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1. Review what happened in Chapter 6 between the first banquet and the second one. Read chapter 7. What was Esther’s petition and request to the king? How did Esther expose Haman’s evil plan? What happened to Haman? What does this tell us about God? 2. Read chapter 8. What happened to Mordecai? What was Esther’s another request to the king? What can we know about Esther’s heart for her people? How was the king’s new edit issued in behalf of the Jews? How were Mordecai and Esther used for saving the Jews? 3. Read chapter 9. How did the Jews triumph over their enemies? How was Purim celebrated? Why is it important to celebrate it every year? 4. Read chapter 10. How was Mordecai exalted and honored? Think about the people God honor and use for his saving work. Think about three things you learned from the study of Esther.

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Message

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Thank God for blessing us to know God more deeply and personally through the study of Esther. As we first read this book, we were troubled, realizing that there is neither name of God nor any spiritual things mentioned such as faith, prayer and worship. But the more we carefully study the book, the better we know and understand who God is. Today we are studying the conclusion part of the book of Esther. May God help us to learn who God is more deeply through this study. First, our God is the living God. Look at verse 1. “So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. “ In chapter 6 we learn what happened in a day between the two banquets Esther prepared for the king. Mordecai’s good deeds to save the king was discovered and recognized. Mordecai was honored by Haman. Now the king and Haman were invited to the second banquet Esther prepared. Now the king fell in love with Esther again and was willing to do anything for her. He was ready to grant her request, even up to half the kingdom. What was Esther’s response? Look at verse 3. Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my life—this is my request.” Then she told the king about the situation of her people. “For I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.” Then the king was surprised by what he heard from Esther. “Who is he? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?” Then Esther exposed Haman’s evil plan. “The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman.” Haman was terrified and the king was in rage. The king went out into the palace garden. Maybe he wanted to take a fresh air and think about how to deal with this situation. When he came back he was even more upset, because Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?” Then one of the eunuchs told him about the gallows Haman prepared for Mordecai. Then the king said, “Hang him on it.” In this way Haman’s life ended in tragedy. Here we learn that our God is the living God who is at work all the time. When Haman was exercising his power at random and when God’s people were suffering under his control, It seems that God is not doing anything. But in fact, God never rest in his work. God was working behind the every event that seems the continuation of coincidence. In the end God punished evil man Haman and honored humble man of God Mordecai. Sometimes we wonder what God is doing. Sometimes we feel that God does not care for his people when things happen against us. But we learn that God is working diligently even when we feel that God is silent. God does care about his people as he did for Esther, Mordecai and the Jews. We must firmly believe in the living God and fully trust in his loving care upon our lives. Second, our God uses his people for his saving work. Look at 8:1. “That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her.” Now Mordecai was recognized by the king, and the king took of his signet ring and gave to Mordecai , and Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate which was given to her by king. Now the enemy was gone, Esther and Mordecai were established firmly as a queen and as a second powerful man in the whole empire. In this situation, Esther could rest, thinking that her life and her family was better off. But what did Esther do? Look at verse 3. “Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. Esther could not rest when she thought of the danger of her people due to the edict issued by Haman. She asked the king to issue a new decree that could overrule the one by Haman because the law once sealed with king’s signet would not be revoked. Look at verse 6. “For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?” Surely she was crying many tears when she pleaded with the king. Even though she was in the palace, her heart went to all her suffering people under the attack of enemies. The king gave her right to write another decree in the king’s name for the Jews. Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sent the dispatches by special horses bred for the king. In this way the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. Wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. It is amazing to know how God used Esther and Mordecai for saving his people. God prepared them in advance to save God’s people at such a time like this. When the time came God made Esther Queen of Persia and raised Mordecai as a second man to the king. Then God used them to write a decree that could save his people. Here we learn that God prepares his people for his great purpose and uses them in his time for his salvation work. In the same way God prepared Joseph of Genesis to preserve God’s people from the great famine and bring them to Egypt where they could multiply into a great nation. God also prepared Moses to deliver his people from the slavery of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. It is indeed a great blessing to be used by God in his saving work. For this great purpose God sent us to this land and to UofT and UTM campuses and preparing us for his great work. It is easy to be discouraged and despair when we faces difficulties and struggles of life. It is hard when we cannot see the light in the darkness of tunnel. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is the time we will see the end of the tunnel and see the great purpose of God unfolding in our lives. There is a saying, “opportunity come only to those who are prepared for it.” It is the same with God’s work. Now is not the time to be idle away in despair. It is too early to despair. It is the time to be faithful to God and prepare ourselves for God’s great purpose for our lives. Now is the time for our students to study hard and develop Godly characters for great future. Now is the time for our missionaries to have deep Bible study and prepare ourselves to be great Bible teachers whom God can use. David was a great man because he served God’s purpose in his own generation. Esther and Mordecai are great in God because they served God’s great purpose in their own generation. May God bless each of us to serve God’s great purpose in our own generation and in this mission land. Third, our God gives final victory to his people. Look at 9:1. “On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them.” Finally the appointed day had come. The enemies thought they were in control. But the tables were turned on them! The Hebrew word for this is ‘haphak”, which means, ‘to turn, to overthrow, or to change.” The situation was completely changed. The Jews assembled to attack those seeking their destruction. The people of all the other nationalities and Persian government supported them because they were afraid to Mordecai. The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword. They killed 500 men and 10 sons of Haman on the thirteenth day. Then Esther pleaded with the king for another day. Then the Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar to put to death 300 men and hanged 10 sons of Haman. The ten sons of Haman were hanged as a sign of warning against enemies. Look at verse 16. “Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventhly-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder.” Even though they struck down their enemies, but did not lay their hands on the plunder even though they had permission to do because their purpose of fighting was to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. In this way they won a great victory over their enemies. It is amazing to see the glorious victory of the Jews. They were once helpless people who were destined to be destroyed by the enemies. But now they won the complete victory over their enemies. How could this happen to them? It was because of God who gave them victory. God gave them victories by turning the tables one after another. Their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. Since then, the Jews celebrate this day every year, remembering how God has turned the tables for their victory. This year is critical year for many of us , if not all. We have prayer topics to fulfill this year both in our ministry and in our personal life. We all want to have victorious year of 2010. How can we be victorious while many challenges are ahead of us? Firstly, we can be victorious when God turns the tables for our victory. God will turn our tables when we fully trust in him. Each one’s tables are different, and we do not know how many tables are ahead of us. But we must believe that God would turn them all around for our victory when we do not depend on our might or our power, but on the Spirit of God through prayer and God’s word. Secondly, we can be victorious when we make a decision of faith like Esther. When the Jews were in danger of destruction by Haman’s decree, she made a decision of faith. Look at verse 4: 16. “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night and day, I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I will perish.” She went to the king with the decision of “If I perish, I perish.” Esther’s decision of faith became a turning point of the destiny of God’s people. One person’s decision of faith in the time of tragedy turned it in God’s victory. As a conclusion of the study of Esther, we can think of the importance and influence of one person’s decision of faith. God accepted Esther’s decision of faith and used her to save God’s people. Likewise, one person’s decision of faith has such a great influence. Moses could enjoy his life in the palace as a son fo Pharaoh’s daughter. But he made a decision to suffer with God’s people. Then God could deliver his people from the bandage of Egypt through him. When Hannah made a decision to offer her son Samuel to God, God could raise her son as a great spiritual leader of God’s people. When Mary made a decision to obey God, God could use her as a mother of Jesus, the Savior of the word. It is easy to ignore one person’s decision of faith, especially my own. But when we make a decision of faith for God and God’s people, God changes our life and make us a great influence. Most of all God uses us in his saving work preciously. I remember what Shepherd Moses Lee said at the conclusion of Esther’s study. “There is no work of salvation without life-giving decision of faith. We need Esther’s decision if we want to do the work of salvation even if we have to give up what we love most and even our own life.” As we starts a new year of 2010 may God bless each of us to make a decision of faith like Esther so that God may use us as a great influence in saving work of UofT and UTM campuses.

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