Esther 1-7

Context: Esther’s story begins in 483 BC. Esther is part of a large Jewish community that has remained in Persia (modern day Iran), where God had sent them into exile. In 536 BC the Persian king, Cyrus, said the Jews could return to their homeland and rebuild the temple. A large group returned the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. But there was a group of Jewish people remained in Persia and didn’t go with Ezra and Nehemiah. The group that remained in Persia was sometimes looked down on by the Jews who returned to Israel. They were looked down upon because they were considered too worldly.

In Esther the king throws a massive party to celebrate himself. When he summoned the queen to come to the party wearing only her crown, she refused. This greatly embarrassed the king and would set a terrible precedent in the eyes of all the men of Persia. So Queen Vashti was kicked to the curb and the king held a long search for a new queen. Esther was one of the young women that was taken to the king as a possible queen. She was apparently extremely beautiful. She had been living with her cousin Mordecai as his daughter until then. She was chosen as the new queen.

Haman was an adviser to the king and had an agenda to get rid of the Jews. There was a decree that everyone had to bow to Haman. Well, Mordecai refused to. Mordecai learned of Haman’s plan to rid Persia of the Jews requests Esther’s help since she is the queen. Esther hosts a dinner with Haman and the king. Haman thought he was really doing well to be eating with the king and queen and Esther asked them back the next night.

When Haman was walking home, he saw Mordecai and grew angry and ordered a gallows to be set up for him tomorrow. That same night the king had trouble sleeping and had some past events read to him. One of those events was when Mordecai had saved the king’s life. The king had never done anything to thank him though. Haman walked in and the king asked him what he would do for someone who deserved the highest praise. Haman assumed the king meant Haman, so he suggested a grand parade.

The king told him to put together the parade for Mordecai. After the parade, Esther hosted that second dinner and revealed Haman’s evil plot against the jews and the fact that she was a Jew. The next day, Haman is on the gallows instead of Mordecai.

Four big ideas for a new year:

1. God is able to use ‘Mordecais’ and ‘Esthers.’ … What matters in the Kingdom of God is your surrender and availability to the King. Mordecai and Esther were normal people who simply were willing to be part of God’s plan.

2. God is always at work in your life. … God is weaving the stories of His people for His Redemptive Plan. God’s name is never mentioned in the book of Esther, but His fingerprints are all over it. There’s just too many coincidences for it not to be a plan.

3. You can’t hold on to this life, so risk it all for the Gospel. … “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” --John Elliott

4. The need is urgent. Our time is short. … Just like Esther could not ignore the life and death reality, neither can we.

We’re in the same moment as Esther--we’re in a divinely orchestrated moment, with life or death implications. We’ve been placed here for “just such a time as this.”

How are you going to respond in 2019?

The main theme of the whole Bible is God’s intention to save us. The Christmas story reveals some things about God’s salvation that we did not clearly see before then.

1. Christmas reveals the nature of God’s salvation:
   God saves us from our sins (Matthew 1:20-21; John 3:17-18). … The very name of Jesus means “God saves”. The angel tells Joseph to name the baby Jesus to show the character of God. The angel also told Joseph whose sins the people needed to be saved from: their own, not their oppressor’s sins. Our biggest problem is ourselves. My biggest problem is me and your biggest problem is you. Our sins, not others’, are what condemn us to Hell, but Christ came to save us from our own sins so that we may have a way into to Heaven.

2. Christmas reveals the method of God’s salvation:
   God saves us through His Son (1 John 4:14; Matthew 20:28). … It was possible to keep the law and make it to Heaven before. God tried to reach the world through the Israelites. They failed Him over and over again. Eventually God decided to go Himself, to send His Son. They used to teach “reach, throw, row, and go” in lifeguard classes. The first option to reach in and help is the safest but isn’t always possible. The last one, going out to the person who needs help, is the most dangerous and can result in the deaths of both the original person in need and the one who went to help. God sent His Son knowing that He would have to die to save us all.

3. Christmas reveals the scope of God’s salvation:
   God extends His off of salvation to the whole world (Luke 2:10-11, 29-32; John 4:42). … Luke emphasizes in his Gospel that Jesus is the savior for all, not just the Jews. Jesus is the Savior of the World, not just the savior of the Jews or the savior of my family or your family. He is the Savior of the World. What this means for us is that the best gift we can give to others is our testimony in Christ and the offer of salvation through Christ.

How do we know God loves us? 1 John 4:9-10 shares two ways you know God loves you:

1. Christmas (1 John 4:9) … The Greek word here used for “sent” is the same root word we get the word “apostle” from. The term for “one and only son” was previously translated as “only begotten” but that, while a good translation at its time, is not completely accurate. God did not “beget” or create Jesus. God and Jesus are one and the same. Jesus has existed forever. They are of the same “genetic makeup” in human terms. … Jesus was sent to the world because God loves us.

