Part 1 “The Have’s and The Have Not’s” Esther 1

1. Part 1“The Have’s and The Have Not’s”Esther 1

2. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.

3. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many.

4. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) I gave him Isaac. And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

5. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out.

6. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) "'Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.

7. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) And when they cried to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt.

8. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) And you lived in the wilderness a long time. Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan.

9. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.

10. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand.

11. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

12. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) And I gave them into your hand. And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow.

13. Joshua 24:2-13 (ESV) I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.'

14. The Israelites – short history lesson

15. The Israelites – short history lesson • Demanded a king • After Solomon, the nation was divided into two nations; Israel (the Northern Kingdom) and Judah (the Southern Kingdom).

16. The Israelites – short history lesson • Assyrians attacked Israel • Babylonians overthrew the Assyrians • Babylonians came back and attacked and destroyed Jerusalem which was in Judah

17. The Israelites – short history lesson • Persians overthrew the government of the Babylonians.

18. Why should we be interested in the book of Esther • It is about a God who remains in the background and at times seems absent yet is still very much in control. • It is about how desperate we are as depraved people.

19. Why should we be interested in the book of Esther • It is about purpose – you would not be on the planet unless something on the earth needed you here. • It is about people who think their drama prevents them from kingdom usefulness

20. Why should we be interested in the book of Esther • It is about moral choices that sometimes don’t make sense and stretch our neatly packaged theology. • It is about how the pursuit of “normal” is usually not God’s sovereign plan

21. Why should we be interested in the book of Esther • It is about the law of “timing”. • It is about how to live with what you can not control.

22. Chapter one is about pride and how it can take us places we should never go and it is about consequences for making right decisions.

23. A powerful king Now in the days of Ahasuerus the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel,(vv.1-2)

24. A proud “have” who loved to impress the “havenot’s”… in the third year of his reign he gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him,

25. A proud “have” who loved to impress the “havenot’s”… while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days. And when these days were completed,

26. A proud “have” who loved to impress the “havenot’s”… the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace.

27. A proud “have” who loved to impress the “havenot’s”… There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods and marble pillars,

28. A proud “have” who loved to impress the “havenot’s”… and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and precious stones. (vv.3-6)

30. An unrestrained appetite for food and alcohol Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king.

31. An unrestrained appetite for food and alcohol And drinking was according to this edict: “There is no compulsion.” For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired. (vv.7-8)

32. Loved to party like the King Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus. (v.9)

33. Lived with self imposed limitations On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus,

34. Lived with self imposed limitations to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command delivered by the eunuchs. (vv.10-12)

35. A National Crisis Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king's procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom):

36. A National Crisis “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?”  

37. A National Crisis Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.

38. A National Crisis  For the queen's behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’

39. A National Crisis This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's behavior will say the same to all the king's officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty.

40. A National Crisis If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.

41. A National Crisis So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.”

42. A National Crisis This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed.  

43. A National Crisis He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people. (vv.12b-22)

44. A National Crisis • Anger and foolishness usually keep company with each other.

45. A National Crisis

46. A National Crisis

47. Bottom Line: • To make God famous we must put pride to death!

48. For anyone checking out the Jesus-centered life • Jesus is more qualified than anyone else to be your leader.

49. For anyone intentional about living a Jesus-centered life • When facing decisions, seek and followGodly counsel • Start a Vashti movement – practice the royalwave • Remember that everything you have comes from God