So good to be here, good to be
with each one of you. Lord's blessings be upon us as
we study this wonderful book of the gospel according to Esther.
So if you would turn with me to the book of Esther chapter
two, the book of Esther chapter two. We'd like to read the first
nine verses of this book or this chapter of Esther. And I'd like
to look at what It shares with us again in 2 Kings chapter 24,
what it shares with us in Jeremiah chapter 52, what it shares with
us in Ezekiel chapter 1, and what it shares with us in Daniel
chapter 1. about what surrounded the captivity, who was taken
into captivity, because all of these saints that were used to
write the history, many of them were participants in this captivity. They were taken into captivity
themselves. Now, whether they knew Esther,
it doesn't tell us, or whether she knew them, it doesn't tell
us, but it does tell us that they were all in the same boat.
They were all taken into captivity. And it's just reminiscent to
us, though we may not have had anything to do personally with
the captivity that Adam fell into, we're still participants
with it. And we are captivated, we're
captives of sin. Well, we're gonna read in here
that it was because of the captivity that grace is going to be shown
here in the book of Esther. So turn with me to the book of
Esther, first of all, chapter two, and we wanna read the first
nine verses. After these things, when the
wrath of King Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti and what
she had done and what was decreed against her. Remember, she was
requested to come into her husband's presence. She refused to. And
it was even against the social order of these Persians for her
to come into the presence of all these men. But in the providence
of God, we find that that's what took place. Then said the king's
servants that ministered unto him, let there be fair young
virgins sought for the king, and let the king appoint officers
in all the provinces of his kingdom, that there may gather together
all the fair young virgins under the shusha in the palace to the
house of the women under the custody of Hege, the king's chamberlain,
keepers of the women, and let their things be for purification
be given to them. And let the maiden which pleaseth
the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased
the king, and he did so. Now in Shushan the palace, there
was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jayar,
the son of Shimei, the son of Kish of the tribe of Benjamin. who had been carried away from
Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with
Jehoiachin, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,
had carried away. And he brought up Hedasha, this,
that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had neither
father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful, whom
Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his
own daughter. So it came to pass when the king's
commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens
were gathered together into Shushan the palace to the custody of
Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's house to
the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. And the maiden
pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him, and he speedily
gave her things for purification, which such things as belong to
her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her out
of the king's house. And he preferred her and her
maids unto the best place of the house of the women." All
right, we'd like to turn over now, if you would, to the book
of Jeremiah. Go back to the book of 2 Kings. Let's go to the book of 2 Kings,
first of all. And we have here the history
of the children of Israel, those that were taken into captivity,
brought to our attention once again. The scriptures are not
just single on this subject. There are quite a few on this
subject, just as we find concerning the fall of Adam and the consequences
of the fall of Adam is mentioned throughout all the scriptures.
We will never run out of God's statements about the fall of
Adam. And we find here in the book
of 2 Kings 24, in the book of 2 Kings 24, verse 10, The word of the Lord says, at
that time, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against
Jerusalem and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
came against the city and his servants did besiege it. And
Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, went out to the king of Babylon,
he and his mother and his servants, and his princes and his officers,
and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his
reign. And he carried out thence all
the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of
the king's house, then cut in pieces all the vessels of gold
which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the
Lord as the Lord had said. And he carried away all Jerusalem
and all the princes and all the mighty men of valor, even 10,000
captives. And all the craftsmen and smiths,
none remained, save the poorest sort of people of the land."
