We're going to be looking at
the third chapter of the book of Esther, but before we go there,
would you turn with me to the book of Romans? Book of Romans
chapter 8. I'd like to read just a few verses
of Romans chapter 8. starting with verse 31. As we
look at what is going to be taking place in chapter 3, chapter 4,
chapter 5, chapter 6, and chapter 7 of the book of Esther, it is
disheartening, no doubt, if you were in that land at that time
and that edict from the king goes out, that you are going
to be destroyed. as a Jew, you're going to be
destroyed. And the same could be said about
an edict going out that all the believers in Christ Jesus, all
those that hold to the truth of the gospel, are going to be
put on a list, and they're going to be executed. It would be disheartening. Well, turn with me here to the
book of Romans for just a moment, and I want to read, beginning
with verse 31, some glorious things that the Lord has to say.
The outcome, whatever the outcome, And if we didn't have chapter
4, 5, 6, and 7, we could still surmise the outcome of what was
going to take place. Because the Lord has always shared
in his word, I will never leave my people nor forsake my people. All that the Father giveth me
shall come unto me, and he that cometh unto me I will in no wise
cast out forever. You know, we find out that The
church, all of God's people, all the lost sheep are in Christ
Jesus before the world was ever created. That's why he could
be and was the lamb slain. He was the substitute for his
people even before Adam ever sinned. So there was a people
that were gonna have to be born and have to be redeemed, and
that's what we find in Christ. Well, notice here, what shall
we then say to these things? Now, that's all the things that
have gone on before. Chapters 1 through Chapter 8
at this point. What shall we say? If God be
for us, who can be against us? Now, we're going to have some
of that going out through the realm of Ahasuerus' Persian Empire. If God be for us, who can be
against us? But you know, it still doesn't
cause them not to be nervous. There's going to be a lot of
trial and there's going to be a lot of fear and a lot of that. But God has said that if God
before us, who can be against us? Now those who, if they had
been executed, if they had been God's people, if they had been
believers, Death would have been not something to fear, but it
would have been simply a door into his presence. That's how
he uses it. I think of our sister Jo. It
wasn't a dreadful thing. It was entering into the presence
of the Lord. And then he goes on to say, he
that spared not, he that spared not, he that freely gave his
son, he that spared not his own son, but delivered him. That's an interesting phrase.
He delivered him over to the cross. He delivered him over
to crucifixion. He delivered him over to judgment,
but delivered him up for us all, all that are in Christ Jesus.
How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Now if he gave us the best, the
rest is just on the plate. The best was given to redeem
his people. The rest is given to us. It's
without comment, without exception. He's going to take care of that.
Now let's follow that thought as we go over here to the book
of Esther. That God is going to freely give
all things. He is going to be there. He is
going to be in charge. Even though we see them through
the lattice, we're going to find out that he is working all things
for his glory and for the glory of the church. So over here in
the book of Esther, chapter 3. The book of Esther, chapter 3,
we have the beginnings of a situation that I don't think anybody would
be interested in going through. I know the people were in some
fear about what was going to take place, as it is brought
out here in the book of Esther chapter 3. Beginning with verse
7 it says, in the first month, that is in the month of Nisan,
in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast lots to determine what
day it would be the best day or the lucky day, that's what
it really means, the lucky day from a standpoint of an unbeliever
to execute what he wanted to do. And we find out that it fell
on the 13th day, the month to month and to the 12th month,
that is the month Adar. And Haman said unto the king
Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad, dispersed
among the people in all provinces of thy kingdom, and their laws
are diverse from all people. Neither keep they the king's
laws, therefore it is not for the king's prophet to suffer
them. If it please the king, let it be written that they may
be destroyed. And I'll pay 10,000 talents of
silver to the hands of those that have charge of the business,
10,000 talents is 375 tons of silver. And in today's value,
it was $240 million that Haman was willing
to pay to have the Jews exterminated from the land. Now he's willing
to put up the money himself. Well, we get into verse 13 and
we find out he's also going to count that whoever he destroyed
is going to collect their possessions. So, please the king. Let us destroy
