We're going to be surveying the
book of Esther today with intent to find therein pictures of the
grace of God in the salvation of sinners. And accordingly,
I've titled the message, Pictures of Grace from Esther. Most gospel
commentators agree that the clear theme of the book of Esther is
the divine providence of God in action, bringing about all
things for the good of his people. And so with that in mind, and
in order to survey this entire 10-chapter book in the time that
we have, I'm going to begin by paraphrasing this very interesting
story of these historical events as recorded in the Book of Esther.
And as I do so, I want you to be looking and thinking of how
God's grace in the eternal salvation of his chosen people is pictured
in this story of the temporal deliverance of the Jews, that
chosen people, under the terms of the Old Covenant. And first,
a little background. The Bible records how the Jews
returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity in three
different groups. Zerubbabel had led out the first
and the largest group, but there were some Jews who chose to remain
behind and continue to live there among the heathen. Well, the
Book of Esther relates the historical events that impacted upon those
Jews who had remained during this time between the first return
led by Zerubbabel and the second one, and prior to the second
one, that would be led by Ezra. And so the events of Esther took
place in and around the Persian king's palace at a place called
Shushan. which was one of three capital
cities of the Persian Empire. And there a fellow by the name
of King Ahasuerus ruled. He was the king. So I want to
walk you through this beginning with chapter one. Chapter one
tells us how King Ahasuerus held a big feast that lasted for many
days in order to show off the riches and the greatness of his
kingdom. And on the seventh day of the
feast, when it tells us that the king's heart was merry with
wine, apparently having a bit too much to drink, he commanded
that his beautiful wife, Queen Vashti, appear before him and
before his guests to show off her beauty. And as verse 12 tells
us, for she was fair to look upon. But Vashti refused to come,
and that angered the king as well as all the princes that
were gathered there with him. The princes reasoned that if
the king's wife could get away with that kind of defiance, soon
all of their wives would be following suit. So accordingly, the princes
recommended that the king issue a royal commandment to ban Vashti
from his presence and to give the position of queen to someone
else. And so he proceeded to do that.
As we reach chapter two, after the king's anger had subsided
somewhat, his servants suggested that he hold a beauty contest,
if you would. It's not called that in the scripture,
but that's essentially what it was, and bring in all the virgins
from all over the kingdom. And he had a vast kingdom from
which he might select a queen. And so that plan was initiated.
Meanwhile, in chapter two, there's a character by the name of Mordecai
that's introduced as one of the Jews who had remained behind,
who now held a position in the king's palace, a position of
service there. We learn that Mordecai is a cousin
of Esther, for whom the book is named. Following the death
of Esther's parents, Mordecai had taken his cousin Esther in
and raised her like she was his own daughter. Well, Esther was
one of the many other virgins that were brought in to be considered
in the king's beauty contest. She didn't bother at that time
to disclose that she was a Jew. Her cousin Mordecai had suggested
that she keep that secret. Well, apparently, Esther was
quite the looker as she captured the king's fancies. We read in
chapter 2, verse 17, the king loved Esther above all the women.
And she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the
virgins so that he set the royal crown upon her head and made
her queen instead of Vashti. Now we also read at the end of
chapter two how as Mordecai sat in the king's gate, that was
describing his position of service there in the palace, that while
sitting there he learned of a plot to do harm, perhaps even slay
the king by two of the king's chamberlains. Chamberlains were
the keepers of the door. Well, Mordecai passed this information
along through his cousin, Queen Esther. And following an investigation
of the matter, the two men that were plotting against the king
were put to death by hanging. Their plot was circumvented all
due to Mordecai's intervention. And you'll see the significance
of that as this story develops a little further. As we proceed
to chapter three, we learn that the king promoted a man named
Haman to a position above all the other princes of his great
empire. So consequently, and as commanded by the king, all
the king's servants at the palace, they bowed and they reverenced
Haman, that is, everybody except one man, Mordecai. We read in
chapter three, verse five, and when Haman saw that Mordecai
bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
When Haman then learned that Mordecai was a Jew, He came up
with a plot to destroy not only Mordecai, but all of his people
as well, the rest of the Jews. He presented a case to King Ahasuerus,
suggesting there was a group of people dispersed throughout
the kingdom, meaning the Jews, who did not obey the king's laws,
and he told the king it wasn't in his interest to tolerate that.
