Let us turn once again to the
Word of God in the portion of Scripture we were reading, the
book of Esther, and I take for a text this morning the opening
verses here in chapter 6, in Esther 6 and verses 1 to 3. I'll read the passage again,
Esther chapter 6, verses 1 to 3, 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 Bithaina and Teresh,
two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who
sought to lay hand on the king Asuerus. And the king said, what
honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said
the king's servants that ministered unto him, there is nothing done
for him. You may wonder why I have chosen
to preach on such a passage, an obscure part really of God's
holy word. Well the reason goes back really
to last Lord's Day when we were looking at words in the last
book of Scripture remember in Revelation chapter 5 and I took
for a text then just a short part of verse 8 in that chapter
and those words concerning the golden vials that are full of
the odors of the saints the golden vials full of the odors which
are the prayers, the prayers of the saints it says and we
thought therefore of prayer but as is so often the case one preaches
a sermon and then subsequently thinks that how much one failed
to say that should have been said on that occasion and I was
thinking about it during the week that in that fifth chapter
of course we read of the Lord Jesus Christ the Lamb in the
midst of the throne of God and the book that is sealed with
the seven seals and now it is that one the Lamb of God who
prevails to open the seven seals book and I thought well surely
that's the Lord Jesus Christ of course unfolding providence. He is that one who now in this
day of grace reigns. He reigns in his mediatorial
kingdom. He is the head over all things
to the church. And I was thinking how it would
have been good really to have said somewhat more with regards
to the fact that in the midst of that particular chapter in
Revelation 5 where we we see the sovereignty of Christ in
his providence it would have been good to have said something
more with regards to how important our prayers are in relation to
Christ unsealing God's secret decrees those golden vials full
of odors which are the prayers of the saints and God himself
has ordained prayer and we have that remarkable verse in the
prophecy of Isaiah which says that God commands his people
that in their prayers they should command him that's what we do
when we come before God not in some presumptuous fashion but
he says concerning my works command ye me we can speak with him boldly
as we come in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, thinking
of God's sovereignty and His providences and the mystery of
providences, I thought then, of course, of the book of Esther.
What a remarkable book it is. We read through the chapters
of this book and we find not one mention of the Divine Name. God is not spoken of at all throughout
the book of Esther and yes it is a book that is full of the
secret workings of the providence of God. God was there preserving
the Jews during those years of the captivity initially in Babylon
but then of course subsequently also under the Persians. And Esther, of course, is a Persian
name. It's a name that was given to
this particular woman. And she is the chief character
in the book, but there are others that we read of. This man, Mordechai,
who was actually her cousin, but he was obviously much older,
and as she was orphaned, so he cared for her as if she were
his own child. But God was there. and God is
the one who is preserving His people. He is a sanctuary to
them. He had promised the same in the book of the prophets Ezekiel
there in Ezekiel chapter 11 and verse 16 we have God's promise
to His people throughout all those years of their bondage Verse 16, in Ezekiel 11, Therefore
saith God, saith the Lord God, Although I have cast them far
off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the
countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the
countries where they shall come. God was a sanctuary to his people. God was ever always caring for
them. And so as we turn to these verses
that I've read at the beginning of chapter 6 in the book of Esther,
I want to say something with regards to divine providence,
God's absolute sovereignty in the care of his people. As we said in reading the passage,
the sixth chapter opens with those three words, On that night. On that night. certain night
and as I said it's a night between two feasts that had been called
by Esther as we see in the previous chapter remember at verse 4 in chapter 5 she wants
the king and Haman to be present at a banquet and at that particular
banquet she then makes another request that the following day,
the following evening they will come to a second banquet that
is spoken of there at verse 8 in chapter 5 and it's the night
between these two banquets that we have mentioned on that night
could not the king sleep and he commanded to bring the book
of records of the chronicles which were read before the king. Maybe sometimes this is not unlike
what we might do a restless night certainly we might do it in the
summer months when of course the nights are much warmer we
can't sleep and we might get up from our beds and go and sit
down and start reading and this is what happens here the king
can't sleep so he asks that one read from the chronicles the
records of his kingdom and We're told previously how there was
a certain man in that kingdom, Haman, who was the great enemy
of the Jews. This is the context. He's the
great enemy. He hates Mordecai because Mordecai
won't acknowledge him and won't do any obeisance before him,
although Haman was a favorite of King Asuerus. And we read
there in the opening verses of chapter 3 as this Jew would not
acknowledge him so he's full of hatred not just towards Mordecai
but he wants to destroy all the people of the Jews so great was
his enmity And he plots and he persuades the king to pass a
decree that all the people of the Jews should be killed because
they were so distinct, they were so different to all others throughout
the kingdom, they were a peculiar people. And the king passes the
decree. and Haman makes preparation,
he erects a scaffold, he's going to certainly see the death of
Mordecai. But in the good providence of God,
we might say, on this night the king cannot sleep and he asks
that one come and read from the chronicles and events that is
recorded in an earlier part of the book in chapter 2. At the end of that second chapter
