The reading and the service so
far is just, I've enjoyed it very much. Thank you. Turn with
me to Esther, Chapter 8. Esther is the book before Job. One of many subjects that I thoroughly
enjoy thinking of, reading about, talking about, is the sovereignty
of our God. He reigns. And with that, my
topic tonight is the king's eternal, immutable law. A brief, Esther is not a very
long book, and we'll be here, we'll start here in chapter eight,
but just a brief overview of Esther to this point. We've got
some characters here. Mordecai, he is a Jew who was
carried away captive from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. He has an
adopted daughter by the name of Esther, who, because the king's
queen, Vashti, when the king in his third reign threw a party,
a celebration, and he called for his queen, she didn't come. She transgressed the king's command. And for her transgression, she
was rejected. She was removed from being queen.
About three years after she was removed, the king had all the
ladies of the land present themselves for him to choose a new queen. And he chose Esther. Esther became
his queen. And she hid the fact that she
was a Jew from him for five years while she was queen. About the
same time that Esther became queen, a man by the name of Haman
was promoted to be above all the other princes. The king placed
him above all the princes and he decreed that all should pay
homage to Haman as he went through the town and bow to him. But Mordecai would not bow to
him. And because Mordecai wouldn't
bow to him, Haman hated the man. And because he was a Jew, Haman
decided he would destroy all the Jews because of Mordecai. And, sorry, Haman convinced the
king to pass a law, write his law, that said on a certain day,
all the Jews in the kingdom were to be destroyed. So as we arrive to chapter eight,
Mordecai has been honored by the king. Mordecai found out
about an assassination attempt against the king and got word
to the king so that the king not only survived, but he put
down the transgressors against him. And the king, wishing to
honor Mordecai, sometime after this had occurred, it was read
to him in his history, And Mordecai had never been recognized
for his part in preventing the assassination. So the king asked
Haman, what should I do to honor the man that honors the king? And Mordecai thought, he's going
to honor me. So he said, the king should robe
the man he wants to honor in his own robes. And he ought to
put the man on the king's horse. exalt him throughout the town,
let everybody see that he's been exalted. So the king said, you're right,
Haman, put my robes on Mordecai, who unbeknownst to the king at
that point, Haman had built gallows for Mordecai to be hanged upon. Mordecai was robed in the king's
robes by the man that hated him. He was put on the king's horse
by the man that hated him and led through the town by that
same man. And we come now, the king has
been told that Esther has revealed to him that she's a Jew and she's
under the condemnation of the law that Haman convinced the
king to put into place. The king has slain Haman on the
gallows that he built for Mordecai. And now we're in chapter eight. Let's start reading in verse
one. On that day, on the day that Haman was hanged, the king
Ahasuerus Did the king of Hosorius give the house of Haman the Jew's
enemy unto Esther the queen? And Mordecai came before the
king, for Esther had told what he was unto her. And the king
took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it
unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over
the house of Haman. And Esther spake yet again before
the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears
to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that
he had devised against the Jews. Then the king held out the golden
scepter toward Esther, and Esther arose and stood before the king,
and said, If it please the king, and if I have found favor in
his sight, and the things seem right before the king, and I
be pleasing in his eyes, Let it be written to reverse the
letters devised by Haman, the son of Hamadatha the Agagite,
which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king's
provinces. For how can I endure to see the
evil that shall come unto my people? Or how can I endure to
see the destruction of my kindred? Then the king, Ahasuerus, said
unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have
given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon
the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. Write
ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and
seal it with the king's ring. For the writing which is written
in the king's name and sealed with the king's ring May no man
reverse. Think of the power in those last
few words, the writing which is written in the king's name
and sealed with the king's ring. May no man, not even the king
who wrote it, may no man reverse. The law Esther pleads to reverse
was that on the 13th day of the 12th month, all the king's subjects
were commanded to go out and slaughter the Jews from the youngest
to the oldest, man, woman, and child. And this king, who had written
this law, couldn't just send out and say, oh, about that law
I just wrote a little while ago, Never mind, don't worry about
doing that one. We're just going to ignore it.