And as a result, a letter was written and sealed by the king's
ring and circulated throughout the land, decreeing that on a
specific set day in the future, that all the Jews, men, women,
and children, were to be killed, and all that they had, their
spoils, were to be taken. As we reach chapter four, with
this proclamation now having been made that would result in
the elimination of all the Jews, we read of how distressed Mordecai
and the rest of the Jews were over that tragic news. Things
really could not look worse for them at that particular time.
That news was brought to Queen Esther's attention as well. Naturally,
she too grieved for her people. Well, Mordecai proceeded to get
word to Esther requesting that she intervene with the king and
go before him to intercede on the behalf of her fellow Jews.
Well, she relayed back to Mordecai that under the king's law, no
one was to go into his inner court before him unless they
had been summoned. To do so, according to the law,
was to be put to death. That is, unless the king opted
to spare them by holding out his scepter, signifying his intention
to spare them. She related further how 30 days
had passed since she had even been summoned into his inner
court, so it wasn't likely that was going to happen anytime soon.
In chapter four, verse 14, we read Mordecai's reply to Esther
as he tells her, For if thou altogether holdest thy peace
at this time, then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise
to the Jews from another place. But thou and thy father's house
shall be destroyed. And who knoweth whether thou
art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Think about that
as we go forward. What may seem to be just insignificant
or unrelated, I should say, events in our lives, they might well
be used by the hand of God. They are used by the hand of
God to achieve his purposes. So Esther, she relayed back to
Mordecai to have all the Jews in Shushan to fast for her. And
at the end of verse 16 in chapter four, she said, I also and my
maids 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. So shortly thereafter, she did
that. In chapter five, she enters in
to see the king, and beginning in verse two, we read this, and
it was so when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court.
that she obtained favor in his sight, 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. Then said the
king unto her, what wilt thou, Queen Esther, and what is thy
request? It shall be even given thee to
the half of the kingdom. And Esther answered, if it seemed
good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto
the banquet that I have prepared for him. So the king summoned
Haman, and they had a banquet of wine, as it was called, and
there Esther requested that Haman and the king come to a subsequent
banquet she would prepare just for the two of them on the next
day. Well, as you might expect, O'Haman
was thrilled. He left the banquet and went
home. He headed home. He was so excited. But then as he left the palace,
he passed by Mordecai again on the way out. And Mordecai this
time did not only bow, he didn't bow, he didn't even bother to
stand up. So O'Haman got home and he told his wife and his
friends the great news of the day, his promotion. how he and
only he and the king were invited to Queen Esther's banquet, and
then he remembered Mordecai. So he also shared with them,
as we read in verse 13 of chapter 5, yet all of this availeth me
nothing so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's
gate. Well, you see, in his distress,
Haman's wife suggested that he have a gallows built right away
and appealed to the king the very next day to order the hanging
of Mordecai so that Haman could just be done with him. So Haman
did that. He ordered the gallows built
for Mordecai to be hung on. And as we reach chapter six,
we read in the first couple of verses, 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 Abithena
and Tiresh to the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who
sought to lay hand on the king of Hazorius. You start to see
something of God's providence here. The king just, quote, happened
to have insomnia that night, and then he just happened to
have read to him the entry about how Mordecai had intervened to
spoil the plot of these two against the king. So continuing in verse
three, we read, 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's 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,
excuse me, my throat, to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai
on the gallows now that he had prepared for it. And the king's
servant 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? So then Haman tells the king,
oh, you should put the royal apparel on him and with the king's
crown and parade him around with the king's horse leading him. And he added, and let one of
your most noble princes deliver that to him and make these arrangements.
