Queen Esther

Esther 3- 10


So we learned in our last story that Esther was crowned queen in Vashti’s stead. There was just one small problem. The King did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecia told her not to reveal it. All went well until the king promoted a certain man named Haman. The King advanced him above all the princes, and commanded that everyone should bow, and reverence him. Every person that Haman passed by bowed in reverence to him, except for one certain man. I bet you can guess who that one man was. Yes, it was Mordecai. This made Haman so angry that the Bible tells us he wanted to kill all the Jews. So he went to King Ahazerus about the matter. He told the king that there was a certain kind of people in Shushan and in all the provinces that would not obey the king’s laws because they had laws of their own. He told the king that it would not be good to keep these people around. The best thing to do would be to destroy them.

The King gave Haman his ring, and told him to go ahead and write up the decree. There was something very special about the king’s ring. It had a seal engraved into it. When ever a certain paper or document needed to be legalized, the king’s ring was pressed into the paper where everyone could see the seal. Only then, would people believe that the document came from the king. Well, the decree was written, stamped with the king’s ring, and sent out to all one-hundred and twenty-seven provinces. The decree read that on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month all the Jews were to be killed.

When Mordecai received word of this, he rent his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went out into the streets of the city and cried with a loud and bitter cry. Just imagine all your family, and all your friends being killed in one day. What an awful thing to find out. I think I would go completely out of my mind. Mordecai was so heart broken over the news. Not only did this news affect Mordecai, but the Bible tells us that in every province there was great mourning among the Jews. They wept, and they cried. They put on sackcloth, and lay in ashes. They went without food as well. They were tragically horrified at the news.

Meanwhile, Esther was safely tucked inside the palace walls. She had no idea what was going on outside the palace. One day Esther’s maids and chamberlains came and told her about all the Jews being in sackcloth and ashes. They told her that her precious cousin, who had brought her up, was weeping in the streets, clothed in sackcloth and ashes too. This troubled Esther so much. She sent clothes to Mordecai, but he would not accept them. So Esther sent Hatach, one of her chamberlains, to Mordecai to find out why all the Jews were so sad. Mordecai told Hatach of the decree, and how that Haman promised money to the king’s treasuries to kill all the Jews. Mordecai gave Hatach a copy of the decree to show Esther. He then asked Hatach to see if Esther would bring the matter before the king, and plead on their behalf.

Esther’s answer to Mordecai is found in chapter four, verse eleven. “All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king in the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come unto the king these thirty days.

The King was so important, so royal, that you couldn’t just walk right up to him and start a conversation. You had to be called in by the King himself in order to talk to him. One of the reasons for this law was to protect the king. If the king did not know you personally, you could very well be an enemy as far as he’s concerned. Sometimes, even the kings own, so called friends, were his enemies. This is why the king’s guards would kill any one who was seen in the inner court without the king’s approval. The king had to first notice you, and then hold out his golden scepter for you to draw near and touch. This meant that you were approved by him. Esther was frightened. If she went into the inner court without being called by the king, she just knew the guards would take her out and kill her. It didn’t matter how important she was. Such laws just had to be carried out.

Do you know that if it wasn’t for Jesus Christ, we would not be able to enter into the throne room of God Almighty? There he sits, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. He cannot look upon sin. He is so holy and royal; he really shouldn’t be bothered by us sinful mortals. Yet here I am. And I have a great need. I have a problem that I have to go to the King about. And listen, we aren’t talking about a fleshly king. We are talking about a Holy, sinless King. He is the only King that can fix any problem. And what a privilege it is for me to be able to go boldly to his throne. I don’t have to fear like Esther. For you see, I am pre-approved by the Kings Son. Praise the Lord, I can go to him about any problem I have whether it be big or small. I can freely talk to him about anything. What a wonderful feeling it is when I can communicate with my King. And he’s not just my King, he’s my Creator.

After the Queen’s chamberlain told Mordecai of the problem they were facing. Mordecai sent a message to Esther saying, “Don’t just think about yourself at a time like this, Esther. Who knows, maybe God made you the Queen because he knew this time would come.”

Well, Esther sent word back to Mordecai telling him to gather all the Jews that were in Shushan, and fast with her for three days. This meant no eating or drinking. After the three days were up, Esther would go in unto the King, which would be a very unlawful thing to do. Esther had to die to herself. She had to put self completely out of the way. Her very words were, “If I perish, I perish.” She was going to do it anyway to try and save the Jews, whether she lived or died. This reminds me of Jesus Christ. He said to God, “Not my will but thine be done.”

