God’s Providence in the Affairs of Men

Esther 6:1-7:10

Do things happen by accident? Christians would answer “no.” We don’t believe in luck, fortune, or fate. And yet, many are governed by those ideas. How your life turns out depends on luck. And you can change your life by changing your luck. People do this differently. Astrology predicts your fortune by your star sign. So you can bring good luck and avoid bad luck by doing certain things. Those born in the year of the tiger shouldn’t marry a monkey year person. Or fengshui. You can clear a path for good fortune and block the way to reject bad fortune. How? By moving furniture, doors, putting up mirrors, or installing water features. Then there’s the opposite - your life is determined by fate - you can’t do anything to change good or bad fortune. That’s how people live - on the basis of luck or fate. But Christians believe that God is powerful and controls all things. I believe in God the Father, Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth. We confess that God upholds and governs all things by his eternal counsel and providence. Lord’s Day 10 affirms that by his power, God is in control so that everything comes about not by luck but by his fatherly hand. And in Lord’s Day 9 we saw he does this specially for his children in Christ Jesus. He works all things for our good. And that’s why questions 28 says we can be patient in bad times, thankful in good times, because we’re confident in God. Nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

There are lessons we can draw from this passage. Firstly, God uses the weakness of his people to accomplish his purposes. Secondly, God uses the wickedness of unbelievers to accomplish his purposes. Thirdly, God’s providence is manifested in specific ways.

Firstly, God uses the weakness of his people to accomplish his purposes. Esther records down one of the most amazing events in church history. God’s people were oppressed, they were threatened, but in the end, they prospered. If you don’t know the story of Esther, please read it. It shows God’s care for his people. God’s people were already facing opposition - but here they were further threatened with destruction and extinction. But in the end, God delivered them and prospered them. And God brought all this about by his providence - by his special care governing all events to accomplish his will. And in his providence, he used the weaknesses of his people to do that. The events in the book of Esther include events beyond this passage and we will be referring to those. But in our passage, we are introduced to 4 main characters - Esther the queen was a Jew who was married to a pagan king; Mordecai was her cousin and a government official hated by Haman; Haman was the Persian prime minister who wanted to kill the Jews and Mordecai; and Ahasuerus was the temperamental Persian king married to Esther.

So both Mordecai and Esther were Jews; they believed in God, but they weren’t faithful. When King Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem under Persian rule, only 50,000 Jews returned. After Cyrus was King Darius the Great. He supplied money and infrastructure for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. More Jews returned. But what stopped the remaining Jews from returning? Why were Esther and Mordecai still in Persia rather than in Jerusalem? It’s very likely that they were comfortable. They had set up homes there during the Babylonian exile. The faithful Jews who returned experienced a lot of persecution. Their enemies were always harassing them. So these Jews stayed behind happily in these pagan lands. But they couldn’t worship God in the temple, neither serve God in the promised land, nor be together with their compatriots to withstand the enemies. Esther and Mordecai didn’t return. They could have, but didn’t. Why? They were weak in faith and godliness. But instead of simply accusing them, how do we know? We see it in their actions.

When King Ahasuerus put away his first wife, his advisors suggested he hold a contest to choose his next wife. Mordecai, Esther’s cousin and guardian, urged her to join this beauty contest. Each contestant would undergo months of preparation just to spend one night with the king. If he was pleased with her, she’d be his queen; if he wasn’t pleased with her, she’d be put away into a harem. So this beauty pageant wasn’t just a beauty pageant. It was more sinister; it was sensual and sexual. So why would Mordecai enter Esther into this contest? He had even told her to hide her identity as a Jew. So instead of being like Daniel and his three friends who abstained from the king’s meat, Esther would’ve certainly partaken of it. Why did Mordecai do this? Why did Esther agree to it? Why didn’t they return to Israel? They were weak in their faith. They weren’t faithful. But as a result of her elevation, Mordecai was also elevated in status to be a government official. Where, according to verse 2, he had heard of a plot against the king’s life by Bigthana and Teresh - two of the king’s chamberlains. And he told Esther, who told the king.

But Mordecai was also weak and imperfect. As a government official would’ve been required to bow down to King Ahasuerus. But he had a problem bowing down to Haman. So while he told Esther to hide her identity as a Jew, so that she might advance in the pageant; he told Haman he couldn’t bow because he was a Jew. Why? And Haman sought to kill Mordecai as well as Mordecai’s people. Was it not Mordecai’s pride that restrained him from bowing? And did this not spark off the entire problem in the first place? Without Mordecai and Esther, and all their weaknesses, would all these things have happened?

