Nathan Lewis - Class 6: The Commandment

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

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   The theme for our Bible school this year is the fall of flesh to the triumph of spirit. Our speaking brother this morning is Brother Nathan Lewis. The title for his series is Esther, the Queen of Destiny. The title lists the sixth class is The Commandment. Brother Nathan. Well, thanks, Brother Jeff, and good morning, everybody.

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   Good morning. It's the very last morning of Bible school and all of us are tired. So I'm going to try and keep you awake this morning as best as I can. Well, we saw in our last session the sudden and the utter destruction of Haman the Agagite. He went from prime minister of all the world to dangling on the top of a tree in his own backyard in the same afternoon.

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   A public spectacle, brothers and sisters, of what happens if we plot against the king and his bride. And if the serpent, brothers and sisters, originally slithered out of a tree and deceived Eve, now the seed of the serpent is nailed exactly where he thought he would have the victory, on a tree. And king's sin is destroyed.

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   The Jew's enemy, the Diabolos, was dead. And you'll remember that we rejoiced in the fact that in chapter 8, verse 1, in glorious type, we saw our Lord Jesus Christ ascend into heaven itself to appear before God. As Brother Harold pointed out to me in Daniel 7 and verse 13, the Son of Man came to the Ancient of Days and was brought near before him.

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   And all of those things that we know so well were prefigured, weren't they, in Esther chapter 8. The death of the Diabolos, the ascension of Christ, the handing over of all authority to Christ in verse 2. All of it was there. And brothers and sisters, if you thought, if you thought that the type and the amazing shadows that we've seen so far this week are now over, you'd be wrong.

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   Because when we come to chapters 8, 9, and 10, it is absolutely packed with types and shadows of what is yet to come. And so we pick up the record in chapter 8 and verse 3. And this morning we really want to cover chapter 8 and just pick a few pieces out of chapters 9 and 10.

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   And we find Esther once again risking her life in coming before the king. And it says in verse 3, Now why is Esther falling down once more before the king, brothers and sisters? I thought we had all of this sorted out at the end of chapter 7. Haman is dead. Why all these tears?

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   What's the problem? Well, it's because, brothers and sisters, although Haman is dead, the diabolical decree of Haman still stands. The irreversible decree of the Medes and Persians that Daniel 6 tells us cannot be changed still hangs like a black cloud on the horizon. And though sin has been absolutely destroyed by the power of a perfect life, the effects of sin still remain.

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   The last enemy that still has to be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 26. And sin is gone, but death remains. You know, we're told in verse 9 that we are now in the third month and in the 23rd day of that month. So a number of weeks have gone by.

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    And whereas the king and the queen were very close in chapter 7, now it seems that they are a little more formal. The king has been completely absorbed in rescuing his wife from the clutches of Haman that the issue of the decree has been somewhat forgotten. The immediate threat of Haman has been removed.

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    He's been crucified and life has somewhat returned to normal. But you know, brothers and sisters, it wasn't just a few weeks that have gone by. Because if you count the days that have elapsed from the decree of Haman on the 13th day of the first month and count the days until the 23rd day of the third month that we read of in verse 9, we have exactly 70 days.

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    So why exactly 70 days? Well, brothers and sisters, on the principle of a day for a year, 70 days is a full lifetime. Three score years and ten. And now the bride of Christ is coming before the king to remind him that although sin has been destroyed and we can come to the emblems and receive forgiveness, we still face the problem at the end of our lives of death and we cannot escape.

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    And it's true, isn't it, brothers and sisters? Christ destroyed the power of sin 2,000 years ago. But which of us, which one of us, brothers and sisters, hasn't got down on our hands and knees and prayed to our God to deliver us from sin's curse, from death? And the law of death is unalterable and it still stands.

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    Its effects linger long after king's sin has ceased to writhe on the cross. And even our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters, could not avoid the tentacles of death. The law that cannot be altered. You know, never once, brothers and sisters, was our Lord Jesus Christ under the dominion of sin. Never once did he bow to sin.

