1. "The siren call of this world is to assimilate with the world. And Satan cares very little whether he gets you there with a carrot or a stick."

2. "We're right to be offended by this. But I would point out, especially for those who are new to the Bible, that you are not so much offended in this passage by the God of the Bible. You are offended because of the God of the Bible."

3. "The Persian king of half the world used his power to serve only himself. The King of kings of all the universe says he came not to be served but to serve, to give his life as a ransom for many."

4. "The Persian king beautifies his harem by taking that he might boast in his splendor. But Jesus beautifies his bride, the Church, by giving that we might share in his splendor."

5. "Just think what aspects of this world are most enticing to you. Is it money or pleasure? Reputation? Time to yourself? Ease. Then give it away. Embrace the protective power of generosity."

6. "In a religion of grace, our cardinal virtues are not perfection and precision. They are repentance and faith."

7. "Here in Esther 2, God is moving all the pieces into position before his people's peril has ever begun. He's ready to say checkmate. The game hasn't even started yet."

8. "When someone is suffering and you ask them, what's God doing through this? I can almost guarantee you that is an impossible question to answer. Be careful that you are not trying yourself to untangle a knot that God intends to leave for later."

9. "God's providence is your ticket out of bitterness. Bitterness is the corrosive residue left behind when justice is denied. And if you are to escape bitterness, you must entrust to God not only that injustice, but also the consequences of injustice."

10. "Just as a pilot learns to fly with his controls in the daytime so he's ready to fly with limited sight at night, we also must learn to walk by faith so that we are ready when Providence is hard to understand."

Observation Questions

1. According to Esther 1:3-4, what was the purpose of King Ahasuerus's feast, and how long did he display "the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness"?

2. In Esther 1:10-12, what did King Ahasuerus command Queen Vashti to do, and how did she respond to this command?

3. What advice did Memucan give the king regarding Vashti in Esther 1:16-20, and what was his stated concern about the consequences of her actions?

4. According to Esther 2:5-7, what details are we given about Mordecai's background and his relationship to Esther (Hadassah)?

5. In Esther 2:10 and 2:20, what specific instruction did Mordecai give Esther, and how did she respond to this command?

6. What happened in Esther 2:21-23 involving Bigthan and Teresh, and how was this information communicated to the king?

Interpretation Questions

1. The sermon notes that Esther is the only book in the Bible that never mentions God by name. How does this literary feature shape the way we are meant to understand God's activity throughout the narrative, and what does this teach us about recognizing God's work in our own lives?

2. The sermon describes the world of Persia as "enticing," "dangerous," and "laughably empty." How do the details of Esther 1—the lavish feast, Vashti's treatment, and the panicked response of the king's advisors—support each of these three characterizations?

3. Why is it significant that both Mordecai (named after the Persian god Marduk) and Esther (who hides her Jewish identity and eats the king's food) appear as compromised figures rather than morally perfect heroes? What does this reveal about how God works through His people?

4. How does the contrast between King Ahasuerus—who is controlled by wine, wrath, and advisors—and Jesus Christ, who came "not to be served but to serve," help us understand the difference between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of God?

5. The sermon emphasizes that by the end of Esther 2, God has already positioned Esther in the palace and Mordecai in the king's debt before any crisis has emerged. What does this "checkmate before the game starts" pattern teach us about the doctrine of providence and God's timing?

Application Questions

1. The sermon warns that this congregation may be "unusually prone to the enticements of this world" due to education, career success, and meaningful work. What specific aspects of your life or career currently feel most enticing in ways that could compromise your faithfulness to Christ, and what would it look like to "embrace the protective power of generosity" in that area?

2. When was the last time someone lovingly warned you about a direction your heart was taking toward worldliness? What steps could you take this week to invite that kind of honest exhortation from a trusted friend or small group member?

3. The sermon suggests asking older believers what once seemed alluring to them that they now see for what it really is. Who is one person you could have this conversation with, and what question would you ask them about the world's broken promises?

4. Esther and Mordecai are presented as compromised people whom God still used. How does this reality free you from the pressure to appear spiritually perfect, and what is one area of weakness or compromise you need to bring before God in repentance rather than hide from others?

5. The sermon states that God's providence is "your ticket out of fear, grumbling, and bitterness." Which of these three struggles is most present in your life right now, and how would trusting that God is working all things for good according to His purposes change how you respond to your current circumstances this week?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Daniel 1:1-21 — This passage provides a direct contrast to Esther's response, showing Daniel's bold refusal of the king's food, which the sermon explicitly compares to Esther's silence about her identity.