them. I'll pay 10,000 talents of silver
to the hands of those that have charge of the business to bring
it to the king's treasury. And the king took his ring from
his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of the Hamadassah, the
Agite, the Jew's enemy. And the king said unto Haman,
the silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them
as it seemeth good to thee. Then were the king's scribes
called On the thirteenth day of the first month there was
written according to all Haman had commanded unto the king's
lieutenants and to the governors and were over every province
and to the rulers of every people of every province according to
the writing thereof. And to every people after their
language in the name of King Hasuerus was it written and sealed
with the king's ring. And the letters were sent by
post into all the king's provinces to destroy to kill, to cause
to perish all Jews, both young and old, little children and
women, in one day, even the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which
is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,
or for payment. The copy of the writing for a
commandment was to be given in every province, was published
unto all people, that they should be ready against the day. And
the post went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and
the decree was given in Shushan the palace, and the king and
Haman sat down to get drunk, oped to drink. But the city of
Shushan was perplexed. All right, let's look at this
passage of scripture, but let us look at it from the standpoint
that God is absolutely in charge of all things. You know, if we
are not settled on that issue, if we're not settled on God being
over all things, we're going to have an issue with everyday
problems. And we find out that though they
had this sent out, and though it troubled them, we find that
there was enough composure in the land, especially by Mordecai
after he heard the comment, and he calls on a person who has
been put into the right place at the right time. His cousin,
Esther. And he says, and he knows this
for a fact, you've been put in this place for such a time as
this. She's not there on mistake. She's
there for such a time as this. God had already laid out the
carpet for what was going to happen here. He's already prepared
for what's going to happen. And he's prepared it years in
advance. He's had a young person, a person
born in Israel, taken captivity by Nebuchadnezzar's troops, brought
into the area of Nebuchadnezzar's great kingdom and she is brought
to a position where she becomes the wife of King Ahasuerus. If
you don't think there's some hand of God in that, there's
some hand of God in that. All right, now I just want to
read a few verses of scripture that share with us what God is
doing always. He has never had this an exception
to the rule. One of the greatest things that
believers can do is read and exalt God in Scripture, to exalt
Him in His position and in His grace, to exalt Him for what
He is doing, to exalt Him for what He has done in the past,
what He's doing now, and what He will do in the future, that
He will lose none, that He has purpose to save all His sheep
from their sins. He has had that purpose from
old eternity and He is continuing to carry out that purpose, and
it will be carried out, and then all of new eternity He will carry
it out. So we're gonna look just at a
few verses of the Scripture that go right hand in glove with what
we're reading here in the book. Great, it looks like a great
tragedy. You know, if we didn't know better,
it would be. There's gonna be some people that think it is.
Even people in Shushan, the palace, are having difficulties with
it. You know why? Because their shopkeepers have
a mark on their head. They're lawyers. We will read
in scriptures that when Nebuchadnezzar took the people out of Israel,
he took the best of the best out of Israel and left the common
people. He had an eye on putting these
people in high places. They are the shopkeepers, they
are the lawyers, they're the doctors, they're the babysitters,
they're the school teachers, they're the people in the land
that know something, and Haman cannot handle it. Haman is going
to do everything he can to get rid of them, and you know, with
a king that don't think for himself, It was just simple to twist his
mind into believing it's a good thing to do. Well, before we
get to that point, turn with me, if you would, back to the
New Testament, to the book of John. The book of John chapter
three. The book of John chapter three.
I am reminded, as it was brought out again Sunday, about Pilate. Don't you know what I could do
to you? And Jesus said, you have no power
over me except that which is given. And so King Ahasuerus
is in the same place. And so is Haman. And so is Mordecai. You could do nothing. except
it be given to you. We couldn't draw breath except
it be given to us. Well, in John chapter three,
we read this about God's great purpose, God's great purpose.