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    But Romans 6, verses 9 to 10, tells us that he was born under the dominion of death. And even our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters, could not escape that law. And in order to save his bride, he was going to have to submit to the law of death, to honor his father.

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    And now Esther comes after 70 days, at the end of the average lifetime, you might say, to plead for her people's lives. Because you see, 70 years or 70 days is a probationary period. 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 21 tells us that when the nation of Israel got carted into captivity, it was because they didn't keep the Sabbaths.

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    And God said, I'll enforce a rest of 70 years on the land. And 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 21. And that lifetime of probation ended, didn't it, with the joyful decree of Cyrus to go back to the land in BC 536. So can you see the principle, brothers and sisters, about the 70 years?

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    We start with a decree of death. We are all born under the dominion of sin and death, the decree of Haman. Then we have a probationary period of 70 years of waiting. And then now, finally, a decree of deliverance that we're going to read about here in chapter 8. And so here it's exactly the same.

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    Exactly 70 days from chapter 3 verse 13 to chapter 8 verse 9. And so I think, brothers and sisters in type, this is the bride of Christ who has been clearly delivered from the power of sin back in chapter 7. And we know that when we are baptized, we are no longer servants to sin.

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    It says that in Romans 6. And now that we've been baptized and lived a life of probation, we now come at the end of 70 days, the end of our life, at the judgment seat, as it were, to plead for the deliverance from death. Now we are pleading for our lives.

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    And you know, when we read verses 3 to 6, I think that we really get the sense, don't we, that verses 5 and 6 is really an expansion of what Esther has done in verse 3, when she besought the king with tears. Because it gives us that piece of information in verse 3, and then it expands on that in verses 5 and 6 and tells us exactly what Esther said.

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    So we're going to consider verses 5 and 6 and then come back to verse 4, and I think you'll see why by and by. So in verse 5, this is what Esther says as she throws herself down before the king to plead for her life. She said, If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the things seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hamadatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king's provinces.

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    You can really hear the emotion in Esther's voice. She's keen to find favor in his sight. And look what she says. I'm keen, she says, that the things seem right before the king. Whatever the solution to death is, it has to be right before the king. Because God is not going to compromise his principles.

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    Mercy doesn't cancel out what's right and true. And Esther was acknowledging that. It must be right before the king. But look what she says. This is in effect what she's saying. She's saying, reverse, we need to reverse the decree of Haman the Agagite. She says, O king, listen, you were really deceived. You were tricked.

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    And although you signed the decree, well, it wasn't really your decree. It was the device of Haman. Yes, certainly your signature was on the bottom, but it wasn't you that wrote it. It was Haman that wrote it. It was entirely his idea. And because it is his idea, and he is an Agagite, well, it's not really a law of the Medes and Persians, is it?

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    Because, well, Haman the Agagite is in the Persian, and he wrote the law. So it's not really one of the laws of the Medes and Persians that cannot be altered, because Haman is an Agagite. So let's just reverse the decree. And after all, O king, you know that you have always been pro-Jewish.

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    So clearly, it isn't a law that is typical of you. Let's just change it, Esther says. Let's, please, let's reverse it. And Esther is desperately seeking for a way around the law of sin and death. She's not going to go and try and suggest something that's not right. She's still going to submit to God's will, like our Lord Jesus Christ did in the garden, but she's saying, is there a way around this particular law that has us enthralled in its grasp?

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    She knows that whatever way God chooses it, it has to be right. But surely, she says, there's a way to overturn this awful decree of death. And she's down on her knees, brothers and sisters, pleading for other people. And God now says, in verse 4, get up. I have seen your tears, and I've heard your cries.

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    And the king extended again to Esther, the golden scepter of the kingdom. And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. And look what it says in verse 4. Let's read very, very carefully. So, Esther arose and stood before the king. Look what it says, brothers and sisters. After 70 years, as it were, 70 days, 70 years, a whole lifetime under the decree of death,

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    Esther now arose and stood before the king. That is language, brothers and sisters, that speaks boldly of resurrection, acceptance, and immortality. This, in type, is the granting of immortality to the bride. Because you, Esther, have been so keen to save your people, I will grant you life. And the woman who pleads for the lives of others is now granted life herself.