2. Romans 8:28-39 — This passage articulates the doctrine of providence that undergirds the entire book of Esther, assuring believers that God works all things for good and that nothing can separate us from His love.

3. Genesis 50:15-21 — Joseph's declaration that "you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" is cited in the sermon as a theme statement for Esther, illustrating how God sovereignly uses even human sin for His purposes.

4. 1 Peter 2:9-17 — This passage addresses Christians as exiles and sojourners, connecting to the sermon's point that believers today, like the Jews in Persia, must live faithfully in a world that both threatens and entices.

5. Mark 10:35-45 — This passage contains Jesus's teaching that He came not to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom, which the sermon uses to contrast the kingdom of Christ with the self-serving kingdom of Persia.

Sermon Main Topics

I. The Story of Ahmed: When the World Pulls Against Faith

II. Introduction to the Book of Esther: Context, Genre, and Jewishness

III. The Nature of Our World Should Caution Us

IV. Our Understanding of Our Own Nature Should Chasten Us

V. The Nature of Our God Should Comfort Us

VI. Trusting God's Providence When His Hand Is Hidden

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Detailed Sermon Outline

When Joan and I were in Afghanistan a few years ago, we met a man named Ahmed. Ahmed was a Christian, but we didn't know that. In fact, almost no one knew that. He had become a Christian secretly and for very understandable reasons in a place like Afghanistan, which must be one of the most dangerous places for a follower of Jesus. His faith stayed secret.

Ahmed was engaged to be married, and as was typical in his culture, he and his betrothed had never met. But he felt that surely she should know what he believed, because it's something that could potentially get him killed. And so one night he snuck out, found her, told her that he was a Christian, and amazingly, she said that was okay.

So Ahmed's secret stayed safe until one day unbeknownst to Ahmed, his cell phone pocket dialed his father while Ahmed was praying out loud in the name of Jesus.

When Ahmed finished praying, he looked down at his phone and realized with horror what had happened. And he heard his dad speak. And his dad asked a very simple question, Ahmed, are you a Christian?

What would you have felt in that moment?

With your life potentially on the line, what would you have done in that moment?

Well, in God's kindness, Amek confessed his faith in Jesus to his father, and in God's kindness, things turned out better than he feared. But just think for a moment of that decision he faced with everything he knew in the world pulling in one direction and Jesus in the other.

Friends, this world can be a dangerous place for disciples of Jesus. It is dangerous for some like Amah because it threatens. It's also dangerous because for others it entices. Don't think for a moment that we are beyond being threatened and enticed all at the same time. After all, the siren call of this world is to assimilate with the world and Satan cares very little whether he gets you there with a carrot or a stick.

So, just picture for a moment a time when the world has felt threatening for your faith. Maybe a certain friend or family member is about to discover what you really believe about Jesus or what you really believe about gender or what have you.

And picture a moment when the world entices. Maybe something wonderful is just within your grasp. But at a small cost to your faithfulness to Christ. When you feel the pull of this world, where do you turn? That's the question that brings us this morning into the book of Esther, where we'll spend the next five Sundays.

You can find the book of Esther on page 410 of the red pew Bibles around you, just before the much longer books of Psalms and Proverbs. So go ahead and open up there now. You'll find it helpful to read along. Let me just, before we get into the text, give you some introductory comments to Esther. First is some context.

The book of Esther takes place at the end of Old Testament history. God's people have gone into exile in Babylon because of their sin against God. Seventy years later, Persia has conquered Babylon and the Persian king Cyrus decrees the Jews could return to Jerusalem. Well, another 50 years have passed and a man named King Xerxes is on the Persian throne or as most of you will see in your Bibles, King Ahasuerus. Which is the Hebrew form of the same name.

Well, by now, many Jews, about 50,000 we think, have returned to Jerusalem, but most of them have actually decided to stay in Persia. They had been told by the prophet Jeremiah to put down roots in exile, and they had done that exceedingly well, and they were very happy to stay. And so it is to those Jews that the book of Esther is most immediately written. Jews who were quite comfortable in Persia, Jews who would have found the kingdom of this world both threatening and enticing. Second comment is about genre.

