Beauty and the Feast

MESSAGE INTRO (Renovation Church slide) Good morning. My name is David Sorn, and I’m the Lead Pastor here at Renovation Church. Do you ever look out at the world and think, “We’re done for as a society.” 😊 It probably it depends on what you read, or your personality, or the day of the week… But certainly, we’ve all had days where it’s easy to think, “Life is not going in the right direction.” And maybe you even question God, and you wonder, “God, what are you doing? Why are you allowing this to happen?” And yet, we read in God’s Word that God always has a plan. And it always make sense when you read it backwards…in hindsight. But when you’re in the middle of it, especially at the climax of conflict, it can feel like it doesn’t make any sense. And we’re going to learn a lot about how God works this summer as we study one of the great books of the Old Testament. This has been our tradition the last few years or so…we take a good part of the summer and we journey through an Old Testament book. And this year, for our Summer Series, we are going to be studying the Book of Esther. ESTHER INTRO (Series Slide) The book of Esther is one of my favorite books in the Bible, and such an amazing story. I want you to be here every week for it Now, I get it, it’s the summer. So if, or when, you’re out of town, do what you can to catch up. Listen online or through our app and catch up during the week. Or read the chapter you missed. The book of Esther is a historical narrative… So missing a week is like missing 15 minutes right in the middle of a movie. You want to keep following along. But I’m glad you’re here today as there is A LOT of information I need to get across to you in week 1 of the series…if we’re going to make sense of the rest of the book. We need to look at when we are in history and where we are geographically. Let’s start with the WHEN: ESTHER TIMELINE 586 BC: Babylon destroys Jerusalem and exiles the Jews 539 BC: Persia conquers Babylon; Some Jews return home 520 BC: Zechariah prophesies 516 BC: Temple is rebuilt 483 – 472 BC: Book of Esther 458 BC: Ezra arrives in Jerusalem 445 BC: Nehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem wall So one of THE main events in the Old Testament happens in 586 BC when King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians destroy the city of Jerusalem. The Babylonians knock down the city walls, set the city on fire, and destroy the temple which had been there since King Solomon, almost 400 years earlier. And the Jews are then taken captive and exiled to Babylon. Then in 539 BC, the Kingdom of Babylon is conquered by the Persians and the Medes. And the Persian King, King Cyrus, issues a decree that all of the people who had been taken captive by the Babylonians can return home. However, the majority of the Jews actually DON’T return home to Jerusalem. It had been 47 years (or more for some of them) The majority of them were born in Babylon, and that’s all they knew. Among the returning exiles to Jerusalem was a prophet named Zechariah. If you were here with us last summer, outside at Northpoint Elementary, we spent the summer of 2023 studying the book of Zechariah. That entire book takes place in the year 520 BC 4 Years after that, the Jews had finished rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. And so in the Book of Esther, we’re kind of close to the same time period as Zechariah. The Book of Esther starts just 37 years after Zechariah: In the year 483 BC. If you’ve ever read the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, when Ezra went to Jerusalem, that was not long after Esther. And we studied Nehemiah here a few years ago, and Nehemiah is only about 30 years or so after Esther. Let’s open up our passage now, & then we’ll talk some more about the setting for this book Esther 1:1 3 Page 340 If you’re using your own Bible, Esther is right after Ezra and Nehemiah, as these are books from the same time period. We are starting our series today, so we’re going to begin at chapter 1, verse 1. Here we go! (Esther 1:1 3) – NIV This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush: 2 At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, 3 and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present. (Title Slide) So the Persian King Xerxes, Grandson of King Cyrus (who said the exiles could return home) is now reigning over the massive Kingdom of Persia. (Map of Persian Empire) Let’s take a look at a map here of the Persian Kingdom. The different colors on this map were different regions the Persians conquered over time. And you can see that the Persians ruled all the way from North Africa, up to what is now southeastern Greece, through Turkey, much of the Middle East, and all the way to what is now the border of Pakistan and India. It was a massive Kingdom. And the Persians would be the dominant world power for around 200 years until Alexander the Great and Greeks would eventually rule that same massive region. And the book of Esther takes place in the town of Susa, which is right here Susa is in the far western regions of modern day Iran…not far from the Iraq border. But in those days, it was the winter residence of the Persian Kings. And the city of Susa actually shows up a number of times in the Bible. One of Daniel’s visions takes place there. And the Book of Nehemiah actually also starts out with Nehemiah serving King Xerxes’s son (Artaxerxes) in this same city of Susa. THE FEAST Okay, let’s get into the passage a bit more now and see what the Persian King, Xerxes is up to. (Esther 1:4 9) – NIV 4 For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. 