: #3 “What a Difference a Day Makes” – & 6 Dr. Matthew Cassidy – 4/29/2012 We are at the peak of a fabulous story in the , about how life works. If you follow the story well, and you can identify with the characters, especially the good guys, it could change the way you perceive the world around you. This story about Esther is about how God works in our world. It is more like the way God works in our world than maybe any of the other stories in the Old Testament. By the way, to fully appreciate this, and we have not discussed this yet, but this is a story in the ancient Near East. It is an Eastern story and I hope you have seen some Kung Fu movies because that would help you to appreciate what is happening in this story. Losing face is the worst fate you can imagine; to be embarrassed in front of your friends or honorable people would be a tragic thing to happen to you. That is why they would rather fall on their own sword than to suffer the humiliation from their peers. That is a major emphasis of understanding what is motivating the characters here. Just the opposite of that is honor. To be honored is greater than gold. It is what people live and die for. Honor is something we talk about sometimes in our country. It is the currency that people keep in the ancient Near East. So when we look at these characters and see what they are doing and what motivates them and possesses them, it is the fear of losing face and it was the ambition of being honored in front of others. So, keep all of that in mind as I review the past two sermons for those who are new today. We will review some of the characters and we will fast forward to get to what I would call the absolute funniest chapter in maybe the but certainly the Old Testament.

Review

Characters: We have a king in this story, King Xerxes, and he is a mad man. He is crazy and he does whatever he wants because he can. Whatever he says is right; he is always right. Whatever he writes is true; it is the law of the Medes and Persians. That is where we get the figure of speech from a king like this who is ruling the Medes and the Persians. King Xerxes is married to Queen Esther. She is this innocent, naïve, little Jewish orphan girl. She is very compliant. Her whole life story is being able to follow instructions of wise men and wise women around her. She is a sweet little kitten.

Esther.3.web.2012.doc Page 1 of 13 Queen Esther was raised by her cousin who is considerably older. His name is . There is a phrase – Mordecai the Jew – because he is proud of his heritage. He tells his cousin Esther not to tell of her heritage but he is proud of his heritage and it gets him into some trouble. There is one thing that is kind of funny in the earlier chapters. Mordecai overhears some people planning to kill King Xerxes and Mordecai gets word to Queen Esther and she tells her husband. It ends up being true. The point is that Mordecai the Jew saves the king’s life but nothing happens. They kill the bad guys but nothing happens to Mordecai. He is never honored. There is no reward for helping the king out. Hmm, it kind of dangles there. Our fourth character is , the . If you were good Jewish people and I were telling this story, whenever I said “Haman”, you would boo or hiss. He is an Agagite because it is a fun word to say; it sounds like a machine or a stuttering thing. But it is important to know that he is from the lineage of King Agag; Haman is born and bred to kill Jews. He hates Jews and he loves to kill as many Jews as possible. Mordecai is the Jew. The other thing you need to know about Haman besides his being an Agagite is that he is the most honored person in Persia because the king made him that way in Chapter 3:1. :1, 2 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor. If you are sitting down, then you stand up when Haman shows up. If you are standing up, then you kneel down and you hide your face. You pay him honor and respect. Every time that would happen, everyone in the palace in the city of would do that – save one, Mordecai the Jew. The passage [3:5] said that this enraged Haman.

Esther 3 The whole point of today’s talk in this part of the story is what happens to the man who will not honor Haman. What is the fate of the man who will not honor Haman, the Agagite? That is what I want to know. That is what everyone wants to know because Mordecai does not pay honor to Haman (verse 3:4) day after day. Since Mordecai will not listen to the royal officials, they go to Haman and say: How long are you going to let this go on? What happens to the man who will not pay homage to Haman?

Esther.3.web.2012.doc Page 2 of 13 Haman, realizing that Mordecai is from a Jewish background, would not settle for just killing him. So, Haman wants to kill all of Mordecai’s people. He conspires a plan and goes to astrologers who come up with a date that is eleven months away. Haman puts together this decree that would give permission to everyone in the 127 provinces of Persia to kill every Jew, man, woman, and child. Then he gets permission from King Xerxes to borrow his signet ring, which would make it official. He signs this decree and this is what it says and this is the 13th day of the first month when they post the decree in the city hall of every one of the provinces. This posting day is the day before Passover. That is the day before Jewish Independence Day. This is the news these Jewish people get. The decree was sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, women and little children [3:12]. Is that clear? “Destroy, kill, and annihilate” – we couldn’t just destroy and kill. We had to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews. What about the women? Oh, the women and the children. – Haman puts the seal on the decree with the wax and the signet ring embossing. The copies of the decree were sent out to every province in Persia and now it is part of the laws of the Medes and the Persians. While in all of Persia the Jews are tearing their clothes and covering themselves with dirt and ashes, it says that Haman, the Agagite, and the king are sipping wine on the palace deck. That is how it ends. [Esther 3:15]