And it tells us here, John chapter three and verse 27, John chapter
three and verse 27, John answered and said, a man can receive nothing. That's a pretty, blanket statement,
a man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. Flesh and blood hath not revealed
this unto you Peter, but my Father which is in heaven. So a man
can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. Now
As most of you know, I've been discussing an issue like this
with a young man for quite a long time. And I had to ask him again,
how can you separate the will of man from the fall? How can
you take it out of the fall and have it in a good position when
everything else is so bad? You know, the young man told
me, I can't explain it. You know, how can? And so, when
we really get down to it, we can do nothing except what we're
given of the Father. And here we have this tragedy. It looks like it's coming. The
messages have been sent out, the posts have been sent out,
and the exact day has been set for the extermination of all
the Jews in this kingdom. And there is no messing around.
They understood that they were in a fight. Well, we find out
that nothing is going to happen except, first of all, God is
involved in it. Well, let's look at another verse
of scripture. And this one is over in the Old Testament in
the book of Exodus. This passage of scripture is quoted by the
Apostle Paul in the book of Romans. How much of the Old Testament
is quoted in the book of Romans is astonishing. And here is an
Old Testament passage that he brings into his message that
he shares with us in the book of Romans in Exodus chapter 9. Now this is God talking to a
king. This is a God talking to a very
powerful king. This is God talking to Pharaoh,
king of Egypt. This is God speaking to Pharaoh,
king of Egypt, who says he is ruling over all the Jews, and
he has them in his hand, and he will do with them as he sees
fit. And yet God speaks to him in Exodus 9, verse 14, and says
this, For I will at this time send
all my plagues upon thine heart. Now, I thought I'd never read
that word heart before. I've skipped over it, I guess.
I will send all my plagues upon thine heart and upon thy servants
and upon thy people that thou mayest know that there is none
like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my
hand that I will smite thee and thy people with pestilence and
thou shall be cut off from the earth. You know, I can just see
Pharaoh as God is speaking through Moses to this man and he says,
I don't believe it. I don't believe he can do that.
I just don't believe that. Well, that's exactly what a lost
man will say about the Word of God. I don't believe that. And
they say it all the time. One of the beauties, glorious
things of the new birth is we are permitted to believe God.
to believe his word to believe it that it is the word of God
going on here it says in verse 16 and in very deed for this
cause can you imagine the preacher telling pharaoh king of egypt
this is god's message to you for this very reason have i raised
thee up for to show in thee my power that my name may be declared
throughout all the earth Paul brings us up in the book of Romans
as he's declaring the gospel of God Almighty in performing
all his works according to his purpose, raising up a people. He has a people that are found
in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world and he will save
every one of them. All of them are unwilling to
have this great salvation, but he will convince them in the
new birth. All right, it goes on and says, I've raised thee
up for this very purpose. Now we're gonna get over to the
book of Esther and we're gonna find out these words are just
directed to King Ahasuerus and Amon too. I've raised you up
for this purpose. You weren't born for some odd
purpose. You were born for this purpose.
I have you born for this very purpose, King Ahasuerus, and
Haman, you too. You are a mean guy, and you're
a dastardly guy, but I've raised you up for a purpose. I'm going
to show my power in you. You're going to think you can
do all of this, but when God is not in favor of it, nothing
will be done. We're going to see that as the
scriptures develop and share with us. Okay, over in the book
of First Chronicles, chapter 29. First Chronicles, chapter
29. God loves us to praise him with
his own word. Exalt Him. Almighty God. All-powerful God. God that rules
over all things. Oh, help me to understand it
and help me to believe it. But you do it anyway. All right?
In the book of 1 Chronicles 29, verse 11. 1 Chronicles 29, verse
11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness.
