Turn with me to Esther 10 again. The last chapter in the story.
In our spiritual picture of this story, Esther is the one who
represents Christ. Throughout this spiritual picture,
Esther is the one who has represented Christ. But in the three verses
that make up chapter 10, Esther's name is not mentioned one time. And that makes me think of the
story of when the old man told the young man that he didn't
preach a good message because he didn't preach Christ. And
the young man said, well, Christ wasn't in the text. And the old
man said, young man, Christ is in every text. In every portion
of scripture, there's a road that leads to Jesus Christ crucified. And he said, our business is
to find that road and get on it. And by God's grace, that's
what we're gonna do. Mordecai, who has been representing
the spirit He's also represented Christ on a couple of occasions. He will be the one to represent
Christ in chapter 10. And I want to tell you, this
really is a glorious note to end the story on. This is such
a glorious note to end the story on. This is eternity. This is eternity. From this book
of Esther, we've seen the mystery of God's will in the dispensation
of the fullness of time. We have seen man's fall. We've seen man's condemnation. We've seen man's deliverer. We've seen man's redemption. We've seen the final judgment
before the throne. And now we end with eternity. Verse 1 says, And the king Ahasuerus
laid a tribute upon the land and upon the isles of the sea. That word tribute means a burden
that cannot be borne. It means a burden that causes
to faint. It means a tax by forced labor,
a forced payment. King Ahasuerus laid a forced
payment on the land and the isles of the sea. That is the final
thing this world will know when all of God's people are ushered
into eternity. That's the final thing this world
will know. Turn with me over to Isaiah 24. Isaiah 24, the heading at the
top of my page says, the doleful judgments, the doling out of
judgments, the doleful judgments of God upon the land. And verse one says, behold, the
Lord maketh the earth empty and maketh it waste and turneth it
upside down. and scattereth abroad the inhabitants
thereof. And it's because of sin. Verse
five, the earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof
because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance,
broken the everlasting covenant, therefore hath the curse devoured
the earth and they that dwell therein are desolate Therefore
the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men left. Only a remnant are going to be
spared. God's chosen elect remnant. Verse 18 says, And it shall come to pass that
he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the
pit. The person who tries to escape
is going to fall into the pit. And he that cometh up out of
the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare. There is
no escape. For the windows from on high
are open. And the foundations of the earth
do shake. The earth is utterly broken down. The earth is clean dissolved. The earth is moved exceedingly. Verse 21, and it shall come to
pass in that day that the Lord shall punish the host of the
high ones that are on high and the kings of the earth upon the
earth and they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered
in a pit and shall be shut up in the prison and after many
days they shall be visited. That word visited means found
wanting. found lacking. That's the final event of this
earth. Look at Malachi 4, the last book in the Old Testament,
Malachi chapter 4. Verse 1 says, For behold, the
day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all the proud, yea,
and all that do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day that
cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall
leave them neither root nor branch. It's coming. It's a forced payment
for sin that no one under it is going to be able to bear.
Nobody turn over to second Peter three. Second, Peter three, verse seven. But the heavens and the earth,
which are now by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. It's all reserved unto that. Verse 10 says, But the day of
the Lord will come as a thief in the night. in the which the
heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works
that are therein shall be burned up." Because of man's sin, because
of this entire world's sin. Well, why is it that the remnant
are not under this tribute? Why do they get to escape this
forced payment? It's because Christ bore the
forced payment for them. He bore the forced payment that
was owed on the cross of Calvary. He bore the fiery, all of this
fire that was reserved. He bore it for God's people. He bore the judgment. He was
consumed. All of this is going to be consumed.
He was consumed in the stead of his people. They were consumed
in him. God's people did not escape the
tribute. They're sinners just like everybody
else. They owe a payment just like everybody else. But they
bore their forced payment in Christ on the cross of Calvary.
