Good Christadelphian Talks Extended Bible Class

Nathan Lewis - Class 4: The Sceptre

March 27, 2019 1h 3m

Class 4 from Bro. Nathan Lewis’s Esther - Queen of Destiny series given at the 2009 Winfield Bible School.

Class 2 from this series was used for GCT Episode 014.

Topics

Humility & Service

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Transcript 140 sections, automatically transcribed

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

0:00
Spence with the reading for this class. This is Winfield Bible School, 2009. The overall theme for our school is the fall of flesh to the triumph of spirit. Our speaker for this class is our brother Nathan Lewis, and his study is the book of Esther. And this is his fourth class entitled The Scepter.
0:30
Well, good morning, everybody. Excellent, excellent. I hope you're all well rested. And this morning we come to almost the heart of the story. Well, you'll remember that in our last session in Esther, we left Mordecai and Esther greatly distressed with the iniquitous decree of Haman. And the existence of the nation seems to be hanging by a thread.
1:06
And you can just imagine how dismayed and upset Mordecai and Esther must have been at the decree of Haman. King Sin seemed destined to triumph over the Jews. And you'll remember that we left for ourselves, just to savor this morning, by way of introduction, the last few verses of Esther chapter 4. So we're going to start there this morning.
1:33
And we deliberately did that because we want to use those verses to introduce chapter 5, because now we come to the fast of Esther and Mordecai. And how this works is simply amazing. So we pick up the story in chapter 4 and verse 15. Mordecai had commanded Esau, you'll remember, to go before the king and to plead the cause of the nation.
1:57
Who knows, Esther, he said, whether you have been catapulted into international prominence for just such a pivotal moment as this. And in verse 15 and 16, we have Esther's considered response. And Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer. Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me.
2:25
And neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I also and my maidens will fast likewise. And so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law. And if I perish, I perish. All right, she says, I'll do it. But with one special request, I want you, Mordecai, to fast for me with all the Jews in Shushan.
2:55
You see, before, when Mordecai had warned her, don't think that you're going to be safe in the king's house, when she thought that she might have been, now that she's decided she is going to go before the king, now she feels terribly alone and she wants to involve everybody. You're right, Mordecai, she says.
3:18
Their problem is my problem. And my problem is their problem. We are all in this together. And brothers and sisters, if we want to participate in the triumph of the spirit over the flesh, if we want to triumph in God's salvation and deliverance, well, we must participate in the trials and sufferings as well.
3:42
2 Timothy 2 verse 12 says, If we want to reign with him, we must suffer with him. Find all the Jews. Excuse me. Said Esther. And fast for me. Three days and three nights. And my maidens and I will fast likewise. And I will go in unto the king. And notice what it says.
4:06
Not according to law. I'm not going to go into the king by works of the law, by which no one can be justified, but by the spirit of grace and favor. The deliverance would never come by the law, would it, brothers and sisters? Only by grace. And if I perish, I perish. That's a remarkable statement, isn't it, brothers and sisters?
4:30
Can you imagine saying that to Mordecai? That they may well be your last words to your foster father. It's a staggering faith. And you know, I think that Esther is actually quoting from somebody. She's quoting from one of the forefathers of the nation of Israel. Because in Genesis chapter 43 and verse 14, when Jacob was similarly facing the near extinction of the nation, he sent his sons back to Egypt and he said, If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
5:03
And Esther almost quotes those very words. She picks up on Jacob's resignation and trust in God. In Genesis 43 and verse 14. So Esther really is, she's really realizing now, isn't she, that ultimately the decision of what happens will be only in God's hands. How the king will react is going to be just up to God.
5:28
And she has to put her trust in him. If I perish, I perish. So pray and fast for me, she says to Mordecai. Three days and three nights. And we can't miss the type, can we, brothers and sisters? If we don't eat and drink, ultimately we die. And a fast here is going to be symbolic of death and burial.
5:54
You know, back in chapter 3 and verse 12, you'll remember that the decree of Haman went out on the 13th day of the first month. And allowing for about a day for the decree to sort of seep through the city, I am 99.5% sure that now the start of the fast is on the very day of Passover.
6:21
And could it be anything else, brothers and sisters? The very day of Passover itself is now the start of the fast. The timing of God is impeccable. Now I want you to notice, who is the preeminent person who is fasting? Look what it says in verse 16. Esther says, Go, find the Jews, fast ye for me.
6:43
Don't eat or drink three days, night or day. I also and my maidens will fast. So who's the preeminent person fasting? And the answer is Mordecai. Esther says, I will also fast, but I want you, Mordecai, to lead the fast on behalf of the nation. That's very important. This is Mordecai's fast. Esther was going to fast as well, but this was Mordecai's fast.
7:15
And 500 years later, brothers and sisters, on the 14th day of Adav, our Lord Jesus Christ entered into a three-day and three-night fast in the grave for us. And his death and burial and subsequent resurrection is, as we'll see as we go through this morning, the only thing that can save the world from the iniquitous decree of Haman.
7:40
And you know, brothers and sisters, we know, we know that it must have been the Passover day, because verse 17 says that Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther had commanded him. Look what the margin says. Mordecai passed, and the Hebrew word means he passed over. It's exactly the same word that's used in Exodus chapter 12 and verse 13, when the angel of death passed over the nation.
8:15
And the Passover was instituted for the very first time. This is an astounding type of the Passover death and resurrection three days later of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's interesting, brothers and sisters, because from this point on in the record, through to the end of the book of Esther, Mordecai is not going to partake of any feast from this point on until the power of Agag is destroyed and king's sin is finally vanquished.
8:49
He is the perfect type of our Lord Jesus Christ who would not partake of the memorial feast until the kingdom would come. And so Mordecai passed over and did exactly as Esther commanded. He knew that he had to meticulously keep his part of the bargain if the bride was to be saved. And so from this moment on, as it were, even though Haman and king's sin still seems to have the upper hand in the story, we know that the moment Mordecai enters into the fast, typically he gives up his life and goes into the grave, we know, don't we, that victory is assured in the story, even though king's sin still seems to have the upper hand for a time.
9:37
And so now we come to chapter 5 and we read in verse 1, Now, it came to pass on the third day that Esther put on the royal apparel and stood in the inner court. She laid aside the sackcloth and put on her queenly robes, garments of beauty and elegance. Now notice, brothers and sisters, that the words in verse 1, the word her and the word apparel are in italics.
10:06
Those words are not there in the original. And look what Esther's doing. Let me read you the whole verse this time and just listen to the emphasis of these words. Now, it came to pass on the third day that Esther put on royalty and stood in the inner court of the king's house over against the king's house.
10:35
And the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house over against the gate of the house. Can you see what's happening, brothers and sisters? She knew exactly what she was doing. It was the king's house. It was the king's throne. It was the king's royalty. It was the king's splendor. The king's glory.
11:01
And she was going to come before him, brothers and sisters, as a perfect reflection of everything that was his. She seamlessly fits into that royal scene. Now, come very quickly to Psalm 144 because there's a very remarkable verse here that talks to us of the bride of Christ. Psalm 144. And most of us know these words, but let's just read them again in verse 12.
11:37
Psalm 144 in verse 12. Psalm 14. Psalm 14. Psalm 14. Psalm 14. That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth. That our daughters may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace. Literally that means polished like the model of a palace. She was like a miniature palace herself, brothers and sisters.
12:08
And that's what we want to be, don't we? We want to be polished like a palace. And so when our Lord Jesus Christ returns as king of all the earth and on his throne, he looks up and down the long colonnade of the temple, he sees us. What do we want him to see, brothers and sisters?
12:28
We want him to see a miniature palace in which he can be enthroned. We want to be miniature palaces of his reflecting the great palace of the kingdom. And you know, brothers and sisters, when John the Apostle saw the vision of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 in verse 2, he said that she was like a bride, adorned for her husband.
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But you know what he actually saw? Coming out of heaven, he saw a city. He saw a palace. A palace coming down out of heaven because the palace was the bride. And the bride was the palace. The bride of Christ was polished after the model of a palace. And when Esther came before the king, she was the perfect reflection of everything that the king was and had.
13:25
And he could be enthroned in the heart of that woman. And that's what Esther was. She was the very antithesis of Vashti. Here was a woman who understood what it means to manifest God. You know, we often talk about God manifestation. And that's exactly what Esther chapter 5 in verse 1 is all about.
13:50
A woman who comes before her Lord and perfectly reflects and manifests him. And Esther is dressed in royalty to reflect the king. You know, she came, brothers and sisters, in the words of Hebrews 10 and verses 19 to 22, with boldness into the holiest of all, drawing near with a true heart and full assurance of faith through the blood and type of Mordecai.
14:23
And so at the end of the splendid colonnade of pillars that lined the long hallway leading to the king's throne room, when Esther appeared, brothers and sisters, in all her royal glory, the king saw himself. Could he do anything but extend to her the scepter of favor? And we read in verse 2, And it was so when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court that she obtained favor in his sight.
14:54
And the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near and touched the top of the scepter. The king was instantly delighted by the unexpected appearance of his beautiful wife. And he knew that whatever the issue was, that woman had walked into that court risking her life.
15:19
And so he holds out to her the golden scepter. And what a wonderful symbol the golden scepter is. Here we have the references about the scepter in the Bible. And it's a marvelous, marvelous symbol. It first occurs in Genesis 49 in verse 10. It's a symbol of kingship and rulership. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, said Jacob.
15:45
It was to be the kingly tribe, a symbol of kingship and rulership. In Numbers 24 in verse 17, it was the symbol of power and justice. I see a star out of Jacob. A scepter shall rise out of Israel and shall smite the corners of Moab. It was the symbol of power and justice.