And we're gonna find out that he imported a bunch of outsiders,
and that's where the Samaritans came from. It is why they were
looked upon as dogs. They were intermarried between
Gentiles and these Jews. And we meet a lady at the well,
Jacob's well, who was a Samaritan whom the Lord loved from eternity.
a daughter of Abraham by faith. Verse 15, and he carried away
Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's
wives, and his officers, and mighty of the land, those carried
he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. Now for these many
people that were taken into captivity, just as we find with regard to
Esther. She was taken into captivity
with Mordecai and all of those other hosts. This was not the
best day of their life. It was not what they had anticipated. It was not what they wanted,
but they are carried off into captivity, and we're gonna find
out that this was done on purpose. This was carrying out God's perfect,
mighty decrees that he had issued before the foundation of the
world. In Ezekiel, if you'd turn with me to the book of Ezekiel
for just a moment, in the book of Ezekiel, In the book of Ezekiel
chapter 2, Ezekiel chapter 2, and there in verse 1, Ezekiel
chapter 2 and verse 1, excuse me, chapter 1, Ezekiel
chapter 1, and verses 1 and 2. Now it came to
pass in the 13th year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day
of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar,
that the heavens were opened and I saw a vision. And in the
fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of Jehoiakim's
captivity, So here we have Ezekiel shares with us that he is also
among the captives. And it was during this period
of time that he was given this great book of Ezekiel, the gospel
according to Ezekiel. And if you'll look with me in
the book of Daniel, next book, Daniel chapter one, Daniel chapter
one, verse one, We have again, Jehoiakim is mentioned here,
and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon is mentioned here, and the captivity
is mentioned here, the besiegement of Jerusalem is mentioned here
once again. And all of these are very close to the same period
of time that we read about in the book of Esther. God's providence
in moving Esther from Jerusalem and taking into captivity. She
had lost her father, she had lost her mother, she's in the
hands of a cousin, an uncle, and brought into captivity. And
here in the book of Daniel, in the third year of the reign of
Jehoiakim, king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
unto Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim,
king of Judah, into his hand. with part of the vessels of the
house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar, to the
house of his God, and he brought the vessels of the treasure house
of his God. And the king spake unto Asphenas,
the master of the eunuchs, and he should bring certain of the
children of Israel, of the king's seed and of the prince's, children
in whom was no blemish, but well favored and skillful in all wisdom
and cunning and in knowledge and understanding science and
such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace and
who they might teach the learning and tongue of the Chaldeans.
And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat
and of wine, which he drank. So nourish them three years that
at the end thereof, they might stand before the king. Now among
these were the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah. Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs
gave names, for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar,
and to Hananiah, Shadrach, and unto Meshach, and Azariah, Abednego. And here we have the three Hebrew
children, Daniel, and they're in the captivity. Now, one other
place we want to go is over in the book of Jeremiah. The book
of Jeremiah last chapter 52. Book of Jeremiah last chapter,
verse 50, chapter 52. And I want to read verses beginning
with verse 24. For we have another saint taken
off into captivity. In chapter 52 and verse 24, and
the captain of the guard took Zeriah, the chief priest, and
Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three keepers of the
door. He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the
charge of the men of war, and seven men of them that were near
the king's person, whom were found in the city, and the principal
scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land and threescore
men of the people of the land that were found in the midst
of the city. So Nebuchadnezzar the captain of the guard took
them and brought them to the king of Babylon in Riblah. And the king of Babylon smote
them and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath.
Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. This is
the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive In the seventh
year, 3,000 Jews and three and 20. And in the 18th year, Nebuchadnezzar,
he carried away captive from Jerusalem, 830 and two persons. And three and 20 year, three
and 20th year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of
the guard carried away captive the Jews 745 persons, all persons were 4,600. And it came to pass
in the seventh and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiakim,
king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the fifth and twentieth
day of the month, that evil Mordecai, king of Babylon, in the first
year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiakim, king of
Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, and spake kindly
unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings
that were with him in Babylon, and changed his prison garments,
And he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his
life. And for his diet, there was a continual diet given to
him of the King of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of
his death, all the days of his life. This is Jeremiah's recount
of what took place and the numbers of people that were taken captive.
Well, when we get to the book of Esther, we find that she was
one of many people that had been carried off into Babylonian captivity. Now, In chapter two, we find
that she is lined up to go into King Ahasuerus. And I want to
just be reminded that the marriage ceremony in the Old Testament,
particularly under this king and the Persians, was much different
than you and I had. There was no preachers called.
