Truths to Live By Esther 2:18-23
I’ve never made it a secret that I listen to country music and Prime Country is my station when I’m in the mood for some George Strait or Brooks and Dunn or Alabama. I could try to be super-spiritual and tell you that the only music that I listen to is Christian-themed, but that would be a lie. I listen to Christian music, but not all the time. Eventually you’re going to ride in my truck and it’s going to be tuned into Prime Country or I’m going to be whistling “He Stopped Loving Her Today” or I’m going to confess that me and Pat spent the money for the tickets to Dollywood while we were on vacation. Somewhere along the way the truth is going to come out because the truth has the power to stand on its own. It is always best to just be honest about who you are and then let others make up their own minds about whether they accept that or not. Mordecai can ‘hide’ the fact that he and Hadassah (Esther) are Jews all that he wants, but somewhere along the way the truth will come out. Honesty should have been the policy. So, God is about to take this new ‘opportunity’ that has come Esther’s way and use Mordecai to reveal truth even though that at the time, he had no clue what God was doing.
I. SIN IS NEVER SATISFIED Vss. 18-19a
(a) The Marriage Supper: I’m always interested in what the bridal party will have on their menu at the reception. I like those “L’il Smokeys” or hot wings or BBQ balls or something of that sort when I attend a wedding. But basically, what I just named were finger foods. I just revealed that I am a meat-eater. Vs. 18
1. But look at what Ahasuerus prepares in celebration of his nuptials in honor of his new wife and Queen Esther. Maybe he has ‘turned the corner’ and has become a ‘Brand New Man’ (Brooks & Dunn); maybe.
a. He prepares a feast. This word means ‘a banquet with the act of much drinking and eating; a feast’. This is the contribution of the king.
b. He releases prisoners convicted of minor offences. If someone owed a debt or failed to pay the full amount of taxes, they were set free. This is the mercifulness of the king.
c. He gave gifts according to the state of his kingdom. Not only did he give freedom to those who were guilty (prisoners) he also gave gifts to the common citizen of the land. This is the king’s benevolence.
2. Now to us, this would seem to indicate a turn around in the king’s disposition and practice as a husband first and a king.
Job 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
a. This is nothing more than one man’s attempt to prove to the world that he has learned his lesson and that he is changing his ways so that he (or she) can be deemed a better person. By scriptural definition, this is Xerxes attempt at self- righteousness.
(b) The Same Old Same Old: “And when the virgins were gathered the second time…”. Simply put, this wretched man is still a wretched man. Solomon said that as a dog returns to his own vomit, so does the fool return to his foolishness. In short, Xerxes the Great adds to his harem AFTER Esther is made queen.
1. Apart from a life changing encounter with Jesus Christ, no man has the ability to clean himself up and deliver himself from the temptations of his own flesh. Folks, Christians have a difficult time with temptation so how much more for a person who does not know Christ at all?
James 1:14-16 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.
II. DUTY vs. DECEIT Vss. 19b-20
(a) Position vs. Possession: Once Mordecai left the feast, he returned to his position as an elder of the city and door keeper of the King’s Court. Now we don’t know whether he did this prior to Esther’s ascension to the throne or if she secured the position for him, but he is now a person whose position possessed importance. Vs. 19a
(b) Deceit vs. Truth: If Moses ever said anything that was true it is contained in this one vital truth, “…be sure your sin will find you out.” Honesty can never be over-emphasized nor over-valued because it is vitally important and priceless. As much as Mordecai and Esther may try to hide what and who they are they can rest assured the secret will be exposed just like I said in the introduction. Vs. 20
Honesty has a beautiful and refreshing simplicity about it. No ulterior motives. No hidden meanings. An absence of hypocrisy, duplicity, political games, and verbal superficiality. As honesty and real integrity characterize our lives, there will be no need to manipulate others. CHARLES R. SWINDOLL (1934– )
III. DOING RIGHT IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT THING TO DO VSS. 21-23
(a) Later On: Sometime later, an assassination plot was revealed. Two eunuchs of the king’s chambers, who also served as doorkeepers to the king, became angry enough with Xerxes to kill him. Vs. 21
1. Now the Bible does not tell us what the plot was exactly, but the Targum (Jewish scriptures translated in Aramaic) does. The Targum states that Bigthan and Teresh had learned that Esther intended on using her influence with the king to have them removed from their positions in the king’s court and have Mordecai to replace them. So they planned to poison Esther and then assassinate the king while he slept.
