Sunday
Morning Bible Study
April 27, 2003
Introduction
King Ahasuerus, known in history as Xerxes I, divorced his wife because of
a drunken attitude problem with her, and after having returned from his defeat
at the hands of the Greeks, he came back to Persia
to an empty palace. His counselors advised him to hold a beauty contest, and a
young Jewish gal, Esther, won the position of Queen. Esther had been an orphan
raised by her cousin Mordecai. It is now five years after the marriage, and the
king has raised a wicked man named Haman to a place of prominence in the
government. When Mordecai refuses to bow
to Haman, and Haman finds out that Mordecai won’t bow because Mordecai is Jewish,
Haman devises a plan to have the entire race of Jews annihilated.
As I study the book of Esther, I find that it’s the events that take place
in this chapter that turn the direction of events from destruction to
deliverance.
Turning A Crisis Around
:1 Mordecai rent his clothes
This doesn’t mean that he went down to the Tuxedo rental store. He tore his clothes.
:1 put on sackcloth with ashes
A coarse, loose cloth (like burlap), worn as a sign of mourning. Sometimes
the sackcloth was worn right against the skin, in place of underwear. It was meant
to be uncomfortable.
:2 none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.
Mordecai couldn’t come any farther than the “King’s Gate” because of his
sackcloth. It seems that the Persian kings didn’t like to have depressed people
around them. Oriental kings lived in an artificial paradise that sheltered them
from the realities of life.
:5 Then called Esther for Hatach…
It seems that Esther must not be allowed to go out in public. Since
Mordecai can’t go into the palace with his sackcloth on, Esther sends Hatach to
find out what is going on.
:11 …except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that
he may live
the golden scepter – Persian kings didn’t like to be bothered too
much.
Herodotus says that this law against anyone’s coming uncalled to the kings
of Persia when
they were sitting on their thrones was first enacted by Deioces, a king of the
Medes. Guards would be posted around the throne so that any offenders might be
punished immediately.[1]
Esther would be risking her own life if she dared to approach the king
without first being summoned.
Lesson
Our King is different
You can approach God
He may seem scary at first, but you can approach Him.
He understands us and cares for us:
(Heb 4:14-16 KJV)
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. {15} For we
have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
{16} Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Our King allows those who wear sackcloth to come into His courts. God doesn’t ask for those who are in sadness
to stay outside.
King Hezekiah knew that His King would accept him in sackcloth. When he had a huge problem, he came right
into the Temple with his sackcloth
on (2Ki. 19:1).
David found that God accepted those in sackcloth, but He wouldn’t leave
them the same:
(Psa 30:11 KJV)
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my
sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
Our King died on a cross to pay for our sins for the very reason because He
wants us to come to Him.
:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time …
Esther doesn’t have to respond.
Mordecai is confident that God will deliver the Jews one way or
another. Though if Esther refuses to
help, she, her family, perhaps all the Jews in Shushan might end up dead.
Turning A Crisis Around
:3 there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and
wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Lesson #1
Prayer turns things around
I understand that the word “prayer” is not used in these three verses, but
as the people are fasting, they had to be praying. They didn’t fast just to
lose weight.
Warren Wiersbe: “Fasting and prayer
are frequently found together in Scripture, for fasting is a preparation for
concentrated and humble prayer.”
When David was concerned for others,
(Psa 35:13 KJV) But as for
me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with
fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
Prayer changes things
Illustration
Probing
the Power of Prayer
Surprising results follow a study on praying for others.
By Catherine Rauch; WebMD Feature
When Aretha Franklin crooned the words "I'll say a
little prayer for you" in the hit 1960s song she probably didn't imagine
that the soulful pledge would become the stuff of serious science. But
increasingly, scientists are studying the power of prayer, and in particular
its role in healing people who are sick.
Most research in the field looks at how people who are
sick are affected by their own spiritual beliefs and practices. In general,
these studies have suggested that people who are religious seem to heal faster
or cope with illness more effectively than do the nondevout.
But a few scientists have taken a further step: They're trying
to find out if you can help strangers by praying for them without their
knowledge.
