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³ESTHER MAKIING THE BEST OF A NO WIN SITUATION IF I PERISH I³
³PERISH Esther 4:6 ³
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Date: 483-473 B.C.
Xerxes I reign (Ahesuerus Khshayarsh)
The “Silver Kingdom ” spoken of by Daniel (ch 7) in
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Rev 13, 17
Place: Not in Israel, or Judah, or Caanan, but in Persia
(Iran) the palace Shushan (Susa).
People: The Jews were not the zealots who returned with
Nehamiah to rebuild the city and the temple. These
people were content in their present position.
OUTLINE
1 DANGER TO GOD’S PEOPLE 1:1 — 3:15
divorce of Vashti 1:
discovery of Esther 2: 1-20
devotion of Mordecai 2:20-23
decree of Haman 3: 1-15
2 DECISION OF GOD”S SERVANT 4:1- 5:14
Mordecai’s appeal
Esther’s response
Esther’s audience
Haman’s arrogance
3 DELIVERANCE OF GOD’S PEOPLE 6:1 – 10:3
Defeat of Haman
Decree of Ahuerus and Mordecai
Defeat of Israel’s enemies
Days of Purim
Description of Mordecai’s fame
A UNIQUE FEATURE OF THIS BOOK
– It does not once use the name of God — although
His providence and care is clearly shown.
– It does not once directly mention prayer , which
involves the LORD’s hearing and answering.
Xerxes I was the great king referred to . The name Ahasuerus
is an imperial title like “His majesty” Pharoah, Agag
and means “Venerable King”.
* Heroditus mentions that he sought consolation in his
harem after his defeat at Salamis, which was in the year
that esther was made Queen.
* Let us allow him to represent in this story the soul of
man, misguided in sin, who later is redeemed.
* note Historical (Me-am loed page 6,7)
There was a Persian king by the name of Astyages whose
daughter had an iligitimate son cast out as a dog . The
child grew up in the mountains and became a powerful warrior,
and leader of a large band of men. He was given the name
‘Dog’ , or (Kurush in ancient Persian).
His grandfather discovering that his grandson was alive
and leading a band of robbers sent men to kill him. (Kurush)
Cyrus easily defeated them and proceeded to the capital where
he overthrew the king, his grandfather, and assumed the
throne of Persia. At the time , Darius (Dariavesh) was the
King of the Medes. when he heard of the feat of Cyrus he
desired an alliance, which was sealed with the marriage of
his daughter to Cyrus. From this union was born Ahsauerus,
the son of Cyrus and grandson of Darius.
When Belshazzar was overthrown his daughter Vashti was
spared by Darius, brought back to Persia where she was given
as wife to his grandson Achashverosh.
He inherited the thrones of both Media and Persia. His
true name was Artaxerxes (Artakhshacha in Persian;
Artaachshast in Hebrew) The Jews however referred to him as
Achashverosh, which was a pun on “chash -rosh” a headache.
When Achashverosh found out about his nickname , the Jews
were ready with a more acceptable explanation . They told
him that in Aramaic “achash” meant leader and that in Hebrew
“rosh” meant head ,or leader thus they called him achash –
verosh.
At one time He had ruled 252 nations, and had pushed all
the way to Athens ,but after the battle of Salamis many of
the nations rebelled ,so that at the time of our story his
kingdom extended to only 127 nations.
It was Achashverosh that halted the building of the temple
due to the false accusation described in the Book of Ezra
(4:7 f ) , where Sanballat, Tobiah, and Shimshai (one of
Haman’s sons) wrote the letter recorded in EZRA 4:11-16.
THE KING’S ADVISERS
Carshena Meres Admatha Tarshish
Shethar Marsena Memucan
Who get drunk and allow their intoxicated influence to
bear on the king toward the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life (Queen vashti’s sensuousness)
may well be represented by the hordes of slewfoot.
MORDECAI:
His name means little man. The grandson of Shimei of the
family of Kish of Benjamin. Saul (I Sam 9:1,2) was from such
lineage, also Paul the apostle(Philipians 3:5).
He seems to be your wise, mild mannered person who doesn’t
get slapped around. He is a very kind hearted person who
brought up his cousin, his uncle’s daughter, as if she was
his own, and checked on her welfare daily, while in the
king’s house.
He held a high position. He sat as a magistrate at the
city gate. He has the king’s best intrest at heart.
Let him represent the office of the HOLY SPIRIT.
ESTHER
“A STAR” (Amestris) Hadassah (heb. Myrtle- the tree from
which myrrh is derived)
A Jewess who marries a gentile king . She is related to
Mordecai. Hence she is of the same royal seed as Mordecai ,
a descendant of Saul Israel’s first king. (Josephus Ant vi.1)
The King loved her above all women (2:17). He would give her
half of his kingdom(5:3) We shall see how she presents
herself as a sacrifice to undo the evil resulting from her
ancestor Saul’s disobedience to God’s commandment regarding
the destruction of Amalek (an evil Caananite nation).