Proverbs 6:16-17 These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood…
a. Xerxes may have been a heathen and Esther may have been backslidden as a goose, but God takes no joy in the death of anyone who still needs forgiveness (Ezekiel 33:11)! God rejoices not over any soul that plunges into the regions of the damned in hell!
(b) The Secret’s Known: Josephus, the first century Jewish historian and lawyer, tells that a man named Barnabasus overheard the plot and told Mordecai, who then tells Esther who then approaches Ahasuerus with the diabolical plot. The plot was investigated and found to be true. There are a couple of things that this should tell us about sinful secrets. Vss. 22-23a
1. Like I said previously, secrets eventually come to light; they’re found out. Someone overhears something or someone that you’ve spoken to ‘in confidentiality’ gives too many hints and the pieces get put together like a jigsaw puzzle that exposes the story.
a. Let’s explore the nature of confidentiality for just a moment because Barnabasus may have been told this plot in confidence. Confidentiality means that you say NOTHING to no one; nothing. Just because you don’t expose the details of a shared confidence does not mean that you are being confidential. If you say, “Well someone told me such and such, but I can’t say who told me because I promised I wouldn’t tell who told me”, that is not confidentiality. Confidentiality is saying NOTHING to NO ONE; NOTHING! You can’t let on that you’ve been spoken to or confided in or that you have sat down with them or anything. You can’t say anything!
Illustration: Confidentiality is the reason that I declined to sign the original job description of a pastor before I came to Park Place in 2005. The original description stated that I had to tell the secretary where I would be going if I were to leave the church grounds during office hours. That’s a negative “Ghost Rider” (Top Gun). Most of the time, where I’m going ain’t none of anyone’s business; “Nunya”. b. Here’s why the scripture even speaks of confidentiality and accusation amongst believers.
2. There is going to or should be an investigation (…inquiry was made…it was confirmed… {NKJV}). The truth is going to be explored and individuals involved are going to be questioned and the details are going to be exposed. Listen to what God told Israel about accusations amongst the Jews. There must be proof and truth!
Deuteronomy 19:15-21
a. Every person has a right to stand before their accusers. Jesus asked the woman who was taken in the act of adultery and was to be stoned according to Mosaic Law, “Where are your accusers?” (John 8:10) Too many people are ‘assassinated’ in the workplace, at social functions and social media, even in the church pew because people say things they ought not to say ‘in confidentiality’ and then because of ‘confidentiality’ the accused are not allowed to stand before their accusers so that their innocence can be revealed, or integrity of character maintained; they’re guilty without the possibility of innocence.
1) “Well, I can’t tell you who told me” does not wash according to the Scriptures! You shouldn’t have said anything in the first place! Let me be blunt, if that is any more possible than I have already been. If the person you slandered (and that’s what it is) were to take you to court, here's what a judge will do. He or she would force you to testify under oath what was said and by whom, or you would be found in contempt of court and jailed until your tongue comes loose and tells the truth.
b. The ultimate purpose, according to scripture that we read back in Deuteronomy 19, is to make people fearful of idle gossip and character assassination. This is an epidemic in our churches and is a major reason that people tell me why they do not attend or have stopped attending church; gossip.
1Timothy 5:13 And withal they learn [to be] idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
Psalm 31:13 For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.
1) As James in the 3rd chapter of his great epistle said, Teresh and Bigthan wouldn’t control their tongues and now their tongues have gotten them into trouble. They spoke openly of a plot and their plot was overheard, exposed and investigated; it was true.
(c) The Sentence is Passed: They were hanged on a gallows or impaled on a stake in public. There was a pay day. When the Lord comes back for the Church there will be a pay day of great rewards and honor. When the Lord returns to this earth to judge those who would not accept His great gift of salvation by grace, there will be a pay day. As was the destructive works of Bigthan and Teresh chronicled in a book before the king, so were the words of Mordecai that gave Xerxes life.
Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and £labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Conclusion: The three truths to live by are (1) sin is never satisfied. That person who has determined to be happy on their own terms will never be happy at all. Their insatiable appetite for sin will eventually bring about their undoing. (2) It’s better to deal with the truth than a lie. You can’t fix a lie and deceit is nothing but a lie with a disguise on. One of the things we always tried to get our children to understand was that we can work within the truth no matter how difficult the truth may be, but we will never work with a lie; never. (3) It’s always right to do what’s right even if the consequences are extreme. Integrity must be maintained and that only happens when people determine to do the right thing no matter what. Mordecai probably thought very little of the character of Esther’s husband but that was no reason to allow Xerxes to be murdered like an animal.