You know, Haman reminds me of that ole serpent, the devil. Haman was called the Jews enemy. He was also called the adversary. The devil is called our adversary as well. Do you know that one day that wicked devil went to God, just like Haman went to the king, and he said, “Look at mankind which you have created. They can’t even obey your laws. They breaks your laws left and right. Why don’t you just let me destroy them. They’re no good to you anyway. I’ll take care of them for you.”

Then Jesus Christ came on the scene. He had to die to self. He gave up his will for you and me, just as Esther did for all the Jews. He defied the law of death, so that we could live.
On the third day Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house. When the king noticed her, the Bible tells us that she obtained favor in his sight. And he held out that golden sceptre. As I think of Esther drawing near to touch that golden septre, I’m reminded of this right here. Whenever I am in the royal throne room, and standing before the presence of my King, I am pleasing in his sight. Not because of myself, but because all he sees is his Son, and that is well pleasing to him. I can boldly walk up and grab onto that golden septre anytime and give my request to my King. What a great feeling!

After Queen Esther touched the top of the sceptre, the Kings words were this, chapter 5 verse 3. “What wilt thou, Queen Esther? And what is thy request? It shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.”

Wow! What a statement from the King. The king must have loved Esther so much. She had things going for her now. Old Haman better watch out. Do you know the Bible says that God is for us? And if God be for us, who can be against us? God is on our side, if we are walking in his will, and seeking to please him. There is nothing better than having the one true God on our side. He’s the first, and the last. He’s the alpha, and agama. He’s the beginning, and the end. He’s all there ever was and will be. He’s the creator of heaven and earth, and he’s on our side. What a glorious thought.

Esther’s reply to the King was this, verse 4. She said, “If it seem good unto the King, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.”

At the Banquet, the king asked Esther once more what her request was, and he would do what ever she asked. What ever Esther asked of the king he would grant her even to the half of the kingdom. All she had to do was state her desire.

Esther’s reply a second time was this. “If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said.”
I would like to stop the story right here and apply one very important thing to our life spiritually. Notice how Esther talked to the king. If we talked the same way to our King, as Esther did to king Ahazerus, we might get a little more accomplished in our spiritual lives. If we would pray this way to our God, “Lord, if I have found favour in your sight, and if I be pleasing to you, and if it’s your will, then grant my request.” Do you know why we don’t pray that way sometimes? It’s because we are not pleasing in his sight, or maybe we are asking something against his will so that we can consume it upon our own flesh. We should strive daily to be pleasing in God’s sight. Remember, he’s just waiting to grant your request. But think about this as well. Esther’s request wasn’t a selfish one. Her request was for others. We need to pray with an unselfish heart. Plus the Bible says if we pray according to God’s will, he hears us. Listen, our king is not interested in physical things, he’s interested in spiritual things. If it’s unselfish and spiritual things you seek, then God will definitely load your wagon.

Well, wicked ole Haman left the palace that day feeling pretty good about himself. He thought he was really something because the queen had invited him to a special banquet again. The Bible says that he was joyful, and glad at heart until he ran into Mordecai at the king’s gate. Mordecai just sat there. He didn’t bother to stand to his feet, or move out of the way for Haman. And boy was Haman outraged. Deep inside he burned with anger. Just this one little thing upset his whole day. He hurried home, and told his wife and friends about his invitation to the Queens banquet. He began to brag about how he was the only one invited, and that tomorrow it was just going to be him and the King again. But then all of a sudden thoughts of Mordecai stirred with in his wicked heart, and he became outraged once more. His wife and friends tried to comfort him. They told him to go ahead and build the gallows for Mordecai to be hanged. Then bring up the idea before the King at the banquet table.

Let me tell you something, the devil never rests. He’s always working on some way to destroy a child of God. Haman wasn’t resting, he was out there building those gallows for Mordecai. But all the while Haman wasn’t resting, someone else wasn’t resting either. The king could not sleep that night as well. Fact is, the Lord would not let the king sleep. God wanted to speak to him about something but the king didn’t know it at the time. The restless king commanded that the book of the records of the Chronicles be brought before him and read out loud.

