Ready to Die - Esther 4

Scripture Reading

You may be seated. Will you turn over in your Bibles with me now to the book of Esther, Esther chapter 4. Esther is the last of the historical books, so if you flip through, get past the law, get past 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, keep going past Ezra and Nehemiah, you've gotten to Esther. If you get to Psalms or Job, you've gone too far. If you're using the Pew Bibles, it's on page 445.

So Esther chapter four will be our text this morning, but I'm gonna give you a curve ball here. And instead of reading Esther chapter four at the beginning, we're actually gonna read, just keep your finger in Esther chapter four. And you can turn here if you want, but you don't have to, Joel chapter two. Joel chapter two, I don't know what page that is in your pew Bible. Joel chapter two, beginning at verse 12.

Now therefore, says the Lord, turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and he relents from doing harm. Who knows if he will turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him? a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion. Consecrate a fast. Call a sacred assembly. Gather the people. Sanctify the congregation. Assemble the elders. Gather the children and nursing babes. Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber and the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests who minister to the Lord weep between the porch and the altar. Let them say, spare your people, O Lord, And do not give your heritage to reproach, that the nation should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, where is their God?

Something amazing happened almost two decades ago, a little bit over that now. There was a radical feminist lesbian teacher at Syracuse University. And she wrote an article as she was studying the peacekeepers. And she wrote this article about how this right-wing Christian group and what they believed. And a pastor wrote her a letter and just asked her questions. Why would you think this? What makes you get to that conclusion? And she didn't know what to do with that paper. And so it sat on her desk. And she didn't know whether to file it away or throw it in the recycling bin. She didn't know what to do with it. And eventually, she had to meet this guy. And after 500 or so meetings with him, she converted.

Her name is Rosaria Butterfield. She's the wife of Pastor Kent Butterfield in our denomination. And she talks about in her book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, about points in which she had to wrestle with who she was. Points that she was reading the scriptures and God was drawing her into his word and he was saying what reality was like. She found this internal tension in her where she was reading things she didn't like because it attacked everything that she loved. And yet she knew it was true.

And when would she step out and say, I have to own this for myself. Indeed, all of us, at some point in our life, have to come to that point with our faith, don't we? At some point in our life, we have to come to the realities of what Scripture presents to us and either say, it's me, that is my identity, or it's not. And that's the point in which we find Esther at in our story today. Who is she? At the core, at the depth of her soul, is she just another pagan queen? Or is she a Jewish heroine who would save God's people? Turn with me to Esther chapter four. Let's look at the first three verses. Remember what happened in chapter three?

Mordecai would not bow down to Haman. Haman's one of King Asuarius' top seven guys. Only seven guys are allowed at any point to walk into the king's presence and don't need permission. Haman's one of those guys and everybody's supposed to bow down to him and Mordecai won't. Haman's furious and he sets up a plan to destroy all the Jews, a complete pogrom, a complete genocide.

He's a man thirsty for blood. And Mordecai hears about this plan and he weeps. Look at chapter 4, verses 1 through 4. When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes. and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry. He went as far as the front of the king's gate, for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. And in every province where the king's command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, weeping, fasting, and wailing, and many lay and sackcloth and ashes.

They hear of this death decree. They hear of this genocidal attack that's going to come in 11 months. And Mordecai rips his clothes. He covers his head with ashes. He puts on burlap and he goes and he's mourning. And what does it say here? This is a loud and bitter cry.

He doesn't care if everybody sees us. All of his social propriety is out the window. He doesn't care anymore if people look at him and think he's weird. He's going to die. All of that's behind him. It doesn't matter anymore. Yeah, I'm a Jew and I'm going to die because this has all happened. He goes even as far as the king's gate. He can't go past there because he knows he'll die. He's not allowed to do that there. And all throughout, Persian media, people, the Jewish people are weeping and fasting and wailing.

And Esther hears about this. Esther hears about this and she sends her eunuch to find out what's going on with Mordecai in verses four through nine. Look with me at verses four through nine as she interacts to find out what's going on with Mordecai. So Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her and the queen was deeply distressed. The Hebrew there says distressed she was, distressed.

Then she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and to take his sackcloth away from him, but he would not accept them. Then Esther called Hathor, one of the king's eunuchs from, or whom he had appointed to attend her, And she gave him a command concerning Mordecai to learn what and why this was. So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king's gate. And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him and the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasure to destroy the Jews.

He also gave him a copy of the written decree from their destruction. which was given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go into the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people. So Hathak returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai." Remember, Esther is a queen. Esther is a queen and no other man is allowed to come near the queen unless you've had some type of surgery to remove any manly parts.

That's what a eunuch means. So the king can trust you because you're not gonna mess with his girl. So she's not allowed to go and just meet with her uncle anymore. She's not allowed to talk to any man. So she has to keep going back and forth between this eunuch of hers, Hatak.