The king doesn't have the power to do that. He's written it,
he's sealed it, and no man may reverse it. It's a very difficult
thing for us to imagine in this day and age that a law could
be so absolute, so steadfast. Our laws change on a whim. But
these laws could not be changed. When the king sat upon his throne,
the laws he issued went forth and even they lasted for the
dominion of the kingdom. Not just that king's reign, but
for as long as the kingdom existed. Cyrus, the king of Persia, gave
command for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. That
building continued with various interruptions during the reigns
of Cyrus, Ahasuerus, Artaxerxes, and Darius. It was during the
reign of Artaxerxes that at the persuasion of the Jews' enemies,
the king gave commandment for the work to cease. But when Darius
became king, there was a search made of the records And it was
revealed to Darius the law that Cyrus had commanded for Jerusalem
to be rebuilt and the temple. And because the law of Cyrus
superseded the law of Artaxerxes, the work was renewed and Darius
saw it to completion. Now, this is fascinating historical
information. It's all great. But what's it
got to do with Christ, Him crucified, and my salvation? Consider for a moment how life
under one of these kings would be for a young boy or girl, the
children of a farmer, who live in the kingdom's farthest reach,
so far away that they seldom hear of the king. They know that
they're under a king. They know he passes some degrees
and sometimes they hear about them. But for their day-to-day
purpose, they grow their vegetables, they take them to market. They
raise their lambs, they take them to market. Not much that
the king does really affects their life. I fear that we live in a time
such as that. Most everyone knows there is
a king There is a God in heaven who reigns, but he's so far removed from
me. His law means nothing to me, has nothing to do with my
daily concerns. How thankful are we that the
Lord's been pleased to call a remnant according to the election of
grace who are drawn nigh unto our king throughout all of his
kingdom. So for this evening, let's consider
who is our king. Just a couple of his laws. What
is his kingdom, and what is our standing before his law? Then
we'll consider how our king has fully satisfied his own law,
has saved his elect from condemnation, and why he's done so. So who
is our king? Some of the little ones here
with us might be thinking, well, Obie's lost it. We hadn't had
a king in America since the Revolutionary War. He's gone off the deep end. Well, there was a king long ago
that had the same thought. He, like Ahasuerus, ruled a great
kingdom. And being lifted up in pride,
he claimed the accomplishments which God had given to him as
his own work. But God Almighty revealed to
him that he was the servant of the one true king. Turn with
me to Daniel chapter four. And you don't have to hold Esther. Daniel chapter four. Daniel has been called in to
interpret King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Daniel 4, verse 24. This is Daniel speaking to King
Nebuchadnezzar. He says, this is the interpretation,
O King, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come
upon my Lord, the King. that they shall drive thee from
men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beast of the field,
and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall
wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over
thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom
of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. At the end of seven years, well,
actually at the end of Towards the next year, verse 33, the
same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was
driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was
wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles'
feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. And at the end
of the days, after seven years, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up
mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me,
and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him
that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and
his kingdom is from generation to generation, and all the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing. and he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth. And none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest
thou? At the same time, my reason returned
unto me, and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness
returned unto me, and my counselors and my lords sought unto me,
and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added
unto me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise
and extol and honor the King of Heaven, all whose works are
truth, and His ways judgment, and those that walk in pride
He is able to abase. Nebuchadnezzar, the King, was
made to know He was King by the good pleasure of the King of
Heaven. Our King is the same King that
created heaven and earth, the same that Isaiah prophesied of,
saying, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,
and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. Our King is God the Father. Our
King is God the Son. Our King is Lord Jesus Christ. Turn over to Psalm 145. What is our King's dominion?
How far does it reach? Psalm 145, verse one. I will
extol thee, my God, O King, and I will bless thy name forever
and ever. Verse 13, thy kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. Our Lord's kingdom is everlasting. It's eternal, just as he is.
He was king before there was a creation, and he is king, he
is the king, who when the earth is consumed in fire, he decrees
it so. What is our King's law? We hold
it in our hands. The written, sealed law of the
King of Kings. Every word, every command shall
be fulfilled. Our Lord himself said in Matthew
5.18, for verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one
jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all
be fulfilled. Just a couple of his laws. Just
a couple. I lost my place. Be ye holy,
for I am holy. Seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his face forevermore. Those are two of his commands. As we are gathered here, earnestly
desiring to worship our Lord, Jesus Christ, am I holy? Do I stand here holy in and of
myself? Be ye holy, that's the command
I have. I can't fulfill it. How can I? Man that is born of the seed
of Adam is just like Adam, dead, corrupt, and vile. My nature
is anti-holy. I can't be holy. I can't even
conceive what holy is, because all I know, in and of myself,
is sin. Since I am not holy, I have transgressed,
I have sinned, I have broken the king's law. While every child of God's prayer
is that every time we meet together, we meet to seek the Lord, do
we do so continually? Every moment of every day from
the time we're conceived to the time we go into the tomb, In
sickness? In health? Awake? Asleep? No. Again, I've transgressed
the king's law. I'm guilty. And there shall be
consequences. Just as Vashti disobeyed King
Ahasuerus in not coming at his command, we have transgressed
against our king. Knowing that we stand guilty
of transgressing against our great God and King, we also know,
because our own conscience bears witness against us, we stand
justly condemned of sin against God, which carries the penalty
of eternal death and separation from our God for eternity. Our great King, though, The Lord
Jesus Christ, he reigns upon his heavenly throne over all
of his dominion eternally. No beginning, no end. He has given to us his law. It
is written in the book for all eternity. It is recorded in the
holy scriptures and the law is holy and the commandment holy
and just and good. We, his subjects, have rebelled
against his good, holy, just law, and we're subject to its
penalty. Death, not just the death of
flesh, but the death of the spirit. Would the king, especially a
good king, learning of rebellion against his throne be considered
justified in the destruction of the rebels against him? When King Hosorius found out
that there were enemies against him, assassins coming to try
to take his throne, and he found that it was true and found out
who the offenders were, was he justified in their destruction?