All of this now he imagined to be for himself, only to hear
from the king in verse 10, 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, and let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken. So
Haman did as he was commanded, and he went home afterwards,
and he mourned over all this with his wife. Now, as we reach
chapter seven, Haman's summoned to attend the banquet that he
had been invited to with Esther and the king. And there, in Haman's
presence, the king again asked Esther about her petition to
him. And beginning in verse three,
we read, then Esther the queen answered and said, if I have
found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let
my life be given me at my petition and my people at my request,
for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain,
and to perish. But if we'd been sold for bondmen
and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could
not countervail the king's damage. Then the king, Ahasuerus, answered
and said unto Esther the queen, who is he and where is he that
durst presume in his heart to do so? And Esther said, the adversary
and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before
the king and the queen. As the story continues, The king,
in his anger, he ordered Haman to be hung on the very gallows
that Haman had prepared for Mordecai's hanging. In chapter 8, we read
how Esther divulged to the king her relationship to Mordecai,
and in turn, Mordecai was elevated to a great position in the kingdom,
and he was even set over the house of Haman itself. Esther
requested that the king reverse the decree that Haman had initiated
to have all the Jews slaughtered, so the king signed a new proclamation
commanding that the Jews should stand opposed to any who would
so attack them. And so when we get to chapter
nine, and that appointed day came from the first decree that
had been issued, all the rulers and the lieutenants and the deputies,
officers of the king, they decided to help the Jews against those
who were still determined to follow the initial order. And they did so because they
feared Mordecai. He had become great now in the king's house.
So the Jews were victorious and slaughtered those that had planned
to exterminate them from the kingdom. And so what we see is
through all these turns of events, the Jews were delivered a picture
of salvation, if you would. So I want to now direct your
attention toward that, toward the pictures of grace, of the
grace of God in the eternal salvation of his chosen people. That is
spiritual Israel, God's elect. The nation Israel, clearly they
were set apart as a chosen favored people under the old covenant
that existed until Christ came and came and abolished that temporary
covenant by fulfilling all that was typified therein concerning
himself. So we can see pictures or illustrations
of the deliverance of God's people eternally in this story of temporal
deliverance of these national Jews who had remained behind.
There are three things I want us to look at in this story as
they relate to salvation by God's sovereign grace in Christ. First,
the providence of God, that is his sovereign ordering and bringing
about of all things necessary to bestow his grace and his favor
upon his people. And secondly, the pride of man
by nature. You might say, well, what's that
got to do with grace? Well, that's if we are taught of God of our
sins, if we're convinced of sin and that natural pride, that's
how we know of our need, desperate need for God's grace. And then
thirdly, the provision of the cross. So that's the very basis
upon which God bestows the eternal blessings of grace upon his chosen
people. And the providence of God, as
I said at the outset, most gospel commentators agree that the clear
theme of the book of Esther is the divine providence of God
in action to deliver or save his people. It refers to the
truth that God directs and rules as a sovereign God in all things. My wife, Susan, often refers
to the lyrics from a country song, Jesus, take the wheel.
You know, but the reality is, the triune God's hand never does
leave the wheel. He steers the course of history. As we read in Psalm 135, six,
whatsoever the Lord please, that did he in heaven and in earth,
in the seas, and all deep places. At the end of Ephesians 111,
in the passage that Robert read, we read of how God worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will. If you're a true believer,
a chosen people unto eternal salvation in Christ as evidence
by your soul dependence upon him for all your salvation, then
rejoice in the truth of Romans 8, 28, where we read, and we
know that all, and underline that in your mind's eye, all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. Think on that. That means even the worst circumstances
that God's children might endure are for their eternal good whether
we can see it that way or not at the time. God remains on the
throne. The story of Esther assures us
that our sovereign God is ordering bringing about all things for
the salvation and good of his people. All the events that initially
transpired in this story appeared to be against God and against
his people. And yet, in hindsight, we see
that what seemed to be working to their detriment was in reality
the hand of God working all things out for their deliverance, all
according to His own purpose and grace and will. See, all
is ordained by God. It's no coincidence that you're
here today, or that I'm here today. Others who might hear
this message, it's no coincidence, and I pray they'll be blessed
by it. Accordingly, we can now see that no matter how dire things
may appear to be, God is in control and on the throne, directing
even what may seem to us as some of the most insignificant details
in our lives. As this story shows, God even
governs his enemies to achieve his own pleasure and will, even
if their actions are motivated by the evil of their own hearts.