Every soul on this earth is going to bear this tribute. Every soul
is going to pay this tax either in Christ or out of Christ. And
every soul whose tribute was not paid in Christ on the cross
of Calvary is going to pay it on the day that Christ ushers
his people into eternity. That's when it's gonna happen
to the whole world. All right, turn to 1 Thessalonians
4. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13. But I would not have you to be
ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you
sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep
in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you
by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the
dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another
with these words." How amazing. That's the moment everything's
going to start. All of this preliminary life that we're living, I can't
help but You know, compare life on this earth to to the time
of pregnancy, a baby in a womb for nine months, there is life
there. That baby is alive, but that baby is so is bound by so
many things. And one day that baby is going
to come forth. And, you know, our Lord said,
as a woman in travail, And the moment that we're delivered,
that's when we're going to start living. That's when we're going
to live life more abundant. Our life that we live right now
is so much more abundant than it was during that time of the
womb, which doesn't even come to mind. That former nine months
doesn't even come to mind. We know it existed. I know who
my mother was. I know who my siblings are and
all those things. But that former time, it doesn't
even come to mind. That's what the scripture says
about our life here on this earth. And here we are, we're just so
consumed with life and so worried about life. We're kept in the
safety of Christ right now, living on Him, feeding on Him, surviving
by Him. But in that moment, the moment
He comes back and we're caught up to meet Him in the clouds
and the air and we go to, that's when it all's about to start.
That's when it all starts. All right now, that's where we
are in Esther 10. Okay, go back to Esther chapter
10. God's people here have been gathered
and called up, and the final forced tribute
is laid on the land and on the islands, and that's what's gonna
happen. The Lord's gonna come and get
his people, take them out, And then that tax is gonna be laid
on the world for sin. And God's people now are taken
to forever be with the Lord in glory. All right, Esther 10,
verse one. 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, whereunto the king advanced him,
crowned him, exalted him. The margin says, made him great. Are they not written in the book
of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media in Persia? Is it not
written forever according to the Word of the Lord? Verse 3
says, 4 Because 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. If you want to know what heaven
is going to be like, there it is. There it is right there.
Verse three is all about Christ. And this is what it has to say
about him. And this is what eternity with Christ is going to be. Verse
3 says, Mordecai the Jew, Christ the man. Christ the man, God
the man, the man made like his brethren, the God man, the lion
of the tribe of Judah. Jesus of Nazareth that you're
going to hug and you're going to hold and you're going to walk
with and you're going to talk with a man. A man, Mordecai, the Jew. There
will be a man seated on a throne. And whom having not seen you
love, but if you think you love him now, wait till you see. Just
wait till you see him. And here's the reason why, okay?
Verse three says, Mordecai the Jew was next unto King Ahasuerus,
right next to him, seated at his right hand. That means sitting
in his seat of honor and equal in glory, in greatness, in power,
in majesty, in might, Verse two, again, it says, all
the acts of King Ahasuerus' power and of his might, and the declaration
of the greatness of Mordecai. He declared the greatness of
Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him. The scripture says that God the
Father has given Christ a name that is above every name. A name
that holds all glory, all dominion, all might. To see Christ is to
see the Father. To see Christ is to see God. God in the form of a man. God in the person. God who cannot
be contained. The heavens can't contain God.
It's going to be so cute one day to realize just how little
we see of space. And man thinks he can get his
mind around God, but all of God is contained in a man. One man,
the person of the God man, Jesus Christ. Verse three says, Mordecai
the Jew was next unto King Ahasuerus and great among the Jews. and accepted of the multitude
of his brethren." Now, they are accepted of Him. They are accepted
by Him. They are accepted in Him and
through Him. And it's because He accepted
them. He wanted them. And here's the
wonderful thing. As He desired them, they desire
Him. He is accepted and desired by
them. And it's because He is great
among His people. He is so great among His people. Psalm 21 5 says, His glory is
great. Psalm 31 19 says his goodness
is great. Psalm 33 18 his strength is great. Psalm 36 6 his righteousness
and judgment is great. Psalm 47 2 says the Lord Most
High is a great king. Psalm 48, 1, great is the Lord
and greatly to be praised in the city of our God and in the
mountains of His holiness. Worthy to be praised. He's great.