2. The Cross (1 John 4:10) … Jesus was not only sent, but He was sent as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. … The crazy part of this is that our sins that Jesus is the sacrifice for are against His law. Our sins are against God. Yet, Jesus, who is God, has paid the price for our sins. … It’s similar to a police chief pulling over a car for speeding and the driver is his wife. The police chief writes the ticket and then pays it himself because it was for his wife. … We know God loves us because he sacrificed Himself for us.

John 3:16 tells us that God loves the world. … The term translated “so” can have two meanings. It could refer to degree (“so much” or manner (“in this way”). John is known for using phrases with double meanings, so it is likely supposed to be both.

Here is a four-part summary of John 3:16 by Max Lucado:

1. God Loves

2. God Gave

3. You Believe

4. You Live

The initiative is with God. God loves us and gives us the chance for salvation. All we do is believe and are granted eternal life.

Today we look at two terms that help to describe God. They are very different terms, and both are important aspects of who God is.

Transcendent means God is far away; God is different from us, He is holy.

Immanent means God is near to us; God is present in our world, He is like us.

Which of these is emphasized in the Old Testament? Transcendent (Isaiah 55:8-9; Isaiah 6) … In general, the Old Testament gives us a sense of God’s holiness and greatness. God is a being that no human can wrap their mind around. … However, there are times that God makes his closeness known to His people in the Old Testament, such as in Isaiah 7 which also happens to be a prophecy of the birth of Jesus. The prophecy there has a fulfillment in the same chapter, but also another (and greater) fulfillment later (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:18-23).

Which of these is emphasized in the Christmas Story? Immanent (Matthew 1:18-23) … This is the greater fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 6 and 9. God came to Earth. He walked with humans, ate with tax collectors, conversed with prostitutes, and forgave sinners.

God is both transcendent and immanent. If we view God as one and not the other, we get a wrong view of God. … If God is immanent and not transcendent, then we lose fear of God and start worshipping everything because God is in everything and everything is good. There is no reverence for God. … If God is transcendent and not immanent then we have no personal relationship with God and risk believing God exists without living like we believe in the God the Bible tells us about. God is just out there and doesn’t care to be involved in our lives.

The incarnation means God became a human (John 1:14; Hebrews 2:11-18; 4:15-16). … Jesus lived as a human and has gone through everything that we have or will go through. Jesus has faced the temptations that we face. Because of this, we can go to Him for help when we face issues we struggle with.

Look at the passenger side mirror the next time you get in a vehicle. It should say “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” So is God. Sometimes God can seem so far away that it feels like He couldn’t understand what we go through, but He is always near and has gone through temptations the same as us.

The Christmas story has a bunch of colorful characters: a young engaged couple, an elderly couple, an evil king, angels, shepherds, and wise men. But the main character is God. This week we start a series where we will look at the Christmas story and see what it reveals about God.

The most basic thing we learn about God from the Christmas story is that God has a Son (Luke 1:26-35). … An Angel revealed to Mary that she would give birth to God’s son, Jesus.

When Jesus grew up, He spoke of God as His Father. He said there is a unique relationship between the Son and the Father (Matthew 11:27; John 3:35; 10:30). … Here we start to see what it means for Jesus to be the Son of God. They have a unique relationship where they are one and the same.

John explains in the introduction to his Gospel that the Son was with God in the beginning and the Son was and is God (John 1:1, 18). … John gives us an interpretation of what the Father and Son relationship means. They are the same and yet distinct, something that is difficult to imagine and explain. … Side note: yes, we are also sons and daughters of God, but Jesus is the unique Son of God.

The Old Testament hinted that there was some kind of multiplicity to God even though there it also states there is only one true God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 6:8).

What analogy does the Bible give to help us understand this two-in-one God? Marriage (Matthew 19:5-6) … In marriage there are two individuals who work together and often function as a single entity. … Here’s a couple more: scientists regard light as waves and particles. And then there’s pants, a pair of pants. Pants are a single garment even though they are also a pair.

As the Bible continues to reveal God, we learn that He is three-in-one--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--which we call the Trinity (John 14:16-17). … Jesus Himself tells us there is a third person who is part of this one true God. The Holy Spirit first appears in the Bible in Genesis 1:2.

What analogy does the Bible give to help us understand this three-in-one God? A body (1 Corinthians 12:12) … A body has multiple parts that work independently and together at the same time. It’s not a perfect analogy, but it’s the best we have and it helps us to see how the church should be too. … Sometimes people try to use water as a way to explain the Trinity because it has three forms: water, ice, and gas. But this comparison falls short and leads to the error of modalism where God is only one of the three at a time instead of all three all the time. … It’s not really possible to fully understand the nature of God, but what kind of God would He be if we could fully understand who and what He is?

What does this mean for our lives? God is relational. … God wants a father-child relationship with all of us. For those of us who grew up with good fathers, this is probably easier for us to accept than for those who grew up with a bad father or no father at all.