Let's open our Bibles to the 17th book of the Bible. That's Esther. Just checking if you were counting there. As long as mankind has been on the earth, Satan has been trying to derail God's plan. He started out by having Cain kill Abel. Then he intruded through his angels, Satan did, into the human race and made God exterminate everyone but Noah and his family. Then after God got the promise line going again, He confounded them all at the Tower of Babel. Then God redirected one little group, the clan of Abraham, and God started them going. So Satan got them all ensnared in Egypt in near catastrophe there. God delivered them from there. And as soon as they left Egypt, their first enemy was called Amalek. And that's who was the first foe of God's people once they became the Israelite people. And we're going to see tonight that because of Amalek being the first nation trying to destroy God's chosen people, God has always not only conquered every foe, but always let the Jews be at the funeral of all their enemies. And that's always happened throughout history. Anybody that has sought to exterminate Israel, the Jews have outlived their extermination and been at the funeral for the people. That's been going on now for thousands of years. But the book of Esther is one of the most unique presentations of God's preservation of Israel. Now, I started talking about it last time, but I want to go actually through the whole book with you for you to see. In this little 10-chapter book, it is probably the greatest exposition on God's providence. Providence is the weaving together of the little events of life into the tapestry of God's Sovereign plan and it's a beautiful picture and you'll see that that God orchestrated Every single one of the details and took his time doing it until the tapestry showed his providential preservation of his people the book of Esther what a what a beautiful and majestic picture a thousand years passed after Israel had been chased by the Amalekites in fact the Amalekites as Israel's coming out of Egypt and unarmed, basically a bunch of women and children with 600,000 men, but basically they were watching their flocks. As they came out, the Amalekites circled around behind them after the whole Pharaoh deal and all of the deliverance into the wilderness, and they circled around behind them and attacked them from behind very cowardly and began trying to destroy God's people. And that event took place right after the Exodus. A thousand years after that event, Israel, in the book of Esther, is still existing. Now, for just a moment, turn back with me to the book of Ezra. It goes Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Because I want to show you, a lot of people don't really see how all the books fit. Did you know that the entire book of Esther, which covers about ten years, is wedged right into chapter six of the book of Ezra? Now, if you've never done this, you can just put a little mark right in your Bible. It's wonderfully described. If you look at chapter 6, it talks about King Darius, and verse 3, in the first year of Cyrus, and it goes through all of that. Then it goes over to verse 19 of chapter 6, and the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover on the 14th day of the first month, which is Nisan. Now, look at, that's the end of chapter 6, they keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Now look where chapter 7 starts. After these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia. Now there's the fella we see all the way through the book of Esther. Now keep going on down to chapter 7 verse 8. Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of king Artaxerxes. I have written in my Bible, that's the same year that Esther became the queen. And you say, how do you know that? Well, now turn back to Esther 2 and verse 16. Esther 2, the book of Esther 2, verse 16, it says, So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus in his royal palace in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, the seventh year of his reign. Isn't that fascinating? Now actually, the Artaxerxes of the king of Persia is the son of Vashti. Remember Vashti, the opposed queen of Persia that Esther takes her place? But the same month that she becomes queen is also, or the same year, is the seventh year of the reign of this son of Vashti. The correspondence, actually, the whole book of Esther would occur right between chapter 6, 22 and chapter 7, verse 1. But in verse 8, that very seventh year of the father, Xerxes, and the seventh year of his son, Artaxerxes, is the very same time period, only the book of Esther occurs in that 60-year period. There's actually 60 years between chapter 6, 22 and chapter 7, 1. But in that little period, it's wedged in there. And it's very interesting that in the very seventh year of both father and son, those two events, Ezra comes in in verse 8 of chapter 7 and Esther comes in in chapter 2, verse 16. So just for you to see the little interlude between 6 and 7, of the Book of Ezra is wedged in a little 10-year period of time, which is Queen Esther. Now, let's back up to Chapter 1, and I want to show you some wonderful themes. We're in the Book of Esther, Chapter 1, because 1,000 years has passed from the Amalekites as they attacked Israel, and in that 1,000 years, the Persian Empire has risen up. Now, you remember, and most people don't like history, but Egypt came and went, Then Syria came and went, then Assyria came and went, then the Babylonians came and went, and now Persia, which took over after Assyria, as in Jonah and