A recent, controversial study of cardiac patients
conducted at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City,
Missouri, concludes that this type of
prayer -- known as intercessory prayer -- may indeed make a difference.
"Prayer may be an effective adjunct to standard medical care," says
cardiac researcher William Harris, Ph.D., who headed the St. Luke's study. The
study was published in the October
25, 1999 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Harris and team examined the health outcomes of nearly
1,000 newly admitted heart patients at St. Luke's. The patients, who all had
serious cardiac conditions, were randomly assigned to two groups. Half received
daily prayer for four weeks from five volunteers who believed in God and in the
healing power of prayer. The other half received no prayer in conjunction with
the study.
The volunteers were all Christians. The participants were
not told they were in a study. The people praying were given only the first
names of their patients and never visited the hospital. They were instructed to
pray for the patients daily "for a speedy recovery with no
complications."
Using a lengthy list of events that could happen to
cardiac patients -- such as chest pains, pneumonia, infection, and death --
Harris concluded that the group receiving prayers fared 11% better than the
group that didn't, a number considered statistically significant.
When God was stirring up the early church in Antioch,
(Acts 13:1-3 KJV) Now there were in the church that was at
Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called
Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod
the tetrarch, and Saul. {2} As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the
Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have
called them. {3} And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on
them, they sent them away.
God responded to the church’s fasting and prayer by giving
them guidance. He responded by doing a
new work in their church, a work of sending missionaries out to reach the lost.
Warning: If you start praying, God may end up asking
YOU to do something about your situation. Barnabas and Saul (Paul) were part of
the group that was praying. And God
responded to their prayers by sending them.
Mordecai and Esther are going to be praying, and God is going to be
using them.
This is the chapter in Esther where the crisis turns around.
The chapter begins and ends with prayer.
:8 he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree …to show it unto
Esther,
Lesson #2
Understand the problem
People respond to crises differently.
Some people try to ignore that anything is happening.
“When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping”
When a person is facing an illness, one of the first
things some of us do is pretend that the symptoms aren’t there.
Others don’t take time to understand anything and just jump in and mess
things up even worse.
(Prov 14:29 KJV)
He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty
of spirit exalteth folly.
I think God has a desire that we make an attempt to understand what is
happening to us when we face a crisis.
(Prov 4:7 KJV) Wisdom is the
principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get
understanding.
Sometimes we simply aren’t going to be able to understand all that is going
on, but I think we ought to try and understand as best as we can.
:14 who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as
this?
It’s been five years since Esther won that “beauty contest” and became
Queen of Persia. How did a poor orphaned
Jewish girl find herself as Queen of Persia?
Mordecai is wondering if Esther hadn’t become queen just for this specific
moment.
Lesson #3
Seize your moment
Like Esther, Moses had to face his fears when God challenged him to be the
one to deliver Israel
out of Egypt. Look at some of Moses’ excuses as to why God
wouldn’t use him.
(Exo 3:10-15 KJV) Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto
Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel
out of Egypt.
{11} And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that
I should bring forth the children of Israel
out of Egypt?
{12} And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto
thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt,
ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
Sometimes we, like Moses, don’t feel very important. Who am I that God should use me?
God’s response is that it doesn’t make any difference who
we are or who we aren’t, the fact is that God is with us and that’s all that
counts.
{13} And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children
of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto
you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
{14} And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you. {15} And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is
my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Moses didn’t feel like he knew that much about God to be
His representative.
God’s response was to tell Moses who He was.
You may not feel like you know God enough, but God will be
sure to teach you what you need to know.
(Exo 4:10-12 KJV) And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am
not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant:
but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. {11} And the LORD said unto him,
Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or
the blind? have not I the LORD? {12} Now therefore go, and I will be with thy
mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
Moses didn’t feel like he was gifted enough to be a
leader.
God’s response was:
Who made you like you are?
God is the one who made us with all our strengths and
weaknesses. He made us exactly like He
wanted to, and He wants to use us.
If we are “weak”, then it’s all the much better because
God can be strong in us.
God has a plan for your life.
(Eph 2:10
KJV) For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
walk in them.
There are no coincidences. All that has happened in your life is for a
reason. There is purpose, even for the
difficult times.