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    The bride is immortalized, resurrected, as it were, and stands before the king. But you see, brothers and sisters, the decree of death was not easily put aside. It was God's decree. He had said, hadn't he, back in Genesis, dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. God had signed that law, not Haman.

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    God had signed that law, and he was going to take full responsibility for the law that he had signed. You see, the law that says that all flesh must die is never going to be altered, is it, brothers and sisters? Never. God will never set that aside and let flesh inherit the kingdom of God, as it says in John chapter 3.

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    It's just not possible. It is an unalterable principle. And look what the king says in verse 7. Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.

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    And so the king starts out his answer by saying, Well, you know, Esther, I have shown you great kindness in two particular ways. He had given Esther the house of Haman, and he had hanged Haman on his own tree. And brothers and sisters, these two things in verse 7 are the very two things that God has done for us.

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    He has given us the world. You know, we saw that in our last class, didn't we? From Corinthians. Corinthians penniless, we own the world. And all the possessions of Haman, all his house, was to come to Esther. Us. We are to possess the world. And secondly, he says, I have hung Haman upon the gallows.

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    And through Christ, God has crucified sin. They're pretty big gifts, brothers and sisters, aren't they? And God reminds Esther, as it were, of those two gifts that he has given before he comes to the problem which he's now going to address. And look what he says in verse 8, because there is a way to overcome the problem of the unalterable law of death.

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    It's not to circumvent it. It's not to set it aside. It's not to get around it or ignore it. It's to face it head on. And look what the king says in verse 8. Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring.

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    For the writing which is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's ring may no man reverse. Write ye also for the Jews. And the only way around the unchangeable law of sin and death, brothers and sisters, is to make another law that's more powerful. One that is not against the Jews, but for the Jews.

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    And think about it like this, brothers and sisters. If sin has such a grip on all of us that none of us, despite our very best efforts, can deliver us, our own souls, from death, then whatever law is going to conquer that, brothers and sisters, must be more powerful than sin. And there is one thing that is more powerful than sin.

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    one thing that's stronger, that's more potent, that's more overwhelmingly powerful than sin. And that is, brothers and sisters, God's power to forgive sin. And it is the one thing that will now overcome the problem of sin and death. And look at the language of verse 8 because it very clearly emphasizes for us two things.

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    He says, write a law for the Jews and one, write it in the king's name and two, seal it with the king's ring. Twice it mentions both of those things. Write it in the king's name, seal it with the king's ring. And when we come to verse 10, he wrote it in the name of the king and sealed it with the king's ring.

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    And both of those things are going to have their type. what does it mean when it says, write it in the name of the king? Accept it mean, like the apostle John says, if you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. John 14, verse 14. The name of the king is all powerful.

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    And the biggest thing we can ask for, brothers and sisters, is the forgiveness of our sins. And secondly, it says, seal it with the king's ring. And Paul says in 2 Timothy 2, verse 19, the foundation of God stands sure. Having this seal, the Lord knows who are His. And He knows, brothers and sisters, whose are His because they have come to Him and asked for the forgiveness of their sins.

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    They have a relationship with Him. And so, verse 9 says, Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is the month Seban, on the three and twentieth day thereof. And it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews. You know, brothers and sisters, this is what Colossians talks about when Paul says he talks about the blotting out of the handwriting.

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    This is Colossians 2, verses 14 to 15. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us and could not be changed. He took it out of the way, nailed it to the cross, and made a show of all of those things openly, brothers and sisters, triumphing over them in it.

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    And here we have Mordecai writing a new decree, and he's blotting out the old handwriting of ordinances that was against us. And so Mordecai's decree of life is going to go out in verse 11. And we read in verse 11, wherein the king granted the Jews, which were in every city, to gather themselves together and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

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    This was a decree that allowed the Jews everywhere to stand and defend themselves. It was not a decree that allowed the Jews to vent their hatred against the Persians. It was not a decree that allowed the Jews to massacre the Persians in revenge, just to defend themselves in the name of the king.