Oh, to be settled on that. I'm so thankful I can go to church
and hear about the greatness of God. I don't have to go to
church and hear how God's trying to get something done. I can
go to church and find out He's already done something. And it's
a glorious thing on the behalf of lost people. It goes on to
say, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty. Thine, O Lord, is the victory. Thine, O Lord, is the majesty
over all that is in heaven and in earth is Thine. Thine is the
kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all. So when we're reading through
the book of Esther, If we didn't know the results, if it was being
revealed to us as we went through it, I don't know how that would
work. But if we read a passage and lo and behold, the next chapter
was given to us, and then we read it and had some comprehension
about it, and then the next chapter. Well, in reality, God reveals
his word to us like that. We're growing in grace and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and we
have seen something, and lo and behold, God is merciful to allow
us to see some more of it and hear this great statement about
God. Thine, O Lord, is all of this. We exalt you. We hold you high. Oh my goodness, that no man may
glory in your presence. King Ahasuerus thought he's a
pretty neat guy and so did Amon. You know, after they sent out
that edict, the Bible says they sat down and drank. They're going
to have a party. no thought about the consequences
of their actions. But God is not put off by this. In fact, we find that God has
ordained this, that he might show his great power just as
he did in raising up Pharaoh, and just as he did in putting
those children of Israel into servitude. It was not a secret. What did he tell Abraham? He
told Abraham, Your people are gonna go down to Egypt and they're
gonna be there for 400 years in servitude, in slavery. It
wasn't a secret. God told them what was gonna
happen. Guess what had happened? You know what happened on the
400th day or 400th year to the very day? They got out, just
like he said. God is in charge of all that.
All right, turn with me if you would to the Psalm, Psalm 62,
Psalm 62. And this theme goes throughout
the scriptures. We're just touching on a few
verses of scripture that share with us that God is in complete
and overall charge of all things. For this very purpose have I
raised thee up, Pharaoh. For this very purpose have I
raised thee up, Ahasuerus. For this very purpose have I
raised thee up, Haman. I raised you up to show my power
in you. And we're going to follow that out and we're going to find
out what they ordained or what they proposed. God disposed of
it in such a glorious manner. Psalm 62, and there in verse
11, the scripture says, God has spoken once, twice have I heard
this, that power belongeth unto God. Now, I'm not sure that this
is what that exactly means, but where I grew up, just down below
us, south of our house, was an orchard. And in that orchard
were some huge poplar trees. And in the evening, us kids used
to get out there and say things, and it was echoed right back
at us. We thought that was so cool. Now, there was just a little
delay in that echo. We'd shout, and it would come
back, and we thought that... Well, once I've heard it, what
does it say? God has spoken once. Twice have
I heard this, that the power belongeth unto God. Even in the
echo, he's telling power belongs unto God. I heard it the second
time. First time he said it, second
time it echoed back at me. All right, let's look over here
in the book of Jeremiah. Book of Jeremiah chapter 27.
Now it was not a mistake that Nebuchadnezzar came down to Israel.
It's not a mistake that Nebuchadnezzar hauled off a bunch of those Jews.
God had already told him this is going to happen. In the book
of Jeremiah, chapter 27, I think we read this last time we met,
but I want to read it again. Jeremiah, chapter 27, verse 5. Scriptures share this. You know,
just a sideline, I like the Spanish word, asefrio. You know what
that means? He makes it cold. They use a... Their language is based a lot
on some prospect of God. He makes it cold. Hace caliente. He makes it hot. He's the only
one that can control the weather. He has this in his hands. All right. In the book of Jeremiah
27, verse five, I have made the earth, God speaking, Lord of
hosts, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, verse
four, the man and the beast that are upon the earth ground by
my great power and by my outstretched arm and have given it unto whom
it seem meet unto me. Now, why? Did the pilgrims land at Plymouth
Rock? You know, I read in a book one
time that Columbus was very close to the eastern seaboard of what
we call the United States today, and he was directed by a flock
of birds and ended up down in the Caribbean islands. And the
person who wrote that said, if he'd have landed here, we'd have
been a Catholic nation. What? God's providence. Now,
Jeremiah said, I have all the land under my control. It's my
outstretched arm. Now notice verse six. And now
have I given all these your lands. Israel into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,
the king of Babylon, my servant." Well, my goodness, you'd almost
be called a heretic at times for saying that Nebuchadnezzar
was the servant of the most high God. I raise up kings and I dispose
of kings. The king's heart is in my hands,
and I turn it whithersoever I will. Like rivers of water, irrigation
ditches, I turn the king's heart whithersoever I will. All right,
and he goes on to tell us here, my servant and the beast of the
field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall
serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time
of his land come. And then many nations and great
kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to
pass that the nation and kingdom which shall not serve the same
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, that they will not put their
neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. That nation will
I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine,
and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand."