And it's almost like this giant game of telephone that we'll be reading here. She's in a far removed position. And so she has to inquire. I've heard these rumors about what's going on with Mordecai. So she sends him new clothes. Here are new clothes for you to wear. You got to put this away from you. What's going on? And Mordecai says, no. No, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to put on normal clothes. I have to continue to mourn.

And he tells her why. And as he tells her why and he gives her, he doesn't just tell her, he even gives her, he also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was at Shushan, to show it to Esther and explain it to her and that he might command her to do something. Here's the proof, Esther. This isn't just a rumor. I'm not overreacting.

We're going to die. There's only one person I can think of who has any access to the king. Mordecai can't go to the king and plead his case. Nobody can go to the king and plead his case. You know, that's not so different than today. Have you ever tried to call your state senator before? Good luck getting them on their direct line. I wonder which one of you can pick up your phone and just dial Joe Biden and be like, hey, Joe, I got something to talk to you. I don't like this policy. No, it doesn't happen. Normal people don't get this access. It's a small group of people.

But Esther's the first lady. Esther's the queen. Maybe she can go see the king. Maybe she can go before the king. Maybe she's able to go and plead the case of the Jewish people. But Esther's got a problem. Look with me at verses 10 through 12 as we See Esther's predicament. Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a command from Mordecai.

All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court of the king who has not been called, he has but one law, to put all to death except the one whom the king holds out the golden scepter that he may live. The problem, though. Yet I, myself, have not been called to go into the king these 30 days. So they told Mordecai Esther's words. Remember, this is Asherwarius, a powerful, power-hungry, fickle king. This is a guy who had his wife dethroned. Do you remember that?

In chapter one, he had his wife dethroned because she wouldn't show up for a drunken party. And just in case we didn't think this was that serious, Herodotus writes that when the king of Persia would sit down on his throne, he had six men around him with axes in hand. That at any point, if somebody should walk into the king's throne room that wasn't summoned, they were to immediately kill that person. She hasn't seen the king for 30 days. Remember, Esther's just one of all sorts of concubine, one of all sorts of women in his harem.

What hope does she have that he'll spare her life? This is a real concern for her. Monica, I don't have the access to the king that you think I have. You might think that this is a great marriage, like I sit down with him at dinner every night, and we light candles, and this is a romantic thing, and he listens to my concerns. No, that's not what this marriage is like. No, I haven't seen him for 30 days. Yeah, we're living in the same palace, but if you don't wanna see me, I don't see him. And if I go into his presence, I'm no better than anyone else. And Mordecai answers in the next few verses, verses 13 and 14. Listen to what Mordecai says to her.

And Mordecai told them to answer Esther, Do you think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews? For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place. But you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.

Now, some commentators have read this, and I wholeheartedly disagree with them. They see this as a veiled threat of Mordecai. You don't do this. I'm going to snitch on you, and you're going to die. It doesn't take too much brains for a homicidal, genocidal maniac to connect together. Oh, her uncle's a Jew. She's probably a Jew. This word is out. The cat's out of the bag.

Just because you're in the palace, Esther, the law of the Medes and the Persians can't be revoked. Remember what he did to Vashti. It's going to come to you too. I understand you haven't seen the king in 30 days, but if we don't do something, I'm worried about you.

You and your father's household. She's the last one. She's the orphan. Remember, Mordecai raised her. You and your family line are going to be done. Now Mordecai has this confidence, so look with me at some of the interesting things he says there. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place. Isn't that interesting? Mordecai is weeping and he's wailing and he's tearing his clothes. He put ash on his head and sackcloth on his body. He's in this horrible depressed state where his soul is nothing but black and gloom. And yet he also has hope.

The human soul is this weird mix of emotions. The human experience is not just one direction, one thing. It's amazing how our emotions can interweave with each other. It's amazing how when somebody dies, when I did my grandfather's funeral just a few months ago, there's weeping. Sorrowful, deep, down in your soul, just, God, this hurts.

Why? And yet also hope, at the same time, that God doesn't forget his people, and that he hasn't forgotten us. God made promises, and I know that he keeps his promises, and this is where Mordecai finds himself, where his heart is, I know that Jewish people are going to die, Lord, why are you letting this happen?

This is horrible. But yet I trust you. You're not gonna let your covenant die. You haven't forgotten us, you haven't forsaken us. I know that God is going to raise up a deliverer from some other place, but as he talks to Esther, he says, Maybe God raised you up that you might be the deliverer of God's people.

Human emotions are complex and mixed, and I'm telling you how God works in history is complex and mixed. The Lord works in ways that are above our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His ways are greater than our ways. And we don't quite understand why he has us go through the things in our life that he has us going through.

There are some of you who have gone through the deepest of the valleys of depression as you've struggled with some of the most challenging things this world can throw at you. And yet for some of you, you know what it's like to see just a little glimmer of hope and grab onto that with all your strength and all your might and trust in the Lord. And the Lord made you go to that low place that you might see that He is your only hope.