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    And look what verse 11 says. The decree is that they might stand for their life to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish. It's an exact reversal of Haman's decree in chapter 3 in verse 13. And brothers and sisters, you don't get a decree that more perfectly reverses the power of sin than the forgiveness of sin.

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    It's the exact mirror opposite of sin, the forgiveness of sin. Here was a decree far more powerful than sin and death. It was a decree of life and forgiveness. And it gave the Jews a fighting chance. And so we read in verse 13 that the copy of the writing for a commandment was given to every province and published to all people that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

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    And again, verse 13 is an exact duplicate verse to chapter 3 verse 14. Word for word, it's straight out of Haman's decree. chapter 3 verse 14. And now the people of the kingdom are faced with a choice. They had eight months to think about it, to decide, are we going to attack the Jews and seize their possessions or are we going to allow the Jews to live peacefully?

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    It was their choice. But they knew, didn't they, brothers and sisters, that the king, the queen, and the prime minister of all the world were very clearly, as we read back in verse 8, they were for the Jews. You see, this is the fulfillment of God's promise that he would defend the Jews.

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    It's the promise of Zechariah chapter 12 verses 7 and 8 where God said, I will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem and save the tents of Judah first. And so in verse 14 we read that the posts that rode upon the mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment and the decree was given at Shushan the palace.

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    You know, the Revised Standard Version puts verse 14 like this, the couriers mounted on their swift horses rode out in haste. No time was lost now in getting the good news of the decree of freedom out to the far-flung edges of the empire. And you know, brothers and sisters, every last detail in this story perfectly fits the type.

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    You know, the animals that were used to carry the decree are listed for us back in verse 10. They were horses, mules, and as the Hebrew should be, swift beasts. So I want you to hold your hand and come now to Isaiah 66. Or for brother Jeff, Isaiah 66.

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    Isaiah 66. And this is what we read in verse 15. And look, this is all a type of the future kingdom. And verse 15 talks to us of Armageddon. The Lord will come with fire and with his chariots like a whirlwind to render his anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire.

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    for by fire and by his sword will Yahweh plead with all flesh and the slain of Yahweh shall be many. That is Armageddon. And then we read in verse 19, and I will set a sign among them and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations to Tarshish, Pul, and Lod that draw the bow to Tubal and Javan to the isles afar off that have not heard my fame neither have seen my glory and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles and they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto Yahweh out of all nations upon now look at the animals horses and in chariots and in litters and upon mules and upon swift beasts to my holy mountain Jerusalem in verses 19 to 20 speak of the second exodus and the work of Elijah to gather to bring your brethren verse 20 out of all nations to bring them to Jerusalem all those that escape Armageddon are going to go out and be the emissaries of Judah to bring back into the land all that's left of the nation of Israel scattered throughout the rest of the world and Isaiah 66 is talking about the work of Elijah and the second exodus and look what animals are mentioned exactly the same animals that now send out the decree in Esther so Esther is clearly talking about isn't it the second exodus and the work of Elijah those animals and beasts being exactly the same is not a coincidence and look what it says back in Esther about the work of these beasts verse 11 it was to gather the Jews

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    together they were to gather themselves together and that's going to become a key phrase in this little section especially in chapter 9 the word gather or the phrase gather themselves together is the Hebrew word for congregation or the Greek equivalent of the word is ecclesia and look how often it's used it's there in chapter 9 verse 2 that they gathered themselves together it's there in 9 verse 15 that they gathered themselves together it's there in verse 16 that they gathered themselves together it's there in verse 18 they assembled together and the gathering together of the Jews clearly is the second Exodus Elijah is going to go out and gather together the ecclesia of the nation of Israel scattered and so now we have that very language here foreshadowed in Esther picking up the language of Isaiah 66 it's remarkable isn't it all of these things here in the story hardly a detail is left out and now we come to chapter 8 in verse 15 and look what it says in chapter 8 verse 15 and Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white and with a great crown of gold and with a garment of fine linen and purple and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad you know our Lord Jesus Christ we saw in verses 1 and 2 has already ascended in tight to heaven to be with God he's seen God's face he's received all power and dominion as we read in 1st of Peter 3 verse 22 and now in chapter 8 and verse 15 Mordecai is revealed to all the world