Nineveh. Then Nebuchadnezzar, and they were taken over by Persia. And Persia, it says right here in verse 1 of chapter 1, it came to pass in those days Ahasuerus was over this land, look what it says at the end of verse 1, 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia. So he controlled, now listen, I read in the dictionary or in the encyclopedia, the Persian Empire was remarkable. It stretched over an entire continent from Greece in the West to Afghanistan on the India border. Now you know where Greece is, just past Italy, all the way over to the border of India. That's how wide it was. And then it went from Egypt and Libya all the way across to Western India. So it took in that whole bottom part across top of North Africa, across the Arabian Peninsula, up around the Gulf, and over to the Indian border, which is Pakistan today, and all the way across the top from Greece, across Turkey, across modern-day Syria, and across Iran-Iraq to, again, up where Pakistan is today. That width, there was nothing like it before it with size and durability until the time of the Roman Empire. So it covered, and the reason I'm telling you this is, those 127 provinces in verse 1 is exactly everywhere that the Israelites were scattered. Remember, they were in Jerusalem and they were in Samaria. Samaria was scattered across, then Jerusalem was scattered across, and they didn't send them to Britain and they didn't send them to Russia. They later migrated there. The Jews had just dispersed within that whole region from Egypt up around Turkey and all the way across toward India. That's where they were. Now think of this. In the time that this book, the book of Esther, is written, there were 15 million Jews, they estimate, scattered throughout the Persian Empire. But because of Haman's hatred, we're going to see in this book, all of them had been appointed to death. All the Jews were in the edict that we're going to read about in every one of the provinces, so they had nowhere to go. At least during Germany, they could come and flee to America. during the Holocaust, or they could flee to Brazil or Argentina. Here, the emperor controlled the entire region that they lived in. Well, tonight we look at what is perhaps the greatest moment of all of the history of the Jews, the moment that God's chosen people were within a few weeks of total extermination. And in those few weeks, the Lord wonderfully and providentially in this little 10-chapter book works everything together. Now, there's so many wonderful principles and laws. Let's just go through them. But let me describe, first of all, providence, because probably one of the more beautiful themes of God's Word is his providence. Now, most of us think of miracles, and miracles are when God directly intervenes and alters the laws of nature, like walking on water would be a miracle. But providence is where God, through the laws of nature, reaches in and guides the events so that the laws of this world are not altered, but God brings about the desired result. That's what's going on in this book. God overrules all of the will of man in their evil and overrules it to bring good for his glory. Let me read to you for a second from the classic. In the old days, everyone had to, in seminary, read Augustus Hopkins Strong. It's called Strong Systematic Theology. I don't know why they make us read it, because half of it's in Latin. The other half's in Greek, I mean, in German. And you can't understand any of it. It's very hard to read. But the English part I wrote down. In this massive work, he states, Providence is, and this is his definition, the continuous agency of God by which he makes all the events of the physical and moral universe to fulfill the original design with which he created it." That doesn't make a lot of sense, but this one does. Providence is God's attention concentrated everywhere. Now I caught that one. Did you catch that? Providence is God's attention concentrated everywhere. Think about that. is everywhere concentrating to fulfill His will. Now, think of what this means. All through the Bible, God reveals Himself as the God who controls everything. It says in the Psalms that the thunder and lightning are coming at His decree. Rain and snow fall when He wills. The rivers and the mountains flow at His will. He brings the heat. He causes the cold. He, it says, makes the animals to bear you know, the hinds to calves. He brings birth to the animals and He watches over the birds. It says He is the one that raises up nations and cities. He is the God of the newborn and the dying. He is the one who gives health and who takes health. He is the one who gives riches and removes riches. He is the one who makes weak and makes strong. It says that He is the one who sets up the rulers, who causes them to rule, and He is the one who is over the human, the demonic, the natural, and the spiritual, right? That's just what the Bible says, but how does he do it? He does it behind the scenes, weaving together. Now, for just a moment, don't get too far from Esther, but look at Genesis 50. And I want to show you an overwhelming theme that the Bible introduces early about God's providence. Genesis 50 in verse 20. And this is one of those great verses about God's providence in the example of Joseph. Joseph was one of 12 brothers born to Jacob, which fulfilled the covenant. He innocently became the target of their jealous hatred. And you know the story. When they were all off in Dothan feeding their sheep, Joseph walks down there into the trap. They throw him in the pit. They sell him to the