16:09
Psalm 45 in verse 6, quoted of course in Hebrews 1 verse 8, where Paul says, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. It's a symbol of righteousness and permanence forever and ever. You know, often we read in the Bible, don't we, brothers and sisters, of the outstretched arm of God.
16:35
And all these references that we have here on the screen are just a few of those references in the Bible where God's arm is outstretched. And the scepter that he holds in his hand is merely an extension of his arm. It became a symbol of who the king was, his kingship and rulership, his power and justice, his righteousness and permanence of his throne.
16:59
And everything that the king stood for, everything that he was, he now extends to Esther. He wants to share with her the kingdom. And Esther drew near, it says, she drew near and touched the top of his scepter. You know, in the Hebrew, that word, the top means, what's the Hebrew word? Rosh.
17:22
It means the head of the scepter. She associated with him the lordship of her house. He was the head over that kingdom. She was the lamb's wife who had washed herself and made herself ready. She's sanctified, isn't she, by the fast of Mordecai. And you remember that when God, when God, what God said, when Nadab and Abihu came before him uninvited, remember he said back in Leviticus 10, I will be sanctified, sanctified in those that draw nigh me.
17:59
Leviticus 10 in verse 3. And there she is. She drew near and she was sanctified, washed and cleaned by Mordecai's fast. And he could do nothing else, could he, brothers and sisters, except extend to her the symbol of everything that he was, the symbol of the kingdom, the symbol of everlasting righteousness. And you know, brothers and sisters, it was only just a few days ago that I even noticed that by the time we've read verses 1 and 2, that not a single word has passed between the king and his bride.
18:37
Can you imagine the tension of that scene as Esther came and walked slowly down the hallway of the king's throne room and finally touched the head of the scepter? And not a word has passed between them, but just looks of understanding and looks of love. Here is a deep, true relationship, isn't it, brothers and sisters?
19:03
These two knew exactly what the other is thinking without saying a word. And now the king talks, verse 3. Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, Queen Esther? And what is thy request? It shall be given thee to the half of the kingdom. Literally the words mean, What aileth thee? And probably Esther, a bit like Nehemiah in Nehemiah chapter 2, you remember, he looked remarkably queasy and awfully sick looking and upset.
19:38
Coming before the king, looking like that was not something that he usually did. And Esther obviously would have been extremely fearful in that sense as she approached the throne. She's just risked her life. She probably looked quite visibly shaken. And the king says, What's wrong, Esther? He's moved with compassion and sympathy for the woman that he loves.
20:03
What is thy request? It shall be given thee even unto the half of the kingdom. You know, that little phrase is repeated three times for us in this story. It's there in verse 3. It's there again in verse 6. And it's there again as we come to chapter 7 and verse 2. The king is anxious, brothers and sisters, to share with us the kingdom.
20:28
I'll give you half of the kingdom. What is it? We are joint heirs of the kingdom of God with our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters, and he is going to share that kingdom with us. You know, this little phrase, what is it? I'll give it to you. Even the half of the kingdom is really, I guess, like a colloquial expression.
20:50
It's really saying, well, look, if what you're after is really reasonable, then I'm not going to actually withhold anything from you. I'll give you anything that you desire. If we are reflecting the king's glory. And you know what John 16 and verse 23 says, whatsoever ye shall ask of my father in my name, he will give it to you.
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John 16 and verse 23. Our Lord Jesus Christ is keen to give us the whole kingdom. He's keen to abundantly give us an entrance into the kingdom. Fear not, little flock. It is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12, and I think it's verse 32. You know, brothers and sisters, the only other time where that phrase, that phrase, that expression is used, I'll give it to you even to the half of my kingdom, the only other time that occurs in the whole Bible is in Mark chapter 6 and verse 23, where Herod says to Herodias' daughter, dancing before him, whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, even to the half of my kingdom.
22:02
And we can just imagine, can't we, brothers and sisters, this is the lovely, gracious Queen Esther, choking back the words that she desperately wants to say, all I want is the head of Haman, the Agagite, on a charger. But now is not the time for that quite yet.
22:24
Now we come to verse 4. And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him. Can you imagine, can you imagine the tension, brothers and sisters? The beautiful queen of all the world has obviously risked her life to come in before the king, uninvited.
22:53
And as she walks down the hallway and finally touches the head of the scepter, the king's so anxious to find out why she'd risked her life. And she says, I want you to come over for dinner.
23:11
Can you imagine the tension, brothers and sisters? Can you imagine how that would have immediately grasped the attention of the king? Come today. to a feast. Now what day was today? And the answer is, well, this is the third day since the Passover day. This is, well, it's the time of unleavened bread.
23:39
Time of the feast of unleavened bread. So we're now going to have a feast during the feast of unleavened bread. And what would you do during the feast of unleavened bread? Well, you would search at your house for leaven. It's what Paul calls in 1 Corinthians 5, verse 8, the leaven of malice and wickedness.