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    as the royal prince of heaven he went out from the presence of God and he's going to return brothers and sisters to the earth to reign as king to take the throne of David this is the fulfillment of psalm 2 verses 6 to 8 yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion Yahweh hath said unto me thou art my son this day have I begotten thee and verse 15 is the type of our Lord Jesus Christ being enthroned in Zion as king of all the world and look what he's wearing brothers and sisters he's wearing incredibly royal apparel of blue and white but the margin says violet and white it really should be purple and white these are the very colors that Ahasuerus had back in chapter 1 and verse 6 now transferred perfectly to the new king to Mordecai it's going to be the white linen of righteousness and purity talked of in Revelation 19 in verse 8 and the purple robes of kingly authority and dominion talked of in Judges 8 verse 26 and here brothers and sisters in verse 15 is the ceremonial installing of our Lord Jesus Christ as the last and perfect high priest after the order of Melchizedek remember we saw that the bridegroom was anointed with oil of myrrh and sweet odors he was the high priest of Melchizedek a king and a priest and look what these two colors represent the white priestly !

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    linen robes of the priest and the purple kingly robe of the crown prince of all the world and on his head there is a crown of gold I want you to come very quickly to Psalm 21 because Psalm 21 is exactly about this moment in time the crowning of our Lord Jesus Christ you know we've been in Psalm 21 and we read the last half of this psalm in our last session but look at the first half of Psalm 21 the crowning of the king the king shall joy in thy strength O Yahweh and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice verse 3 for thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness and here it is thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head he asks life of thee and thou gavest at him even length of days forever and ever this is the high priest after the order of Melchizedek an order that changes not because the high priest lives forever and ever his glory is great in thy salvation verse 5 honor and majesty hast thou laid upon him for thou hast made him most blessed forever thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance for the king trusteth in Yahweh and through the mercy of the most high the title that appears in genesis 14 when Abraham appears before Melchizedek the priest of the most high god he shall not be moved and here we have the promise of the crowning of the Melchizedekian high priest you know it's it's interesting that as we delve into the story when we come back to Esther 8 and verse 15

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    that even the word crown gives us a significant lesson the word crown is interestingly enough the word atara it's different from the word used beforehand in Esther to say crown this word implies more a coronet because although our Lord Jesus Christ brothers and sisters will be earth's undisputed king he is still the son of the father and there still exists a king in heaven he's not going to have the crown of God himself he's going to have the coronet of the prince royal and even that subtle difference in the Hebrew word maintains that distinction it's amazing how the story works out well the city of Shushan rejoiced verse 15 and was glad and you couldn't have could you a greater contrast to Haman's decree of death than that you know when Haman's decree of death came out in chapter 3 verse 15 the city of Shushan was perplexed perplexed but now with Mordecai's decree of life they rejoice in a glad literally it means they shouted and rejoiced just take a note of these two references shouting and rejoicing Isaiah 25 verse 9 it shall be said in that day lo this is our God we have waited for him he will save us we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation and another reference from our second session for the week Zephaniah 3 sing oh daughter of Zion verses 14 to 15 shout oh Israel be glad and rejoice with all thy heart Yahweh hath taken away thy judgments and has cast out thine enemy Haman the Agagite the king of Israel even Yahweh is in the midst of thee you will not

