This is a part of a sermon series in the book of Esther. You can watch more here.
Introduction
A tragic play that remains relevant today is “Death of a Salesman.” It serves as an indictment of
the American Dream. Willy dreams of starting his own business, of achieving success, of
accumulating wealth, of being popular and well-liked. And yet he lives in a reality where he is a
failure as a salesman, his relationship with his son is shattered because of his harsh criticism and
his marital infidelity, and he struggles between self-deception and the fear of facing his own
deficiencies. His career seems to be at a dead-end. His finances seem to be at a dead-end. His
relationships seem to be at a dead-end. His whole life seems to be at a dead-end. Finally, he takes
own life so that his family can collect the life-insurance money.
By God’s grace, most of us do not sink to Willy’s level of despair. But sometimes, our careers,
our finances, our relationships, our lives can also seem to be at dead-ends, with few prospects for
advancement, few possibilities for improvement, few reasons for hope. This sense of
despondency affects many in our society and it can affect us as well.
However, there is one big difference for us. As people of God, we are never truly at a dead end.
Because our lives are more than what we see before us. We are not living isolated individual
lives. We not living in order to pursue the American Dream. Our purpose is greater. Our future is
brighter. We are part of a people, a community, that is moving forward together, advancing God’s
salvation story.
In our passage for today, we see several themes regarding our shared salvation story. These
themes remind us of who we really are and where we are really going.
Before we look at the passage, let’s begin with a word of prayer.
Providence
Read Esther 9:1–2 1 Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar), on the thirteenth day
when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the day when the enemies of
the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews
themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them. 2 The Jews assembled in their cities
throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm;
and no one could stand before them, for the dread of them had fallen on all the peoples.
If you remember from previous weeks’ messages. Haman had sent a royal edict to all the
provinces of the Persian empire, commanding all enemies of the Jews to gather on the 13 th day of
the 12 th month, to kill all Jews, including women and children. But now, because of subsequent
events, our passage says, “it was turned to the contrary.” With the execution of Haman, Mordecai
replaced him as the highest official. Mordecai sent out a contravening decree allowing the Jews
to gather, to defend themselves, and to kill their enemies. Instead of what was originally decreed,
the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.
“It was turned to the contrary,” our passage says. The NIV translation says, “But now the tables
were turned.” What was happening was the exact opposite of what Haman had intended.
Did you notice that the sentence is in the passive voice? “It was turned to the contrary.” The
passage doesn’t say who turned it to the contrary. In the Bible, it is common to describe acts of
God in the passive voice. Scholars refer to this as the divine passive. God is not mentioned, but
the writer and the reader recognize that God is the one who did the work.
Remember when Pastor Michael began this series on Esther last month? He pointed out that
Esther is the only book in the Bible where God is never mentioned. Pastor said that this an
intentional rhetorical device. Just as in our lives, we don’t actually physically see God at work.
Yet as people of God, we recognize how events and coincidences occur, how circumstances
appear arranged, how we are delivered from trouble, how we are taught important lessons. We
perceive God working in our lives, without seeing God with our physical eyes.
That’s the message of the Book of Esther, we read about how events unfolded, we see how evil
intentions were thwarted, we applaud the deliverance of God’s people. The reader does not need
to hear the name of God mentioned. We can discern that God is at work. By not explicitly
mentioning the name of God, the Esther story highlights the invisible and yet constant presence
of God, presiding over every event, guiding every circumstance.
Without mentioning God name, the Book of Esther communicates its central theme concerning
the Providence of God. God is working through his people, God is orchestrating events, God is
shaping history. And he is doing this constantly in every sphere of life.
Notice that God is not just reacting to problems as they come up. It is not as if Haman gave the
decree to annihilate the Jews, and then God started to think of a way to save his people. Notice
that years before Haman was placed in his position of power by the king, God had already put
the chain of events into motion. Queen Vashti disobeyed the king. Search for a new queen was
conducted. Esther was selected. Esther was brought to the king’s court “for such a time as this,”
verse 4:14 says. God put the solution in place way before the problem of Haman’s decree came
up.
