’t know what God wanted. But I have passed beyond that place. I know what He wants, and I want very much to do it. There is no longer anything wrong with my desire, I want desperately to please the Lord, but when I try, I discover that I am still under the control of self.” Paul’s explanation for this experience is very important. His point is that he has discovered an unchangeable law at work in his life that even his experience of the cross and the resurrection has not eliminated—the law of sin and death. It is this law which gives us this wretched, miserable experience.
Often the growing Christian in this type of experience needs much help. He may feel that there is something lacking in his dedication, this may cause him to doubt his salvation. Because of this he gives himself to the Lord again, and he resolves to try harder and to serve the Lord better. He discovers in experience what Paul means when he writes in Romans 7:23-24, “…but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:23–24, NASB95)[4] Basically this is what Esther is saying when she comes to the king this second time. She is asking who will deliver her and her people from this law of death which still has authority over them and holds them in its grip and power.
The king’s response in verses 7-8 is very revealing. “So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, ‘Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched out his hands against the Jews. Now you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be revoked.’ ” (Esther 8:7–8, NASB95)[5] This last statement of the king should begin with the word “but” rather than “for.” It should read, “…but a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be revoked.” The king is declaring that there is absolutely nothing that he can do about the law of destruction which still hangs over the people of Esther and Mordecai. He refers to the first edict that he issued under Haman’s instructions. He is saying, “I have done all that I can. I have given you the house of Haman and ordered him to be hung on the gallows, but I can do no more. Basically, he says his hands are tied when it comes to the law, because it cannot be changed. The matter is now in the hands of Mordecai.” It is this utter helplessness on the part of the king and his readiness to admit it which is the great lesson the Holy Spirit teaches us from this passage. The astonishing thing, which Paul says in Romans 7 he finally learned and which brought him victory, was that the very efforts to please God by determined activity on his part resulted in failure, to his own amazement he discovered that the flesh does not only consist of obvious evil—impatience, jealousy, pride, temper—but it also consists of much which he formerly thought to be good. He discovered that self-effort is also wrong and a part of the flesh. When he set out to impress God by a demonstration of great zeal for his cause was to find himself utterly confused and broken before the law of sin and death. He had to learn at last that whatever does not proceed from faith is sin as he wrote in Romans 14:23.
Ahasuerus makes no attempt at self-effort. He immediately recognizes his total helplessness. He does the only wise thing; he puts the whole matter in Mordecai’s hands. “Write to the Jews as you see fit,” he says, “and I will sign it.”
CONCLUSION:
I am going to stop here this morning. When I started this message I though I could get through this whole chapter, but I cannot. We will pick up in verse 9 next week and see Mordecai’s wisdom and then Mordecai’s splendor.
What do we learn from this passage of Scripture? Even though our old self, our flesh has been crucified with Christ it still is at work in us until we shed this body of flesh and receive our new glorified body at the coming of the Lord. Our old Haman has been identified and has been crucified, but the law of sin and death still holds us in its power because it cannot be revoked. We understand this in our minds and agree with the law of God. Paul writes in the end of Romans 7:25, “So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25, NASB95)[6] We must discover like Paul that when we try to serve God or please God in our own strength, we will utterly fail because even though we don’t believe it, even that self-effort is sin. We must, like Ahasuerus, come to that place in our lives where we see the utter sinfulness of our sin and recognize that we are helpless in our own selves to please God or to serve Him, and then utterly surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit. We must put the whole matter of pleasing God and serving Him into the hands of the Holy Spirit, then and only then will God accomplish what He wants to accomplish in our lives. We will see this next week in the second half of this chapter.
What about you? Are you still trying to please God by your own self-effort? I will tell you from experience you will fail, you will end up utterly confused and broken before the law of sin and death. Admit to God your helplessness to please Him and surrender to the Holy Spirit every part of your life. Give the Lord Jesus Christ your full allegiance and allow Him by His Holy Spirit to be Lord of your life. Then and only then with the Holy Spirit in full control will you be able to please God and God will then be able to do His work in your life, conforming you to the image of His Son. Peter wrote in 2nd Peter 1:1b-4, “To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:1–4, NASB95)[7] The divine nature will begin to display itself when we fully surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives.
[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.
[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.