Esther is history. After all, its most immediate purpose, we discover later in the book, was to explain the origin of a new festival of Purim, something it could not do if it were not real history. But Esther is also a story. It is tightly crafted elegantly told, colorfully styled. It makes for wonderfully riveting reading.

And so as we read, let's enjoy the beauty of the story that God has crafted. And one final note is about the book's evident Jewishness. There's a reason why the Nazis banned the reading of Esther in its concentration camps because there are very clear parallels between this book and the many attempts over time to exterminate the Jewish people. And I will say that the predictive power of Esther has been impressive over the millennia. And yet, the line of continuity in Scripture between us and them is not between biblical Israel and modern Israel, but between Israel, the old covenant people of God, and what the New Testament calls the Israel of God, the church.

That, after all, has been one of the main points we've seen these last few weeks in Romans chapter 4, the children of Abraham today are not those of Abraham's flesh, but those of Abraham's faith. So for the Christian, we read the Book of Esther not politically, but theologically. And with all that as preface, let's get into our text. Esther 1:1. Now in the days of Ahazuerus, the Ahazuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, in those days, when King Ahazuerus who sat on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel, in the third year of his reign, he gave a feast for all his officials and servants.

The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days. And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa, the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace.

There were white cotton curtains, and violet hangings fastened by cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of papyrus, marble, mother of pearl, and precious stones. Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king, and drinking was according to this edict. There is no compulsion. For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired. Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus.

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigthana, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the people and the princess her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command delivered by the eunuchs. At this, the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him. Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times, for this was the king's procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, the man next to him being Karshina, Shathar, Admatha, Tarshish, Merezh, Marcina, and Memukan, the seven princes of Persia and Media who saw the king's face and sat first in the kingdom. According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti?

Because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs. The Memukan said in the presence of the king and the officials, Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, for the queen's behavior will be known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, King Ahasuerus commanding Queen Vashti to be brought before him and she did not come. This very day, the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's behavior will say the same to all the king's officials and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike, This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed.

He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people.

After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti. And what she had done, and what had been decreed against her. Then the king's young men who attended him said, Let beautiful virgins be sought out for the king. And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel under custody of Haggai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them, and let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.

This pleased the king, and he did so.

Now, there was a Jew in Susa, the citadel, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjamite, who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther. The daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at. And when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

So when the king's order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Haggai, Esther also was taken into the king's palace and put in custody of Haggai who had charge of the women. And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food and with seven chosen young women from the king's palace and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem. Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.

Now, when the turn came for each young woman to go into King Ahasuerus, after being 12 months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women, when the young woman went into the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the palace. In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem. In custody of Shashgaz, the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go into the king again unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

When the turn came for Esther, the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter to go into the king, she asked for nothing except what Haggai, the king's eunuch who had charge of the women, advised.

Now, Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus into his royal palace in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins. So that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants. It was Esther's feast.

He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity.

Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, big thing in Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the threshold became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows, and it was recorded in the book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king.

These first chapters of the book of Esther introduce a world that is both threatening and and enticing, just like ours. So when you feel the pull of the world, what do you do? These chapters, I think, give us three potential answers to that question, which are my three points for the rest of the sermon. First, as we consider the pull of this world, the nature of that world should caution us. Second, our understanding of our own nature should chasten us, and third, the nature of our God should comfort us.

The nature of our world should caution us. The understanding of our own nature should chasten us, and third, the nature of our God should comfort us. So let's begin first with what this passage tells us about our world. When we're tempted to respond to the pull of this world by becoming like this world, the nature of our world should caution us. Now, the simple statement that this passage says anything about our world is a noteworthy claim.

After all, why should we expect that an event in fifth century BC Persia would have any bearing on 21st century AD America? What's more, in most of the Scriptures, we see God act and then we hear Him interpret His actions. But in Esther, we only get the facts, which can make Esther somewhat frustrating to read because it leaves so many questions unanswered. So how do we apply a book like this? We start with what these chapters meant for its original audience, the Jews living in exile who were tempted to turn to the world of Persia for protection and pleasure.

And then having done that, we explore the veins of continuity that run between that audience and ourselves, this side of the cross of Christ. Not just casual similarities, but themes that unite them and us, patterns of how God worked then that he continues to today through Christ. First Peter says that we also are in exile. We also are tempted to conform to our world. We also need a Savior just like them.