There are going to be times in your life when you’re going to be the one to
step out and act.
The British politician Edmund Burke said, “All that is required for evil to
triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
Seize your moment.
:16 …if I perish, I perish
Lesson #4
Be willing to die
I think that many times we are going to be required to face a “death” if we
are going to resolve a crisis in the right way.
Sometimes we must face physical
death
When Paul was heading to Jerusalem,
he kept being warned by the prophets that he was going to face imprisonment,
possibly death:
(Acts 20:24 KJV)
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto
myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I
have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
Paul was willing to die.
Nothing could stop him.
Illustration
Willing To Die
“One day a drill sergeant came out and threw a hand
grenade into a group of young soldiers. The men all ran away and took cover
away from the grenade. Then the drill sergeant told them that the grenade was
not set to explode and he just did it to see their reaction. “The next day a
newly recruited soldier joined the group. The drill sergeant told the other
soldiers not to tell the new soldier what was going to happen. As the drill
sergeant came out and threw the grenade into the crowd of soldiers, the new
soldier, not knowing it wasn’t going to explode, threw himself on top of the
grenade to prevent it from killing the other men. He was willing to die for his
fellow soldiers. “That year the young man was awarded the only medal for
courage and bravery that had not been won during battle.”
Sometimes we must die to “ourselves”
We live in a society where we are taught to be nice to our “selves”.
Illustration
“Lifetime
Commitment.”
Jennifer Hoes is planning the first postmodern marriage.
She will be both bride and groom at her wedding in May in the Netherlands.
“We live in a me society,” she told the German magazine Der Spiegel “Hence it
is logical that one promises to be faithful to oneself. UPI’s Uwe Siemon-Netto
reports that she plans a $22,000 reception for her relatives. “Will she fall
for the postmodern rage and adopt a double barrel name- Jennifer Hoes Hoes, for
example? He asks. “And what if she ceases to like herself-will divorce be an
option, and which Hoes will get the car?”
- World Magazine. March
23, 2003
Yet to resolve a crisis, you may need to die to your “self”.
Too often the thing that stands in the way of things being
resolved is me and my own selfishness.
Jesus said,
(Luke
9:23-25 KJV) …If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
{24} For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose
his life for my sake, the same shall save it. {25} For what is a man
advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
You can go through the book of Esther and see how those
who “died to self” ended up prospering while those who lived for themselves
died.
Esther had to die to herself and risk her life and
position for the sake of her nation. She
will survive.
Mordecai had to die to himself when he had earlier rescued
the king and was never rewarded for it.
Yet he will one day be rewarded.
Haman didn’t die to himself and instead wanted everyone to
bow down to him, and he will end up dead.
Augustine was talking with a man and sharing with the man
about some of the changes the man ought to be making in his life, things he
needed to stop doing, ways he needed to stop acting. After listening to this,
the man replied, “But Augustine, I have to live!”
Augustine replied, “Do you?”
:17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had
commanded him.
Lesson #5
Don’t quit
I wonder if both Esther and Mordecai couldn’t have just quit and run away. Yet
they kept going.
Illustration
"Never Give Up!"
Sir Winston Churchill took three years getting through eighth grade because
he had trouble learning English. It seems ironic that years later Oxford
University asked him to address its
commencement exercises. He arrived with his usual props. A cigar, a cane and a
top hat accompanied Churchill wherever he went. As Churchill approached the
podium, the crowd rose in appreciative applause. With unmatched dignity, he
settled the crowd and stood confident before his admirers. Removing the cigar
and carefully placing the top hat on the podium, Churchill gazed at his waiting
audience. Authority rang in Churchill’s voice as he shouted, “Never give up!”
Several seconds passed before he rose to his toes and repeated: “Never give
up!” His words thundered in their ears. There was a deafening silence as
Churchill reached for his hat and cigar, steadied himself with his cane and
left the platform. His commencement address was finished.
You don’t have to give up either.
(Heb 12:1-2 KJV) Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us
run with patience the race that is set before us, {2} Looking unto Jesus the
author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of
the throne of God.
Look to Jesus. Keep going.