Ishmaelites. They take his coat and tear it up, dump sheep's blood on it and fool their dad and get rid of him. But look at all this in verse 20. But as for you, verse 20 of chapter 50 of Genesis, Joseph speaking to his brothers, you meant evil against me. But God worked through their evil intentions, and look at verse 20 again. God meant it for good, and this is providence, in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive. That's providence. God did not make Joseph be able to fly out of the pit. God did not make him be able to break the cords of the Ishmaelites and run away. God used their evil in verse 20 for his good. Now, the whole book of Ruth, let's go back to Esther, but the whole book of Ruth is the same thing about a providential dealing. But let's get to Esther because I want to get to chapter 4. But the whole book of Ruth is a beautiful picture of providence. God directed the lives of Naomi. said I'm going home. Her daughter-in-law Ruth came and through that she was able to meet Boaz and through that the whole godly line of David was unfolded. But all of that was because of providence. But back to the book of Esther because the blessing of Esther is that God is working behind the scenes in such a powerful way that he declares that his people are going to make it. Now Esther is one of the five Old Testament books called the Writings. In fact, you know that the Old Testament is the Law, the Writings, and the Prophets. And the Law is the Torah. Then the Writings are these five middle books. And then they have the Prophets, which they lump together the Major and the Minor Prophets. And, of course, they have the Wisdom literature. But in the Writings, or the Megilloth, as it's called, They have the books of Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Lamentations, and Esther. And what they do is they read every year at the Feast of Purim, they read the whole book of Esther. And then they read at other feasts, the other books of the Megillath. It's just become a Jewish tradition that they read those at their feasts, and they read them publicly. But listen to this. This is what I love. I was reading the Jewish, kind of their culture book, and it says, Whenever they read the book of Esther and Haman's name is mentioned, in all the synagogues, the people stamp their feet while they're reading it and exclaim out loud, May Haman's name be blotted out. Isn't that interesting? Why would that evoke such a response? Because the people know that in the book of Esther, Haman's desire to destroy them came within months, within weeks of being unfurled. And God's enemies would have had open season to kill and to take the goods of all the Jews. And that was one of the most dangerous times. Well, real quickly, before we get to chapter 4, and if you want to turn somewhere, we're going to be reading, it's our text tonight, chapter 4 of the book of Esther. Before we get there, remember, God is not mentioned in the book of Esther. The word king is 100 times, the name of the king 30 times, but God's glorious name, the name that is above all names, is not mentioned. Yet the Lord is everywhere present. And this book is that little 10-year period wedged between chapter 6 of the book of Ezra and chapter 7. And of course, the events occur later in chapter 7, the results of this. But all those events take place in that little period of time when God's people were in captivity. Now, let's look at our text starting in verse 12. And I want to show you something because we're going to go over this and get some powerful applications for God's people tonight. But look at verse 12. So they told Mordecai Esther's words. Chapter 4, verse 12 of Esther. And Mordecai told them to answer Esther, Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. Remember, Esther was the queen and nobody knew that she was a Jew. except her adopted father, her uncle, Mordecai. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from somewhere else. That's providence. He says you have the opportunity to fulfill God's will, but God will providentially and sovereignly accomplish His will. It will arise from somewhere else. But you and your father's house will perish. Now look at this. The most famous line in the book, yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, go gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan. Fast for me, don't eat or drink for three days. My maids and I will fast likewise and I will go to the king. And if it is against the law and if I perish, I will perish. Well, that is the the center point of this book, and this is where the will of God, that he would preserve his people, is put forward, and yet Esther is given the opportunity to be the vessel that God uses. Many lessons, that's the text. Well, now let me back you up to where we were last week, to chapter 17 of the book of Exodus, and I want to give you a quick lesson to show you why this book is so important. Exodus chapter 7, And you might get your pen out just to do a history of the book of Esther outside this book. Exodus, chapter 17, verse 8. And this is what I've told you so many times. Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. So the history of the book of Esther is Amalek was Israel's first pope. And so it says in verse 9, Moses said to Joshua, choose out some men and go and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did. As Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek, and Moses and Aaron and her went up the top of the hill. Now you know the story because look at verse 14. And the Lord said to Moses, write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua. Look at this. That I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And verse 15, Moses built an altar and called the name, the Lord is my banner. And, of course, we know this is one of the names of God that we often claim, Jehovah-Nissi. Look at verse 16. For he said, Because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. So, Amalek was Israel's first foe. But God promised to Israel the victory. He said to them that if they would obey Him, He would give them victory. Look at verse 12. Remember, as long as Moses held up his hands in verse 11, Israel prevailed. When he got tired and let down his hands, at the end of verse 11, Amalek prevailed. So Moses' hands were heavy, and they put a stone under him. And he sat on, and Aaron and Hur supported his hand." Now, this is a picture of prayer. And you all know that holding up and upholding the intercession, showing that we implore and request the Lord's blessing. But there's something unusual about this 14, 15, and 16, because it says the Lord will have his war against Amalek from generation to generation. And it says in verse 14, he wanted to utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek. So God allowed this Aaron and Hur warfare to go on so long, but they didn't totally destroy Amalek. God let Amalek, this is a tribe, keep living because he had a purpose. But he taught them that they had to seek God's intervention. That's the Aaron and Hur story. Turn the next couple books over, Deuteronomy 25. I want to show you what happened. Because God really had a lot of judgment that he was heaping on these people. In chapter 25 of Deuteronomy, verse 17. Because Amalek was Israel's first foe. And this suggests how much God was upset at Amalek. Look at verse 17. This is what Moses says at the end of his writing of the Torah here in the Pentateuch. He says, remember what Amalek, 2517, did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks. See the cowardly, behind-the-back attack? You know, you've always heard they shoot them in the back, a Western kind of thing. Well, they attack them in the back. All the stragglers at your rear. See, they kind of got the handicapped section. of the Jews that were coming out of Egypt, the stragglers, the people that couldn't keep up, the tired and the weak and those who were struggling. When you are tired and weary, and he didn't fear God, therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around in the land of the Lord, that the Lord your God has given you possesses and inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. Don't forget. In the Exodus, which was 1446 BC, so the 15th century BC, Israel's coming out, Amalek attacks them. Forty years later, at the conquest time, as Moses is turning over the reins to Joshua, God says, don't forget, don't forget, in verse 19, don't forget, when you get in there and conquer the land, wipe out Amalek. Now, keep turning to 1 Samuel 15, and we're headed back to Esther, but this is what the whole book is about. 1 Samuel 15. And you remember, in this whole Agag scene, God commissions the first king of Israel, Saul. And so it says in verse 1, Samuel said to Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint you, king over his people, over Israel. Now, therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord. Here's your first big test. Here's your first big commissioning of something I want you to do. Verse 2, thus says the Lord of hosts, I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel. He ambushed them. Go attack Amalek. Utterly destroy all of them. Remember from last week, verse 9, Saul and the people spared Agag the king. So God commands them to destroy their enemies completely and Saul doesn't do it. He spares the king. This was 400 years after the Amalekites attacked Israel. And God gave them 400 years after the exodus, after their event there and after Joshua. God gave them 400 years and He says, now they're doomed. Destroy them completely. And Saul doesn't do it. And he is disobedient. And the sad, sad word is in chapter 28. Look at the end of 1 Samuel 28. Because God says this about King Saul, how important his disobedience was to God. It was so tragic. 1 Samuel 28, 18, As you did not obey the Lord, and you did not execute his fierce wrath on Amalek, the Lord has done this thing to you this day. And he, in verse 19 of 1 Samuel 28, delivered Israel into the hand of the Philistines, and the king and his sons died for their disobedience. So what we see is Amalek was Israel's first foe. God said, destroy him completely. He commissions the first king to do it. He wouldn't do it. And so now hundreds of years, 500 years passes between 2818 that we just read and the book of Esther. So let's go now to Esther, 1st 2nd Samuel, 1st 2nd Kings, 1st 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and look at chapter three of Esther in verse one. And this is what sews it all together, because Haman is the result of Saul's failure. Haman is serving under the king of the Persian Empire. Remember it went Darius and then Cyrus, and then we've come to this Xerxes fella, Ahasuerus, and then of course we also run into his son, Artaxerxes, later. But Haman is a result of Saul's failure. Haman, look what it says in verse 1 of Esther 3. After these things, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hamadathah, the Agagite, and advanced him and set him in a seat above all the princes who were with him. So, Haman is a result of God saying I'm going to find someone to deal after Saul's failure. work with