You see, despite what movies like Star Wars tell us, the universe is not engaged in a struggle
between equal and opposing forces of Good and Evil. It is not a chess match between Satan and
God. God is the only one orchestrating the unveiling of history. He is allowing evil to rear its
ugly head when he permits. And he has all the preparations and solutions in place to deal with
the consequences. God’s providence is much more far-reaching than we think. Much longer in
duration, with cascading events stretching from the ancient past into the distant future. Much
broader in scope, encompassing the most minute details of people’s daily lives to the most earth-
shaking of world events.
Don’t we see that in our own lives as well? We anticipate and plan all we want, to the best of our
ability. And we still end up in certain places and doing certain things for reasons that have
nothing to do with what we planned, for purposes only God foresaw.
We went through a difficult season in our lives when my wife Faith was caring for her elderly
mother who had dementia. It was especially difficult because her mother would only listen to
Faith and her brother. Those were her only two children. But Faith’s brother lived more than an
hour away and provided only limited occasional assistance. The burden was so heavy on Faith,
we decided to move our family from the East Bay of the San Francisco to San Jose, close to
Faith’s brother, so that he can be more involved in their mother’s care.
Well, it turns out, even after we moved close by, Faith’s brother did not ramp up his participation
in caring for their mother. However, at the same time, my parents were experiencing some family
troubles in Taiwan. So they moved to the U.S. to be close to us. My parents were baby Christians
at that point, and we had been praying for their spiritual growth for many years. While we were
in San Jose, I took them to a Taiwanese church there. At this church, my father ran into his co-
worker from 60 years ago. They were so happy to see each other. And the co-worker took my
parents to join his community group, where they met more people with past connections and
similar backgrounds. I went with them to this Taiwanese church for the two years we were in San
Jose. They attended worship and Sunday School and this vibrant fellowship every week with
their friends. They experienced deeper Christ-like love than ever before. My parents grew more
spiritually than at any other time in their lives. They still talk about what a wonderful time of
fellowship that was for them. We thank God so much for taking us to San Jose, even though our
original purpose was never realized.
Faith and I talk about such past episode in our lives and we just have to laugh. We think we know
why we are taking a certain job or moving to a certain place or making a certain decision. But we
don’t really know. We have our reasoning and then God has his own purposes. We know so little
and have such limited control. God knows all things and has all control. He uses our reasoning to
put us in the place where he wants us to be. He is the one playing four-dimensional chess, fitting
in all the different pieces of the puzzle, setting up all the cascading events, affecting all the
people’s lives in a grand plan we can barely imagine.
All God asks is that we are open to following his guidance, that we are willing to trust his
wisdom, that we are available when he calls. Notice how God used Esther and Mordecai. Esther
was willing to risk her own safety. “And if I perish I perish,” she said (4:16). Mordecai sought
the good of God’s people (10:3). In his orchestrating of events, God uses people who are willing
to follow him, people who are selfless and loving, the type of people God called us to be. Just as
Esther and Mordecai were part of the plan, we too are part of the plan. We are tools God utilizes
in the exercise of his providence. We are pieces of the puzzle that God uses to fit together
salvation history.
And not only that, God does not leave us in the dark regarding how this story will go. Even as we
see how salvation history has unfolded in the past, even as us we participate in the unveiling of
the salvation story today, God provides us with glimpses of what is to come.
Let’s look at this in the following verses of our passage.
Promise
Read Esther 9:5–6 5 Thus the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and
destroying; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 At the citadel in Susa the
Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men,
At this point King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther what else she wished for. Esther asked that the
Jews be allowed to kill their enemies in Susa an additional day and that the ten sons of Haman,
who have been killed by the Jews, be hanged on the gallows.
Read Esther 9:15–16 15 The Jews who were in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the
month Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa, but they did not lay their hands on the
plunder. 16 Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces assembled, to defend their
lives and rid themselves of their enemies, and kill 75,000 of those who hated them; but they did
not lay their hands on the plunder.
Imagine yourself to be a Jew in ancient Israel. What would be going through your mind when
you read this passage from Esther? Would you be glad because the story has a happy ending for
the Jews? Would you be proud because the Jews triumphed over their enemies? Throughout
history, the Esther story has had a tremendous impact on the Jewish people. It does much more
than just stir emotions of gladness and pride. Jews see Esther as source of divine hope, evidence
of divine promise.