There was no paperwork from a civil authority. This is much like
what we're going to find even in the book of Genesis when it
came to Isaac and Jacob's marriage. They didn't have paperwork. They
didn't have a preacher come. You know, let's just turn over
to the book of Genesis and see how different it was. I'll never
forget being down in Sacramento one time and was asked to perform
a wedding for one of my cousins. And her dad and I were after
the things for that wedding. He said, I offered my daughter
$50,000 cash for this wedding. She took the wedding. And he spent more than $50,000
on that wedding. Now that's an extreme, but weddings
have got to be extremes. But let's look here in the book
of Genesis, Isaac's wedding. Let's go look at Isaac's wedding.
And it's going to be much the same. What I want us to see here
is that Mordecai and Esther both knew that when she was taken
in and put in this line, she was going to be the wife of King
Ahasuerus. This is the way they did things
then. And he had many wives, but it wasn't that she was a
tramp. She was in line to get married. She was going to be
married to King Ahasuerus like many of the other women were.
Now we're going to find out that her position was going to be
much greater because she's selected as the queen. She is the chief
wife, if you please. She is going to have much authority. So let's just go over here to
the book of Genesis chapter 24. And we find here that this is
what God provided in the Old Testament. This is His people. Remember the work that went through
by Abraham sending his servant over to where he came from to
find a wife? He didn't want his son marrying
someone from around there. He wanted someone from home.
So he sent his servant over there. He prayed over this issue. Lord,
the girl that comes and offers to give water to all my camels. And lo and behold, she came,
she offered, he thanked God for it and brought her back to his
servant, Isaac. All right, let's look at this.
In Genesis chapter 24. So when we read about Queen Esther
being selected to go into Ahasuerus, she is married to him. She is married to him. She's
not a tramp. She's married to this man, most
powerful man probably in the world at that time. So in the
book of Genesis chapter 24 and verse 63, it says that Isaac
went out to meditate in the field at eventide. I'll never forget
an old preacher saying, you know, most people have just forgotten
how to meditate. Go out and spend some time alone
with God. And he went up and he lifted
up his eyes and saw, and behold, the camels were coming. And Rebecca
lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off
the camel. And she had said unto the servant,
What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And
the servant had said, it is my master. Therefore she took a
veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all
things he had done. And Isaac brought her into his
mother Sarah's tent. Now Sarah has passed. Isaac brings
her into the tent and took Rebecca and she became his wife. She
went in. engaged and she came out married. Now that's how they did business
in that day. She went in, willingly went in
and she was married to Isaac and became the mother of who? All right. And he loved her and
Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. Now let's just
step up a generation into the book of Genesis chapter 29. Genesis
chapter 29. And here we find in Genesis chapter
29 and verse, I believe it starts with verse 22. Yes. Verse 22 of Genesis chapter 29. Now the same thing is going to
happen here, but our friend, our brother is fooled and he
didn't know it. It says, and Laban gathered together
all the men of the place and made a feast. Now our friend
and our brother, when he comes out of the tent the next morning,
knows he's married. There is nothing he can do to
change it. Esther is in line, just like
Leah is, let's go on, came to pass an evening that he took
Leah his daughter and brought her to him and he went unto her.
It's dark in that tent. Laban had this idea that he could
not let his eldest sister go unmarried before his younger,
her daughter, his elder daughter could not be married after the
younger one. So, and Laban gave unto his daughter
Leah, Zilpha his maid, as her handmaid. And it came to pass
that in the morning, behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban,
you rascal. "'What is this thou hast done
unto me? "'Did not I serve thee for Rachel? "'Wherefore hast
thou beguiled me?' And Laban said, "'It must not be so done
in our country "'to give the younger before the firstborn.'"
Well, we notice that he goes, he serves some more time, he
goes into the tent with Rachel, and he is married to Rachel.
