Finding Hope and Purpose in Esther, 2. Esther 4. "For Just Such a Time as This."

Catastrophe, disaster, tragedy; perhaps nothing else causes us to seek God more than these. It is so for many of us today, and so it was in Esther's day. It is human nature to seek God when we realize the depth of the trouble we face. Finding we are powerless to change it, we turn to the one who alone is able to help us. Out of places of darkness and despair we wonder if God is really in control, if God really cares, and if God is present in our times of greatest crisis. Where is our hope? In the fourth chapter of Esther, we see the people of God crying out to him while there appears to be no way out of the terrible tragedy that is about to fall upon them, no hope. Mordecai hears of the decree, learning all that had been done, and responds from a place of deep anger and grief, tearing his clothes, putting on sackcloth and ashes, and crying out loudly and bitterly in the middle of the city at the entrance to the king's gate, making his grief very public. Apparently, the key rule of protocol at the Persian court was, "never upset the king," so anything that represented misery was kept outside the palace walls, but Mordecai knew that others within the palace would hear his cries. As Mordecai responded, so also did the Jews of every province where the decree of the king was read and published. Jews throughout the Empire clothed themselves in sackcloth and lay in ashes with loud cries and tears. And while the story of Esther fails to mention God by name, there can be no doubt about why the Jews fasted, cried bitterly, and dressed with sackcloth and ashes: God's people were looking to God for his help. They were faced with what looked like an impossible situation, and they knew that they could not possibly have the solution. They were powerless to save themselves, therefore, they turned to the only power outside themselves able to save, the Lord their God. Now, the weeping and wailing of Mordecai, and certainly the Jews throughout the city of Susa, caught the attention of the young women who served Esther. These young women must've told Esther about Mordecai's rough clothing and clear grief, so Esther, greatly distressed, sent suitable clothing to Mordecai to wear into the palace so he could explain to her what troubled him. Esther understood his coarse clothing and cries as symbols of disaster and hoped that he would explain his grief in person once properly dressed, but Mordecai would not accept the palace dress she sent. So Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs assigned to her, and sent him to investigate. Mordecai told him everything that happened and the exact amount of Haman's bribe paid to the king's coffers. Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the edict so he might show it to Esther and asked that she to go to the king for all Jews. Just as Mordecai had asked her to keep her Jewish identity a secret, he now instructed her to identify with her people to beg and plead for all their lives. Esther gets the message and sent Hathach back with the following reply: "All the King's officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for 30 days." Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: "Don't think for a moment that because you're in the palace you will escape when all the other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made Queen for just such a time as this?" (Esther 4:11-14, NLT) A month had gone by since the king had sent for Esther and no one would dare go to the king unsummoned or else surely die, unless the king extended his scepter. Esther wasn't convinced that appearing before the king un-summoned would accomplish anything but her own death instead of mercy and grace for her people. But Mordecai clarified the point for her that if she did not go, then most likely she would die anyway. As he said, "Don't think for a moment because you're in the palace you will escape when all the other Jews are killed." But even if that did happen Mordecai did not place his confidence in Esther. He said, "If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die." "Deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place," said Mordecai. What gave Mordecai such confidence that if Esther remained silent, then deliverance would arise for the Jews from another place? Mordecai's trust was not in man, but in God. Mordecai's hope was in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances. The prophet Jeremiah reveals God's statements about the future of Israel. Let me summarize Jeremiah 33:14 to 26 and what was God saying to his people through Jeremiah that gave Mordecai such confidence? God was saying: "I will fulfill my promises; I will raise up a righteous descendent of King David; I will bring about the salvation and safety of Judah and Jerusalem; I will give Jerusalem a new name, The Lord Is Our Righteousness; I will make David always have a descendent on the throne; I will make the Levitical priests always have descendents to minister before me; Will my covenant with David be broken? Only if you can make it so that day doesn't follow night and night doesn't follow day! And as many as the sand on the beach and the stars in the sky, I will multiply the descendents of David and Levi . I will never abandon the descendents of Jacob or David; I will restore them and have mercy on them." Mordecai was confident because he knew that God never breaks his promises to his people. Mordecai's confidence was in God who always keeps his promises. Mordecai understood that if Esther either died before the king or died at the hands of those carrying out the edict, then God himself would deliver his people. Mordecai's hope was in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances. Mordecai also understood that Esther's position as Queen was planned and purposed by God, the Master Designer. That's why he said to Esther, "Who knows if perhaps you were made Queen for just such a time as this?" I don't think that Mordecai had any doubts in his own mind, but he phrased it as a question for Esther. Esther had to decide to count the cost of going before the king and not going before the king. And she sent the reply with her decision back to Mordecai. "Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go to see the king. And If I perish, I perish." One of the focuses of this chapter is fasting and putting on sackcloth and ashes, and the Bible makes it quite clear what their purpose is. Let's just look at one Scripture from the prophet Isaiah. God is speaking about the purpose of fasting and putting on sackcloth and ashes. Isaiah 58:5-11 (NLT) 5 You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord? 6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. 8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. 9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! 10 Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. What do we see in these verses as God's purpose for fasting, dressing in burlap, and spreading ashes on ourselves? God's purpose is to humble ourselves before him, seek him, and be awakened to the needs of others so that when we call out to God we do so for his glory and so his glory shines in our lives. God's purpose is that we fast from luxury and extravagance, from selfishness and self-indulgence. God's purpose is that his people humble themselves and serve others showing God's love in us. God's purpose is that his people bring his life and love to a broken and hurting world. The Jews all across the Persian Empire mourned and lamented over the edict that called for their destruction, but where God is at work he promises life! Esther called for all the Jews of Susa to observe a total fast for three days and nights, eating and drinking nothing. All of them knew that if Haman's sin was allowed to have its full affect, then a terrible tragedy, genocide, would follow, the Jews would be wiped out. They recognized that they were in a messy situation and God their only hope. They fasted as a sign of their unity before God in this matter. Prayer and fasting with humble hearts, revealing repentance and faith in God needs to be our response to the messes, tragedies, and disasters of life. This summer we have the tremendous opportunity to help a sister church in Paradise, NS with their vision to support a refugee family fleeing the danger of ISIS. They are running from the overwhelming messiness and tragedies of life to a place of safety. How can we fast from our luxuries and extras to help in this good work? What can we give up for the summer, longer, or permanently to help make life better for others? Our hope is in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances. Let's continue as the hands and feet and voice of Jesus to extend God's mercy to others in messy circumstances As we depend on God, fasting prayerfully in unity, the Lord who is our righteousness will grant victory. Mordecai did not hope in Esther, rather Mordecai hoped in the Lord. Esther was prepared to face death to save her people, prayers were answered, the Lord spared her from death, and the king heard her plea. The hope of Esther, Mordecai, and the Jews was in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances. Our hope is in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances. When things all around us feel impossible, overwhelming; when the mess of life is too big, too much; when sin (yours, mine, anyone's) seems to be an undefeatable problem; when the future doesn't look like it holds any promise; We need to remember the One who is our hope, prayerfully going to him with humble hearts. He is the one who gives his people a new name, The Lord Is Our Righteousness. He is our rescuer, our victory. Let's share that victory. Our hope is in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances.