Esther chapter six. In chapter five, I'll give you
a recap. Chapter five, Esther put on her
royal apparel and went into the inner court of the king's house
to make intercession for the people. This decree went out,
this writing of ordinances went out against the Jews. And Mordecai
said, Esther, you're gonna have to go in. So she, on the third
day, put on her royal apparel and stood in the king's house.
And she was well favored and accepted by the king. He held
out that golden scepter to her. And he asked, What is your desire
and I'll give it to you. What is your will? What is your
desire? And Esther said, I would like
for you and Haman to come to a banquet that I have prepared. And because of this, Haman thought
he was being honored. And he was really happy about
it. Very happy about this news. He
didn't know the mind. of Esther. He did not know the
will or the purpose of Esther. He did not know the end of the
matter. So he thought he was being honored, and that made
him extremely happy. But he had so much hatred in
his heart for Mordecai, just the fact that Mordecai was sitting
at the king's gate, it just ruined all his happiness. Mordecai wouldn't
move and acknowledge him. ruined his happiness. So his
wife and his friends told him, why don't you build some gallows
and ask the king if you can hang Mordecai. And the thought of
that pleased Haman very much. So he had some gallows made and
the next day he was going to go ask the king. And that's a
reminder that our adversary cannot do anything outside of the sovereign
control and authority of our God and his God. He had to go
ask. He had to go ask the king first. He has to get permission from
his God. You think about that. He has
to get permission from his God before he can do anything. anything,
and our God will only allow him to do what is according to God's
predetermined counsel and foreknowledge to bring about good for his people. That is so comforting to me.
It may seem like chaos to us, but it's not chaos to God. Down
here we look at things, we look at everything that's going on
and it seems like such chaos. It's not chaos to God. It may
seem from time to time like sin is reigning and ruling and having
its dominion. You just look around and you
think, well, sin is reigning and ruling and having its dominion.
It's not. There is only one who reigns
and rules and has his dominion. And that's Jesus Christ. And
everything has to answer to him. Everything is working together
for him to bring about his will and his purpose in every single
matter. Everything. If we could ever
learn that, we would be happy. Wouldn't we? We'd be happy. Well,
Haman, representing the adversary, He didn't know the mind, the
will, the purpose of Esther, and he thought that his own mind
and will and purpose was being done in this matter, so he very
happily was planning to go ask the king the next day if he could
hang Mordecai on these brand new gallows that he just had
made. He was gonna get him a good night's sleep. He made some gallows. And he was going to get him a
good night's sleep. And then the next morning he was going
to go talk to the king. But, that's the wonderful word
of the gospel, but. All right, chapter six, verse
one. On that night, there Haman is
getting him a good night's rest. On that night could not the king
sleep. And he commanded to bring the
book of records of the chronicles and they were read before the
king. And it was found written that
Mordecai had told of Bigthene or Bigthen as he was originally
named. It was found written that Mordecai
had told of Bigthene and Tiresh two of the king's chamberlains,
the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king,
Ahasuerus. This was that moment back in
chapter two where a transaction took place between Mordecai,
Esther, and Ahasuerus, representing the spirit, the son, and the
father. Turn back a page to chapter two,
verse 21. It says, in those days, while
Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains,
Bigdon and Tiresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, they
were angry, they got mad about something, and sought to lay
hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the thing was known to Mordecai,
who told it unto Esther the queen, And Esther certified the king
thereof in Mordecai's name. That's a picture of the cross
of Calvary. Mordecai told Esther and Esther
told Ahasuerus that Bicthan and Teresh had to be dealt with.
The name Bicthan means the wine press. And the name Teresh means
the strictness of the law. The sin of God's people had to
be punished. It had to be punished. And the
strict law that was given to God's people, it had to be fulfilled. It had to be satisfied. And it took a transaction between
God. It took a transaction between
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit to fully deal
with those two things concerning God's people. The wine press,
judgment of sin, and the fulfillment, the satisfaction of the law,
that's what was dealt with for God's people on the cross of
Calvary. That's what was taken care of on the cross of Calvary. Verse 23 right here in chapter
two says, and when inquisition was made of the matter, it was
found out, therefore they were both hanged on a tree, and it
was written in the book of the Chronicles before the king. Christ was hanged on a tree. Christ was made to be the very
thing that had to be dealt with, and he was hanged on a tree. For the first 30 years or so
of my life, Every time that I heard the scripture that says, as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up. You know, deadly venomous snakes
had come into the camp of Israel and they were biting and killing
the people, killing the Israelites. And the Lord told Moses, you
make a snake, just like these vipers, these poisonous vipers
that came in, you make a brass snake on a brass pole And you
lift it up and whoever has been bitten and is dying, when they
look to that brass snake, they'll live. When they look for hope
and healing and help and that's all they have, they'll live. And the scripture says that was
a picture of Christ being lifted up on the cross. As Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up. The soul that is dying from sin,
if that soul looks to Christ, if that soul looks to Him, that
soul will live. Well, for the first, you know,
roughly 30 years of my life, every time I heard that verse,
I thought, I wonder why it doesn't say a sheep. Why isn't it a lamb on a pole? Christ was the lamb slain. Why a snake, not a sheep? When I was something in the range
of 30, a dear preacher of the gospel named Cody Groover came
to town and he preached on the serpent on the pole. And he said
the reason it was a snake, it's almost like he knew that I had
the question. All your questions will be answered
if you just listen to the gospel preached. But he said the reason
it was a snake is because Christ had to be made the very thing
that was killing the people. I'm telling you that is the,
if I had a key in my pocket, I'd pull it out and show it to
you. That is the key to the gospel. It's not just that he died. It's
not just that he died on a cross. He had a man hanging on both
sides of him dying on a cross. He was made to be the very thing
that was killing the people. Sin is what's killing us and
therefore Christ had to be made sin. Bithyn and Tiresh were the problem,
and Bithyn and Tiresh were hanged on that tree. Colossians 2 says, when Christ
was nailed to that cross, all of our sin, the sin of His people,
nailing it to that cross. It was nailed to that cross. When His blood, I can only imagine
His blood just running all over that cross. When His blood ran
all over that cross, His blood ran all over our sin, spiritually
speaking. And that's why those three verses
right there, that's why this is a picture of the cross, the
accomplishment of the cross. So it says back in chapter six,
go back to Esther six, verse one, on that night could
not the king sleep, And he commanded to bring the book of records
of the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it
was found written that Mordecai had told of Bithena and Tiresh,
two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who
sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said,
what honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Now
Mordecai represents the Spirit of God, but to see one member
of the Godhead is to see all of the Godhead. If you want to
see the Father, you look to Christ. To see the Father is to see Christ. To see the Spirit is to see Christ. He's called the Spirit of Christ. John 4 says, God is a spirit.
They that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Philippians
3 says, we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit
and rejoice in Christ Jesus. I'm telling you all that to say,
we're gonna see Christ in Mordecai for a minute. In this story,
Mordecai represents the spirit, but we're gonna see Christ in
Mordecai for just a minute. Verse 3. The king said, what
honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? We hear
the father asking, how has Christ been glorified for this? What
honor and dignity has been done to him for this? Verse three
goes on to say, then said the king's servants that ministered
unto him, there is nothing done for him. How sad it is that concerning
man, that statement is so true, concerning mankind. There's not
a man or woman standing on this earth that has ever honored and
glorified Christ for what he did in the salvation of his people.
There's not a soul standing on this earth that has ever truly
honored and glorified Christ for what he did in saving His
people. If it was not for God the Father
honoring Christ, Christ would have never been honored. God
the Father honored Him. If we glorify Him, it's only
because God in us is causing us to glorify Him. That is the
only reason. So what that means is He gets
the glory in us glorifying Him. He gets all the glory in us glorifying
him. The Father did that, God did
that. In John 17, our Lord said, Father, I have glorified thee. And he said, glorify thou me. I've glorified you, you glorify
me. Just before our Lord went to
the cross, he cried, Father, glorify thy name. You glorify
your name. Do you know there's only one
name given for God, Jehovah, Father, Son, Spirit? You know there's only one name
given? Jesus Christ. No other name given. No other
name. Neither is there any other name. Glorify thy name. Scripture says that a voice like
the sound of thunder cracked through the sky. I have glorified
it. I will glorify it again. Philippians 2 says because Christ
humbled himself and suffered the death of the cross, the Father,
God the Father is the one who has highly exalted him and given
him a name that's above every name. So verse 3. 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. And the king said, who is in
the court? Now Haman was come into 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's servants
said unto him, behold, Haman standeth 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
delighteth to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart,
to whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? If that is not the sinful heart
of man, I don't know what is. I don't know what is. I think I'm the best. I think
I'm the greatest. I think I'm the worthiest. I think it's me. It's all about me. Mankind in
the flesh is a devil. It's all about me. Verse six,
Haman came in and the king said unto him, what shall be done
unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman thought in
his heart, to whom would the king delight to do honor more
than to myself? And Haman answered the king,
for the man whom the king delighteth to honor, let the royal apparel
be brought which the king useth to wear. and the horse that the
king rideth upon, 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 withal
whom the king delighteth 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 delighteth to honor. This is
what Haman said. He said, you step aside and put
that man in your place. That's what he said. You want
to honor a man, here's what you do. You step aside and you set
that man in your place. You put your robe on him, your
crown on him, you put him on your horse. That is the very
wickedness that the adversary had against Christ and the Godhead
in the beginning. Turn over to Isaiah 14, hold
your place, we're gonna flip right back. We turned over here
when we were in chapter three. Let's read this again. Isaiah 14, verse 12. How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the
ground, which didst weaken the nations? For thou hast said in
thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. It's gonna be me. Who should be exalted? The wickedness
of sin cries, exalt me. Exalt me. Verse 15 right here
says, Because of that, thou shalt be brought down to hell to the
sides of the pit. Do you know what the heart of
God's Spirit cries? Exalt Christ. Exalt Christ. The Spirit in Himself cries,
Exalt Christ. The Spirit in the Father cries,
Exalt Christ and the Spirit in God's people. Christ, exalt Christ. Let everything exalt Christ.
Exalt Christ. Flip back to Esther, chapter
six, verse six. So Haman came in and the king
said unto him, what shall be done unto the man whom the king
delighteth to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart,
to whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself?
And Haman answered the king, for the man whom the king delighteth
to honor, let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth
to wear. and the horse that the king rideth
upon, 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 withal whom
the king delighteth 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 delighteth to honor. Then the
king said to Haman, make haste, and take the apparel and the
horse as thou hast said and do even so to Mordecai the Jew that
sitteth at the king's gate. Let nothing fail of all that
thou hast spoken. Then took Haman the apparel and
the horse and arrayed Mordecai and brought him on horseback
through the street of the city and proclaimed before him, thus
shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor. You know, Philippians 2, verses
10 and 11 say, every knee shall bow. Every tongue shall confess that
all the glory goes to Jesus Christ. He is Lord. He is Lord. Everybody's gonna say that. Everything
is going to say that. He is Lord, and that's to the
glory of God the Father. I've glorified thee. How? By
being Lord. That's to the glory of God the
Father. Even the adversary is going to have to cry that in
the end. Verse 12, And Mordecai came again to the king's gate,
But Haman hasted to his house, mourning and having his head
covered. And Haman told Zeresh his wife
and all his friends everything that had befallen him. Then said
his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, if Mordecai be of the
seed of the Jews before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou
shalt not prevail against him. but shalt surely fall before
him. And while they were yet talking
with him, came the king's chamberlains and hasted to bring Haman unto
the banquet that Esther had prepared. You know, the adversary, it was
talking about all of his friends telling him this, his wife, his
friends, the adversary and all of his devils that are with him,
they know that they have an appointed end. They know that they do. They have a sovereignly appointed
end. In Matthew 8, our Lord was met
by two men who were possessed with devils. And those devils said to the
Lord, what have we to do with thee? Are you here to torment
us before the time? We know who you are. Jesus, thou
son of God, we know who you are. Have you come here to torment
us before the time, before our appointed time of torment? James
2.19 says, thou believest that there is one God, thou doest
well, the devils believe that. They all believe that. And it
says they tremble. Verse 12, Mordecai came again
to the king's gate, but Haman hasted to his house, mourning
and having his head covered. And Haman told Zeresh his wife
and all his friends everything that had befallen him, then said
his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, if Mordecai be of the
seed of the Jews. That means if God be for his
people. You can't be against him. You're
not gonna be against him. If Mordecai be of the seed of
the Jews before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not
prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him. Verse 14 says, and while they
were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains and hasted
to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared. There
is coming a sovereignly appointed day when all sin and all the
enemies of Christ are gonna be dealt with and put away forever.
Completely removed and done with forever. And when that time comes,
the scripture says, all that will remain is righteousness. Haman is about to go to an appointed
meeting. And there's an appointed meeting.
And the end of that meeting is righteousness. That's all that
will remain, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That
is the appointed and prepared end. And that's good news. May God be the glory for that.
Amen.