Now he had four wives. Abraham had two wives to begin
with, and after his first wife died, he had other wives. It
is so different than we find God prescribed to begin with,
but he permitted it to happen. And only God can work good out
of a bad situation. We don't want to get ourselves
in it. I had a young man today tell me, if I believe what you
believe, I would go out and I said, let's stop right there. The Apostle
Paul knew that was coming and shut it right off. Shall we sin
that grace abound? Absolutely not. So anybody that
has any understanding of grace is not going to bring that question
up. All right. So Laban goes on, he gives him
the next daughter. But the point I want us to notice
is the marriage service in this time was so much different than
it is in our time. And they went into a tent together,
they were engaged, they came out married. Well, we're gonna
follow this with our dear friend Esther. Mordecai knew that Esther
would be the one, Mordecai and Esther both knew when this process
was over that she would be his wife. There would be no divorce. She may never be asked to come
into his presence again as wife, but she was his wife and she
was going to be kept. Esther reminds me of another
dear saint in a precarious position. That's Mary, the mother of Jesus.
You know what she said about the situation? She was gonna
be with child without a man. And she said, be it unto me according
to thy word. And I can't help but think that
those same words were passing through the mind of Esther as
she is put into this competition. Be it unto me according to thy
word. Now she knew who was in charge
of this and she submitted. She submitted to Mordecai and
his instructions. She submitted unto the man that
was the head of the women's house. And she submitted unto Ahasuerus
the king. She knew that she was submissive
to almighty God in this matter. It was the Lord that was in charge
of this. And I'm reminded of what we find
over there with regard to Jacob Joseph being sold into poverty
to begin with, you meant it for evil. Now, why did God put all
of these people into Babylonian captivity? Well, we know what
he ultimately said, you have not kept the Sabbaths of the
land. And I'm going to have the land have its Sabbath. What is
he saying? You work, work, work for your
religion and you're not resting like I asked you to rest. And
that's essentially what everybody in religion has. They're working,
working, working and not resting in Christ. Not resting in his
finished work. It appears that Esther's response
to being put into this circumstance, into this long line of women,
wife of the Persian Empire, was much what we read in the book
of Mark. Turn with me to the book of Mark,
if you would. Many other people had this to say about the Lord,
and I think we could say this along with them. In Mark chapter
7, verse 37. Mark chapter 7, verse 37. They were beyond measure astonished
at all the works that he had done. Mark chapter 7 verse 37,
And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things
well. What a confession by just people,
not alone by the church of the living God. He hath done all
things well. He maketh both the deaf to hear
and the dumb to speak. What a Savior is our Savior. He hath done all things well. And we're gonna find that as
we follow the line of Esther in her captivity. She was brought
into captivity, captivity to me. And it doesn't take us long
to read in history about other people taken into captivity,
what a degrading state that puts them in. In fact, Psalm 137 tells
us about this. Would you turn there with me?
I had YouTube on and was singing by the rivers of Babylon. I liked
that song. It came from this passage of
scripture that what they sing may be unscriptural. Mike came
in dancing to the tune. But if you turn with me to the
book of the Psalms, Psalm 137, Psalm 137. In Psalm 137, beginning
with verse one, by the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. What a statement is made here.