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And Esther is going to invite the king to a feast and reveal to him the malice and the wickedness of Haman that's hiding right under his nose. now is the time of the feast of unleavened bread. It's an amazing type, isn't it, brothers and sisters, of the death and burial of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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And we read in verse 5, the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. The king takes absolute control. And so the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. And from this moment on, brothers and sisters, the king is going to haste Haman.
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He's going to hasten the demise of the Agagite, the Jew's enemy. He's not going to let him to settle. Make haste. Make haste. And so in verse 6 to 8, we have Queen Esther's first, first banquet of wine. You know, we're told time and time again in this story that it was a banquet of wine.
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You know, it says that in verse 6. The king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine. Why are we told that over and over that it was a banquet of wine? Well, I want you to come to Isaiah 51. Because wine can symbolize, if you've ever studied the subject of the bread and the wine, a number of things.
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But this is what I think it's clearly representing at this particular time. A banquet of wine. And Isaiah 51 says in the last two verses, verses 22 and 23, these words.
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Thus saith thy Lord, Yahweh, and thy God that pleads the cause of his people. Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury. Thou shalt no more drink it again, but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee, which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over.
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And thou hast laid thy body on the ground and as the street to them that went over. And the banquet of wine, brothers and sisters, was a banquet of bitter wine, the symbol of God's fury. And now the cup of trembling is going to be taken from the Jews. They had experienced God's punishments and wrath and now God is going to say, give that to me.
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And he's going to hand that to Haman the Agagite, the wine of God's wrath. He's going to take that cup, the dregs of the cup of my fury and put it in the hand of the man who had said to all of the Persian Empire, bow down to me and walked, tried to walk over the nation of Israel and God said, now is the time for that man to drink of the fury of my wrath.
27:06
You know, we don't want to be on the receiving end of that cup, do we, brothers and sisters? We read of that cup in Revelation, Revelation 14 and verse 10, the wine of God's wrath which is poured out without mixture into the cup of indignation. It speaks of a terrible, terrible time, awful judgments.
27:28
Revelation 16 and verse 19 talks of it as the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And now the time has come to give that cup at the banquet of bitter wine into the hand of Haman the Agagite. And so, at this banquet of bitter wine in verse 6, the king is now greatly interested as to why the queen would risk her life.
27:52
He's burning with curiosity. And he asks her again, verse 6, what is thy petition? And it shall be granted thee. What is thy request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.
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But Esther is not ready to tell the king just yet. And so she says in verses 7 and 8, my petition and my request is if I have found favor in the sight of the king and if it please the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them.
28:29
And I will do tomorrow as the king hath said. Now you have to ask yourself, brothers and sisters, why is this? The king has asked her the same question in verse 3 again now in verse 6. And she still hasn't answered him. Why does Esther ask them to a banquet and then postpone everything to the very next day?
28:49
It seems ludicrous, doesn't it, that she would do such a thing? And I think the answer is this. The first feast, the first banquet of wine here in verses 6 to 8 was never, ever going to be the time that Esther was going to expose Haman.
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That was always going to be on the following day. This first feast was for quite a different reason. It was to discover the mood and the emotions of the king, to see if he was truly prepared to listen, to trust her. Remember, she hasn't seen him for 30 days and she's going to find out if she had found favor in the sight of the king.
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She was uncertain as to how the king would respond to revealing that Haman is the king's enemy and she wants to ascertain beforehand how is the king going to react? This was never, ever going to be the time that she exposed Haman for the vagabond he was and here's how I know that that's true.
29:57
See, back in chapter 4 in verse 16, Esther had asked Mordecai to fast three days, night and day, the day of the Passover. That's when the fast started and in chapter 5 verse 1, Esther came in before the king on the third day and I think, brothers and sisters, that clearly this is before the end of the fast.
30:22
This is the last day of Mordecai's fast. The city and Mordecai are still fasting for her and she invites the king and Haman to a banquet but notice that it never says that she ate or drank anything and that's because, brothers and sisters, she didn't. She was still fasting. The banquet was not for her, it was for the king and Haman and you can just imagine the curiosity of the king as he came to this banquet that same day and there's only two placemats, one for me and one for Haman.
30:58
You can just imagine the curiosity when he found out that Esther was not eating or drinking. Now what does that mean, brothers and sisters, if it's on the last day of the fast? Well it means that symbolically Mordecai is still dead. Symbolically, Mordecai is still in the grave. He's still on the last day of his fast.
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Now look at verse 9. Haman comes out of the first banquet of wine and we read that he went forth that day, joyful and with a glad heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate that he stood not up nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. And Haman came out of the banquet full of joy and gladness and this time, brothers and sisters, Mordecai doesn't just not bow down, he doesn't just not stand up.