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    see evil anymore and the nation is told be glad and rejoice and they rejoice brothers and sisters in Esther 8 and verse 15 because they knew that God had saved them and verse 16 says the Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor there was spontaneous laughter relief and happiness everywhere you know that word for light literally means the little luminous sparkle of the sun in a drop of dew it's used in Isaiah 26 in verse 19 where it says awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust for thy Jew is as the dew of herbs and the earth shall cast out the dead it appears brothers and sisters in a classic verse about the resurrection and so what verse 16 is really saying to us is that the nation now realized that they had experienced a miraculous national resurrection from the dead that stood brothers and sisters on the very edge of the abyss of darkness and oblivion pushed there by Haman the ager guy and God had pulled them back from the edge and given them new life can you imagine the joy that existed in the city of Shushan with the decree of Mordecai Haman's decree had caused lamentation mourning !

62. 37:14

    But Mordecai's decree brought only unbridled joy and sweet relief it was a wonderful time and it was a great time to be a Jew so much so that verse 17 concludes the chapter by saying take a note of these two references just drop them right next to the end of verse 17 the RSV says that many declared themselves Jews it's a wonderful type of the kingdom and Micah 7 talks of a time when all the nations will be afraid they will fear because of Israel and fear the fear of the Jews fell on the nation Micah 7 verses 16 to 17 and secondly the verse which we know well Zechariah 8 verse 23 in those days it shall come to pass 10 men shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew and say we will go with you we've heard God is with you and there is going to be a whole lot of Jewish proselytes join themselves to the nation of Israel in the latter days of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ perfectly prefigured here when it says many of the people of the land became Jews

63. 38:56

    I guess quarter of an hour that we have left I want to take up a few things from chapters 9 and 10 to pick out a few highlights because our time is limited but we know the story we're going to come now in chapter 9 to the one day that Haman had determined by his lucky dice to be the day to destroy Israel the 13th day of the 12th month and you know as you go through your study you find little gems and here's one that I want to share with you from verse 1 now in the 12th month that is the month Adar on the 13th day of the same when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them it worked out differently and you know the words commandment and decree occur together in the bible seven times and six of those times occur in the book of Esther the decree and commandment of the king the commandment and decree of the king six times out of seven in the book of Esther and the only other time brothers and sisters when these two words occur together proverbs chapter eight and verse twenty nine this is what it says when god gave to the sea his decree that the waters should not pass his commandment don't you think that's incredible brothers and sisters and now that Haman's lucky day comes and he represents the leader of the sea of nations thrashing their destructive waves around venting their fury and god says oh no Haman

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    oh no the jews are not to be touched here Haman will your proud waves be stayed and proverbs eight verse twenty nine is the only other occurrence of those two words together god gave to the sea his decree that the waters should not pass his commandment and Haman if you like the captain of the sea of nations is now going to be limited in his destructive influence it's amazing how the bible is written well we know the story pretty well the in verses two to five the Jews fight back and it seems that they were miraculously helped by god they didn't even lose a man the attacks seem to have been fairly half hearted I suppose

65. 41:46

    the who were abiding and residing in Persia the violent anti semitists who were prepared to expressly disobey the second commandment of the king just to produce a few more Jewish coffins and you know brothers and sisters the violent anti semitism of this chapter the vicious hatred of the Jews that we read of here is just a foreshadowing as most of us will be aware of the northern invader in the 9 is going to record for us the will of Haman the Agagite to annihilate the Jews and Ezekiel 38 is going to tell us of Gog the ghost of Haman who is going to try and do exactly the same thing and just look at these parallels very quickly you can get them off me afterwards but just see how this type perfectly plays its way out we have Haman the Agagite and Gog the chief prince obviously there's similarities between the name Haman the Agagite and Gog he is the ghost of the Agagite spirit and his burying place Haman Gog you couldn't get any closer could you to the name Haman the Agagite Haman he wanted to destroy to kill and to cause to perish all Jews and in Daniel 11 verse 44 Gog is going to go forth to destroy and utterly make away many he's not happy just to destroy he wants to utterly make away many just the same as Haman of old you know Haman's blatant plan was to take a spoil of them for a prey and we know these words from Ezekiel 38 Gog blatant plan was to take a spoil and to pray you know Haman it