we're told, In those days while Mordecai sat in the king's gate,
two of the king's chamberlains, Biglan and Teresh, of those which
kept the door, were wrought, and sought to slay 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. 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." It's that very part of the history of the kingdom
that is being read on this particular night here in this second chapter. And what do we see? We see God's
sovereignty. God is sovereign over all times
and all seasons and all days and all nights. And this night
God is at work. Remember how the psalmist says,
the day is thine, the night also is thine. Thou hast made summer
and winter, God has created time and all the seasons of the year,
and God has given His promise, of course, as long as the earth
remaineth, there'll be seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer
and winter, day and night, and God is sovereign. And we have
that remarkable 139th Psalm which speaks to us of God in His omnipotence,
He's all-powerful, He's is omniscient, is all-knowing,
is omnipresent, is in all places. And so, there in that psalm,
we read those words, Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee,
but the night shineth as the day, the darkness and the light
are both alike to thee. And this night, God is at work,
in ordering events so that this particular part of the chronicles
of the history of the kingdom of Aesulus is brought to his
attention. We see something then of God's
sovereignty with regards to times and seasons. But more than that
we see how God is the one also who can deny his creatures sleep. and God is the one who can give
sleep. The psalmist says concerning God how He give us His beloved
sleep. What a favour when God grants
to us a good and refreshing night of sleep and we wake in the morning
and we feel the great benefit of it. But we read here that
this man could not sleep. On that night Could not the king
sleep? Why so? It's God. It's the sovereignty
of God. Remember how we see it repeatedly,
don't we? In the experience of a man like
Job. Job in the midst of all his trials
and all his troubles. The language that we have there
in Job 7. Verse 13, When I say, My bed
shall comfort me, My couch shall ease my complaint, Then thou
scar'st me with dreams, And terrifies me through visions. And again,
later in the same book of Job, we have the words of that man
Elihu in chapter 33. And verse 14, God speaketh one
shade twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision
of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men in slumberings
upon the bed, then he openeth the ears of men and sealeth their
instruction. Even dreams are subject, aren't
they, to the absolute sovereignty of God. When we see it this night,
in all that is befalling this man, he's not dreaming. But nonetheless
we are to recognize that God is in the events that are befalling
this great king Ahasuerus. But when we examine all the detail
we see that God's sovereignty extends to the words that the
king speaks. And the fact that this man Haman is walking in the courts, in
the dead of night. Why is this? Well, God has so
ordered his steps. I know that the way of man is
not in himself, says the psalmist, it is not in man that walketh
to direct his steps. God is overruling all these things. In verse 4 the king says, Who
is in the courts? Now Haman was coming to the outward
court of the king's house to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai
on the gallows that he had prepared for him. He comes on this particular
night, the very night when the king has discovered something
he was unaware of with regards to this man Mordecai, and now
the king was indebted to Mordecai for his own life. But then the
way in which the king speaks to this man Haman is summoned before the
king and then in verse 6 the king says to him what shall be
done unto the man whom the king delights us to honour? He doesn't
name the man does he? He just speaks of a certain individual
that the king desires to do honour to And this proud man, Haman,
immediately thinks in his heart that the king surely is speaking
of himself. The sovereignty of God is here
in all the detail that we read in this particular portion of
Scripture. As I said at the beginning, Esther
is a remarkable book when it comes to God's providences. Furthermore, we can say that
God's sovereignty extends over the sin, the proud nature of
this man Haman. Every aspect of our lives is
subject to God's sovereignty. Even pride and wrath The language
of the Psalm is Psalm 76, 10, "...surely the wrath of man shall
praise thee, the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." And
the reason, the reason why Haman so hated Mordecai was because
his pride was hurt. As we see there in those opening
verses of Chapter 3. how King Asuerus promotes Haman,
the son of Amadatha, the Agagite, and advanced him, it says, and
set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And all the
king's servants that were in the king's gate bowed and reverenced
Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai
bowed not, nor did him reverence. Then the king's servants, which
were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest
thou the king's commandment? Now it came to pass, when they
spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that
they told Haman to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand. For he had told them that he
was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai
bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had
shewed him the people of Mordecai. Wherefore Haman sought to destroy
all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus,
even the people of Mordecai." He is a man that's full of pride. because the king has so exalted
him and now he manifests great anger and wrath that there is
this Jew who will not do him any obeisance his pride is so
hurt but God's words tells us quite clearly pride goeth before
destruction and the haughty spirits before the fall Again, in the
wisdom of Proverbs, a man's pride shall bring him low, it says. God resisteth the proud, but
God giveth grace unto the humble. What an awful sin is that of
pride. It's spoken of, isn't it, as
the condemnation of the devil. It's evident there in that fallen
angel, that great archangel, the devil himself, the chief
of all the demons. And it's reckoned that he is
the character that is being spoken of there in the language that
we find in the 14th chapter of Isaiah. You know the passage.