We have that example in Judas betraying Christ. He did so out
of the evil of his own heart, and yet the Bible tells us that
he did nothing more than God had ordained to be done. Now
that boggles my mind. I mean, that's a big God. His
ways are so far above us. I can't understand how it's so,
but I know it's so because the Bible tells us it is. Let's just
recap some of these examples of God's providence in action
in this story of Esther. You know, these turn of events,
if we consider them one at a time, we might be prone to treat them
as mere coincidences. But you know, nothing really
happens coincidentally or by happenstance. And in this story,
the providential hand of God is at work for the good of these
undeserving Jews. Remember, they chose to remain
among the heathen rather than return to Jerusalem. We'll consider
the sequence of events there. First, Queen Vashti defies the
king's command, and that makes room for a new queen. Then Esther
the Jew, she finds favor before the king among all the virgins
of his vast kingdom that were brought before him, and she becomes
the queen. And then after risking her life
and coming before the king, she just happened to put off revealing
her request before the king for one more day, which allowed for
what happened on that night. The night just before Haman was
planning to request that Mordecai be put to death, the king couldn't
sleep. So he had his servants bring
out the records of the kingdom to read to him. Why that? Why not bring in some entertainment?
Maybe I guess the records would put him to sleep, but I don't
know. Then out of the records of the kingdom, which included
127 provinces, we're told early in the Book of Esther, that stretched
from India to Ethiopia, the servant just happened to read the entry
about Mordecai's intervention on his behalf. And then that
morning, Haman just again, quote, happened to be the one in the
court when the king asked who was there that he could consult
with about how to honor Mordecai. And Haman gave that counsel,
that advice that was designed to honor himself, which would
ultimately be followed, but not to honor him, but his enemy,
Mordecai. That would result in the deliverance
of the Jews that he sought to destroy, and instead result in
his own destruction. Now that's quite a turn of events.
As God says through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 46, beginning
at the end of verse nine, I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand. His counsel
is his purpose contrived by infinite wisdom. He does not err. My counsel
shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Now, if you truly
believe that salvation's by grace, that is, nothing that you merit,
nothing you can deserve, then you rejoice in the truth that
a sovereign God works all things according to the pleasure of
his own will and providentially causes his counsel to stand.
See, if you're truly dependent on, pun salvation again, by grace,
then you could have no real hope if God did not order things to
bring about a sure and certain salvation for all the objects
of his mercy and grace. Think about this, he must have
providentially arranged all the events that resulted in the incarnation
of Christ, which we celebrate this time of the year, in the
death of Christ on the cross so that Christ could bear the
penalty due unto all the sins of God's elect that were charged
to him, to his account as their surety, so that in turn they
might possess the merit of his obedience unto death, his righteousness.
There was no doubt Christ was coming and Christ was going to
die on that cross when the hour came. And knowing, as we do from
John 6, 44, that none will come to Christ unless the Father which
sent him draws them, then what hope would there be if God didn't
declare the end from the beginning and ensure that all those for
whom Christ died, they would indeed come to him by that blood-bought,
God-given gift of faith. Now conversely, if you like most,
imagine salvation's at least in some way, in some part, conditioned
on you, the sinner, then you know the sovereign providential
workings of God really must not be that big a deal to you, because
in reality, you don't need God's hand of providence working out
all your affairs if you imagine that your eternal fate lies in
something, some work of your hand, some decision you make,
your faith, your religion, your baptism, anything other than
a sovereign work of mercy done for you. You see, to imagine
otherwise, that's not grace. That's salvation by works, and
the scripture declares that shall not be. As Romans 3.20 teaches
us, by deeds of the law, that is by your meeting a presumed
requirement or condition in order to be saved, by your law keeping,
there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. That is, there
shall none be declared not guilty and righteous. So we can see
that without the hand of divine providence by a sovereign God,
the message of salvation by grace, that is a saving work done outside
of the center, for the center, by the center's substitute, the
Lord Jesus Christ, that message would be completely void of any
assurance of eternal life. It'd be like a message without
hope. But because our sovereign God is on the throne, the message
of salvation by grace, that is, based upon the merits of the
God-man who cannot fail and did not fail, That speaks of a sure
and a certain eternal salvation for each and every one who comes
to him pleading his righteousness. Well, secondly, I wanted to talk
about the pride of man by nature. The natural pride of fallen humanity
is illustrated by this character, Haman. And again, you may say,
well, how's that a picture of God's grace? Well, again, It's
because of man's sinful, depraved, self-consumed nature that we
need grace desperately. Recalling the story how we read
in 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?
Now, we have the benefit of the whole story. You may think, well,
I'm not sure I would have been so presumptuous to have assumed
that. But think again. It was only
natural for Haman to assume that the king intended to honor him.