What a statement that God makes here about Nebuchadnezzar. And
then we could go back, right back there and say, well, Nebuchadnezzar
collected Mordecai, Nebuchadnezzar collected Esther, and Nebuchadnezzar
collected a whole bunch of other folks and brought them down to
Babylon Nebuchadnezzar collected Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar collected
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Nebuchadnezzar collected all
those folks that we read about in the book of Daniel. They were
collected by Nebuchadnezzar, brought out of Israel. He destroyed
the temple. He destroyed the walls of Jerusalem.
And then we find Cyrus 70 years later saying, okay, you can go
back and rebuild. Why? That the word of the Lord
by Jeremiah might be fulfilled. It's a miracle. You couldn't
design it better. God has taken it such an architectural
view of this world that he is going to accomplish everything
he has ever set to do and that is he is going to save all his
people from their sins. He'll take care of it. He has
promised it. He will lose none of them. Over
in the book of, well, Jeremiah's second book, the book of Lamentations,
my goodness, the lamenting of Jeremiah over Israel's state. Jeremiah, or excuse me, Lamentations
chapter three. Lamentations chapter three in
verse 37. Lamentations chapter three in
verse 37. It's like saying, I'm going to
do something, and then the Lord says, he commanded it not, it's
not going to happen. Well, let's just read this. Who
is he that saith? And it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth
it not. All the paper that was used to
write all the edicts to go out into every part of the empire
all of the work that went into it, all of the scribes that were
used, all of the posts that were used. We cry in the fact that
we're going to do away with the Jews and God said it's not going
to happen. He struck across it. It went
out and He struck across it. It's not going to happen. I'll
take care of it. I will provide. I really appreciated a verse
of scripture in the book of Luke. Recently it was brought to my
attention, Brother Mike and his lessons. Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22 and verse 53. And Mike, you can just go through
it as slow as you want. Luke chapter 22 and verse 53. When I was daily with you in
the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me. But this is your hour in the
power of darkness. All right, it's your turn. I'm
dropping my hands, I'm giving you permission. You will do what
is required. As we read over the book of Acts,
he was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. And you by wicked hands have crucified and slain. It's
your hour. Now many times, I don't know
how many times prior to this in the gospel, they attempted
to take him but could not. It was not his time. Now it is
his time and he is permitting him. The Son of Man goeth as
it was determined. No man takes my life from me.
I'll lay it down to myself. He is in charge of the whole
thing. And that's how he could say, as being God, to Pilate
when he says, don't you know what I could do to you? And Jesus
said, you have no power over me except to be given you. You
know what? The next verse says, from then
on Pilate tried to get him away from crucifixion to not
to do that. Oh, he was struck by the power
of God right between the forehead. All right. Last verse along this line, would
you turn with me to the book of James? James chapter one,
James chapter one, verses 17 and 18. Now every spiritual blessing
comes from the same place, but everything, every act of Ahasuerus
and every act of Haman has been prescribed by Almighty God. I
permit you, in fact I hope to quit saying that sometime because
it is more than permitting, it is purposing. And here it says,
every good gift, James chapter one verse 17, every good gift
and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the
father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow
of turning. Where's the connecting verse
to that? Malachi chapter one. I am God, I change not, therefore
ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. And then in verse 18 of that
same chapter, "...of His own will begat He us by the word
of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creation."
Of His own will. In this whole scheme of things,
He has people that He is going to give the new birth to. And
that's why we have the activities going on over there in the book
of Esther. It's going to turn out for the
glory of God and for the glory of the church. Now, in going
back to Esther chapter 3, we find very early on in this chapter
that Haman has a problem. And Haman has an inherent problem.
