Imparting Faith Part I: Characters of Faith Esther

2. Imparting Faith Part I:Characters of FaithEsther

3. Note from Comment • Dates, Ages, and Chronology • Absolute and Relative Chronology • Esther 3:13 – Absolute time • Esther 1:3, 2:16 – Relative time • Kings / Chronicles – 2Kings 15:30, 2Kings 17:1

4. When did Hoshea’s reign begin 2Kings 15:30 Then Hoshea the son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck and killed him; so he reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. 2Kings 17:1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years.

5. Deuteronomy 4:25-29 "When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and … do evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger … you will soon utterly perish from the land … And the LORD will scatter you … But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 713 Jotham Ahaz Hezekiah Manasseh Judah Important Leaders Isaiah 758 - 690 700 750 Pekah Hoshea Israel World Sennacherib Shalmaneser Deuteronomy 30:1-4 "Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse … and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, … with all your heart and with all your soul, that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity … and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you … from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 721

6. Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters…And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace. Jeremiah 29:5-7 597 – 2nd Exile 586 – 3rd Exile Jerusalem & Temple destroyed 606 – 1st Exile Jehoiachin Jehoahaz Amon Jehoiakim Manasseh Josiah – 8 years old Zedekiah Habakkuk 612 - 606 14 years old Jeremiah 626 - 586 25 years old when taken captive Ezekiel (in exile) 592 - 565 600 650 14 years old Daniel (in exile) 606 - 536 Nebuchadnezzar 605 - 562 70 year captivity 606 - 536 Ezekiel 12:13 "I will also spread My net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there.” Daniel Josiah

7. 516 – Work on the Temple is completed 538 – 1st Decree for the Jews 520 – 2nd Decree for the Jews 478 – Esther becomes Queen Zerubbabel 538-516 Esther 483 - 457 Ezekiel (in exile) 592 - 565 500 550 Daniel (in exile) 606 - 536 Cyrus 559 - 530 Xerxes 486 - 465 70 year captivity 606 - 536 539 – Darius conquers Babylon 483 – Xerxes’ feast 473 – Esther saves the Jews Nebuchadnezzar 605 - 562 536 – Work begins on the temple ending the 70 year captivity

8. 445 – Nehemiah’s Sadness prompts Artaxerxes to send him to Jerusalem 458 – 3rd Decree for the Jews 408 – Jerusalem is rebuilt Ezra 458 - 440 Esther 484 - 457 Nehemiah 445 - 433 450 400 Artaxerxes 465 - 424 Xerxes 486 - 465

9. Ezra 7:12-26 Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Perfect peace, and so forth. I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you. And whereas you are being sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand; and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem; and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be freely offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem- now therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your God. Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.

10. Ezra 7:20-26 And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king's treasury. And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently, up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit. Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God. And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them. Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.

11. Strange starting place 458, the seventh year of Artaxerxes’ reign “Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of heaven.” Why?

12. Nehemiah 2:1-8 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?” Then the king said to me, “What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.

13. Strange starting place 445, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes’ reign “and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates.” Why?

14. Artaxerxes Esther – Queen (step-mother) Ezra – Scribe & priest Nehemiah 2:6 Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), "How long will your journey be? And when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Nehemiah – Cupbearer

15. Esther Esther 1 & 2 – Esther becomes Queen Esther 3 through 10 – Esther saves the people

16. Esther’s Faith This shows incredible faith because: • She is forced • She is young • She has only one access to her spiritual support • She faces a dangerous situation

17. How?

18. Knowledge of Scripture Primarily Mordecai (her cousin) • We don’t know about her parents (Abihail) • We do know that she made the clear decision to follow the commands of Jeremiah in 29:7, 20 • Wait until the rest of her story for the final point

19. Witness faith in others Primarily Mordecai (her cousin) • We don’t know about Esther’s parents • We do know that Mordecai took her in • We do know that Mordecai obviously took the commands regarding orphans / fatherless serious 2:7 (See Psalms 68:5, 82:3, and Isaiah 1:17) • We do know that he taught her obedience 2:10, 20

20. High Expectations You mentioned this last week This is demonstrated in her actions throughout the book but especially in Chapters 2 & 4 when she petitions the king. 4:11 “All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.”

21. High Expectations This shows without any doubt that Mordecai is confident in bring the problem to Esther! He has confidence that she can solve the problem 4:16-17 “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.

22. The rest of Esther’s Story • Through Esther’s shrewd actions the Jews are saved • Through Esther’s actions Mordecai is raised to Prime Minister • Through Esther and Mordecai’s positions the kingdom is brought under the influence of faithful men and women of God • Through Esther and Mordecai God’s will is completed!

23. God’s will completed through his servants Deuteronomy 4:25-29 "When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and … do evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger … you will soon utterly perish from the land … And the LORD will scatter you … But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 30:1-4 "Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse … and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, … with all your heart and with all your soul, that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity … and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you … from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.

24. More next week with Moses