And it's because Psalm 57 says His mercy is great. Psalm 76
says His name is great. Psalm 92 says His works are great. Psalm 117, His kindness is great. Psalm 119, His peace is great. Psalm 136, his wonders are great. He is great. That's what eternity
will be. It will be us adoring his greatness. It will be us loving him as he
has loved us. Think about that, finally loving
him in the way we want to. We love him now, but not in the
way we want to and not in the way we're going to. We are going
to love him as he has loved us. Without the hindrance of sin,
it will be us accepting him as he has accepted us. We will spend our time adoring
him. That's what we're gonna do. All
right, we're gonna spend our time. What are we gonna do in
heaven? Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna spend our time
adoring him. And do you wanna know what he's
gonna do? All right, that's what we're gonna do. Verse three says, Mordecai the
Jew was next unto King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and
accepted of the multitude of his brethren. All right, now
this is what, that's what they did. Accepted him, great. All right, now this is what Mordecai
spent his time doing. Verse three goes on to say, seeking
the wealth of his people. You know, down here in this sinful
world, it's good to be poor. It's good to be poor. It really
is. Poor and needy. Poor in spirit. Poor and broken
and oppressed and humbled and cast down and bowed down in heart
and spirit. Poor. It's good to be poor. In heart, in spirit. And Proverbs
15 says, better is little in possessions. That's what it says
down here. But that's not how it is up there.
We can't handle it down here. But that's not how it is up there. With the hindrance of sin removed,
God's people are rich. So rich in spirit. Rich in heart. And the scripture
says they're even rich in possessions. And the reason is because Christ
is their possession. Oh, the unsearchable riches of
Christ. Riches, wealth that could never
be told. Listen to these scriptures. Romans
10, this is verses 12 and 13. It says, For there is no difference
between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is
rich. unto all that call upon him,
for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved." Lord, save me. Even me. Let thy goodness fall
on me. Peter cried, Lord, save me. 2 Corinthians 8 verse 9 says, For
you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he
was rich, Yet for your sakes he became poor. Why? That you, here's the end result
of what he did, that you through his poverty might be rich. Ephesians 2 verse 4 says, but
God who is rich in mercy. James 2.5 says, Hearken, my beloved
brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world to be
rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised
to them that love him? Rich in faith. These riches are
not materialism. The riches of God's people are
not pearly gates and golden streets. You know, that's what religion
is just focused on, the materialism. The riches is Christ. It's Christ,
the riches of his mercy, the riches of his grace, the riches
of who he is. The word wealth right here, seeking
the wealth of his people, this is how it translates. It means
good, beauty, bountifulness, gladness, joy, pleasure, prosperity. Mordecai spent his time seeking
the good of his people. Mordecai spent his time seeking
the beauty of his people and the bountifulness of his people
and the cheerfulness of his people. He did everything he could do
to make them glad and cheerful. Gladness, joy, pleasure, prosperity. That's how he spent his time.
And for all of eternity, that's what Christ will do for his people.
That's what Christ will do for his people. Verse 3 says, 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 doing this. Speaking peace, sorry. Speaking peace. To all his seed. Speaking P, that's what he spent
the rest of his days doing. That's what Jesus Christ will
spend eternity doing. That's what he'll spend eternity
doing, speaking peace. to all his seed, peace through
his blood. You know, before we ever even
come to him about anything, he will speak peace to us. Before
they even call, I'll answer them. What will he answer with? Peace,
peace, peace be unto you, my peace I give to you. Peace through
his blood, peace through his redemption, peace through his
cross, peace through his intercession, peace through his acceptable
worthiness, peace with God. and with man in him for the rest of eternity. That's what our Lord will speak
to our hearts. Peace to all of his seed. Amen. That was a good
book.