I can't help but think that Esther was in that group. Mordecai was
in that group. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego. They wept when they remembered
Zion. What they had over there. We
hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For they
that carried us away captive required of us a song, and they
that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of
the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's
song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember
thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. If I prefer
not Jerusalem above my chief joy, remember, O Lord, the children
of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said, razz it, razz it, even
to the foundation thereof. O daughter of Babylon, who art
to be destroyed? Happy shall he be that rewardeth
thee as he has served us. Happy shall he be that taketh
and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. So here we find that
the ultimate end of the captivity by the children of Israel is
going to come to an end. Now, when we read over there
in the book of Ezra, we find that God raised a king up. All right. I don't know a thing
about time, and I don't know a thing about how long you've
been in captivity, but I know this, I've been required to set
you free. I've been required to turn you
loose. And we find that Esther is going to be able to say, just
as we find in Philippians, the Apostle Paul was able to say,
all these things have fallen out for the furtherance of the
gospel. As we follow this line through the book of Esther, we're
going to find how true that statement is. This has fallen out for the
preservation, for the salvation, for the deliverance of God's
people mixed up in a foreign land. They tried to make us sing
when we were in Babylon. Our heart is in Jerusalem. Joseph
said the same thing. as I'm sure that Esther is going
to be able to say, you meant it for bad, God meant it for
good, for the deliverance of many people. Now going back over
to the book of Esther, there is an interesting verse everywhere
we go, I'm sure, but in this book of Esther, chapter two and
verse eight, would you look there with me? So it came to pass, chapter two
of verse eight of the book of Esther, so it came to pass when
the king's commandment and his decree was heard and when many
maidens were gathered together at the Shushan the palace to
the custody of Hingai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's
house to the custody of Hingai, keeper of the women. Now, I apologize. Every time I read that guy's
name, it's different, but you read it with me. All right, now
there is a word in here that is most interesting, and that
is the word brought. Esther was brought. Now we have
this word used many times in the Old Testament, and one of
them that is most famous to me is found over in the book of
2 Samuel chapter nine and has to do with Mephibosheth. Has to do with Mephibosheth.
Turn with me if you would back to the book of 2 Samuel. Now
this word, means to be taken and that by force. To be taken and that by force.
She has brought by force. Now, over in the book of 2 Samuel
9, we find in this chapter that King David inquires about, is
there any of the household of Saul left? Is there any of the
household? Now I'm convinced that that grandson
of Saul is where he is because he wants to be there. He, I believe, he believes that
if he gets out somewhere close to David, he's gonna lose his
life. He is where he wants to be because he's afraid for his
life. And here in this passage of scripture,
we find that King David in verse five, King David sinned and fetched
him out of the house of Maker, the son of Amiel from Lodibar. Now, can you just imagine in
your mind, David's men come to Lodibar, come to this man's house
and inquire about this man, the grandson of Saul. And when they
find this guy and they raise him up off the ground because
he can't walk, he's thinking he's going to his execution.
And you know what? David had the right to do that. David had the right to go and
get him and have him executed. But David fetched him. Now that's the same word as we
find here in the book of Esther chapter two and verse eight,
where she was brought. She was fetched long before the
foundation of the world, her fetching process began. And when
it came time, she is fetched. She is brought to where God wants
her at the right time in the right place. And it just happens
to be in Babylonian captivity. And she is going to be married
to King Ahasuerus. She's consented to it. She has
bowed to it, be it unto me according to thy word, and yet she is fetched. Now it goes on to tell us here
that word, David sent and fetched him out of the house of Manchur,
the son of Amiel from Lodibar. Now, when Mephibosheth, the son
of Jonathan, the son of Saul was coming to David, he fell
on his face and did reverence. Please. Have mercy. What do we hear from
the publican? Have mercy. Have mercy. He fell on his face and did reverence
and David sent him to Mephibosheth and he answered, behold thy servant. And David said unto him, best
words you could ever hear, fear not. For I will surely show thee kindness
for someone else's sake. And that's the way with us. And
that's the way with Esther. She's shown kindness for someone
else's sake. The Lord showed us kindness for
someone else's sake, for Jesus' sake, for Jonathan, my father's
sake, and I will restore. Isn't that an interesting word?
I will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father, and thou
shalt eat bread at my table continually. The sweat drops on his face begin
to evaporate when he heard that he is not going to be executed,
but he is going to be elevated. He's going to sit at the king's
table, and we're going to find out with Esther. She's going
to be taken from a servant girl to the king's table. She's going
to be elevated to a position. She's going to be made the king's
wife, yes, but she's going to be the queen. and it is going
to be through her that the gospel is going to go out to the rest
of the people. All right, it goes on to say,
and he bowed himself and said, what is thy servant that thou
shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? Now, I kind of think
over there while he was in Lodibar, this is kind of our attitude
about things is when we're in Lodibar, I should be king. I should be king, that usurper
over there, I should be king. And yet when he came into the
presence of the king, and that's what the king does to us, oh
Lord, my Lord, thou art Lord. He bowed himself and said, what
is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as
I am? And we find the rest of the story.