And we looked at it one time and said, it just fulfills the
verse of scripture in Romans chapter 8, where the natural
man is enmity with God. I mean, you read Haman, and you
just see he's enmity with God. We also find another man, and
we brought this out, there was another man that had enmity with
God, and that was Saul of Tarsus. Saul of Tarsus was delivered
from his enmity. Haman left this earth with all
his enmity. I will not have this man rule
over me. Now, Nebuchadnezzar took all
the nobles. This tells us in the book of
Jeremiah chapter 27. He took all the nobles out of
Israel. But turn with me to the book
of 2 Kings. As we look here in 2 Kings, who he took who he took. These are the people that Haman
has requested the death of. In the book of 2 Kings, 2 Kings
chapter 24. I don't know about you, but sometimes
I get stuck on a word or a series of words in a verse. I know it's
in the Bible, and I'm so thankful that I can bounce that off of
my bride. And then she starts thinking and bringing up words,
and then, oh, I got it. Okay, here it is. Nebuchadnezzar
carried off, verse 14 of 2 Kings 24, and he carried away all Jerusalem,
all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even 10,000
captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. These are the people
that Haman wants to destroy. None remained save the poorest
sort of people in the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin
to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his
officers, and the mighty of the land. Those carried he into captivity
from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the men of might, even
7,000, and craftsmen, and smiths, 1,000, all that were strong and
apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to
Babylon. Notice who he brought. And what
did he do with what we would say the drags of the people?
They became Samaritans. He sent some people back to intermarry
with them. They're no longer what would
be classified among those Pharisees as Jews any longer. So Nebuchadnezzar
pulled these people out. who was left, we know Haman is
raising a charge against these people. And he begs that these
people, and he says, there's some people in the land that
he doesn't even give a name. He just goes over and says, there's
some people that have a different law, and they're not tied in
like we are. Well, who's doing the work? Who's the craftsman? Who's the
lawyers? Who's the doctors? Who's the
great men of war? And this is who Heyman wants
to destroy out of there. And he will pay $240,250,000
in today's dollars to have that done. And he said, I'll pay it
myself. I think probably he had a pretty
generous job, don't you? He is put into quite a position. Haman is given permission by
the king without a question. You know, it's surprising that
King Ahasuerus didn't ask, who are these people? Are there any
around here? Is there any in my court? And
he would have to answer, yes, there is. His wife. He never asked a question. A
dangerous person is one that is unattentive to business, bewitched
by advisors, and takes no time to examine the truth for themselves. That's a dangerous person. And
King Ahasuerus is a dangerous person. God has raised him up
to be a dangerous person. God has permitted him to do this
and we're going to find the outcome. Do with them as it seemeth good
unto you is what we find in the scriptures. And so This whole
parade gets started. We find out what's gonna happen.
Destroy, I like verse 13. Look at verse 13 there of, I
don't like it. I mean, it has quite an illustration
here, I should say, because in chapter three and verse 13 of
this passage of scripture, it says, to destroy, to kill, and
to cause to perish. Now that's pretty emphatic. All
Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day,
even upon the 13th day of the 12th month, which is the month
Adar, and to take the spoil of them for prey." Now they're going
to have about a year for all this to happen, because this
is a large kingdom. Persian Empire is huge. So it's
going to take a long time to get all of this information out,
and then to get back that it's all been taken care of. Destroy,
kill, And the results are in this publication. King, Haman,
the king and Haman and the court sat down to drink and we find
out, as we follow this out, God does rule. As Pilate was told
one more time by the Lord Jesus, you could do nothing except to
be given of God. We have all the designs, but
they can't be fulfilled. Who is it that were proposed
and God would say not going to happen that way. We do that all
the time. Aren't you thankful that God
intervened with us when we said it's not going to happen that
way and God said it is. It's going to happen just that
way. Now, I cannot put myself, I try,
but I can't put myself in the lives of those people when they
get this message. But the scriptures do tell us
in verse 14 of this. And the copy of the writing for
the commandment to be given in every province was published
unto all people that they should be ready against that day. And
the post went out, and being hastened by the king's commandment,
and the decree was given, and Shushan the palace, and the king
And Hama sat down to drink, but notice the last phrase, but the
city Shushan was perplexed. Does he realize who's going to
be executed? His doctor. The guy that's keeping his books. What a deal. And then we find
as we travel through the next three chapters, I believe it
is, how God is going to shuffle everybody in the right direction.
And in the end, a lady is going to be put into position years
beforehand, comes up and approaches the king. knowing that she could
die in an instant, but she approached him and brought out the truth.
And then we'll have the rest of the story. All right, we'll
stop there for tonight.