I grew up around metal stud framing and drywall. When I was old enough to start working as an apprentice, I was the ground guy who had to cut and set up for the guy on the lift or scaffolding. My Dad would emphasize again again that the guy on the ground had to work, so that the guy on the top never stopped working. I learned that in order to accomplish that task, I had to see the job a head and prepare for that. Every thing I had learned needed to be implemented without the guy I was working with saying a word. I was supposed to have the next piece ready to be either put up, or cut. I was supposed to have the layout ready, or the next piece fabricated without a word from my partner.
I watched other ground guys who would have so much done ahead of time that they had to keep busy so it didn’t look like they were just slacking off. But even when I got to the point where I was like that, I had to always have an ear open to my partner. Because inevitably, there had to be a change, because there was a pipe, or duct work in the way. I had to be listening and doing to make sure the job went as smooth as possible.
And it’s this idea of working while waiting for commands that brings us back into the third week of our Wrecked series where we are going to the Old Testament book of Esther chapter 2. And as we open up to Esther 2:1, let's remind ourselves where we are so far in our series.
So far in our series we’ve looked at two people Paul and Nathanael. We saw how Paul’s life was wrecked by God when God took Paul from being a self-righteous persecutor of the Church, and made him realize his own wretchedness. Paul thought he was doing righteous acts, that he was on the side of God, but when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, that entire belief was crushed. Paul lived the rest of his days in a humble state, where he knew he wasn’t anything great, but only for Christ did he have anything at all. We need to live in this humble state as well. Embracing the truth of our wretchedness and how far the love of God has reached down to bring us out of that wretchedness.
Then last week when we looked at Nathanael. In him we saw a person who most likely a little arrogant, and yet when Jesus revealed that he saw Nathanael under a fig tree, that arrogance melted away, and wrecked his life to a point that Nathanael was willing to die for a man he thought couldn’t have been anything good at all. We walked away from Nathanael’s life with an understanding that we must lose the desire to be seen by the world, and only care for being seen by Jesus.
This now brings us to the story of Esther and as we open to Esther chapter 2, we need a little context. The previous chapter of Esther’s book is about two people, the King and Queen of the Persian empire. In the first half of the chapter we learn a little about the King and how one day he threw a huge feast for a lot of people. It was a lavish affair to show his greatness to the people. Because of this we also learn that the Queen threw her own feast for all the women in her care as a parallel to her husband’s feast.
In the second half of chapter one, we get a conflict between our two people. The King desires that his Queen come before the people of his feast in full royal garb to show her off. She was a looker and the King wanted others to see how beautiful she was. But the Queen refused. She wouldn’t come and be paraded in front of the King’s guest, and this infuriated the King, because when the King wanted something it was done.
We’re then told that the King met with his advisors and they agreed that this couldn’t go unpunished because it would embolden their wives to not follow their commands. And so, they made and example out of the Queen, stripping her of her royal station. But this left the King without a Queen, and so he began his search for a new queen, and it’s here that we pick up in Esther chapter 2 verse 1.
1 Later when King Xerxes’ fury had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. 2 Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. 3 Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. 4 Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.
5 Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei (she-may), the son of Kish, 6 who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah. 7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
8 When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai (hay-gay). Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai (hay-gay), who had charge of the harem. 9 She pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem.
10 Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. 11 Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.
12 Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. 13 And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz (shaa-sh-gas), the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.
15 When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai (hay-gay), the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. 16 She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.
Now there’s a couple of things we can gather from what we know about Esther. First, she was an orphan in the care of her older cousin Mordecai. Second she was a beautiful young lady, and quickly won favor with many people, especially the guards and eventually the King. She also followed wise counsel; the first instance of this was following Mordecai’s instruction to not reveal her Jewish background, and the second instance was at the direction of the eunuch Hegai (hay-gay) on what to bring to the King.
In Esther’s story, after a year she becomes Queen and we’re immediately brought into two plots of assignation and deception. The first is in the last part of chapter 2 where Mordecai uncovers a plot to assassinate the King. This information is relayed through Esther and the King was able to avoid the death.
Then we are taken into a second plot by the King’s right hand man Haman. This plot takes up the majority fo the rest of the book, and was kindled because Mordecai wouldn’t bow to Haman when he would pass by. So instead of taking his rage out on Mordecai himself, he went full egomaniac and convinced the King to wipe out the Jews in all the empire. When the decree for this genocide was announced, Mordecai reached out to Esther for help. And in chapter 4 verse 11 we get this conversation, with Esther saying…
“All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
Now the first Queen was stripped of her station because she didn’t appear before the King when called, and it was even worse to appear before the King when not called. Esther is looking at a real possibility of death if she were to stand before the King unsummoned. We can see either fear or dissociation happening here. Either Esther desires to follow what Mordecai is asking but she is in fear of her own life, or she figures she will escape the coming genocide because she is the Queen. Well, in the next verse we get Mordecai’s response and the state of Esther’s thoughts.
12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
In Mordecai’s response, I think we can see which of our two options Esther was in. She was thinking that she could escape the situation by being the Queen. But Mordecai rightfully points out that she won’t escape this even though she’s the Queen. I mean he’s right, if the previous Queen was stripped of her station for not showing up when she was summoned, how much greater is the outcome, when it was found out she was a Jew. Esther’s fate would be like that of the rest of her people. At this, Esther consigns herself to what must be done, but she has a request from her adoptive father in verse 15.