The Lord does this in all sorts of amazing ways throughout all history. If you've ever read the Old Testament before, sometimes you sit there and you go, really? These people, that way? The Lord has this way of we think things are going this way and the Lord flips it on its head. And that's what Mordecai is saying to her here. Maybe the Lord, maybe God raised you up for this time, for this reason, worked all things in history that you might act now. This doesn't come without cost. And to go and plead for this people is going to cost her possible social credit.

She hasn't told anyone she's a Jew. She hasn't told anyone of her religious heritage. She hasn't told anyone she's from that backward country of a conquered people. She hasn't told anyone that she doesn't keep the dietary rules. What are the other Jewish women? throughout the entire area of Persian media going to think, why do we have a Jewish queen who doesn't keep the dietary laws?

What are the whispers going to be like, even if she does survive this? Well, Esther replies in verse 15. Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, go, Gather all the Jews who are president of Shushan and fast for me. Neither eat nor drink for three days or nights. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." Mordecai, I'll do it. I'll do it, but I can't do it on my own strength. I'll do it, but we need to be praying and interceding, pleading with God, rending our, not just our garments, but rending our hearts and pleading out to God that He might save His people, that He would actually let this happen, that I wouldn't just go in there and be slaughtered on the spot. Gather all the Jews, all of them. Get them all together. Call the assembly. Get them to the synagogue. This is so important that I need you to not eat food for three days. I don't care if you're hangry. I don't care if you're tired. I need you to plead with God that this would work. But I'll do it. And if I die, I die.

It's at this point that Esther has made this decision in her life. She's going to step out on faith. She's going to assume her Jewish identity. She's going to let it be known in the court that she is a Jew, and she's going to put her life on the line to do that. And if I die, I die.

It's an amazing sacrifice that she's willing to make, but brothers and sisters, brothers and sisters, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did likewise, didn't he? He stepped out and he said, I will associate with my people. But instead of Jesus saying, if I die, I die, Jesus came incarnate, associated with his people, and said, I will die. There's a death threat over our head. The axe is in the hand. Judgment awaits every single person who is unrepentant for their sin and Jesus Christ comes and he says, I will die. I will die. The lamb was slain to redeem and to save his people from destruction that we might live.

I don't know where you are in your walk with the Lord. I know where some of you are. Some of you are wrestling with emotional things. Some of you, young children, you need to figure this out in your heart. Will you step out on that faith yourself? For some of you, it's in your workplaces. Well, you let it be known that you're a Christian. You can't get behind some of the curriculum they're trying to shove down your throat. For some of you, it's in your business places, and you have to ask yourself, will I associate with God's people? And will I say, I can't do that? And I know there's a lot of other Christians here too, and this is a bad policy decision. And will you face the consequences for it?

Brothers and sisters, we have family members in the faith who are in communist, and authoritarian countries, and Muslim countries, that they have, when they come to Jesus Christ, they do like Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, when Jesus calls us, he says, come, follow me, and die. Did you know that most Muslim women, when they become Christian, After they're baptized, they're immediately stripped from their families, and their fathers go and force them to marry a Muslim man, no matter what age they are. Well, they do it. Did you know in China? Many Christians have to face the realities if they come to Jesus Christ. If they come to Jesus Christ, they come to a point in their lives in which they have to realize they have to resign from the Communist Party. Because the Communist Party makes you take an oath of atheism. But if you resign from the party, you lose your job as a professor. You lose your job as the CEO. You lose your house. Your family can disown you. If I die, I die. If I lose, I lose.

But this is what Paul is talking about when we, years ago, looked at Philippians when he says, for me to live is Christ, but to die is gain. Now, this is not telling you to go out here and just be a martyr mindset that you're looking for every and any opportunity to be a lightning rod of persecution. That's not what this is saying. But when the pressure comes, will you say, I am one of God's children? Will you step out on that faith? This is what Esther has to find herself with. It's what our sister Rosaria faced. She's no longer a tenured professor at Syracuse. She couldn't.

It's not just out there in foreign countries, but it's here in small decisions in our life. When we say, I am a Christian, Christ died for me. and step out on faith for whatever repercussions that might bring with it. Knowing, knowing that he loves his people. So Jesus Christ calls you today, come, follow me, pick up your cross daily. But that might mean that I have to die. Die to yourself. Die to your reputation. Die to your own interests. Die to your own pleasures. Lose your job. Face ridicule.

Is Christ worth it? Is the surpassing glory of Jesus Christ worth it? Jesus Christ thought you were worth it. Jesus Christ poured out his blood for you if you trust in him. Count it more valuable than any gold or silver reputation and cling to that hope.

Closing Prayer

Let's pray. Oh Lord, we come and we pray that we might have heard your word. We pray that our ears might have held your voice We pray that your spirit would take these words, would bury them in the depths of our souls, and give us a joy that would last forever, that we would count the cost, and that by the power of your spirit, we might love Jesus Christ to our dying breaths. We thank you for your love and your care for your people. In Jesus' name, amen.