You see, the faith shaped by the Old Testament is a historical faith, in the sense that God is
revealed through events in history. He makes himself know through his actions throughout the
ages. Faithful Israelites are convinced that God is an unchanging God, a dependable God. Who
he was in the past is who he is presently and who he will be in the future. How he acted
yesterday is how he is acting today and how he will act tomorrow.
The Jewish race has faced brutality and massacre numerous times throughout history, including
under Roman rule, in the time of the Crusades and during the Holocaust. At times of intense
persecution, faithful Israelites have grasped on to the Book of Esther as a beacon of hope, as a
promise from God. They trusted that God who delivered the Jewish people from being wiped out
during the time of Queen Esther, is the same God who will deliver his people again and again.
As Christians, this should also be our view of God. This should also be our perspective on
history. History is not a collection of random occurrences. History is planned and guided by God.
Through his shaping of past history, God reveals his intentions for the future. Salvation history
follows a divinely-planned, humanly-discernible story arc. Past events pointing forward to future
ones. Past episodes reveal how God worked and shows us how God will work again. Because the
Esther story exemplified how God worked in the past, it becomes a promise of how he will
continue to work in the future.
In Matthew 5:17 Jesus said that he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. What does that
mean? People will say that the Old Testament contains many prophecies about the coming
Messiah, and Jesus came to fulfill those messianic prophecies. Completely true. But Jesus is
proclaiming much more than that.
During Jesus’s time, the Law and the Prophets refers to the whole Bible. That’s a common
rhetorical device in Hebrew, listing the two ends to signify the whole. Day and night mean all the
time. Young and old mean everyone. Sitting down and rising up mean all activities. Law and
Prophets mean the entire Bible, which at Jesus’ time was the OT. Messianic prophecies, though
there are many, make up only a small percentage of the OT. Fulfillment is much more than
fulfilling explicit prophecy. In fact, if we look at the fulfillment statements regarding Jesus in the
gospel of Matthew, less than a third refer to fulfillment of messianic prophecy. Jesus doesn’t just
fulfill the messianic prophecies, he fulfills the entire OT. But how does Jesus fulfill portions of
the Bible like Esther?
Think of the Esther story in broad terms. Evil enemies plot the destruction of God’s people. God
works through his people to shape events. As a result, good triumphs over evil, the people of
God are delivered, the enemies of God are punished. This is another one of the deliverance
stories we see repeatedly throughout history. This is a recurring theme of the biblical narrative.
This is the central point of the salvation story.
Not only that, these stories of deliverance are God’s promise of what is to come. In a sense, not
only prophetic utterances, but also salvation history is prophecy. God’s past dealings with his
people, God’s past acts of deliverance, prophetically point forward to Jesus. Who is the final
deliverer who will fulfill all the nurtured anticipation from the past salvation events. Jesus fulfills
the Esther story by ultimately saving all of God people and punishing all of God’s enemies. Jesus
is the final fulfillment of the entire Bible, including the Book of Esther.
This brings up another point we do not want to gloss over. Notice the amount of violence
described in these passages. The Jews kill tens of thousands of their enemies. The ten sons of
Haman were hanged on the gallows. Scholars bring up some mitigating circumstances. Such
violence was more common in ancient times. The Jews were defending themselves against those
who wished to wipe them out. Only fighting men were killed and not women and children. They
did not lay their hands on the plunder. Killing the sons of Haman prevented future revenge.
Hanging them on the gallows reverses what Haman intended to do and publicly discourages
future massacre of Jews. These statements are valid, but they do not dispel the violent nature of
this account.
Yet the judgment of the enemies of the Jews is not something we want to brush aside. Because
that too point to the culmination of salvation history. When Christ returns, the judgment of God
will be poured out upon his enemies. Those who opposed God, those who persecuted his people,
will be subjected to the wrath of God, which will indeed be terrifying. The harm that people
intended, the violence that people committed, will be returned upon themselves. The day of
Christ’s coming will be an appalling day for those who oppose him.
The antidote to this dread is not in hoping that God will forego judgment or that God will
overlook evil. Instead, it is to accept Christ’s offer of salvation. The last sentence in the previous
chapter said, “And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews
had fallen on them.” That statement also points to the greater salvation story. Fear for the wrath
of God will cause many to join the people of God. Our role in salvation history includes
facilitating and welcoming those who turn to Christ. So that they can join us in what comes next.
Which we can read about as we continue in our passage.
Celebration
Read Esther 9:20–22 20 Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews
who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 obliging them to celebrate
the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually, 22
because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was
turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should
make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to
the poor.
And then skipping down to verse 28.
Read Esther 9:28–31 28 So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every
generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of Purim were not to fail
from among the Jews, or their memory fade from their descendants. 29 Then Queen Esther,
daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second
letter about Purim. 30 He sent letters to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of
Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth, 31 to establish these days of Purim at their
appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just
as they had established for themselves and for their descendants with instructions for their times
of fasting and their lamentations.
After their deliverance, the Jews spontaneously celebrated throughout the land. Then Esther and
Mordecai made the day an official day of annual celebration for the Jews, naming the holiday
Purim. So that the miraculous provision and deliverance would not be forgotten among the
people. So that the memory of the event would not fade through the generations. Notice some
things regarding this holiday.
First, the feast is to be preceded by fasting and lamentations (9:31). Remember while their doom
seemed certain? Esther asked the Jewish people to fast with her before she went to plead with the
king. Jews fast during difficulties as they plead with God, physically experiencing through
fasting their dependence of God.
They are now instructed to fast annually at the feast of Purim. So that they may identify with the
people of Esther’s generation. So that they may remember the extreme crisis, when their race
faced extinction. So that they may properly rejoice for their deliverance.
Also notice the communal nature of the holiday. They are to send portions of food to one another
and gifts to the poor (9:22). As a people their annihilation was commanded. As a people they
came together to triumph over their enemies. As a people they were delivered from destruction.
Because they were saved as a community, they would celebrate as a community. They are to
share food with each other. And they are to make sure that none of the poor in the community is
left out of the rejoicing. This became a feast that further united the Jew, as they rejoice together
for the salvation of their people.
Finally, notice the emphasis on rejoicing. Sorrow turned into gladness and mourning turned into
a holiday. Because the sorrow was so deep, because the mourning was so distressing, the
reciprocal gladness was so joyful and the celebration so jubilant. The complete turnaround from
one emotional extreme to another made the holiday especially memorable.
Purim continues to be celebrated annually among the Jews today. The Sabbath preceding Purim
is called Shabbot Zachor, the Sabbath of remembrance. The Jews remember the threats of their
enemies against their people. And then the 13 th of the month, is a solemn day of fasting. That
evening, praises are lifted up to God, thanking him for his miraculous deliverance. The
concluding praise goes like this:
Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe, who has contended for us and
defended our cause,
Avenging us by bringing retribution on all our mortal enemies and delivering us from our
adversaries.
Blessed are You, Lord, who delivers His people from all their adversaries—God who
saves.
After that the entire book of Esther is read out loud.
The next day, the morning of Purim, the community gathers at the synagogue. The Book of
Esther is read again. But now, the spirit is festive. Children dress up as characters and act out the
scenes of the book. There is telling of jokes and singing of songs. Whenever the name Haman is
mentioned, children make loud noises with home-made shakers. Gifts of food are sent to friends
and family. Donations are given to the poor. At the end of the day, Jewish families gather and
have dinner together. Just as Esther and Mordecai intended, there is remembrance, there is
fasting, there is community, there is sharing, there is rejoicing, and there is celebration. Purim
has become one of the most joyful holidays on the Jewish calendar.
I think there is something we can learn from the Book of Esther and the celebrations of Purim.
Like the Jews of Esther’s time, we too were going down a path towards destruction. We were
headed towards eternal suffering and death. Then God turned it to the contrary, orchestrating a
dramatic turnaround that took us from death to life. It was not just an individualistic deliverance.
We are part of a greater community, the most significant community in all human history. We are
the gathering of God’s people. We have been saved through the crucifixion and resurrection of
Jesus. We will be raised to reign with Christ in his coming kingdom.
