QUEEN
Good morning class.
Question of the day: When was the last time your were surprised?
This morning we are going to be studying the first eight verses in the fifth chapter of Esther.
READ: Esther 5: 1-8
Esther’s Request to the King
5 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
3 Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”
4 “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”
5 “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.”
So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”
7 Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: 8 If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”
After the three days of fasting Esther puts on the royal robes. Notice that she doesn't just gussy up. This was not about looking good for the king. She put on the royal robes. This is about being QUEEN. She was making a huge statement. She wasn't just one of the many beautiful women that were in the palace.
Also remember she had said that it had been thirty days since the King had asked for her. Esther didn't just want to hope that the king would find favor with her. She wanted to remind him that she had been chosen by him.
In that time we know women were routinely paraded before the king to seen what was pleasing or NOT pleasing to him. But they weren't chosen. Esther had already been chosen. She had already been given favor and position and in putting on the royal robes she was standing before him already chosen by him. She was going to him as his QUEEN not just a woman.
This is interesting. Just days ago she acknowledges who she really is. A Jewish girl. That acknowledgment has made a huge difference in Esther. She is now a champion for her people, a politician, and also a QUEEN. This is the first time that she is called QUEEN.
Here in this pagan story we see some similarities to another story. Hadassah was just a Jewish girl. We just learned last week that all Jews were condemned. Condemned to death. Hadassah however was chosen. She had been chosen by the king, given royal robes. These robes covered up the Jewish girl and made her a queen. When going before the king she put on those robes and he extended the royal scepter. Another interesting note... the three days.
"It was "on the third day" after Esther's decision to identify herself with God's people that she appears in royal splendor before the king. A jewish midrash on this scene points out that "Israel are [sic] never left in dire distress more than three days." In this midrash, the "miracle" of deliverance through Mordecai and Esther is compared to events in the lives of Abraham, Jacob, and Jonah, which also involved three days. It links this miracle to the Jewish tradition that the dead will "come to life only after three days" from the start of the final judgement. This idea is based on Hosea 6:2 "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence." Karen Jobes.
Martin Luther suggested the scepter was similar to the gospel message, the cross.
Do you see the similarities to the gospel story. God the father extending his acceptance of us because we were chosen. Because we can put on the robe of righteousness when we go before the King he can extend the scepter of the "cross" and we are saved from death. This is all after three days and perhaps most importantly it is after acknowledging that we are a child of God.
What does all this have to do with the over arching themes of this book?
In a completely pagan story where God is not even mentioned we see the gospel story. God may appear absent but he is far from absent! He is in it all, even the details. His gospel isn't something that can be hidden under a bushel. The Gospel, the good news is not something that can be hidden. It is so good. It is so powerful that in the dark places, His story is coming through.
I know we talked about this last week, but it is still important. This Jewish girl Hadassah is first called queen after she acknowledges that she is a child of God. After she owns who she is, it is then that she becomes a strong and major player in this story.
It is being chosen by God, accepting his grace and redemption and owning who we are that we are able to become a major player in our story.
Have you felt like life is running you?
Hadassah was just a girl, taken to the palace, paraded before the king, she willingly or unwillingly spent the night with him even though it went against her beliefs. She then is living a completely pagan life, she is hiding who she is, life is happening to her - and then - she remembers who she is! She claims it and everything changes. She is now bold, unafraid, willing to fight for her people, willing to risk death, wise, one might even say cunning enough to "play" in this world that she was in. The transformation is remarkable.
That transformation, is available to all of us!
If life is driving you maybe you need to stop and acknowledge who you are?
Last night was our drama home show at Pisgah. We were grossly unprepared, yet praying together that God would use us as he saw fit, acknowledging that we were simply His servants and that we were simply there for Him to use as he needed, produced a beautiful product that spoke to the power of our Lord. It was an incredibly humbling experience to watch those kids powerfully share the gospel through drama. They are just kids, kids immersed in a pagan world. They are kids who because of their willingness to let Him use them impacted many!
Michael Moyer ended our drama program talking about how one thing we can't change is that God created each of us and because he created each of us He loves us! It isn't because we are something great, it is because He created us and whether or not you believe it, you can't change the fact that he did create us and therefore He loves us!
There are two points I want us to takeaway from today's lesson.
1. The gospel story is not only present when we believe it. The gospel story is so much bigger than that. The gospel story finds itself in the midst of a God forgotten time.
2. When we are willing to acknowledge who we are, that is when we are able to step out and do mighty things. Acknowledging who we are, "chosen" gives us the freedom, the direction, and the power to be significant players instead of letting life just run us.
I want to challenge you this next week to each day spend a few minutes focusing on the gospel. Listen to a song, read about it in the bible, spend time in prayer, look for it around you, or however God impresses you. Just spend time focusing on the gospel story. I guarantee it will make a huge difference in your life. The good news is not something that is only important once. It is not just powerful to bring you to Christ the first time but EVERYDAY! It is not just the story that gives you salvation and will one day soon be what opens the gates for you to enter heaven, IT IS THE STORY THAT TRANSFORMS YOU NOW SO YOU CAN LIVE WITH HIM NOW! The kingdom of God is here and now when we are IN the story, when we are living IN the story.
Will you commit to spending sometime each day IN the good news.
Watch out. If you do, you will change! If you do, you will start becoming a significant part in your life not just a bystander.
Here is a song that can get you started in spending time IN the Gospel!
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