You've read the passage sometimes. Lucifer, Isaiah 14, 12, Thou
art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning. Thou art thou cut down to the
ground, which did 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 sight of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. I would be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down
to hell, to the sides of the pit." Historically, it's probably
referring to some haughty eastern monarch. We acknowledge that,
but there's more there than a reference to mere men. It's the devil.
It's Satan himself. That wicked spirit tried the condemnation of the
devil and yet God is in all these things and as I said God is sovereign
over man's pride and over the wrath of men now Satan is there of course
in the garden of Eden isn't he at the creation of man and that
temptation that comes through the serpent the instrument of
the devil and there's pride of course in the temptation when
that foul spirit approaches Eve and tells her if she partake
of that forbidden fruit the fruit of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil thou shalt be as gods or thou shalt be as gods
how true it is men think they're gods and we see it all around
us, the pride of man. And yet, all that happens is
serving the decree of God. There's a remarkable verse in
one of the hymns of John Kent, it's not in Gatsby's, but this
is one of the verses of this hymn by John Kent. He says, was
the mystery truly great, that hell's design should hell defeat. But here eternal wisdom shined,
for Satan wrought what God designed. Satan is not a free agent. We
see that so clearly in the book of Job, of course. He cannot
do anything against Job without God's permission. It's a mystery. God is not the
author of sin and yet God is ruling over all the affairs of
wicked spirits and wicked men. And even the fall of our first
parents is part of the decree of God. It must be because without
that fall there would be no necessity for the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the great work of redemption. That's what John
Kent is referring to in that verse that I just read and of
course we see Satan doing his worst in the death of the Lord
Jesus Christ and remember the language that
Peter uses when he's preaching on the day of Pentecost before
those very Jews who had been instrumental in the crucifixion
of Christ How bold Peter is as he speaks to that multitude. He speaks of Christ being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Him being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.
They had done the deed, and they were culpable. And yet it's all
in the determinate counsel and foreknowledge. It's all according
to God's eternal decree. And so these events that we're
told here in this portion of scripture concerning this man
who was a great enemy of the Jews. He thought he could destroy
Mordecai but was not satisfied with just that. He would destroy
all the Jews. But what do we see on this occasion? We read the passage and the language
here at the end of the chapter, verse 10. The king says to Haman,
make haste, 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 be done unto the man whom the king delighteth
to honour. And then we are told subsequently
how he hastens to his own house in a mournful spirit. He speaks
to his wife Zeresh, his friends, and tells them all that had happened. And what do they say? If Mordecai
be of the seed of the Jews before whom thou hast begun to fall,
thou shalt not prevail against him, but thou shalt surely fall
before him. And then at the end of the 10th
chapter we read through into the end of chapter 7 verse 10
of chapter 7, so they hanged Haman on the gallows that he
had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified. As I said, the book is quite
remarkable really with regards to God's absolute sovereignty
as he works out his purposes and as he proves himself to be
a sanctuary to his people and an enemy to all their enemies. But before we conclude this morning. What spiritual truths, what gospel
truths can we gain from the book of Esther? The Lord Jesus says
in the gospel to the Jews, search the scriptures, in them ye think
that ye have eternal life, and these are they that testify of
me. Can we find the Lord Jesus? Can
we find something here concerning the Lord Jesus Christ? Well I
believe we can, and we should. And there are certain things
that seem to me to be quite striking in the book. Not necessarily
in this passage that we've read, although there's one thing I
want to mention here, but going back, going back to chapter 5, And Esther, you see, must plead
for the Jews because Haman has obtained from the king a decree
that all of the Jews are to be slaughtered. And Mordecai will
remind Esther how she must plead for her people. She herself is
a Jewess. But she's not yet, for at least
a month, been called into the presence of the King, and it's
a fearful thing to venture uninvited into the presence of the King. But she will venture. She will
venture, as we see in chapter 5. We're told it came to pass on
the third day that Esther put on her royal apparel and stood
in the inner court of the king's house over against the king's
house. And the king sat upon his royal
throne in the royal house over against the gate of the house.