It's along those veins of continuity that we can take what God originally taught them through the book of Esther and learn for ourselves. So in that regard, there are three aspects of our world we see in Esther's description of its world that are notable. First, it's enticing. Second, it's dangerous. But third, it is laughably empty.

First, it's enticing, very simply, that language is all over Esther chapter 1, from the glittery descriptions of the party decorations to that glowing language about the king's generosity to the size of the empire stretching from India to Ethiopia, we read in verse 2, which would at that time have been roughly half the world's population under the rule of one man. It's almost like we're reading a tabloid's breathless description of the latest after party after the Emmys. And it was designed to be enticing. What's going on here is a six-month party that was King Ahasuerus' charm offensive. He was seeking to convince the nobles and provinces, nobles of the provinces, that he had the strength and wealth to go conquer Greece because he wanted them to join him.

And of course, our world also works just as hard to make itself enticing. But that enticement we very quickly see as we look here at Esther chapter 1 is only skin deep because the second thing we learn about our world from this passage is that it is dangerous. I don't think it takes our modern me-too glasses to see the horror of all that is going on under the glitzy lights of these banquets.

We don't know what Vashti's reason was for refusing the king's command, but for her, the consequences were sudden and drastic. The kingdoms of our world are dangerous for any who would stand in their way. And this was a dangerous world for Esther also. Some Christian portrayals of Esther have glamorized what happens in this palace, but I think this is far more game of thrones than it is the prince's bride. But the most beautiful young woman in the kingdom taken, we don't know how voluntarily, for one night with one powerful man.

And based on her performance, that one evening, chapter 2, verse 14, tells us, one becomes a queen while the rest live out their days in suffocating, luxurious harem isolation. As I've read through this passage again and again this last week, I've been struck with how much it emphasizes the objectification of these women. From emphasizing that they are to be looked at in chapter 1 verse 11 and 2 verse 7 to all the passive verbs used to describe Esther, she's taken into the palace, verse 8, taken to the king, verse 16. Again, I don't think we're guilty of reading modern sensibilities back into this text to feel the author's disgust at what's happening.

So what do you do with that feeling of disgust you have as you read this?

Well, you can have a self-righteous disgust, or you can have a reflective disgust. I wonder in what way we ourselves have allied ourselves with the oppression of this world.

We're right to be offended by this. But I would point out, especially for those who are new to the Bible, that you are not so much offended in this passage by the God of the Bible, you are offended because of the God of the Bible. Right? No one in ancient Persia or pretty much anywhere else in the ancient world would have seen anything wrong with what's going on here.

Persia treated sexuality as the property of power.

If your worldview is rooted in survival of the fittest or a merit-based reincarnation or in rational egoism, you will struggle to find any rationale for why any of this is wrong. That's why it's the Bible historically that has given us as a society, the idea that all men or women are created equal because it roots our value in being made in God's image. And we are all inheritors of the wealth of that moral framework. But lest we be guilty of chronological snobbery, we should ask ourselves whether our modern society really has done much better than Persia. We've taken that same objectification and amplified it a thousand times through the wonders of digital technology.

Our society treats consent as a magic hear-all for all sexual evils, only to discover how vacuous consent culture becomes when one party is vulnerable. If you really want to protect consent, what about taking vows in front of God, friends and family once for life?

I don't want to minimize the progress our society has made for the rights of women, but if for a moment we look at an account like this, and we saw at relief about how we've solved all these problems, we are painfully out of touch. Persian misogyny may have been enshrined in law, ours is perpetuated through mass culture. Both enforce the myth that this is the way things must be.

Men, I wonder if you've ever considered how much Esther 1 and 2 may resonate with the experience of the women sitting around you.

And so the author of Esther says to his contemporaries, oh, you want to love the world? Really? Is it a world you in fact want to love? Consider all the celebrities we watch slowly deconstruct under the glare of lights and cameras.

This world is dangerous. Don't for a moment buy into the lie that this world can give you hope. Beyond that, it is enticing, it is dangerous, it is also laughably empty. This emperor has no clothes. Right?

Ahasuerus is a king controlled by his wine, chapter 1, verse 10, controlled by his wrath, verse 12, controlled by his wise men, verse 21. I smell a tinge of regret in the statement of chapter 2, verse 1, that the king remembered Vashti. But what happened to her wasn't entirely his decision, was it? In fact, in the book of Esther, this supposedly all-powerful monarch seems to be incapable of making his own decisions. And his so-called wise men are really no better.