32:00
Mordecai doesn't move a muscle. Literally, it means he didn't even tremble. He didn't even twitch, brothers and sisters. Now why does it say that Mordecai didn't even move? If it is not to tell us that symbolically Mordecai is still dead. And as we well know, dead people, they don't move. And Mordecai is still symbolically in the grave.
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He hasn't yet stood up, verse 9. That's clear language of the resurrection. He hasn't stood up yet. He's still in the grave. And so it's clear that Esther has come before the king while Mordecai is still fasting. While symbolically he is still dead. And in verse 9 you couldn't really get a better symbol could you of someone who's still dead to the power and influence of sin than Mordecai who doesn't move a muscle.
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God has granted king sin authority and dominion over every living soul except over this one man, our Lord Jesus Christ. And he's not only now not going to bow down to sin, but now he's not even going to twitch so much as an eyelash in Haman's direction. And we're going to discover an impeccable timetable here as we go through these chapters.
33:32
This is the perfect prefigurement of the day of the last day of Mordecai's fast. And so Mordecai didn't raise an eyebrow as Haman went past. He showed him absolute contempt. And if there was one thing brothers and sisters that was greater than Haman's pride, greater than his ambition, greater than his own vanity, it was his growing hatred for Mordecai.
33:58
And he was full of indignation. And now the wrath of chapter 3 verse 5 gives way to indignation. He now hates Mordecai's shadow. But verse 10 tells us that nevertheless, Haman refrained himself. Here is the perfectly drilled, consummate public servant. Not a hair out of place, but seething on the inside. And so he bit back his inward rage and he decided to bide his own sweet time.
34:34
Revenge is a dish best served cold, he said to himself as he walked home. And Mordecai is due for double helpings come the twelfth month. I don't have long to wait, he said to himself as he trotted home. And so a secret battle for supremacy was joined. And just imagine the scene, it's classic.
34:56
There's two men facing off. Haman was convinced that his decree would ultimately ensure success for himself, so he remained silent. And Mordecai, and he's typically still in the grave, his death and resurrection he knew had sealed victory, well he remains motionless. The two men faced off, our Lord Jesus Christ and King Sin.
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One refused to talk and one refused to move. And the battle has been joined. Who will win? Well, Haman got home in verse 10 and he got all his friends together. And this is a classic part of the story, is it not? Haman was a man with a big mouth and he loved to have friends with big ears.
35:45
And so he gathered around himself all those who were sympathetic to sin. You know, Zeresh is a Persian name and it means gold. And that perfectly describes this woman whose ambition it was to love the wages of unrighteousness. We know from chapter 6 in verse 13 that Haman has his own wise men.
36:08
He's got his own counselors and advisors. And now he's going to be a bit like Lamech, boasting to his wives, look how great I am. And so King Sin gets all his royal advisors around him and he wants to boast about his greatness and ask advice about what he's going to do about this wretched Mordecai who's cursing his life.
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And verse 11 to 13 really reads like a comedy act, doesn't it? If you were writing a play about pride, brothers and sisters, well, you couldn't really draft up a more ridiculous scene. There isn't probably a bigger ego in the Bible than this man, Haman. And we read in verse 11, and Haman told them of the glory of his riches and the multitude of his children and all the things wherein the king had promoted him and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
37:04
Here is the unquenchable pride of King Sin. He thought, didn't he, that? He was rocketing to stardom. If it wasn't good before, with everybody bowing down, now, well, I've really hit the top. I'm the only person in with the king and the queen. You know, that word told literally means to recount. And we can just imagine that probably he did this every night.
37:34
every night he'd come home and recount the glory of himself and his own promotions and the dates of his promotions and the dates in which he was advanced by the king were committed meticulously to memory and now he's spouted them off one by one. Proverbs 20 20 in verse 6 says, most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness.
37:59
And Haman is a classic example of that small proverb. Proverbs 20 in verse 6. You know, brothers and sisters, look at this. When I put this together, I was surprised at how good this turned out. This is the hallmarks of pride. And look as we read through these verses, see the hallmarks of pride.
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The first hallmark of pride is that it is absolutely selfish. It focuses on itself. Listen to these words again. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
38:45
Haman said, moreover, yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared, but myself. And tomorrow am I invited unto her also with the king. Yet all this avails me, me, nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.
39:07
And pride is absolutely selfish. You know, brothers and sisters, if you want a perfect description of Haman, just for a sight, the opposite of 1 Corinthians 13. Haman vaunts himself, he gets puffed up, he behaves himself unseemly, he seeks nothing but his own. It's all there in 1 Corinthians 13. The opposite of it is Haman.
39:34
Now the second hallmark of pride is that, and you've probably noticed this because most of you are older and more experienced in life than me. But pride rejoices not so much in the inclusion of self, but the exclusion of others. Haman's delighted, not just that he was invited, but that no one else was, that everybody else has been left out.