Esther 4 The next part of the story picks up with Mordecai realizing that he is chiefly responsible for this. He incited a riot inside the soul of Haman. Mordecai is outside the palace of Xerxes. This is the only plan he could come up with. He gets word to Queen Esther and says: You need to tell everyone that you are Jewish. You need to go to the king and appeal for mercy for your people. Esther’s response to her cousin was reciting the way the law works around this palace. :10, 11 Then she instructed him (the ) to say to Mordecai, “Everyone in the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.” This is not hyperbole. She is not exaggerating. We have carvings of Xerxes on his throne and behind his throne are these two huge guards who each carry a battleaxe, a double-headed ax, to protect the king. If

Esther.3.web.2012.doc Page 3 of 13 anybody were ever to present themselves, to just drop by and say: Hey, how are you doing? We went to high school together. The guards would kill them; they would be dead.

Mordecai’s Three-Part Rebuttal to Esther Mordecai’s plan to send his cousin in to the king is not being well received by the queen. So he sends one more message back to her. He says: (1) Listen, if you think living in the palace is going to save you, you are wrong. You will die. (2) There will be another source from another place that will save the Jews – but you and your father’s house will all be killed off. (3) How do you know that you have not been placed in such a royal position for such a time as this? So Mordecai backs Esther into this corner by saying: You really don’t have much choice. You will die with all of the rest of us. You will be found out. Maybe you ought to be seeing things that your position is part of something much bigger.

Esther’s Transformation That sober slap in the face rattled her because something dramatically changed in the life of our little queen. It is like she has been born from above or born again because she takes on attributes that she never had before. That is what God does with people when they are transformed by His grace. Esther takes matters into her own hands and her first pronouncement or response now is this: Go – Gather – Fast. She tells everyone what to do now. She is the one in charge and from now on people will do what she tells them to do. She told Mordecai to go everywhere in the city of Susa, the capital city, and gather all the Jews together and tell them to fast for three days, day and night. Don’t drink water or eat food. Then I will go see the king. If I perish, I perish. (4:15, 16). Mordecai the Jew did what Esther told him to do (4:17). See, what has happened here is something has come over Esther. In our original story, she is this little kitten and now she has become a tiger. (It reminds me of that Dr. Seuss movie where his heart grew three times in size.) Her spine grew three times that day. Now the docile little naïve princess is a queen to be reckoned with. She realizes this is a spiritual event that is taking place and she realizes that she needs to understand what God’s perspective is and direction. So she says to Mordecai: Go, gather, and fast. This is key to this story – that she realizes she is going to need all the help from God that she can get. She says, all the people who are serving me, we are going to go, gather, and go without food for three days, day and night, neither food nor water. After that, I will go to the king but I am not going before then.

Esther.3.web.2012.doc Page 4 of 13 That is where we left the story last week.

Chapter 5:1 After Three Days of Fasting & Praying …

On the third day after fasting, Queen Esther gets up, puts on her royal robes, and she walks down that hallway inside the palace to the opening towards this throne room and stands and stares towards the king. The passage says that he was facing in the direction of the hallway. He looks up and sees her. The two guards are rattling their battleaxes. The king extends his golden scepter to her. This is tense. So she walked to him and touched the tip of the scepter. I bet she did. Her hands were shaking. She has to touch it. Like touching base – safe. Esther 5:3 Then the king asked: “What is it, Queen Esther?” This is the first time she has ever been called that title. – I know what you are thinking. Just tell the king; tell him right now. But she can’t. Xerxes makes every decision in this book with a committee, with advisors, in the company of many people. She does not have their hearts. She only has the heart of the king. If she brings up her dilemma right now in front of everyone else, the Jews will be lost and she will lose. So when the king asks, Esther 5:3c “What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you.” 5:4 “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.” 5:5 “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.” Did you hear what she just said? We have to do what the queen says. She will literally have them eating out of her hands, the two most powerful men in Persia. Would you like a grape? – I love that. She is not what she used to be. That is what happens when you are born from above. Let’s go a little deeper to understand the dilemma Esther is in. This is why Esther can’t just come out with it because if they come to her banquet, it would be easier for her to say: Here is the situation. The king has his signature on that decree; it was his signet ring. He can’t be wrong. So Esther has to somehow indict Haman without in any way incriminating the king. King Xerxes cannot lose face. He cannot be wrong. He cannot be embarrassed. If he is shamed, Queen Esther dies and the plan goes awry. Esther has to sniper-hit Haman without even blood spattering on Xerxes and he has to not even know what happened. That is what Esther has to do. She has to be precise and delicate. As they are all drinking wine – and this guy Xerxes loves to drink wine – and he says:

Esther.3.web.2012.doc Page 5 of 13 Esther 5:5b So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request” Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”

Esther is Alert to God’s Nudge or Whisper This is very important and this is where it all happens. 5:7 Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: In Jewish manuscripts, there is a period here. That is why verse 8 starts because it is a new sentence. She looks around and pauses and in verse 8 she starts all over again. :8 “If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.” Here is what happened. She is in the wake of three days of fasting and prayer by herself, by her servants, and by all the Jews in Susa. She starts going down this road of what the king wants. What is your petition? What is your request? Half my kingdom is yours. Then she gets a nudge, an impression, a whisper and that is what happens to people who are tuning their souls to God. They have asked everyone they know to pray. I am trying to hear God’s voice. In this moment and time, she just sees something and says: I am going to have to wait. I will wait. Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord [like we sang]. We will wait until tomorrow. She invites them to a banquet tomorrow. Just wait a day and what a difference a day makes. This is from God. We are going to just wait a day. This is not the right time and place; so we will just wait a day. This is where this story gets crazy because by waiting a day, it changes absolutely everything. The party is over and the banquet is done.

Haman’s Illusions of Grandeur Haman, the Agagite, leaves there and it says: Esther 5:9 Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. … He just dined with the king and queen and it was a private dinner. He is on his way out of the palace and at the king’s gate is Mordecai the Jew. As Haman is walking by, everybody stands up but Mordecai who stays seated. That ‘enrages’ him. Haman gets home and he gathers his wife and all of his friends together because he has something to say. (5:11, 12)

Esther.3.web.2012.doc Page 6 of 13 Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons (10 sons), and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. Haman boasted not just that he was honored by the king but that he was honored more than anyone else. That is me; I am Haman. And did I tell you where I was today? I was with the Queen and the King at a private banquet and I will be back there tomorrow. Haman must have attracted a certain type of people because they were enjoying all of that. Then someone tagged him because he said: (5:13) There is just this one thing that enrages me, that Mordecai the Jew will not give me honor. I have all this money, all these sons, all this honor compared to everyone else. I am seeing the Queen yet Mordecai won’t give me honor. That is the question in Chapter 3, isn’t it? What happens to the man who does not give honor to Haman? (5:14) The wife and friends say, ‘Look, this is simple. Build an impaling pole tonight and tomorrow, first thing, go get the king’s permission and you can start your day off by killing Mordecai.’ Haman went: ‘That is great.’ So they build all night long, a seventy-five foot gallows or impaling pole. Let’s grasp that for just a second. When you walk outside and go to your car, the first black building, “The Echelon Building” is a four-story building; 42-45 feet maybe. This impaling pole is almost twice that height. A giant pole that comes to a point on top, and Haman is going to have Mordecai stuck on that thing. Another graphic and try to get this out of your head. U.S. Hwy 183, they have those super street light poles with multiple lamps; that is not even 75 feet. But the next time you drive up or down 183, [kids, remind your mom of this] on one of those poles is Mordecai, just rotting out in the sun. So, Haman goes to bed but right before he does his ‘to-do’ list for the next day. Honor Haman To-Do List: 1. Kill Mordecai 2. Got a banquet with the queen That is how Chapter 5 ends. It is a delightful chapter for Haman.