Right? Do you hear the panic in their voices when Vashti refuses the king's command? Verses 17 and 18 of chapter 1 border on hysteria, right? They say, this very day the noble women of Persia and Media will say the same to all the king's officials and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. What are these men like that they feel their wives would be so quick to disrespect them?

And even more so in verse 20, that they would seek to legislate respect.

But respect for a husband may be commanded by God in Ephesians chapter 5, but a husband should never demand it. What's more, the advice these princes give is so ironic in its foolishness.

Right? What they prohibit Vashti from doing, verse 19, is precisely what she refused to do in the first place. And if their worry is that word of Vashti's disobedience will get around, well, by verse 22, they are proclaiming it to half the world's population. Right? Just like Esther's world, our world is also making promises it can never fulfill.

It's so-called glamour, is also laughably empty. Before I became a pastor 15 years ago, I worked in business, and due to the nature of my work, I often had dinner with very senior executives at very large companies. And I remember one such dinner with a group of industry titans, and one of them asked if he could test a pet theory with the others at the table. He asked, How many of you are the oldest child of divorced parents?

And most hands went up. He said, Right. We've succeeded so much because we are always striving, never satisfied, always assuming if we were better, mom and dad would have stayed.

Such an honest confession, so bracing, and I would say, so empty. Is that what success is made of in this world? Certainly casts a new light on C-suite glitz.

So yes, this world is enticing, but it's dangerous. And it's laughably empty. It promises everything, it delivers only heartache. And that should caution us.

Just one more compromise it says.

And then you can have all you want. Why would you ever want to give your hope to something like this? The world is passing away, 1 John 217 says, along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

And I would propose to you that the people in this room are unusually prone to the enticements of this world. If you're visiting with us, this is really my message for those who are part of this church. Our average age as a membership is 32 years old. That's young enough that many of us have not yet seen the world break its promises, but old enough that many of us have rounded the corner professionally and we have good hopes of success in the future. What's more, we are in an urban area, which means that you are an unusually educated and gifted congregation.

Which means many of you are unusually capable of being taken in with what the world has to offer.

Many of you work for a cause you really believe in, which is itself a temptation and a blessing. After all, worldliness is a far greater temptation if your job is something that you think might legitimately change the world. Half of you are unmarried, which means you have the time to devote yourself both to career and to church, which might mislead you into thinking that you have successfully served two masters. And many of you are married with kids, and there is no stronger tie to this world than the tie we have to our children. So I would encourage you to not think about them as you read it.

Think about yourself. More than most readers of Esther, I think we most need to hear this warning against worldliness. Like Hadassah or Esther, the girl of two names, we also have two competing identities: children of God, children of this world. So how can we be in this world but not of this world? Let me give you three very brief ideas.

First, we can create a culture of care in this church where we lovingly and graciously exhort one another when we see signs in each other that we are buying into the false promises of this world. When was the last time someone took the care to warn you about the direction of your heart. Second, we can share with each other the broken promises we've experienced in the world. So teens, if you're still awake this afternoon, ask your parents what in this world was once alluring to them that they now see for what it really is. That's a service they can do to you.

And third, embrace the protective power of generosity. Just think what aspects of this world are most enticing to you. Is it money or pleasure, reputation, time to yourself, ease?

Then give it away. You may not have thought about being generous with things like ease or time, but you can do that. Embrace the protective power of generosity.

My friends, let's just pause for a moment to note how different the kingdom of Jesus Christ is from this kingdom in Esther. The Persian king of half the world used his power to serve only himself. The king of kings of all the universe says he came not to be served but to serve. To give his life as a ransom for many? The Persian king beautifies his harem by taking, that he might boast in his splendor, chapter 2, but Jesus beautifies his bride, the church, by giving, that we might share in his splendor.

Thanks to Ryan Korear for that observation. The Persian king tried to be wise and failed miserably. King Jesus takes what this world dismisses as foolishness, a savior on a cross, and shames the wise with his wisdom. Oh, may these opening chapters of Esther help us appreciate the glorious king we serve. And may we rejoice that the voice of Revelation 11:15 will one day cry out, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever.

And ever without end, come Lord Jesus, be our King.

So when it feels burdensome to follow Christ, when the world threatens or entices and you are threatened, at least in part, to become a little bit more like the world, be very careful what you wish for.

