Jesus is a Better Esther

May 7, 2017 Speaker: Ted Detiveaux Series: For Such a Time as This

Topic: Salvation Scripture: Esther 7:1– :10

Jesus is a Better Esther


Esther 7 (ESV)
7 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther.


We must remind ourselves that they are married. From reading the book of Esther we could see that King Xerxes and Queen Esther did not have a whole lot of communication happening. Their relationship started as a physical attraction and would continue that way. However, the king had many other women as wives in his Harem. He would summon them at any time to fulfill whatever he so desired. His harem symbolized his success. The more wives he had the more successful he was considered in the eyes of man.
King Xerxes was treated like a god in the eyes of the people. He could do no wrong, so one would think.
It was amazing that King Xerxes and Queen Esther has been married for about 4 or 5 years, yet she has not told him that she was a Jew. Which also tells me that she was not a practicing Jew, at least in front of him.
Surely if she participated in all things Jewish such as tithing, public prayers, celebrating feast, festivals and holidays, meeting with God’s people, worshipping with God’s people, studying the scriptures, that the king would have noticed and said, “Esther you must be Jewish.”
She professed a faith that she did not practice openly in front of her husband. In fact, not even Haman knew that she was a Jew otherwise he would have not have gotten the king’s permission to annihilate the Jews because that would include the Queen as well.
Nonetheless Esther was not openly practicing her faith.
Many of you may battle with this as well. In your mind, it’s ok for you to practice it at church with other believers, but you struggle walking it out day to day when you are in front of non-believers. You proclaim that you are a Christian, but as soon as there is conversation about anything regarding Christianity, then you suddenly crawfish out of the conservation.


2 And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request.


This is the first time that Esther identifies herself as a Jew. This is a sign of spiritual maturity. There must come a point in time when a person is willing to be recognized as one of God’s people.


Luke 9:26 (ESV)
26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.


Esther finally acknowledges Her Jewish origins. How freeing that must have been for her. No longer did she have to hide who she was or pretend to be someone that she was not. Here I am, this is me, this is who I am, I am a Jew.
In doing so, she reveals Haman’s evil scheme.


4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”


Notice how many times she says we, my people, we had been sold. She is liking the freedom of being discovered for who she really was. There is a freedom that comes to our lives as we are willing to be identified as His.
At the same time, Esther is informing the king that there is a scheme in place that will annihilate her and her people.
In a sense, Esther adds her name to the list of Jews that were to be executed.

5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” 6 And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.


Haman’s wickedness had found him out and things went from bad to worse for Haman in a heartbeat. It was not that long ago when he was bragging to his wife how he was personally invited to attend the feast that Queen Esther had prepared. It seemed like a moment ago when he was second in command to the most powerful empire at that time. But his sin had found him out, as it always does.


Numbers 32:23
23 … you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.


He thought he was getting away with murdering a whole race, But God seen it. he thought he was going to make a spectacle of Mordecai by hanging him, but God seen that too.
You too may think that you are getting away with some secret sin that nobody knows about, but God sees it. God sees it all. There is nothing that is hidden from Him. Eventually, your sins will find you out.


7 And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king.


Haman at this point sees that he was a doomed man and begins to plea for his life. He realized the error of his ways, but it was too late.
“The king arose in his wrath.” He had the right to be angry, he was the king and this was his kingdom. Yet it was his decision that gave Haman the signet ring and the authority to make the decree against the Jews in the first place. So now the blood of the Jews and the queen would also be on the King.


8 And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.


Things did not turn out well for Haman. He did not know it was his day to die. He went to the feast thinking of being honored instead he was exposed.
The truth of this story is that no one knows the day or the hour when we will face our maker.
Haman was not prepared to die on that day, will you be prepared?
In his own eyes, Haman was a good person. We see this in the prior chapter. He thinks in his heart that there is no one else that the king would delight to honor rather than him. But he was dead wrong.
Many of you may be thinking as Haman, I am a good person I deserve to be honored or I deserve eternal life. Surely God will not send me to hell to be tortured.
These are the two biggest lies of the enemy.
First, he wants you to think that you are a good person and that you don’t need God.


Romans 3:23 (ESV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God


Have you lied before, have you stolen before, have you lusted before, have you envied before, have you told lies about someone before, have you ever loved something more than God, then you are guilty and the punishment for your sin is death.
Second, he wants you to believe that God is a loving God who will not send you to hell.
While He is a loving God, He is also Just. If a human king can demonstrate both love toward Esther and wrath toward Haman, how much more will the wrath of God be demonstrated to those who oppose Him and His love demonstrated toward those who trust in Him.


Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment


There is coming a day for all of us when we will leave this earth and stand before our God the righteous judge. We will be held accountable for our actions. There will be those of us who find His favor and there will be those of us who will be condemned forever. (pause)
Esther Identified herself with her people and because of that, her people were spared. She acted as a mediator or as a “in between” her people and the king. There is a greater mediator than the woman Esther. His name is Jesus.
Jesus was willing to come to this earth and to be identified with His people.
In studying Esther, I can’t help but also see God’s Plan of Salvation for all mankind.
We Are Doomed
A. Our story is much like the story of the Jewish people. The Jews were doomed because of one man named Mordecai, as he refused to submit to Haman’s authority.
B. We are also doomed because of the actions of one man named Adam. He refused to submit to the Creator God, because of his sins we were born with a sinful nature and therefore sentenced to death, just as Haman sentenced the Jews to death.
We Need A Mediator
A. The Jews needed a mediator, or someone who could make their case before the king. Esther would become that mediator for the Jews.
B. Jesus would become our mediator, and he intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father. He stands between us and our Heavenly Father who is a righteous judge and a God of Wrath.
We Need A Savior That Risked It All
A. Like Esther, Jesus knew what it would cost to save His people. Jesus would say Father if it were possible let this cup pass from me. Just as Esther pleaded her case with Mordecai.
B. Jesus was not only willing to lay his life down like Esther, He actually laid down His life for His people.
We Need The Shedding Of Blood
A. It says in vs 10 that after He was hanged and the wrath of the king was abated. In other words, someone had to die for this. In this story, the king required the blood of Haman.
B. In order for the wrath of God to be abated there had to be bloodshed as well. However, this blood would come from an innocent sacrifice, a spotless lamb. This innocent sacrifice was Jesus.
Jesus was a better Esther because He walked this earth without sin. He took our place upon the cross and died for our sin. He became sin and bore on His body the wrath of God for us.
This would be equivalent of Esther saying to King Xerxes, I will forgive Haman and I will take his place on the gallows. He deserves to die, but I will go in his place. However, that never happened.
Yet, this is exactly what Jesus Christ did for us. It was because of our sin that the wrath of God was upon us, yet Jesus steps in our place and dies a death that we should have.
Jesus is a better Esther as He gives grace to those who do not deserve it.
We are like Haman, we are filthy in our sin and we stand guilty before a Holy God.
We need His mercy! Thankfully His wrath has been abased because of the bloodshed of His Son Jesus.
God’s people were spared a physical death because Esther identified with them
God’s people are spared eternal death because Jesus Christ identifies with us.
Esther’s actions spared people in her generation. Jesus’ actions spared His people in every generation.

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