him. Now look at verse 5 of chapter 2. Now this is where I want to show you the providence because, and I'm going to be skipping all over the book tonight, but if you want to note these, they're just fascinating. And all week long, I mean, it's just been fascinating to see the tapestry forming. But look at chapter 2, verse 5 of Esther. In Shushan, the citadel, there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, the Benjamite. Kish. Saul's family. Very same family tree. He, Mordecai, was a Benjamite and he was a son, descendant of King Saul. And he's standing here providentially at the same time as Haman, son of Hamadutha the Agagite. And both of them come forward. Agag's descendant, Saul's descendant. That's providential that these two guys would meet. Because 550 years before, Saul had looked Agag in the eyes and he would not kill him. Samuel had to. And God says, because of that, I'm going to destroy you. Now, the result, as we saw last time, of Saul's disobedience is still there. The Agagites are still alive. And one of Saul's descendants is facing them off. So that's the first note. King Saul of Benjamite failed to destroy the Amalekites, but Mordecai, also of Benjamite, took up the battle and defeated Haman. Secondly, now this is fascinating, guess who the Amalekites are descendants of? They are descendants of Esau, another disobedient son. In fact, if you had time to go back to Genesis, Genesis 36.12 says, that the Amalekites were direct descendants of Esau. Do you remember Jacob and Esau? It's another thing going on here. When Haman faces Mordecai, Mordecai is the son of Jacob. But here, this one I don't want you to miss. Turn to Proverbs, Chapter 6, because it goes, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Chapter 6, because I want to show you one more providential thing that God does in the book of Proverbs. Now most of you probably already have this verse underlined, but in Proverbs 6, verse 16, this is what it says, These six things the Lord hates, seven are an abomination to Him. A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, verse 18, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies and one who shows discord among the brethren. You know what? God hated everything about Haman. Every one of the seven things God hates, you will see. In fact, just because we won't read the whole book tonight, but if you ever want to do a fascinating study of Esther, take Proverbs 6, 16-19 and keep that list in front of you. And mark off every time you find one of them, and you'll find all seven of them exactly are spoken of about Haman in this book. Isn't that providential that Haman, the result of Saul's failure, represents Esau versus Jacob, represents Saul versus Agag, and represents in the book of Proverbs everything that God said, I hate to see in a person's life. And Haman was the embodiment of it all. Haman's a tragic example. In fact, if you look back, let's go back to Esther 2, in verse 16. It's amazing, in Esther 2, when Esther is taken up to King Ahasuerus in his royal palace, Haman, in chapter 3, in verse 7, in the first month, he is starting his plan against Israel. Now, watch this. Chapter 3 of the book of Esther, verse 7. In the first month, which is the month of Nisan. Now, I shared with you last time, that's the month of Passover. So, what would all the Jews be doing that month? They would be celebrating Passover. What is Passover a celebration of? Deliverance. From what? Egypt. The greatest holiday they had. They celebrated their national deliverance. So, in that month, remember no detail in the Bible is there for naught. In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, which is Passover month, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast purr, that is the lot, this is Esther 3-7, before Haman to determine the day and the month until it fell on the twelfth month, which is the month of Adair. And Haman said to King Ahasuerus, there's a certain people scattered and dispersed. Their laws are different. It's not fitting for the king to let him remain. Verse 9, if it pleases the king, I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into your hand if you let me do this. So the king took off his ring, verse 10, and gave it to Haman, the son of Hamadathah, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. And the king says, do it. Now look at verse 13. Letters were sent by couriers into all the king's provinces to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adair, and plunder their possessions. Now look at the end, verse 15 of chapter 3 of Esther. So the king and Haman sat down to drink, but Shushan was perplexed. Why? Providence again. Now this is very hard and gets in deep and you can stay down so long you'll drown, but In the tapestry here, the Jews were just sitting down for their greatest celebration of the year. They're celebrating God has preserved us and delivered us. And exactly in that time period, Haman cast the lots. Now that was witchcraft. These were his astrologers, and they were casting the lots that month to figure out when would be when the gods the occultic gods would want him to destroy the Jews, when basically Satan would want him to do it. They're casting the lots, the purr, but they announce it in exactly Passover season. Now, isn't it providential that God had, during the time they were celebrating Passover, the worst news they'd ever had delivered to them. So, Haman is exemplifying all that is evil. Chapter 6 of Proverbs, everything God hates, Haman was given authority from the king, much like Satan will