66. 44:11

    lay hands on the Jews in the literal Hebrew and Daniel 11 is going to tell us that Gog is going to stretch forth his hand also upon the countries Haman wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Jews were defenseless they dwelt in unwalled villages and Gog well he attacks the land of unwalled villages the only other time when those two words occur together in the Bible Ezekiel 38 verse 11 Haman's plan was to massacre the Jews and it is described in chapter 9 and verse 25 as a wicked device and you know that Hebrew expression wicked device is exactly the same in Ezekiel 38 verse 10 as the phrase an evil thought entered into the mind of Gog he devised the wicked device against the Jews and lastly Haman's wicked device would return upon his own head and the Hebrew word is Rosh and Gog as we know is the chief the prince of Rosh the word for head in the Hebrew Ezekiel 38 verse 2 and marvelously typed for us is the ghost of Haman the Jagagite an evil thought a wicked device to exterminate the Jews he wants to take a spoil and a prey he wants to cowardly attack the unwalled and defenseless cities and we know brothers and sisters the end of the story when Gog comes down upon the mountains of Israel we know that he's destined to fail just as Haman the Jagagite the Jews enemy failed in the past it's a hard but I couldn't find a little link between all of these names put together but clearly they show the superstition of Haman you know

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    if there is one thing that does pop out at me from all of these names is that they all have in them the letter A in fact even Haman the son of Hamadatha both has A's in their name and if A is the first and preeminent letter of the alphabet then Haman is saying I want to be first I want to be top and every one of his ten sons has in his name the letter A you know it's tradition that in verse 13 his ten sons were hung underneath him on the tree in his own backyard so there would be Haman at the top and underneath him

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    sons and you know brothers and sisters there's some numerical values that are associated with this family Haman's lucky number was the number 13 well it was unlucky Haman the Jaeger guy that phrase has a numerical value of 117 13 times 9 Zeresh his wife has a numerical value of 507 13 times 39 which in itself is 13 times 3 the names of all of the 10 sons put together 10 244 which is 788 times 13 and the whole lucky family together 10 868 which is 13 times 836 and in this story brothers and sisters if chapter 9 is the battle of Armageddon then the hanging of Haman's 10 sons is the destruction of the 10 horns of the European beast spoken of in Revelation 17 in verse 3 and 12 and the 10 sons are the 10 horns of the beast now destroyed after the battle of Armageddon !

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    18 not to mention the rest of the empire you can imagine how sickened to his stomach the king must have felt and in verse 13 the king is so shocked by this that he offers Esther another request and verse 13 tells us that Esther asks for two things firstly she asks for another day to finish the battle with the Jew haters because you see brothers and sisters the battle against the enemies of God must go on until they are exterminated and now Esther in the spirit of Joshua you remember in the battle of Beth Horon in Joshua 10 verses 12 to 13 asks that the day that they might be avenged upon the enemies be lengthened that the sun might stand still as it were Joshua 10 verse 12 to 13 that they might have another day to avenge themselves

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    Esther asks that the 10 sons of Haman might be hung up as a public deterrent lest anyone should start reprisal attacks against the Jews and you know brothers and sisters we can't miss what Esther is saying can we because back in the story of Saul and the original Agag King Saul and his sons were hung up to dry by the Philistines in 1st of Samuel 31 and verses 8 12 as God's reward for not utterly destroying the Amalekites they were hung up to dry 1st of Samuel 31 and now Esther's request is to hang up the 10 sons of Haman it's her statement brothers and sisters that she and Mordecai have now finished what King Saul failed to do and that is to utterly destroy the Amalekites and just as Saul's sons were hung !