And it was so when the king saw Esther the queen standing in
the court that she obtained favour 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. I know I've preached
on that verse previously. Esther venturing forth and touching
the top of the golden scepter and the significance of that.
Because it gives us a picture really. It gives us a picture
of the proclamation and the preaching of the gospel of the grace of
God. We have those words, don't we, in the 110th Psalm concerning
the Lord Jesus. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit
thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thy
people. The rod of God's strength proceeding out of Zion. And David Dixon, the Scots commentator,
says of that passage, it is a word of God preached. It's the ensign
of Christ's princely power that is represented to us there, the
rod of thy strength proceeding out of Zion. And thinking of
what we have here concerning this Eastern monarch stretching
forth as it were, the golden scepter, and one can go and approach
and touch the top of that scepter and find acceptance. It's a representation
of the preaching of the proclamation of the gospel of the grace of
God. But also, does it not in a sense
remind us of praying? and there we find acceptance
only through the Lord Jesus Christ. He is that one who is exalted,
a king upon Mount Zion. And as we approach, we too come
and we touch, as it were, that golden scepter, we acknowledge
his authority. He is that one who is the only
mediator between God and men. We approach him and through Christ
the Savior. He is that one in whom we have
boldness, in whom we have access with confidence. It's all by
and through the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's not
just in that verse back in chapter 5 a representation of God coming
in the preached word as it were Christ extending the golden scepter
but also for us to venture near and touch the top of the scepter
is to come to God in our prayers. But coming to the passage that
we read and I want to finish on this note this morning and
what happens to Mordecai how remarkable The answer that Haman has given
to the king concerning how this person whom the Lord would honor
is to be treated. And this is what he's done to
Mordecai. Verse 10, the king says to Haman,
make haste Take the apparel and the horse that thou hast, 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 honour. Is it not in many ways an illustration
to us again, this time of the way in which the sinner is arrayed
in robes of righteousness, in the garments of salvation, all
the great blessings of justification? As I've said, when we've considered
the subject of the justification of the Synergies, of course a
judicial term. It all has to do with the law
courts. And we know that in the courts
of law there are different degrees of acquittal. thinking not just
of English law, but Scottish law or military law, there are
various degrees of acquittal. We know in Scotland, for example,
a person can be declared not proven. Not proven, that's the
lowest form of acquittal. Of course, to be pronounced not
guilty is a much higher form of acquittal. We're told in a
court-martial someone might be honorably acquitted. I suppose
really that's higher still to be honorably acquitted. But none
of these really compare with the great doctrine of justification
by faith in Christ alone. What a blessing is that to be
clothed in His righteousness. This is a name whereby He shall
be called the Lord. Our righteousness is one of the
names of the Lord Jesus as we see there in Jeremiah 23 and
verse 6 and just a few chapters later, chapter 33 and verse 16. It's exactly that same name that
is given to His people. this is a name wherewith she
shall be called that's the church this is a name wherewith she
shall be called the Lord our righteousness and now we find
that man who was once a proud self-righteous
pharisee thought of Tarsus brought to recognize that he had no righteousness
at all of his own and all his righteousness was in the Lord
Jesus Christ and his one desire to be found in him he says not
having mine own righteousness which is of the law that's nothing
not having mine own righteousness which is of the law but that
which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness which
is of God by faith and isn't this a picture a picture of that
righteousness again look at the language in the prophecies of
Isaiah there in Isaiah 61 10 I will greatly rejoice in the
Lord my soul shall be joyful in my God for he hath clothed
me with the garments of salvation he hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments,
and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. The king said, What honour 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. But then he is clothed in the
royal apparel. He sits on the horse that the
king rides upon. He has the crown royal set upon
his head and yet he told us nothing with regards to that that the
Lord has done for sinners. There is something to discern
here. And I say as we come and read
such a book as that of Esther, we see the remarkable providence
of God. But oh, that we might also discern
something again and again of the Lord Jesus Christ, that one
who's not only the head over all things to the church, but
that one who is indeed the Lord. our righteousness. He is Jehovah
Sidkenu. May the Lord bless to us His
Word. Amen.