someday give great power to the wicked world ruler called the Antichrist. In fact, Haman, in a very real sense, embodies a beautiful, if you can be beautiful, example of the Antichrist. He is everything God hates. He is empowered by the king of the world, not God. And he is empowered to destroy God's people. So Haman is really a bad example. Haman hated the Jews. He tried to destroy them. The Antichrist will try and destroy the Jews. Haman was ultimately defeated and judged. The Antichrist will be conquered. God permitted Haman to be appointed to high office. God will let the Antichrist rise up. Now, look now at chapter 4. And this is where I want to give you some amazing application. Because what Haman does is he He sits down with his court astrologers, as I showed you there in chapter 3 and verse 7, and they're casting lots. Now in chapter 4, look at verse 13, Mordecai speaks, and this is Esther chapter 4 and verse 13, and I want you to see what God does, because while Haman is showing that he's going to destroy God's people, he picks Passover month and does all that, Mordecai speaks, and Mordecai told them to tell this to Esther. Verse 14, if you remain completely silent at this time. Now, look at this. If you remain completely silent at this time, number one, deliverance will arise. God is going to accomplish His will with or without us. Did you catch that? That's the first lesson of Providence. Are you going to be in cooperation with God's will or not? God has His divine purposes even if his servants won't obey. And I immediately think of two examples. And you all can think of them too. Do you remember the Apostle Paul went on a missionary journey and he took with him Barnabas and Barnabas' nephew, John Mark? And John Mark quits. There's an example of God's will that the Word go forward. And John Mark's saying, I'm not going to be part of doing God's will. You know, we have a choice. We're going to be rewarded whether or not we cooperate. Here's another one. Jonah. Jonah didn't quit. He said no. Now it's interesting, John Mark, God later restored and let him do something else great. Jonah, God turned him inside out, dumped him out in the water and digested him through a whale and he finally got him to obey. Both of those men show us God's providential and sovereign work that God will choose to do His will and God will look for servants who will obey Him. And if they don't, He'll use someone else. That's the first lesson that Mordecai had in verse 14. Deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house, if you don't cooperate, will perish. Yet, who knows whether you have come to the kingdom, you, the second truth of providence. Number one is God will accomplish His purpose even if His servants refuse to obey. Number two, God uses people. That's kind of the exciting thing to think about. We can look up and say, as your eyes run to and fro throughout the earth, here's one that you can use. And God says, I will use people. See, we are the ones that accomplish God's will for Him in this place. And if we are unwilling, He will find someone else. But if we are willing, He'll do great things. Third lesson that I see here is, God has His intersecting work in this world and it says, for such a time as this. Now for me, I always get nervous about the timing, but let me show you how much time goes on in this book. Look in chapter 1, verse 3. I want to show you how patient God is. It says in chapter 1 of Esther, verse 3, that in the third year of his reign, he made the feast. And so Ahasuerus is in year 3 when he makes his feast. Now keep turning until you get to chapter 2, verse 16. Four years later is when Esther is raised up. Now God knows that this Agagite is in this murderous bent toward his people. And God works over a four-year period of time and gets Esther in place. Now, look at chapter 3, verse 7. 2-16 is in the seventh year, four years after the book starts. Now, in chapter 3, verse 7, look what it says. In the first month of the twelfth year, Esther has been queen for five years. And that's when Haman hatches his plot. Look how patient the Lord is. It goes from year 3 to year 7 to year 12. God is patiently working along. There's something about God. God does His work and He's never in a hurry. It's in His due time. God waited until the third year, that's chapter 1, before Vashti was thrown off the throne. He waited for four more years before He put Esther on the throne. And then He waits for five more years for Haman to hatch his plot. Then look at verse 7 of chapter 3. There's one more thing. Look what else happened. It's the first month it says in verse 7. The month of Nisan. But the day that the Jews are going to be killed is the twelfth month. Isn't that fascinating? How patient God is? Remember it says in Proverbs that people roll the dice, but the way they land is the Lord's will. And God is the one that turns them as He will. And when those astrologers were trying to find the month to destroy the Jews, God had them keep throwing their dice until they got as far away from the date they announced it, which was the first month of the year. And they are going to destroy the Jews on the 12th month. So God is never in a hurry. And I think that we should learn that. Well, let me just conclude with a couple of points that we should learn about. Number one is God always will win. His sovereign plans are never frustrated. You know what happens. Basically, God used the law of sowing and reaping. Notice this, it says that in this book that Haman, Haman planned to build a gallows and put Mordecai on