Don't be like the spoiled child who runs away from a loving mom and dad only to discover what this world really is. We should not seek salvation in this world. But point two, the second thing we see in these chapters in Esther, we should not seek salvation ourselves either. Because who we really are should chasten us, should we think that we have the ability to stand up to this world. That's what brings us to Mordecai and Esther in chapter 2.

We're introduced to Mordecai in chapter 2, verse 5, with what for the original readers of Esther would have been startling words: Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjamite. So a few things to note here. The first is the name Mordecai. Mordecai is named after the Persian god Marduk.

So since the time of Esther, we've gotten used to thinking of Mordecai as a good Jewish name, but it certainly wasn't back then. And what's more, Mordecai is not in Jerusalem with Nehemiah and God's people. He's in Susa. And not just that, he's in Susa, the citadel, the seat of power. If Susa were Capitol Hill, the citadel of Susa would be like the Capitol Building.

And Mordecai, it turns out, is not just any ordinary Jew. He's descended from royalty. His ancestor is Kish, the father of King Saul, which is a detail you want to put in your pocket for next week where it will become very significant.

And what about Esther?

Well, with apologies for those of you who fell in love with Esther watching something like the VeggieTales version where Esther is about as holy and abstaining asparagus as you can imagine, Or maybe she's a leek.

Esther also is quite compromised. We read earlier in the service about the heroic stand that Daniel took risking his life to refuse the unclean food at the king's table that would have violated God's law, but we hear nothing about that from Esther. In fact, verse 9 points out, she's given the food of the court.

Instead, verse 10 tells us, repeated in verse 20 for emphasis, Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. And then there's this little bit about the marriage to the Gentile king. Almost exactly at the same time back in Jerusalem, Nehemiah is raging about Jewish men marrying Gentile women against God's law.

With the people in Jerusalem executing painful reforms to clean up their act, not an ethnic separation, a religious separation is going on, but Esther gives no hint of concern about what she is seeking to do. In fact, all this is so at odds, seemingly, with the idea of Esther as a hero, that some ancient translators of Esther added long paragraphs of additional material seeking to justify, or at least explain away, what Esther so clearly seems to be doing. Somehow they could not fathom the idea that the Lord would use, let alone bless, someone who was so evidently compromised.

And what about you? Do you also act as if God only blesses the righteous? Maybe you do that in how you deflect criticism or take pride in your spiritual resume. Maybe you do that by hiding your weakness and sins or by minimizing them when you talk with others.

Moms and dads among us, what can you do to strengthen a culture of grace as the dominant culture in your family?

Now, I'm sure there are a few Esther fans among you who are eager to jump to her defense. Right? What choice did she have? Did anyone dare refuse the king? Shouldn't we be blaming Mordecai, not Esther?

He's the one who told her to keep quiet about being a Jew. How can you be so confident you'd do any better, preacher? Well, absent some special grace of God, I am quite confident I would not do any better. And I think that's a significant point.

But we don't come to God because we're better than others. We don't come to God because we are moral upright people. In fact, if you think you are a moral upright person, Jesus says you should be afraid because you will not see your need for him. No, we are all sinners. We've all rebelled against our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, against our consciences, against his law, and that deserves death, hell, forever.

And the whole point of the scriptures is that God didn't leave us there. In his mercy, he sent his own son, Jesus Christ, God become man to live the life we were supposed to live of uprightness and perfection. And then died the death we were supposed to die on a Roman cross as a substitute for us so that we can be forgiven, so that we can have faith and repent, which is how we come to him.

If you think your hope is because you're a better person than other person, let me introduce you to the wonders of the Christian gospel. That we can be forgiven and united with God through our faith in him.

So when you feel the pull of worldliness, is your first reaction to tighten down in your self-control to reassure yourself that you're not the kind of person you would give in? Well, my friend, let Mordecai and Esther chasten that pride. In yourself, You do not have what it takes to stand up to this world. You might today, you might tomorrow, you do not have that for your life, let alone eternity. And there are ranks of former Christian leaders littered with examples of those who mistakenly thought they could do it.

As we're going to see next week, Esther and Mordecai are heroes, not because they were perfect, but because they were repentant. Which honestly makes them a lot more real as examples for us. So to the youth group who just spent a whole weekend studying Daniel, who I think is about as close to a perfect figure in the Old Testament as we can find, you might think about Esther as a Daniel for the rest of us. In a religion of grace, our cardinal virtues are not perfection and precision, they are repentance and faith.