5 When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa. 6 The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother of pearl and other costly stones. 7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality. 8 By the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished. 9 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. 1. THE FEAST Okay, so King Xerxes puts on this 180 day exhibit of his vast wealth. He wants everyone to see how powerful he is. And then he tops it off with a massive 7 day banquet, in which he pulls out all the stops. Let me share with you my favorite note from a Bible commentary I read this week though. It says, “You can tell the book of Esther was written by a man because in verse 6 where it says, “The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, in the original Hebrew, the white material is literally described as “the white stuff.” So, it’s a great book, but the author didn’t have much of an eye for decorating. (Title Slide) The Greek historian Herodotus refers to this Persian banquet in his writings, as it was at this time that Xerxes gathered all of his major leaders to begin planning his future invasion of Greece. And so this is a huge moment for the young King, whom we read in verse 3 is only in the 3rd year of his reign. He needs to impress a lot of people if they’re going to get a massive military campaign started. THE HUMBLING Let’s keep reading. (Esther 1:10 22) – NIV 10 On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas— 11 to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger. 13 Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times 14 and were closest to the king—Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memukan, the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom. 15 “According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?” he asked. “She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her.” 16 Then Memukan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. 17 For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’ 18 This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord. 19 “Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she. 20 Then when the king’s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.” 21 The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memukan proposed. 22 He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be ruler over his own household, using his native tongue. (Title screen) Okay, so let’s talk through this. King Xerxes is drunk. And he decides, not only has he shown off all of his power and wealth, he decides to show off what he deems as his trophy wife. And so he sends 7 eunuchs to Queen Vashti… They’re eunuchs because if you worked closely with the King, you typically had to be a eunuch…so the King wouldn’t worry about you killing him to start your own dynasty. And the eunuchs ask Queen Vashti (which means beautiful woman) And he asks this beauty to come to his feast and display herself in front of a room of drunk men. And she bravely refuses. 2. THE HUMBLING But think about the irony here…the humbling. Xerxes has gathered together all of the important men for the very express purpose of inspiring them and showing them how he is all powerful. He can do whatever he wants. He can accomplish anything he thinks of. Every person must obey his word. And then his own wife won’t even listen to him. Embarrassing him in front of all of his guests. In fact he’s SO embarrassed, that he and his nobles go on this ridiculous tangent to make sure no other woman in Persia ever disobeys her husband. It’s all a bit silly. And then, poor Queen Vashti, who is certainly acting honorably, and doing the right thing…is removed from her post as Queen. THE POINT 3. THE POINT But what do we take from a chapter like this? Well, firstly, let me bring up what is the most fascinating aspect of the entire book of Esther. Esther is the only book (out of all 66 books in the Bible) that never mentions the name of God. And yet, God’s presence is on every page. In fact, the main point of the book is that God works every single detail together…and is sovereign over absolutely everything. God is in control…even over this ridiculous scene in chapter 1. I have to give a bit of a spoiler alert here, but the fact that Queen Vashti was deposed, is going to open up a spot for a new Queen. And God is going to use the chaos of chapter 1 to surprisingly get the Jewish exile, Esther, into royalty. And by Esther becoming Queen, she is going to save all of the Jews in Persia. It’s going to be a remarkable story! Absolutely amazing. But it all never happens without chapter 1. And this is so crucial to remember my Christian friends. Because sometimes you can feel so small and insignificant, and the problems out there can feel so insurmountable. And in those moments there are often temptations that come upon us. One is to give in. 3. THE POINT a) Don’t Give In There’s a temptation to look