We have tremendous reasons to celebrate. The Christian life is about more than repentance and
obedience, it is also about celebration and rejoicing. Through the work of Jesus, our death has
turned into life, our sorrows have turned into gladness. Every Sunday we gather here, should be a
day of remembrance of the sorry state we were in and the wonderful deliverance we experienced
through Jesus. It should be a time to share and to fellowship with our people, with whom we are
united in this salvation story, journeying together to the heavenly kingdom. It should be a time of
immense rejoicing, because our salvation, individually and corporately, is the greatest thing that
can ever happen to any of us.
I have mentioned before, we have our good friends from Hawaii. Their son is a huge Golden
State Warriors fan. When he was in middle school, his family came to visit us while we lived in
the San Francisco area. We took Caleb to his first Warriors game. And he got the whole
experience. We arrived early so Caleb can watch Steph Curry warm up, taking his last shot all
the way from the tunnel to the locker room. That was followed by the exciting team introduction
calling out Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and Steph Curry. And the games very close. It
went back and forth until the third quarter when Klay Thompson and Steph Curry both got hot
and started raining in three pointers. The stadium went wild and people were all standing and
cheering as loud as they could. Caleb was so happy, he was jumping up and down. He turned to
his parents and said, “These are my people!”
We can really sense Caleb’s heightened emotions and close identification with the crowd, united
in this overflowing gladness. And that’s just winning a basketball game! We, on the other hand,
are members of the greatest team in the history of mankind! Led by the greatest leader ever.
Achieving one miraculous comeback after another. On our way to winning the battle for the
entire universe! When together, we sing praises to our king. Why aren’t we jumping up and
down? Why aren’t we exclaiming, “This is my God and These are my people!”
Do you know why celebrating is important? Because like the feast of Purim, our Sunday worship
is part of the salvation story. The God who inspired celebration in Esther’s timed, is the God who
inspires celebration in us today. He is also the God who will bring about the final celebration
when Christ returns. Both Esther’s feast and the Sunday service of North Village Church are
prophetic events pointing forward to the ultimate holiday, the promise of God that there will be a
greater celebration. The imagery of a wedding banquet is used in the Bible to describe the final
union of Jesus and his people. Revelations 19:9 says, “Blessed are those who are invited to the
marriage supper of the Lamb.’ Our worship service anticipates and reminds us of that event.
That’s going to be one grand party none of us are going to want to miss.
Conclusion
We know that as Christians, we don’t always live with a joyful outlook. I remember a time in my
life, ten years after I accepted Christ. I had just finished my schooling. I did not have a job. I was
thinking of starting a business, doing research day after day and not getting anywhere. I began to
have internal struggles and anxieties. My wife calls it my fear of mediocrity. I have this fear that
I am going to live a mediocre life. Just going day to day with little purpose or aim, experiencing
no progress or advancement, not accomplishing anything significant, living a dead-end type of
life. This is a sense of doubt that I have struggled with more than once in my life.
But you know, it is an irrational fear, an erroneous perspective. I had bought into the
individualistic outlook of our culture, that it is my responsibility to make something out of my
own life, that it is up to me to carve out my own path, seek my own purpose. But that is a lie.
Because our life is not up to us, our future is not determined by our actions. And we are not an
individual person standing alone in the world, doing our own thing in life.
Rather, as followers of Christ, we are part of a community, we are members of the people of
God. And because of that, we are active participant in the implementation of God’s grand plan
for this world. Our lives have aim and purpose because God has prepared key roles for us to play
in his salvation story. God is actively directing the advancement of human history toward a
predetermined end. And as the people of God, we play central roles in that process. God is
putting us in certain situations at certain places at certain times, so like Mordecai and Esther, we
can do the work he assigned for us in such a time as he had determined. We are part of a well-
coordinated team, propelling unstoppably toward the final victory.
That is why there are no dead ends in the life of any Christian. Because we are all advancing
together, forging ahead as a people, working side-by-side, to accomplish the salvation story of
our time, to progress toward the completion of God’s salvation history. When God’s guiding
hand in every event will be evident to all. When Jesus will fulfill all the salvation stories that
point forward to him. When Christ will rule as king and all his people will be delivered and all
his enemies will be vanquished. When there will be a tremendous celebration like the world has
never seen.
As the people of God, that’s the future we are all headed for! There is no dead-end for any of us.
Let Us Pray.
North Village Church
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