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Chapter 6: Meanwhile God is Prompting King Xerxes

Here is the thing. While that is happening, you turn the page to Chapter 6 and it reads: Meanwhile at the palace of Xerxes, the king is restless. While Mordecai is sleeping beside his to-do list, the king can’t sleep. It is like something is pestering Xerxes. It is like Someone is bothering him. So Xerxes did what you do when you can’t sleep. He has someone come in and read the chronicles of his life. Tell me about how I have been ruling my kingdom. When the reader starts reading that story, oddly, in a lucky way, it just opens up in :2, they found recorded there in the chronicles that Mordecai the Jew had exposed two of the king’s officers who were guarding his doorway, who were conspiring to assassinate the king. King Xerxes says: Wait, stop reading. What happened? Did that man receive honor and recognition for saving the king’s life? There is nothing in the chronicles. He was passed over. Wait a minute. First of all, we need to give this man honor. Second of all, if I don’t extravagantly give this man honor, it won’t motivate other people to try to save my life. I have to really go over the top for this … Mordecai the Jew. Let’s do that guy right. I hate making decisions. Is it sunrise? Yes it is. Is there anyone in the court who can come and help me make a decision?

Just then, Haman is walking in with his to-do list. I have to get permission to kill Mordecai – and I have to go to the banquet for the queen. This is true. I am not making this up. Haman comes in and the king says: Esther 6:6 When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” In the Bible, it says that Haman assumed that it had to be him because there was no one in the kingdom who could receive more honor than he. He has all this money and all these kids and all this honor already. He can’t get promoted any farther up. So he starts fantasizing.

Esther.3.web.2012.doc Page 8 of 13 Haman says: Here is what you do for the man who the king delights to honor. Verses 7-9 Your servant gets one of your robes that you have worn. Then you have brought out one of the horses that you have ridden on. You know, the one with the royal crest on the horse’s head. So you have a royal robe, and a royal horse, with the royal crest. Then you have a ceremony where you have one of the princes or nobles come and put that robe around the person in front of everyone at the city gate. You say: This is what happens to the man whom the king delights to honor!” But that is just the beginning of the day. What you ought to do is get that guy who put the robe on him, have him march the horse with the person on it and the person yells: ‘This is what is to be given to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ The king said: You know what? That is a great idea. Esther 6:10 “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate.” Haman is thinking: I know where he sits. “Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”

Haman Encountering Mordecai Oh, I would love to have seen that union. There is Mordecai the Jew sitting. Haman starts walking up to Mordecai, towing a horse. Everybody is bouncing to attention. Mordecai stays seated. “What do you want, Haman?” What is the theme? What is everybody wondering from Chapter 3 on? What happens to the man who does not pay honor to Haman? That is what everybody in the city is trying to figure out. How long is Mordecai going to get away with this? So this is it. This is the day of reckoning, face to face. Haman says: I need you to stand over here on top of this stage. Haman puts the robe on Mordecai and he puts Mordecai on the horse and says: I would like to make an announcement. This is what happens to the man whom the king delights to honor! Then Haman grabs the horse by the reins and walks him around the city, all day long. You know from Mordecai that somewhere along the line he says: Excuse me, Haman. I’m sorry but I can’t hear you. You are getting tired. Come on, say it again. “This is the fate of the man whom the king delights to honor!” After a long day, Haman brings Mordecai back to the city gate where he sits and stays there and everyone learned their lesson. This is what happens to the man who will not honor Haman. Haman goes home with just about enough time to see his wife and look at his to-do list: Kill Mordecai. That didn’t work out so good. – He reads: I still have a banquet with the king. Haman is not even changed yet and the king’s servants are banging on his door. That is what happens next week. You

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have to come back next week because you have to hear the rest. It is about honor and glory, about shame and embarrassment.

When I was looking at the passage this week, I thought – What can we learn from this story? What seems to be the human turning point? [God’s turning point, I will show you that next week.] What is the human turning point in this story? I think it is when Esther is born from above – born again – and she takes control and says: “Go and gather and fast.” I thought – What if we did that – you and I? What if our church collectively did it? Maybe in your home groups, your small groups, your families. Let’s do this during this week. Because there is something about fasting and praying that seems to excite the ears of God. Yet we don’t do it. It is absolutely the last thing on our list. No matter how much trouble we are in, we just think: Well, I have tried everything. Have you tried fasting and praying? I have not. Well, how about fasting and praying? What else is there? You just said you tried everything. I know, but … I have never had a negative experience. I have only had positive experiences with fasting and prayer. But I couldn’t remember the last time I fasted and prayed – until I read this passage and went – like that chili commercial. It has been too long. Let me give you some principles on fasting and prayer. My proposal to you is to do what John the Baptist and his disciples did, to do what all the saints in the Bible did. Anna, for example, knew baby Jesus was the Messiah because it said that she fasted and prayed regularly. While everybody else is walking by this newborn, Mary and Joseph and Jesus, Anna went right to them. Do you know why? Because the Spirit of God was speaking to her. He was speaking to everyone but they were lost in the static. First of all, you have to find a purpose to do it. Set your objective: Maybe for renewal in your own life or for guidance – you are making some big decisions. Or maybe you are just looking for God to work in your life, a habit or an appetite that needs to be quenched. Or maybe in someone else’s life, your marriage or for your son or daughter. So, you have to target something. Clearly in this story, it is about seeing the king but it may be applying a greater attribute of God in your life to another person. Find the purpose. The second one is to make a commitment. What I mean by that is – How long and how is it going to work?