He got to eat at the king's table the rest of his life. Well, let's
go back over here to the book of Esther again, Esther chapter
two. Esther chapter two, she's brought,
Out of all those, she is brought, Esther chapter two, verse eight.
The word tells us here, she is brought, that Esther was brought
also under the king's house and to the custody of Hengai, keeper
of the women. She is brought. And it certainly
speaks where we are. We are also brought. We are fetched. If it wasn't for him fetching
us, we'd spend the rest of our life in Lodibar. And you know,
if she'd have been left over in Zion, she would have never
been made queen, but she's brought out of that place. You know,
in the purpose of God, Esther had always been chosen as queen. Forever, she had been chosen
as queen. Now we find that God is going to convince King Ahasuerus
that she's going to be queen. He's going to convince Esther
she's going to be queen. You know, I like that verse over
in Proverbs chapter 21, verse 1. The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord and
as rivers of water. Now that's irrigation water.
as rivers of water, he turneth it, whethersoever he will." Now
he turned King Ahasuerus' heart away, but he turned King Ahasuerus'
heart toward, and that was in the hand of God. The Lord moved
a king to send Ezra back to Jerusalem. Cyrus was his name. The Lord
moved him to do that. The Lord moved King Ahasuerus
to choose Esther as his queen. And we find, turn with me, if
you would, over to the book of Acts chapter seven. In Acts chapter
seven, we find Stephen. And Stephen does such a job of
going through the history of Israel. and he brought out at
the end, you're all the same. You all have struck out at God's
prophets. What prophet didn't you kill?
Well, here in the book of Acts chapter seven, we have this report
that Stephen made with regard to Joseph. In verse nine, it
says, the patriarchs moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt,
but God was with him. Wow, that's what we're gonna
find with regard to Esther. She is sold into Babylonian captivity. She had nothing to do with it,
but she sold into Babylonian captivity, but God was with her.
And it tells us in verse 10, and delivered him out of all
his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight
of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he made him governor over
Egypt and all his house. What a promotion Joseph makes. And then in retrospect, he looks
back when he speaks to his own brothers and said, you meant
it for evil, but I can see now God meant it for good. All right,
let's go back for just a moment, back to the book of Esther. Back
to the book of Esther, chapter two. Book of Esther, chapter
two. We're not witnessing here a battle
between God and the devil. The devil isn't even a contender.
We're watching God's providence being played out to exactness. We're watching God's purpose
being played out to exactness. There's neither room to the right
hand or to the left. It is exact. And as we look here
in Esther chapter two, verse eight and verse nine, and the
maiden, verse nine, the maiden pleased him. Now that word, please,
is so often translated the same similar word as grace. She was gracious to him and he
she obtained kindness of him. He showed mercy to her. How God
moved here these these scoundrels. You know, I had a young man tell
me that a young man tell me today that Esau must have been a terrible,
terrible man for God to hate. And I said, oh no, you got it
wrong. He was the good one. His brother
Jacob is a scoundrel. He was the bad one. He stole
his birthright from his brother. He lied. He was a cheat. You
know, people can't understand that. I like what the old preacher
said. I can understand completely how
God could hate Esau. But it is beyond my comprehension
how he could love Jacob. And that's where we are. And
here we have a young maiden, Esther, a Jew, not even disclosed
yet. She hasn't even told her race
yet. She hasn't told where she's from
yet. She hasn't said, I'm of the tribe of Benjamin. She hasn't
said a word, but she has been found favor with by God, by favor
with men, and she is going to be found favor with the king.
And she is there on purpose to deliver God's people from certain
death. God has it all taken care of.
The maiden pleased him and she obtained kindness of him. And
he speedily gave her things for purification, and with such things
as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be
given her out of the king's house. And he preferred her and her
maids unto the best place of the house of women." From the
bottom to the top, promoted by Almighty God to be in the right
place at the right time. And we look back and say, for
the deliverance of the church. for the deliverance of the church.