Have you ever had times when you couldn’t sleep at night? When that happens, have you ever tried getting out that precious King James Bible and reading it? I have. And God speaks to my heart every time. Well, that is just what happened with the King that night. The Kings servant began to read out loud to the king, and he read about how Mordecai had saved the kings life one day by telling Esther about the two chamberlains who were conspiring to kill him. For you see, it was all written down in the book of records of the Chronicles. When the king remembered the kindness that Mordecai had bestowed on him by saving his life, he asked his servants that were ministering unto him this question. “What honor, and dignity has been done to Mordecai for this?”

The kings servants replied, “ There was nothing done for him at all.” Mordecai didn’t even get recognized for his good deed that he did for the king. Who knows if he even got a thank you. You know what? He didn’t get rewarded for it right then, but he got his reward later, in God’s perfect timing. Do you know that sorta sounds like us? We go through this life, and we stick up for our King. We try daily to please him, and serve him. We might even do a good deed for him, and it seems like nothing big to others. But there’s coming a day, when the rewards will be handed out. There’s coming a day when our king will hand us a crown and say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

The King sat on his throne stroking his beard in deep thought. He wondered what he should do for Mordecai, since Mordecai had saved his life. Just then he heard someone stirring around in the outer court. When the king found out it was Haman, he let Haman come in before him. Haman had come to the king to talk to him about hanging Mordecai. He just couldn’t wait until the banquet to talk to the king, he wanted Mordecai dead as soon as possible.

Haman walked up the king, but before he could say anything to the King, the king asked him a question. You see, the king’s mind was on the same man Haman’s mind was, but in a somewhat different way. Haman was thinking of killing Mordecai, but the King was thinking about honoring him.

The king said to Haman, “There is a certain man whom I would like to honor. Tell me, what should be done for him?”

Wicked Haman thought to him self. “Now who would the king like to honor more than myself. I bet he’s talking about me.”

Haman’s reply to the king was in chapter 6 verses 8-9. “For the man whom the king delighteth to honor, Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of the kings most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honor. And bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him. Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor.”
Boy, oh boy, Haman sure gave Mordecai the treatment didn’t he? The king was so excited. He said to Haman, “ Go quickly, and take my horse, my royal apparel, and my crown, and do everything to Mordecia that you have said, for he is the man whom my soul delighteth to honor.”
Can you imagine Haman’s disappointment? And he was the one who had to parade Mordecai through the city on the king’s horse. That just topped it off. Now he was more angry than ever. When his ordeal with Mordecai was over, he went back to his house embarrassed, and fit to be tied. He was not home long before the king’s chamberlains came to the door to fetch him for Esther’s banquet. At the banquet table the king asked Esther once again what her petition was. He promised that whatever the petition, it would be granted to her.

Esther then said those famous words again. “If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given back to me, and the life of my people at my petition. If I and my people would have been sold as slaves I would have held my tongue. But we are sold to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish.”

Wow, Haman got two surprises in one day, didn’t he? He had no idea that Esther was a Jew. And worse yet, the king had no idea either.

The king was outraged. He answered, “Who is he, and where is he that thinketh in his heart to do this thing?”

Then Esther walked over to Haman, pointed right at him and said, “The adversary, and the enemy is this wicked Haman.”

Boy, she had some guts to look the enemy right in the face. I’m sure I’d have been too nervous to do what she did. What bravery!

The king was so upset that he left the banquet table and went out into his garden. Meanwhile we see a different Haman back in the banquet room. He was down on his knees begging Esther for his own life. When the king came back in from the garden, he saw that Haman had his hands on Queen Esther, and that made him even madder. The guards were called in. They took Haman out and hung him on the very gallows that he himself had build for Modecai.

And that’s not all. The decree was reversed, and on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the Jews were allowed to go out and kill all of their enemies, and the people who had conspired against them. All the Jews made the fourteenth day of the twelfth month a day of gladness, and feasting because they had triumphed over their enemies. Boy, oh boy, what a happy day! They had a great feast, and they rested. They sang joyful songs, and sent gifts to one another. What a relief. Their battle was over, and their enemy had been conquered.

Do you remember how Mordecai was rewarded by the hand of the King? He was clothed with the Kings royal garments. He got to ride on the king’s horse, and also the royal crown was placed upon his head. Well guess what? Our Lord and King has promised a crown to all those who love his appearing. That’s not all, the Bible says I’ll receive my very own white horse. This isn’t just any horse. It’s royal, and it can fly. What a horse! And it’s all possible because I’m clothed in my Kings righteousness, which is his son, Jesus Christ. Wow! I’m wearing the Kings royal garment. It will be such a glad day when our enemy, the devil, is finally conquered? I just can’t wait for that day! Can you?