Now, we know the end of the book of Esther - the Jews in the entire Persian empire were given the opportunity to defend themselves against their enemies. And therefore, some folks will work backwards - since good came out of it, therefore Mordecai and Esther did nothing wrong. Their sins can be justified. Beloved, we don’t interpret morality on the basis of providence. We can’t defend Mordecai or Esther. Sin is sin. We know Joseph’s brothers were angry with him, and in their weakness, they sold him into slavery. But this led to the saving of Israel. Joseph rose to a prominent position and was able to preserve his whole family. He said to them - you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good - God sent me before you to preserve life. Their sin led to the saving of Israel. But we don’t say they didn’t sin, or that their sin was right. This is the same with David – in his weakness and sin, he committed adultery with Bathsheba, tried to cover it up, and arranged for her husband to be killed. But if not for David’s weakness, Solomon, his son by Bathsheba, would never have reigned, and there would be no Jesus. We don’t defend David’s sin - he himself repented. But it shows that God was in control - and while he never forced David, Joseph’s brothers, Esther, or Mordecai to sin, he used their weakness to achieve his purposes.

In the case of Esther and Mordecai, if these things had not happened, the Jews in the entire Persian Empire wouldn’t have been given opportunity to defend themselves against their enemies. You see, when the faithful Jews returned to Jerusalem and they built the temple, they encountered many difficulties. They had many enemies. Their enemies opposed the building of the temple. They frequently attacked them. But now, they could defend themselves and fight back officially. Esther and Mordecai, as weak and sinful as they were, were there at the right time and the right place, to bring to pass God’s will. But what also led to this opportunity for self-preservation?

We see it was the wickedness of unbelievers. That’s the second point - God used the wickedness of unbelievers to accomplish his purposes. God’s aim is to prosper his people, to increase their faith, to help them. Why? Because Romans 8:28 - “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” God’s people had gone through their period of exile - it was to wean them off idolatry. But when they returned back, they faced opposition from the inhabitants of the land. To fulfill what God had promised to them, to restore them, God had to work these things out. And he also used wicked unbelievers to fulfill his will.

Article 13 of the Belgic Confession says that “nothing happens without His direction. Yet God is not the Author of the sins which are committed nor can He be charged with them. For His power and goodness are so great and beyond understanding that He ordains and executes His work in the most excellent and just manner, even when devils and wicked men act unjustly.” The acts of wicked unbelievers are not caused by him, but he ordains them, he executes them, but in a just manner. The first is Ahasuerus. He was an easily angry king. We see it in Esther 7. In verse 4 when Esther revealed that her people the Jews were in danger - that they’d be sold, destroyed, slain, perish - they’d be sold to slavery, the king asked which enemy would do this to them. Then in verse 6, she pointed the finger at Haman, whom she called the wicked adversary and enemy. Verse 7 tells us something about the king. He stormed off in wrath. Here is a very graphic expression. The Hebrew word for “wroth” means “to break out in anger.” It’s like a volcano erupting hot lava. And that’s why Haman knew that the king had determined to do him evil. Then Haman begged the queen, probably imploring her at her banquet couch - for the Persians ate on the floor. This was misinterpreted by the king - and immediately, the king ordered him to be hanged on the gallows. This was not the first time the king had shown such tempestuous anger. In chapter 1, in a fit of anger, he got rid of his first wife - Queen Vashti. Ahasuerus showed him to be an unreasonable and foolish man in many cases. On one occasion, Ahasuerus executed the builders of a bridge because an ocean storm destroyed it; then he commanded that the water and waves be whipped and chained to punish the sea.

Now, we also see the Haman. He was a vindictive man. Yes, Mordecai was elevated in position because of Esther. He was able to hear the plot against the king and reveal it. But he wasn’t promoted. Instead, Haman was promoted. And in his pride, Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. But this is where Haman planned the mass empire-wise massacre of the Jews. So not only Jews in Jerusalem would be massacred, not only Jews in Persia would be massacred, but Jews from India to Egypt would be massacred. The king was bad, but Haman was worse. The pride of Mordecai enraged him so much that he wanted to commit genocide. The date for it had been planned. But Haman couldn’t wait. We learn in Esther 7:9 that Haman had built gallows to execute Mordecai. It was 50 cubits high, in front of Haman’s house. This was 75 feet or about 8 stories high. He couldn’t wait for the date of the genocide - he wanted to execute Mordecai in front of his house in such a public display. Now, these gallows were not for hanging a victim, but for violently killing and displaying the victim. According to Adam Clarke, it was “a pointed stake set upright in the ground, and the culprit is taken, his groin placed on the sharp point, and then pulled down by his legs till the stake that went in at the fundament, passes up through the body and comes out through the neck. A most dreadful species of punishment, in which revenge and cruelty may glut the utmost of their malice. The culprit lives a considerable time in excruciating agonies.” So while Ahasuerus had an explosive temper, Haman was vindictive. These two worked hand in hand - in the end, Haman was executed on the very gallows he planned for Mordecai. But wait! Wasn’t Haman just doing the will of God?How can he use Haman and then destroy Haman? To be clear, God never forced Haman to sin. It was Haman’s own sinful desire. Similarly, God used the Assyrian king to punish Israel. In Isaiah 10:5,6 God says, “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.” So God used the wicked king to accomplish his will against his disobedient people.