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants 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 perish.”
If we were to continue to read through the rest of the story, we find out that Esther is able to appear before the King and not die. Mordecai is then honored for uncovering the original plot against the King, and Esther is able to reveal both Haman’s plot to kill Mordecai and his plot to wipe out Esther’s own people, the Jews.
Both infuriate the King and it is Haman who hangs from the gallows, and it is the enemies of the Jews who fall in the end. And were left, at the end of the book, with an understanding that the Jews, and especially Mordecai thrive under the King’s rule.
But there is something that stands out in the book of Esther. This one thing stands out because it is omitted throughout the entire story. Do you know what that is? God is never once mentioned throughout the entire story. In the 153 verses not even a hint of God is alluded to.
Now this is not unique to the Book of Esther, the Songs of Solomon or Songs of Songs doesn’t mention God either. But in that book’s context it makes more sense. That book’s focus is the love between a man and a woman and the passion they have for each other that leads to marriage. So a simple reading of the book, makes sense on why there isn’t a mention of God within a passionate love letter between two individuals.
Yet with Esther, the lack of God in both the foreground and the background makes no sense. In fact the perfect time for a mention of God would be in chapter 4 verse 14. Mordecai states, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place…And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this”
This could have read, “For if you remain silent at this time, God will bring relief and deliverance for the Jews…from another place… And who knows…maybe God has given you…your royal position for such a time as this”
But even in the most appropriate place in the book, God is still not mentioned and I think that’s intentional by the work of the Holy Spirit who inspired this book to be written.
Esther’s entire life was guided and directed by God. When Esther’s family died, God had Mordecai available to adopt her. When the Queen was disposed of, God gave Esther favor with the guards. God was there when Mordecai overheard the plot to assassinate the King, and gave favor to Esther when she needed to stand before him and seek his favor on behalf of the Jews.
How do I know that God was there, because Esther’s story parallels another story from the same time period, the story of Daniel and his three friends. They won favor in the sight of the guards. They stood in opposition to the Kind’s decrees and yet came out because of God’s work. The story of Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego shows us that God is right there aiding his people to accomplish his will. Esther shows us that even when God’s not mentioned, he is still at work.
This teaches us a valuable lesson on what it means to be wrecked by God. The number one thing I hear from believers, no matter what their age in the faith is, “I want to hear from God.” Which is a great thing. We should all seek to hear from God more and more. But a question I ask is, what if God is waiting for you to obey what he has already said?
What if God is asking you to walk without the direct command, because he has already given you the direct command in his word?
We can see this is Esther’s life. The first command she follows is Exodus 20:12, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” In this case she’s honoring her adoptive father Mordecai when he tells her not to reveal her heritage. The result being that she is able to reveal it later, thus insuring the lives of her people.
Another command is to seek God in the act of fasting, from places such as Joel 2:12-13, where God speaks to the Jews, “‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ 13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.’” We see this when Esther makes up her mind to go before the King, she asks the people to fast with her.
Throughout the book of Esther, we see people not be directly told by God to do certain things, but what we do see, are faithful people doing as God had already commanded. It’s easy to get into the mind set that I cannot do anything until I hear directly from God, but the biblical truth is, God has spoke so much that we need to be doing what he has already commanded.
I’ve heard people say, but we are told to wait upon the Lord. Typically we look to verses like Psalm 27:14 where it states, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” But we misunderstand the word wait. Wait in this verse and verses like it, does not mean to sit and allow things to happen to us. The Hebrew word qavah (kaw-vaw’), means to eagerly look for. We are to be in a state of anticipation for the work of God, which means, we need to be actively working in what God has already stated.
A verse that gets quoted a lot is Matthew 25:23, “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
It’s a verse that gets brought up as something a believer would like to hear when he sees Jesus. Yet that verse comes in the midst of a parable where the Master is absent and the workers have to decide what the best course of action is.
If God never directed us again in our lives, we have all that we need to faithfully follow him. We have this in his word. When we are in doubt of anything in our lives, and God doesn’t seem to be answering, we must return to his word and ask the question, “What has God already commanded me to do in a similar situation that I find myself in now.
This is why it’s so important to read the Scriptures, so we know what God has already commanded others to do in situations such as we find ourselves in. In marriage, God has already spoken. In singleness, God has already spoken. In business, God has already spoken in. In our free time, God has already spoken.
God’s word is full of commands that can and will direct us to God’s will in the situations we find ourselves. And the deeper we go in our relationship with God, the more he will be silent to allow us to implement into our lives the commands he has already given us.
And when we do, we will see God at work, both in the foreground and the background, and we will be the faithful servant of the Master, because we have done what he has command us to do.
So my challenge this week is to read through the book of Esther, it’ll take you about 20 minutes uninterrupted. Then ask the question of God, what can I do in my life right now that you have already commands me to do?
It might be, love your neighbor. It might be stay away from that sin. It might be worship only me.
Whatever it is, do it, follow the commands of God that he has already laid out in his word.
And let us be a people that follow God no matter the situation, because he trust in his already spoken Word. Amen
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