Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Darkness to Light

Bryan Schneider · February 27, 2021

Esther 7

sharonrpc.org/sermons/darkness-to-light-22821173503029

Summary

Esther courageously identifies herself with her condemned people and appeals to the king for their lives.
Haman's proud plot reverses suddenly: he falls before Esther and dies on the very structure prepared for Mordecai.
The chapter does not yet resolve every danger, but it reveals hope as the principal adversary falls and the king's wrath subsides.
God works through flawed people, royal protocols, wrath, timing, and irony to accomplish purposes no human ruler or enemy can thwart.
The gospel's greater reversal occurs at the cross: the innocent Christ bears the wrath deserved by the unjust and conquers sin, death, and Satan through his resurrection.
Trials may remain dark and confusing, but those who belong to Christ cannot be separated from God's love or the purpose of their sovereign King.

What does Esther's willingness to identify with her threatened people teach about courageous intercession?
Where has pride blinded me to the possibility that my own scheme may return upon me?
Can I trust God's purpose when one enemy falls but the larger danger is not yet resolved?
How is Christ's death a deeper and morally different reversal from Haman's death on his own gallows?
Which present trial needs to be viewed through God's sovereign wisdom and inseparable love in Christ?

Providential reversal: God's ordering of events so that an evil design becomes the occasion of its own defeat and his people's preservation.
Favor: The king's favorable reception on which Esther appeals as she pleads for her own life and the lives of her people.
Adversary: The enemy who seeks destruction; Haman fills this role in Esther while Satan, sin, and death are the deeper enemies conquered by Christ.
Satisfaction: Christ's bearing of divine justice on the cross so that God's wrath against the sins of his people is fully answered.