He had just been elevated to the highest position under the
king. Why wouldn't he imagine that he, above everyone else,
was the intended recipient of the king's honor? It was natural
for him to assume as much. And I believe we can see there
a picture of the natural, self-consumed pride that, listen, initially
causes us all to make a similar tragic and erroneous presumption.
That is that we too will be honored, eternally blessed by the king
of kings based upon something we likewise presume to deserve,
to have merited for ourselves. And I'm speaking now of the religious
pride, that's fostered in so many pulpits across our land,
and it permeates most of so-called, quote, Christianity in our day.
Think of the audacity that we once had, and that countless
others persist in, sadly, in imagining that God would delight
to honor us with eternal life, not solely on the merits of his
son's redemptive work, but rather based upon something done in
me, by me, through me, that I imagine made the real distinction. It
was a real difference maker between me and others, between me imagining
to be saved versus lost. I know I used to would say, and
I thought I did believe what I said when I would claim to
be trusting in Christ as my savior. But fortunately, it was revealed
to me, and I thank God for it under the preaching of the gospel,
that my perception of Christ and his work at that time, it
really denied that very assertion that he was my savior. See, and
believing as I did then, that Christ died for all people without
exception. God loved everybody, Christ died
for everybody by my way of thinking and as I had been taught. Well,
think with me, by default, that means to believe that is you're
forced to be depending upon something else, something done by the other
party. If Christ didn't know more for
those who go to heaven than he did for those who perish in dying
for all, then obviously the other party has to come through with
that little 1% thing, as we would call it, that we thought it was
a real difference maker. I thought that that which I did
would distinguish me, see, from those who perish. What's the
difference? If Christ died for them and he
died for me, too, by my way of thinking, well, I better, I better,
oh, you've got to believe. That's what I was taught and
that's what I believe. You see, I thought he died even for the
multitudes that perish. So obviously there's something
else, something other, or in addition to Christ. was my real
difference maker in my thoughts. Now I thank God that he providentially
brought the gospel of God's grace my way, just as he does for all
those for whom Christ died, so as to reveal my desperate need
for his mercy and grace, to convince me of my sin, and especially
that sin, the deceivableness of unrighteousness, as the Bible
puts it. Now I have to have the righteousness
of the God-man because of who I am, a sinner. I need salvation
by God's sovereign grace. And you know, I marvel when I
say that about how God, he brings his people providentially, not
happenstance, you know, not by coincidence, to hear the message
of grace. And I'm always interested when
I hear stories from different people about how the circumstances
that lined up that caused them to come and hear God's gospel. Lastly, I want to talk about
the provision of the cross, the very basis upon which God bestows
the eternal blessings of grace upon his chosen people, spiritual
Israel. The intercession of Esther. First
consider how she interceded on behalf of her people as she entered
into the inner court of the king. Esther said, I'm going to go
in if I perish, I perish. Well, likewise, in the everlasting
covenant of grace, our Lord and Savior God the Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, he took on the responsibility for his people
as their surety, and he agreed to become incarnate in time as
we celebrate this time of year, and to go willingly to the cross
of Calvary, and actually die to pay the penalty before God's
justice due unto their sins. And you know, he too, like Esther,
he didn't perish. He didn't stay in that grave.