40:00
And that's what pride does to us, brothers and sisters. We delight when other people are left out. you know, if that was verse 11 and then verse 12, verse 13 tells us that pride can never make you happy, yet all this avails me nothing, while Mordecai the Jew sits in the king's gate.
40:25
And brothers and sisters, king's sin is not going to be happy until every subject is under his control. You know, if you're taking notes, you might want to put alongside this particular point, Malachi 3 and verse 15, because the prophet is sarcastic and he says, and now we call the proud happy. Those two things don't go together.
40:49
People who are proud aren't usually happy. And lastly, pride inevitably ends in hate. He wants to hang Mordecai. And after all the things that the king has heaped upon him, the honor, the advancements, the promotions, the greatest thing in his life, brothers and sisters, is hate. That's where pride inevitably leads us. It's so dangerous, isn't it, brothers and sisters, this insidious disease that we all have.
41:19
Well, Zeresh and Haman's friends had some good ideas, verse 14. Zeresh and his friends said unto him, let a gallows be made of 50 cubits high, and tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon. Then you can go and merrily unto the king's banquet. And the thing pleased Haman, and he caused the gallows to be made.
41:46
They say, don't feel like that, Haman. Don't be so down in the mouth. Look, if you really have all that influence with the king, then just hang him. Just deal with him tomorrow. Use your authority to expedite matters. Make an example of him. I mean, if the king is willing to massacre all the Jews in just a few months, he's certainly not going to object to getting rid of one of them a little bit early.
42:14
Listen to those words, brothers and sisters. Tomorrow, speak to the king, then go in merrily unto the banquet. And Haman was pleased. He was the ultimate fool. He said, I will eat, I will drink, and be merry, for tomorrow, Mordecai, I will die. And those words, tomorrow and merry, give us that connection with that particular parable.
42:51
fool. What a fool he was. And so he caused the gallows to be made. You know, the gallows really, we learn from chapter 7 and verse 9, was really a tree in his own backyard. The margin, in fact, has tree as its translation. And the same word here in the Septuagint is used in Acts chapter 5 and verse 30 to describe the cross of Christ, whom he slew and hanged on a tree.
43:16
So clearly, it's not really a gallows, it's a tree. It's 50 cubits high or 75 feet or 23 meters. And so Haman went to sleep that night a happy fool, dreaming of how merrily he would go into the banquet tomorrow, dreaming of Mordecai swinging in the breeze, not knowing, of course, that tomorrow his life was going to be required of him.
43:44
And so now we come to chapter 6. And as Haman gets a peaceful early night, the king is greatly troubled because he still doesn't know, does he, why Esther had risked her life. And it's worrying him greatly. We read in verse 1, On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king.
44:08
On that night. See how the record is very specific about where we are in time. This is the last night of Mordecai's three-day, three-night fast. And you know, brothers and sisters, there was someone else who couldn't sleep that night, God himself. He calls himself, doesn't he, in Psalm 121, verse 4, the God of Israel who slumbers not nor sleeps, and the king, our heavenly father, cannot sleep.
44:41
The angels are working to a meticulous timetable. Here is providence at work, a most incredible story. Can you imagine, brothers and sisters, being the angel in charge of making Ahasuerus' mattress and pillow, being very uncomfortable and lumpy that night? Can you imagine having that job? Because literally, it means sleep fled away from him.
45:05
He obviously was having a terribly rough time. Kingson was tucked up at home and bed, absolutely confident that the morning would see the crucifixion of Mordecai, but Ahasuerus cannot sleep. God could not rest, brothers and sisters, because, well, he's a bit like Darius in Daniel 6 and verse 18. His sleep went from him.
45:28
His only begotten son, Mordecai in type, is still in the grave, and the stone is still rolled over the entrance to the tomb, and sleep fled from the king. And so he called for the history books, as you do when you desperately want to get to sleep. You pick up your old history books and just like that, you're out to it.
45:55
And the angel opens the history book just there, right on the right page. because, you know, brothers and sisters, God keeps a history book too, doesn't he? Psalm 139 and verse 16, a record of all the actions of all of us down through time. And tonight, brothers and sisters, tonight was the most special night in the history of the world.
46:28
God cannot sleep, and there is absolutely no way, brothers and sisters, that he was going to forget the marvelous works of Christ that had been recorded of him. And the king is now going to drag him out of obscurity. He's going to drag Mordecai, or our Lord Jesus Christ, as it were, out of the blackness of the grave, and give him immortality.
46:52
This is a marvelous story of the resurrection morning. Just imagine it, brothers and sisters, our God is so excited. He can't sleep. He's been waiting for this moment for thousands of years. It's now the time to raise our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. And it was found written, verse 2, the faithful acts of Mordecai, how he had preserved the king.
47:18
And so we read in verse 3, and the king said, what honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, there is nothing done for him. It's an amazing type, isn't it? All our actions are recorded by God in the book of lives, but we don't receive a reward right then, do we?
