All right, in Esther chapter
6 and verse 1 through 3, you can tell by the way the verse
starts that it's not a new subject, not a break in the thought or
in the chapter, but that what we're reading is related to something
that has already gone before. So look. on that night could
not the king sleep. And he commanded to bring the
book of the records of the chronicles, and they were read before the
king. And it was found written that
Mordecai had told Abigthina and Tiresh two of the king's chamberlains,
the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hold on King Asherus. And the king said, what honor
and dignity has been done to Mordecai for this? Then said
the king's servants that ministered unto him, there is nothing done
for him. I want you to look at the words,
On that night could not the king sleep. We want to talk about
the providence of God, how it works in big things and little
things. But first of all, let's begin
by giving a short and, shall we say, to the point definition
of what we mean by the providence of God. We admit it is a word
which itself is not used in Scripture, though the thing itself does
appear and is very clearly taught in the Word of God. And not only
that, but it is clearly seen in the lives of those that are
written up for us in the Scripture. Now the word provident, they
say is a derivation of a Latin word, providentia, from the Latin,
and it came to be used in order that we might define or describe
the working of God whereby He so guides the affairs of men
and of women that it actually accomplishes His purpose, His
aim, and His end. So the providence of God is His
guiding, directing, hindering, and so forth, causing all things
to fall out to the accomplishment of His will and many times the
blessing of His people. Now we'll give you some examples
of the providence of God clearly set out in the Scripture. It
was divine providence. I think as we saw last Sunday
evening, that brought the woman of Samaria out of the city to
draw water at the well that Jacob had dug, and that at the exact
same time that the Savior came to Jacob's well. You'll find
that in John chapter 4. Again, it was the providence
of God that guided the servant of Abraham to Rebecca that she
might become the wife of Isaac. You'll find that in Genesis chapter
24, a wonderful account it is. And it was providence that directed
the life of Joseph and all things connected with him to become
the prime minister of Egypt, that God might send him there,
elevate him to a place of authority and of power, that he might save
much people alive and be a great blessing to the family of Joseph. It was divine providence that
sent Paul down upon the Damascus road as he made his way, and
there he was conquered by the Lord Jesus Christ. You have that
in Acts chapter 9. It was divine providence that
overruled the scheme of Jonah and delivered him out of the
whale and sent him to Nineveh that he might preach. Again,
it was divine providence that led us to meet, to marry those
that are our spouses, and the providence of God led us to our
jobs, and to our churches, and to our friends, and such like.
The Puritan John Flavel wrote a very famous treaty entitled,
The Mystery of Providence. He began that work with this
word, and I quote, There are two ways whereby the most blessed
God does manifest himself unto man, by his word and by his works,
His works we call provident, by which He brings to pass those
things which He has willed and which He will bring to pass,
whereby He makes the actions of men, whether they be good
or evil men, to serve His purpose and to fulfill His aim, using
them as they fall out, or overruling them as it serves His purpose,
that that might be done which is pleasing unto Him. Thus, we
can immediately then discern that providence is a branch of
divine sovereignty or, if you please, of predestination. That the providence of God is
the outworking of the predestinated purpose of God. whereby he ordained
the salvation of the Samaritan woman. He caused her to come
at the right time and have an encounter with the Savior. It
was that that ordained Joseph to become the Lord. and the prime
minister over the land of Egypt. And he guided all things to that
end, even the envy and the animosity of his brother. And it was providence
that brought Lydia to a place in the book of Acts where she
joined some at prayer and heard the gospel of Paul and believed. And it was divine providence
that brought together Philip and the eunuch. as he journeyed
along back to his country. So, I would like to commend to
you three special examples of divine providence found in the
scripture where the light of providence shines out very bright
and is very evident for us to see. very clearly manifested
the providence of God. Number one, I mentioned the experience
of Joseph. In chapter 38, all the way to
the end of the book of Genesis, wherein is observed one act of
providence of God after another. From his brothers selling him
away, to being sold to Midianite merchant men, to being carried
down into the land of Potiphar and of Pharaoh. Secondly, there
is that great providence in the book of Ruth whereby God made
all things to work together to bring that Gentile widow, Ruth,
to faith in Messiah and also into the family of the Jews at
that particular time. And thirdly, Here in the book
of Esther, God's dealings with the king, men such as Haman,
Mordecai, all the Jews living in that kingdom at that time
were influenced by the providence of God that we have read about
here in verse 6. A case of insomnia set in motion
a chain of divine providential events that are wonderful. So
let's consider Esther, if we might. As our text said in verse
1, on that night could not the king sleep. Or as the margin
renders it, the king's sleep fled away. He had a case of insomnia. He was like a hoot owl with insomnia
on this particular night and could not seem to get to sleep. So that such a seeming insignificant
thing as a bout with temporary insomnia was the occasion of
a huge impact upon the kingdom and upon the Jews living there.
The kingdom, or rather the king's insomnia, as I said, set in act
a chain that was to have far-reaching results. But notice, it was a
particular night when the king's sleep fled away from him. Not
just any night, but on a particular night, on a certain night, on
a night following a significant event. Not one night, or a night,
or some night, but a specific night when the king could not
seem to fall asleep. And what is the significance
of that night that we read about here in the scripture? Well,
it is just this. If we would back up and study
the earlier part of the book of Esther. That night stands
in relationship to tomorrow in chapter 5, verse 8, and also
verse 14. For tomorrow, tomorrow, Esther
planned to petition the king that he might set aside Haman's
plot to kill all of the Jews in the kingdom, chapter 5 and
verse 8. Haman planned to seek the permission
of the king that he might hang Mordecai the Jew, chapter 5 and
verse 14. But notice, Providence works
beyond just the loss of sleep. The loss of sleep is that which
sets in motion the chain of events that providentially direct the
next events that are to be taken up in the book. No distraction,
no discomfort is mentioned on the part of the king, simply
that he could not sleep. Now, next the providence of God
orders the manner in which the king will find relief for his
deep insomnia. What will he do about it? I would
expect the king to call one of his servants or call the cup
bearer to bear before him some wine that he might drink it and
that it might relax him. Might we expect him perhaps to
call in the magicians or the musicians that they might play
something soothing and restful and make his eyes heavy, play
a little mood music as we might call it in our day. Why not a
warm glass of milk out of the kitchen? Why not a walk up on
the balcony of the king's house? Again, providence carries the
very night. For of all things at the king's
disposal, anything that he might have called for, He calls for
the book of the Chronicles to be brought and read before Him. Now the Chronicles mean the journal
of His reign, the history of His reign. He had written up
a history, the book of the record of the kingdom, the actions of
the history, the laws and the decrees were all written up in
what is called here the book of the Chronicle. Now, I agree
with Matthew Henry. Surely, he could not expect these
things to help him get any sleep. For there would be many troubling
things that he might read across there. But notice, not only does
divine providence rob him of his sleep and put it in his heart
or mind that he might take up the Chronicles and read them,
but notice something else. Even the very place where he
lied to read in the Chronicles was a direct end of the providence
of God. It was directly ordered by providence
that a passage should be read by the King. No other part, no
other part of the Chronicle would have had these same effects that
this passage did. Look at the second verse that
we read. was found written. What was written? Well, there
had been an assassination plot against the king, planned by
some of his own servants. But it had been foiled by a Jew
by the name of Mordecai, who immediately, as a faithful subject,
went and informed the king. who then hanged the two conspirators,
putting them to death. Providence had Mordecai in the
very place over here, the plot that was being formed against
the king in the courtyard. See the record, you can, in chapter
2 and verse 21 through verse 23. And this was put into the
record of the chronicles of the king. And on his sleepless night,
the book was opened and he read back to the king that very place,
that plot that he had been saved from by Mordecai. Now this brings
the name Mordecai, a Jew before the king. And more than that,
it gives Mordecai a favor in the eyes of the king for what
he has read. which is especially important
to our ongoing story because Haman, a wicked man, had targeted
Mordecai for death. Haman hated the Jew Mordecai
because he would not bow to the mighty muckety-muck when he walked
by in the courtyard. Haman passes by and Mordecai
would not do him reference, would not bow down before him and show
him respect and the honor by bowing in his presence. Now Haman
was a high-ranking official in the cabinet of the king, as we
might say, and in chapter 3 and verse 1 He had the ear of the
king on a lot of matters concerning the kingdom and policy and laws
and such like. Driven by his great hatred for
the Jew Mordecai, Haman secured an edict from the king that all
Jews in the kingdom would be destroyed. All of them would
be put to death. Chapter 3, verse 7 through 15,
you have it. And that a certain day was set
in which all Jews were to be exterminated out of the kingdom. They were literally under a sentence
of death. And Haman had already constructed
the gallow upon which he would hang Mordecai on the next day. Chapter 5 and verse 14. Divine
providence caused the passage concerning Mordecai to be read
to the king. And in chapter 6 and verse 3,
upon hearing of the good and kind and faithful deed of Mordecai,
the king inquired, what has been done for Mordecai? How has he
been rewarded? How has he been rewarded for
the kind deed that he has done. What honor, what dignity hath
been given unto him? Surely the king assumed something
good had been done, thought the king, a day to honor such a one. How about a parade through the
city in his honor? How about an audience personally
with the king and to sit at his table? How about a medal of honor
commemorating what he had done for the king? How about a proclamation
to be written and hanged up about the city concerning the deed
of Mordecai? Well, the king is informed Nothing
has been done to reward or to honor Mordecai, who might have
well saved the life of the king from an assassination plot. But
can we not see, even this oversight was an act of providence. Had Mordecai been honored or
rewarded earlier, it had meant nothing to this knight in question. For had the king heard that Mordecai
was well recompensed, it would have been duly rewarded, the
matter would have been over, it would have been the end of
it, he would have been satisfied, nothing else would have been
done. But the king acts upon the principle, better to honor
than nothing, better late than never. See the providence of
God again here. The king is up late, willing
to honor Mordecai. And Haman is up early, plotting
how he will put him unto death. Verse 4 and 5. Now let's look
at verse 6 of our chapter. Providence for Haman in the courtyard
at the very time that the king learns of all of this. At the
very time that the king hears of it or reads of it, there's
Haman in the courtyard. He's got a busy day. He thinks
today I'll be rid of Mordecai forever. And the king asked Haman
when he calls him in, what should be done to the man that the king
delights to honor? What do you think? How should
we honor one that the king delights to honor? What is a suitable
way to honor and recompense one the king wants to honor? Tell
me, what honor, Haman, do you recommend that might be heaped
upon this man? Now look at the last part. of
verse 6. Now Haman thought in his heart,
to whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? He's thinking the king is figuring
out a way to honor and exalt him. Had not the king lost his
sleep, it might have been as Haman had wished. For consider
chapter 3 and 1, The king had promoted or had advanced Haman
and set him above all the other princes that served under him
in the kingdom. Chapter 3 and verse 2, the king
had ordered all of his subjects to honor and reverence Haman
as he went about. Chapter 3 and verse 8, he had
prevailed with the king to issue a law condemning a whole people
Haman had, and the queen Esther had invited Haman to a private
banquet with the king and the queen with Haman as the only
guest. And not once but twice, you see
that, chapter 5, verses 3 through verse 8. Thus Haman could wish
to hear whom the king delighted to honor. Thou art the man. Oh, he thought that's what he
would hear that day. Vainly thinking he is prompting
the king to heap further honor upon his own head, Haman literally
piles on the honors that should be done for such a man. Verse
8, verse 9, for the man the king delighted to honor. Let him wear
the king's apparel and the king's crown, ride the king's horse. Let princes parade him upon the
street and proclaim before him his name as he comes." Now, allow
practical application or two. Haman misreads the king woefully. When David thought that he was
judging the sin of another in 2 Samuel 21, 1 through 6, he
was absolutely rigid, strict, and unmerciful. Not knowing he
was passing sentence upon his very own self, he said, let him
die, the man that has done such a thing. Secondly, when Haman
thought that he was designing a crown for his own head, he
filled it with all manner of precious jewels. He was very
liberal when he thought that he's to be the recipient of the
honor of the king. The point being this, that men
have a dual delusion about themselves. A, they refuse to believe they
are as wicked as others. And B, they believe they're worthy
of more honor than they actually deserve. Of great honor and great
praise, they think, they're great men. However, the king accepts
the liberal recommendation and the honors which Haman has proposed
for the man whom the king delights to honor without hesitation. The king says to him, that's
a good idea. Go and do all that for Mordecai.
Can you imagine Haman? And he says to him, don't leave
off anything that you have said. And Haman, who had planned the
death of Mordecai, is forced to honor him and even to proclaim
before him his name as he comes. And then Haman is himself hanged
on the gallows that he had designed for Mordecai. chapter 7 and verse
10. One truth shines forth in the
events in the book of Esther, and that's Proverbs 21 and verse
1. The king's heart is in the Lord's
hand like the rivers of water. he turneth it whether so ever
he will. Even the king, the highest and
the most powerful among men, his heart is in the hand of the
Lord, the one who gives laws out unto others, commands them
and they obey. So that as Charles Bridges said,
upon the most absolute of all will, the king's heart is in
the Lord's hand." Solomon uses the picture there in Proverbs
21, rivers of water flowing in the channel, turned by the channels
in whichever way the farmer wills that the Lord turns men's hearts
like that. We see this in King Asherah's
here in the book of Esther. First he signs a decree to have
all Jews in the kingdom completely destroyed. Then he rescinds it. First he elevates Haman, then
he destroys him. And the two petitions to be brought
before him that day, he favors Esther and sends Haman out to
his death. So the heart of the king is in
the Lord's hand. He prevented King Abimelech,
you remember, from defiling Sarah in the 20th chapter of Genesis
and in verse 6. He gave Joseph favor in the eyes
of Pharaoh, as you read in the Scripture, Genesis 41. The Babylonian
king showed kindness to Daniel and to his friends by the providence
of God. Daniel 1 and verse 19, the Persian
kings were stirred up by God to aid in building the temple
of God for the returning people. Providence cared the life of
Joseph that the hate of his brethren might fall out to the purpose
of God. Providence guided the life of
the Gentiles' widow Ruth by her marrying into the family of Elimelech
and becoming a part of the progeny of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Her half was to light upon the
field of Boaz. Yes, her half was to light right
there for a man who was willing, who was able, and who was capable
of redeeming her and all that her husband had. Thus, in these
many biblical examples, the most important acts of divine providence
turn upon small or seemingly common or insignificant things,
things like a king's insomnia, upon a widow stopping to glean
grain in the field, a woman coming with a pitcher to draw water,
Moses keeping sheep in the backside of the desert when God appeared
unto him, Jacob, as it were, camping by the way with a rock
for a pillow when the Lord appeared unto him. It was no accident,
it was not luck, it was not mere chance in any of these, but it
brought, as it were, a thirsty sinner to receive the refreshing
waters of life from our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, he must needs
go through Samaria, and we see the results of that. It was divine
providence that brought Lydia, the seller of purple to Thyatira,
on a secular business trip by the way, and caused her to go
where prayer was wont to be made, where the Lord opened her heart
and she understood the gospel that was preached by Paul. I
read a very interesting experience from Philip Morrow. who has done
some writing, who was a believer in the philosophy of materialism
for over 20 years, which is the belief that all action can be
explained by simple changes in matter and by the movement of
matter. One evening in New York City,
back early in the century, on his way to a theatrical performance
going to the theater. He happened to walk by or pass
the door on a certain street of a certain little building
where we're meeting inside a small band of Christian believers who
were singing hymns and praying. They had met for worship. They
happened to be singing at the time and inspiring him and He
happened to abandon his plan to go under the theater and was
impulsed in some way to go inside and there be among the common
and the ordinary people. At that time he could not understand
his own actions, why he would do that, but it was there that
he later said that he was converted and that he was brought unto
the Lord. We must not only view the work
of providence, but we must meditate upon it. It is meek for our souls
to meditate upon it, for there is with all of us some providential
event that had a great impact upon our life. We can think back
upon that, the way we met our mate. the way we were brought
to hear the gospel, the way we were delivered from some snare,
the one God used to bring us to Christ by his provident, the
twisting of a radio dial caused some to find the church in the
reading of a tract, caused others, the place we live, someone you
met in what seemed like simply a chance meeting with no noticeable
or lasting effect at all. I remember the day. James Perkins
drove into the parking lot of this church. I was here. He drove
into the parking lot, cheapskate. He wanted to use the phone free.
Didn't want to pay for a pay phone. That's what brought him
in here. Said, there's a church, and I'm a preacher, and I know
he'll let me use the phone. And we got in a discussion. And he says, you know, I don't
believe God would require somebody to do something they can't do
on their own power. I said, well, how about the man with the withered
arm stretched forth unarmed? He couldn't do that or he would
have already have done it. And we discussed the things of
God and that brought him to the doctrines of grace. He confessed
to have the doctrines of grace. And as a result of that, I have
a book that he and his wife bought for me some years later. He gave
me a book with this inscription. quote, a token of my indebtedness
to you for introducing me to the doctrine of grace and the
25 in this place, he means Shreveport, deriving benefit because of that
day providence caused me to turn around in your parking lot, unquote. The providence of God. It has
worked in our life. It is evident. It is evident. It can be seen. And how great
is this example here in the book of Esther and many others in
the Scripture. There was a time when providence
was in nearly every sermon that was preached. Nearly every old-time
preacher would mention providence. Today, preachers think providence
is a city in Rhode Island and that's all they know about it.
Providence of God, what a wonderful, wonderful thing.