So when you feel the pull of this world, when it threatens and entices, what are you going to do?

Don't look to the world. But don't look to yourself either because, like Esther and Mordecai, you also are weak and compromised. Instead, point three, look to our God who, though hidden, is always in control. And that is our great comfort. I think this is probably the least emphasized point in our text, at least to this point in Esther, but it's also the most important.

Right, as chapter two comes to a close, Esther is in the arms of the king and the king is in the debt of Mordecai, and if you know how the book of Esther proceeds, those are the two critical moves that will eventually work a marvelous deliverance of God's people and vindication of God's promises.

So here in Esther 2, God is moving all the pieces into position before his people's peril has ever begun. He's ready to say, Checkmate. The game hasn't even started yet. I wonder how often he's done that in your life in ways you will never understand over the course of your life.

It began with the drunken king's demand and Vashy's bold refusal, with admittedly foolish advice by the old men of the king's court, and admittedly self-serving advice by the young men of the king's chamber. With really unexplained favor, Esther receives from Haggai, sorry, Haggai, and from the king the unexplained opportunity that Mordecai received to listen in on the eunuch's plot?

Who was behind all that? God was. But we can't see it, can we? He's hidden. In fact, this idea of hiddenness really is a theme that runs all throughout Esther, Esther's hidden identity, Mordecai's hidden service to the king, Hamman's hidden plot we'll get to next week, Esther's hidden counterplot, and through all of that, underneath all of that, a hidden God who never takes his hands off the wheel.

After all, you may not realize, but Esther is the only book in the entire Bible that nowhere mentions God, not a single place, which I think is a shock and a surprise to some first-time readers.

But that's the genius of the book of Esther, because while the people of the Bible lived in a day where God explained his actions, we don't. We merely get the facts, and oftentimes not even that. In the book of Esther, we see God's covenant promises fulfilled not through miraculous intervention, as so often happens in Scripture, but through God's hidden providence, which is what we find in our own lives. And so Esther is teaching us in a very unique way in Scripture, when the hand of God seems hidden, how to trust his providence and understand his love without a pillar of cloud or a living prophet.

This is the teaching, the doctrine that Christians have generally referred to as the doctrine of providence. The doctrine that God upholds, directs, and governs all things from the least to the greatest according to the free counsel of his will to the praise of his glory. It's the promise that we read earlier in Romans 8:28, that he is working out all things.

All things for the good of those who love Him who have been called according to His purposes. So let me just give you a few guidelines for thinking through this doctrine of providence that really does undergird all of the Book of Esther and your own life. First, this is the truth that God is working out all things for good. But keep in mind how Romans 8:28 describes that good for those who have been called according to his purposes, not our purposes. Right?

Christians believe that God's good purposes are behind all things, but we leave the definition of good up to him. So yesterday, Joan and I took advantage of our kids all being on the youth retreat to go up to the Phillips Collection, and we sat in a room with four paintings by Mark Rothko.

And we complained to each other how low the bench was they had put in that room because we couldn't get a good view of the painting, so we stood instead. And as we're leaving, I noticed a little write-up on the wall that we hadn't noticed when we came in, that the artist had visited this gallery during the Kennedy inauguration, and he had made a number of changes to how the paintings were displayed, including placing the bench. So we went back in, trusting that the bench was good, instead of presuming it was a mistake, and lo behold, we found there were some aspects of the painting that really came to life when we sat down that we'd neglected to see before. The bench turned out to be good. In the same way, we must be careful never to impose our own definitions of good on the artist.

Second note about providence. The doctrine of providence maintains that God is in control of everything, even the evil that we see here in the book of Esther. But never in such a way that he is the author of evil or can be accused of evil as James 1:13 tells us, God in fact hates evil. Even the evil he puts to good purposes and how we reconcile those is shrouded in mystery. But there are so many religions like Buddhism that qualify and downplay evil to make it less than evil or a nihilistic view of life that cynically gives up on all hope that good will prevail.

Only the Bible gives a framework for upholding both of these things. The reality and evilness of evil and the certain triumph of good.

Third, God being in control of all things is entirely consistent, Scripture says, with human will and human responsibility. As Joseph famously said to his brothers in Genesis 50, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. I think that could really be the theme statement of these chapters in Esther.