47:43
It always comes later at a time determined by the king. And quick as a flash, just like that, the angels know the answer. They don't need to say to the king, well, I'm not sure. To be honest, I can't remember. Let me go and check very quickly. Consult the history book. No, none of that.
48:03
The angels know immediately. Nothing's been done. They knew instantly. And so in verse 4, it's now early morning and the king decides to get this oversight sorted out immediately. It's early morning on the 17th day of Abib and Mordecai is right at the end of his three-day fast. And verse 4 says, who's in the court?
48:40
Who's in the court? Now, Haman was coming to the outward court of the king's house to speak. unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king says, who is in the court? The morning of the 17th of Abib. And 500 years later, brothers and sisters, on the resurrection morning, the women came to the tomb.
49:05
John chapter 20 verse 1 says, while it was still dark. Luke chapter 24 and verse 1 says, they came very early in the morning. Mark chapter 16 verse 2 says, they came at the rising of the sun and they asked the same question, who will roll away the stone for us? Who is in the court that can reveal to all the world the greatness of Mordecai, now resurrected from the dead in type?
49:34
Who is in the court who can do that? Who's prepared to unveil our Lord Jesus Christ from the grave where he's been fasting three days and three nights? While Haman was in the court, what's he doing there so early, brothers and sisters? Before it's almost first light, Haman's there. He can't wait to get Mordecai hung.
50:00
He can't wait to gloat over the complete destruction of Mordecai. And so the king can't sleep because God is desperate to raise his son from the dead. And Haman's in early at the court because king sin wants to be there, doesn't he? King sin wants to be there when the clock ticks over and the Holy One of God sees corruption.
50:23
He's desperate to see that moment. Haman doesn't want to miss that time when it clicks over, if you like, into the fourth day and Christ will be forgotten in the grave, no longer Messiah. And Haman wants to be there to make sure that that absolutely happens, to rejoice over the forgotten body of Christ.
50:44
And look how marvelously God orchestrates the events. Verse 5, And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman stands in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delights to honor? Now, did you notice, brothers, this is how the record just suddenly slowed right down?
51:10
It slowed right down. The king's servant said, Haman stands in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. And so, Haman came in. It's telling us, Don't miss anything here. The record slows right down so that we can savor the drama. Now, you'd think, wouldn't you, that the king would usually say, Morning, Haman.
51:32
Oh, now, why are you here so early into the office this morning? And Haman would immediately spring into his spiel about, Well, I'm here because I want to hang Mordecai because of this and that. And the story, if that happened, could have been quite different, couldn't it, brothers and sisters, if the king let Haman speak first.
51:54
But nothing like that happened. The king here in verse six doesn't give him a chance to even breathe before he puts the problem to Haman. Haman came in and the king said, What shall I do to the man whom the king delights to honor? You see, God's working to a split second script.
52:13
And if Haman gets a few words in first, the whole story might be over. But before Haman can explain himself, the king gets this question in. What shall be done to the man in whose honor the king delights as it should be? And the man is unnamed. God is holding back the name.
52:34
He doesn't say that it's Mordecai. And look what happens at the last half of verse six. Now Haman thought in his heart, to whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? Haman thought in his heart, the seat of all desperately wicked emotions. Jeremiah 17 in verse nine. And the king's question drove all thoughts of Mordecai from his mind.
53:02
Because if there was one thing that meant more to him than Mordecai's destruction, it was his own elevation. And Haman thinks to himself, well, there isn't anybody else. I mean, who else could he mean other than, no, it's got to be me. There isn't really anyone like me at all that it even could be.
53:29
This is the hate that God has to pride. Proverbs 6 verse 16 to 17. These six things doth Yahweh hate, yea, seven are an abomination unto him, a proud look, a lying tongue. Proverbs 16 verse 5, everyone that is proud is an abomination to Yahweh. Proverbs 16 and verse 18, pride goes before destruction and in haughty spirits before a fall.
53:58
Now, you may not know, but that is the exact middle verse in all of the book of Proverbs and how appropriate that is to the story of Haman. Proverbs 29 verse 23, a man's pride shall bring him low. Now, Haman is an abomination. God hates this kind of attitude. We're all guilty, brothers and sisters, aren't we, of thinking that we are a little bit better than we actually are.
54:23
Comes native to us. And so we have Haman's answer in verses 7 to 9, and what a greasy slimeball he was, brothers and sisters. We can hear, can't we, his supercilious tone and his veneer of false humility echoing down the centuries. The king answered the king, or Haman answered the king, for the man whom the king delights to honor, let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse which the king rides on, and the crown royal which is set upon his head, and let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man with all whom the king delights to honor, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.
55:13
The transparency of Haman's ambition is so clear. We might call this a Freudian revelation. I want the king's royal clothes, the king's royal horse, the king's royal crown, the king's royal herald. Haman sees himself as a king. He desperately wants to be the king. And of course, as we've said, he clearly is a type of king sin.
