December 25

5 – Queen Esther went to work planning how she was going to rescue her family and her people.  Her plan was not to go brash here but to go stealth.  Remember the man who hatched the plan to kill the Jews was Haman in Persia. He is the one who had to be stopped.  The King; Esther’s husband had the power to do that. So she had to get to the King even though he had not summoned her.  But to go to him unsummoned left one’self open to the gallows.  She walked the gauntlet, was invited in, and had her conference with the king.  Notice that her beauty was what gave her leverage. Her gracious heart came through and that showed all over her face. She and the king had affection for eachother and that steered the heart of the most powerful man on earth. Ladies today can learn here. The culture has trained modern women to stomp their feet, roar like a lion, demand this and that, demand equality (which never will exist), and get ugly about feminine rights. All this does is paralyze the culture and eventually eradicates faith from a people.  Learn from Esther here. Take note of her first tactic and therein is the doorway to the results she needs.        She gets the kings ear and the king is willing to give her anything – up to half of all he owns! Would you like the richest man on earth to make you an offer like that?  See how her gracious nature and faith come in to play? The pathway to the outcome she needs is well established by her wisdom and grace – not ugly assertions. So Esther requests a banquet for the King and Haman and her [only to build Haman’s confidence]. Haman at the same time is getting more and more angry at Esther’s uncle Mordecai – not knowing the two are related! Mordecai will not bow to Haman when he walks by and it’s making Haman mad with rage.  So Haman works a plan that his wife schemed out and a gallows is built to execute Mordecai on as soon it can be arranged.   Keep note of where that woman’s plans led her existence…

6 – About that time the King is reminded by his chroniclers that it was Mordecai that saved his life; foiling an assassination attempt some time ago. So the king honors him parading him through the streets for saving the king’s life and Haman gets the job of guiding the horse!  Ha! Haman wazzzz enroute to the palace to convince King Ahasuerus to hang Mordecai. And Haman ends up leading Mordecai on horseback in a regal parade.  Haman is so bothered by this he is ready to eat a boot.  Speak of sticking his foot in his mouth! it is mere moments later that the king’s servants arrive to escort Haman to the banquet for him, Esther, and the King. … oh boy.  What’s up next?

7 – So here is Esther, her husband the King, and Haman enjoying the finest food and wine on earth, when Esther has a request of King Ahasuerus.  This is ‘day two’ of a banquet so everyone is well fed and satisfied. Perhaps Haman was still bothered since he was just walking the king’s horse in a regal parade with Mordecai atop the horse. But nonetheless, he is dining with the king and queen. [Remember that Haman is totally unaware that Esther and Mordecai are blood relatives!]  Esther has a request and the King is altogether willing to give her anything.   Another tip for ladies here to not follow the current culture but to follow biblical culture. Our men want to see us happy and content and satisfied. And being gracious opens doors. Being impetuous stresses out our men who then have trouble operating productively … and where then does that leave all of us?  OK. Point made.

Esther then asks that she and her people be spared from the annihilation plot.  King Ahaseurus demands, “who plans to kill you all?”  Esther then points to Haman and announces, “HIM!” The king is beyond rage. This is at least the second death plot that has been undertaken in his kingdom that he was not privy to.  The first is against him, remember? The king orders Haman to be hanged and can you imagine being there trying to contain the glee while telling the king, “oh, uh, King Ahaseurus, there is a 75′ tall gallows by Haman’s house…”  Reminds us of Proverbs 28:10, “he who leads the upright along an evil path will fall into their own trap.”

8 – Haman was gone now but his order was already dispatched and circulating. It needed to be countered, caught up with, and headed off before people started on a spree of killing Jewish people in their territory.  King Ahasuerus ordained this be done to preserve the Jews. And notice what happens to Mordecai who opted back at the start to not bow to a pagan wretch, but to live by principle.  Mordecai is honored with wealth and treasures and he is granted Haman’s estate!  Then he is made #2 man in all of Persia.  Do not the Psalms and Proverbs and Jesus tell us over and over that this type of thing happens for God’s people?!

9 – Haman’s antiSemitic orders going out before the King sent intercepting dispatches merely revealed the Jewish resentment across the 127 Provinces that King Ahasuerus ruled over.   This sentiment would prove to be fatal had action not been taken.  It also revealed that there were hundreds of hearts bent on killing Jewish people right there in the Citadel of Shushan.  So the King allowed those who hated Mordecai’s Jews to be stopped. They were killed in a counter strike.  800 Jew-haters in and around Shushan were killed, all 10 of Haman’s sons, and 75,000 more across the Empire were also disposed of.  The great change in the atmosphere toward Jews in the Persian Empire and the miraculous turn of events led to the Feast of Purim. It is a feast the Jewish people still celebrate today.

10 – And that is the wonderful story of how things turned aright for the Jewish people in Persia, how Mordecai was exalted and honored, and how Esther’s heart for God and God’s people made for a great rescue. It’s one of the greatest rescues of a people the world has ever seen.