How exactly do those fit together? I don't know, but we should never presume that we can squeeze an infinite God into the confines of human understanding. The Bible says both, so we believe both. And fourth, though we do trust God's purposes in providence, we should never assume that we will understand them this side of heaven. Note that here in Esther, God is moving all those pieces into place before the problem even exists.

So in our lives, right? So when someone is suffering and you ask them, what's God doing through this? I can almost guarantee you that is an impossible question to answer. I've even seen people try to manufacture an explanation for why God allowed bad things to happen. Like you pursue a career as a psychologist to give purpose to your struggles of mental illness, that's not entirely bad, but be careful that you are not trying yourself to untangle a knot that God intends to leave for later.

Remember that here in Esther, God's providence is at work again to solve a problem that doesn't yet exist. I remember a good example in my life of how to apply this idea of providence in a difficult situation. So the year before Joan and I were married, we went through a remarkably difficult season. And a good friend made a very simple observation. He said, this is really terrible.

God must be up to something really good. That's never left me. What a wonderful application of the providence of God that we see here in Esther.

When this world threatens and entices like it did God's people in the days of Esther, We are prone to fear, to grumbling, to bitterness, which is where we so need God's providence. Right? God's providence is your ticket out of fear. As you learn to trust that every situation is designed by Him for your good, you can look to the bottom of what you fear and say, I know that God will hold me there.

It's your ticket out of grumbling as you trust that even the limits that he has placed around you are built by his love. And God's providence is your ticket out of bitterness, right? Bitterness is the corrosive residue left behind when justice is denied. And if you were to escape bitterness, you must entrust to God not only that injustice but also the consequences of injustice, which is something that you can only ever hope to do as you trust in his providence. We learn from Esther that God is always at work even when we can't see his hand, which is something that gives us unspeakable comfort.

What peace, what joy, what strength. That is how we can love and keep on loving.

That is how we can pray God honoring prayers of confidence. This is how we can truly live. As the hymn we sang earlier puts it so eloquently, Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face.

My friends, there's no magic pill you can take to learn to trust God's providence. You simply ask for that faith like the man did in Mark chapter nine, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. You fill your mind and your life with God's word. Since Romans 10:17 you see on the front cover of your bulletin says, Faith comes by hearing. And you believe where you have faith because faith is like a muscle that grows as it's used.

It grows as you use it because God's promises never disappoint.

So when this world threatens and entices, when you feel the pull of this world, remember what God is doing here at the end of Esther 2. Trust his providence, that what he allows to happen as good is for your good and in that hope, press on with obedience, faith, and joy. And with that, we should conclude. In Matthew chapter 28, Jesus gives to us the Great Commission. To go, making disciples of all nations, teach them to obey everything he commanded us.

And he backs that with a magnificent promise. He says, Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. And then what does he do? Quite ironically, he leaves. He ascends to heaven.

He sends us his spirit. He gives us his word. But as for Jesus himself, our eyes have not seen him since.

And so since that time, Christians have lived in the world of Esther, following a God who is present and yet whose hand is hidden. And as Jesus promised, in this world we have had trouble. We contend against this world, the flesh and the devil, and at times those three press in so hard we feel the dam will break and all will be lost. So what do we do? Well, the Jews of Esther's day were also feeling the pull of the world.

They were tempted to become like the world, but Esther gives us a glimpse of that true world that should caution us. They were tempted to trust themselves, but Esther gives us a view of ourselves that should chasten us. Instead, we should remember the rest of Jesus' promise: In this world you will have trouble, but Take heart, I have overcome the world. Just as a pilot learns to fly with his controls in the daytime so he's ready to fly with limited sight at night, we also must learn to walk by faith so that we are ready when providence is hard to understand. Learn to trust your God, that though his hand is hidden, We know as Charles Spurgeon said, we can still trust his heart and that is a wonderful comfort.

So will you trust what he's doing? Let's pray.

Our Father, there's so much we need to pray about from this passage. We need to pray that we would not be like the world. Certainly not the world we see here, and we confess it so often we are. Much more like this world of Esther 1 than we would ever want to admit. Father, we need to pray that yout would help us to understand our own weakness, that we would ground our lives not on the soft sand of self, but on the solid rock of Christ.

And we pray that you give each one of us in this room faith that we would learn to trust what you are doing and hope that when we get to heaven, we will see the glory of all that you have done. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.