it, you know, kill him. And then he planned for all the Jews to be killed and then he planned to get their plunder. That was his fourfold plan. Now listen to this. Haman sowed anger against Mordecai. Remember, every time he saw Mordecai, he got angry. Now God says, don't be deceived. I'm not mocked. What you sow, you're going to reap. What destroyed Haman? Look in chapter 8 in the book of Esther. King Ahasuerus invited Queen Esther and Haman to come before him and Esther spoke again to the king and fell down at his feet and implored him with tears to undo the evil of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. And what had God used to deliver them? Back up to chapter 7, verse 6. Esther said, the wicked adversary, the enemy, 7-6 is Haman. And Haman was terrified. And look at verse 7. And the king arose in his wrath from the banquet. And verse 8, when the king returned, Haman had fallen across the couch. And verse 9, they said, put him on the gallows. What did Haman use to try and destroy the Jews? His great anger at Mordecai. What did God use to destroy Haman? The anger of the king. Haman wanted to kill Mordecai the Jew. The king killed Haman. All the way through this book, we see the law of sowing and reaping. It just reminds me of this, all the way through the Bible, and I guess the book of Esther is kind of a microcosm of the whole Bible. Do you remember how Jacob had deceived Isaac by putting animal skins on his arms? Do you remember that? And blind Isaac felt of it and thought it was Esau. Do you remember that? The whole deal? When Jacob was old, his kids took an animal and deceived him by killing it and putting it on Joseph's You see, what you sow, you reap. Just like Jacob had deceived his father, Jacob was deceived by his children. Do you remember how David disobeyed with Bathsheba and committed adultery? So what happens to him? His own son commits adultery with his own father's concubines. What he sowed, he reaped. And in a negative sense, the lesson of the book of Esther is God's providence is the law of sowing and reaping. Pharaoh gave orders to kill the Jewish baby boys by throwing them in the river, and so Pharaoh's army was drowned in the Red Sea. Saul of Tarsus encouraged the stoning of Stephen. What happens to Paul when he's on a missionary trip? He got stoned. The law of sowing and reaping. As God says, be not deceived, what we sow we'll reap. But the positive thing is that if we sow to the Spirit, we'll reap life everlasting. Well, the conclusion of this book and the blessing is this. Look at chapter 12 of Genesis where we actually started and we're going to conclude there in verse 3. Genesis 12 and verse 3 sums up the entire book of Esther and it says this in Genesis 12 and verse 3, I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. The bottom line is God always wins. His sovereign plans are never frustrated. Human hatred and bitterness lead to destruction as in Haman. But God uses regular people who will obey Him. And no wealth or power on earth can help us escape God. Haman was hanged or impaled. His body was taken down and buried. And all of his wealth and glory couldn't rescue him from death. And the Jews stood at the funeral of another one of their enemies. Just as they stood on the banks of the Red Sea and saw Pharaoh's army, just as they stood and saw the Amalekites destroyed, just as they stood and saw Haman impaled or whatever happened to him and his sons later put on, just as they later saw the destruction of the Assyrians, the destruction of the Babylonians, and since then the destruction of the Romans." God says, whoever curses you, O Israel. Verse 3, I will curse. What's the bottom line? God is providentially at work. God is everywhere present with his attention attuned. And God says, I will preserve my people, even in their darkest hour. And the lesson for us is, God will show his providence as he works all things together, Romans 8, 28, in our lives. But we have to be like Esther. We have to say, OK, if God has me for such an hour as this, I will obey you. You know, I think God would have still delivered the Jews, but it would have been a tragic story without Esther. Aren't you glad that she said yes to the Lord and became His great instrument to deliver His people? God is looking for people who will say yes to Him so He can providentially do great and mighty things through them. Let's bow together and thank the Lord for His providence tonight and for the beautiful picture in the book of Esther that God will deliver His people. Father, even now as we think about Even the Burnhams in the Philippines, we think about how you have delivered your people over the years. Some you've taken through the fire and others you've taken home in the fire. And we don't presume to think that just because we're your people we'll never face martyrdom or disaster or persecution or evil. But we do know that you are working all things together for good. you are actively causing them to glorify you. Thank you that you found a faithful son of Saul named Mordecai that would stand against an unfaithful, anti-Christ-like Haman. And Lord, I thank you that Mordecai was faithful and you accomplished your purposes. He encouraged Esther to be your tool and you delivered your people. And I pray tonight, O Lord, that we would realize that your plans and your promises and your word is sure. And all we have to do is trust you and obey. We'll thank you for what you do in our lives as we are faithful to trust and obey. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen. And God bless you as you go.