Esther.3.web.2012.doc Page 10 of 13 In our story, Esther said: fast, day and night, three days, food and water. So everybody knew when to start and everyone knew when to stop. They knew what they were going to fast from: food and water, three days, night and day. That is a pretty hard way to start; that is kind of varsity game. So I would not recommend that. But I want you to see that if you want to try 24 hours without food, that is a great way to start – for a purpose. I want you to understand also that there is more in this than just psychology. I have gone easily 36 hours, or sometimes 48 hours, without food, because I just forgot. That is just sometimes the way I live. But if I am fasting, the clock slows down. It has been four minutes since I ate anything. What is happening to me! I am feeling faint! So once you have done the commitment, you have to understand there are some spiritual things happening all around you as well. So you have to be especially tender to your relationships and even your own body. You might have to scale back a little from exercise or hard labor. So you have a purpose and you have commitment. The third thing is preparation, spiritually. That means you want to take a moral inventory. You want to make sure everything is clean in your life. If it is not, you might be just wasting this experience. The point is some sort of revival in your ability to hear God’s voice. So generally speaking, what is wrong first in our lives is with other people. Like it says in Romans 12:18 “If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.” So maybe make a list of some people you need to call and ask: Hey, do I owe you an apology? Are we okay? I am really sorry about ….. – Makes amends. Pay your debts. Whatever that thing is – make things well. If there are some things you are doing that need to stop, then stop it. We want to be like Esther, tuned to God’s voice; so sometimes when He says “Wait” we can hear that. Sometimes the way God works is not for you necessarily to do something bold but rather something quiet. In this case, Esther said: Let’s wait a day. Can we have another banquet tomorrow? And what a difference the day makes. So sometimes it is being quiet and not being loud. Sometimes it is not moving but sitting, waiting on the Lord, growing strong because we wait upon the Lord. Come back, able to share your experience. Here is the last thing I would like for you to consider doing. This is what happens when you go to the four corners of the world during our week. Would you consider coming back, if you have a story, telling someone in our church about how God worked, how God spoke, how God rose to your need and answered. Again, it could be something that is passive or it could be something crazy good. Like: I am finally getting along with my father. We finally connected

Esther.3.web.2012.doc Page 11 of 13 somehow. I sent an e-mail to him and he sent one back to me. We made a phone call and I am blaming it on fasting and praying. Get someone else in this. Clarify purpose. Make a commitment for it. Prepare yourself for it. Then come back and celebrate next Sunday.

I asked first hour and I am smirking because I didn’t know what to do here. Do you want to raise your hand? Who wants to do this? It is okay if you don’t; that is fine. No big deal. It is just us here. Anybody want to fast and pray this week? Tell someone in order to help you with this. Go – gather – fast and pray. Next week, you would be goofy if you missed next week because I am going to show you some stuff that is magic.

Dear heavenly Father, We can be so distracted in our lives and miss all that you are doing around us, the subtle nudges, the whispers that could literally keep us alive. So, Lord, we want that back – if we have lost it. For those of us who are brand new to fasting and prayer, I ask that You would give us a really spectacular, quantifiable answer to what happens when we completely surrender our lives to you. Let the abstinence from food and drink be a dedication to You and a sharpening of our spirits towards your Spirit’s guidance. Lord, I ask that You help us be the type of people You want us to be; that we would not be kittens but cougars, that we would not just be watching life go by but we would be strong and courage, that we would enter a counseling room or say a kind thing or speak truth in love – whatever you call us to, help us make that statement. We pray this with great expectations, that your Spirit is still alive and well. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen

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