But in Isaiah 10:12-13 God says, “Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man.” God punished him for his pride even though he was used by God to carry out God’s plans. After the king conquered Israel, he returned to Assyria. 2 Kings 19 tells us that when he was worshiping his pagan god, his 2 sons came and assassinated him. Similarly here, Haman was punished, even though what he did was used to deliver the Jews ultimately. But God doesn’t only work in the large arena of politics and history, he works in the very minute details.

And here thirdly, we see that God’s providence is manifested in specific ways. God is governing everything - even the smallest things. We see that he governs every leaf and blade, that no creature can even move without his will. We learn in chapter 6 that the king couldn’t sleep one night. He had the chronicles read out to him - possibly history was so boring he thought he’d fall asleep. But he discovered that nothing had been done for Mordecai who had rescued his life. This would not do. The Persian kings were known for their lavish gifts. And not to have done something for such a service would’ve been considered unthinkable. In Esther 7:2, the king was even willing to grant Esther’s request even to giving her half his kingdom. And so the king wanted to reward Mordecai. And what good luck? good fortune? that Haman was coming in? No, it was providence. Haman wanted to come to ask the king permission to execute Mordecai. But here, the king wanted to honor Mordecai. And just in time was Haman to advise the king. The king asked what could be done to honor a person that the king delights in. And in his pride, Haman thought the king wanted to honor him. And he said - “let this man be dressed in the king’s royal robes and sit on the king’s royal horse, and wear the king’s royal crown. Then let him be paraded before all the city and led by one of the highest ranking princes.” And to Haman’s chagrin, the king revealed at that exact moment - it was Mordecai he wanted to honor, and it had to be Haman to lead the procession to honor Mordecai. It was so shameful that even Haman’s wife said to him - “If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.” Even this page woman could read the signs of God’s providence. The king couldn’t sleep. He exact passage that was read was about Mordecai. Haman went at the exact moment to complain about Mordecai. The king’s question matched with his vanity. And it brought upon his shame. Such coincidence was not coincidence but providence. It was not luck or fortune or misfortune, it was the guiding hand of God.

But God was not done. The moment the king walked out at the dinner party in rage, Haman fell and begged for mercy. But the king came in at the right moment and misunderstood the begging for mercy as an attack on the queen. And had him brought for execution - on the very gallows he had built the night before. Eventually, this led to the deliverance of the Jews - from all their enemies. It wasn’t merely that the Jews were no longer on the losing end, they were now on the winning end. Not because they deserved it. In their weakness, their unfaithfulness, their ungodliness, they deserved not the favor of God - but because they were God’s people he worked to save them. It was not luck, fortune, chance, or fate - it was his providence - his hand working through events to bring about his will.

Dearly beloved, in our weaknesses and sins, we make great mistakes in our lives. Yes, we should regret them and repent. Because of this incident, Mordecai, Esther, and the Jews repented. God brought them through those trials to show himself good to them and for them to return to him. In our trials, will we not return to God and stick close to him? Will we not understand and know that if we are his people, that he loves us? And even though we may not know the reasons for our sufferings, that we may live not by sight, but by faith that we serve a living and true God, who works all things out for the good of his people?

Yes, we may be discouraged as we look at providence right now. But God cares for us. Even the smallest detail that happens in our lives is done for our good. We may not be able to see it, or even see how our mistakes have a good end, but God sees and one day he will make it plain for us. If he did not spare Jesus, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not, along with him also supply us all things? We can have a firm confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from his love. We like Mordecai may not be rewarded now, but we shall one day be - even if it is in the presence of all the angels and saints. And similarly, the righteous will also one day see the day of judgment of all who have hurt us. That’s why now, let’s not be angry or take revenge. But remember to draw near to God, to do his will as he has revealed to us.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

And The Very God Of Peace Sanctify You Wholly; And I Pray God Your Whole Spirit And Soul And Body Be Preserved Blameless Unto The Coming Of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful Is He That Calleth You, Who Also Will Do It.