He was raised from the dead, showing forth that justice was
satisfied, that he and all he represented, they were accepted
before his father, a holy God, having perfectly satisfied all
that was required for their salvation. Now we think about the beauty
that the king saw in Queen Esther. Think of what beauty. the father
sees in the person and work of the son so as to accept him and
all that he represented. My, that's something, I tell
you. And dare we, we should dare not
to ever put anything in rivalry with that work that caused him
to be raised and magnified on high. We next consider the golden
scepter of the king. The Queen Esther had risked her
life to enter into the king's inner court. As I related, the
law said that in doing so, Esther must die. The law would condemn
her. But as we also read, she found
favor in the sight of the sovereign king who held out his golden
scepter, sparing her life and declaring her accepted before
the king. And this acceptance ultimately
led to the deliverance of all her people for whom she interceded. Now, a scepter is a staff that's
borne by a sovereign, such as a king. We have a picture of
God's sovereignty and the kings of the Old Testament in that
sense. Their word was the law. And the
scepter was that which they would bear as an emblem of their authority
by which they ruled. Well, likewise, there's an authority
or a basis upon which the kingdom of God is established and upon
which acceptance into God's presence is entered into. In Hebrews 1.8
we read, but unto the Son he saith, thy throne, O God, is
forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of thy kingdom. So we see that righteousness
itself is the authority or the very basis upon which this eternal
kingdom is established and upon which it's entered into. And
it's that through which grace itself reigns in this kingdom. So we see how this illustrates
God's grace, his favor, again, based solely on the merits of
Christ's finished work, his righteousness. As Romans 5, 21 tells us, grace
reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord. So this eternal kingdom inhabited
by God's chosen people from every generation is based upon that
which was finished and accomplished when God's justice was satisfied
by Christ's obedience unto death, his righteousness, some 2,000
plus years ago. the very righteousness which
God has imputed to all for whom Christ lived and died. And it's
on that basis, the scepter of righteousness, that all of God's
people, his children, chosen in Christ, they shall not perish,
but rather they're found accepted in the one that interceded for
them, excuse me, in the beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's
on that same basis, his righteousness, basis of his personal work, that
they are eternally delivered. I love that picture of the scepter.
Well, let's talk about the decree that was sealed. Y'all excuse
me a moment. It's that time of year, I guess. Recall near the end of the story,
The king had issued a decree for the benefit of Esther, Mordecai,
and the rest of the Jews. In chapter 8, verse 8, the king
said to Esther and Mordecai, write ye also for the Jews as
it liketh you in the king's name and seal it with the king's ring.
And look at this last line here. For the writing which was written
in the king's name and sealed with the king's ring May no man
reverse, and that describes a sovereign there, doesn't it? Well, likewise,
excuse me. I'm gonna have to take a break
here a second. My apologies. Likewise, any who
have the seal of the king of kings, they have an assurance
of salvation that none can reverse. In Ephesians 1, in the passage
Robert read, beginning in verse 11, we read, in whom, speaking
of Christ, also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise
of his glory, who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted,
speaking to the Gentiles, after that ye heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, after that ye believed,
ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. to be sealed
here, that speaks of having it confirmed in our minds, the absolute
certainty of salvation by the free and sovereign grace of God
in Christ, wherein we see that he really did, he was not just
a redeemer in name only, he really redeemed a people, he bought
a people. He met every condition of their salvation through his
shed blood. by his obedience unto death. And this confirmation
is the work of God the Holy Spirit upon all those that God saves,
whereby they have a promise of the inheritance of life everlasting. And it can't be reversed. As
Christ said in John 10, 27, my sheep hear my voice and I know
them and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life. And they shall never perish,
neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which
gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand. See, like the decree of the king,
all who come to Christ for all their salvation, accepted in
their mediator, based on the scepter of the kingdom, his righteousness,
they're sealed in that for all eternity. Now, that's grace.
And then lastly, Let's consider the intercession of Mordecai. Look at the last verse of the
book of Esther, chapter 10, verse 3. There, we see Mordecai as
a picture of Christ's ongoing intercession. He had advanced,
remember, to a great place in the kingdom. Verse 3, it says,
for Mordecai, the Jew, was next unto King Ahasuerus, and great
among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren.
Look at this line, seeking the wealth of his people and speaking
peace to all his seed. I believe we see in that a picture
of our risen Savior sitting on the throne at the right hand
of God, ever interceding for his people based on that finished
work of righteousness, his scepter. In Romans 8, beginning in verse
33, we read, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
It's God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us. You see, all those, then in Hebrews
7.25, let me read that to you. We read there of Christ, wherefore
he's able also to save them to the uttermost, that coming to
God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
All those who come to Christ for all their salvation, we have
an advocate before the Father who ever intercedes on our behalf,
all on the basis of his person as a God-man mediator who's finished
the work of righteousness for his people. So here, too, we
see a picture of salvation by grace, the preserving favor of
God upon an undeserving people in and of ourselves who come
before him without any merit of our own other than the merit
of our substitute Savior, the righteousness of God in Christ.
So I hope you've been able to see this morning in this survey
of Esther these three beautiful pictures of God's grace in delivering
his people unto eternal salvation in Christ. We worship a big God,
don't we? Thank you.