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    to dry now Haman's sons are hung up as a public example and look how many Amalekites laid dead after just two days brothers and sisters sin is implacable sin brothers and sisters is implacable and despite Mordecai's decree that the Jews might defend themselves there's still almost 76,000 people who want to stamp out the filthy Jews sin and the power of sin is so obstinate isn't it brothers and sisters and we're not surprised are we in Revelation 20 that at the end of a thousand years of the kingdom king's sin is going to rise up again and try and revolt against the kingdom and authority of Christ sin is so obstinately against God that it can never be rehabilitated and so the story of Esther finishes and look how it finishes in chapter 10 brothers and sisters the greatness of Mordecai verse 2 let's read verse 1 and the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land and upon the isles of the sea and all the acts of his power and of his might and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai where unto the king advanced him are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of media and Persia for Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus and great among the Jews and accepted of the multitude of his brethren seeking the wealth of his people and speaking peace to all his seed you know brothers and sisters we always refer to this as the book of Esther but you know the hero the real hero of the story is Mordecai and look how it finishes with the

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    greatness of this one character our Lord Jesus Christ look how Mordecai grew in greatness in chapter 2 he sat in the king's gate in chapter 6 he was paraded on horseback in chapter 8 the king gave him his ring in chapter 8 verse 7 he wrote in the king's name as he liked in verse 15 he went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel in chapter 9 verse 4 he was great in the king's house in chapter 9 in verse 4 he waxed greater and greater and now chapter 10 verse 3 he is next unto king Ahasuerus next unto the king and we don't have time to go through all of those verses or those those types in chapter 10 but here they are very quickly and you can get a note of them perhaps later the isles of the sea is a type of the dominion of our lord jesus christ isaiah 60 verse 9 and psalm 72 he was next unto the king just like joseph and as first of corinthians 15 said he would be he was great among the jews he was that cornerstone that was marvelous in their eyes he was accepted of the multitude of his brethren he spoke wealth he sought sorry the wealth of his

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    every one of those little descriptions in chapter 10 and verse 3 perfectly symbolize the great type of our lord jesus christ and so i want you to come back to chapter 9 and verses 17 to 19 where we want to finish our story because here we have the institution of the feast of purim because such great deliverance from the brink of death and oblivion needed to be commemorated and so the nation instituted the feast of purim we find it named as such in verse 26 after the lucky dice of haman and up until the middle of the second century bc where when the feast of dedication was added to the calendar of israel this feast of purim was the only holiday the Jews had in the last five months of the year between October and March this was the only feast they had and you can just imagine how greatly they looked forward to this time and we read in verse 17 on the thirteenth day of the month Adar and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they and made it a day of feasting and gladness and gladness and of sending portions one to another it was a time of great gladness brothers and sisters of feasting of rejoicing of rest a good day but look what it says at the end of verse 22 it was also a day of sending portions one to another and gifts to the poor and here's our closing exhortation brothers and sisters what a lesson to close on you know there are members of all of our ecclesiast who aren't here who haven't experienced the

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    week that we have had for whatever reason they haven't made it to Bible school and it's our duty and it's our privilege brothers and sisters if we've learnt anything from this week if we've been made glad and rejoiced in the great feast of fat things that God has laid on for us then we need to go home and share that spirit with those people who couldn't be here to send portions one to another and to give those gifts to those who are less fortunate than we it was the spirit of David in 2nd of Samuel 6 he dealt among the people and of Nehemiah in Nehemiah 8 go your way eat the fat drink the sweet and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared and when we go home from this place brothers and sisters all of us have experienced something that those who haven't been here have not had and it's our chance to include them in the gladness of the feast to share the gladness that we've learnt because brothers this is the lesson of today is the lesson of gladness and if we want to be the bride of Christ not only

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    consistency humility and love but we also need to learn how to be happy how to rejoice how to be glad for what God has done for us you know we've looked at this verse a lot this week the bride of Christ that's made herself ready but look what it says at the start of that verse let us be glad and rejoice and give honour to him for the marriage of the lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready as it says in hymn 256 why should his people now be sad none have such reason to be glad as reconciled to God let me leave you brothers and sisters with these words from psalm 126 in verse 3 which perfectly summarises our week Yahweh hath done great things for us whereof we are glad