55:39
But what an extraordinary request this was. You know, normally, if you did this, brothers and sisters, this was a clear capital offense. If you hopped on the king's horse and rode through the city, you were saying to everybody, I am the new king. That's what happened in 1 Kings 1 and verse 33.
56:01
It was an indication that you were taking over as king. And Haman is trying to usurp the throne. It's an astounding request. It's amazing how blatant and brazen Haman is. It's shameless audacity at its best. And king's sin is now making a title bid against God. It's like an attempted coup. He's trying to topple God off his throne.
56:27
And look where he wants to be led, verse 9. He wants to be led through the street of the city. Haman says, look, I think the noble prince should lead me, I mean, the man whom the king delights to honor, through the street of the city. Let's say, right where Mordecai the Jew sits.
56:50
Because that's exactly where he was back in chapter 4 in verse 6. He's absolutely transparent, isn't he, brothers and sisters? The deceitfulness of pride and arrogance. And so we come, verse 10, to the king's answer. This is one of the most priceless moments in the whole of the Old Testament. Then the king said to Haman, make haste, take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even to Mordecai the Jew that sits at the king's gate, let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.
57:29
We can just imagine the flicker of complete astonishment and mortification that would have flickered across Haman's face before. Back would come the perfect, suave face of the public servant.
57:47
Wouldn't you love, brothers and sisters, to be a Persian fly on the wall at that particular moment? You couldn't have scripted a better scene, could you? Do it to Mordecai, the Jew who sits at the king's gate. Horror of horrors! The one man he thought who was going to be dead by mid-morning the one man he hates for both being a Jew and sitting at the king's gate is now going to be paraded in regal splendor through the city.
58:14
The shame, the ignominy of it that it would not be Haman. Could it get any worse? Well, yes it could. Haman, you do it to him. You be the noble prince. You volunteered yourself. You do it. And it would be a very downcast Haman, would it not, who went and found Mordecai mourning outside the king's gate and said, come with me, and paraded him through the city.
58:45
And we read in verse 11, You know, brothers and sisters, that right there in verse 11 is the chief difference between Haman and Mordecai. Mordecai would rather have died than parade Haman and his virtues through the city. But Haman is unscrupulous. There's no level that Haman would not be prepared to stoop to, to ingratiate himself with the king.
59:22
And there's a stark contrast right there, isn't there, between the little man and the big man. It was just a shadow of what was to come, the ultimate overthrow of king's sin. And you know, Mordecai wouldn't have missed the significance of that, would he? You can just imagine him sitting forlorn in the king's gate, and Haman comes, rouses him from his mourning, openly parades and lords him through the city.
59:45
Haman the Agagite, the Jews, Diabolos. Out of nowhere, it seemed, deliverance had come. Just imagine how encouraging that would have been for Mordecai. As Isaiah 61 verses 2 and 3 says, his ashes were turned to beauty, his mourning into joy, his heaviness into praise. God was good, brothers and sisters. princes. And you know, this story is absolutely amazing because, remember we looked in chapter 1 and verse 14 about the seven princes who saw the king's face.
1:00:20
Remember we saw that? The seven princes who saw the king's face. And if it is literally true that only the seven princes had seen the king's face, then think about this story. as Mordecai emerged from the king's gate, on the king's horse, with the king's crown, dressed in the king's clothes, paraded by the king's herald, what would all the city think who hadn't seen the king's face?
1:00:54
And the answer is, absolutely, they would think that is the king. Now can you see the type, brothers and sisters, now we have Mordecai raised from the dead and now he is going to be paraded before all the world as the perfect manifestation of God himself. He is now the king. Mordecai is now the king, immortalized as the perfect manifestation of God himself.
1:01:24
How marvelous the story is. It couldn't be any clearer, could it, brothers and sisters? The reward of humility and the end of pride. And pride is the lesson that we want to dwell on as we finish right here. Because it doesn't come more graphically highlighted for us than in the story of Haman.
1:01:45
Look at these just two final references before we close. Daniel 4 and verse 37, the words of Nebuchadnezzar. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol the honor and honor the king of heaven, all whose works are truth and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. And Nebuchadnezzar learned that lesson.
1:02:09
Isaiah 2 and verse 11 to 12, the lofty looks of man shall be humbled and the haughtiness of man shall be bowed down. Everyone that is proud and lofty shall be brought down and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day. You know brothers and sisters we want to make sure, don't we, that we don't contract Haman's disease.
1:02:35
Because to God the proud are an abomination and proud Haman is going to prove absolutely dispensable in our next session. So let's concentrate brothers, this is on being like Mordecai and Esther, reflecting the king's glory and hoping that when he comes that he will be pleased in us. That when he comes and opens the history books and sees what we have done for the furthering of his purpose and the glory of his name that he might see in us a reflection not of us but of himself Here we go.

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