at the overwhelming power and influence of the culture out there and say, “The culture is just so strong, let’s just give in” When it comes to things like “how the culture thinks about sexuality”… it’s overwhelming. The temptation is…maybe we should just give in. “Or maybe we should just live for banquets, and vacations, and instagrammable photos like everyone else. ” There’s a temptation out there that says, “Why live like we talked about last week in Mark 8, to deny yourself, take up your cross, and live solely for Christ?” “Why not live like that? Why not just give in.” But see, that’s why chapters like this one exist in the Bible. God is going to great lengths to show you the pomp and circumstance of King Xerxes. He’s putting his wealth on display for 180 days. He’s holding feasts that last for 7 days. He’s obnoxious and looks like he’s got all the power. And in the eyes of the average Persian citizen he kind of does seem to have all the power. Can you imagine a ruler today who basically was in charge of more than ½ of the world as you knew it? How powerful would that person seem compared to you? It would seem like they are in charge of your future. But no matter how much power anyone has…who truly has the power??? God. God is the one in control And He’s about to show it, with a little sprinkle of irony as well. Xerxes tries to demean a woman, and God is about to use a woman (Esther) to save everyone. So don’t give in. Even if you feel like no one else around you is living for Christ right now. Don’t give in. That’s a key teaching of this part of the Old Testament. Books like Esther and Daniel show us how to live as exiles… They teach us how to live differently when no one else around is. They teach us to not bow down to culture even if everyone else is. Why? Because the worldly powers, the culture around us is not going to win in the end. God is going to win! And don’t fall for a 2nd and similar temptation either: Which is to give up 3. THE POINT a) Don’t Give In b) Don’t Give Up Don’t be dismayed or discouraged by what you see. Because sometimes things get worse before they get better. But that doesn’t mean that God isn’t in control. Chapter 1 of Esther is here to remind us that God is working in our time as well. This chapter of Esther looks just like another political story from history. “Persian King prepares for war with Greece, and deposes his wife the queen” But behind the scenes, God is making chess moves. He’s preparing something amazing. And you can’t see it yet in chapter 1, but God is making moves. And so don’t look out at what’s happening in culture, or in politics, or social media, and say, “God is absent, it’s all falling apart” That’s to make the same mistake as the disciples in the NT Jesus is arrested, and they think that God has messed up, and that it’s all over. It wasn’t over. God was working a miracle! They just couldn’t see it! So often what we think is a mistake by God, is actually God doing something beautiful. If you study the great events of history, many of them are initially started by seemingly odd or insignificant events. And no one could have ever guessed that they would lead where they led. They only make sense in hindsight. Even in the book of Acts, starting in chapter 8, immense persecution breaks out against the Christian believers in Jerusalem. And it’s easy to read that, and say, “God what are you doing?! This is how you start your new church?! But God uses that very persecution to scatter the believers out of their comfort zone in Jerusalem and start spreading the Gospel all around the world. I came across a video this week that I think demonstrates this well. Take a look at this (Play Times Square Video) (Times Square Image) The first 10 seconds of that, I was thinking, “Oh no, this another one of those Jackson Pollock drip paintings where they throw paint, and then hang it up in a museum, but honestly your 3 year old could do better. But as you keep watching, it’s actually a quite remarkable painting when you zoom out and see the whole picture. And when you look at it as a final product. And that, my Christian friend, will be true of your life, when you stand back in heaven (at the end), and you can see all that God painted with it. Right now, it might feel like he’s doing this, and throwing paint around. But our God paints with a purpose. Pastor Mark Dever says this about the book of Esther He says, “The book of Esther is really just one long narrative illustration of Romans 8:28” Which says: (Romans 8:28) – NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. And so no matter what happens around us: Do not despair. Do not give in, or give up. For in Esther we see God humble the mightiest king on earth, and then use that very situation for God’s grand purposes. God is in control. And He’s in control of your circumstances and your life. Trust Him. Let me pray. GOSPEL. When you read about the cruelty of King Xerxes…or his crassness or absurdity… It makes you long for a better King. And that better king your heart longs for is King Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. Jesus came, it says, to give His life for yours as a ransom. That is He can free you from any dark place. He can free you the captivity of sin. If you would believe in Him. Come down and see follow up team.