This redeemer of the nation and saving the King from a
horrible crime suggests that she is a picture of Christ in
our story.
HAMAN
He was the son of Hamadatha the Agagite, the Jew’s enemy
Agag was the name given to the Kings of Amalek, “the
people against whom God hath indignation forever”. Haman
is therefore a Royal Amalekite. Although the Lord has sworn
to blot out his name forever, (and he and his ten sons
perished here).
We see the same spirit in the world today that would
destroy God’s people everywhere, so we shall let him
represent Satan.
CHAPTER 1
1,2 Ahasuerus and his Empire
The Persian King Xerxes I 484-464 B.C.
Fickle, capricious extravegant.
His empire extended From Egypt to Ethiopia
3-9 His great feast
* nobles and princes 180 days
* the people of Susa 7 days
10-22 The intoxicated King’s demands on Vashti
Romans 1;22-32
the counsel of the “wise men”
CHAPTER 2
1-20 the discovery of Esther
Rom 2;28,29
21-23the devotion of mordecai
21,22 the plot against achashverosh’s life
Bigthan and Teresh
Mordecai overhears ,,called the “linguist” “Balshan Ezra
2:2 ,Nehemiah 7:7
The bible commands us to be patriotic and to pray for the
government ,as they have been placed there by God to govern
us.
Esther had the record inscribed in the presence of the
king into the Chronicles (minutes- records) of the king.
CHAPTER 3
1-15 the decree of death
(Saul and David , Atheliah, Herod
v1.Haman the Agagite -ie. a direct descendant of Agag,
King of Amalek (I Sam 15:8)who ,in turn was a son of Esau,
tried to prevent Israel from going back to Caananthus God had
promised “i will obliterate the memory of Amalek from under
the heavens”(Ex 17:14 ; Deut 25:19)
God raised him up in order that his fall would be all the
worse .
Haman is thought (according to Jewish oral tradition) to
have travelled to Jerusalem to stop the building of the
temple (Rashi notes on Ezra 4:17). Shimshai the scribe in
Ezra 4 was one of the petitioners to Artaxerxes to stop
building the temple that Cyrus, Queen Vashti’s Father, had
allowed Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuild. Again Darius II , son
of Esther was again to cause it to be completed . According
to jewish law Esther was a Jewwss , he was also a Jew.
v6 At first he began to plot against Mordecai alone, but
as his anger mounted, it extended to all his people the Jews.
He must have known that Mordecai was from the tribe of
benjamin, and a descendant of King Saul, who had killed
Haman’s ancestor Agag along with all the other Amalek males
(I Sam 15:9)
v7 In the first month Abib (Nissan, the same month as
passover,and the Exodus), in the 12th year of the king’s
reign, Haman began his wicked plot.
The lottery fell on the 12th month (Adar) and the 13th
day, — anniversary of the day God had broiught the plague
of darkness upon Egypt.
v8 Notice how Haman carefully does not name the “group
spread and scattered” .”they even have a commandment not to
folow our decrees (lev18:3) their religion teaches them to be
unpatriotic!” In saying this ,of course, he spoke against the
law of the King of all Kings – God and His law.
v9 He had promised to give about 750 tons of silver into
the king’s treasury — Or 100 x as much as the amount to
build the Tabernacle in the wilderness. ie.
600,000 males x 1/2 shekel = 300,000 shekels
or 100 talents vs. 10,000 talents.
v10 The King had given all his own authority to Haman ,
just as the human soul does to the evil one when he conspires
to sin.
ROM 3:9-20
What then, are we better than they? No, in no wise; for
we have before proved both Jew and Gentiles that they are all
under sin . As it is written, There is none righteous ,no not
one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that
seek after God, they are all gone out of the way. They are
together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good
,no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchure, and with
their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asps is in
their lips , whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
their feet are swift to shed blood.
V11 The king did not require a bribe to sin.
v12 The decree was written the day before passover (13
Nissan)
CHAPTER 4
v1 The loud and bitter cry of of a condemned man–
‘WOE IS ME’
Be not afraid of sudden terror
The destruction of the wicked will come. Prov 3:25
Make your plans, they will noot succeed
Speak all you want, nothing will come of it,
For GOD is with us. Isa 8:10
Isa 46:4
v3 Jews every where fasting and weeping
v 15-17 Fast for me
neither eat or drink for three days
Then I will go into the King,
And if I perish – I perish !!
Mordecai left and did all thet was instructed
During the Joyful season of Pesah, the Jews were
instructed to fast
CHAPTER 5
At the end of the fast, Esther prepared herself to present to
the King