Of course he was. They rebelled against his kingship. Are we children of a rebellious
man, rebels in our own right, Are we not also under the just
condemnation of our King? Given that the eternal law of
the eternal King is written and sealed by the King, and that
no man may alter it, you know, King Ahasuerus, he's
a picture of our Lord and our God, in that he set the law and
has written and sealed. But he's not a wise king. He's
not an all-knowing king. He had to make a correction to
his law. He couldn't undo the law he had written, but he could
add to it. Our great god and king needs
no change. He is wise. He has written his
laws in wisdom and in love. Given that we have transgressed
that law and rebelled against that king, where can we flee? Is there any hope for us? Shall
we come into the king's court, who David said here in verse
nine of 145, Psalm 145, the Lord is good to all. Shall we come into our good king's
court and charge him with being unjust? That is, after all, what
we do by nature, or at least what I do. When I go before him
and declare, I've done this, I've not done that, and, well,
I've done the best I can, so you're going to have to accept
my meager efforts because It's all I can do, and well, you just
demand too much, so you're gonna have to change. In doing so, we proclaim to God,
you're unjust, you're unwise, your law is too hard, so you
must change. Nay, but oh man, who art thou
that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? God's law
cannot change. We cannot keep it. What's our
hope? Turn over to Ephesians 2. And you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins, Ephesians 2. wherein in time
past ye walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich
in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace
ye are saved, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages
to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. King Ahasuerus had no love for
the Jews, but he loved Esther. And for her sake and none other
was the law declared for the Jews to harm themselves and defend
themselves. God the Father loves God the
Son. God the Son wrote in Psalm 27,
I will declare a decree. The Lord hath said unto me, thou
art my son. This day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,
and the othermost parts of the earth for thy position. And you
know what? He asked, and he received. Speaking of his elect sheep,
the Lord Jesus Christ said in John 10, 29, my father which
gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck
them out of my father's hand. God the Son loves God the Father. God the Son loves those whom
God the Father gave him. Father's law cannot change. The
father's elect cannot keep the law. God the Son came as a man
to keep the law of God for his elect people. A man from the
womb to the tomb kept every word of God's law perfectly. So much
so that even when standing before the judgment seat of man's law,
it was forced to declare, I find no cause of death in him. I've
heard it said times over the years, citing historians, that
Romans, or prisoners of Rome who were to be crucified, oftentimes
didn't make it to the crucifixion because of the beatings they
endured. They died before they could get
to the crucifixion. The same beatings that our Lord
endured. But our Lord Jesus Christ could
not die from those beatings. He had no sin upon him. Death
had no claim to him. But as he hung on the cross,
he who knew no sin was made sin for us, for those whom God the
Father gave him. He took my sin. He bore my wrath
because of his love for the Father. and because he loved those whom
God gave him. Jesus Christ, the man who kept
God's law without exception, died bearing the curse of the
law in my stead. He died in the stead of all God's
elect sheep, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding
riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. The eternal, immutable, or unchangeable
law of God is satisfied because Jesus Christ, God the Son, took
upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh. He kept in the
flesh the law of God, suffered, shed His own precious blood,
and died under the law's curse for His own and was raised again
for our justification. In closing, turn to one more
passage, Psalm 100. I know we just recently read
this, but aren't you thankful that God's law cannot change? That he did not change the law
in order to accommodate sinful man's salvation. For had he changed
the one thing written for me to enable this sinful flesh to
be saved, could it not be rewritten again to my damnation? Paul, speaking before Festus,
said regarding the accomplishment of our Lord Jesus Christ in fulfilling
the law for his people, bearing their shame, suffering and dying
for them, rising again, He said, the king knoweth of these things,
before whom I also speak freely. For I am persuaded that none
of these things are hidden from him. Christ didn't go around
behind closed doors and secretly fulfill the law. Secretly, we'll let that one slide. He
publicly kept and walked before God and men. None of these things are hidden
from him, for this thing was not done in a corner. God's recorded
it for all time. And throughout all ages, this
will be our rejoicing that the Lord Jesus Christ died for this
sinner and satisfied God's justice. Our Lord didn't find a way to
sneak sinners into heaven. He satisfied that law and justice
and mercy and truth. Indeed, as we heard on Sunday,
he is all. Do you regard the law as too
strict, too hard, too unbending? Pray the Lord will give you eyes
to see Christ the King who has fulfilled the law. When you see
Him, when you see all that He's done, you'll cry with David, Because of what Christ our Lord
and Savior has done for us in His substitutionary life, wherein
He fully kept God's law, in His willing sacrifice that He offered
His soul as a sin offering on the tree, bearing our guilt and
rising for our justification, He set us free. Let's close by
reading Psalm 100 again. Make a joyful noise unto the
Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord,
he is God. It is he that hath made us and
not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep
of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving
and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him, and bless
his name. For the Lord is good, his mercy
is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations. Amen. And Lord, make that a blessing
to us. Dwight.